Energia Tower

Chapter 12: Disregard

The work environment resembled an upheaved mess in the tenebrous depths of the factory basement. Gil assumed that the rowdy behavior of the prisoners would calm down after the first one was tased, but instead, it only seemed to fuel their rebellious spirits.

"I'm not going to war!" an angry voice yelled at in the distance.

The inmates took their frustration out on the work equipment, hurling unknown objects across the factory, some of which appeared to be hazardous. Gil observed the chaos, his awe growing as he witnessed a rowdy prisoner getting tased right in front of him.

"This is bad," said Gil, his eyes baffled by the chaos brewing before him.

"Let's get out of here!" panicked Vince.

"No, if we try to leave we'll be tazed too. Let's find some cover for now," said Gil calmly.

"Uh... sure," said Vince, taken aback by Gil's change in demeanor.

Gil jolted his head towards at the entrance of the elevator and saw the warden, Officer Daryl Bowman enter the facility alongside several other guards. He never saw the warden in the underground factory before, perhaps he got word about the riot unfolding. Daryl's presence did not calm the prisoners down at all.

"Gil... If you still want to escape, I want you to know I'm in now! This riot is the perfect time for us to escape. Let's go!" Vince said.

"I don't think this is the best time to escape at all," said Gil with vultured eyes. "We'll try something else later, just watch."

"Eh, sure."

As the guards continued to taze the misbehaving prisoners, their laughter adding to the chaotic atmosphere, Gil observed a mysterious signal from Bowman. It seemed to be a command for the guards to back off, leaving the prisoners unattended. The warden's blank expression and peculiar stance could not be a good sign.

Officer Bowman!" a rowdy prisoner shouted, menacingly approaching the warden with a few others following suit. "I want you to know that you and AquaLux no longer have control over us! We won't go to war for this company, and we won't be imprisoned here forever!"

Bowman stood unfazed, rooted to the ground like a tall statue, as the angry prisoners closed in on him.

"We're getting out of here!" the prisoner exclaimed, challenging Bowman face-to-face.

Suddenly and without warning, Daryl swiftly drew a small revolver and shot the defiant prisoner in the chest. The single shot echoed through the factory, shattering the commotion into a haunting silence. Daryl appeared to not be phased in the slightest, he didn't even look at the prisoner whom he had slain.

"So, you all think this is a game do you?" the warden said calmly as he put his gun back in it's holster. He then slowly began to pace around in the factory with menacing eyes."Let me ask you this... do you think you can rid yourself free of AquaLux? All of you are slaves to the corporation, your life is meaningless now. Going to war or staying here making weapons is now your destiny. If you don't want to accept that, please come now and I'll kill you too," Bowman said without a hint of compassion.

Gil couldn't believe the cold-heartedness and complete disregard for human life. Bowman appeared as if killing a man was another day in the park, clearly he was already adept at that. Maybe he killed the man so easily because he regarded the man as a mere prisoner and not a man. He felt an urge to confront Bowman, but that'd be foolish and meaningless. He wasn't afraid of Bowman, however he was desperate to escape the tower. The worse part of the whole ordeal was that Daryl likely wouldn't receive any sort of consequence. As far as AquaLux was concerned, Daryl just disposed of a piece of insignificant trash.