Outlaws (The Slingers Trilogy, Book 2)

Chapter 19

Nolun had just woken up, and was about to prepare for his usual rough entry out of bed, but when the time came for it, nothing happened. The lights flickered on, and the door opened. Who came in shocked Nolun. Caligula was standing calmly outside the door, staring at Nolun with a peaceful smile on his face. He walked in, with only one guard outside. He pulled up the stool that Nolun had to sit on, and sat next to his bed where Nolun was still lying. "Hello Nolun. Did you sleep well?" Confused, Nolun nodded slowly. Caligula smiled wider. "I'm glad. I hope that the injuries you sustained yesterday didn't hamper your sleep cycle. In which case, that's what I'm here to talk to you about. I understand you had an incident with the guards yesterday." Seeing no point in lying, Nolun nodded. Caligula laced his fingers together and leaned forward. "I'm glad you're being honest with me. I'm hoping you could be again for my next question." Nolun began to grow nervous. "You see, I know you're not the most model prisoner, but I know that you and Andress have a tendency to be a bit...crafty. You've probably been formulating a plan to escape since you got in here, despite my various warnings. So, my question, Nolun, is this." As he leaned closer to Nolun, he began to stare into his eyes. Nolun saw something terrifying in them. Behind that mask of a smile, he saw absolutely nothing. What was before him was a facade, a shell of what a man should be. Whatever Caligula had once been had left long ago, and now this was what was left. Nolun could smell the faint scent of juniper and lemon on his breath, sickly sweet. "Are you and Andress hiding something?" He asked in a low voice, different from the cheerful one he had a few moments earlier.

Nolun couldn't stop looking back at Caligula. His eyes were just too powerful, and he seemed to be staring not at Nolun, but down somewhere deeper, somewhere Nolun was vulnerable, and a place that he couldn't stop Caligula from looking into. Nolun just wanted it to stop, but he knew he had to be strong and resolute, for Andress. He wouldn't kill him, he knew that much...but he knew that Caligula could do a hell of a lot worse. He gulped down his nervousness, and then finally responded to Caligula. "No." Caligula raised his eyebrows, and smiled in a mischevious way, as if to say, I know you're lying, and I'm just toying with you before I slice your neck open with a teacup. "No? Are you sure about that?" Nolun kept staring at Caligula, and was determined to stand his ground. He had no proof of anything. If he did, why was he asking him? Or maybe Caligula was trying to lure him into a false sense of security...no. He had to keep the truth hidden. He looked back at Caligula again and spoke it again, this time more steady. "Yes." Caligula looked at him, as if analyzing his face, then leaned back, calmly smiling again. "Alright then. If you say so. But...you do realize I still have to punish you for harming the guards." He motioned to the guard outside, and he came in and took off Nolun's manacles. Nolun looked confused, then saw the guard come back in with 4 identical manacles, but on the inside of each of them were small pinprick needles. Nolun's eyes widened, and Caligula smiled warmly. "Good. You understand." Nolun tried to move away, but the guard was too strong, and he held him down, putting all of the manacles on. Nolun instantly felt the needles dig into his skin. Caligula walked out the door. "Come now Nolun. You don't want to be late for breakfast."

Every movement that Nolun made was like digging a hot knife into his skin. Even the smallest of shuffles he could make while walking with the manacles was painful beyond belief. As he got his food and sat down at the table, Andress noticed the pain on his face. "Nolun? What's wrong?" Nolun looked at Andress with a wince. "Caligula gave me a wakeup call." He told them about what happened, and when he came to the part with the needles, Trace put her hands over her mouth, and her eyes widened. Andress looked at Nolun with sympathy and reached her hand over the table, rubbing his arm with her real hand. "I'm sorry..." Nolun felt her warm skin against his, and felt his breathing begin to relax. Andress gritted her teeth and gripped her artificial hand as tight as it could go. "Damn it...Caligula...I'm going to kill him." Nolun looked up and smirked as best he could. "Get in line." Trace looked at the both of them, uncharacteristically serious. "We need to focus. If he questioned Nolun, that means he probably thinks we're up to something." Nolun nodded. "That's why we're getting out. Tonight." Andress and Trace looked shocked. "We haven't even gotten close to coming up with a real plan." Nolun looked at the both of them and sighed, and looked at them with sad smile. "We'll improvise. It's what we always do." Andress shook her head, then smiled. "Let's do it, Treasure Boy." Trace smiled. "You both are crazy...I like it." Then, the P.A. system turned on again. "Attention all prisoners, please follow the main pathway immediately." The floor suddenly glowed with a path of red LED lights heading out to the hallway. Nolun and the girls got up, Nolun grimacing from the pain. They walked along with the other prisoners, and saw that almost the entire prison was joining them. They kept walking, until they reached a flight of stairs, which led them to a large silver door. The door slowly slid open, and cold wind began to blast out of it. Nolun recoiled from the sudden shock, then his eyes widened when he saw what was outside. They were on a metal platform with walls on every side, and there was a grey, stormy sky overhead, with freezing rain and lightning piercing the darkness. As Nolun looked at the spaces in between the walls, he saw that there was nothing but ocean around him for miles, save for a few more oil-rig like platforms that he assumed were the other portions of the prison. This was Purgatorio. The guards raised their weapons at the prisoners. "Stay here for 1 hour!" The prisoners grumbled and groaned, but stayed still. Nolun realized why they were here. This wasn't just a punishment, but a reminder to the three of them how dire their situation was. But Nolun knew that Caligula had miscalculated. There was one thing he had forgotten. He hoped he was right. He looked over at Andress and Trace. "This changes nothing." He said, and they nodded.