Prison Break

A rush of energy shot through space.

It avoided stars and asteroids as it maneuvered closer and closer to a planet that seemed to be covered in metal, dodging the industrial rings around the planet as it breached the atmosphere and streaked toward a concrete box that covered many miles of land.

Once inside, it navigated the twisting hallways, stopping in front of a sheet metal door.

Slipping underneath, the energy entered the room and began to undulate in waves, sending dust in every direction. The particles hung in the air before slowly falling, illuminating the vicinity.

Concrete walls were revealed, with rectangles cut into them every few feet. Boys slept in those rectangles, each one looking to be between the ages of ten and eighteen.

The energy seemed to float up to each resting figure, hovering over them for just a second before moving to the next. After a few minutes of doing so, it paused for longer than usual in front of a young man of fifteen, before suddenly shooting into his body.

The boy vanished from his sleeping nook, his blanket floating down.

***

Roger groggily sat up in the grass field, the morning dew making his clothes stick to him.

A pounding sensation in his head greeted him, followed by a twisting sensation in his stomach, making his guts feel like they had been knotted in his sleep.

His body began to curl up before he turned on his side and vomited everywhere. A wave of nausea that threatened to make him pass out followed shortly after, causing Roger to fall back to the grass near the puddle of his own stomach acids.

He groaned into the dirt, before shooting up, causing himself to stagger to the side.

'Dirt? How can there be dirt!?'

Looking around with his green eyes, he didn't understand what was happening. 

Last night Roger had gone to bed in his cell, the same as every night, yet for some reason he was now in a grass field. 

He didn't even know there was this much green left on Earth!

He knelt and rubbed his thin fingers over the plants, feeling each blade slide across his skin. It felt… good. It was strangely calming, nothing like rubbing the artificial grass they had in the prison courtyard.

That stuff was just plastic and sharp.

Roger ran his hand over his bald held, one of his habits when he was unsure of what to do.

A ticking sound was emanating from somewhere around the glade, but he couldn't pinpoint where. It wasn't a bad noise, following a simple staccato rhythm, but felt out of place.

Looking around, he saw trees surrounding the glade, and a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. Rays of sunlight split through them, leaving the world brightly lit and welcoming.

How was that even possible? There was nowhere on Earth that still had clouds! They were deemed a threat to maintaining the Exosphere Defense System!

'Unless I'm not on Earth anymore…'

The thought struck Roger like a lightning bolt, causing him to shiver. 

If he was not on Earth, where was he? Had he frozen to death in his sleep, and this was the afterlife? Why did the afterlife have a perpetual ticking noise?

Had he been reborn on another planet?

Roger felt like anyone else would panic in this situation, maybe even break down and cry. Other people would have stuff they left behind, after all.

Not Roger, too much had already happened to him. Having emotions as flashy as panic was a luxury not afforded to those in prison. It only led to attention, and attention meant punishment.

He had grown so used to hiding those feelings he barely had to try anymore.

Roger had been serving his time without much thought for years, but every day that went past he felt his willpower leave him more and more until he was no better than one of the robots that served in restaurants. 

Of course, he had only ever been to a handful of restaurants, so he didn't know if robots were the standard method of serving patrons.

Then, strange as it was, he found himself smiling, hoping that this dream would never end. 

He walked around the field, his bare feet landing softly on the grass beneath him. The sun above shone brightly, warming his skin and making him feel energized. It was nothing like the artificial light of the prison.

Every step felt like freedom to his young mind.

'If I am dead, then this has to be Heaven! A lovely, green, unending heaven! I kind of expected more metal, though. Oh well, I'm sure it'll be as wonderful as the prison chaplain described!'

The ticking sound suddenly grew louder, breaking him out of his thoughts, and causing Roger to whirl around and almost leap back in shock at what he saw.

A tall man in a suit looking down at a pocket watch in his hand, a frown on his lips. He had tufts of white hair sticking out from under the edges of a black top hat, and a twisting white mustache that looked immaculately well-kept.

Noticing Roger's startled movements, the gentleman glanced up and closed the lid of the watch, casually returning it to his coat pocket.

"Ah! So you are awake! I apologize for my tardiness good sir, but fret not for I am here to assist you now!"

The man took off his hat and placed it against his chest as he gave a deep bow.

"You may refer to me as the Administrator, and I warmly welcome you to Avar!"

Roger was slowly stepping away from the man, his eyes widening ever so slightly as he considered the possibility that he was here to take him back to the prison.

'No! I won't go back! I won't! I can run pretty fast, there's no way this old man could catch me!'

Roger took the first step to run when the stranger spoke again.

"Worry not, Roger, I have no inclinations to return you to your former residence. I come bearing good news, should you view it as such! You have been randomly selected to be granted great powers by the almighty System!"

The man raised his gloved hand and flicked it. A silver cane appeared, and he pointed it right at the teenager. He jabbed it at Rogers's chest, who weakly tried to avoid it and failed.

Once it hit him, a strange blue screen appeared in the air in front of him.

[System Initializing…]

'What the gods is this?'

He stared at the screen slowly ticking away in front of him as the Administrator continued.

"Roger, you were taken from Earth to gain abilities designed just for you, based on your prior actions and what the System believes you will go on to do here on Avar. Once granted these powers, they can not be revoked outside extenuating circumstances. Your only objective is to do with them what you see fit."

The man tipped his hat again and turned to leave.

"Very well, that is all. I wish you luck!"

As the man started to leave, Roger finally broke out of his stupefied state and stumbled forward.

"Wait! What do you mean taken from Earth? Where am I? What is going on!?"

The questions cascaded out in a torrent, the words blending into each other leading to an incoherent mess. 

The Administrator turned back and raised his eyebrows. He seemed to be confused for a moment before standing up straighter and leveling an apologetic look at the youth.

"Ah, that makes sense. You were not aware of Avar prior to arriving here. My apologies, then, my good sir. Very few of you humans are so ignorant of this land."

He extended his cane and tapped it on the ground, causing the image of two planets to appear in the air.

One of them was grey with thousands of metal rings surrounding it and satellites orbiting it. Even from space, tall metalloid monstrosities were visible. Some looked to be buildings, while others looked like the legs of a spider, curving up to a point in the outer atmosphere.

The other planet was green and blue, with vast oceans separating continents. It was more difficult to make out objects, but Roger thought he could see large mountains crisscrossing the surface.

The cane struck the grey planet.

"This planet is Earth, where you come from. It is a land of machinery and industry, focused on the expansion of science."

The Administrator brought his walking instrument back and tapped the other, more vibrant, sphere.

"And this planet is Avar, the lovely ball of rock you are now on. It is a land of magic, which is formed through an energy known as mana. Each human from Earth has mana inside them, but it only activates once you step foot onto the more mana-filled Avar. Every human has a different type of mana inside them, usually relating to the primary elements. After a few days of staying on Avar, the System will present your element and abilities to you, allowing you to use your mana in pre-set ways."

Both spheres crumbled to dirt and fell on the ground between Roger and the Administrator, who gave the fifteen-year-old boy a fatherly smile.

"I understand this may be difficult to hear, but Earth has been sending people here for a few decades now. From what I know, which is quite a lot, it is common knowledge that anyone may be randomly taken to Avar. Some of your governments have even established permanent gates to harvest some of the resources here."

Every sentence chipped away more and more of Rogers's understanding of his own home.

'Sending people for decades? Common knowledge? How did I never hear about that?'

Even as Roger thought those words, he knew exactly why.

The prisoners never spoke of the outside world.

It was a taboo topic. It would only build hope, and hope was a poison. It would cause the smartest among them to do stupid things and get themselves killed, or worse, put in the harsh labor camps. 

No one ever returned from the harsh labor camps.

The next thoughts were far more related to his current situation.

"Does that mean the government will try and find me?"

The Administrator nodded, a scowl on his aged face.

"Yes, they will. I have seen a few other prisoners be sent here. Each one was quickly rounded up by your Earth's government and brought back through a gate. You are luckier than most, however, as you are quite far from any of your government's cities."

The man turned his head and looked around. His eyes grew slightly cloudy for just a second before turning back to a light blue hue.

"You are quite far from any city, truthfully."

Roger exhaled slowly.

"Okay, so the government is going to be hunting me, but at least I am far away! I can run into the wilderness and survive. It can't be that hard right?"

The Administrator chuckled.

"That is the spirit, Roger! The System and I believe in you! Just take care to avoid the animals of Avar. They are known to possess… unusual capabilities."

The man tipped his hat once more and started walking away.

Roger called out to him one more time, unable to stop himself once he started letting his personality leak through his carefully maintained facade. 

"Wait! If I have questions, can I see you again? Where do I find you?"

The man chuckled without turning around.

"I apologize Roger, but I am simply the Administrator. I do not interfere past today. My only duty is to watch, and make sure nothing unordinary occurs. Good day to you, and good luck!"

The man suddenly began to turn into a bright light before vanishing on the spot, leaving Roger alone again.

'What did he mean? The animals here possess unusual capabilities?'

Before Roger could consider his words, a screen appeared in front of him again.

[System Initializing in Process]

[Current Objective: Survive.]