Escape From Litchfield

by Isra Bhuthimethee

  ***

  Tamara shrieked and bucked against her chains as she opened her eyes, tears streaming down her face, making little streams on her dust-coated face. The fire was from the waking world, not the dream.

  Jenny stood there with her arms crossed, tapping her foot impatiently while Glok applied a hot iron implement to Tamara's right thigh. The smell of burnt flesh filled the air. Fortunately, the prisoner was an Adventurer, which meant active healing from the nanocells. Even as Glok pulled away, the tiny cells were repairing the skin, making sure to leave no scarring. "Finally! Results," she said as Tamara tried again to jerk away from the red hot implement. "Tell me how you got through the research base defenses!" Unfortunately, Tamara lapsed back into unconsciousness. Grunting with displeasure, she commanded, "Wake her again!"

  Normally, subservient to a fault, Glok had two choices. Do as ordered and probably kill the prisoner, which would end up getting him flayed to death. Or, he could risk a limb by reasoning with Jenny. She was reasonable at least half of the time, and if things went sour, a beating and a crippling injury was a small price to pay. The goblin lowered his head to show deference as he begged, "Master, she's too weak!" Bending down to take a closer look, Jenny had to agree that Tamara was looking dilapidated despite all the healing potions she had already stuffed down the ungrateful half-elf's throat. "Very well. We will play with her again in a couple days." Narrowing her eyes at the goblin, she threatened, "I won't be denied again!" Satisfied that the goblin knew what was coming should she be denied again, she strutted out of the cell.

  ***

  Jenny kicked Tamara awake. "So you decided to live after all."

  Shaking her head to clear her mind, Tamara indicated she wanted to talk. Obligingly, her guard helped her up to a sitting position, then took her gag out. "Jenny. That was cruel of you to let my plasma guns kill your troops when you could have made them immune to fire from the start."

  Curling her lips, Jenny remarked, "Orcs need to cull the weak from our ranks. Besides, I knew you had fabricator machines. If I had warded my men against your attacks, I would have found 1000 troops shooting ice or projectile weapons." Smiling hungrily, she continued, "And it worked beautifully! Your plasma rifles were completely useless against my army." Frowning, she moved closer to smack Tamara. "What I didn't count on was you. How did you, a gray, kill my soldiers so easily? The average level of my army was level fifty. You should have died from breathing the same air as a single soldier! Whatever you did, you nearly died dozens of times. Sadly, I still need you, so I had to feed you precious healing potions." Leaning closer, Jenny menacingly said, "Tell me how to open the facility doors."

  Hurting and barely awake, she thought to herself, "Gray," she was referring to the color that threat assessments will assign her. Gray color was an easy way to tell that a potential opponent was many levels below yourself and should pose no threat. She was hardly functional, and she could barely understand the words being spoken to her, yet she knew that she had to speak or face more pain. Shaking her head to try and clear her dizziness had no effect, but it managed to grate on Jenny's nerves, evident by the increased speed of the tapping foot.

  Knowing what would happen if she didn't say something, she said, "I don't know how. The doors opened by themselves. I'm not feeling well, maybe a bit of rest will jog my memory."

  Gritting her teeth, Jenny spat out venomously, "You know how the doors opened! Tell me about Bob89!" Knowing how groggy a torture victim could be, she quickly changed subjects to throw her victim off guard and make it too difficult to make up a story, rather than tell the truth.

  Tamara blinked her eyes, trying to bide for more time, then said, "I don't know anything about Bob89."

  Irritated, Jenny started tapping her foot again. "Tell me how you were able to get so strong in the last battle."

  Tamara said, "I stumbled upon a unique ability called Necrotic Nanobridge and paired it with Berserker Rage, " as she mentally sent the skill windows to her torturer.

  Jenny paused as she read the details on the abilities. "How did you get Necrotic Nanobridge? Very interesting skill."

  "I couldn't tell you. I must have fulfilled some hidden conditions. Can you tell me what is happening to Jare?"

  Smirking, Jenny started to say something nasty, but she stopped and looked thoughtful. "Yes. It would please me to tell you about his fate." Jenny snaps her fingers at the guard, and he left. A minute later, he came back and placed a chair in front of Tamara. He eyed the distance between Tamara and the chair, then pushed it forward, just close enough for Jenny to kick her. Nodding approvingly at the guard, Jenny sat down.

  "You know all that stuff they taught you about Awakening?"

  Tamara nodded. "Yes. They sent me to boarding school to learn about Awakening."

  "Forget it. It's all a pack of lies."

  Tamara's eyes widened in shock. "What do you mean? How can it be all lies?"

  Jenny nodded. "I was a child when the Cataclysm happened. Six hundred years ago."

  "What? But I was told the Cataclysm happened about 150 years ago? What would be gained by hiding the date?"

  Jenny shrugged. "I don't know why they did it, but they did. Probably to hide that all the royalty dates back to the Cataclysm. The dwarf and elven monarchy are both the original. The human monarchy has changed, but they are long-lived." Jenny settled in a comfortable position in her chair. "As I was saying, I was a child when the Cataclysm happened. Before the Cataclysm there was no magic, no elves, no dwarves, no orcs, and no goblins. We were all human. The Cataclysm was abrupt - one day normal life, the next day disaster. People panicked and anarchy reigned. People began to change. The people around the primary research facility stayed human. The people around here turned into orcs and goblins. And the facility around the dwarves had turned them into dwarves and likewise, the facility in the elf region turned them into elves. That was the first major change. Then mental changes occurred. Maybe it was happening all along and no one noticed or perhaps it was sudden. No one knows. All we know is that engineers forgot how to design things. In fact, they destroyed their old blueprints and inventions, and they took up craftsmen work. Many became blacksmiths." Jenny paused to wipe away tears. "My parents became orcs. And they were not Awakened. You are probably wondering what this had to do with Jare. Well. I clearly didn't turn into an orc or goblin. But I did become a carrier for the disease that caused it. I've been with humans, dwarves, and elves. And every one of them Changed into an orc or goblin after sleeping with me." Smiling she pointed at herself. "I am spectacularly endowed with beauty, grace, and giant boobs." She frowned a bit when her eyes fell on her arm stump. "My arm will be good as new in a couple more days. Perhaps Jare will join us by then. Shouldn't be long now." Smirking again, she said, "And it happens that individuals that I Change personally will obey me unquestioningly. Does it hurt to lose a handsome boy like Jare to me? Hmmmmh? Perhaps I'll lend him to you. He will stay infectious for a few months after the Change though."

  "Why are you doing this? You could be a force for good in the world."

  "It was the humans or the elves that did this to us. They have to pay for it, and when I have the powers of the ancients, the paycheck will be due."

  "How do you know it was them? Maybe it was the Foe?"

  "Simple. They had the most to gain. Humans and elves became the dominant species in the world. No one wants to be a dwarf, gnome, goblin, or orc. What do you mean the Foe?"

  "The Foe is a race of robotic creatures who want to end humanity."

  Laughing, Jenny stood up. "History lesson is over for now. I've got plenty of work to keep me busy. Please enjoy our accommodations. And don't worry, I'll bring some tools, and we can have a really long talking session, or maybe I'll send you to work in the Dungeon. It pleases me that you'll work your fingers off, and I'll still get what I want in the end. Oh, and you don't have to worry about any robotic creatures down here!" Pointing at the chair, she snapped her fingers and walked out laughing.


  Tamara shouted out after her, "You're a monster and your minions are robots!" Jenny paused for a split second after her shout before continuing away. Perhaps her insult hit the mark closer than she had though.

  The guard picked up the chair, commenting, "I hate favorite chair duty," then left with it as another guard locked the door behind them.

  Exhausted from the torture session, Tamara's eyes drooped and she fell into a restless sleep.

  ***

  Tamara moaned and tried to turn over but instead managed to shift her body slightly. Pain blossomed throughout her body and her muscles flexed and spasmed. Having been comatose and chained to the stone wall, much of her body and muscles were in a low oxygen state. Her nerves tingled all over, screaming for movement. As she woke, the half-elf moved her body, not to escape the chains, but simply to warm up her muscles and circulate her blood. She shivered and dry-coughed uncontrollably, her body attempting to regulate her temperature to fight the freezing metal links and the musty, cold air. She opened her eyes and only saw darkness.

  [Bob89: Welcome back to the living!]

  [Tamara: What happened? I feel like I lived a thousand lives since I was last awake. I feel so weak! So thirsty!]

  Tamara’s last memory was defending Hopetown from Jenny’s army. She had simultaneously used her abilities Berserker's Rage and Necrotic Nanobus to super-charge her basic stats. The massive boosts allowed her to push Jenny into the defensive, despite the vast difference in level and skill. Yet her boost came with massive stat penalties after the five minute buffs expired. She came close to capturing Jenny, but at the last minute, victory was snatched from her hands when a shaman completely healed Jenny. As a result, Hopetown was forced to use their last resort, detonating a gravity engine causing a massive explosion.

  [Bob89: Well. You got captured by Jenny. Now, we are down in a dank, dark cell. I assume we're in the Dungeon she talked about. You ratted me out a bunch of times. Good job! *sarcasm*]

  [Bob89: I can dampen your need for water. Do not try to talk out loud, or you will make me do more work to suppress your body. Keep moving your limbs, fingers, and toes. Makes it easier for me to help.]

  [Tamara: Thanks, I feel terrible. Jenny interrogating me wasn't a nightmare?]

  [Bob89: Real.]

  [Tamara: Why can't I move my arms? Why can't I move anything? Why is it so dark? Is there something wrong with my eyes?]

  [Bob89: We are chained to the wall. And I repeat. We are in a dank, dark oubliette. Other than being in deep fatigue, your body is healthy and will make a full recovery. They took your gear and put us into some sort of dress. As for the darkness, if there is any light here, you will need time to let your eyes adjust.]

  [Bob89: Do not think about trying to escape with brute strength. Even you cannot break large steel chains with your bare hands. Jenny seems to be taking extreme precautions against us. And I have to admit, she has some very valid concerns regarding our performance at Hopetown. We totally went beyond the limits of the human body and paid a steep price.]

  Despite knowing she didn’t have the strength, Tamara tested her bindings. She seemed to be bound by three chains, one around her wrists, another around her arms, and lastly one around her ankles which was hooked up to a steel anchor embedded in the stone wall. Her bindings were snug but not constricting. It seemed that Jenny still had some use for her. She was laying on a straw bed, and as she felt around, she noticed the wall was stonework layered with grout. If she could get free of her chains, maybe she could break down the walls with sheer strength.

  [Tamara: What do you mean? Did you take control of me?? Why is Jenny keeping us alive?]

  [Bob89: No. Although, I could have. You activated Berserker's Rage and Necrotic Nanobridge together. Standard fare. Yawn.]

  [Bob89: BUT then you sang the haste song. AND you got reverberation, which kept adding up. By the end of the battle you were WELLLLLL beyond human tolerances. As for keeping us alive, you told Jenny everything. However, she did not believe you because she thought she knew everyone in the caravan. It’s a good thing you did not introduce me to anyone!]

  [Tamara: How fast was I moving?]

  [Bob89: With just Berserker's Rage and Necrotic Nanobridge active, you were running at 411 mph. With your normal 10% haste song, you were clocking in at 451 mph. Your reverberation was adding 1% every measure, which meant your 120 bpm haste song was doubling your speed every 200 seconds. Four minutes and thirty seconds is 270 seconds, so you were hasted around 280%. This comes out to about 1151 mph or about a mile every three seconds. Your body was moving faster than the speed of sound. Even at that speed, you managed to run only about 2 miles from the epicenter before you were picked up and tossed around like a rag doll. Luckily, you had some cover that protected you from the blast wave. FYI, I cleaned your body of bad particles from the explosion. You are welcome!]

  Tamara tried to activate Necrotic Nanobridge, but it was grayed out and not responding.

  [Tamara: Thanks! I feel so weak. Could you turn on Necrotic Nanobridge? It seems to be grayed out for me.]

  [Bob89: I was afraid of this. Your body is craving the power, but you need to get used to being normal again. Also, your body is still healing from the stress and micro tears caused by breaking the sound barrier. Did you think you could hit things with your sword faster than the speed of sound and not have any ill effects? Wrong! Force equals mass times acceleration. You multiplied your force, and the damage you took was multiplied just as much! You were out for weeks, and you still need time to repair. You should not be able to use the skill for several weeks at least.]

  [Tamara: Fine. How long have we been here, and how do we get out?]

  [Bob89: We are in an oubliette. Yes, Jenny literally forgot about us. Or at least she hasn't been down to feed us for three days. It's a pain to get here. First, you were taken through a creepy, moldy castle. Next, we went down into the earth via stone passageway. Then you were taken across a super rickety wooden bridge ready to fall at a sneeze! Why would they put you here when they can totally die walking across that bridge?? Anyhow, you've been barely conscious since the battle, but I have been keeping track of everything using the senses available to me, which excludes sight, since you need to open your eyes for that. Jenny fed you about 15 health potions on the way back. And your body tried its best to fall apart.]

  [Tamara: Wow. I was in bad shape. Was it from the explosion or my ability overload?]

  [Bob89: It was mostly from your ability overload. But the damage from breaking the speed of sound did a number to you as well. Fortunately, since both berserker and necrotic nanobridge increased your stamina points, you became exponentially more sturdier. Then when your bard song took you another three times the speed, you were surviving forces that would have completely crushed your non-buffed self into particles of Tamara.]

  [Tamara: I didn't think there was a way to combo my skills that would kill me. Will you give me a heads up next time? But even knowing the risks, I probably would have tried the same thing over again. Curing Jare is incredibly important to me. I don't want Jare to undergo the "Change".]

  [Bob89: She was just taunting you, and it worked. We haven't gotten any closer to curing Jare.]

  [Tamara: We did get some information from Jenny though, we'll keep weaseling out more information out of her. How did Jenny survive anyhow? That explosion was huge!]

  [Bob89: She had fire invulnerability, so I imagine that took care of most of the damage. The actual damage was from getting slammed into a rocky wall at high speed. She lost an arm and her gear got torn up from the impact.]

  [Tamara: That makes sense. I thought the explosion would have gotten her for sure, but I didn't count on the fire resistance being in place.]

  Tamara briefly hesitated, but her curiosity overwhelmed her. Bracing herself she messaged Bob89.

  [Tamara: While I was unconscious, I dreamt about that day when we Awoke. Do you remember it? My parents. The Fight... What happened?]

  [Bob
89: Yes. Unfortunately, bad input breaks things. There is this language construct called a loop. Your line of querying broke something that looped. Fortunately, when your Awakened neighbors took you out of sight, the loop ended.]

  [Tamara: What would have happened if that hadn’t fixed the loop?]

  [Bob89: They would have tried to ground you without regard to anything else, including drinking and eating. Tamara, the council did the right thing enrolling you into boarding school to learn and adapt to the Awakening. Even granting you custody of your parents was the only thing they could do.]

  [Tamara: Only way to circumvent the Overseer, huh?]

  [Bob89: He only enforces the rules.]

  [Bob89: Just keep in mind that the code isn't perfect. And to be careful if someone starts acting pirate-like.]

  Blinking back tears, Tamara welcomed the sudden information prompts.

  [Tamara: Ahh!! Spam from the battle is catching up!]

  Instead of reviewing the battle logs, her thoughts were cycling over and over, sifting through the past. What could she have done differently? What did she know now that she could have told herself in the past? Hours later, she fell into a restless sleep.

  ***

  Tamara shook her head to clear her thoughts. The revelations that Bob89 had dropped on her were too much to process at the moment, especially while in a painful, cramped position. She croaked out, “Bob89, let’s put our efforts into getting free,” and ended up in a coughing fit. She switched back to chat and minimized her notifications for later. Her eyes had adjusted somewhat to the darkness. The walls themselves appeared to be glowing slightly.

  [Tamara: Damn, talking hurts. No more speaking aloud for a bit!]

  [Bob89: Yes. We can chat about Magic and the Overseer when we are in a better position.]

  [Tamara: So. Let me start off by taking stock of our situation.]

  [Tamara: We are stuck in an oubliette at the basement of a castle. We are chained to the wall. I don’t seem to have my normal gear, however, I should have access to the items in the dimensional pocket.]