Ten days had passed since Gabriel began his training under EV19, or Cye as Gabriel had been calling him. Each night, Gabriel placed a hand on the ground, trying to reconnect with the environment and control its elements as he had done before. But training hadn't gone the way he expected.

"Reach into the earth," Cye said from his cell. "Feel the elements at your fingertips."

"I'm not feeling anything except cold," Gabriel said, frustrated.

Cye cheered him on as a misshapen dagger slowly sprouted from the floor. Within seconds, it exploded into projectiles of concrete.

"It's not working!" Gabriel said. "Whatever they did to me is still there."

Cye reminded Gabriel that Roxenburg's sadistic treatment had a permanent effect only on adults. The older the adult, the less likely they were to ever regain use of their interfacing.

"But maybe there's a second variable," Cye said. "Until I figure it out, why don't you try relaxing a bit? It's unhealthy being so angry."

"It's what I've been using all this time," Gabriel said.

"Does that anger have to do with your mother?" Cye asked. "Sometimes, when you're sleeping, you call out to her. It's kind of disturbing."

"You don't need to know anything personal about me!" Gabriel said. "I'm not your friend, I'm not your nephew, I'm certainly not your son. I'm letting you train me, nothing more, got it?!

Ever since that day when Oliath told him Eon Viants weren't capable of bringing people back to life, Gabriel's mind had been trapped in a weird fog. And no matter what he did, it was like chains of sadness drained him.

 

*****E V*****

 

While other prisoners cleansed themselves in the showers, Gabriel was taken outside once a week to be hosed down by a guard. It was humiliating in the beginning, but he got used to it.

Most guards were disrespectful to the prisoners, but Billy Pasco, the lead guard, was the worse. Whenever he had problems in his home life--dealing with a rebellious son, or a wife who often maxed out the credit cards--he took out his frustrations on the prisoners.

Pasco commanded the guard to increase the water pressure. The stream blasted Gabriel onto the pavement. He sat there in a puddle, fuming thanks to the surrounding laughter.

"Get up!" Pasco said, standing over Gabriel.

As the young Eon Viant pushed himself up, he felt something sharp growing under his palm. In his hand was a dagger stitched together by concrete, metal, and water. He drove the blade across Pasco's cheek, carving open flesh.

The guards overwhelmed Gabriel with their electrically-charged batons. Not to be left out, Pasco, applying pressure to his face to slow the blood from trickling down, snatched one of the batons and joined in on the assault.

 

*****E V*****

 

It was cloudy during lunchtime in the cafeteria. Prisoners covered their food from the lightly drizzling rain. Gabriel had been sitting with HS91, or Bryce's, family.

The food was as bad as usual until recently. Suddenly, prisoners were served dessert. Bryce savored every bite of pie. A sweet grape taste excited his mouth. Everyone else enjoyed the pie, too, all but one.

"This is crap!" Gabriel said, spitting out chunks. It had a bitter copper taste. Gabriel gave the rest of his pie to Jon, who had scarfed it down and belched.

As Pasco walked by several tables, all eyes were on his stitches. Unseen to the prisoners was a boiling rage underneath his calm exterior.

"You barely touched your pie, EV55" Pasco said. "You know how many starving kids would kill for the chance to eat this?"

"Maybe you should give it to them," Gabriel responded.

The snickering from the guards only made things worse.

"I'm a forgiving man," Pasco said. "I'll let bygones be bygones. All you got to do is finish your dessert."

"Back off!" Bryce said. "He doesn't want to eat it, okay?"

"I don't remember giving you permission to speak, HS91," Pasco barked, shoving Bryce into another table.

Lightning had overpowered the sounds of the trays clattering, the cafeteria went silent, and instinctually, Sheila jumped up and said, "Bryce!"

When the guards pinned Sheila to the table, all she could see was prisoners abandoning her to seek refuge along the walls. As Bryce was getting nudged back, he firmly held the hand of a crying Jon and screamed "Mom!"

"Failure to refer to prisoners by their official designation is grounds for immediate termination," Pasco warned, drawing his firearm.

Before he could pull the trigger, Gabriel interrupted, "Stop! I'll do it! Just don't hurt her."

Boasting a victorious smile, Pasco stood watch over Gabriel as he stuffed his mouth. Pasco squeezed his nose, forcing him to swallow.

With every bite, the young Eon Viant got more and more nauseous.

"There! I did it!" Gabriel said. "So, let her go!"

Suddenly, Gabriel's body shook, and he violently vomited green all over the table.

Pasco didn't know the meaning of pity and drove Gabriel's face into his own pile of puke. A firearm was now held against the back of the young Eon Viant's skull.

"Stop being defiant, EV55!" Pasco said. "I swear I'll pull this trigger right now, and there's not a person here who can stop me!"

Pasco thrived on the fear prisoners emitted. On days where he murdered souls, he usually got the best sleep those nights.

Before things escalated further, Pearlman said, "That's enough!"

Warden Pearlman stood at the top of the balcony. The guards were at attention. Even Pasco was terrified.

"Bring him outside," the warden said.

 

*****E V*****

 

Pasco brought Gabriel to the courtyard where Warden Pearlman was overseeing workers installing new wall-mounted Gatling guns.

"Billy, don't leave just yet," Pearlman said. "Why did you draw your weapon?"

"I, uh, I was just doing what you asked," Pasco said.

Of course, she'd want to make my life miserable, Gabriel thought.

"I said give him a hard time," Pearlman corrected. "I never said shoot him, which, don't you think would've happened in the heat of the moment?"

"I had things under control," Pasco replied. "Besides, would it really have been a problem, ma'am? He's an Eon Viant. You ask me, I would've been doing everyone here, including the prisoners, a favor."

With her palm wrapped around Pasco's thin neck, Pearlman easily lifted him up. It was like a mama bear carrying a cub by the scruff. His fingers dug into her wrist, but Pasco was unable to remove her hand.

Holding Pasco up to the Gatling gun, Pearlman activated the weapon. Gunfire cut through her newfound practice dummy.

Pearlman's hand was smoking, somehow absent of fresh wounds. "I see why you hate us humans," she said. "We're so annoying."

"What are you?" Gabriel asked.

"Resident EV19 is helping you restore your interfacing, right?" Pearlman asked. "Still, it's surprising how quickly you counteracted Roxenburg's treatment. I wonder how much longer until you're at full strength."

Pearlman was well aware of Gabriel's recent skirmish when he crafted a dagger. She wasn't afraid, interested was more like it. Even at full power, Gabriel was not someone she feared.

"The only way you're escaping is if you end the life of every one of my guards," Pearlman said. "Is that something you're capable of, Gabriel Honor? Continue your training. I'm sure I'll get my answer then."

 

*****E V*****

 

Gabriel sat in his cell, thinking about what had transpired. Warden Pearlman had willingly taken the life of one of her own. Had humanity been so corrupted they couldn't even see it? Was she even human?, Gabriel wondered.

"My eyes must be buffering because it looks like you're in the same spot," Cye interrupted. "I said, let's begin again. Come on now! Choppity chop!"

Gabriel's muscles strained. He collapsed onto the ground, heavily breathing. "I swear! My interfacing did come back earlier!"

Gabriel sat on the edge of the bed, in thought. "I'm also thinking about that guard. I can't believe the warden shot him."

"Warden Pearlman is a disturbing one," Cye said. "Make sure you stay away from her."

"If you think that's disturbing, you're probably going to be really bothered when I tell you I was hoping to be the one to end his life," Gabriel said. "Their lives are nothing more than puppets on our strings. I am an Eon Viant. It's my right to control human lives. To destroy them. That's what a weapon does, right?"

Cye knew that wasn't Gabriel talking, it was a symptom of brainwashing. The young Eon Viant was so far in the dark, he couldn't tell left from right.

"You're not a weapon!" Cye said.

It was the first time Gabriel heard Cye raise his voice. Everything about the elder prisoner's demeanor had changed. His bumbling façade was cast aside. The real him was speaking, a man wise in years.

"As long as you think you're a weapon, you'll never regain true interfacing," Cye continued.

"You don't know what you're talking about," Gabriel responded. "I got it back earlier when I got angry. That's what I need."

"Anger is not a solution, it is a symptom of weakness," Cye said. "Do you believe a king, who cannot control his anger, commands the respect of his subjects? It is no different than the elements. If you want them to obey when summoned, you need to mend your heart."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Gabriel said, heading for his bed.

Cye wouldn't let him run away anymore. "Did you feel nothing when you murdered those soldiers with your bare hands?!

"What? No, I--" Gabriel said.

"No, you enjoyed it," Cye said without remorse. "Weapon."

"Stop it."

"Killer."

"Stop!"

"Monster!"

"I SAID STOP IT!!" Gabriel exclaimed, striking the wall, shedding blood from his knuckles.

The young Eon Viant fell to the floor, hugging his knees, tears pouring. Cye wished he could provide him with the comfort of a father.

"What Roxenburg did to you isn't what's holding you back," Cye said. "You're a broken soul, Gabriel. You have to come to terms with your sins and the sins done to you. I want to help. But, we have to start at the beginning. Tell me about Grid 0047."