By It felt like a view into another world. Ollie continued through the fortified hallway void of any sign of life. The vinyl flooring shone as brightly as the glossy red armour of the guard accompanying him on his journey. His heavy boots clattered as he marched ahead as Ollie sheepishly trailed behind.
Since stepping through the large entryway, all the signage read a foreign language that Ollie couldn’t comprehend. This made the trip even more disorientating, as he lacked any sense of direction. The air also felt thicker as Ollie began to inhale with laboured breathing. A lack of oxygen in the air meant he was now seeing stars as he tried to keep up with the armoured guard.
Sluggish limbs slowed him down as he dragged his feet on the smooth white linoleum. Ollie’s vision blurred before he came to a halt gasping in exhaustion.
“I…I c..can’t b…brea..th,” he managed to choke out, as the guard swung around.
It noticed him struggling but didn’t seem to have any manner of emergency. Slowly the bulky guard stomped over to Ollie, analysing him panting for air.
“The hallways of this facility operate at a reduced oxygen output of 40% to ensure potential escapees are rendered unconscious as they try to escape,” the heavily geared figure explained, “All guards are equipped with breathing apparatuses as a result.”
This place just got weirder and weirder. Now panicking from the lack of oxygen, Ollie could barely respond. He felt like he gravely underestimated this place and was about to pay the consequences. The guard bent down to grasp at his enervated body, lifting him over his shoulder with ease. It was clear the armour wasn’t just for show as underneath the reflective protection was pure muscle and strength.
Ollie’s entire body felt like dead weight. He continued to gasp and choke as the brawny red figure continued on their journey further into the prison. Being held so close to the powerful sentry, he could hear the steady hiss from his breathing mask. The armour appeared to cover every inch of the figure with no view of an opening or a seam.
From afar, it looked like plastic but with his body pressed against it, Ollie could tell this was more akin to thick foam or rubber. He wondered if a bullet could even penetrate such a solid coating.
The figure’s mechanical walk was robotic and calculated as it marched through the maze-like hallway with precision. Its destination was unknown to Ollie who could only swing his limbs lifelessly. He tried his hardest to call out, scream and shout protested abuse at the armoured guard. However, nothing escaped his lips out of exhaustion mixed with fear.
Suddenly, they came to a stop as Ollie heard mechanical whirring before a reinforced door swooshed open. The room was narrow and filled on both sides by multiple pods. It stank of harsh chemicals with puddles of unknown liquid spread in patches on the floor. The guard hurled Ollie inside one of the glass chambers with a loud thud before closing the lid.
For a few minutes, Ollie lay motionless on the cold floor. The inside of the pod was smooth white plastic illuminated by hidden lights. Fresh oxygen made its way into the pod as Ollie could feel life return to his limbs. Aching from the mistreatment, he shimmied into an upright position to take stock of his surroundings.
He pressed his face into the cool glass of the entry to the pod. The lights outside the chamber were darker, meaning he couldn’t make out much. No sign of the burly red guard anymore – Ollie thought maybe he left. They likely caught onto his fake persona and now he was in deep trouble. With a reputation for talking his way out of anything, Ollie thought he may have met his match.
Coughing and spluttering, he lay panting against the cool glass. The synthetic air had a metallic taste to it and was unpleasant to adjust to. The ceiling of the chamber held numerous harsh lights and odd-looking nozzles. Ollie decided to try opening the chamber door only to find it locked in place.
A few hours into his captivity, Ollie drifted into a hazy dream as he remained on the floor of his cell. He was in a dark space, feeling his way around. A voice called out to him in a language he couldn’t comprehend. The expression was void of any emotion and almost robotic. Ollie felt a warm liquid gushing into the pitch-black expanse he currently inhabited. It began to rise as it came to his knees.
The voice interrupted his shouts of panic to utter more unfamiliar prompts. The fluid felt like acid against his skin – as it burned everything in its path leaving Ollie’s exposed skin. His yells of panic turned to screams of pain. Chemical smells filled the air as Ollie detected the burning liquid had now reached his nipples. Fearing certain death by drowning in the strange substance, Ollie kicked and punched at the blank walls around him – still blind in the jet-black space.
The dream continued in flashes as the pain became so unbearable, Ollie began to fade into the darkness. Consumed by the fear and torturous sensation which burned every inch of his body, he continued to try and fight it.
Ollie started to come to with the haunting dream was fresh in his mind. He gazed around in a disorientated state, noticing that he was no longer in the jail pod. Laying on his back, Ollied gazed up at a ceiling of harsh, bright lights. He tried to crane his neck in any which way but his entire body was fixed in place.
Light machinery whirred around him, and he could feel the presence of other figures in the room. Ollie strained to try and get a better view, but the bright lights obscured his line of sight. His skin still felt remnants of the dull pain from his dream with am abnormal pressure squeezing from every angle. Something was wrong and he was about to find out what.
Suddenly, the bed began to move arching to an upright position giving Ollie a better view of his surroundings. He was shocked to see a gleaming orange figure strapped to a hydraulic bed staring back at him. His body, seamlessly covered from head to toe in the fluorescent orange coating. Only two terrified eyes signified that the thing was even human.
Its arms formed a crisscrossing bulge at the figure’s chest and bonds at numerous points kept it fixed to the moving table. After the initial shock wore off, the next horrifying realisation came that the figure was, in fact, Ollie himself. He tried to shout his displeasure, but the shiny orange material kept him mute. He could also feel a large object filling his mouth and straining his sore jaws.
Loud steps echoed in the room as a figure came into view between Ollie and his mirrored self. A familiar shiny, red silhouette stamped in front of the now restrained prisoner. There was no way of knowing if this was the same guard that had escorted him into the facility. All Ollie could think was how he could escape this frightful nightmare.
“Prisoner, you have now been fitted with your synthetic uniform and life support system. Your hair and skin was chemically treated and removed to attach the bio uniform. It will ensure that illness or injury inside this facility is impossible,” the drone mechanically announced.
His tone was void of all emotion as he broke the news to a terrified and confused Ollie. His skin was no longer his. The horrific pain he’d felt during that hazy dream was all real. His hair and flesh had been burned away by the chemicals, leaving an artificial skin in its wake.
This place had stripped his entire identity. Even if he could escape from this fortress – how would he ever resume an average life. Of course, the thoughts of breaking free felt less and less likely.
“Prisoner, your new skin is now more durable and protective, meaning injury or self-harm is impossible. This facility has a zero fatality rank with all of our inmates and guards safely housed here,” the figure droned on.
Another two almost identical armour cladded guards appeared. It confirmed Ollie’s theory that his previous guide probably wasn’t any of these.
“Your request to meet the warden before your incarceration begins has been approved,” one of the security figures spoke, “Prepare for transportation of subject!”
Ollie thought he’d be able to make a break for it when they released his restraints. Little did he know, he wouldn’t be conscious while being transported to see the warden. He drifted into a quick slumber as the world around him faded away.
