LUKO

My whole world usually consisted of a 5 foot by 5 foot cell of metal; I would not miss it. There was nothing but my small, cramped bed that was almost as comfortable as sleeping on the floor—and a small and open washroom in the corner. After 5 years, the walls were still bare, not a single personal possession allowed for fear of how it could be used against the guards.

These past weeks, all I’d thought about was leaving this cell and breathing the fresh air in the yard…Now, it looked like I might have a real chance to get out of here for good. Though I had nothing to go off of but the vague proposition Destry had offered me, he was right; anything was better than Purgatory.

Alone in my cell, it was hard not to be nervous. My muscles were sore and tight with tension as I sat on my cot. There was still the twisting knot of fear in my stomach… If I failed- if I was caught or stopped—I knew I would wish for death. A quick release would be far better than what the guards would do to me…or worse, the inmates. I gritted my teeth, looking at the entrance to the cell. While other prisons only had grates of bars, Purgatory took no chances.

Just like the forcefield that spanned the top of the yard, past the bolted bars was a wall of electric current, giving the bright hallway a neon blue tint. While I could hear shouts and screams and clanging from other inmates locked away in their cells, my heart was hammering in my chest as I focused on Destry’s voice in my ear.

It sounded irritated and hollow as he said, “You’ll only have a few minutes once I take control of the systems and short out your collar. If you make a mistake, or you take too long, I won’t be able to help you…Are you ready?”

I wrung my hands, looking at the thin scars on my wrists from being cuffed so often. At least I wasn’t cuffed in my cell—my hand lightly touching the collar around my throat. How many years had it been since I’d really used the tech built into my body? What if it no longer worked?

I didn’t dare speak my doubts aloud, glancing to the hall as I said below my breath. “You’ve given me little choice.” I watched the hallway, swallowing hard though my mouth was dry as I stated, “Alright baby, give us a signal.”

I smirked as Destry whispered in frustration, “Don’t call me baby.”

There was a commotion down the hall, guards giving commands loudly as an alarm sounded in the distance. I stood, adrenaline thudding through my veins as I approached the bars, keeping a distance as I saw others in the cells across the hall do the same—inmates desperate to know what was going on…and how they could use it to their advantage.

Before I could ask Destry what was going on, the lights in my cellblock went out—the force field fizzling out before the hum died and everything went pitch black. The emergency lights turned on, flashing amber as I felt a buzz around my throat—the nerves around my biotech suddenly feeling as if they’d been wired back to life.

Destry’s voice was cold and calculated in my ear as he uttered, “Go.”

At the command, the familiar, mechanical heat began to grow under my skin. There was a thrumming pressure against my bones as the glow appeared under my flesh, tracing the tubes and wirings that connected my muscles and nerves to the machines that were built into me. While a part of me still expected the pulse of my collar to shut it all down, I felt the tech finish its startup, activated and remaining powered without any interference.

I didn’t waste a moment, my fingers gripping the bars as I ripped them away from the wall, the metal crumpling under my strength. I threw it as if the warped bars weighed nothing, storming into the narrow corridor of cells. I could see the arms jutting out frantically from between the bars, the clamor of inmates screaming in desperation to be free. Guards beat them back with electric batons until they saw me.

There was a moment where they seemed too stunned to move, before one of the guards quickly stepped forward. Though their mask was expressionless, there was a threatening sneer to their voice as they pointed their baton at me, the weapon crackling with sparks of electricity. “Back in your cell if you know what’s good for you, prisoner,” they snarled. Two other guards separated from the group trying to keep the inmates in line as the first stepped toward me with their weapon raised to beat me back.

I braced myself, raising my arms, my hands in fists by my face in a fighting stance as I muttered quickly, “You got plans for these guards, or you expecting me to deal with them?” Praying Destry would answer, I took a step back, hoping to buy myself a moment for his response as the guard advanced menacingly—taunting me with their slow steps forward as if they were waiting for me to run.

Slight feedback in my ear made me wince before Destry answered in a low grumble, “I’ve got my hands full with the security system. You should be able to handle this much on your own, even if you’re a little rusty.” His tone was mocking before it became more serious. “Take care of them, Luko, you don’t have time to waste.”

As the guard brought down the baton, I watched the bolts of electricity crackle around my arm. Though the sensation latched onto my nerves, I didn’t drop my arm, narrowing my eyes as I shoved off the guards attack, grinning as I pressed my hands to the armored chest plate. “You got it baby,” I said with a smirk. I felt the energy within my arms charge for only a moment, releasing a fraction of the power in an electric pulse. The guard flew back as the shockwave exploded from my palms, knocking all the guards off their feet and disabling their suits and weapons. The force obliterated the bars of several cells, prisoners flooding into the corridor as they raced for the doors, desperate to be free.

I swore, charging forward as I shoved through the crowd, praying no one thought to turn on me in the chaos. “You couldn’t have disabled these fucking alarms?” The blaring made it hard to think.

“Too much of a power drain—besides, pretty obvious when a whole sector loses power that something’s wrong. Now, stay focused.”

“Fair enough. Which way do I go? How much time do I have?” I asked, shouting over the other raised voices as I made my way out of the cellblock in a rush.

“You need to head for the front entrance; I can take down the security gates on the way there, but I have to disable them one by one. If I try to control too much, they’ll track my signal faster than I can get you out. I’ll give you as much time as I can before the system ejects me.” Destry sounded tense and preoccupied, a frustrated sound cutting through his words before he said, “Follow my instructions closely, run as fast as you can—and don’t let anybody get in your way.”

I didn’t answer him, listening to his sharp directions of which corridor to turn down, when to wait, when to charge ahead. As I diverged from other inmates, avoiding those that were frantically trying to find a clear path out before being hunted by the guards, I found myself falling further into anxiety. Each door unlocked and passed meant I was closer to freedom than I had been in five long years. The guards in my path didn’t last long as I activated my biomods, pulses of energy deactivating their threatening suits. Still, I could feel the toll on my body each time I used the machines meshing with my nerves. “What’s your limit?” I asked as I hopped a railing and descended a flight of metal stairs—asking to know how much time I’d have ‘til Destry was booted out of the system…and how much longer I’d have to endure the ache in my bones.

“You have about sixty seconds,” Destry’s short words ran a shiver down my spine. “The front gate is a straight shot from where you are, and I’ll make sure it opens for you. But I have to focus on keeping the system from tracking me down, so I can’t talk you through it. Get out, and head for the buildings across the street; I’ll meet you on the ground floor of the abandoned hotel and escort you to Synchro.” He paused, and I could hear his teeth grinding as he cursed under his breath. “Go—I’ll see you soon.” Whether it was a promise or a threat, it was followed by a sudden silence as the earpiece disconnected.

As I got to the bottom of the stairs and into the main corridor I swore under my breath. There was a wall of prison guards waiting for me, the main gate just beyond them. They brandished shields and electric batons, some even pointing at me with pulse rifles.

One of the guards stepped forward, my stomach twisting as I realized who stood in my way. The warden almost never left his office—in all my time in Purgatory, I had only seen him once, when a riot had gotten out of the guards’ control. His armor was higher quality, the thick metal plates polished to a shine. Bands of neon blue wiring glowed with energy, powering the electric baton in his hands. “You’ve had it easy so far, Wescoff,” his voice was a growl, his steps heavy as he approached me, “But I’ll handle your punishment for this personally, and I look forward to seeing you suffer.” A sharp crackle followed his words as the baton in his hand sparked with a new intensity, and I knew he had set the power to lethal.

As the seconds ticked by, I knew I couldn’t allow the fear to overwhelm me for even a fraction of a moment. I felt the power in my biomods charge, draining my energy as the warden strode forward. I grit my teeth, sucking in a hiss of breath as I stated, “Not this time.”

There was a brighter glow along my arms as my power built to the point I knew I could no longer take it. I threw out my hands, shouting at the strain that surged through me as my power exploded outward towards the warden and the line of guards. The blast sent them back—the metal of the front gate warping and bursting open. The impact rendered them stunned and immobile—the warden’s baton no longer ignited with electric bolts.

I ran, feeling weak and dizzy. I wondered how many seconds I had left before I was out of time and out of luck. Making it past the mass of guards and out the front gate, I felt the fresh air hit me like a cold wave. The smell of damp rain and cement filled my lungs, the city a wash of colorful neon lights and tall skyscrapers made of metal and glass. As I fled the prison grounds, wondering if anything else would stand in my way, I made it to the street. I could see the dilapidated and abandoned hotel that Destry had spoken of, just a few feet away—knowing he was waiting there for me.

As the collar around my throat clicked and reactivated, shutting down my biotech, I knew one thing for certain…I couldn’t be just another pet for Synchro; I was free of captive life, and though I couldn’t stop to savor it, I refused to leave behind my freedom for another form of servitude.

I ran towards the parking lot, finding a motorbike marked with the prison’s insignia; no doubt belonging to a guard. I didn’t care, wasting no time in hot wiring it and ripping out the tracking device as I mounted the vehicle, desperate to get as far away from Purgatory as quickly as I could.

A crackle of feedback in my ear came before the sound of Destry’s irritated voice, nearly shouting as he asked, “What the fuck do you think you’re doing? Do you have a death wish?”

"Sorry baby, deal's off." I winced as I ripped the earpiece out of my ear and threw it to the ground. I grunted, powering on the electric motor as I revved the bike and took off down the street.

Part of me was in disbelief, it all felt like a dream. There was wind rushing through my ears and hair, deafening me as I sped down the paved roads. The blur of vibrant neon lights made the haze over the city a multitude of colors.

For the past five years I had been locked away in a cage of metal and though I now had some semblance of freedom, I knew it would come at a cost. Purgatory would want to reclaim their prisoner—Synchro would never stand for my resistance…With my heart pounding in my chest, I knew that there was no going back. If I was caught, there would be nothing left for me but the regret of crossing Synchro…and I knew that the faction would make me beg for the prison life of Purgatory.