A Fate Worse Than Death

Chapter One

     All Jordyn remembered was the auditorium doors bursting off their hinges, the stage splintering and exploding, tripping and falling down the short staircase as he tried to run from the massive shadowy entity that had erupted from nowhere to terrorize his school.  He hadn't done anything wrong, he'd thought there'd been others running behind him, but apparently he'd been the only survivor of the attack that had wiped out all his schoolmates, teachers, even the nurse and principal.  And now Jordyn was on his way to prison for something he didn't do. 
     Jordyn felt a short jolt of pain in his sore ankle as the prison van went over several bumps.  They hadn't even checked him for injuries when they'd found him stuck in the bushes outside his school, but he wasn't going to make a fuss and get himself into more trouble.  He just hoped he could get some medical attention when he got where they were taking him.  Then again, he hadn't even been given a trial, so there probably wasn't much chance. 
     Jordyn wasn't sure how much time had passed, but the van finally stopped.  A dark-uniformed guard in a helmet and tinted visor opened the door and pulled him out.  His bare feet hit gravel, and he tried not to drag his bad leg as he was pulled between two more guards while the first walked behind.  Jordyn's eyes stayed on the ground as he was led into the massive building.  He didn't need to see it to know where he'd been taken.  He'd heard enough on the ride over.
Hellscape Penitentiary was for the worst of the worst, and yet he'd been sent here without doing anything wrong. Jordyn didn't know how he'd cope, but he knew he wanted to survive long enough to get out again. For the moment, though, he stayed submissive, letting the guards take him wherever they were going. Fighting now wouldn't help him, it would only make things worse.
The guard walking behind him gave him a small poke in the back to get him moving a little faster. Jordyn winced and tried to speed up, but all he ended up doing was limping worse.
"Have someone give him a shot of healing serum before he's put in the maze," a female voice said behind him. "Let him have some food and water while it takes effect." The voice was monotone and serious, but Jordyn at least appreciated the small amount of caring.
"Does he get a supply pack?" Asked a male voice to his left.
"Let him have one to start," the guard behind him answered. "We can always take it away if he misbehaves." A few moments later, Jordyn was put into a decently sized cell and told to wait. Two of the guards stayed outside the cell door while the third went off somewhere. Jordyn stayed quiet and gazed around his cell.
There was a the expected sink, toilet, and bed, plus a wooden bench with a thin cushion. The bed had a barred window above it, but instead of showing the outside, it showed a view of a massive corn maze. In between the bed and the sink was another cell door, which gave a better view. Jordyn crawled over to the bed and pulled the pillow and blanket off. He leaned against the foot of the bed with the pillow behind him and the blanket over his legs. Jordyn gazed out at the maze, both mentally preparing himself and trying to see if he could spot anyone or anything he needed to be aware of.
As upset as he was to be here in the first place, he knew crying now wouldn't help. He'd find a spot in the maze later and cry in hiding. Right now, he had to get any advantage he could give himself. The corn seemed to be at least a dozen feet high, if not more. Jordyn couldn't spot any monsters or other creatures, but they probably wouldn't be waiting right outside the door anyway. They probably started on the other side of the huge hill, lurking to jump out unexpectedly and do whatever they did to you here. Jordyn had heard pretty much anything went except for murder once you were put into one of the 'attractions'.
Footsteps approached his cell and he heard it open and two people entered. Jordyn didn't turn to see who it was, but he heard a plastic tray being set next to him.
"Okay, boy," a male voice said calmly. "Let's see your injury." Jordyn didn't respond except to move the blanket to let the medic see his bad ankle.
"Yeah that looks pretty sore," the doctor said. "That'll take a few hours for the serum to do its job." He bandaged the ankle, then took something out of his pocket.
"I need to see your shoulder, boy," he told Jordyn. The teen pulled his left arm out of his prison uniform's black and white striped sleeve and rolled that side of the top up to expose the pale skin.
"Good boy," the doctor told him. "Just a small stick." Jordyn shut his eyes and gritted his teeth, but made no noise as the needle went in.
"Well, done," the doctor said. "You're braver than that meek expression suggests." Jordyn simply nodded as he slid his arm back into his sleeve. He ate the food and drank the water that had been left for him, which actually tasted quite good. Four hours later the female guard returned with a small red backpack.
"This is yours," she told him, tossing the pack through the door. "Behave and you get refills. Act out and you lose the whole thing. There are loot chests hidden in the maze, but you'll have to fight for a lot of them." The door leading to the maze slid open, and Jordyn carefully stood, finding his ankle hurt a lot less than it used to.
"Good luck," the guard told him. "You'll need it." Jordyn nodded his thanks, rolling the blanket under his arm as he slowly stepped into the maze. He walked cautiously, partly trying to go easy on his injury, and partly trying not to attract attention. Maybe he could stealth his way to the exit without too many conflicts. The hill was over a hundred meters high, but his slow pace and relatively good fitness let Jordyn get to the top without much puffing.
He walked several hundred yards from the bottom before he spotted a small nook in the corn. As he got closer, he saw a large wooden trunk tucked at the back. He knew it wouldn't be as simple as walking up and opening it, and movement in the corn stalks around it confirmed that. Four tall figures melted out of the corn. Clowns. Jordyn hated clowns, but he forced himself to keep the fear down.
"You gotta pay a toll if you wanna look in our treasure chest," the clown in black and white polka dots cackled. He was slightly shorter than the others, but still taller than Jordyn, and he seemed like the leader. Jordyn had his pack already over his shoulders, but he let his blanket drop and looked the clown in the eyes.
"Catch me and I'll pay," he challenged, and dashed for the corn on the opposite side of the grass path. He made it a few feet in and crouched down, hoping to hide. Something grabbed the waistband of his pants and he knew it hadn't worked.
The clown cackled again and dragged the teen by his bottoms back to where he'd dropped the blanket. A clown in a blue wig with half his skull showing and a clown in pink with burn scars held Jordyn's arms, while the clown in orange with his lips, nose and right eye rotted out held his feet. Jordyn barely had time to bite a mouthful of his blanket before the black-and-white clown was inside him. All four clowns took turns and it was three hours before they all finished. Once Jordyn was released, he slowly pulled his pants back up, glaring at the clowns to hide his tears.
"Tougher kid than we thought," the lead clown said as Jordyn stood slowly, holding his blanket again. "Let him in the chest." Jordyn shuffled over to the trunk, and the skull and zombie clowns opened it for him.
It was filled with what looked like different children's toys, but given that he was beginning to think these clowns weren't human, Jordyn suspected there was something more to the playthings than it first seemed. He looked them over for several moments, then chose a fair-sized plush bunny with black and lilac fuzzy fur, floppy ears, and patches of what looked like actual skin and flesh showing. Jordyn looked at its life-like pink eyes for several seconds, then held it gently to his chest.
"Good pick, kid," the burnt clown said as he stepped back. "That one will come in handy."
"Off with you, then," the lead clown told him. "I don't say this often, but good luck. You might just have what it takes to make it out of here." Jordyn walked away as the clowns disappeared back into the corn. He knew he'd be sore later, so now he wanted a place he could hole up and wait for it to pass.  He walked for several minutes, still trying to keep up his stealth idea.  His backpack had stayed on his back the whole time the clowns had him, so they seemed to have left its contents alone. 
     Jordyn looked down at his new bunny, the soft, fuzzy fur feeling very comforting in his hand.  He paused and held it to his cheek, noticing a light, lovely scent coming from it. 
     "I should probably give you a name, shouldn't I?"  Jordyn asked it quietly.  The plush toy made a little squeaky, chittery noise in response. 
     "Are you talking?"  Jordyn adjusted the way he held the bunny, shifting it to sit on his arm.  The rabbit made its noises again, its front paws coming up to grip the shoulder of his prison uniform. 
     "Bunnenstine," Jordyn said.  "That's your name."  The plushie nuzzled him and a little pink tongue appeared from its mouth to lick him. 
     "You like it?"  He asked.  "Your black and purple look stitched together, so it sounded good."  The bunny made happy noises and blinked its eyes at him. 
     "Sweet boy," Jordyn said as the bunny licked him again.  "Bunnenstine it is."  The corners of his mouth pulled up slightly for the first time as he pressed his cheek to the bunny's.  He honestly felt a little better.  He began walking again, but a rustling in the corn a few seconds later made him stop again.  Jordyn looked in the direction of the noise as it came again. 
     It was quiet for a couple moments, and Jordyn thought whatever it was had lost interest.  He couldn't tell for sure, since he hadn't heard it leave, so he took a step to test.  A huge shape burst out of the corn in front of him, and Jordyn saw it was a large scarecrow.  Hiding hadn't worked with the clowns, so this time he stood his ground, staring at the scarecrow in its black eyes. 
     Holding his ground seemed to work for about a dozen seconds as the being stared back at him, but then Jordyn felt fingers on his crotch and stiffened.  He glared at the scarecrow, baring his teeth. 
     "Stop that," he growled.  "Let go." 
     "Put the blanket and the rabbit down," the scarecrow growled back.  "Just let this happen and it will be over sooner."  Jordyn let his blanket and Bunnenstine slide out of his arms, but he growled at the scarecrow again. 
     "I've already been violated once," he said.  "I'm not in the mood for more."  The scarecrow grabbed both of his wrists in his free hand and lifted them up so Jordyn couldn't bite his fingers.  His other hand began to rub and Jordyn growled again. 
     "Running would've gotten you away," the scarecrow said as he pulled Jordyn's pants down and pushed the teen into a sitting position.  "But then you'd miss out on an item that could help you out later."  He began touching again, and Jordyn spit at him. 
     "Spunky," was the scarecrow's response.  "You have fight, I'll give you that."  He was crouched to one side, so Jordyn couldn't kick him, but the teen tried anyway. 
     "I see the clowns already got you," the scarecrow rubbed him, and Jordyn growled and snapped his teeth.  "Looks like they thought enough of you to give you one of their pets, good for you.  They didn't drain anything, so I won't either." 
     "Drain?"  Jordyn still glared and bared his teeth, but he stopped kicking and gave the scarecrow his attention. 
     "Murder by weapon isn't allowed in here," the scarecrow explained.  "But death due to fear or by draining energy or mentally for sustenance is fine under certain conditions.  The clowns by themselves probably could've brought you close if they'd wanted to drain you, but they didn't, so neither will I.  I will keep touching, however, until I'm satisfied." 
     "What was that you said earlier about running?"  Jordyn hated the scarecrow touching his exposed privates, but it wasn't painful like what the clowns had done, so maybe he could distract himself if he kept the being talking. 
     "Information will cost more touching," the scarecrow told him.  "But I like your spunk, so I'll talk. Most of the entities here will let you go if you run far enough, but you could miss out on any items that might prove vital to you finding the exit, or surviving in general. That rabbit of yours is a good example." The scarecrow guided Jordyn's hands to Bunnenstine, who lay beside him. The being's fingers opened enough to allow Jordyn to pick up the plush.
"See that zipper in its back?" The scarecrow asked. "Open it. You might've been lucky enough to pick out a toy stuffed with more than fuzz." Jordyn unzipped the large pocket, very aware that the scarecrow still had his open hand ready if he tried anything. Inside of Bunnenstine were several items he would never have thought to look for on his own.
"That looks like a money pouch," the scarecrow said as the teen pulled out a fabric bag in the shape of a skull. "That may have some prison currency in it. If so, you could use it to trade for items if you find the Harvester while you're in here. It could also be used at the prison trading post or in the paid cafeteria for snacks or bakery items." The being confirmed that the tokens and bills inside were the money he spoke of.
"That package of candies is extremely important," the scarecrow pointed out a clear plastic bag filled with different candy. "Don't go eating those just to satisfy a sweet tooth craving. The green ones are for healing any injuries you get. The blue are energy restoration for if someone does drain you. The pink ones do the same for your mind. Those purple ones are for status effects aside from mind or energy, so paralysis or illness causing poisons, things like that. Those orange ones are interesting. Those are usually for restoring any unique powers or abilities you might possess, should you use them in fights." 
     "So what's this, then?"  Jordyn asked, holding up an object that looked like a candy stick, but had what seemed to be a double blade made out of a dark sugar.  One part of the blade looked like a wicked axe head, the other part looked like the blade of a scythe sticking out of the top in the opposite direction.  Jordyn shifted his legs, trying to ignore the gentle pressing he now felt. 
     "That looks like a weapon," the scarecrow said.  "It won't kill any of us entities, but if one wants a fight it'll do enough damage for them to surrender, if you learn how to use it.  Don't try with me now, I'll get rougher and you won't get your item." 
     "So how do I activate it?"  Jordyn twitched again, not happy about how long the touching was going, but wanting his information and his item, he stayed put. 
     "It should activate itself when you need it," the scarecrow began rubbing again.  "Stop squirming, I'll be done soon."  Thirty minutes later, the scarecrow stopped pressing and rubbing, but he held Jordyn's parts for a moment longer. 
     "You did better than some adults that've come through," he told the teen.  "You've earned your item."  The scarecrow finally let go, and he pulled Jordyn's pants back up for him, lifting the teen to his feet.  The being whistled, and the corn rustled for a second before something small scuttled out. 
     "A gizmo gourd?"  Jordyn looked at the black and green thing, and it blinked three little yellowy-orange eyes and scurried over on short, skinny vine feet. 
      "You know your fall plants," the scarecrow said.  "Smart kid.  That pack you have probably has a flashlight in it, but this little one will light the way for you as long as you need, no batteries or recharge required.  Just feed and water it at least once a day, give it some attention, and let it snooze once in a while.  It'll keep up with you no problem, so don't worry about carrying it.  Should be a decent companion in a fight, too."  Jordyn nodded, and the scarecrow disappeared back into the corn. 
     "Come on, Gizzie," Jordyn told the gourd.  "Let's go find somewhere to rest."