Phil woke up with a cold shiver. A bright light stung at his tired eyes. It floated just in front of his face, obscuring the rest of the room in darkness. His head felt fuzzy; he couldn't remember how he had gotten here. Something tickled his face, and he moved to swipe it away, but his hands had been bound by something thick and rough. It took him only moments to realize that similar straps held his ankles, waist, and chest.
Shutting his eyes tightly he struggled to summon up a memory of what had happened to him. He saw images of a hospital and an old-fashioned tavern like he'd seen in medieval movies. And then, like a gear snapping into place, his memories cleared.
He was surprised to hear a feminine voice responded.
"He drugged me and clubbed me on my head!" Phil screamed into the darkness.
"Yes, my husband can be a touch brash. Rarely thinks before he acts. It was an unfortunate mistake, and I do apologize on his behalf."
Phil strained against the ropes, filling the silence with the soft creak of ropes rubbing into flesh, but he was unable to do more than shift his wrist slightly. It wasn't only that he wanted to get out of his bonds; he'd also realized that he felt very naked. He couldn't be entirely sure, as his head was loosely held to the back of the chair, he was tired against, but the cold touch of the air seemed a pretty good indicator.
Looking away from the light he tried to get his eyes to adjust to the darkness, but the best his eyes could manage was a vague shape of a table in the darkness. He couldn't even tell how large the room was or see if there were any windows.
"Uhh…apology accepted," Phil said, his voice breaking as he spoke through a dry throat. He was really getting tired of everyone in Haven trying to kill him. What kind of simulated paradise was this?! "Would you let me go now?"
He thought it was worth a try, but the woman remained silent. He heard more than saw a faint scuffle of feet on stone. The light, that he could not tell was a candle, was pulled back and his captor set it on the table between them.
With the light further from his eyes he began to make small details of the room. His captors' features were mostly shrouded by a hood, casting a deep shadow, leaving her features still indistinct in the low light of a single candle. He could clearly see the deep red color of her cloak now that his eyes adjusted. She leaned forward in her chair and the light illumined her face. She had sharp features and small nose, with a tumble of tightly curled brown hair.
With the light not directly in front of his face, his eyes began adjusting to the dim light. He strained his neck to see just how naked he actually was, but couldn't see more than his kneecaps, which were bare of the pants he had been wearing.
"Yes, I am sorry to say, you have been stripped bare. We needed to make sure you weren't hiding any weapons." Phil wasn't sure, but he could have sworn her voice held a hint of laughter. What kind of sick dungeon was this place?
His breathing came faster as he remembered the pain of being stabbed and the harsh reality of this simulation. He was helpless. He needed to before these freaks stole his organs.
His eyes finally adjusted enough that the walls of the room came faintly into view. It was small, no more than six feet square. The candle cast eerie shadows on the rough-cut stone walls, and Phil confirmed that there were indeed no windows. A single wooden door reinforced with thick metal bands sat directly behind the woman.
Another shiver ran up his spine. The air felt thick and the cold permeated deep. He was reminded of a field trip visiting some dark underground caves and how lost he felt when they had turned the lights off to show you how dark it could get, Phil had never forgotten the feeling, and now he was in a nightmare version.
"Please let me go," Phil said. His panic began to bubble over as the woman remained silent. "I'll do whatever you want. Just don't hurt me."
"Oh, dear. I won't hurt you. I swear it. In fact, I'm here to help you. Would you like a glass of water?"
"Yes, please," Phil answered, though he doubted that she really wanted to help him give that she wasn't letting him go.
He tensed as she stood and moved around the table, but she did as she'd said, lifting a waterskin to his trembling lips and giving him a long drink of water. The water smelled and tasted clean, and Phil felt his anxiety recede slightly. The waterskin disappeared at below the table as she sat back down.
"My name is Anahel. Call me Ana," the woman said. "I have a few simple questions I'd like to ask if you're are feeling up to it."
Given that Phil was restrained, cold, naked, and entirely at her mercy, the irony of her question wasn't lost on him.
"Okay," Phil eventually said. He hoped that hearing her questions would provide some answers as to why he had been taken captive.
"What is your name?"
"Phil. Or, uh, Philip, I guess. "
"Last name?"
"Bennett."
"What city did you live in?"
"Chicago," Phil answered, but faltered as she leaned forward and her eyes -violet eyes- came into focus. She seemed to be human rather than AI, but it was a strange eye color.
Phil didn't find it surprising that his fellow humans would be prone to violence. Humans, were brutal. Maybe some of that violence had leaked into the code and twisted this supposed Haven, but he was beginning to suspect that the propaganda they'd fed people had been lies. This place had never been meant to be safe.
"Employer?"
"I lost my job during the corporate takeovers."
"What wave did you arrive in?"
"Wave?"
"The wave you arrived in. The group number as well if you remember it."
Phil didn't have a wave or a group number, but he didn't know if he should tell her that. Would they delete him if they found out he'd snuck into the system? Could they delete him? How much control did they still have over the subsystems and main-frame now that they'd entered Haven? Surely one of the higher-ups would have made a way to access the system controls.
"I've forgotten," Phil said holding eye contact for as long as he could, before looking away. He had never been very good at lying and now, naked and tied to a chair, he was sure she would see through him.
"I see," Anahel said. "And why have you left your group and entered the city alone?"
Phil's mind raced as he tried to come up with a suitable lie. He had nothing.
"I, uh, I don't know," he said. "I'm sorry?"
Anahel's face twisted for a moment, her eyes narrowing and forehead furrowing, but the expression was gone just as quickly. Had it been a trick of the light, or had Phil imagined it?
"I see," Anahel said standing. "Very well."
He watched helplessly as she left, taking the single candle with her.
***
-Anahel-
Moving at a brisk pace through the winding corridors Anahel found her way to one of the sub-office rooms within minutes. The lamps hanging on the walls gave off just enough light that you could keep your footing between them, but not enough light for her liking.
They had been operating in this lower section of the dungeons below the Keep of Light for weeks now and the stale air was a constant reminder of how much she hated it all. They had to pick this godforsaken dumb to set up, not one of the nice noble houses where the sun could warm her face as she sat reading in the gardens. No. The men had decided that secrecy was best.
Before she knew it she stood in front of one of the sub-office doors. Thick archaic design of wood and metal bands. She wasn't sure she would ever get over how low tech this world ended up being.
With a thud she swung the door wide and light streamed out into the dim stone hallway. Edwin sat with his feet up on her desk, mud smearing across her papers.
"I will literally burn you alive if you don't get those filthy boots off my paperwork." She spat while walking around to take her seat from him.
With his usual grin and a chuckle he quickly moved out of the chair and she sat.
"So?" Edwin leaned forward his grin still on his face. "Is he apart of the defectors? Is he trying to undermine our mission or what?"
"Honestly?" Anahel sighed and her fingers went to her temples. "I don't know. He seems like a simple child, but he doesn't pretend to not be from earth so we need to be thorough. If he isn't a defector then he is something else entirely, because there is no one ANYONE would leave Normeka for this shit-hole of a city."
She had to force her hands down from her temples, Edwin knew that meant she was stressed and she didn't want him to worry any more than he already did.
"Does that mean I get to finally do what I am good at?" Edwin asked, his voice rung with enthusiasm.
This strange enthusiasm towards violence was one of his many failings, but she loved him all the same. It had helped them in their work on earth enough times that she could forgive him his blood lust if he could forgive her own lusts.
"Yes, my love." She said, a smile of her own crept on her face. "We need him alive and in one piece though. And this time see if you can get the actual truth, we don't need to feed him any lies to repeat."
In the past he had a bad habit of getting his victims to say anything he wanted, that could be useful, but Ralim had told her to find the truth, not get a confession. So she would be sure Edwin was reined in for this assignment.
Edwin hurried out the door leaving Anahel to sit alone in the brightly lit room.
***
-Phil-
The door creaked, and Phil heard someone else entered. A dim candle in hand Phil recognized the man immediately.
"Edwin!" Phil spat. "You drugged me! What the hell man."
"Aw, how are you doing this fine morning?" Edwin said as if he hadn't heard Phil. He was dressed in the same half armored way, but the cloak was no longer swung over his shoulders. His dark eyes reflected the light of the small candles and made his grin look unearthly, like a demon or something from the horror movies his sister would enjoy.
"I could be doing better," Phil said disdainfully. "I'm not really a fan of being strung up naked for others viewing pleasure." A part of Phil knew he shouldn't be getting angry and insulting the very person that had abducted him, but what more could he do? He had already drugged him and stolen his clothes.
"Oh you aren't naked enough yet. We will get you there though." Edwin said as he set down a rolled up bundle and unrolled it. A verity of knives, thin and flat, wide and curved, sat tucked in little pockets. Several vials of liquid of varying color also lay tucked away to one side of the roll.
Phil's starred at the unrolled bundle and realization began to dawn on him. He could do worse things.
"There we go!" Edwin said with a rough hissing laugh. "Now we can get started. Please try to not talk while I work, it helps me focus." Edwin lifted a single item. It looked like a surgeons scalpel.
"I'm going to motivate you to tell the truth. Do not try speaking to me though. I am not the one that needs to hear your truth." Edwin spoke calmly and with an even voice as if he has said these words hundreds of times. "I do not want to intrude on my lovely Ana's work as she does me the same for my work."
"I will tell you whatever you need to hear." Phil could hear his voice, but he felt distant. "Please don't hurt me. Please!" There was no point in pretending bravery. This man meant to cut into him and he had to do whatever it took to prevent it.
"Silence." Edwin's voice was barely a whisper, but Phil stopped speaking.
Instead he did his best to remain his composure. He was sobbing he realized, his shoulders and body heaved up and down in quick secession waiting for the blade to cut into him.
"Actually," Edwin said raising a finger on his other hand. "I think I have a few ideas I'd like to try." He turned and a quick scratching of metal on metal filled the room. He had pulled a lock over the door.
"Would you believe that they have barely allowed me to do my work since we arrived? I mean what is the point in having someone with my wonderful skill-set if you don't let me use it? I've come up with a few, shall we say, new procedures using this worlds curious science. But in order to get the best out of the experience I am going to need to set a few baselines for you pain tolerance. What would you say was the most painful thing you've ever felt?"
Phil listened, his breathing had steadied monetarily, but he wasn't sure he should answer the man. He had a feeling that regardless of what he told him he would be feeling pain near in his future, but if he could postpone that for a few more moments he had to take advantage of it.
"The worse physical pain?" Phil asked, his voice cracking. He didn't really have to think about it, he had been stabbed only days ago and the memory of the pain was all too real in his head, but he made a show of thinking.
"Hurry now," Edwin said, the scalpel slamming against his other hand. "I don't have all day."
"I was stabbed."
"Oh, not bad. In the stomach, right here." Edwin's fingers touched the tender red skin on Phil's exposed stomach. "It is still tender. Strange. You haven't ascended yet!"
"I don't actually know what that means." Phil admitted.
"But they do it right after orientation, how could you?" Edwin placed the scalpel down and began looking through his vials. "I have something here that should work to keep you alive. Not ascended." Edwin was shaking his head now. "I won't be able to do half the things I wanted."
"Okay." Edwin turned and faced Phil, he was holding a vial of a clear liquid and a long thin round pick looking knife. "Drink a touch of this…there we are."
He poured a small amount into his mouth. It was bitter.
"And let's get started."
The pick like knife slid into Phil's stomach and the tender skin screamed sharp needles at him.
***
Pain pulsed all around him and he let himself cry. Why? What was the point of all this crap? His life outside of Haven hadn't always been easy but never had he been in such physical pain before. It all started when he arrived in this hellish place. He found himself wishing he had just stayed at home and died with the rest of the world.
What about Beth. What would his sister think about him giving up? But she didn't know how painful, how dangerous this world was going to be. Surely she could forgive him for wanting to give up considering the circumstances? No. She was dead, and she didn't have the luxury of deciding what she wanted or didn't want anymore. A new pain pulsed in his chest. Much more profound than the physical pain he had been enduring. He needed to fight, and if he ever got out of here, he needed to make himself strong.
If he could find a way to become strong, then he might have a chance to live in peace. His physical pain became too much for him, and he left himself drift to a half-conscious state again. Not entirely passed out, for the pain wouldn't let him fall asleep so quickly, but not fully awake either.
***
-Edwin-
Edwin enjoyed inflicting pain. He counted his steps doing his best to hold a smile of glee from his lips as other Paladins walked past. They had chosen such an antiquated name for themselves, paladins. Not chosen, he reminded himself, the Order they had joined with used the name before them. It was so strange to find all these familiar names being used on a planet so far from Earth. Regardless, he thought, he could feel his 'inner light' fading as he went over the details of the pain and torture he had inflicted.
It was all for a good cause I promise, he said into his mind. The light inside of him pulse in response. The magic here was so strange, Edwin mused as he made it to Ana's office. She had been given the big cushy office and once more he was set under her as not much more than a lackey.
He didn't really mind. Although a part of him had hoped when they got here his special skills would have set him above her for once. She was always so fierce and competitive, it would have been nice to out-stride her at least once.
At least they hadn't left him to help build that godforsaken city. Him building things? Yeah right. His skills were too special to be wasted in putting a city together. Even with the enhanced strength and regeneration all of the humans had received shortly after arriving in the Haven he was remarkably weaker than the majority of the ascended. But, he reminded himself for the hundredth time, his skills were special and he didn't need to rely on strength alone.
Without stopping to knock Edwin swung the door open and plopped down in a chair. Ana's brown curls were tied up in a bun and she stared at him with her intense violet eyes. Even without her armor on she looked so fierce. Her face was built like an eagle, sharp and lean, and his body was perfect and well muscled.
"Is he ready to talk?" Her voice pulled him and he raised his eyes up to meet hers.
"He passed out." Edwin said. "Did you know he isn't ascended? I barely cut into him for half an hour and he was out. I gave him some Yvort elixer I had come by, the man said it was supposed to help with healing, but it didn't do a damn thing. He still bled and lost consciousness as fast as any normal person. If I had known I could have gone slower."
"Edwin." Ana's voice was hard and sharp. "Did you kill him?"
She was clearly ready to pounce, and he wasn't ready to be on her bad side, even with his armor on. "No, no, no. He had a strong heartbeat and I pinched off the bleeding well enough. I am hoping you will be able to find something that actually heals so I can start again."
"I do, actually." Ana said reaching into her desk and fumbling around. "Ah here it is. I forget what Ralim called it, but he said it should accelerate healing."
Edwin bit his tongue to keep himself from speaking. He wanted to know why Ralim, their commander, had given her the vial, was she doing covert missions without him again?
***
-Phil-
"My dear you are in terrible shape." Anahel's voice was sweet, but Phil she was as fake as Edwin's kindness. Several long sessions had come and gone and Phil had lost all track of time. Anahel would give him some kind of sweet drink and his wounds would slowly heal and then her butcher of a companion would see how much he could hack off until Phil slipped away. It had been too long. He no longer pretended defiance.
"If you have had enough I would like to ask you a few questions. Do not lie to me this time, or the next round of persuasion will not go so easy for you." She repeated the words she said each time she returned.
Phil starred back at her with a deadpan expression. He was empty of everything and knew this was his new existence, never-ending pain.
"What is your name?" She asked with a sneer.
"Philip Bennet."
Phil dared a look at her but quickly averted his eyes. The lights from before were all out, and only a single candle cast its light in the room. Her face was all he could see, but he couldn't look at it anymore.
"What city are you from?"
"Chicago." His sobs returned, but with an effort they resided, and he focused on the words she spoke. Each word, each moment, was a moment he didn't have to endure torture.
"Employer?"
"I was fired by Gisney when they took over the company."
"What wave did you arrive in?"
"I led an attack against Gisney and stole information that allowed me to work with a group of scientist to penetrate the Haven system and gain entry." There was no point in lying anymore. He needed to stop the pain.
"Impossible," Anahel said. Gone was the sweet voice, he thought. She snarled as she slammed her hand into the door. A loud rung filled his ears.
Then she was gone. The door left ajar in her haste to leave. Hadn't he told her the same information already? Or had he held that back before, it was too hard to focus, so he really didn't know.