Chapter 328: The First Upload (I): 315
Blood.
This wasn't the first time he had smelt it, his claws elongated as his bones ached, his body desperate to shift but just like every other time this has happened, he stayed in the same form…the weak form he now hated.
He raised his eyes to stare at the bars of his prison, they had rusted overtime…he wasn't sure how long he had been there but he knew it was long. A sigh left his lips, he wondered if death would finally take him, the scent of blood continued to flow through the air, tempting him, scaring him. He might be the next person to bleed, he might be the next person to die.
He got up from his sitting position as walked to the rusted iron bars, placing his palms on the rusted rods as he inhaled deeper, wondering if the scent would give him an idea…who was bleeding this time?
"315, get away from the bars"
That was his name, at least the only one he remembered, he followed the given orders but his eyes never left the familiar man walking towards him, the man's beard as usual covered in grime and food scraps, his brown teeth making an appearance every now and then as he spoke.
He's speaking?
His brows furrowed as he stared at the lips of the man opposite him move continuously, he seemed to be excited about something.
"…. finally leave this shit hole, I'll miss you the most 315"
"why?" he couldn't help but ask, he and the man had never had any kind of relationship' he only knew him as the man that brought his food and also change of clothes every once in a while, they haven't had more than two conversations that didn't involve him being insulted.
The man laughed, it sounded like he was being choked with a drink in his mouth.
"because…" the man put down the tray 315 didn't even notice he was holding, his usual porridge looking unappealing in a clay bowl with a rusted silver spoon set next to it.
"…. You are not like the others, you don't run your mouth and…the higher ups seem to fear you. I'm sure you had an interesting past"
315 stared at the man's beard, distracted. It always baffled him whenever his saw so much dirt in it, did he not see it? Or does he just decide to ignore it.
"Enjoy your meal, today might be the last day I serve you"
315 accepted the tray and didn't pay the man any more attention. He spoke about his past… 315 sighed as drank the contents from the bowl, he knew nothing about his past, not even his name, all he has ever known are the walls surrounding him. He knows they're on a mountain, he remembered one of the guards talking about how far it was from civilization. He knows the men in charge have never once come to see his and give him an explanation the punishment he had been given and been enduring for as long as he could remember.
The stench of blood had faded and all the tension in his bones had calmed. He dreaded the next time it would happen again. It was more agonizing than having these chains on his feet.
315 didn't remember anything but he knew at least he knew what he was, a werewolf, a beast. He knew it from the voices in his head, they begged him to let loose, to let skin give way for fur, to be in his true form.
But something was holding him back, something he was sure his captors had a hand in. 315 was exhausted, he knew they were trying to break him and he knew it was working…whatever their aim was.
He wasn't sure how long he sat there lost in his thoughts, the cold from the hard floor seeped into his bones and he fought the urge to cry out in frustration. He wanted out! he was tired and even though these walls are all he has ever known, he knew the life outside would much better than this.
"315…. it's your lucky day!"
Again?...
315 didn't raise his head, why should he? No matter what punishment they gave him now it wouldn't matter because he had already been given the worst one of all….to die broken.
"Did you hear what I said or have you gone deaf as well"
He heard the rattling of keys, they were hitting the rusted bars and then a click. The hinges squealed from their lack of use as the only thing separating 315 from the outside world opened for the first time since he was here. His eyes raised from the floor and he could heart his heart pounding heavily in his chest. This had never happened before, those bars had never moved no matter how much he had tried to move them.
"get up 315, its time for you to meet your makers"
Woman had grey hair and her eyes were bright golden just like his, she stood next to the man holding the keys with a demeaning smirk on his face. He walked into his cell and began to work on the shackles on 315's legs, he didn't move…he felt the weight he had ever known become lighter. He stood up and took a few steps towards the open door. He had never walked this easily before, it gave him a foreign feeling, he embraced it. Freedom, that's what it was, the words popped into his and at the same time he was overcome with great anger.
A low growl left his lips as he lunged for the woman with grey hair with intentions to rip her eyes out, she was his kind, a werewolf just like him he was sure and yet here she was part of the people who had put him in this confinement.
He felt a sting at the back the back of his neck just before his claws could reach her, she had a stoic expression on her face and he didn't move and inch from where she stood.
315's leg lost all their strength, his knees hitting the floor as his vision blurred and his hands fell limply at his sides.
He stared at her shoes as he fell to the ground, he kept all of his focus on the brown leather till everything became dark and he finally gave in to the exhaustion.
When his eyes opened, he was in a place that fascinated him, all he had ever seen were black and grey wall but in here everything was white, spotless, it made him feel like he would soil the walls just by breathing. He looked down at himself and realized his clothes had been changed as well, the dark brown coat he had been used to had been switched for a long white tunic…as white as snow. He remembered snow…cold.
"315, it is good to see you again" he could only hear the masculine voice, the room was empty with no one in sight. He tries to sit up only to be restricted by the with cloths that tied both his wrists and ankles to the chair he woke up in.
"Who are you? What do you want from me?" he had to know, he had so many questions…. he had to know why he was being punished.
"I will answer all of your questions but first you'll have to answer mine" the voice spoke again, his fists clenched but he nodded even though he wasn't sure the man could see him.
"What is your name?"
"315" he replied without hesitation, he had never heard anyone call him anything different.
"what are you?"
"I…." 315 hesitated, he wasn't sure how to answer the question, was it a trick question? A test?
"I am a werewolf" there was a long pause that made 315 feel like the man had left.
"who do you protect?" this time it was a feminine voice, it sounded dark…she sounded scary.
For some reason, those questions stirred something within him, it sounded like a mantra that he had known for a long time.
I am Jerome Moon and I….
"I protect Elysium"
He heard a loud noise, a yell of frustration and anger, his heart began to beat fast as he thought about the words he had spoken, they had just come to him but yet they felt like his purpose…Elysium was his to protect!
"this has been a total waste of time, he will never be ready!" the woman yelled in anger, he heard another loud band and then doors opened right in front of him, two men dressed in white came in with syringes in each hand.
"Entomb him and make sure never gets out of it!"
They put their needles deep into his skin as he struggled to free his limbs. He felt deep hatred in his heart for his captors and as his vision went dark, he vowed to kill every single last one of them.