"What do they put in that soup? It's disgusting."
"Im not sure, but it's honestly not that bad. It's far better than the rations the Republic gave us on Thalassa." John chuckles. "I don't know what they fed you on Desolux, but it must've been pretty good if you're acting like this about some strange soup."
I sigh as we continue walking toward the laundry room.
"So, what else did Big Ish say?" John asks, keeping his voice low as we pass a pair of guards. I pause for a moment, making sure we're far enough away before responding.
"That's it. He just said that the trial has something to do with virtual reality, and to meet him and the others in the laundry room."
John nods his head, as we turn the corner.
"Look, there's James." I point toward the large man standing guard outside the laundry room door.
"They're already here, let's hurry up." I say, quickening my pace down the hall.
I can't help but wonder what else Big Ish wants to discuss and why some much secrecy is involved.
"Yo, we don't got much time, let's hurry." James says, opening the laundry room door with a loud groan
It's quite dark. Dim lights hang from the ceiling, flickering and providing just enough visibility to see my surroundings, yet hiding the obscure nooks and cronies in darkness
"What else does Big Ish want to talk about?" I ask as James leads us deeper inside, maneuvering past rows of humming washing machines. Dirty Piles of clothing, uniforms, and sheets litter the filthy floor.
"Well, I think he wants to make a deal with Whiskey's crew. I think they figured out what the second round is about" John says, as he continues guiding us through the maze of washing machines.
"What do we have to offer Whiskey and his men?" John asks, glancing around nervously.
"From what I heard, Whiskey hasn't asked for much. In fact, I overheard his messenger talking with Big Ish about some sort of alliance."
"Alliance? Does that mean that the second trial will involve teamwork or something?" I ask, following James as he slides through a small opening between a few washing machines.
John gives me a look, unsure whether to follow him through the small gap.
I just shrug, following James' lead and sliding between the washing machines.
"Im not sure, you'll have to ask the boss yourself," James says, stepping out from the small gap between the washing machines into a large, secluded area.
"Woah, I never knew this place existed." John mutters in amazement, taking in the surroundings
a decently sized group congregates around a large wooden desk. On one side is Big Ish, Oliver, and Jenny, and on the other are Whiskey, and 3 of his crew.
"Welcome boys, we call this place the lounge!" Big Ish calls, gesturing us over. The area was rather empty with only a few chairs, and a table. Personally, I don't think it's fitting enough to call such a place a lounge, yet I'm not the boss.
"Do y'all not have more furniture?" I ask, chuckling as I stand next to Big Ish's chair.
"We were lucky to steal this from the guards without them catching on. Furniture is hard to come by in this ship's cell block." Whiskey scoffs, giving me an annoyed.
Whiskey is a small, yet pretty striking man. He has pale skin, slicked back black hair, and a handsome chiseled face. He has great confidence, style, and leadership. His little gang is notorious for picking on others, smuggling, exploitation, and even sometimes murder.
Im still puzzled on how the guards have yet to catch on to their operations.
"Tell them what you just told me." Big Ish says, urging Whiskey to speak.
Whiskey nods before explaining the details.
"From the information we gathered, round two will involve virtual reality. We overheard some of those science geeks that work on this ship talking about it. Apparently, round 1 was about culling our numbers, killing in order to lower our numbers by half, ensuring that only the strong and lucky survive. From what I know, we were split into twelve different groups, sixteen cells per group, and two people per cell. Using some simple math, it's easy to determine that there were originally 384 of us. After round one, the number is halved, leaving 192. Apparently, this second round is all about survival. They no longer care about how many of us are left, as long as the strongest, toughest, and the smartest make it through. They'll put us in a virtual reality machine to simulate a survival scenario. It's like a video game."
"What do you mean by ' video game?' How would putting us in virtual reality help us eliminate each other?" John interrupts, confused by Whiskey's words.
Whiskey's men glare at John, seemingly ready to pounce on him at any moment
"The VR machine will be hooked up to our bodies. Im assuming that if we die in the simulation, we'd die in real life. That's how they'll eliminate us. It's like a video game, but with no respawns."
the room falls silent as John, James, and I process the information.
"Why are you telling us this?" I ask, "You want an alliance right?"
Whiskey nods his head
"If our information is correct, all the prisoners will be placed together in one isolated space. Its not practical for everyone to work together. Everyone wants power, and no one is willing to willfully give theirs up. We'll probably break into small factions, all vying for control and I want to make sure that we are one step ahead of everyone else." He says smugly, clearly pleased with his efforts.
I glance back at Big Ish. Has he already made up his mind?
He looks at me for a moment, his big doughy eyes scanning me for some sort of emotion or response. I don't think Whiskey's deal is a bad one. In fact, I think it's quite reasonable. It quite literally benefits both of us.
I give Big Ish a nod, expressing my approval.
A hideous smile stretches across the fat man's face as he looks to the other's for confirmation. These men are dangerous. How did they have so much leeway? How do they get so much intel? They were prisoners, yet I still couldn't help but feel amazed by their power. How could a prisoner have such freedom?
I watch as the rest of our group slowly nod their heads in agreement with Big Ish's decision.
It seems like we had a deal.