Holy Blood Chapter 1

Hello for those reading this from the Iron tier I hope you all enjoy!    

Chapter 1

I listened to the announcement with a mixture of humor and stoic emotionless. I was serving a triple life sentence and already knew my tiny cell like the back of my hand. Anything to change the tediousness of the day would be a plus in my book. From what he heard they would be playing a video game for the rest of their lives after their consciousness was uploaded into one of the most advanced programs ever seen by humans. 

“Hui!” the man called to me from the next cell over. 

He was a skinny man that was in prison for two life sentences for the amount of money his programs managed to siphon from governments, individuals, and just about anything that had a bank account. With short red hair and green eyes, his Irish heritage shown through strongly. 

“What George?” I asked with a sigh.

“This sounds awesome! I loved games when I was younger,” George said excitedly. 

“If you say so, I was busy when I was younger,” I said flatly, “plus, you know, they kill you,” I added.  

“Hey, as long as I have my own memories,” George said with a shrug, “Then how about we team up when we get there?” George asked, “I know my way around the game, and I could use your skills with your fists.” 

“Beat four men to death, one time, and no one lets you live it down,” I said with another sigh.

“Nope! Not here anyway. How many challengers did you have after that?” George asked.

I looked over the wall that was marked from the ceiling to the floor for every challenge I dealt with since that event. There were well over three hundred. They just never seemed to learn not matter how close I beat them to death. 

“If you didn’t start that stupid betting,” I shot at him.

“Which has earned us quite a lot of money,” George said without any embarrassment.

“Well… as for the game we’ll play it by ear. I, for the most part, am pointing my nose in the opposite direction of civilization and walking for six months straight,” I said glancing at the spinning world on the screen outside the cell. 

“I like it! I’ll join you. The trailblazers are always the ones that profit most, I like your style,” George said with renewed excitement. 

I wanted to just tell him to leave me alone but without him I probably wouldn’t have any one to talk to in the first place. I moved back from the bars and laid on my cot. I pulled the picture of my parents out of my pocket. It was the only thing I had of them from when a local gang boss had them killed because my mother wouldn’t serve him when they went to their restaurant, and I don’t mean the, bring them food, serve. 

I was sixteen when it happened, after that I spent the next four years hunting his men down one at a time, slowly like a poison. I made his entire operation suffer for their crimes. It was amazing what Virtual reality could teach you if you know where to look and who to ask. At least half of the people I killed were to acid poisoning from things I was able to buy from a part-time job. 

Once I crushed his operation, I turned myself in. I knew the detectives, the ones that were actually trying were getting close to me anyway, and I achieved my purpose, I had no reason to be free anymore. Part of it was the desire to let the people know what I achieved, a brag if you will. It helped that I didn’t have to work for food and housing that were so high people a hundred years ago could live for five months. 

The domes were large enclosures that encased all the major cities on Earth. They were normal by the time I turned five, our atmosphere reaching the point of no return due to a nuclear war a few decades ago. Even with limited space and resources, it didn’t stop people from having children or committing crimes. 

The only thing keeping the masses feed were the farms. Unfortunately, they were running low on nutrients, at least according to the scientist. Power was limited as well, with solar being the number one provider, but that has limits. Many believed the Earth was on a straight path to extinction. 

I flipped through the information provided by the guards. It was straightforward, with little information about the actual world we would be going to soon. It did state that all the worlds were linked and that eventually we could reach other worlds. I doubted it would be easy for us prisoners. 

The information on Alfred was pretty extensive, however. I was honestly surprised just didn’t push for the death penalty for all criminals. His story was similar to mine own. His family was murdered by a serial killer a list that spanned almost four hundred people nearly three decades ago, right when the domes were being finished. 

The next week passed in a blur compared to the usual drag that was my life. All kinds of people were in and out of the prison visiting their family members or friends that were about to basically die. Of course, no one came to visit me as I didn’t know anyone that would bother with me. George actually had a daughter that came and visited him, she was only thirteen but seemed just as enthusiastic about this new world as he did. All I could think was the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. 

“Hui Freed! It’s your turn before the board!” one of the many guards that I never bothered to learn yelled to get my attention. 

“Just send me in,” I said not bothering to roll over in my cot. 

“Doesn’t work like that. We have rules,” the guard said with annoyance clear in his tone. 

“If I say I forfeit my right to a judge or something like that can I just get some more sleep?” I asked. 

“Listen Miser Freed, you have to the count of ten before I activate the sinker in you and you wake up in the courtroom naked for the trouble your causing me. One. Two,” the guard said starting to count while tapping his baton on the steel cell bars. 

Waiting until he reached nine, I slowly rolled over doing my best to make it a production. I yawned then said, “Lead the way.”

The guard clicked his tongue then gestured to the opening in the door. I stuck my hands through, and he put on my ‘gauntlets’ as I liked to call them. They restricted my movement by covering my entire arm to the elbow and then were locked together. I always wanted to laugh when they put it on as it made me realize how much they feared me. Once I was let out from the cell, two more guards locked a shock collar on my neck. 

After a dozen different hallways, we finally made it to the trial room. Three judges sat on a raised stage while I was led to a podium. This was many for show, for the very few people that cared and with the influence to affect this decision. I just wanted to get this over with so I could get back to my nap. 

“Hui Freed. You have a confirmed ninety-nine counts of manslaughter, forty counts of thief, possession of illegal weapons, and many more. We all know how this is going to end, but just to show we still care about our fellow man, we felt it necessary to give everyone one last chance.”

“Is that so? Can I go now?” I said yawning this time on accident. 

“In a moment,” the judge turned to one of the techs, “pull up exhibit R please.” 

A video clip appeared on the large screen on the back wall. In it I was leaning against a wall as if waiting for someone. A girl passed-by nose in her holo-phone followed by three men that looked to be minding their own business. As soon as the men passed, I pushed off the wall and followed from a distance. 

The video switched to a different camera further down the street. The woman finally became aware that people we behind her, but it was already too late for her to start running. The men were about to make a grab for her when something struck the head of one of them. He fell forward almost comically slow before he hit the ground heavily.

Behind the man, I stood with a brick that now had a nasty blood stain on it. The woman started to scream though you could only tell from the way her mouth was moving. The two men yelled something. I couldn’t even remember personally what it was before they lunged toward me. I reacted quickly bringing the brick around and delivering an uppercut with it to the larger of the two men.

Blood sprayed as part of his jaw was ripped off and sent flying. The large man went into shock from the pain as he fell to the ground withering around. The other man kept up his lung and took me around the waist sending us both to the ground. I brought the brick which I held with a near death vice down on the man’s back. The distinct crack of his spine breaking was ingrained in my memories. He stopped moving instantly, the only indication that he still lived was his shallow breaths. 

The woman had long run for her life, not that I blamed her now or then. Two of the men were still alive, but the memories of rage I felt that night still haunted me. The me in the video brought the brick up and down on the two men’s head over and over until it was almost impossible to identify them.

“Mister Hui. This is the first recorded account of your serial killings. Do you have anything you would like to add to the record?” one of the judges asked. 

“No,” I answered flatly.

“Very well. This incident alone is enough to warrant your transfer. Any last words?”

“No.”

“Very well,” the judge said again then pressed a button on her desk, “I would like to say something off the record,” He said with smile that managed to surprise me.

“What?” 

“Thank you. The woman that night was my daughter. I know what happens to women that gang catches when their done with them. So again, thank you.”

“Ah, I hope she learned not to go out that late without a security bot,” I replied with a shrug. 

“Indeed, she has. She is the main reason the police didn’t break down your door that night. Anyway, we’re done here. Your transfer will be at eleven hundred hours tomorrow. Enjoy your new life.”

The judge banged the gavel and my escorts moved forward to take me back to my cell. Once back I flopped down on my cot just wanting to forget the memories the recording brought back. That had been just after my parents and little sister were killed, and I was filled with unending rage. That incident made me realize I could actually hurt them back. For the next few years I hunted them like prey, learning their habits before striking them dead.

George was called next, only two guards escorted him to which he raised a fuss about equal treatment. His session lasted much longer than mine and when he was brought back, he was cracking up with laughter. 

“What’s got you in such a good mode?” I called over.

“The poor judge just couldn’t handle me. Every time they brought up evidence, I couldn’t resist objecting it,” George explained in between gushes of laughter.

“So?”

“So,” he said then sighed, “still going in…”

After that the guards let us request a final meal, within reason. I went with some simple fast food meal. All the other things I thought of having would remind me of my family. I would rather they stay that way then as the last meal in prison. ‘I did get the large though, so I was able to enjoy it for a solid two minutes,’ I thought with a chuckle. 

Finally, the day arrived. Hundreds of people in white lab coats came and according the to the guards were setting up a room here in the prison. They didn’t want to risk transporting us to a facility and someone escaping. It started around ten in the morning. The first cell mate in the block was escorted then didn’t come back. Even though we knew that would happen some of the other cellmates started to panic. More than a few were tranquilized before they were moved. 

When the guards I got to me, I turned to George, “Well. It’s hard to say it’s been fun, but you at least kept it interesting,” I laughed. 

“Don’t worry! I’ll continue to annoy you in there as well,” George called as I was escorted away. 

I was led to the cafeteria where a monster of a machine was set up. There were cables the size of a man’s head leading to various banks of machines. Somehow, I felt the prison didn’t have the bandwidth to support the digitization of thousands of inmates, but I was basically on death row anyways. This would just be more interesting if they want to end me. 

“Hui! I’m glad I won’t have to see your face anymore,” another inmate called as he entered the room. 

“Ah, Terry. I didn’t think they were letting rapists in,” I frowned. 

“Everyone is going in, that means I get to have all the fun I want there!” Terry laughed nastily. 

I snorted but kept quiet. People like Terry thrived on people talking back to them. Terry laughed harder but quieted down when one of the guards threatened him. One of the technicians moved forward then started to remove my full cuffs. Apparently, I couldn’t go into the machine with them on. The four guards around me leveled Tasers at me, and I just smiled. 

Right when I felt the cuffs come undone. I jerked my hand then bent my body so that I fell. As I fell, I kicked the dropped cuffs full on with the bottom of my feet. The fifteen pounds solid block of metal went flying straight at Terry’s head. He was in the middle of getting a tube attached to him and didn’t notice before the cuff impacted his skull. Blood sprayed into the air. Though I couldn’t quite see the damage, I was pretty sure I killed him. 

Pain flared in my back as a taser hit me. I jerked around but didn’t make another hostile movement, wouldn’t want them to accidentally kill me. Finally, the flow of electricity stopped, and I slummed to the ground. 

“Damn it, Hui! This is going to be so much paperwork!” one of the guards shouted. I just noticed that the technicians were unnaturally calm for what they just witnessed. 

“He had it coming,” I spat. 

“Whatever,” the guard shook his head then turned to another guard, “Get this cleaned up. Just toss him with the rest.” 

“Tell me. Are we really going to a digital world?” I asked the technician that was helping me up. 

“To put it simply, yes,” he replied. He pushed me into the machine and started hooking cords and tubes to me. 

“Well… I did miss out playing video games when I was younger,” I chuckled. 

“This was meant for people that needed it, not criminals,” the technician murmured under his breath. I probably wasn’t supposed to hear him. 

“Tech get bought out?” I said. I only got a nod before the lid started to close over me. 

“I respect your sense of justice, but it might be best to throw that away,” the technician said before all sound was cut off from me. 

Some fluid started to travel the tube into my body, and I immediately felt drowsy. Only five seconds must have passed before the world went black. The last thought I had was that my count was now triple digits.