Chase was perplexed at what the guard had just said to him. He was wondering what in earth was this offer that was irrefutable. He came to the understanding that this was not going to be a congratulation speech and something much more sinister was taking place.
"I saw what you did there, I have never seen anyone so agile in my life. There is no way anyone will be able to hit you in a 1 vs 1 fight".
Chase reflected on the guards words and thought back to his previous conflict experiences. Every time he thought the gang he was massively outnumbered and evaded them for a while until there sheer numbers overwhelmed him. Then when he fought Wiz at the academy he managed to avoid being hit and Wiz was a skilled fighter training under Sensei Li. Was he already in possession of this special skill without even realizing it he thought to himself. He had proven many times before that he was agile as he avoided getting hit.
"I want to support you in any upcoming fight tournaments we may host at the prison.. I can get you a power potion if you very well wish… If we work together nobody will be able to stop us."
Chase had already dabbled with power potions before and it did not end well. The Sensei had already banished him from the fight academy due to this and Chase did not want to get into any more trouble. Being on the wrong side of the corruption of guards had already been a very unpleasant experience thus Chase did begin to ponder what life would be like if he was working alongside him.
"Well Fresh Meat.. What do you think?"
Chase truly did not have the slightest idea how to answer the guards question. He knew it was morally wrong and still had aspirations about returning to the fight academy after prison life. There is no way Sensei Li would take him back if he found Chase had accepted this offer.
However, a lot more was at stake here. Safety, health, quality of life and stature were all at stake as he was listing off as many reasons as he could think of in his head to help justify the devil on his shoulder encouraging him to take the guards offer.
"I need time to think about this one" Chase answered back in a state of confusion.
"You have 24 hours…" the guard responded to clearly put pressure on to Chase to make a decision.
Chase knew he had a big decision on his hands but felt like he could not make this decision by himself. He had just come off the massive high of obliterating the agility challenge course but as always in Chase's life the very few highs did not last long as he knew his life inside the prison was going to drastically change for either the better or the worse.
Time ticked by as Chase sat in his cell for hours trying to come to a decision. He was thinking of speaking to Wiz about this situation but knew he was not the most morally sound guy in reference to power potions therefore knew that this may not be the best solution.
He felt like he could really do with some advice from Sensei Li. He knew that he did not condone the use of power potions but maybe he would understand if it meant that he would be kept safe.
Chase grabbed a pen and paper from his bedside desk and began to jot down all of his thoughts into a letter to Sensei Li.
Dear Sensei Li,
Its Chase. I imagine you are aware of my current predicament of being sent to a prison. I know you probably don't want to hear from me after what I did at the academy but I really don't know who to turn to. I have been offered power potions from a guard in return for safety and privileges within the prison. I am worried I will be in real danger if I don't accept it. I hope you understand whatever happens. I need your guidance.
p.s. I am officially an agility skilled fighter.
Your Hopeful student,
Chase.
Chase couldn't help to tell Sensei Li about his specialized skill. Chase felt a million times better after expressing his thoughts onto paper but now he needed to somehow get this message to Sensei Li. 'Maybe the guard will help me since now he wants me on his side' Chase thought to himself.
'pssssss' Chase hissed trying to get the guards attention from his cell.
'psssss'
"What do you want freshmeat?"
"Pass this letter on for me.. send it to the fight academy downtown" Chase rather cheekily asked hoping that the guard would do him a favor due to his success earlier in the day.
"OK but you still need to give me an answer.. time is ticking" The guard added as further pressure was lay on to Chase.
Chase had already noticed that there was now a different atmosphere around the prison in regards to the attitude towards him. The guards would no longer give him a hard time and were now looking to make deals with him. Word had got out that he was contemplating an offer from the old guard and now everybody wanted to get a slice of the cake. Chase was bombarded with different proposals from different guards ranging from extra meals, to more free time but none of these were as lucrative and dangerous as the old guards offer of power potions. He had ignored all the advances as he had still not come to a conclusion on what his next move was going to be. Chase was now seen as hot property in the prison and many guards wanted to cash in on him for the upcoming prison fight tournaments as there was plenty of money to be won by betting on a 'fresh meat' fighter.
It was a sleepless night. Tossing and turning. Staring at the ceiling. Decision time was approaching. The old guard would be here any moment. Power potion or no potion? safety or danger? moral or immoral? These are the questions bouncing around Chase's head.
"So what's your decision freshmeat?" the old guard asked as he cornered Chase as he was making his way to the canteen.
"ermmmm" muttered Chase as he was trying to buy more time.
Just as Chase was thinking about accepting the offer he had a flashback of Sensei Li's anger that time in the academy when he found out about the power potions. He didn't want that again. This was time to follow the rules. He wanted to make the Sensei proud and prove to him that he was ready to return to the academy.
"I have to decline your proposal"
"HOW DARE YOU, YOU LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT! YOUR LIFE WILL BE HELL IN HERE FROM NOW ON, JUST YOU WATCH! YOU WILL HAVE EVERYBODY AFTER YOU, YOU WILL NEVER MAKE IT OUT OF HERE ALIVE!" The old guard erupted as he never anticipated that Chase would decline his offer.