Home, Sweet Home

Silence.

Not the comfortable kind, but the eerie type that's disconcerting and strange. Especially in a place where the tranquillity of silence would never be expected from.

"Hurry up kid, we don't have all day."

The prison guard escorting Cole grumbled, obviously not interested in wasting any time gently breaking in the new prisoner.

"Where is everyone?"

Led onto the prison grounds, Cole gawked around at the apparent emptiness. There were basically no guards and not even a single prisoner to be seen.

The old prison grounds grassed lawn was overgrown and in desperate need of mowing. General training equipment, used at some period long ago by those incarcerated to get strong, were rusting and strewn about everywhere.

The interior was very much similar, apart from a single guard seated at the counter who glanced up as we entered, there was no one else around.

"What do you mean? It's always like this, it's nothing special."

The guard frowned at Cole in confusion as they were buzzed through the entrance to go deeper within the facility.

"Aren't prisons usually busier? You know, shouting prisoners, rattling cell doors, fights and all that other stuff? The entire place looks like a building on the verge of being condemned! Plus, there's no guards? That's odd for a prison don't you think? What if the prisoners try to escape?"

"Are you stupid or just ignorant kid? Don't tell me you seriously don't know what kind of facility this is..."

"Obviously, it's a prison. Which is why I'm asking!"

Now Cole was annoyed. To begin with, he wasn't expecting to be spending much time here at all, so couldn't understand why he was taken from the remand center and brought here in the first place.

It had only been a week since the judge had sentenced him to a custodial sentence. On top of the initial punishment, the judge had ordered a further two years on top, as punishment for his behavior and assaults on the government officials.

Now it was a eight year stint he was facing. Just thinking about that sickened him, he had to do something to be released. The entire process had been a witch hunt from the beginning. The government being the inquisition and he being the so-called witch.

Seriously, it can't be that hard to explain why the place is a wreck. Whatever, I won't be here long. It's no worse than what I'm used to anyway, Cole thought.

"You're in for one hell of a rude awakening, that's for sure." The guard remarked.

"Well, that's pretty cryptic..."

Cole didn't bother asking anything else as they delved further and further inside. Eventually they came across a modern, sliding door that was impeccable, in stark contrast to the surrounding structure.

"Alright kid. This is as far as I take you. From here on, once you enter past this door, you'll be under the care of the staff members inside."

"Uh-huh, right."

The guard pressed a buzzer beside it and we waited. Moments later the sound of tapping footsteps could be heard and with a soft swoosh, the door slid open.

"Welcome to Paragon Industries leading facility, Excelsior. A privately run prison operated under the complete authority of the government. You must be our latest inmate, Cole Guildford. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance and I do hope you enjoy your time with us."

Greeting Cole, a woman wearing a white lab coat and glasses, with her long black hair tied back in a ponytail, stood surrounded on either side by two burly men in grey uniforms.

She appraised him with a clinical look, eyeing him up and down whilst she assessed him.

"This is the strangest prison that I've ever seen, not that I've seen many but you know, compared against what's in movies and stuff."

Cole remarked, taken aback by the strange appearance of these new arrivals. No matter how he looked at it, he could not figure out what was going on.

"It's actually quite the cutting edge in its field and the leading standard in our industry, believe it or not. Although it may seem a bit stale in its appearance, given how bare it appears. Once we insert you into your cell, you'll be none the wiser. Please, come with us."

She beckoned Cole forward, who, once he stepped through the door, was grasped roughly on either side by the two men in the grey uniforms.

"Hey, hey! No need to be so rough jeez guys come on. I am coming you know. It's not like I can run anywhere." Cole whined.

"Good luck kid. Don't get too institutionalized, okay? You're still young with plenty of living ahead of you. Find something to hold onto, something that'll keep your grip on reality. There's a world still out beyond these old walls. Don't forget that." The previous guard called out.

"Like there will be any chance of that happening, I'll be out sooner than you think."

The prison guard snorted at him as the door closed gently between them and Cole was once again, dragged unwillingly further into the bowels of a place he did not want to be in.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see soon enough."

One of the guards dismissed him off-hand, refusing to provide any further detail than that.

Eventually brought to another door, the woman used an access card against a card reader, which beeped once and flashed a green light, granting permission for the entourage to enter.

What in the actual, this has to be a surreal dream or something, right? No way is this real... Thought Cole.

The entire floor had been excavated, an immense honeycomb structure that reached down into the depths of the earth, replacing floor and dirt that had once existed there. Reaching up high into the expanse above, the same structure reached skyward, reaching for the heavens.

Pods, more pods, a seemingly endless number of pods, far too many to imagine or realistically count by the naked eye, were mounted all across the monstrosity.

"What the hell is this?"

For the first time in a long time, Cole felt the cold bite of fear begin to sink its cruel fangs into him.

This was unimaginable. He was supposed to be serving a custodial sentence in a prison, not being the lab rat of some crazy science experiment!

"Allow me to properly introduce myself. My name is Katherine Vetta and I am the Head Director of this facility. Doctor, or Ma'am, is the correct way to address me whilst you are under my care."

Doctor Katherine stopped them in front of an empty pod near the structure and activated a computer screen, bringing up a series of documents Cole saw bore his name.

"Again! What the hell is this place?"

"Address the Head Director properly, prisoner Guildford!"

"Ooft!"

A heavy punch to the guts from one of the guards left Cole winded and gasping. He fell to the ground and struggled to fill his lungs with the air that had been knocked clean from them.

"You are no longer Cole Guildford, but prisoner G211806233. Remember that number, because that is what your identity will now consist of whilst incarcerated within this prison system. You will adhere to all instructions given to you by staff personnel at all times. We will endeavor to take good care of you, but bear in mind that violations of any of the rules or policies that are applicable to the efficient running of this system are strictly prohibited. Do I make myself clear?"

"Ow damn! Stop stopstop!"

Doctor Katherine pressed the point of her heel into Cole's hand as he lay on the ground, pushing home her point. The two guards restrained Cole on the floor as she wrought her position of authority and power into him.

Cole screamed in pain, fearing the sharp point of it mixed with the pressure she exerted, was enough to pierce through his hand.

"As I said, do I make myself clear, prisoner G211806233?"

"Ahhhh! Yes, yes! Ahh damn, I understand Ma'am!"

"Don't ever make me repeat myself."

She pressed even harder into his hand with a certain level of vindictiveness, then relented and removed her heel.

"I'm glad we understand each other. Put him into the pod and restrain him."

The two guards obeyed her instruction and picked him up, tossing Cole bodily into the empty nearby pod.

The interior was white-washed and devoid of anything else, besides a semi-soft bedding which he was laid down upon. Straps on either side of his left and right were secured against both wrists, whilst further strapping at his legs locked around the ankles, completely securing Cole into position.

"Okay, okay I get it. You're in charge ma'am. I'll do whatever it is you instruct me to, but please, let me out of this thing!"

"Unfortunately, I can't do that prisoner G211806233. Your term of imprisonment is for eight years, with a non-parole period that was extended to six years. That was because of your little escape attempt and assaults at the courthouse. I did read your file prior to your attendance today, I'll have you know. What a very silly thing for you to do, I must say. Haa..."

She sighed and leaned down against the edge of the capsule and looked at Cole with a forlorn look, running a finger along the edge that would soon close shut against the pod's door.

A small door opened within the capsule and a clear tube was pulled free from within its confines. Doctor Katherine broke open packaging she'd been holding in her other hand and withdrew the clean needle from within, connecting it to the tubing.

"What's that for? Don't stick it into me, I don't give you permission to do that!"

"This will provide the appropriate level of nutrients your body needs whilst you are within the virtual world. With this, your physical body won't wither away and die from starvation whilst you serve your sentence. Once you wake up, after some physiotherapy, you will be good as new! Albeit, years will have passed."

"What the hell are you talking about!? My physical body? The virtual world? This isn't a full dive game! This is supposed to be a prison!"

"You seriously don't know?"

She peered over the top of her glasses at Cole quizzically as he thrashed around trying to break free from his bindings.

Cole had never been more scared in his life, than he was now. The terror that had taken control of his body threatened to overwhelm him.

He'd heard of people going missing all the time on the street. You'd see them walking around, talking, laughing and the next, poof! Gone, without a trace, as if the very wind had blown them away.

Was this one of those types of things?

"Listen closely prisoner G211806233. This is a Virtual Prison, a new prison system sanctioned by the government which has replaced the old, out-dated prison model. Your time will be served within the prison systems server, operated and owned by Paragon Industries. Time in the virtual world will pass 1:1 against the real world, which means that a twenty-four hour day in the program is equivalent to twenty-four hours in the real world. As such, you will remain in the system until such time as an opportunity for you to be paroled arrives. At that time a hearing will be held within the system to evaluate your progress and efforts of rehabilitation."

"So that means... I'll be under a full dive for at least..."

Cole trailed off, unable to believe that this was happening, that he could be under a dive for such an immense period of time.

"At least six years, yes. At that time, myself or another system administrator will present themselves to you and hold a parole hearing in your presence. You are entitled to a fair and reasonable process after all."

Doctor Katherine finished off what Cole was scratching to understand.

"F-Fair? Fair and r-reasonable? Are you serious?! How is any of this fair and reasonable?!"

Cole spluttered. This was all some kind of misunderstanding, surely!

"Absolutely. I am dead serious. Now, be a good boy and try to relax while we prepare you for your incubation period."

Doctor Katherine continued completing the process to place Cole under the care of the pod. Humming to herself, she ignored his continued thrashing.

Hadn't there been scientific research done on this type of thing? That said it was extremely damaging and dangerous for the user to undergo such a significant time period in the virtual world, while they still held a physical body?

Not only that, but it placed an extreme load on the mental health of the user. There were people who chose to abandon their bodies and completely succumb their consciousness into the virtual world, turning their back on the real one.

Would he be able to distinguish the real world from the virtual one when all was said and done? He cast his mind back to what the prison guard had said when he left.

Finally, he realized why the prison had been so quiet and what exactly was in those innumerable, incredible amount of capsules fixed to the honeycomb structure.

***Good luck kid. Don't get too institutionalized, okay? You're still young with plenty of living ahead of you. Find something to hold onto, something that'll keep your grip on reality. There's a world still out beyond these old walls. Don't forget that.***

Cole started hyperventilating as he recalled those words.

"I don't deserve this! I never did anything that meant this should happen to me! Don't do this please! I'm begging you! Let me out of here!"

Cole started sobbing hysterically and struggled futilely against his bonds.

"Shh, shhh prisoner G211806233, it's going to be okay. I'll be sure to check in on you from time to time. Remember, behave yourself as it is still a prison and you are required to adhere to the regulations therein."

Doctor Katherine stroked his head gently, though there was not an ounce of comfort behind the touch, then pulled forth a full dive headset from within another compartment above Cole's head and affixed it firmly across his thrashing head.

"STOOPPPPP!!!"

Was all Cole could scream amidst his terror, as the full dive equipment settled over his head and eyes.

The last thing he thought of, as the screen activated and he was shown the welcome screen on the back of the lens, was his little sister Annabelle. How would she survive without him?