"Wait a minute, Anton. I did not get it at all. I thought it would be just the two of us cooperating to escape this place."
Casper was unpleased by the advice that Anton gave to him for two reasons: First, because the actual plan that Casper was making never meant to have more than two people, so everything he did until now would be changed. Second, everyone there was a criminal, even Anton was, and Casper could not afford himself to work with them so easily.
"The two of us!? Hey, Casper, Anton thinks that he said it to you before, didn't he? You are in Halden now. And it can seem pretty easy to go sneaking out of here, because of the lack of security inside, but that's not how it is.
"In the blink of an eye, a rain of Ridires start to fall upon you and you will be butchered. And don't forget that Anton and you are at the lowest level of this complex, so we have to make it until the first level."
Casper was trying to think of an excuse or an argument, but Anton was right. The soldier thought a lot of times in that matter, and he concluded that they would have more chances to escape with more people on their side.
"I don't want to involve more criminals on it, Anton." He said slowly, frowning hard.
"Why not? You know that it's not time to be idealistic and nice, right?"
The soldier shook his head in disagreement. Idealism or principles were not what was making Casper hold back.
He was someone that always thought about the long term.
"I don't want to work with them, because it would not mean just my escape from this place, but also the escape of a bunch of Frelsi…
"Even if I get off this prison, I will go straight to another right after I step my feet in front of the Jarls."
"You need to choose here, Casper. Runaway from here and deal with the outside world, or die waiting for Odin's mercy." That middle-aged man was clever and persuasive. Casper could not stand an argumentation with him.
The White warrior clenched his fists and stared at that pitch-black-haired man from far away. He did not know why, but somehow he felt that that guy knew about Casper's observation. It made the soldier look away from him.
"I will need to think about a lot of things when we reach our cell again… Maybe 80% of the plan will need to be reformulated."
"And when will you tell Anton about your plan?"
"It's better that you keep unaware of it for now. There is no point in saying it completely to you now."
Casper started to walk away from there since he saw that the Ridires were looking in that way already.
After that conversation, he got very stressed out, so he needed some time to think.
Now, the plan of the escape was not his only concern. He needed as well to think in a way to make things work out when he could reach the surface again.
He got on a random bench and sat there. The majority of prisoners that were there did not know him, so they just got stunned because Casper was not wearing a mask.
The White warrior started to rambling around.
"What the heck am I supposed to do now…?"
While he was thinking about his plans, a ruckus started to happen.
He looked to the center of the courtyard and saw a tattooed guy fallen sitting on the floor, seeming stunned. There was blood dripping from inside his black mask.
A tanned man was standing in front of him, with his fist clenched.
The tanned was willing to reach the tattooed guy again, trying to beat him more.
Suddenly, everyone that was on Casper's table stood up and ran there. From another corner, more people approached as well.
In no time, two huge groups of inmates started to curse each other, push hard, and exchange punches.
Some more people just stayed watching that quietly, including the ones around that guy with pitch-black long hair.
The conflict did not last for too much time.
Ridires started to intervene in the battle, dispersing everyone.
That way, the battle between the two groups ended without any more harm.
…
The time outside the cells was over. Casper thought that those outdoor activities would pass really fast, but it was slow, very slow. To the point when he just wanted to get back to his cell and lay on his bed.
Every single prisoner there seemed to think like Casper. Nobody really liked the time spent outside the cells, even the ones who practiced that wrestling-like martial art or were working with the scrap metal to built something.
All the activities looked boring when you are not totally free to do whatever you want. So it was an empty time. 45 minutes of… nothing.
And for Casper, it was not different.
He could work on his ideas being there, at leisure, however, it was not the same thing as when he was in his cell. There, he had the papers and the pencil, and most important: privacy.
Without a mask, every now and then a prisoner would approach him and ask a lot of questions.
Casper tried to be attentive and sympathetic with them but responding briefly to each question.
He thought that it would be good to build a good relationship with other prisoners.
"Hey, Anton, I have a question." The middle-aged man was "sleeping", but still answered him.
"Go ahead…"
"In that courtyard were more inmates than we have here in our corridor, right?"
"Ah, yes. Because of those stubborn Ridires Anton couldn't talk to you about it…"
He opened his eyes slowly, sitting on the bed. Because of his precise and energetic movements, Casper was sure that he indeed was not asleep before.
"Well, there are a bunch of other corridors of cells like ours. They are far away from here, though. Each corridor is separated, and we have 8 in total, with 32 cells, 2 people inside."
Casper nodded, keeping that information in mind.
"And, what about that brawl? Two groups of people started to discuss badly there."
"After some time here, groups started to be formed. It was not just for show though. The prisoners started to create their own ideals, lifestyle, rules, and preferences. It caused naturally that social bubbles were created without anyone noticing or willing.
"These groups came together, separated, and destroyed each other, in a cycle that ended up creating 4 distinct factions in this prison."
Casper was hearing everything he said and taking note of it in one of the papers he had stolen. Then, a question came into his mind.
"Do these factions have names? And leaders?
"They have leaders. But, actually, these factions don't have names. They are called by the names of their respective leaders.
"The first faction is Ragnar's faction. They are the most violent of the four; the second is Alfar's faction. They are… ambitious. They want to unite all the factions; the third is Asger's faction. They are violent as well and don't have a good relation with Ragnar. The ones fighting before were them; finally, the fourth is… none. He hasn't a name, actually. They are peaceful, and I have influence among them."
"I see… That's good… Very, very good."
"Why?"
"If everyone was split into small groups, I would have a lot more trouble dealing with them. From what I have in my mind, currently, I will need to build a good relation with tons of people here in the prison."
Anton narrowed his restless eyes to Casper. He was suspicious about the motivations of the soldier.
"What do you have in mind, Casper?"
"I was thinking about what you had said… And… I don't have another choice instead to accept things the way they are. If some trouble appears afterward, I will deal with it, but for now what I need is to focus on my current goal.
"Anyway, for my plan to start to work, I will need to get influent in this prison."
Casper thought for a while, imagining all the plans in his mind. He kept in deep silence for a long while.
It was a crazy plan, something that could do more harm than better, but it could work just well…
Anton let Casper have his time to reflect and did not interrupted, as silent and sneaky as always. Whenever the soldier started to take notes or draw his maps, he would stay distant or then pretend to sleep.
After Casper was done, he finally opened his mouth again.
"And, then? What the size of the influence you want?"
"I want to take control of each person present at this prison," Casper said, without hesitation.
Anton raised his brows, and was about to say something, but got interrupted when all the lights were turned off and the alarm ringed again for a brief moment.
All the prisoners started to get nervous and agitated.
"W-what's this? Bedtime?" The soldier asked.
"No… Dark zone."