Warning: Rape themes

4 Years Ago

February 2034

Ten Miles East Outside The Aegean Region

The Cage

Burak barely fulfilled his end of the deal. Had he not got the smokes from the other prisoners, they would've beaten him to a pulp and made mincemeat out of him. He did not fancy dying anytime soon as he was too young to die (only 23). As long as he fulfilled his end of the deal, the gangs in the prison would leave him alone and as promised, he would be given a cigarette pack as payment.

When it was time for outdoors, he ran up to the fence separating the men from the women and sat down with his back turned. Sitting with one's back turned wasn't advised but he trusted the person his back was touching through the fence.

He took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth. He put his mouth through the gaps in the fence and waited for the female prisoner to light up his cigarette.

Leyla snapped her zippo shut. "You know, first-hand smoke is just as dangerous as second-hand smoke."

Burak took a long drag before saying, "Then I guess we both suffocate to death." He took another drag and was careful with where he blew the smoke.

Leyla looked around the courtyard, keeping her eyes on every prisoner in sight, making sure none of them snuck up on her with a shiv.

"How's it going on your end of the Cage?" she asked.

'The Cage' is what they called the prison. The worst of the worst were sent here to rot and more often than not, none of the people sentenced here got out on parole. In order to get out of this prison, one's prison sentence had to be 'traded' in exchange for services, ie, a prisoner with fifty years can trade twenty-five years in exchange for being a bitch to one of the guards. Most prisoners would rather rot than be someone's bitch so they kept to themselves and formed their gangs to survive.

Leyla sat back and listened to the sound of her companion taking long drags from his cigarette before feeling a dam of tears about to burst. She bit her lip to keep herself from crying but she could not hide the crack in her voice when she whispered, "I have to get out of here..."

Burak nodded, even though she couldn't see it.

"I don't belong in a place like this," she continued, "I feel myself losing my mind fighting to survive every day. I don't belong in this place; it's not fair that I was sentenced here."

Burak acknowledged her by saying, "Neither of us do; it's the goddamn system they set up. We're 23 and 22 and already sentenced to life in prison. If one does trade their sentences for services for the guards, they leave this place with their dignity stripped. Even if they leave this place with their dignity intact, they escaped justice by escaping their prison sentence and most of these people are convicted murderers and rapists."

"You're not a murderer or rapist," Leyla pointed out. "It was a stupid mistake you made and it was unfair you got life without parole."

Burak spotted a guard roaming one of the gates with a baton in his hand, keeping an eye on the prisoners. "And it's not fair you're living out someone else's prison sentence, Leyla."

Leyla twisted on her backside to face Burak's back. She tapped him on the shoulder and caught his attention. "Are you willing to trade your prison sentences?"

Burak looked at her with a grim look in his eyes. "Are you willing to have sex with one of the guards?"

Leyla cringed and shook her head. "Never. If the rumors I hear are true, they're carrying diseases with them."

Burak nodded. "I'm not surprised, they are vermin."

She laughed.

Burak finished his cigarette and put it out. He put his hand to the fence and touched Leyla's fingers. "I promise; we will get out of this prison... together."

Leyla smiled. "Together."

They kissed through the fence.

1 Year Later

Burak marched over to the gate where the guards stood watching. He walked with determination and a goal in mind, this made him ignore every passing prisoner that came by. When he walked up to the guard, the dog at his side began barking at the prisoner but Burak barely flinched.

"Burak," the guard laughed, "what's up, druggie?"

"I request that my wife be taken someone safe while she delivers," Burak said with seriousness. "She is having contractions and I don't want her to deliver in her cell."

The guard dragged his baton across the gate, causing a thump-thump sound across the fence. "Why should I? A thief like her deserves to rot in jail, dying in her own blood. Tragic irony for an organ thief to die in their own blood."

Burak smacked his hands against the gate. The guard was startled but he held back a flinch but Burak saw the slightest flinch out the guard. "Do you want an innocent baby to die?"

The guard contemplated. "A baby created by you and Leyla is anything but innocent. Every single one of you in this godforsaken place is nothing but a scumbag who deserves the death penalty." He puts his baton. "However, I am willing to order a medical team in to take Leyla to the hospital wing if it makes you feel better."

Burak narrowed his eyes. "Price?"

"You know what I want."

Burak kept his face as expressionless as possible. He knew that something like this was going to happen and he would've mentally prepared himself but the minute he heard his wife scream in pain, he was willing to do anything to get her to deliver in better conditions.

But I'm not going to make things easy for him.

"If that's what you want then there better be something for me to suck, you fag."

The guard grabbed the fence and growled. "You little-"

"Yaman!"

The guard turned his back to Burak and faced an unseen new guard.

"Hasan," the guard called out. "I thought your shift was over."

The new guard, Hasan, approached Yaman with a predatory look in his eyes. "What is this I hear about you refusing medical care to a prisoner who needs it?"

Without hesitating, Yaman snapped, "They're the worst of the worst and none of them deserve luxurious treatments. They're all murderers, rapists-"

"And forcing a guy to suck your dick isn't considered rape?" Hasan cut off. "You were going to rape this prisoner, weren't you?"

Yaman shook his head. "It's not rape if they consent to it."

"It is if you're forcing them to consent." Hasan walked up to the guard and stood face-to-face to him, looking like he was ready to smash his teeth in. "I already called in a medical team and they're coming to move the prisoner to the hospital wing." He grabs the guard by the throat and shoves him against the gate and begins squeezing his windpipe. "If I ever catch you in the act of raping people again, I'll make sure you face worse punishment than living the rest of your life as a registered sex offender." He socks Yaman in the jaw. "Ya never know; you might be climbing a ladder and someone might kick it from below and send you falling. With any luck, you'll break your neck." He knees Yaman in the groin. "Get out of my sight."

Yaman nodded before waddling away while keeping a hand at his groin area.

Hasan turned to look at Burak with a smile on his face. "Burak."

Burak tilted his head. "Who are you?"

"My name is Hasan."

"New guard?"

Hasan shook his head. He rolled up the sleeve on his right arm and displayed the serial number tattooed across.

"My name is Hasan Kutlar and I am a soldier working under the command of Overlord." He tilted his head and looked for a reaction. "I'm sure you've heard of it."

Burak nodded. "Global terrorist group, involved in that civil war in Italy, desiring world domination, people dying left and right..."

Hasan laughed. "That is only half the story. I'm going to get straight to the point: I want to recruit you and your wife into Overlord."

Burak shook his head. "I will not become part of a terrorist group. I was caught with drugs I was not aware was in my possession and I want a second chance out of the Cage."

"The world isn't going to give you a second chance," he argued, "it is that unfair world out there that put you in The Cage. If you want a second chance, come with me."

"I told you: I will not join a terrorist group."

"Trust me; there is so much more to Overlord than terrorizing people." He thought of something and clicked his tongue. "How about this: You and your wife come with me back to headquarters and I will show you what goes on behind the scenes with Overlord for one day. If you don't like it, I will drop the recruitment pitch and let you be on your merry-go-way. Either way, I'll see to it that you'll get out of this prison with your wife and child."

Burak shook his head, still denying the offer but there was something in the way that Hasan presented himself that he felt could trust. He will not join a terrorist group but at the same time, this man called in a medical team to help his wife deliver. The least he could do was come see what Overlord has to offer.

Under NO circumstances will I join this terrorist group.

Burak looked up at Hasan and said, "Okay."

Blake was driving the SUV as far from the battlefield as possible. With Cassie holding onto Derek by the back of his head, he made sure to control his turns so as to not throw Derek off by accident. Cassie had been yelling in Derek's face for him to get in the backseat and he did just that. He climbed across the vehicle to make it to the backseat, where he climbed in through the Priest's rolled-down window.

As he was climbing in, his forehead fell into the Priest's groin and made the religious man groan in pain. He apologized before crawling over his lap and nearly crushing Bethany as he climbed into the empty seat.

The Priest put a hand to his groin and wince. "Are you trying to kill my children before I have any?"

"I didn't mean to," Derek apologized. "Sorry."

"By God's balls, you will be sorry."

Bethany cringed. I don't want to think of God having balls.

Cassie looked over in the backseat to make sure Derek was seated. As she was about to ask if everyone had their seatbelts on, her heart suddenly started pumping fast in her chest to the point she thought she was going to have a heart attack.

My Drake senses are tingling.

"We got some friends," Cassie warned, hoping her instincts were wrong

"Sunni Islam?" The Priest asked.

Cassie looked at him in the rearview mirror. "Sunny what? Sunny D?"

"No, 'Sunni Islam'."

"What about it?"

The Priest slapped his hand against his forehead. "Those people that were shooting at us, the guys in the hood, they were called the Sunni Islamic Specialists, or SIS. Those are Tariq's guys."

Cassie went 'oh'. "Sissies." She remembered what the conversation was about. "No, terrorists; I think Overlord is on our trail."

A 6x6 truck put the metal to the pedal and rammed into the SUV from the right and sent it skidding across the ground.

The passengers inside the vehicle jolted, flinging their arms up and down as the SUV flailed through the air before skidding to a stop at the edge of a bridge. The airbags deployed for Cassie on the front and she slammed herself nose-first into it.

The Priest bumped heads with Derek while Bethany landed on the floor mats.

"Uhh..." Cassie groaned before testing to see if she could move her arm. Once she felt the mobility in her limp, she picked it up to push herself off the dashboard. The first sense to return was taste and oh boy was she hating that taste of blood in her mouth.

I don't know how vampires can stomach it.

She pushes herself off the airbag and leans back in the chair. She looks over to the driver's side to see Blake flung headfirst through the window, bleeding at the scalp. She noticed his airbag didn't deploy.

He wasn't wearing his seatbelt, shit.

She remembers the M4 carbine she had holstered around her back and kicked open the door to climb out. Without wasting anytime, she moved to the backdoors and opened them.

Derek felt out like a mannequin and groaned in pain.

"Yagmur," Cassie called out. She saw the Priest laying on the seats with Bethany sitting on her knees with a bruise on her elbow.

"I hit my funny bone," Bethany winced.

"Haha," Cassie deadpanned. She grabs the Priest by the back of his collar and yanks him to a sitting position. His eyes were closed shut and his mouth slightly gaped.

Cassie panicked. "Is he going to be okay?"

The Priest's mouth started moving but no sound came out. Once Cassie put an ear to his mouth, she could hear him mutter...

"Hail Mary, full of grace..."

"Is he praying?" Bethany questioned. When she saw Cassie nod, she knew the answer. "Uncle will be fine."

Cassie helped Bethany climb out before they pulled the Priest out together. Cassie tapped Derek on the shoulder with her shoe and helped him o his feet. Together, they carried the praying Priest with one arm on each shoulder.

"We got company!" Bethany gasped.

Cassie and Derek turned to see the unexpected company.

"Oh... my... god..." a man gasped with each word. "I heard the legends about Cassie Drake being an unstoppable one-woman army with how many people she's taken down solo but now that I'm looking at you in the flesh I..."

The woman beside him spoke. "Human is what my husband is trying to say."

Cassie chuckled. "I see my reputation proceeds me. If you wanted an autograph, all you had to do was ask. Fair warning: I don't personalize."

The men climbing out of the 6x6 truck beside the husband and wife aimed guns at them.

"Nice to see you again, Overlord."

Burak and Leyla waved sarcastically at the treasure hunters.

The woman pointed at Cassie's companions. "Derek Lowell... Yagmur Sadik, and Belinay Sadik." She shook her head. "How can you follow this woman into oblivion?"

"She's our friend," Bethany declared, "she saved me from you."

"From us?" Leyla gestured to the soldiers behind her. "What did we do to you aside from shooting bullets at you?"

"You kidnapped me!"

Leyla shook her head. "We didn't kidnap you, we would never do that to a child, especially a 13-year-old." She looked at her husband. "Right, Burak." He nodded. "But whoever did, I can assure you that they will pay."

Hasan, standing behind the husband and wife, grunted.

"It doesn't matter," Cassie grunted at the duo, "you guys still shot at us, and let's not forget that you're terrorists. And give our history, you like digging around for mythical objects and lost cities to take over the world."

The woman laughed. "Yeah, I won't deny that." She sighed heavily. "Propaganda made us out to be terrorists. While we have committed acts that people would consider terrorism, we are not terrorists at heart. Had you bothered to join us, you would know that."

Cassie shook her head. "I will never join Overlord. Make as many excuses as you want; at the end of the day, Overlord is a global terrorist group."

"There is so much more to Overlord than terrorism," Burak interrupted, "we are good people at heart. Better than you could ever be."

"I don't kill innocent people," Cassie reminded.

He pointed to Bethany and the Priest. "But you have no problem endangering innocent people."

"We chose this," Bethany said. After finding out it was the only way to escape alive and the fact that I was kidnapped and Uncle got involved to save me.

"Why?" Cassie demanded. "What are you guys doing here in Turkey? What are you guys looking for? What weapon of mass destruction are you looking for?"

"That's need-to-know," Leyla reminded. "And you don't need to know. But I know what you're doing here, Drake. Looking for Noah's Ark."

Cassie's eyes went wide. How does she know about that?

"I'm beginning to think that was a lie. I bet you came over here, saying you're looking for Noah's Ark, only to end up killing all of Overlord soldiers."

"I had no idea Overlord was in Turkey to begin with, let alone what they were looking for."

"You think you're better than us, Cassie, but you're just as bad as us."

"Elaborate."

Burak crossed his arms over his chest. "We've lost countless soldiers because of you."

"I only kill in self-defense."

"You only keep track of the people you kill in self-defense, not the people who are dead because of you."

Leyla explained by saying, "You may have heard about this from a news article but Overlord's population is dwindling. You've killed a lot of soldiers but your indirect kills number in three to four digits at least." She growled. "Overlord's goal is to create peace for everyone on this godforsaken planet. We bust our asses off to look for mythical objects to acquire that peace. The people who are recruited into Overlord are victims of this cruel, wicked, and unfair world. We give them hope that we're going to set things right but because of our constant failures, you being a large factors in those failures, our ranks are losing hope in Overlord's cause. Our people are taking their own lives because you took away their hope of ever finding a cure to this godawful world!"

Cassie shook her head like a disapproving mother. "You're brainwashed."

"No," Burak hissed. "Overlord saved me and my wife and my child from rotting in the worst prison imaginable." He gestured to a soldier behind him. "Hasan saved us, showed us that there is more to Overlord to killing. Because of him, we were able to obliterate The Cage to the ground and make this world a little bit safer. Overlord is about the world, you are about yourself. You're not looking for mythical objects to save the world, you're doing it because you're an adrenaline junkie."

Cassie rolled her eyes with a sigh.

"People are committing suicide because of you. People are losing hope because of you. People-"

"Are being brainwashed into thinking murder is correct," she cut off. "I'm sorry for the cruel and wicked world you had to endure. I'm sorry for all the friends you lost but none of that was my fault."

The husband and wife glared at the young treasure hunter.

"How could you say that?" Leyla clenched her fists. "You bitch."

"You're not the leader of Overlord; you didn't found the organization, the Overlord Leader did. Whoever the leader is, he or she is the one who decided to recruit victims of this fair world. What he is doing is no better than ISIS or Taliban recruiting weak-willed people into their ranks and brainingwashing them into thinking their cause is just. I'm not the enemy here, the Overlord leader is."

Burak drew his gun. "Don't speak ill of our leader like that. I will admit that there are some methods the leader imposes that are flawed, such as you being made an Omega target. If it were up to me, I'd shoot you in the head right now." He got an idea. "On second thought..." he pulled the hammer. "...that sounds like a good idea."