Chapter 2 following hot on the heels of chapter 1. I've got up through 4 rewritten and am trying to average 2800-3500 words a chapter, over the measly thousand a chapter from the original version. Enjoy chapter 2. Its one of my personal favorites currently.
She feared the next time that she might open her eyes, confident that she'd be dead. After all she was sure that not only had she just been electrocuted twice, but the television's screen was now in a million shards imbedded deep in her skin. The feeling of weightlessness was overwhelming and she worried that she might actually be dead. It wasn't impossible. Eventually though, she willed herself to open her eyes and inspect her surroundings.
All around her was bright, tints of violet, black, and pink whizzing by as arcs of violet lightning streaked all around. If she had to describe the experience, it was like a roller coaster from hell, the lightning kissing her skin every so often. For a moment she thought she heard voices and turned her head to try and comprehend exactly what was going on. To her left she could see an odd vehicle of sorts, three people with long pointed ears crammed into its front seat. One was a boy with gold and green hair, wearing a blue tunic. Memory served to identify the figure as Jak, and the two next to him as Keira and Samos. Daxter, Jak's furry orange friend was there too and then it dawned on her. This was the opening to Jak 2.
"I want off this thing!" Daxter wailed, holding on for dear life to the front bar of the contraption. Another realization snuck up on her- Everything about this felt and looked all too real. It lacked the carefree exaggeration of the game, cartoony proportions and shimmer of innocence. To simplify it was as if someone had slapped a sopping wet coat of realism over everything. Perhaps what she was seeing and experiencing was nothing more than a glorified dream. After all, she was likely laying in some hospital, being stitched up by a team of doctors and nurses as her mother waited desperately outside for any positive news and all this was just her minds way of coping with the trauma.
Then there were screams, as the contraption was struck by a fairly significant bolt of lightning. It broke apart violently, tossing its riders about. Keira and Samos were immediately thrown aside, Jak making a reach for Daxter to keep him close.
"Find yourself Jak!" Sake heard Samos scream out as everything all around turned white once more, and she closed her eyes to shut it out.
The sky darkened over the stinking streets of a once illustrious city, clouds gathering menacingly before two spots opened and spat out two balls of fiery energy that immediately plunged toward the streets below. The first struck a narrow walkway, the energy dispersing as the two occupants landed, bounced, then slid to a stop. The second sphere of light impacted a few yards away, its passenger hitting the ground hard before rolling to a stop.
Everything tingled and her mind was reeling from the experience. After what felt like an eternity, she was able to heft herself up off the ground and survey her surroundings. It was obviously a city, cold metal walls and floors coated in rust and dirt and all manners of foulness as a sickly breeze bristled against her skin. Around her, people were stopping and staring, faces full of confusion, fear, and curiosity. Off in the distance she could see Jak and Daxter who threw a thick metal pipe to the ground, likely remnants of the device they'd been riding in just moments before. He was screaming about Precursors and their junk, attracting even more attention to themselves.
She pushed past the people to get a better look, fascinated by the fact that she was now, for all intents and purposes, in a dream with one of her favorite characters. When she was only a few yards away, she heard heavy booted footsteps and noticed the platoon of armored soldiers, led by a shorter man with shockingly red-brown hair.
"There he is, move in." ordered the man, hand raised with what looked like a gun and his finger on the trigger, ready to fire. "Step away from the animal!" All of the armored men and the leader lowered their weapons simultaneously, aimed at the heroic duo. Jak's curiosity and charm immediately faded into a sort of childish fear and Daxter grew more frustrated than anything. Sake watched, making her way forward to intervene. Before she could do anything, Daxter paniced and made a break for it, bursting free of the group like a bat out of Hell as the guards disregarded his escape.
"Forget the rat!" the red haired man ordered. His face was gaunt, eyes full of hatred and evil as the corners of his mouth half curled into a sickening grin. "The Baron wants him." A guard raised his gun high, bringing the butt of it down quick and hard against Jak's skull. The boy blacked out instantly, crumpling to the ground and hitting it with a loud smack. Sake took a few steps back as another guard took aim on her.
"Freeze!" He ordered but her mind was reeling and before she could tell her legs to stop, she was running as fast as they'd carry her, feet pounding the cold ground. A bullet or two whizzed past and she zigzagged to dodge. As she glanced back over her shoulder to see if they were giving chase, she ran head long into something big and hard. The force of the impact knocked the breath out of her and she was on the ground, gasping for air as she stared up at whatever she'd run mindlessly into.
Another fully armored man stood before her, gun pointed directly at her as she stared down its barrel. He smirked and seconds later the squadron from before joined him, all aiming at her. She was surrounded with no hope of escape.
"What about this one?" asked one armored man. The red haired men took a moment to survey just what they'd captured exactly. A girl, long black hair, terrified blue eyes. She was young, maybe fifteen or sixteen at best. Her clothing was unlike anything he'd ever seen before- a short black shirt with striped sleeves and some sort of face on the front, and a pair of too-big black pants adorned in metal clips, chains and nonsense.
"Baron never mentioned a girl, but take her anyways. She came through the rift, like the boy." the red haired man watched as a hovering transport crept up to their location, the back hatch opening as two men carried Jak's unconscious body inside. There were several other people inside too, all cuffed with burlap bags over their heads. "Load her up."
As if on cue, another guard raised his gun and before Sake could react, pain webbed out from the back of her head and she hit the ground hard, the world spinning before going dark.
Once again her concept of time had been diluted. There was no telling how long she'd been unconscious, but right now she had more pressing matters- figuring out exactly where she was, rather than when. Her surroundings were dark, cold, and clammy, minus a strangely warm sensation to her right. Upon investigation she found Jak unconscious next to her, face down on his stomach. This dream was quickly becoming interesting, and strangely drawn out. Then again there was that one time she'd read an article about dreams and how so much more time can pass in one than the time you spend asleep and if she was in a hospital bed recovering, that was bound to be a very long time.
After further searching, it dawned on her that she was in a prison cell, a heavy metal door separating her from the outside world. Metal bars made passage through the small view point in its framework impossible, even for her small stature. The other three walls lacked any means of escape as well. The far wall had a platform upon which sat an old flat dirty mattress with dark stains that Sake didn't even want to ask about. The sheets were thin and frayed along the edges and the pillow was torn on one part with stuffling poking out. Toward the front was a toilet, small and tucked away. The bowl was stained from years of use and the water within wreaked of minerals and waste.
Finally Jak was coming to. He grunted and rose to his knees before turning over and rubbing his face as if to brush away the nightmare. Instinctively he checked the back of his head for blood and found none, only a sore bruise from where his attacker had waylayed him with the rifle's stock. Then he saw that he wasn't alone. A girl he hadn't seen before was present, perched up on her tiptoes in an attempt to see out of the tiny window in the cell's door. He concluded it'd be best to do the same, closing the gap and easily seeing through the window.
Sake half jumped when she felt Jak stop behind her, peering through the window as the green light from outside poured in and cast long dark shadows on his face. Up close it was obvious just how much taller than her he really was, a head at least. His clothing smelled like salt and sand, but the fowl odor of decay and machines quickly whisked it away.
The scene outside their little piece of hell wasn't much prettier. The walls were lined with cells, with the only means of access being a lift system to ensure prisoners wouldn't dare escape even if their cell door had been opened. From what she could see however, their cell had been ground level and it was only a matter of minutes before the sound of foot steps echoed off the cold metal. Four guards and the red haired man from before came to a stop in front of their cell and the door opened.
"Prisoners, step back and turn around." a guard ordered, hands tightening on his weapon as a threat. Sake did as ordered, stepping back before turning. Jak seemed a little overwhelmed but a gun pointed at him was enough persuasion to get his attention and he copied the girl next to him, taking a step back and turning. Almost immediately the two of them were grabbed, hands cuffed as they were pulled from the cell.
"Take them to Prisoner Processing." ordered the red haired man.
"Yes Lieutenant Errol." The guards snapped a quick salute before escorting the pair through a series of confusing dark passages. The more they traveled, the more it dawned on Sake just how many cells there were. Hundreds, maybe a couple thousand. From elsewhere she could make out screams of pain as another prisoner was likely beaten or tortured. Instantly her blood ran cold and she felt the urge to vomit. Now this dream or whatever it was had overstayed its welcome.
They were ushered into a room with equally poor lighting. The floors and walls were tiled, the tiles cracked, chipped, or even missing in some places. Another half dozen people were lined up, some she thought might be from the transport, stripped bare and shivering. Sake realized this room was some sort of crude wash room, and three guards stood aside gripping large hoses, hands on the nozzle release switches.
Jak and Sake were both ordered to strip down, reluctant to do so but both feared being shot or beaten if they failed to comply. Their belongings were confiscated and placed in a bin. A table on the far side of the room had several piles of stacked tan tunics, each numbered. Then once they were all bare, the guards turned on the hoses and blasted all eight people with powerful jets of water. Some shrieked, the force of the water stinging their skin while others tried to shield themselves, Sake included. Then the water stopped and dry powdered soap was thrown onto them.
Sake gagged, some of the powder having found its way into her mouth and she tried in vain to spit the flavor out. All in all they were only given a brief moment to scrub before the hose wielding guards turned the blasts on full force, thankfully long enough for all the soap to be rinsed away. Sake choked back a few tears. What a nightmare and try as she might, she couldn't wake from it and in a matter of minutes the idea of seeing Jak naked had lost its luster because he looked just as ashamed and scared as she did- as everyone there did- stripped of all belongings and even their dignity.
Finally the eight prisoners were ushered toward the back wall where they were given towels to dry off. Afterwords they were ordered to take a prison uniform from the table. Sake was eager to get dressed, as was everyone else. Jak and Sake wasted no time throwing on the uniforms. There wasn't anything spectacular about the clothing. The shirt was sleeveless and long enough to tuck into the pants that were entirely too long on Sake. With everyone dressed, they were once again lined up and inspected. Sake took notice of the number imprinted upon her tunic, 'D305.' Jak's was D306, with the numbers of the others being higher or lower based on the order in which they picked up their new uniform.
"You have all been tried and found guilty of a crime and sentenced to incarceration." began Errol who had joined the guards shortly after they arrived. "You are unfit to be a part of society and as such must be caged like the animals you are."
Sake gritted her teeth. She hadn't done a damn thing wrong and neither had Jak. She swallowed hard and dared herself to speak up. "I haven't done anything. I'm not even supposed to be here!" Seconds later she felt a hard pain on her back as a guard struck her with an electrified stun baton. Errol watched, amused yet unphased by the girl's outburst.
"Each one of you committed one crime or another worth of a life sentencing and as such you will all be staying here for the rest of your miserable lives." Errol approached the group now, arms crossed behind his back as he walked like a peacock strutting its stuff. Sake snarled at the man, as did the other half a dozen inmates on either side of her. He stopped in front of her, inspecting her. She was easily the youngest in the group, aside from Jak. Everyone else looked to be in their late twenties to mid thirties, one even looking a bit older. It was obvious that some of them had indeed committed crimes as their eyes spoke of evil. Others looked just as lost and confused as Sake and Jak.
"Rules are simple. We're in charge. Step out of line and you will know true suffering." The way he emphasized the last part made Sake's stomach flip and she had to swallow to fight back the urge to collapse.
"Any attempts to escape will be dealt with harshly. We have a number of means to punish those that attempt to flee. Solitary confinement, lashings, revocation of free time and food.. I'm sure none of you want that." Errol continued to inspect the new crop of ill-fated men and women. "We don't believe in death as a punishment because each of you owes society your life in exchange for the lives you have taken."
She was being called a killer, a murderer and was being treated like garbage as a result. Why couldn't she wake up. Normally pain was enough to rouse someone from even the deepest sleep but here she was, still trapped in a dream-gone-nightmare.
"Prisoner D303. Step forward." A man stepped forward, slender with dark hair and a beard that reminded Sake of Wolverine. "Name."
"Daren Atar." He swallowed hard, croaking his name out.
"Step back. Prisoner D304, step forward." Daren stepped back and now a woman stepped forward, blond-blue hair pulled back into a pony tail with her bangs hanging lazily infrnot of her eyes in wet clumps. "Name."
"Emma Kelana." Then the woman stepped back, glancing at Sake who was next in line.
"Prisoner D305. Step forward." Errol grinned. His wild stare sent shivers down Sake's spine. The way he looked at her made her blood curdle. He looked ravenous, hungry even. Sake did as told, taking a step forward, hands clenched as she curled her toes. The cool air was starting to nip at her still damp skin and her wet hair clung to her face and neck. "Name."
"Sake Onisai." She swallowed hard, surprised at how little her voice had projected despite her mustering up all her courage to not collapse.
"Step back. Prisoner D306. Step forward. What is your name." Errol watched as Jak took a somewhat proud step forward, chest out as he swallowed hard. Then it dawned on Sake. He was mute. That would complicate things.
Jak looked to each side of himself, wishing that now of all times he had the ability to speak clearly. Words didn't come easy. As a boy he'd never been able to speak well and he was never sure what had paralyzed his vocal cords to begin with. When he didn't answer, Errol grew impatient.
"Name. Now." A guard saddled up next to Errol, electric baton at the ready.
"Jak." He managed to squeak out. It was more of a misguided whisper, topped by a sad wheeze on the long sound in his name. It was obvious Errol didn't find whatever game the boy was playing amusing. Jak tried again, fearing being beaten. "Ja-" He started, but was cut off as Sake blurted something out.
"Jak." she said as the room went silent. Errol glared at her. "His name is Jak.. He's mute." She swallowed, expecting to be hit.
"..I see. Prisoner, Step back." Jak did so and almost immediately Sake was beaten to the ground with the stun baton. "Get up!"
Everything ached as she pushed herself up off the wet floor, legs trembling and threatening to give out. The world was spinning and all eyes were on her. Seconds later Errol stalked up to her, taking her jaw in his hand harshly as he squeezed. Their eyes made contact and she could see all the bad within him.
"You will learn to keep your mouth shut!" Then he yanked his hand hard, pushing her aside and she nearly toppled over again, half falling onto the guard behind her who recoiled by pushing her forward like a sick game of ping pong and she was the ball. She regained her composure and stood still in line. The rest of the prisoners were called forward and each gave their name, then they were shuffled into an adjacent room where several men waited at stations atop which sat several machines.
One by one each prisoner was sat down and the right sides of their neck was tattooed with a strange series of symbols and their number. As the tattoos were completed, an ointment was smeared on to promote proper healing and then the prisoners were cuffed again escorted out of the room by a pair of guards back to their cell.
Sake certainly hadn't imagined her first tattoo would be a prisoner ID tag, especially not in a dream. She and Jak exchanged a quick glance as they were both sat down and the needle was pressed to their necks. She gritted her teeth as her skin was permanently marked with that brand of shame. She was no longer Sake, she was Prisoner D305, cattle and property to a anachronistic society. The process was painful and she couldn't hold back the few tears that had been plaguing her since her arrival in this hell hole. The man performing the tattooing wasn't very kind about it either, making quick careless strokes with the needle gun as he filled in each of the symbols then etched in her prisoner ID. Blood welled up, mixing with the black ink. When all was said and done, he wiped it away and smeared on a coating of the salve.
Hers and Jak's were finished almost simultaneously and they were pulled from the room by four guards and dragged back to their cell. For the time being the two occupied the same cell, for whatever reason. Sake curled up in the corner on the bed while Jak sat on the floor, legs apart and knees up with his back to the wall, just trying to comprehend everything that had happened. They had taken his goggles and as a result his yellow-green hair was allowed to go about its own business.
Both were completely silent, wordless in that small dark space. Sake sobbed in half silence, biting at her lip in an effort to will herself awake. Somewhere in the back of her mind, something was starting to accept that maybe, just maybe this wasn't a dream- that this nightmare was as real as the hair on her head. It was a daunting thought to process.
Finally tears bled into sleep as consciousness faded and she let herself fade into the black.
Hope you enjoyed. please RnR.
For the original, be sure to check out my profile! Thanks 3