Kings // c. griffin

Chapter One

"Prisoner 320, face the wall."

Isaac looked up, blinking blearily at the two guards who were entering his room, stony expressions cemented onto their faces. Sitting up on his bed, Isaac pushed his back against the wall, pulling his feet away from the edge of the bed as he eyes the guards warily. "What is this?" he asked suspiciously. He didn't know how, but he knew somehow that whatever they wanted him for was serious and unusual.

"Prisoner 320, face the wall," the words were repeated, by the other guard this time, and Isaac's curious eyes flickered over to him. His hand was hovering over his utility belt, where his electric rod was tucked away, ready for use. In his other hand were two half circles made out of a thick metal, four thin needles coming out of it. Isaac glanced at the metal with caution.

"What's going on?" he tried asking again, but the guards weren't having any of it. The one without the metal in his hand stepped forwards, reaching over the bed and grabbing Isaac by the shoulder, ripping him away from the wall and pulling him towards the center of the room. Isaac tried to pull away, stepping back, but instead ended up shoved against the wall of his cell with the guard holding his shoulders down. "What's happening?" Isaac gasped, the breath having been knocked out of him when he was slammed against the wall.

"Hold out your right arm," the second guard said, glaring at him. He reached for Isaac's wrist, but he pulled it away, cradling it against his chest. The grip on his shoulders tightened and he felt fingernails dig painfully into his skin, Isaac holding back a hiss at the contact.

Isaac tried to duck under the guard holding him against the wall, which worked only for about a second. He managed to get under his arms, but the guard was faster than him and came up behind him, his arms coming up from underneath and trapping both of Isaac's shoulders with his elbows, dragging the poor boy backwards. Panicked, Isaac thrashed around. But the guards weren't having any of it.

His body tensed up as the black stick was rammed into his side, electricity pulsing through his veins, radiating from a patch on his side that felt as if it could be on fire. Isaac let out a yelp and the guard let go of him, allowing the boy to go tumbling to the floor, landing in a heap at the foot of his bed. His forearms placed against the cold, metal flooring, Isaac attempted to push himself up when a boot was roughly planted against his back, sending him crashing down onto his stomach. He groaned, too weak from the shock to get away. He tried anyway, pushing against the floor and trying to roll out from under the foot. It did nothing.

His right arm was grabbed, and the metal half-circle was brought close, the needles glinting in the dim lighting of his cell like tiny swords. Isaac jerked his hand away, but the grip on his was too tight. The needled jabbed into him, breaking his skin. The top was closed and the other two needle sliced through his skin, sinking into his wrist. Isaac held back a whimper, knowing it wouldn't make him look any less pathetic.

His cheek was pressed to the floor and his voice was muffled because of it, but he managed to flick a few words off his tongue. "Are you floating me?" he choked, wincing at the thought. He knew it had to happen at some point, he just thought he'd had a few weeks left.

"Be quiet, kid," the first guard said, grabbing him by the upper arm. The boot was finally taken off of his back as Isaac was yanked to his feet. He barely had time to regain his balance as he was dragged out of his cell and into the main part of the Skybox, stumbling all the way and practically crashing into the railing.

Looking to his right, he saw a blonde girl, not being held by any guards, glancing around at the chaos. Every single prisoner was being led away, most of them struggling, by guards, all in the same direction, all probably wondering the same thing; what the hell was going on? Isaac briefly wondered if the girl knew what was happening, because she looked more panicked than most. Perhaps, whatever was happening, was really, really bad. "What's happening?" Isaac demanded, looking at the girl. She turned to him, gaping at the rough was he was being held by the guards. As if on cue, he was pressed harder into the railing and Isaac closed his eyes in a suppressed wince.