Prologue Pt.2: The Prosecutor

The two guards continued their conversation as they walked down the hall. Number 31 made sure to keep walking slightly ahead of them, but not too far or he'd get yelled at for being too quick. He kept his head down and listened to what they were talking about.

Most of it didn't make sense to him as being in prison for five years without access to the outside world has limited him knowledge of what had been happening and changing.

The door metal door lead into another that split at the end to the right and left. It was slightly brighter lit than what 31 had been used to in his cell causing him to squint as he tried to adjust to the bright light. He never thought that he was going to ever be able to see such light again in his life.

"Come on, turn left up ahead, we still get a little way to walk." The first guard prodded him in the back with the baton, a sign that if he didn't move right away rather than waiting to adjust to the light, he would be struck. He complied of course and did his best to keep his head down and watch the ground where it was easier to see without the light shining in his eyes.

Once the second door was opened, 31 had hardly walked inside when he stopped once he spotted what was in the middle of the room. The chair looked very similar to the type of chair that was used for electrocution punishment, except that the device attached to the top of it didn't look similar.

"Now don't be getting cold feet on me, move!" The guard barked as he prodded him harder in the back to get him to keep moving forward. He winced at the pain but complied. He guessed that he should've mentally prepared himself for the possibility that they were taking him out to kill him, they did mention that a ruling had already been made in his case.

"Dr. Anderson, we brought him here like you asked. I'm not really sure though what the whole point of this is. I think we can already anticipate what the outcome for him will be." The guard was talking to a man in a white coat that 31 hadn't noticed before. He looked to be older, maybe mid fifties with thin white hair and small round glasses that were perched on his nose. He seemed to be a no-nonsense kind of man rathe than the quack of doctors that 31 had heard were rumored to be involved in these type of death penalties.

"It's for experimental purposes only. It's not like it will likely change the outcome of what his sentence will be. It's just to test and make sure that the machine is worth continuing to use depending on what the result of his case is." The doctor replied as he approached. He gave 31 one a sharp look over that made him uncomfortable before reaching forward and grabbing his chin roughly with his right hand and pulling his face forward so that he could get a better look at him.

31 wasn't sure what exactly the man was looking for, but he doubted that he would find it if he tried to look at his face. His bangs had grown out long ago and made it hard for anyone to fully see his face which was hidden underneath. Still, the doctor Anderson stared into his eyes for longer than 31 was comfortable with before he left go of his face and walked away.

"He's suitable, put him in the chair and attach the straps to his wrists, once he's secure, I'll handle everything else. Just stand over there in the corner and try not to involve yourself in anything."

31 didn't object or struggling as he forced into the chair and his arms were stretched out on each chair arm that had held straps to keep him in place. His heart was beginning to pound which elevated his breathing a slight amount as he was uncertain as to what he should be anticipating but he kept his mouth shut as he watched the two guards work in silence.

Once he was securely strapped into the chair, they stepped back and moved to the corner as Doctor Anderson had instructed them to do. Without them being in his face any longer, 31 tried to crane his head to see what the doctor was doing.

"Don't worry, you're not going to die. At least not yet anyways. You're just here for me to perform a little harmless experiment on." The doctor explained as he focused on pulling a clear liquid in a large syringe that 31 didn't like.

"This is just going to help you relax a bit before we get started." He assured the other man as he approached with the syringe, pushing the injector slightly to make sure the needle allowed the liquid to flow freely. He didn't like it one bit, but it wasn't like he could move much while being strapped into the chair. He hissed slightly when he felt the needle pierce his skin on his upper arm where the doctor had deemed was the best place for him to be injected.

He made sure to rub it off afterwards to get rid of any blood that pooled at the surface before he walked away to set the needle back down. It didn't take long before 31 felt the affects of whatever was in the needle. His mind became fuzzy. He had a hard time focusing in front of him. The room seemed to move, bounce, and change shape in front of his eyes against his will. Blinking felt slow and did nothing to stop the movement in front of his face.

It wasn't long though before something was moved over his head blocking his vision aside from what appeared to be a little screen. He felt the chair being leaned back which only caused him to feel as though the room was spinning more than it had before. He heard a soft click before he felt a strange warm sensation on his head and his mind went blank.

"Testing, testing. Are we engaged now." 31 one heard the sound of a suave voice speaking, but rather than coming from somewhere nearby him, it sounded as though it was coming from inside his head. He groaned and tried to open his eyes. His head still felt weird but at least his vision seemed to be normal. He was shocked though when he opened his eyes and realized that he was sitting inside of a taxi that was moving. Looking behind him he saw the gates that lead to the prison. Had he been released? His mind raced frantically as he tried to remember what had happened past the point of that strange doctor injecting him arm with whatever drug that caused him to feel strange. Maybe the experiment went well and it allowed him to be released? It felt like too much of a dream to be true.

"I guess I can assume by your reaction that you must be engaged." The suave voice spoke again, 31 looked around but he didn't see anyone in the taxi with him aside from the taxi driver.

"What was that?" He asked, his voice a little horse from not speaking much for so many years. The taxi driver glanced back at him in the rear-view mirror.

"I haven't said anything sir." The man replied as he returned his focus to the road in front of him.

"He can't hear me because I'm inside your head. You took a little longer than some to come around."

"What are you?" 31 asked inside his mind hoping that whatever was talking to him would be able to hear him without him having to talk aloud and make the taxi driver or anyone else who saw him think he was crazy.

"I guess you could say that I am like your conscience. Though most prefer to call me the prosecutor because of the end result of our interactions." The voice replied, a hint of amusement.

"My conscience? I don't ever remember it having a voice aside from my own."

"That's because you're in a little experiment right now where you're granted a little helper to assist you in making better choices in life." 31 felt his heart drop when he heard this.

"What do you mean?" He asked, dreading the answer he was going to hear.

"Well you could say this maybe isn't the world that you're used to. But you still have your freedom for right now." It explained.

"For whatever span of time, you're free to do whatever you want, and I won't interfere per say. I'll tell you if something is a bad choice, but you're not bound to listen to me even though it might impact your final sentence once this is all done."

"I can do anything I want?" 31 asked clarified.

"Technically speaking, yes. You have your freedom and two thousand dollars in your wallet right now along with your cellphone." The voice confirmed.

"Use it wisely though, it's all the money you get while you're here."

"I already now what I want do with it." 31 replied, determination in his voice. Reaching into his pocket and pulling out his wallet that held the money. It was more than enough for what he needed.

"Somehow, you feel different from what any of the others that have gone through this. What drives your determination?" Prosecutor inquired as he 31 told the taxi driver to go to a certain address. He wasn't certain how far away it was, but if this was some type of fake world he was in, he didn't think it would be hard to end up where he wanted to.

"Revenge." Was the simply reply as he leaned back in car seat. It was far more comfortable than the floor of his cell even it if it was a fake seat.

"Revenge for being put in jail?" the voice persisted.

"No. Revenge against who ever actually killed my family. I don't get care if I get out of jail, but if I have even one chance to find out who is behind all of this, I will kill them without a second thought."

"ooh, a criminal who actually didn't commit the crime. This is the first." Prosecutor sounded in awe as the voice spoke.

"I usually don't condone revenge because of the reasons behind it are unfit or petty, but I have never encountered this case before. I'm not sure how to proceed."

"A machine that thinks for itself? I thought you were supposed to just follow whatever algorithm scripted inside of you." 31 mused.

"We can't all be perfect, now can we? Of course, it isn't something that anyone who creates me knows because of course, they never tested me out themselves, they just assumed I was created perfectly." It replied.

"Why don't you tell me more about yourself though. I would be interested in knowing your exact case. Maybe I can be of assistance." 31 thought about it for a moment but supposed that it couldn't hurt to explain his case to whatever machine or voice was talking to him. It wasn't anything those in prison system hadn't heard before.

He only gave the brief explanation however as he couldn't bear to go into the details of exactly what happened. By the time he had finished somehow the Taxi had reached the destination he requested, his house. He didn't know how much time he had, but if it was in the same state that it had been left in the last time he remembered being inside, he might find evidence.

He paid the taxi driver and got out. The voice had gone silent after he had explained everything, he didn't care though because now that he was here, he only had on focus on his mind which was to find anything that would lead him to those who had killed his family.

There was caution tape over the front door that he hadn't remembered before, but he got around it with ease to enter the house. He was surprised that he hadn't seen any people, but maybe it was because he hadn't thought about anyone living that he wanted to see in this world. His focus was too strongly on getting here and looking for clues.

The inside of the house was just like he had remembered it though except that the blood, broken glass and other items had been cleaned up with only stains remaining of what had occurred five years ago. Seeing it after all this time still caused him to have a hard time breathing.

Forgetting about his breathing he looked for anything that was out of place. He didn't know what to look for, but he was certain that there had to be some type of clue that would give him a lead. Someone in his family had to have left something, anything for the police to find but overlooked.

He didn't know how long he spent looking, but he couldn't find anything. He was certain that he looked almost everywhere that he could, but nothing came up. He felt the despair creeping into the back of his mind that he didn't want to face. It wasn't possible that the trail could end cold like this. He needed to know who it did, he need a lead so that he could find them. He couldn't just give up on them. It was at this moment in time that Prosecutor decided to pipe up again.

"I think that maybe you're wasting your time here. How about you visit the real scene instead? You won't find anything here that you don't remember being there the last time you were in this place since it's created from your memories. I think though I can be of a little service to help you out of here since you don't seem like a bad one compared to others who I have had the displeasure of meeting."

"What do you mean?" 31 asked, but he didn't get a reply before he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head that felt like a sharp electric spark before everything went blank for a second time.

The following morning a story was featured on most of the news networks about how the criminal known as 31 had somehow managed to escape unnoticed from the prison and authorities have no leads or ideas of how it happened, but that people should be on the lookout for the man featured in the picture that was taken five years ago.

*Author note here* This story will be jumping three years into the future in the next chapter, but worry not, certain events will be explained through flashbacks as the story progresses so that any questions of what occurred between then and now will be answered. I hope you will kindly support this story and let me know what you think about it.