Bill slowly made his way toward the group of people huddled around a single bed in the far east corner of the room.
There was a huge commotion as about twenty to twenty-five workers were conversing with each other, but they all became quiet as soon as an elderly person came out of the bathroom, which was right next to his bed.
Bill thought this was just another one of Andy's pranks, and all of these people were just waiting to use the bathroom. But before he could leave, he heard one of the workers address the old man.
"Gramps, were you able to take it?" a young boy asked, unable to contain his excitement.
The person referred to as Gramps didn't reply. Rather, he just held up his arm to show a bar of soap.
All twenty or so workers had their mouths wide open as they finally had some semblance of hope in their lives after a very long time.
Bill had absolutely no idea about what was going on, so he politely asked the old man about it.
"Hey, sorry to interrupt, but what is that?" Bill asked in a very respectful manner, which, if anyone from his past life had seen, they would have fainted right on the spot.
Bill had some time to reflect on his past and his character up to that point. Even though he had only spent about a week there, he was a completely changed person.
"Oh, and just who you might be, young man?" The old man said intriguingly.
"My name is Bill Johnson. I heard you were looking for people with abilities... I have a level 3 ability, and I'm sure I can be of use," Bill introduced himself to the group. He decided to leave out the part where he used to be a member of the gang that was currently imprisoning them.
"Another one, eh? Well, you came at the perfect time." The old man said with a humble smile. "This, here is a bar of soap that I used to make a cast of a key." The man held up the bar of soap closer toward Bill so he could have a clear look.
"But what does this key go to?" Bill asked, keeping his respectful tone in check.
The entire group started to laugh lightly at Bill but instantly stopped when the old man raised his hand.
"Since you're new here, it's understandable that you don't know much about our plan. So let me start from the beginning," the old man said. "Name's Albert. I used to be one of El Diablo's closest men—just like I was for his father before him. Back when the old boss ran things, I was trusted and respected. But everything changed during a deal with another gang leader. We were ambushed, and El Diablo got hurt. He blamed me for failing to protect him, cast me out like I was nothing, and sent me here to rot." Albert let out a bitter chuckle. "That was twenty-two years ago."
The entire group went completely silent as Albert narrated his story to Bill, who was listening with the utmost attention.
"Since then, I had been hatching different plans to escape, but they all failed as I saw many young boys and men die premature and gruesome deaths. I vowed that I would never stop trying and will do anything that it takes to be able to rescue as many people as possible from this hellhole."
Showing everyone the bar of soap one more time, Albert continued.
"I believe that this is the plan that will finally work. I spent months tracking every guard's routine and shift changes. Using a unique opportunity, I stole the key to the weapons locker for just long enough for me to make a cast out of it."
As Albert finished sharing his story and the details of his escape plan, Bill sat in stunned silence as he processed the weight of what he had just heard.
He had only been in the warehouse for a week, and already he was already wishing for death. But Albert? He had spent decades here, enduring unimaginable suffering, yet he still held on to the hope of freedom. It was a harsh realization, one that struck Bill harder than any punch he had ever received.
At that moment, Bill made a decision. He had to help Albert. He had to help all of them.
That night, Bill stayed with Albert and his small group, a collection of prisoners who still had the will to fight back. They called themselves the "Freedom Fighters".
Cringy name aside, their determination was undeniable. These were the men who refused to accept their fate, who still believed in a way out. Not everyone in the warehouse was part of their group. Many prisoners had long since given up, choosing instead to work themselves to death, either out of fear or simply because they no longer had the strength to hope.
The first and most crucial step in Albert's plan was forging a duplicate key, one that would give them access to the armory. Since Bill and a few others had been assigned to furnace duty for the next week, it was up to them to cast the key in metal without drawing attention.
The process, however, was going to be anything but easy.
********************
For the next several days, Bill tried everything he could to carve out extra time at the furnace. He started waking up earlier, hoping to be the first to get his hands on the equipment before the others arrived. That plan was quickly shut down. The guards kept strict schedules, and no one was allowed near the machinery outside of designated work hours.
Bill scarfed down his meals during lunch breaks as fast as possible, hoping to sneak back to the forge while others were still eating. That didn't work either. The guards always had eyes on the workers, and anyone caught wandering around unauthorized areas was punished severely.
Every attempt, every trick, every effort to find even a sliver of unsupervised time failed.
Then, he realized something.
The guards didn't care how long you worked at the forge as long as you worked.
Those who put in extra hours were allowed to stay at the forge as long as they wanted, provided they continued producing results. The warehouse had a crude system where workers could accumulate a small amount of credits, which they could use to buy slightly better food. It wasn't much, but it was the perfect loophole.
So, Bill decided to work.
Late one night, long after most of the prisoners had collapsed onto their beds in exhaustion, Bill was still at the forge, hammering away at a sheet of metal with a hammer he had made using his Earth ability. The heat from the furnace made the air thick and suffocating, and sweat dripped down his face as he worked tirelessly. His muscles ached, and his body begged for rest, but he pushed through it all.
He had to make this happen.
At exactly 3 AM, the guard shift changed. The exhausted night guards left their posts, making way for the fresh replacements. This was the only time of the night when security was at its weakest.
Bill's grip tightened around his hammer.
It was time.
As soon as the shift change occurred, Bill sprung into action and immediately started pouring hot liquid metal directly into a cast that he had made earlier from the soap bar.
The shift change took a few minutes to complete, so Bill had to make every second count. He poured the molten metal straight into the cast which only took a few moments.
Now, all he needed to do was wait for the molten metal to solidify and cool it completely.
The waiting game had begun!
Bill just needed to pray that the new guards would take their sweet time so that he could finally be done. After a few minutes, the liquid metal had cooled and became solid again. Bill quickly removed the new key he had cast and quickly dropped it into some water to cool it down quickly.
*SIZZLE!*
The water hissed as he dropped the hot metal key inside to cool; however, not even a second had passed before Bill heard the sound of the security door opening.
*BZZZT!*
This indicated that the new guards had entered the building and would arrive at the furnace at any second.
Seeing that there was no time left, Bill quickly removed the key from the water using pliers because it had not completely cooled and was still a bit hot. He then bolted back to his station before he was caught.
With only moments to spare, Bill returned to his station, but he didn't have time to hide the key anywhere. He obviously couldn't let the guards see him holding a key with pliers, and so with no time left, Bill made a split-second decision and grabbed the key just as soon as the guards turned around the corner to check in on the workers.
*SIZZLE!*
The still-hot key immediately started cooking Bill's hand, which was the worst pain he had ever experienced. However, he couldn't show his pain to the guards, or they might become suspicious of him.
He gritted his teeth, clenched his jaw, and bowed his head as the new guards entered, just as all workers were required to do. His entire body trembled, but he forced himself to remain still.
Then all of a sudden...
"Hey, YOU! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
Bill's heart nearly stopped. Did they see the key?!
Slowly, he lifted his head, his burned hand twitching slightly. A guard was already marching toward him with a stun baton clenched in his fist. Bill struggled to keep his breathing steady.
Had he been caught? Was this it?
The baton came down.
*CRACK!*
Bill felt the shock tear through his ribs.
*CRACK!*
Another hit to his arm. The pain was excruciating, but still, he didn't react.
The guard grabbed him by his hair and threw him back to the hammering station.
"That piece of metal isn't flat yet, and you decide to pour the next batch?!" the guard barked. "Keep hammering until we tell you it's done!"
Bill had to endure the beating, which was almost impossible; however, he persevered. The guard wasn't punishing him for the key; he had simply noticed that Bill was standing near the furnace instead of the hammering station.
The key was still safe.
Bill made his way to Alberts's bed with a painful look on his face that he couldn't hide anymore.
He arrived in front of Albert and gave him the key, just as he had promised. Albert looked at the key and was shocked to see that Bill had actually succeeded, but he also noticed Bill's painful expression.
As he took the finished key from Bill's hand, Albert saw the charred, blistered palm. Knowing the sacrifice Bill had just made, Albert got up and hugged Bill tightly.
Bill froze.
Bill couldn't remember the last time he had been hugged. He just couldn't hold in his emotions any longer, so he started crying loudly while still in Albert's embrace.
Albert stroked his hair as he consoled him," It's okay, son. Everything comes at a price, and you just paid the price of your freedom."
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Author's Note: Hey guys! Universal Power System is one of my favorite projects, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it. This is my very first work, so expect some amateur writing and a few slips. However, I always try to learn and correct myself so I can create a more coherent narrative. I hope you guys enjoy it. Don't forget to check out my other works!
Come say hi to me on Discord: https://discord.gg/TvjkrdnbE2