Over the next few days, Owen would train with Grace and Will. Occasionally Isaac would join them, but he usually stayed out of it.
During those days, Owen would take the pills that Sonya and Will had given him, and slowly built up his essence reserves. Each day, he was stronger than the last.
On the day before the gauntlet, Owen and the others were training in a room. Owen was punching at the wall with his fists. Blood dripped from them as his knuckles tore open. He ignored the pain, and kept swinging.
In theory, Owen knew that if he continued doing this, his body would eventually adapt and make his fists stronger.
He stopped punching the wall, and looked down at his bloodied hands. Grace stood next to him, watching him with concern.
"I don’t think you’re going to become invulnerable fast enough in time for tomorrow."
"Yeah I know."
In the time since Owen had come up with the idea of becoming invulnerable, he had tried a variety of different methods. And they all pointed to the same thing. The damage he had to inflict upon himself had to be extremely severe, or it wouldn’t show any drastic effects.
Owen looked at her with a frown. "Damn. It’s working, but its progress is too slow. I guess the damage I'm doing to myself isn’t enough."
Grace shook her head. "It's fine. I'm sure that even without this, you'll win tomorrow."
Will came over, carrying some bandages. He winced at the sight of Owen's bleeding knuckles, but he didn’t say anything. Owen gave him a smile, and grabbed the bandages from him.
"Thanks." He said as he wrapped the bandages around his hands.
Isaac was sat on a bench nearby, watching the three of them in silence. His hands were clasped together in front of his face and his expression was grave. He had been that way all day.
He spoke up, "let’s be realistic guys. Owen, you won’t make it past the floor five inmates."
The three of them turned to look at him.
Isaac continued, "From the floor two to three inmates, you could probably force your way through them. And maybe if you're smart, you can somehow get past the floor four guys. And I said 'maybe'." He emphasized the last word.
"But the thing is, by the end of it all, you’re going to be gassed, out of essence, and facing the strongest guys from the lower floors. It’s not a matter of 'if' you lose, it's 'when' you lose. You have no chance of winning."
A deafening silence followed Isaac's words. None of them could come up with a response. It was true, Isaac's words held truth in them.
Grace worryingly looked at Owen, but he had his head hung low. His gaze was fixed on the ground beneath him, and she couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
Isaac sighed, and stood up from the bench. "If you want to hear my opinion, I suggest you quit the gauntlet right now. It’ll be better than embarrassing yourself tomorrow."
He turned and walked towards the exit.
"I'll see you all tomorrow."
He left the room, leaving behind the others, who were still silent.
Grace looked back at Owen, who was still staring at the ground. She reached out, and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Owen."
He lifted his head and looked at her.
"Let’s get in some last minute training before it's too late."
Owen nodded.
"Alright…"
They went back to training, with Grace sparring against Owen while Will watched. But as they trained, Owen could feel a growing sense of apprehension in him.
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Isaac's words echoed in his head.
"You have no chance of winning."
A fist struck him in the face, and Owen staggered back. He fell on his ass, and looked up to see Grace standing over him. Concern was written all over her face.
Owen shook his head.
"Sorry, I wasn’t focused."
He stood up, and got back into his stance.
Grace shook her head. "No, let's stop here. You should rest for tomorrow."
Owen dropped his arms to his side, and sighed.
"Yeah, I think you're right."
Grace placed her hands on his shoulders and looked him in the eye. "You can do this Owen. I believe in you."
But Owen could see the uncertainty in her eyes.
"Thanks."
She walked past him, and headed for the exit. "I'll see you tomorrow then, Owen."
And with that, she left the room, leaving him alone with Will. Owen sat back down on the ground. He stared absent-mindedly at the wall, thinking about what he had to do tomorrow.
"Do you also think I can't win?" Owen asked, still staring at the wall.
Without hesitation Will replied, "I know you can!"
Owen turned to look at him, and saw nothing but sincerity in his eyes. Will came closer and kneeled down in front of him.
"You will win!"
Surprised by the boy's optimism, Owen couldn’t help but smile.
"Thanks Will."
He rubbed the boy's head affectionately. "You know, you're a good kid."
Will smiled at Owen's words, and nodded his head.
"Now get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow."
Will stood up and hurried out of the room. Once he was gone, Owen laid back on the floor and closed his eyes.
The silence of the room weighed heavily on him, as he thought about what to do tomorrow. He knew that he couldn’t quit. Not now.
"You have no chance of winning."
"I need to win," Owen whispered to himself. "I need to win, for the sake of my family."
***
The walk back to his cell felt longer than usual. When Owen got there, he immediately collapsed onto his bed. The ceiling stared back at him, and Owen wondered if he would even be able to fall asleep.
His mind wouldn’t stop racing. A myriad of thoughts kept going through his head, as he thought about the fight tomorrow.
Owen sighed, and turned over on his bed. He stared at the wall instead.
He couldn’t lose. If he lost, then everything would be over. The second part of his plan would go up in smoke, and he would be trapped here for years.
He clenched his fist.
No. He wouldn’t let that happen.
He sat up, and pulled out the canister of pills he received from the overseer. He popped it open, and looked at them. The four white pills were double the size of the ones Sonya had given him.
Owen stared at them, and wondered if it was worth it. After all, taking one of these pills could possibly kill him. But, he wasn’t confident that he was strong enough to defeat the people he would be facing tomorrow.
He needed more power. More strength.
And so, he tossed out the four pills onto his palm.
"If I lose tomorrow, it’ll be the same as dying," he said to himself. "So I have nothing to lose."
He hesitated for a moment. He knew that what he was about to do was dangerous. And the pain would be unimaginable. But still, he didn’t waver.
He closed his eyes, and took all four pills in one gulp.
Instantly, he felt like he had swallowed a bunch of fire ants. They crawled through his throat and into his stomach, where they burned up. But the burning sensation didn’t stop there. It spread throughout his entire body.
He clenched his chest tightly, as the burning grew stronger and stronger. It felt like he was being scorched from the inside out.
He tore his clothes off, and fell down onto the floor. He writhed in pain as the burning continued.
The intensity of the burning continued to grow stronger and stronger. Soon, the pain became unbearable. Owen yelled out, unable to stop himself. His throat was raw, and his lungs were on fire.
He wanted to die. He wished he could just pass out. But that was impossible. The burning had gone beyond the point of pain, and reached the level of agony.
Owen clutched his head with his hands and began to scream.
The whole night went by as Owen suffered.
He had screamed so much that his voice had gone hoarse. His throat was dry, and his body was damp with sweat. The burning had become an endless cycle of agony.
He had half convulsed, half spasmed on the floor for hours. With each passing moment, he wished for it to end. He wanted to die. He prayed for death.
But death didn’t come.
The pain eventually stopped, and the burning subsided. Owen lay still on the ground, shivering. He was still alive. He had somehow managed to survive.
Owen raised a shaky hand towards his face. It was covered in blood and snot. His fingernails had been torn off, and the palms of his hands were covered in bite marks.
He closed his eyes, and tried to slow his breathing. He felt like he was going to die. But despite this, he could feel something new stir within him.
He took a shallow breath, and passed out on the cold, hard ground.
***
The buzzer rang out through the hallways, signifying the start of the day.
Owen put a hand to his ear, and gritted his teeth. The sound of the buzzer rang louder than usual today, and the vibrations shook his very being.
He opened his eyes, and sat up from the floor.
"What… is going on?"
The first thing he noticed was the newfound strength within him.
Owen looked down at his hands, and flexed them. He felt a surge of energy throughout his body, which felt stronger than before. He felt lighter, and more agile. And his essence reserves, they had expanded to an astonishing amount.
With a single finger, Owen pushed down on the floor. To his surprise, the rest of his body was flung up into the air. He tumbled backwards and did a casual backflip. He landed on his feet, and stood back up straight.
"How the hell?"
He took a moment to process what was happening. Then he noticed something else. He looked at his feet, and what looked like millions of tiny little balls were waving out from his feet out in all directions.
He momentarily freaked out and lifted one of his legs. He let it back down, and watched as more of the little balls moved through the floor from where he stepped.
"Are these… vibrations?"
Owen could sense the movement of the vibrations as they travelled across the ground and throughout the entire floor. He took another step, and the vibrations spread once more. He couldn’t help but grin as he realized what was happening.
But the surprises didn’t stop there. He turned his head towards the wall and could sense the movements of the groggy inmate next door. Owen could tell that he had just woken up, and was sitting up in his bed.
Owen closed his eyes and focused on the vibrations out in the hallway. He could sense people walking, and their footsteps sent out vibrations that travelled through the floor. He could tell how many people were in the hallway, and even roughly where they were.
Owen's face broke into a grin. The sixth sense he had acquired was some sort of 'kinetic vision' that allowed him to sense movement, and with it, he could see everything around him without the need for his eyes.
Even now, he sensed the movement of someone coming to his cell. A female guard stopped in front of his open door, and knocked on the door frame.
"I’ve been ordered to bring you to the–"
She stopped as she saw Owen standing inside his cell. He was completely naked, with his clothes laying scattered all over the floor.
Owen stared at her with intense eyes. He could see the subtle changes in her muscles as they tensed. Her heartbeat was like a beating drum, and he could feel the blood pulsing through her veins.
Every single minute movement, no matter how small, he could sense it. It was as if the whole world had become clear to him.
The guard coughed, "What happened to your clothes?"
Reality brought Owen back, and he remembered the situation he was in. He must look like a weirdo too her.
"Oh, I tore them off last night. It was too hot."
The guard scrunched her eyebrows together. "I see."
"Would you mind getting me some new ones?"
The guard nodded her head slowly.
"Thanks," he then grinned. "And I’d prefer if they were black."