Oliver's Home For Story Ideas

The Wingless Crows

Rutger was impatient.

The tapping of his foot echoed across the dark facility. He sniffed and ran a hand through his hair. The new arrivals would be approaching any minute now, and he had to be at his best, but why did they have to take so long?

There were two things that Rutger hated about the facility, and it was the two things that any newcomer would first think to describe it as. The facility, or The Crow Foot Prison as it was officially called, was dark and musty. It was dark because the Higher Ups thought it was a good idea to prioritize the experiments over proper light fixtures. Torches, light bulbs. Anything would've been better than the occasional ray of sunlight that seeped in through the holes in the stone that made up the walls. Despite numerous remodeling projects done to the Crow Foot Prison, the mustiness of the place never seemed to fade. It smelled old, and damp with age, along with the lingering smell of blood.

Rutger, along with his assistant, Albanass, stood at the end of a long, dark corridor. At the other end was the entrance in which the prisoners would be escorted through.

From there, Rutger and Albanass were instructed to finish completing stage one of the Welcome Ceremony: Taking the prisoners to their cells.

The room that the prisoners were bring brought from was Rugter's least favorite room, though he'd never actually been in the room himself. The stories themselves left his blood freezing cold. The Extraction Room was where the prisoners were taken after their arrival from their timeline through the portal. That room was a lot more nosier than any of the other rooms in the facility. Sometimes when Rutger would close his eyes at night, he would fall asleep to the melody of the screams coming from the other side of that door. It was terrifying and sickening. Sometimes he wondered what kind of man he was to willingly partake in a job that took advantage of those poor souls.

But his family was poor, and the job paid well, and in the world humans lived in today, it was every man for himself.

Rutger glanced over at Albanass. His partner was a textbook guard. His hands were laced behind his back, and his posture was perfectly straight. Rutger supposed he should learn by example. Any guard that wasn't textbook was under surveillance. No mistakes were tolerated at Crow Foot. Today the world seemed to look as miserable as Rutger felt. The sun had blackened and the clouds had turned a violent gray. He could almost hear the fierce rain as it pattered outside, showering with the force of bullets. A rumbling sounded from the other side of the corridor, beyond the entrance. Rutger snapped at attention. The prisoners had arrived.

He kept his eyes trained forward as the large door freaked open on its hinges. The noise echoed through the entirety of the facility. Two guards stood at each side of each prisoner, their hands clasped around the forearms of their assigned person. Rutger took in the sight as the first trio entered. The escort guards looked fairly the same. Large muscles, gray uniforms, the color of today's sky, and a black mask that covered their mouths and hid their identity. The prisoner they held was secured in the middle. The physique was obviously female. There was a rut sack cast over her head, obscuring her face. She struggled vigorously against the guards.

From beside him, Albanass withdrew a clipboard and made a check mark on the paperwork. Rutger swallowed. It was Albanass's job to take inventory and his job to make sure everything was in order. That made him nervous. This batch they had to be cautious about. The guards led the first prisoner down the corridor, past the pair of them, and into the Grand. The next prisoner followed after. This one was male. Unlike the previous one, he offered no resistance. His head was held high. He radiated pride. The third prisoner was the same. The only difference was that she was female. Sobs came from the fourth prisoner.

Albanass shook his head as he passed them, and made a check mark on the sheet. "Cowards." he muttered. Rutger said nothing. The last prisoner was the most interesting. Instead of the standard two guards at her side, the count had doubled to four. "From the assassin region," Albanass whispered to him, thought Rutger has already suspected as much. Out of all of the regions, that was the one he feared the most.