Chapter 13: Introduction to Hell

  The gates of Outpost K-12 loomed ahead like the ribcage of a dead giant — jagged steel beams rising into the toxic, cloud-choked sky. The stench of rust, blood, and something chemical clung to the air, burning Ash’s nostrils with every breath.

  Inside, the Outpost was alive in a different way — not with cheer, but with commerce. Men and women in tattered gear shuffled between rusted stalls. Guards in black composite armor lounged lazily on elevated catwalks, rifles in hand, eyes sharp.

  Everywhere, crude signs marked where you could trade:

  Blood → White Points

  White Points → Rations, Weapons, Protection

  A lanky man with a shaved head and skin pale from years of radiation spotted the newcomers and barked,

  “Fresh meat! Line up!”

  Ash found himself herded into a corral-like space with half a dozen others, all freshly processed criminals. The man paced in front of them, a smirk tugging at his cracked lips.

  “Name’s Voro. I’m the Runner Overseer here. That means if you want to keep breathing, you’ll do as I say. This Outpost doesn’t feed you out of kindness. You earn your keep. That means blood.”

  One of the prisoners — a scrawny, sharp-eyed man — frowned.

  “Blood? Whose blood?”

  Voro’s grin widened.

  “Monsters’, preferably. Yours if you’re stupid. You bring back monster blood in sealed flasks, we measure it, we pay you in White Points. Spend ’em however you like — food, gear, a bed that doesn’t stink like piss. Or gamble ’em away. Up to you.”

  He gestured to a crude chart on the wall behind him. It showed three ranks, each marked with rusted brass plates:

  ? Low-Rank Runners: Zone-1 territory only.

  ? Mid-Rank Runners: Zones 1–2.

  ? High-Rank Runners: Zones 1–3.

  Beneath it, a note: “The farther you go, the less chance you come back.”

  “You lot start as Low-Rank,” Voro continued. “Zone-1’s still lethal, but not instant death. Don’t think that makes you special — you’re not. You’re disposable.”

  The group was ushered toward a small metal shack. Inside, the air was hot and smelled of machine oil. Behind a desk sat a short, stocky woman with a cybernetic eye and fingers stained red from ink.

  “Next,” she barked.

  Ash stepped forward.

  “Name?”

  “Ash.”

  “Crime?”

  “Self-defense.”

  She raised an eyebrow but didn’t press. Instead, she pulled out a small rectangular card, slid it into a slot on the desk, and typed something into a flickering terminal. A loud clunk later, she handed him a white steel card engraved with:

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  Name: Ash

  Rank: Low-Rank Runner

  Clearance: Zone-1

  Credit: 100 w.p.

  “That’s your life now,” she said flatly. “Lose it, you lose your rights in the Outpost. No card, no White Points. No White Points, no food. No food… well, you get the idea.”

  Ash turned the card over in his hand. It felt heavier than it looked.

  As he stepped back outside, Voro was waiting with a handful of rusted metal vials and a dented machete.

  “Your baptism by fire starts tomorrow,” Voro said. “Dawn. The outer gates open for exactly six hours. Bring back blood, and maybe you’ll live to complain about it. Bring back nothing…” He shrugged. “Then the island eats you.”

  Ash slid the machete into his belt, but before he could move further, someone fell into step beside him.

  The man was wiry, with dark, restless eyes and a twitch in his jaw. His hair was ragged, and his tattered clothes clung to a body that looked starved but wired with nervous energy. He offered Ash a grin that was half-smirk, half-survival instinct.

  “Self-defense, huh?” the man said. “You don’t look like the type who needs to defend much. Name’s Adam.”

  Ash said nothing at first, weighing him. Adam carried himself with the jittery caution of a rat in a room full of traps. Fitting.

  “They’ll work us till we drop,” Adam went on. “Zone-1’s crawling with things that’ll peel the skin off your bones just by breathing on you. But hey — at least we get White Points for the privilege. Food, gear, maybe a cigarette if you’re lucky.” He leaned in, lowering his voice. “What they don’t tell you is that there’s also things called black points, these buy protection from the outside forces unaffiliated with the prison system aka the rouge criminals dwelling deep inside the second half of the island…’’ Adam whispered to ash who looked uninterested but noting every word.

  ‘’Second half?…’’ ash asked.

  The island didn’t originally belong to the empire, but with effort they conquered half of it…if you step outside that half…or even fall behind once, you’ll be torn to shreds by the scavengers before the actual radioactive monsters ever do!!.”

  Ash’s expression stayed unreadable, but Adam tilted his head, studying him.

  “You’re quiet. Guessing you’re one of those awakened big shot from up seas makes you tuff but let tell me give you some advice…don’t try to stand out too much…or you won’t even realise how you died!!’’ Adam warned.

  Ash finally met his eyes.

  “I’m not awakened.”

  Adam blinked, then chuckled nervously.

  “Heh… good one. You actually want me to believe you’re a null-born?”

  Ash didn’t answer, just walked on. Adam hurried after him, suddenly serious.

  “Wait… you mean you’re actually null?!” His voice rose, echoing through the hall before he could clamp his hand over his mouth.

  ‘’Crap…’’ Adam lamented his mouth wishing he hadn’t freaked out,

  But it was too late. The entire facility heard.

  A ripple spread through the hall — mocking whispers, hungry chuckles.

  “A null-born?! … He’s basically free meat.”

  “…Dead man walking.” Others whispered!!

  Then all those predatory eyes turned toward Ash. He felt their intent pressing down, thick as smoke.

  From a balcony above, six figures watched in silence.

  “Oh my… a null?” a veiled woman murmured. “How did one of those get in here?”

  A comm crackled to life. Voro’s voice.

  “Should I stop them, sir?”

  “Nah…it’s been a while since we had one of these…let’s see what happens!!,” a man with an eyepatch replied, puffing on his cigar.

  “Every now and then, one or two are thrown in here like abandoned infants. Last one that came performed a miracle…Let’s see where this leads.”

  “Oi, miracles only happen once…and besides that bastard was one of a kind, wasn’t he?” another man in a crooked suit laughed, shuffling a glowing purple deck of cards. “How about a bet?”

  The eyepatch man raised a brow. “A bet?…On what?”

  “On how long this one will last. I bet he won’t survive here in less than an hour!!.” The man with the deck proclaimed.

  The eye patch man gazed down on ash, then made his bet,

  ‘’I bet he will fit in here quite perfectly!!’’ The eye patch man declared,

  The room chuckled, as the man with the deck of cards mocked his choice,

  ‘’Are you serious right now?!…FIT IN?!…’’ he laughed hysterically with the rest of the people in the room as the man with the deck scoffed, as though he already won, as though he already foresaw ash’s demise in a few minutes from now,

  the eyepatch man payed no mind to their foolish egos, as he leaned forward, his grin widening as he studied Ash.

  “Sorry let me rephrase that…what I meant to say was…I bet this one will not only survive but thrive, Maybe even shakes this island to its very core someday.”

  The room went silent from his firm declaration, making his colleagues hesitate for a moment as they all gazed down at the commotion,

  Down below, the tension snapped.

  A hulking figure loomed behind Ash, his presence crushing, his voice dripping malice.

  “Oi… null-born trash. Hand over your vials and weapon.” His massive hand stretched forward, demanding everything that could keep Ash alive.

  Yet ash remained silent, gazing up and down at the hulking figure before him, clearly looking for a fight,

  Adam panicked. “What are you doing?! Do you know who this guy is?! His name’s Goliath — a mid-rank blood runner! Listen and obey if you want to live!”

  Ash’s reply was calm.

  “How about no.”

  The hall froze.

  “…Does this null-born fucker not want to live anymore?!” someone jeered.

  Ash smirked. “What now, big guy?”

  Then ash struck first. Lightning-fast, precise — his fist cracked across Goliath’s jaw, staggering the brute a few steps back. Gasps rippled through the crowd.

  “Holy shit… he actually made Goliath stumble?!”

  Ash pressed forward, unleashing a flurry of punches and kicks, hammering the giant backward. For a heartbeat, it looked like he might win.

  But then — CLAP!

  Goliath’s massive palms slammed together with the force of thunder, aiming to crush Ash’s skull like an insect. The impact force shook the entire facility.

  Ash barely dodged. The air-burst shattered his eardrums, but ash stood grinning through the pain — joy flashing in his eyes where fear should have been.

  Goliath straightened, blood trickling from his lip, smoke curling off his hands. His unreadable expression only deepened the tension.

  Before the clash could ignite again, guards stormed in, breaking apart the chaos.

  Above, the overseers watched in silence.

  And just like that… Ash rose from prey to something far more dangerous.

  An intriguing Null-born.