When Ren came around his clothes were drenched in his sweat and stuck to his body, the intense heat in the room caused his skin to itch and his mouth to dry.
"Rise n' shine #1011, I aint got all day kid."
A loud voice made Ren jump. He clumsily rubbed his eyes, giving him a better look at the plump ball shaped man with a thick and bushy moustache in front of him. The man was wearing a red cloak over a chainmail vest and was holding a long wooden pole, that he poked firmly into Ren's side to wake him up.
Ren immediately tried to get up but he quickly realised that he was strapped to the bed with heavy iron chains and his hands where still cuffed. He glanced around the room and saw that he was surrounded by stone walls with no windows, Ren himself had been stripped out of his clothing and was now dressed in light grey robes that were uncomfortably itchy and tight.
"I'm one of the wardens here… but to you, I may as well be a god. You may be in hell, but if you ever go against anyone in a red cloak, hell is a paradise compared to where you'll end up."
"Now that's out of the way, I guess I have to give you a rundown of how things work here. In a moment you will be given a badge that should be pinned onto your robe, if its lost or stolen, you will not get a new one, so treasure it with your life."
"The badge holds spark's, a currency that is earned by doing labour, they can be exchanged for food among other things, they can also be transferred amongst other inmates. If your balance ever hits zero you will be seen as an unproductive inmate and sent to solitary confinement."
"Well now that you're up to speed, I'll get you started."
The warden handed Ren a golden flame shaped badge engraved with the number ten and placed a thick metal clasp around his ankle.
"This anklet prevents you from using magic, while also tracking your location, any attempt to remove it will alert us and you will be executed. Also, if you are not in your cell by curfew then guess what."
The warden paused waiting for Ren to answer.
"I'll be sent to solitary."
Ren guessed, causing the warden to smile eerily.
"Exactly… well that covers everything, Welcome to the I.M.S., we hope you have a miserable stay"
***
After the warden did some final checks, he escorted Ren down a long corridor, where they eventually reached a heavy-duty iron door. The warden walked up to the door and pounded his fist into it twice, a few seconds later the door opened inwards and Ren was shoved inside.
SLAM.
The door closed behind him and two tall, muscular bald men with rough, tanned skin walked over to him. Interestingly enough, they wore the same grey robes that Ren was wearing.
"You must be #1011."
They said in unison. Ren squinted his eyes, was there actually two of them or was he seeing double because of the heat, the two men in front of him were identical in both face and body.
"Are you inmates as well?"
Ren asked curiously, when he saw how the duo was dressed.
"We're the Mendez twins, Mateo and Matias."
"I'm Mateo and he's Matias, we're inmates in charge off new entrees."
The twins said one after the other. Ren was surprised that the wardens gave this much responsibility to some of the prisoners.
"Fresh face's usually start in the mines, if you do good work then in a few years you can get a less intensive role like us."
One of the twins said while leading Ren into a massive cave like atrium, the walls looked like they were made of rock leading Ren to believe he was underground. The cave was lit up by a massive red crystal structure hanging from the ceiling, bathing the ground in an ominous red light. In the centre of the atrium there was a huge cafeteria, teeming with hundreds of prisoners.
"This is the Mess hall. You get a bit of free time each day and this is where you'll spend it. To buy grub you need sparks."
Mateo said, dragging Ren along by the arm when he saw that he was in a daze. Once Ren snapped out of it, Matias pointed him in the direction of a large tunnel behind the cafeteria. He could see a few people with sweaty, dirt covered faces exiting the tunnel.
"Over there is the entrance to the mines, you'll be spending most your day here, that's where you earn your sparks. Every new inmate starts with some sparks, so you can head over tomorrow if you like."
He said while walking off. Before following after him, Ren couldn't help but notice the glum faces of the inmates exiting the mines, he cursed his luck once more. Despite his mood, Ren still took the time to look around the mess hall, making an interesting observation.
"How come there are no wardens around."
Ren asked curiously, with the high number of inmates present in the mess hall, one would expect there to be someone keeping them in line. His question made the twins pause momentarily before Matias answered him.
"The wardens don't get involved unless something big happens or the mines don't meet their quota. Keep in mind that it's not them that makes this place hell… It's your fellow inmates."
He spoke seriously but there was a hint of anger in his voice, after seeing this his brother decided to take over the explanation.
"Don't get any funny ideas though. To us prisoners, the wardens are like gods. Go against them and you will be smited."
He said while giving Ren a firm slap on the back to ease the heavy atmosphere. Ren couldn't help but take his last words to heart, it seemed that the prisoners feared the wardens and Ren wasn't exactly eager to find out why.
"Your cell is in Block D, the number on your badge tells you which one it is. My last words of advice, are to keep your head down and trust no one but yourself."
With that, both of the twins walked off leaving Ren by his lonesome. After assessing his priorities, Ren made a beeline towards the cafeteria. Right now, he was famished and he wasn't someone who liked to think on an empty stomach.
He joined the back of the line and waited his turn. Everyone else around him towered over him, most of the prisoners around him had huge muscular builds the woman were no exception. This led Ren to believe that in this prison without Aether, physical might was the only thing that mattered.
As Ren waited in line, he could feel menacing stares digging into his back, He was probably one of the youngest inmates around so he drew a lot of attention from that alone. Ren decided to take the advice of the twin's and keep his head down. Problems this early on wouldn't bode well for him.
Around five minutes later, Ren was next in line and could finally smell the delicious scent of his long-awaited meal. Just as he was about to step forward and make his order, he heard a loud voice from behind him.
"Oi shrimp, Get out of the way."
Ren spun around and saw a huge man with a scar across his nose and a crew cut. The man had black hair and hazy brown eyes. His huge body put the already intimidating Mendez twins to shame and Ren was sure that they would look like children in his presence.
Ren quickly figured out that this man wanted to take his place in line. A quick glance told him that the other inmates in the line behind him were desperately trying to avoid his gaze.
This man was clearly a big fish, both literally and figuratively. Ren immediately stepped out the way and let the man through. Ren had no confidence in beating him in a fight, one look at those bulging muscular arms reminded him that although he was pretty strong himself, that was only among people in his age group.
"Smart decision… Come to think of it I don't think I seen your face before."
The man said while looking down on him at an angle so extreme that it could only be described as vertical. Ren wasn't exactly happy that the giant man decided to strike up a conversation with him, further delaying his meal time, but he wasn't exactly someone that Ren was in the position to ignore.
"I just arrived sir."
Ren replied as meekly as he could. His attitude seemed to be well received by the man, who placed a huge, heavy hand on his shoulder.
"Good… You're smart for a shrimp. The name of this great one is Carlos, a name you should remember well… Hmmm a shrimp like you won't survive for long in this hell hole. I'm part of the Black Bulls, if you join us no one will ever think of messing with you."
He said while giving Ren a teethy grin. Ren contemplated the offer but not for a long time.
"If you will have me Sir."
Ren said humbly, causing Carlos to chuckle heartily and repeatedly slap Ren's shoulder, rattling him to his very core.
"Bwahaha… Seems you really are smart. We could probably use that. See that table at the back, once you get your food make your way there."
He said while swaggering up to the counter and getting his food.
Ren knew that accepting his offer could be problematic, he would likely be extorted out of spark points in return for joining them. Still there where benefits, more so than mere protection. He still hadn't given up on breaking out, like hell he would let the fact that no-one had done so before deter him.
If Carlos was any indication, The bull gang where likely a bunch off brutes, all brawn and no brain. If he earned their trust, they would make the perfect targets to manipulate in to doing his bidding, making his dreams of escape a tad more realistic.
***
"What a rip off."
Ren thought to himself, in exchange for 100 sparks, the butch lady at the counter had blessed him with a stale loaf of bread and a small cup of water, hardly a filling meal. What made the sting hurt more was the fact he was only given 120 Sparks to begin with.
The meals with even a hint of substance started at 500 sparks, which made Ren even wonder if working in the mines would be worth it, he noticed that the majority of people who worked in the mines as indicated by their dirt covered bodies, were eating the same food he was. Ren's stomach began to grumble and his mood took a dive, he had to find a source of income… Quick.
Once he was done feeling sorry for himself, Ren made his way over to the table pointed out by Carlos and instantly regretted accepting his offer. At the table there were around seven individuals all as big as Carlos, one of them was even a whole foot taller and for some reason he had quite a girlish face and long glossy black hair to boot. Before Ren could even think of running away, he heard the words that sealed his fate.
"Oh boss, this is the one I was telling you about. Oi shrimp get over here and pay your respects."
Carlos who was already calling out to Ren stepped aside, revealing a short imp… no he was quite tall himself but he was dwarfed by the rest of the group. Still as an adult, he was more than twice the size height of Ren.
The man had a slender build, and a full black beard, his face was covered in small scars but he couldn't be described as ugly, in fact he held a certain charm capable of drawing people's gaze.
However what worried Ren the most was his eyes, those piercing blue eyes held great wisdom, reminding Ren of the King of the Ventus kingdom. Ren immediately realised that it would be no easy feat to pull wool over this man's eyes.
"Thanks for letting me join boss, I hope I'm of use."
Ren bowed his head to the man, one look at his eyes told Ren that he was the boss of these brutes. The man looked at him for a long while… uncomfortably long. Ren felt his gaze penetrate deep. After what felt like an hour, the boss finally spoke.
"Take a seat lad… tell me about yourself."
He said in a deep rough voice. Ren looked up and saw that the only available seat at the table was right next to the boss himself. Ren knew that this wasn't the time for hesitation and quickly took his seat.
"My name is Ren, I come from Umbra and was imprisoned for trespassing when I got lost."
Ren said, being as vague as the situation allowed, lying would only come to bite him in the ass, especially Infront of that gaze.
"As is the way of our kingdom… Listen lad, forget what Carlos told you. If you want to join my gang, first you have to prove your worthy."
He said giving Ren an ominous feeling, he didn't like where this conversation was headed. Before he could say anything, the boss put his arm around Ren's shoulder and pointed him in the direction of a table.
Seated there was a burly man with a dirt covered face, he had short dark blue hair and was ferociously devouring a loaf of stale bread.
"You want to join my gang, I want that man dead, see what I'm getting at."
The boss said coldly. Ren sighed, he thought as much. Before he had a chance to respond Carlos suddenly stood up from his seat.
"But boss that's… I mean he's just a shrimp."
He said weirdly, making Ren frown. Carlos who looked to be tough as nails seemingly had a soft spot for children, unfortunately that sentiment was not shared by the boss who quickly shut him down.
"Shrimp or not, I know those eyes. This should be nothing new to him. Still… it's not like he can't refuse."
He said slowly while looking at Ren, the others at the table also stared his way putting Ren on the spot. It didn't take him long to make up his mind.
"Consider it done boss."
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Ren's answer made the boss's give him a small nod and the tense stares on him eased up a bit.
"Good, you have till the end of tomorrow. You can leave now."
The boss said, Ren stood up and left, taking his untouched tray of food with him, making sure to burn the visage of his blue haired target into his memory.
After he had left, Carlos immediately turned to the boss.
"Boss I know you usually reject the recruits I bring over… but isn't this too much."
He said sceptically. Honestly his boss's actions confused him but after the decades he had known this man, Carlo had come to learn that the boss very rarely did something meaningless. When faced with his question, the boss scratched his chin casually.
"I didn't reject him. I want to see if he's the real deal… That small stature, that innocent face, that weak appearance and hidden behind all of that is a monstrous darkness. The lad's a natural born killer. If he is what I think he is, then we got our hands on a monster… now all that's left is to see if we can tame it."
A cruel smile bloomed on the boss's face as he looked over at Ren's disappearing back.