Among them was a grinning Zin, his green general’s uniform embroidered with gold, an obscure amount of medals portrayed on his chest. Pushing back my slimy dirt-covered hair I cast a view upon Zin’s pale face, he walked towards Ellis’s cell and leaned against the bars taunting him.

“It seems we are just about to begin, Ellis" he scoured.

"Zin.. you are blaming me for something I have no control..."

"Shut up" he banged on the bars

"I didn't come here to talk" he screamed.

Zin straightened his tie, hate brewing through his eyes.

"What's it feel like to finally be in my cell, be where you belong?" he hissed

"I've been in worse" Tobago responded.

Zin smiled, a crazed operation in his eye.

"Your friend Sparky is going to have his memory wiped, I think he will make a fine member of our army here, his skill utilized, shame you will never get to say goodbye"

"Do you want to say goodbye?" he questioned.

"Yes, I would" Ellis responded.

"Too bad, I already sent him to processing" he laughed.

Zin gestured in my direction, flailing his hand through the air.

"As for this man here, whatever his name is, I think we should pay tribute to wonderful our friends in orbit and send him through the maze"

"What?" I cried.

"I do love a gamble" he cackled.

Zin cast a glance over at me and motioned for a guard to inspect what I was doing, obviously, he had noticed the insinuating nature of my stance.

"You know why I am here" Zin turned and shouted.

“As for your friend Shaw, her mind and skill are too great to waste, a few months in my cells will clear her head, and when she’s finally torn away from your ideals and seen the truth"

"What truth?" Ellis barked.

"Once she has seen the truth, I am sure we will accomplish great things with such intelligence at our disposal"

“She will never turn” Ellis shouted.

“I wouldn’t be so sure, I'm not a bad guy when I want to be, and time, time can change everything” he responded coldly.

Two heavily armed guards then glided forward and pressed several buttons on the cell door.

I looked at my enemy, his eyes fiery, determined and bloodshot.

"I've been waiting a long time for this Ellis..." Zin remarked smiling.

"I've been waiting a long time for justice" he cackled.

The two soldiers entered, I tried to put up a fight but it was useless, by the time I had disarmed one and immobilized the other Zin and two guards had guns trained on my chest, any further move would lead me unconscious or dead.

"Slippery fingers here?" a soldier muttered.

"Don't worry, you and Ellis will be together soon" Zin howled.

"To hell with you" I shouted.

Zin stalked forward and slammed his pistol butt across my face, blood dripping from my lips.

“Don’t try anything, this prison has held far worse and it will continue to hold,” Zin remarked.

I was dragged to the cement block, The hallway was long and narrow, senturies panned out along its cold floors. They all had the same look, a pitiful loathing towards me, and a gratifying look of respect and determination when glancing at Zin. A kind of fire could be seen in their obedient eyes; they would be ready to die for their leader, and their leader dies for them. I was dragged past a vast number of cell blocks, their prisoners peered at me with a strange fascination, startled by the appearance of their enemy's leader to escort what seemed to be nothing but common backwater scum.

Most wore dirty orange jumpsuits and iron electronic shackles. They varied heavily through species, some snarling creatures which merited my body to spring back in fright, others bug-eyed humanoids that vacantly gaped outside with a plant-like personality. Most did not care that I passed, simply raising their heads to examine those who dared to interrupt their brood of sadness.

Once we reached the end of the hall three re-enforced blast doors hissed open to reveal a vast marble room, it was clear this had once been a collective outpost or trading post, its walls

well built and the compound well organized and refined, the general had done much to preserve its functions.

We crossed through a full-scale prison, its odour rich food-court, crumbling interrogation rooms, murky courtyard and halls lined with fatigued guards and scruffy inmates. I even passed a steel-lined, re-enforced titanium maximum security cell, through its three-inch thick, plexiglass window Shaw could be seen, she didn’t seem hurt or distressed, simply sitting in a metal chair and glancing against the blank wall, her robotic skin immobile and emotionless. I tugged back to look again but my back was stopped by the force of a rifle barrel. Zin was not lying when he said that he would not permit foul play.

The second group of soldiers interrupted our party when we had just reached the prison exit. The guards were content on keeping as many people in as possible and ensuring absolute control, six-bar gates, two blast doors and three locked wooden doors accompanied by a glass-enclosed reception desk marked the long trek to the outside.

The militia would often turn their heads when we passed, apparently surprised to see this much security escorting one man. I spun around in the hallway for a split second to see Ellis not far behind, he too had a strong escort of armed forces at Zin’s disposal, however, Zin seemed to be walking not far behind him, a fantastic smirk plastered across his demonic face.

At last, we reached a larger network of hallways with fewer conscripts able to be seen. Cameras however still stalked our every move reporting back to a probable hivemind of computers spread throughout. We then halted our march, the patrol turning its glance onto me, a bag was quickly forced over my head causing me to stumble along with the concrete, I had no idea where I went, I heard the sounds of people talking, of at least a hundred marching, computers and electronics whirling with glee and the occasional directional shout from the Sargent behind.

Guided by the pain of my handcuffs and the cold rifle barrel in my back I followed the orders of my captors, a blind man led by his enemy I was hostage to the unknown, my fate is written down in a torture ledger or computer, another forgotten name of an unlucky traveller who had gotten in Zin’s path.

At last, we finally reached our destination, a wafty coolness flowing through the air, I was forced into a chair and metal binds clasped firmly into place. Then the bag was suddenly jerked from my head, the blinding electronic light piercing into my unadjusted eyes. The room was small and cramped, it's only featured a large plexiglass window in the front which looked into an elaborate view center and laboratory, me the door to escape was solid steel and re-enforced, I spastically jerked and moved my limbs attempting to wriggle out of my seat but it was futile, the binds were strong enough to withstand immense amounts of pressure and would surely hold up to my attempts.

Zin and a handful of emotionless scientists could be seen gloating, obviously some kind of maniacal entertainment was about to present itself. Zin leaned against a console and pressed the intercom, his staticy voice blazing throughout the room.

"Hello, Hello" he cried.

"Can you hear me?"

The lab staff on the ground floor gave a thumbs up.

“Greetings John, as you can see here we have an MSU in perfect working order, left here by our collective friends when I captured this bunker three years ago. Dr. Ian Planker here will kindly show you its functions on a very intimate level, nothing personal, if you hadn’t been with Ellis I would have had you on the streets of the nearest settlement by now, but fate dealt you an unlucky hand… .”

"Do you know what this is John?" he held out a single vial, swirling the orange liquid within.

I gave no response.

"Do you know what this is?"

"No" I replied.

He flicked the vial repeatedly.

"Maze serum sold on the black market four days ago and shipped from the Northern Hemisphere"

"I paid quite a price for this," he said coolly while starting into the vile.

"I knew just this occasion would arrive, just the perfect circumstances

"Doctor Proceed"

I could see from the glass he exited the laboratory deck walking into the room behind.

"Hello John, have you ever been to an MSU before?" the Doctor asked.

"Yes," I replied.

"That was a joke, I know you haven't" the doctor replied.

"How?" I muttered smiling.

"Damage" he laughed.

He pressed down hard, sticking a neural mesh over my head.

"Ready?" he asked.

I didn't respond but he didn't wait for one, I knew what was about to happen, the shearing pain, the uncontrollable spasm, I would wither in agony until I found myself wounded at my own hands, I would not die no, that would be too simple, he would break me, put me through the maze as many times as possible until only an empty mumbling shell marked my soul. The doctor slammed his grimy hand on a series of switches until the chair buzzed with static electricity.

"Good luck John" he smiled.

A robotic arm sprung from the seat’s back and plunged a needle deep into my skull, immobilized by the metal binds I was victim to the attack. Soon my vision clouded and my senses disappeared one by one, my hearing slowly faded along with my eyes, darkness enveloped my mind, my fingers went numb one by one as my hand became one with the table around me. Soon there was no me, the creature sitting in the chair was no longer myself, just an extension of my body, I was disconnected, lacerated from my flesh as I experienced a tantalizing burning pain inside, an insatiable agony that only death would quench.

When I awoke from the my suffering my entire body throbbed with aching torment, I was a wheezing mess on an empty floor hardly able to inhale air without coughing, yet I didn’t need to inhale, I didn’t need to breathe, I was there. The same chipped red oaken door haunted my gaze..

The room had changed, it was no longer darkness, no longer an empty abyss of nothing but a steel compartment, a complete recreation of my room on Ellis’s ship, sunlight gracefully protruded through the porthole window casting dancing rays across the bed. There was a second door, a steel door which was slightly ajar, it basked an inviting radiance which tempted me to run through, but I knew what I had to do, I had to die. I had two options, complete the maze or pretend to fail. I opened the door, having conquered its tricks once before. It was predetermined that my observers had some sort of monitoring device, they would know if I was spending time in the room and not in the maze, I had to enter. Stalking through the empty doorway I walked along with the clouds, a horrifying mist morphing at my feet. I ignored its grasp and attempts to envelop me in a swirl of death, wind whirling through my hair I glanced out into the depths of my mind, I saw the horrors that plagued its barren fields and I knew, this would be a battle for another time.

Sprinting forward as fast as possible I galloped down a winding path, the environment around me ever-changing, a constant swarm of narrow buildings, whistling forests and ancient spires. The night’s sky burned against my back, its icy rays sending shivers down my spine. The track was endless, the locations vast and empty, I knew what I had to do, I just had to go deep enough, further into the unknown that they would think I had died, I had to dangle my feet in the placid water to attract the sharks. I pulled my coat up over my ears to shield myself from the

frostbiting cold. A stack of newspapers scurried across the street its yellowed pages blowing in the howling wind. I could sense something was approaching, its breath echoing through the trees, the night’s silence brutally penetrated by its mortifying presence, the entire forest was quiet when it approached, not a sound could be heard, only my heartbeat racing to an insatiable extent.

The sky above was thick and black, a murky cloud devouring all.

The leaves turned brown and black, flaking off into ash, the ground hard and cold, the air sharp with frost, around me I could feel the eyes of many creatures stabbing into my flesh, mystical howls and bone-chilling drafts flowing through the night’s pitch-black sky. I didn’t have time for this, I didn’t have time to see whatever horrific creature would trudge out of the thick needle grove, I didn’t have time to see its malformed face or petrifying existence. A shiver trickled down my spine, I saw it move.

I saw the hand, reaching from the leaves.

I saw the horror begin to emerge.

I didn’t have time to glance at a creature designed by my vindictive and murderous self to wholeheartedly embody my deepest and darkest fears. The forest cracked and shook with great power as the thing began to emerge, I knew one misguided look would break my soul, and a touch from its slender or gnarled hand would leave a stain on my conscious forever for what lay in those bushes not a meter away was death, it was death and I was horrified. My knees buckled and shook as a stream of sweat dripped down my pale skin.

"Do you remember me, John?"

"Come here, John"

"Come here"

The same haunting voice, the voice of someone from my past, my real past. Familiar yet distant, old yet new.

"I'm not going to hurt you John" it hissed.

I slammed my eyes shut, as I felt something touch my leg.

I had to pull myself together to escape the mental aurora that it had narrowly cast upon my body and get back to Ellis, I had to free us from this imprisonment and reach Archius, only then would I truly be free escape, plain and simple escape, be free.

I knew my hands were bound, there was no way of trying to force them to remove any type of neural net, and the drug could not be physically removed by myself. I had to wake, I had to detach myself from this dark room and have liberty from its curse. I stared straight into the soul-devouring eyes of death that lurked among the leaves and let out a roar of pain, throwing back my neck to screech at the darkness above.

I had to leave, I would have none of this, I would not lay a helpless victim to my own devices, I do not know how I did it, I do not know if I will ever be able to do it again, searing pain tearing through my limbs. I was the master of this land, not the creature in the bushes, nor the thousands of watching eyes or the mist, I was, I was their creator, I was their user and I was in control. I needed to only do one thing, one simple thing, open my eyes and see past the wool, see into the real world.

The laboratory room light blinded my vision, I felt pain, yes, but there was no damage, only a feeling of longing, and a plaguing fear of death, was the maze addicting? Did my body want to feel its intense rush of inertia and adrenaline, deep down was I meant to retry, was I meant to beat it, somewhere inside of me I had a part, a dark unseen part that loved its creation and knew its purpose, and it wanted to see more. My physical body was weak and limp from the excursion, I had to hold back vomit and ignore the ring in my ears. I had to act dead, act as if the creatures in the maze had truly destroyed my mind.

"What the hell," the doctor remarked.

The scientists frowned upon looking at the readings, I could see while I lay in the chair they were unsure what had happened. I too was confused as they had not used a neural net, they used a drug and that drug was still active, the perilous mixture of liquids still swirled inside my veins, I was still in the maze, yes but the creatures of my mind had stopped as they saw what I was, they saw their maniac creator and feared his power, and I was in two places, I was in both the endless dark room and the marble laboratory floor. I was in both heaven and hell. I pretended to be limb until the door slid open, their conversation still heard as they continued to announce.

“John? John? Are you awake? Can you hear me? Are you alright?, raise your hand if you can, try to move any limbs, I repeat give us a sign” a static voice buzzed.

“John? John? Are you awake? Can you hear me? Are you alright?, raise your hand if you can, try to move any limbs, I repeat give us a sign” the voice buzzed again.

“... forget it, based on these readings he’s a vegetable let's get a blood sample"

"What the hell happened, he was only in for ten minutes" the second replied.

"I have no idea, I thought he would last at least a second-round" the first announced.

"Maybe the general will let us analyze his body afterwards, something happened that the scans didn’t seem to explain” another voice cut in.

“He wasn’t supposed to die this quickly, he was meant for torture, to break the prisoner, this was too fast, we could lose our jobs for this” a third voice hissed.

"You think so?"

"Yes"

“Let's go in and see if he is alright, it seems he is completely immobile and we gave him enough of the drug for at least two hours so it should be fine"

"Good idea, worst comes to worst maybe he's just paralyzed, that could mean a second chance"

I really want a blood sample or at least an enhanced brain scan, something odd happened for a moment” they had obviously forgotten they were broadcasting into the room but it didn’t matter in their minds, I was already dead, one of many limp corpses which had passed through this chamber.

“Ever wonder who he was?... feel remorse,” a voice quavered.

“He was a murderer, no doubt he got the death penalty for a reason, for that comment you have to remove the body” a second replied.

“I did it last week!” the first proclaimed.

“Doesn’t matter” the second replied.

“Who will break the news to the general?” the first asked.

“Where is he?” the second implied.

“In the lounge along with the prisoner watching the live feed, they can never seem to watch when the victim gets caught by a synth, the spasms are quite horrifying to view, strange this one didn’t do that, there may be hope then.” the third answer.

“Doctor, prepare the lab for tasks five through twelve and get me a needle kit, Beioa grab two guards and come with me, we will remove him and place him in a holding cell after collecting samples, after this we wait an hour for the medication to wear off and assess the damages, hopefully, he can be placed in the machine one last time.” their leader said.

Sharp noise could be heard through the speaker as the broadcast was turned off and the viewing chamber came to life, I waited behind my false viel, preparing an immense volley of attacks for my unsuspecting enemy.

The iron and steel blast doors unhinged and swung upwards, two armed guards approached, relaxed as they had done this before, and not once had they met even the slightest form of resistance. I waited until they had undone the first steel bind, then the second, and finally they unlocked the legs. Then as a gloved hand attempted to scoop my legs from the chair I struck, opening my eyes I took them both by surprise kicking one in the face and punching the other so hard a tooth violently sprung from their mouth.

Executing my moves with an utmost efficiency I incapacitated the entire force with a few simple jabs and lunges, my reflexes unchallenged and skill insatiable, I grabbed one’s arm twisting it behind their back to hear a satisfying snap while the other I punched five times in the chest and throat, my strokes easily penetrating the conscripts meshy vest, in the end, I left both to whimper in quivering messes on the cold floor.

"Kill him, kill him" someone shrieked.

The scientist who had accompanied them held onto her silver briefcase in fright, fumbling for a pistol at her side she cried out a startled reaction. Her eyes were wide with terror as she shook.

“His eyes, what is with his eyes, the eyes” she screamed