Ch.7 The Belly of The Beast

Location: Owlcatraz

Time: 11:30 pm.

It had been a week since the meeting between Sly and Sentrak. And Sly was disliking Owlcatraz by the second.

"Not very nice is it?" questioned a voice from the cell next to his.

"No Tom, it's not." Sly answered. Tom was a paranoid mere cat and Sly's new "neighbor".

"No, I mean don't you get that feeling Sly?"

"What feeling?"

"That you're being watched, man." Tom said with a drowsy tone.

"Maybe."

"Don't deny it pal! Everyone in this cellblock can feel it. You know?"

"You mean cameras? Because they have a lot of tho…"

"You know I don't mean cameras bro! I mean like a chilling feelin' going down your spine. Like when you wake up in the middle of the night in fear." Tom interrupted. "That 'he' might be on the grounds."

"Who's 'he'?" Sly asked.

"The warden, man. The warden."

"You mean Sentrak?"

"Oh sure, Mr. Three-piece suit is the scariest thing here. Of course not Sentrak! I'm talking about 'The Warden'." explained Tom. "The wacko who used to run this place in the 19th century!"

"Tom, I think you need to rest."

"I ain't crazy dude! This guy was bad! He used to run all these experiments with the prisoners behind the government's back. Until he was found out! Then they shut this place down!"

"Look, Tom. I don't think you're crazy. But that warden has to be over a 100 years old to still be alive."

"Not if he ain't living anymore."

"You mean like a ghost?" Sly scoffed.

"You read my mind neighbor! They say he haunts this place 24/7. Stalking everyone in this place. Casting a shadow over this very compound as he soars into the sky!"

"Okay, now I think you're crazy."

"Listen Sly, if you don't believe me believe this." Tom begged. "Before he was kicked out; the warden left a tiny bit of himself here. Something to haunt this prison till the end of time. Sentrak must have been on something when he bought this place at an auction. But if you ask me Sentrak and 'The Warden' aren't so different."

"How so?"

"Alright 'The Warden' thing, I can understand why you've never heard of it. But come on! Don't you notice the prisoners in the other cellblock? Are you really that dense?"

Sly wasn't of course. Because a master thief needs to be observant of everything. And the prisoners stuck up like sore thumbs. As far as Sly could tell from some informants; all the other prisoners in the other cellblocks all accepted Sentrak's little experiment offer. And by the looks of them, Sly was glad he hadn't volunteered. It was like they were zombies. They would just wander around the prison, brain-dead. But a few days ago at lunch all the brain-dead prisoners attacked both Tom and Sly with furious rage. Luckily Tom and Sly were able to hold them off. A few minutes later they were back to "normal". Or as normal as they could get.

"Sly, before we turn in. I gotta ask you. Do you believe in ghosts?" Tom yawned.

Sly thought about Clockwerk. That confrontation at Russia seemed more like a baddream. Nothing like Clockwerk could exist, and yet…"No." Sly answered.

(Later…)

The jangling of keys could be heard as two gazelle guards walked towards Sly's cell. One of them opened the cell while another walked to the bed.

"You're coming with us." He said as he removed the blanket from the heap. Only to see a bunch of pillows where the raccoon should have been. The clanking of the cell door could be heard, the door had been closed. He looked at his partner with fear. They had been locked in, and Sly Cooper had escaped!

Sly ran down the gritty corridor past the cells of his fellow inmates. Silently darted past the patrolling guards and reached the door. After using his speed up time move he finally found the right key and opened the door…

There are many unpleasant things in the world, and getting blasted by a shock pistol point blank is one of them. Sly was knocked back by the impact, and lay in an unconscious heap. Sentrak opened the door, shock pistol still smoking in his hand. "I'm unimpressed Mr. Cooper" he shook his head "Unimpressed."

(Later…)

Sly opened his eyes, vision blurry from the shot. He had a splitting headache and tried to stroke his head…but failed. Sly looked down to see that his arms and legs had been bound to a strange, grey chair.

"Ahhh…I see that you're awake Sly. I hope I didn't stun you too hard." A familiar voice laughed.

Sly turned to see Sentrak at a computer terminal. "Sentrak…What is this thing I'm stuck in?"

"Why, that's your new friend, Sly. It's going to teach you to behave."

"I said I wasn't interested in your experiments!" Sly reminded.

"Yes well like I said; anything can happen here." Sentrak noticed the cold stare Sly was hitting him with. "Don't look at me like that. You should be thankful. Soon you'll be a better person."

"Oh yeah, like those brain-dead vegetables in the prison?"

"Please, they were a few early test subjects."

"They were people! Criminals, but they were still people!"

Sentrak turned his back on Sly. "Sacrifices must be made Cooper. Don't worry, sit back, relax and enjoy you're last few minutes of being a master thief." Sentrak pressed something on his computer and walked out the door. "Adieu Sly."

A split second later a dozen TV screens popped out of the sides of the chair, soft classical music could be heard as the screens flickered to life. Each TV revealed pure static, until they turned black. Sly sighed in relief. But then they turned back on, each screen showing a pair of yellow, hate-filled eyes. Sly gasped, the eyes that haunted his dreams were peering at him through the glass as if trying to kill him with a glance. He tried to close his eyes but two mechanical hands lifted his eyelids so he had no choice but to watch. And that's where things got worse…

To be continued…