Trickster

First Day

Chapter 10: First Day

I open my eyes an see nothing but an empty void. I stand up and look around to see the same thing everywhere. I must be in Other's realm again.

"Other! Come on out!" I yell into the darkness. Other suddenly fades into my view.

"You called?" He says calmly.

"If I'm here, you must want to talk. Well talk." I say to Other, mirroring his calm attitude.

"Hehe.. okay, you got me. But I do want to talk about brass tactics. Now that you're here, you are going to have to be extra cautious. Ghost said something about arena fights; personally, those have me worried and I'm sure you're feeling the same way about it." He tells me in a now more casual voice.

"So what do you propose we do about it?"

"Well, I think you should let me have control more often."

"Out of the question, Other!" I nearly yell at him, instantly imagining all the horrible things he'd be capable of with enough control of my body, using only the one time he did have control as an example.

"Why the hell not? The guys who captured you were just a few punks looking for some cash and you couldn't even take down one. I had to do the work for you." Other says, in an impatient tone.

"Those were different circumstances, Other."

"My ass! Circumstances don't count for anything in places like this. It's anything goes." He tells me. I want to object, but deep down, he's right.

"Maybe we can come to an understanding. You give give me information on how to survive things like this and in exchange, I lend you control of my body. But only and only when I absolutely have to. Sound fair?"

"Meh... I guess. Deal. For now...."

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. But I'm sure something interesting will happen in that time." Other tells me with a disturbing sense of enjoyment in his voice. He's trying to play with my mind, that I can tell. But why? What does he have to gain by causing me grief? Unless... he's trying to weaken my mind in order to control it easier. That must be it.

"I know what you're trying to do, Other. You won't break me so easily."

"Well, we won't know unless we find out now will we?"

Our moment is suddenly interrupted by another voice; it sounds faded at first, then it comes into clarity.

"Hey! Wake up! Wake up, meat!" I open my eyes and find myself lying in my cot, back in my cell. At the door of my cell is a guard, standing there with a stab proof vest and carrying an AA-12 automatic shotgun. He has already opened my cell door.

"Get up. Time for lunch." He tells me in an oddly stoic voice. I look out from my cell to see that all the prisoners and trainees are lined up and heading down the hall, escorted by many other guards with the same setup as the one staring at me. I get out of my cot, slip on my shoes and follow him, joining the line of white jumpsuits, blending in perfectly. I look down the hallway to the end and see a a large pair of double doors with two guards stationed by it and large text imprinted onto the wall above the doors reading "C Level: Mess Hall". I look to my sides and see that other guards are recovering people from their cells in the same way I was.

"Oh, goody! Lunch time!" I hear Other say as we continue through the hallway. When I reach the double doors and walk past them I see a large and very spacious room. A large portion of it is encompassed by tables and occupants of cells sitting in them, conversing. To both the right and the left of the the room were two serving lines, with occupants already lining up. I move into the second and grab a plastic serving tray from a stack of them at the beginning and slowly make my way forward. I reach the serving man or "lunch lady" as I hear some the other occupants designate him and hold out my plate. Using an large spoon, he slaps a small serving of mashed potatoes and scrambled eggs. I keep moving and grab a small cup of pudding, still fresh from the near empty desert line. I also grab what looks to be a plastic spork. "Middle school standard... " I mumble to myself. I walk out of the line and begin to look around for an empty table to sit in, but the place seems full. Making my way through the rows of filled tables, looking for a seat I begin to notice several glares directed at me.