Chapter Eight

Weaving through and pushing past people, my eyes remain locked on Makani and the goons. Her back is now almost against the wall, and there are no gaps to escape through between the goons. However, Makani’s expression isn’t one of fear, but of fortitude.

Violently bumping into somebody, I nearly knock them over. Veering my attention away from Makani, I realize I have run into Joey.

“Joey! Are you okay?”

“Damn Mateo,” he says as he rubs his arm, grimacing. “You sure have some energy left.”

I awkwardly laugh, “Heh heh, sorry.”

“It’s all good. I’ll forgive ya since we won. Wanna join me for lunch?”

“Yeah, I’d love to,” I say, glancing over at Makani, who is now slumped on the ground. “Sorry again, but I gotta go.”

Running off, I gradually slow down as I creep up behind Makani and the goons.

“Get her up,” says Russ, and two of his goons lift Makani off the ground.

“It’s far too soon for us to be having this conversation again, Makani,” says Russ, touching his ring.

“I didn’t tell him anything.”

“Let’s not waste each other’s time,” interrupts Russ, stepping closer to Makani. “What did you tell the fish?”

“I didn’t say anything! If you want to know, ask him yourself! He’s been pissed off at me ever since he arrived!”

Looking off to the side at the nearby guards well within earshot of the conversation, they haven't so much as flinched.

Why aren’t they doing anything?

Russ chuckles at Makani’s reply, giving a smug expression to one of his goons before violently twisting his body and throwing a punch at Makani. His fist slams into the concrete wall just centimeters away from Makani’s face, forming a crater around his fist.

What the hell was that?!

“You must’ve known I’d try to recruit a guy like him! Did you tell that brat to humiliate me?! Huh?! This is all just to get back at me for killing Taylor! Ain’t that right?!”

While Russ pulls back his steaming fist from the wall, Makani’s eyes slide over to look at Russ. Her face has lost some color.

"No, I never told him–”

“Shut up! Stop lying! Just– stop! You just want revenge! Don’t forget that you were the one who decided to cross me in the past! Taylor stepped in to protect you, but look where she ended up!”

Russ thrusts his left hand into Makani’s face, “I warned you what would happen if you tried anything! I warned you! There’s still time to change--"

“Change what?” I ask, having heard enough.

Turning around, Russ takes a long look at me.

“What exactly are you going to change?”

Russ steps toward me, “I’m going to make it so she can see her friend again.”

I also step forward, skin taught over my knuckles, but a hand touches me on the shoulder.

Stepping up at my side, Joey wipes some sweat off his face as he advises, “Mateo, you’re new, so remember this. Physical violence is strictly forbidden at Soulbell, or at least it has been for the past three months.”

“I thought we agreed to leave each other alone,” says Russ.

“I’m not picking a fight with you, Russ. I just think it’s fair the fish knows how things work around here.”

Russ rolls his eyes, and I ask, “Is what I’m looking at not considered physical violence?”

“No, she hasn’t been directly harmed or assaulted. They may have pinned her to the ground and against the wall, but besides a scrape or two, she hasn’t suffered any significant injuries. It’s the same as being tripped in a basketball game. You may have gotten a bruise, but nobody could ever prove the trip was malicious,” answers Joey.

I grit my teeth, “But the guard is right there! He saw everything!”

“Without any direct assault, this will just be swept under the rug as an accident,” says Joey.

My eyes begin sparking in and out of a blue and white glow, “Then how the hell am I supposed to kick this guy’s ass right now if I can’t put a hand on him?”

Russ scoffs at my brash statement as Joey replies, “You won’t have to wait long for that. Considering his comments at breakfast, I bet Russ already requested to duel you tonight. If you’re worried about the woman, don’t be. Russ can change his opponent as many times as he wants until the deadline this afternoon. But if any challenged opponent outright accepts the duel, the match-up becomes locked, and Russ can’t do anything about it. It hasn’t actually happened yet, but if you tell a guard or–”

“I’ll accept Russ’s challenge,” I say to the nearest guard, cutting Joey off.

The guard nods and pulls out a handheld device from his back pocket. After he presumably types a message, he returns the device to his pocket.

Sneering, Russ waits until I look at him before he walks off, “Let’s go.”

“Boss, what about her?” asks a goon as Russ's shoulder-checks me while he passes by.

“Leave her.”

After watching Russ over my shoulder until he and his goons are far away, I glance at my distressed cellmate. Makani is sitting against the wall, taking deep breaths, the color in her face returning to normal even though she is still trying to conceal her emotions.

“How are you?” I ask once she seems to be calmed down.

“I’m fine.”

I offer my hand, “Would you like any help?”

There’s a pause, but then she knocks my hand out of the way. Taken aback by this action, I don’t know what to say, but she sure has things on her mind.

“What the hell do you want from me?! You don’t need to pretend to be nice! Just say it! I’m not weak! And I’m not dumb, either! It’s obvious that you’re only acting this way so you can take advantage of me!”

Climbing to her feet, her eyes glow a pale green, “If I were you, I’d back the hell up.”

Moving out of her way, Makani makes her leave in between Joey and I.

“Leave me the hell alone,” she says, no words following that.

Concerned, I start after her, but Joey stops me.

“It’s best if we listen to her. Now, can I ask you a question?”

I sigh, “What’s up?”

“Why do you care about her so much? You weren’t with her at breakfast.”

“She’s… my cellmate.”

“Huh, alright. Well, you’ll see her later then. Lunch starts soon. We should go wash up.”

“We?”

“I haven't left these walls in years, but I bet the bathrooms still work differently here. Just follow me.”

Heading inside the block, we first swing by our cells and grab what we need.

Something that threw me off was when I went to grab some spare clothes, Joey informed me that I wouldn't need 'em. Confused, I questioned him about that, and he told me that our clothes would be cleaned in the bathroom.

“Where are we going?” I ask as we venture toward the edge of the block.

“It’s a bit of a trek, but this bathroom is the least used. We won’t have to wait as long.”

“What would we have to wait for?”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“The guards monitor all the bathrooms because of the armor we wear. We can only take it off with permission from a guard, and a guard can only watch so many inmates at a time. This means only so many people can be inside the bathroom at once, often causing a line to form outside during times like this. It’s also why if you go at night, a guard must escort you from your cell to the bathroom.”

When we reached the bathroom Joey was talking about, there was a guard posted outside, and there was no queue. As the guard noticed us approaching him, his face lit up.

Giving each other a quick hug, the guard tells Joey, “What a game man! You and Ayden were killing it today!”

Joey cocks a brow, “You were watching?”

“Hell yeah. Almost got caught slacking off by the warden but it was worth it. Who’s the fish? He's got some good moves too.”

Joey lightly hits me on the chest, “His name is Mateo. He just arrived yesterday.”

“Oh, I heard about you! Russ challenged you to a duel, what’d you do to piss him off?”

I grin, “He wanted me to call him boss.”

The guard laughs, “He never learns, does he?”

Joey shakes his head, “No, he does not. Anyway, I’m starving Nate, so can we head in?”

“Yeah, Ayden’s the only other person inside. He didn’t look too happy.”

"He'll be fine," replies Joey, his face portraying what could almost be a smirk.

After getting washed up, the guard checks I'm wearing my armor before letting me go.

I witnessed why Joey told me I didn't need spare clothes, and it was because of this machine inside the stalls. It cleaned my clothes for me while I was showering, and in about a minute, they were dried and ready to be worn again with a fresh smell and everything.

Outside, I find Joey waiting for me. After dropping our things back off, we head to the mess hall for lunch. Noodles and chicken nuggets are on the menu today, although they are cold by the time we arrive.

Maybe they were cold the whole time; this is prison.

Walking past Russ and his goons, I avoid eye contact with them as Joey leads me to his usual spot. Joey’s teammates are already seated, and they are in good spirits. Additionally, Ayden is at the table, which kind of surprises me. He isn’t with Joey’s teammates but rather alone toward the end.

Joey takes a seat beside Ayden, and I sit across from them.

As we sit down, Ayden sets his fork down and says as if it's unbearable, “Good game you.”

He avoids eye contact with Joey, so Joey softly taps Ayden with his elbow, “And you.”

There’s an uncomfortable silence for a few seconds, and I suddenly worry that this lunch will be very awkward. But then Ayden tries to stifle a laugh, and his failure at doing so makes Joey chuckle. The two start laughing like friends, and I breathe a little easier.

Ayden smacks Joey on the arm, “Damn, you got me with that fake at the end.”

“And you messed up my dunk!”

“Ahhh, you knew I couldn’t let you end it like that man!”

“Hey, hell of a game today,” says a guy passing by.

Ayden daps him up, “Hey, you know how it is. You better be there tomorrow! Can't let this guy kick my ass twice!”

“You better get ready for that,” pipes up Joey, tipping his cup of water toward me. “We picked up a hell of a new player.”

The inmate standing by our table extends his hand, and I dap him up like Ayden did.

“Your name’s Mateo, right? Well played, didn’t realize how young you are.”

“Thanks. I played a bit growing up.”

“Well keep at it. Games like that make it worth waking up every day! I’ll see you guys around.”

“Catch ya brother.”

“Later Jake.”

Taking a bite of my noodles as the man leaves, I force myself to swallow the cold, bitter food. Joey's voice catches my attention while I dwell on the next bite.

“How ‘bout we get started?” he says, and I meet his gaze. “We made a deal, and I’m a man of my word. I’ll go first, and we’ll answer any of your leftover questions later.”

I nod, and Joey begins. Ayden occasionally pops in with his input, but it’s mainly Joey who navigates the conversation.

Soulbell drastically changed around three months ago after the shard shower. Until then, it operated like any state-of-the-art prison, the kind of frightening prison my parents used to tell me stories about. But after the shard shower, Sorel arrived and changed everything about Soulbell.

The rules became far stricter. For example, while violence and fighting between inmates was always a punishable offense, it’s now forbidden. Most importantly, though, Sorel presented the opportunity to each and every inmate that they could earn their freedom back. It didn’t matter how long somebody was supposed to serve. If they could pass Sorel’s “iris games,” they'd book their free ticket out of Soulbell. Safe to say that the inmates raved over the idea.

But why did this all come to be? The short answer… iris.

While I arrived already possessing an iris shard within me, it was different for the other inmates. As Sorel settled in at Soulbell, his fame worked to his advantage. Getting his hands on a massive supply of iris shards, he forced every single inmate at Soulbell to undergo an awakening. Those who couldn’t hack it were killed off, and Joey and Ayden assured me that I could bet Sorel had the others who arrived with me awaken their own powers over the past day, too.

And then, finally, they started telling me about the daily duels. Every day, there is a duel that takes place between two inmates. This duel is proctored by the warden, Sorel, and Sorel’s team of scientists. Also, inmates who wish to attend can watch the duel from a viewing section. It’s only a hunch of Joey and Ayden’s, but as each fight takes place, Sorel and his team of scientists also collect data.

Unrestrained from their armor, the fighters are encouraged by Sorel to fight with everything they have, iris abilities and all. There is no need to hold back, and they shouldn’t hold back, because the winner gets one step closer to freedom in Sorel’s games.

The way the iris games work is that you must win your duels to advance. Winning a duel will often place you against another person with a similar record or skill base, and so on. A victory will also move you up in the queue to fight, leapfrogging the other inmates waiting to be scheduled. And on the day you’re scheduled, you’ll have control over who your opponent can be as long as Sorel approves it. A few months ago, Russ was one of the first people scheduled to fight in a duel and he emerged as the victor. That’s why Russ was able to request that I be his opponent today, and I wondered why Sorel approved of his request. I had only just arrived, so it must have something to do with my rare ability.

If Joey and Ayden’s hunch is accurate, holding back during a fight, even if you win, can delay the scheduling of your next match.

The idea behind that is Sorel wouldn’t bring back a victor if he didn’t find the data interesting enough to do so. It adds a unique layer to everything. Not only do you want to win for your own progression, but you also want to impress Sorel enough to be scheduled even earlier.

Once an inmate has won at least ten out of twelve duels, they will be given their freedom back. This means even if an inmate wins nine duels but loses three, they must start again with a fresh record.

Essentially, these inmates are willing to do whatever it takes to win, and I need to be prepared for that.

***

There are other aspects of Sorel’s games, but that was the gist of it. Assuring that they’d fill me in on the rest later, we switched topics.

“How much do you know about iris?” asks Joey.

“Only the things that Sorel told me as well as common knowledge. So, my tattoo, my ability, the awakening, and… oh! It boosts speed, strength, and healing.”

Joey nods, “Correct, good start.”

“Yeah, my tattoo is–” I start, pushing back my hair, but Joey quickly lunges forward and swats my arm down.

“What the–?”

“Never show where your tattoo is.”

“Why?”

“Beneath your tattoo is where the gemcore of your ability resides, and we’ve learned that abilities can be stolen from other people.”

“Stolen? You mean somebody can take my power from me?”

“Yes, but we’re skipping a few steps. Mateo, did Sorel tell you the name and category of your power?”

“Yeah, he did.”

“Alright, I want you to whisper it to us. Only loud enough for us to hear, understand?”

“Okay,” I say, leaning forward. “Heavenly flames, a Los ability.”

Ayden’s eyes widen, and Joey quickly gestures for me to sit back down.

Ayden mumbles while looking at me in awe, “You’re shittin’ me. You’re a goddamn leg–”

“Hey!” vocalizes Joey, shutting Ayden up.

“What?” I ask.

“Mateo,” says Joey, visibly working through his thoughts. “I don’t want you to tell anybody what you just told us.”

“Is my ability actually that rare?”

“Yes, and if the rumors are true, everybody will try to steal that power from you. We can’t afford to let word of this get out. Lunch ends soon, and after that, we'll be able to break away from the rest for a while. Until then, don’t even think about mentioning your ability.”

“O– okay.”

“For now, I’ll talk more about iris. Since you’re awakened now, you are known as an iris wielder. Everybody in this room is an iris wielder, even the guards. And as wielders, iris is just as important to us as blood. Our bodies can never revert to what they once were, meaning we gotta know the benefits and limits of iris."

“Limits?”

“Yes. Iris can make us faster, stronger, and heal quicker, but overexertion can have devastating consequences on the human body if not properly managed. Deprived limb mobility, paralyzation, illness, and even death are all possible consequences from overusing iris.”

“What do you mean by 'managed'?”

“Think of iris as a rechargeable battery,” inputs Ayden. “You only have so much you can use before you reach your limit. You’ll feel the fatigue too, both physically and mentally, and to go beyond that state… like Joe said… it can get bad very fast. We’ve seen it.”

“Someone has died from this?”

“Yes. Iris is as useful as it is dangerous, which is why we’re going to help you,” answers Joey.

I shake my head, “Why do you want to help me? I just met you.”

Ayden snickers, “It’s about time that bastard got a taste of his own medicine. You may not realize it, but you’ve become pretty popular over the past few hours.”

Intrigued, I pretend to be stretching my back and take a quick peek around the room, and people are eyeing me from all over.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised after breakfast and the basketball game.

“Okay… Russ, the duel…” I say, resting my jaw on my fist while I pick at my food. “I can’t let myself lose control.”

“You won’t,” says Joey. “After some training, you won’t have to worry about that.”

“But hasn’t this guy already won a duel? I just learned I had powers last night, and I’m supposed to beat him?”

“Are you scared?” asks Joey, which makes me pause and second-guess my self-doubt.

“I guess a little, but I want to pay him back for what he did to Makani.”

“Damn straight,” says Ayden, grinning. “We’ll teach you how to.”

The thunderbell then strikes noon, meaning lunch is over. An eerie calmness sets in as all chatter dissipates around the mess hall.

It is quiet, too quiet.

As we get up and walk over to the trash cans along with everybody else, Joey says, “Things are about to get chaotic, so stick close to us.”

“Chaotic? What do you mean–?” I ask as we dispose of our trays, feeling on edge.

As we near the mess hall exit, I hear the growing sound of what might be a stampede clamoring from the other side of the wall.

“You ready?” asks Ayden, patting me on the back.

“Ready? Ready for what–?” I ask as the noise grows louder.

“The afternoon dash, don’t fall behind,” answers Ayden with a smirk as the people in front of us tear off into a sprint.

Exiting the mess hall, Joey and Ayden start running straight down the hall while others break off to our left and right. Confused about what is happening, I sprint to keep up with their pace, knowing that if I lose sight of them, I lose my only chance at beating Russ tonight.