Crime Time

Alfonse looked up from his book he was thumbing through. He had completely taken over the Academy Island. The stragglers that hadn't been killed were blood zombies serving as slaves to the Reboots now residing there. Most didn't last long as Alfonse grew bored of using them soon enough. His success in wiping out all the city's power was successful, and now in the grip of winter the city was quiet and crumbling in the deafening quiet of the snow. The borders were unbreachable to outside help. No on in. No one out. After a month the Council still hadn't shown themselves, locked away in the bunkers inside the pyramid.

"Nah, leave them. They have nothing I want. I want the Council. I want to see them beg. Clearly their citizens mean little to them. They're all fending for themselves on the streets. Let them. Let them scrape and scrap. They're divided. In the end they'll all die out. They can't work together." he looked to Audrey. "If you find any Commandos though, kill them on sight. And anyone following them. A resistance is not allowed to form."

Alfonse stood and peered out the window. Snowing again, and bitterly cold. "How are we stocked for wood? It's going to be another cold one. Already ice is forming around the old bridge pylons."

--

In the back of the campus garden at the edge of their small woods was a deep rectangular pit cut into the frozen earth, inside was a rail cat that had been crudely turned into a prison chamber. Inside, Elroy was, surprisingly, still alive but freezing.
He almost hadn't survived taking the city's power. He hadn't been able to contain it within, therefore projected it all throughout the atmosphere, wiping out generators and exploding batteries all across the city. Elroy didn't know, he'd been in a shallow coma for almost a week after the ordeal. When he had awoken, he was in this rail car being lowered into the ground. With Alfonse not controlling him, he had tried to escape several times, but it was getting colder and colder, and Elroy was getting weaker and weaker.
He rubbed his freezing wrists, linked by handcuffs and bolted to the metal wall. He was utterly helpless. And the strangest thing of all, was the silence.
Never in his life had he experienced anything like it. No comforting hum of electricity in the air. Now flashing satellite signals or pings of texts or e-mails whizzing through the air. There was nothing at all. Even stretching his powers to the brink, he couldn't pick up a trace of technology that he could handle. The silence scared and confused him. Was this was everyone else experienced at all times? They saw none of what he saw. No wonder he couldn't relate to them in so many ways, constantly screened and bombarded with signals that were invisible to others.
He could hear approaching footsteps crunching towards his pit in the snow, he wrapped his torn coat around him tighter. As much as he hated it, he had to be docile to survive. He was already on quarter rations, barely got enough water to survive, and thanks to his chains he could only walk about 8 feet in any direction. Maybe they were bringing food, unlikely, most came out here to boast. Remind him that he killed his friends. Remind him he plunged the city into darkness.
Elroy rested a bruised chin on his knee and shut his eyes, electing to ignore the thudding steps, hopefully they would be bored with him and leave. He didn't have the strength to cuss and fight and be antagonized anymore.

Alfonse closed his book and set it aside. "Perhaps I imagined having an emergency generator ourselves might be beneficial. However, we seem to be doing fine. Very well, Nailah. You can dispatch of Siebert, just don't make a fuss about it. He should have been dead a month ago, him stubbornly hanging on isn't the reminder you need around here." he eyed her suspiciously. "Isn't it? He makes you feel something." he stood up dangerously slow and crossed over to her. "He makes you feel guilt. Tell me Nailah, what does guilt reap? Indecision? Disloyalty? Would Killing Seibert eliviate these feelings? Because, at this point, killing him proves that you have such feelings. And I'm not sure I like that in a deputy." He narrowed his eyes. "So why don't you feed the prisoner whatever rocks you're throwing down there and stop wasting my time with this." he murmured dangerously.

Elroy listened to the footsteps fade. No one coming to visit. That was more than fine with him. He rubbed his forehead with the heel of his palm. He'd been trying to send Molly Tpaths for the past week with no response. Meaning either she was out of range or... or dead. He couldn't stomach the thought. He'd seen himself attack Johnny with enough force to kill him. He didn't know if Johnny was alive. Sending Tpaths was difficult and took a lot of energy ever since the stint at the power plant. His veins still hadn't faded from the stressed black lines on his arms. He had no idea what his face looked like, he hadn't had access to a mirror, let alone a bathroom for a month. He groaned and stood up stiffly, he could walk to length of the chain to the edge of the hole int he ceilling where they dropped food and water, when the felt like it. He couldn't hear anyone up there now. Maybe they finally realized what he did. he was harmless now. Helooked down at his blisted wrists from the cuffs and started his daily routine of trying to will himself the strength to break his hand to slip free. He never could go through with it. He stared down at his left hand and breathed out slow before going through with the first attempt. There was a weak crack and he let out a gutteral gasp and fell to his knees.

Levi snorted a laugh and Layla gave Alliser a warning look. "Don't give him any ideas. Would you get up?" she hissed, as she went over to the mirror to fix the mascara that had smeared during their little romp. "Levi's brother owns a bar." She turned back to her friend. "It's a dinky place, but hey, family discount."

"Discount, my ass," Levi huffed, pulling his shirt over his head. "He better give me free beers this time or I'm gonna beat the twerp up." He pulled his shoes on and hopped to his feet. "Okay. Time to go! God you take so long to get ready. Alliser's right you need some time management." With a glare, she looked between her husband and Alliser before pushing past him and looped arms with Alliser, dragging him out the door.

Nailah felt pinned by Elroy's stare, her mouth dry. She glanced at his twisted wrist in disdain, slowly standing to her full height. "And what was your plan from here, Seibert?" she asked mildly.

---

Audrey smirked, shaking her head in amusement at the dismissal. Alfonse did have a twisted sense of humour. "You got it, boss." She ducked out of the building, snapping orders as she went.

Nailah cocked her head. "Is this your break out? How do you plan on making the distance with that hand of yours?" She walked around the edge, keeping an eye on him. 

Nailah snorted at his failed attempt, turning away in contempt. Even his escape antics were wretched. She turned to walk away, leaving him to his own embarrassment, when she froze. With sudden clarity, she gazed at the Greenhouse in the distance. What better way to prove to Alfonse that Elroy was a loose canon, than to set him free? Without waiting for doubt to set in, Nailah dropped beside the edge, outstretching a gloved hand to him. "Give me your hand."