Level Thirteen (Part 1)

Maximus. The number one prison designed specifically for Children of Psychosis to be sent when society no longer can handle their "eccentric behavior" and need to be kept under strict lock and key.

He couldn't ignore the rattling chains that bound his wrist and ankles. He also couldn't ignore the nagging feeling he felt as he continued to walk towards his new home for the rest of his life. He didn't wear an orange jumpsuit like tradition and he didn't wear the black and white stripes. He was still wearing the exact same thing he was arrested in a week ago: black cargo pants that were darkened with spots and ripped at his knees and thighs with a bloody white t-shirt and black hoodie while he still wore the chained necklace that hung around his neck that held a single silver star. The hood was pulled up over his head and his head was down so he didn't have to look around him at the parts of the prison he would most likely never see again.

"So what did this one do?" one of the four guards walking with the prison that was holding a heavy duty gun ask as he looked at the prisoner again.

"Massacred his entire town of Grady Mill," the second guard explained. "That town had a population of five hundred and fifty-six people including him."

"Five hundred and fifty-seven," the prisoner mumbled.

"What was that?" the first guard looked at the prisoner. "The coroners said they collected five hundred and fifty-five bodies and then you were arrested."

The prisoner stayed silent but the guard noticed the way he clenched his fist and saw the tightening in his jaw. All five of them boarded the elevator and that's when the entire space was covered in black and the screen came up for the guards.

"What floor do we drop him off at? Level Thirteen right?" the first guard ask and heard the other three reply in agreement. "Of course, the level for psychopaths, mass murderers, and the clinically insane which you are Mr," the guard swiped a card and a profile came up, "Jason Rhodes."

"Welcome to Maximus," the four guards said in unison as the elevator began its descent to level thirteen, the level for psychopaths, mass murderers, and the clinically insane.

"I swear, give someone some power and then they go haywire," the first guard sighed heavily. "With the whole development of the Psychosis Program and all, most people don't know how to act anymore."

"That's true," the second guard joined in. "Ever since then we've had to develop Maximus and throw more and more people into its walls, especially into Level Thirteen."

"That's very true," the third guard took a key out his pocket and stood in front of Jason. He undid each cuff before the fourth handed him a duffle bag and pushed him towards the front of the door.

"Inside is a change of clothes and directions to your new place," the first guard explained and saw the confused look on Jason's face. He chuckled and rolled his eyes, "All the newcomers give me the exact same face. Level Thirteen isn't just a prison Jason."

Jason looked towards the door and when the door opened, he had to blink several times to help his eyes adjust and when they did, he was shoved out of the elevator and fell face first into the mud.

"Level Thirteen is also known as the City of Black or Obsidian, welcome to your new home!" the guards laughed as the door shut quickly and made it's ascent back to above ground.

Jason groaned as he pulled himself out of the mud. He wiped the mud from his face and looked up to see several bystanders looking at him with curious faces before going back to their business at the various stands surrounding the elevator.

"So this is where I'll be living?" Jason spoke to himself as he stood up and put the strap of the duffle bag over his head. He reached into the side pockets of the bag and pulled out a small tablet that held a small note on the front of it that read: "Voice activated. State full name and prisoner number: 72113."

Jason sighed as he began to walk, "Jason Victor Rhodes. Number 72113." The tablet came on and a map appeared giving him directions straight to an apartment complex twenty minutes away from the market. He groaned and rubbed the back of his head, "What sucks most is that I have no transportation."

He walked over to a troff of water near by and washed away what mud was left on his face and even washed out some blood from his hair before walking away, "I guess I have no choice but to make the most of my life down here."

"Michael stop!" a girl shrieked near by.

Jason was the only one to turn in the crowd and he noticed a man older than him walking by quickly with his head down. Jason grabbed his arm and saw the man flinch, "Calm down. I just have a question."

"W-what?" the man was shivering.

"What's going on?" Jason gestured to the direction of the shrieking.

The man swallowed hard before looking around, "Michael Siebert. He basically controls Level Thirteen and shouldn't be messed with."

"Okay," Jason took an apple from the man's arms, "thank you." He took a bite out of it and began to walk towards the sound of the chaos unfolding near by. He pushed through the crowds that stood idly by and when he made it to the center, he took note of the one guy on the ground that was a bloody mess, the tall guy who was probably responsibly for the beating, several guys behind him with devious smirks, and a girl being held back by one of them.

"Michael stop it already!" the girl was on the verge of tears. "You're gonna kill him!"

"Don't worry babe," the tall guy responded and a smirk crept onto his face as he took a step towards the guy that was now curled into the fetal position to prepare for the next blow he was about to receive. "This guy owes me my one hundred bucks back don't ya buddy?"

"I swear I'll pay you back!" he coughed as he struggled to get up now. "I just need more time!"

"Nope," Michael brought his boot back and landed another blow to the guy's ribs. "And not only are you in debt to me, you were looking at my girl weren't ya?"

"No sir," he gasped through the pain.

"Now my girl, she's one fine piece of a*s, I know that. She's the sexiest one down here in this dump and she's mine and she'll stay mine as long as I'm alive down here and none of you low lives can touch her, got it?" Michael shouted and heard every guy within ear shot shout out in agreement.

"So you're saying if I kill you I can have her?" Jason called out.

Michael paused and stopped himself from kicking the guy one more time when he heard Jason in the crowd. He cracked his jaw and turned towards the direction where he heard Jason's voice, "Who said that?"

"Pardon me," Jason moved through the crowd and made it to the center. "That would be me," Jason removed the duffle bag off his shoulder and handed it to a girl near by.

"Who the hell are you?" Michael snarled.

"Um I'm Jason Rhodes, prisoner number 72113," Jason replied with a smile.

Michael looked Jason up and down, "A punk like you was thrown down here into Maximus?"

Jason looked around and shrugged, "I guess so. So back to the original topic, you said as long as you're alive, no one can have your girl?"

"That's right," Michael folded his arms. "Alissa Cross is mine and no one else can have her as long as I'm alive."

"So, if I kill you right now, I can have her?" Jason questioned.

"As if a punk like you stands a chance against me in a fight," Michael scoffed and gained laughs from the entire crowd.

Jason rubbed the back of his head, "You're right. I have to admit my fighting technique is pretty bad so you could probably kill me in a fight right now if you wanted to."

"Damn straight," Michael smirked.

"Michael stop!" Alissa managed to break free of one of his henchmen and she stood in front of him. "You don't have to fight anymore and you don't have to waste your energy on this idiot," Alissa looked over her shoulder at Jason.

"I am an idiot," Jason smiled. "But I'm also an idiot that has taken quite the interest in you Alissa Cross."

"Keep your eyes off of her punk," Michael pushed Alissa behind him.

"Sorry, she has such a nice body that I couldn't help but admire it," Jason chuckled.

"That's it!" Michael shouted and ran over to Jason. He had brought his fist back and brought it back in front of him but ended up falling forward into a puddle of muddy water.

The entire crowd stood in stunned silence.

"Boss!" his henchmen ran over to him.

"Ew," Jason reappeared next to Alissa, "and you want to kiss that at night?"

Alissa looked at him, "How did you?"

Jason grabbed Alissa's hand and spun her before dipping her and pressing his lips against hers. The shock over the crowd erupted as he was applauded by the large group of men who wished to do the same but it ceased when Michael stood back up.

Jason pulled away and chuckled at Alissa's face, "How was that?"

Alissa stared into his eyes for a moment before she managed to speak again, "Wow."

Jason stood her back up and looked at Michael, "Oh I'm sorry, was I supposed to ask permission first?"

"So you can teleport thanks to the Psychosis Program," Michael deducted.

"Yeah," Jason smiled. "That's pretty much all I can do actually."

Michael chuckled, "Is that so? Then I won't have a problem beating you in a fight." Michael put his fist together and the entire crowd watched as metal covered his body, "Now stay still while I kill you."

"That's interesting," Jason had completely ignored Michael's threat. "I've never seen that kind of power before."

Michael roared before running at Jason and trying to punch again. This time, Michael didn't let himself fall into the mud as he brought his foot out in front of him to stop himself when Jason disappeared again, "Stay still you coward!"

"I'm too pretty to have you beat in my face though," Jason was above Michael's head and when he came down, he was doing a hand stand on Michael's broad shoulders. "How about we call it a draw and I get to go?"

"Die you brat!" Michael grabbed Jason by his shirt and slammed him into the ground as hard as he possibly could.

Jason cried out in pain at the impact and cringed as the pain vibrated though him. When he looked up again he saw Michael bringing his boot down but he was gone before Michael could crush his rib cage.

"Stop running!" Michael shouted.

Jason reappeared again by the girl holding his duffle bag and he took it, "Thank you for holding this." Jason looked at Michael and stuck his tongue out playfully before looking around at Alissa and winking at her, "I will see all of you around, but if you don't mind, I need to go to my apartment!" With that, Jason disappeared and reappeared a few feet away from the circle before running away and gaining cheers of approval for being the first to stand up to Michael Siebert.

Michael's metal dissolved away and he clenched his teeth, "I'm gonna kill that punk." Michael looked at Alissa and noticed the look on her face, "What the hell was that?"

Alissa looked at him, "Nothing."

"Better have been," Michael had forgotten entirely about his previous victim and he didn't seem to care much as he pushed through the crowd with his group behind him.

Jason sighed heavily as he finally made it into his apartment and shut the door behind him. He slid to the ground against his door and stared at the window directly across from him.

"My new life...it starts here..." Jason looked at his hand and watched it become covered in metal just like Michael's did earlier. He groaned as he stood to his feet and let the metal dissolve away before walking into the main room where he simply saw a full kitchen with a small table and chair, a decent couch and TV.

He threw his duffle bag onto the couch before pulling off his dirty hoodie and throwing it onto the ground and standing in the view of the window to see the city down below, "This place is bigger than I thought."

He took a step back and walked down the short hallway to see a decent bedroom and next door to it a decent bathroom with shampoo, soap, and towels. He didn't hesitate to strip himself of his bloody clothing and climb into the shower to scrub away everything from the night that landed him in Level Thirteen.

He showered and shampooed for almost an hour before he was satisfied and convinced everything was washed away. He hadn't jumped out at the cold water and he didn't stop scrubbing his arms and legs and body until he felt that every spec of blood that wasn't his was washed away.

He dried his hair as best as he could with an extra towel and when he stopped and put the towel around his neck, he stared at himself in the mirror. He took note of the silvery grey eyes he'd picked up from his father and of the black silky hair he'd got from his mother, both of whom were dead now.

He clenched his jaw tightly as he stepped away from the mirror and walked towards the living room where his new clothes were. He slid on the new pair of jeans that fit perfectly along with his new black and white flannel shirt. There was also a leather jacket and black hoodie along with a pair of work boots and two pairs of sneakers.

"So much for the traditional black and white jump suits huh?" Jason checked the rest of the bag and found a cellphone inside along with his tablet from earlier and just a few extra pair of boxers and socks. He sat on the couch and turned on the TV and sat there for a few minutes before he felt a familiar chill go through him.

"Hi Jason."

Author's Note

I want to hear anything and everything you want to say about the story. I really need help in improving, tiny things to big things, drill please!

Reviews

[Rachel P]

I have been skimming today, but I stopped at your story and have been completely stunned. This was amazing and intrigued me so! I love the mystery, the foreshadowing, every way you put it together was brilliant. The dialogue flows, and always make sure it flows well with the non-dialogue. I absolutely love how the main character interacts with this "Michael" and the run in with him and the group and Alissa. This pulled my interest and I found myself completely forgetting that I had to go to work! It is almost like a real published book, and I am so excited to read more. If I were to add one thing, and it is such a small detail also, is when Jason is home and showering and getting settled you should reveal what he is thinking like why is he so determined to wash off all of the blood? (Of course other than the fact that it's blood and that's dirty and gross) but what are his emotions of what has recently happened to him. But other than that this is a brilliant piece of work. I am so excited to read more!