Olivia's cell was empty. Twice a day or so a tray of food would be slid under the door for her to eat. She'd put the tray back and it would be retrieved the next time food came.
She hadn't spoken to anyone since they put her here. She hadn't seen anyone else. She hadn't heard anything but the sounds she herself made and the sounds of the door and tray.
How much time had passed? It had been days, but how many? The silence, the stillness, was starting to get to her. It was so empty. Nothing but her thoughts for hours on end. Being asleep was a blessing. At least then she didn't have to stew on what she should have done differently.
How she could have saved Keyla. How she could have avenged her.
The incessant scenarios bombarded her mind.
At first this had been fine. It was peaceful, not having to worry about where she'd find food or shelter. Not having to worry about her next move to avenge Keyla. But then the hours had begun to stretch endlessly, and the waiting for the dimming of the lights felt like an eternity. The lights changing brightness and the coming of meals was the only way to tell the passing of time. If you'd told Olivia she'd been in here for months, she would have almost believed you.
No human contact. Solitary confinement. Apparently it had been a punishment when Arx was first established, but it had been abolished long before Olivia was born because of the damage it could wreak on the human psyche. Before being trapped here, she would have scoffed at the idea that isolation could break a person.
Olivia scraped against the wall with her fingernail. It made an awful sound against the metal and nothing she did would scratch it. In one corner, though, someone had managed to leave their mark.
Elise 2378
It was written sloppily, with jagged edges, but it was there. A testament that long ago, someone else had sat in this very cell. Someone had gone through this same torture.
What was the military hoping to accomplish with this?
Her thoughts just kept spinning in circles. It was infuriating, insanity-inducing torture. No wonder it had been abolished. Should she feel honoured that they reinstated solitary confinement just for her?
Before she could laugh at it, footsteps came to rest outside her door. That was strange. Her food tray hadn't come too long ago. Was it already suppertime?
But then the door opened. Olivia's heart raced almost as fast as her thoughts.
Were they letting her go? Who was this person? What did they want?
A young man walked in without so much as glancing around as the door closed behind him. He had long hair tied neatly behind his head and wore a collared shirt and dress pants. He looked around until his eyes came to rest on Olivia.
His eyes were cold. That was the only way she could describe them.
"Olivia Hahn." He spoke her name and she started, then stood and glared at him.
"Who are you?"
"The executioner." The man held up a syringe and Olivia felt her heart plunge into her stomach.
Executioner? What the hell? The death penalty was abolished even before solitary confinement was. Nobody had died for a crime on Arx in over 150 years!
"Let's see..." The man's voice trailed off as if he focusing on remembering the list. "Eight counts of theft under $50. Three counts of theft under $500. One count of fleeing the law. If that was all, I wouldn't bother interfering, but it's what happened after you went to jail for those crimes that bothers me. One count of escaping prison, six counts of attacking a military officer, three more counts of theft under $50, one count of attacking a civilian, two counts of attempted murder and one count of murder. I'm sure there are other crimes in there too, but I can only be bothered to dig so far."
"So the military finally admits they think I killed someone?" Olivia laughed.
"I'm not with the military. I'm afraid the case of Xavier Orozco will remain classified as an overdose, but I know the truth. Glancing through the records, I did find some interesting disappearances and inventory discrepancies in various stores. For instance, some rubbing alcohol disappeared from a drugstore shortly before Xavier's death. Isn't that interesting? It was thought to be a simple case of miscounting inventory, but...we both know that's not what happened."
"How'd you get in here if you're not military?"
"Hacked the locks. No big deal really. Now, do you prefer Olivia or Phantasma? Achilles seemed quite pleased with that name, but what do you think?"
Hacked the locks? In the military prison? That shouldn't have been possible. Those locks were supposed to be the best in the city. Who could break them and call it no big deal? The man seemed to take Olivia's silence as something other than quiet confusion.
"Fine, don't answer. Not like I care really. I just need you to die quietly." He reached out for her with his free hand, but Olivia dodged.
He glanced at her, his expression still completely impassive. It hadn't changed a bit since he'd entered the room. It was eerie and Olivia was starting to get truly scared for the first time since Keyla had died.
"Don't bother resisting. I can do this all day. All week actually. In a battle of attrition, I win. By my authority, you are sentenced to death for your crimes. Not just the ones I mentioned earlier. Even that wouldn't be a big enough deal. But you've upset the delicate balance that keeps Arx afloat. Luckily that moron Achilles and that useless military have put you in a nice position for me to get my job done."
"What did I do?" Olivia spat. "I just wanted to avenge my daughter! Achilles killed her!"
"Then you should have gotten a good lawyer," he said flatly. "Instead, you undermined confidence in the military, emboldened Achilles and sowed chaos in the average person's mind. If people believe the military can no longer protect them, order will collapse. Achilles will only accelerate that process with his cute vigilante justice act. And now that more and more people are learning that there are things in this world that can't be explained by science, they'll start to lose confidence in reality itself.
"I don't blame you for all of this. You're probably just the herald announcing that the world is about to change dramatically. But in this case, I need to shoot the messenger to make an example. Then all the other messengers bringing chaos will think twice before going on a bender. How's this? I'm so generous, I'll give you a choice in your death. Peacefully with drugs, or I can put a bullet in your head. Which one?"
Olivia dodged him again and glared at him, invoking her Miracle. She had a way out. They'd have to open the cell to get him out. Then she'd use her Miracle to escape again and restart her war against Achilles. All she needed was for him to fall into her spell.
Flames would burst all around his body. Licking his flesh and breaking his bones. It would be agony. She grinned as she saw the outcome. Best case scenario, he had a physical key she could use. Worst case, he collapsed here and she waited for someone to retrieve him.
But something worse happened. Her Miracle didn't work. Why? She was staring him right in the eyes! Yet, entirely unaffected, he kept advancing. Olivia tried again, running around the cell in a desperate bid to escape. No matter how many times she invoked her power, it didn't work!
"Trying to use your Miracle on me? Not gonna work, bitch."
Olivia froze as the man approached her again. This time he grabbed her arm and leaned into her face. He held the syringe up and shook it.
"You have thirty seconds to decide. Drugs or bullet."
"Why me?" she whispered.
"Huh?" Despite his expression not changing, she could hear confusion in the man's voice.
"Why are you killing me? As a servant of justice or whatever, shouldn't you let the law take its course?" The questions bubbled out, even though she knew they were useless, but now that she'd started, she couldn't stop. "Why was I given power? Why? Why did..."
She gasped and took a deep breath before the sobs could silence her.
"Why did my daughter have to die?"
What was it? Was it the stress of her impending death? Was it the time she'd spent so far from other people? Was it just this expressionless man who seemed to carry death? What was making her cry out like this? What was making her chest feel like it was full of lead weights? Why now, when she'd been strong for so long, was she breaking down sobbing?
Finally the man spoke again.
"I can't answer some of those. I'll say your daughter probably didn't have to die. She just died because of an uncaring world. But the world has never cared. It's unfair and tears people from life before their time as often as it lets them live to their old age. Keyla Orozco was just a casualty of that callousness. As for why you were chosen, I can't say. Only whatever bastard gave you power can answer that and I doubt we can contact him easily. Maybe you can ask him while you're on the brink of death.
"As for your first two questions, I'm not what you think. I act for the perpetuation of Arx Nubibus and its stability. And according to the law as written when the city was founded, a count of murder was enough to invoke the death penalty. In fact, it could be invoked for any sentence over thirty years. You definitely qualify. I'm just acting to cull the dead weight. Tell me. Will you ever stop attacking people? Will you ever be able to live a peaceful life, even if you were given the chance to redeem yourself? Or would you fall back into this pattern?"
Olivia didn't answer. She knew full well that the answer was no. She couldn't live without Keyla. Her plan had been to die or spend her life imprisoned as soon as Achilles was gone. There was no life for her anymore. The man seemed to understand that.
"If you're never going to give anything useful to this society, I have no use for you. You can't take up resources and only spit hatred and venom. And it's not just you. If I have to, I'll kill Paris, Achilles, Jumper, Lightning, Light Master, Manifest, Magnetic, Mist, Prime... I'll cut off anyone who threatens Arx Nubibus. And I don't care what methods I use. If I'm feeling nice, I'll give them the same choice I'm giving you. You're just the first I can easily access."
Somehow that gave Olivia peace. This wasn't personal. And...
Maybe it was time to stop fighting.
"Your thirty seconds are more than up. I've been far too nice to you. Drugs or bullet?"
"Drugs," she whispered. She couldn't win. But maybe that was okay. Because this person had just promised that he'd kill Achilles too when the day came.
He silently examined her arm, then plunged the syringe into it. It only stung a little. And by the time she'd realized it was in, the drugs were in her and the man had stepped back.
"Thank you," she whispered. Her consciousness faded as the man walked towards the door, not even acknowledging that she'd spoken.
