Danme's Mugshot

My steps were weak, slow, as if each nail of guilt was pinning my feet to the ground. The burnt smell filled the air, mixed with the metallic scent of the victims' blood—a stench heavy with despair and helplessness. Earth... in Estrela, it was known as the planet abandoned by God. The sun’s light barely reached here, and darkness consumed most of what the eyes could see. My clothes were torn, my jacket completely destroyed, and the scrapes all over my body burned without stopping, like salt had been poured into my wounds. Nausea overwhelmed me—I might’ve survived, but I felt like a walking corpse. To be honest, I don’t even know how I made it. Luck? Divine intervention? Maybe the necklace Niik gave me?... But wait...
— Where’s the necklace?
The words slipped out of my mouth with hesitation, but I quickly relaxed when I felt the cross resting in my palm. I sighed for a moment, remembering Niik’s face. But something strange happened—suddenly, I felt a sharp pain at the back of my neck, as if a knife had pierced my flesh. My body erupted in agony instantly. When I reached behind my neck, I realized the necklace was embedded inside me, pulsing through my skin.
— What the… shit…
Panic took over, so I tried to yank the necklace out with my fists. I pulled hard, but it refused to budge. I pulled again, even harder, and immediately regretted it. A scream tore out of me loud enough to echo for miles. I felt my neck vibrating, throbbing, veins clogging up. Blood poured down the back of my neck. Finally, the necklace came loose in my hand—it seemed safer out of my neck than in it. I couldn’t throw it away, so I shoved it into my pocket. Silence enveloped me. That’s all that remained in the end: nothing. And then, I started laughing uncontrollably, bursts of madness escaping me. Why not laugh, after all? Betrayed by my twin brother, lost my best friend, and now stuck in the shittiest place imaginable. All that’s left is to laugh at this divine comedy.
— I’m really fucked. — I gave a small smirk and wiped the blood from my mouth.
— HANDS UP!!!
I heard a muffled voice shout, and when I turned around, there was a man clad in a robust black suit. He looked like some kind of agent, pointing a machine gun right at my face. I was sure he wasn’t the type to hesitate before killing me.
— I SAID: HANDS UP, DAMN IT!
— Hmm. — I slowly raised my hands. — Look, man, I’ve got absolutely nothing left to lose, so you wanna know something? — I flipped him off. — Go fuck yourself, you son of a—
He switched a valve on his weapon and fired a tranquilizer dart into my chest. My vision doubled for a moment, sounds faded, and then I collapsed face-first onto the ground. What’s going to happen to me after all this?
...
Slowly, a light crept into my eyes, a flash that woke me up. It pulled me out of my shattered mind. My mental state isn’t what it used to be—in fact, it never really was. I just got tired of pretending to others that I’m sane in this godforsaken mess. How can anyone stay sane when they witnessed and lived through hell as a child? I saw people dying right in front of me because of a system rotten to its core. Honestly, humanity deserves to be drowning in chaos the way it is—they only think about themselves. I don’t know where I am, but I do know one thing: sooner or later, my path will cross with Mercil and Alvo’s—and that’s when I’ll kill them. Well, it’s time to open my eyes...
— Finally awake, huh?
Was I in an interrogation room? Judging by the structure of the place, yes. There were massive iron-plated handcuffs locked around my wrists. Seriously, is some cocky little bugger in a uniform supposed to interrogate me? She sat there, posing like she was some supreme authority, wearing her black uniform with a symbol of two red horns on the shoulder.
— My name’s Viccg. Call me V. — I didn’t respond. She noticed I wasn’t the cooperative type and adjusted her glasses. — Two days ago, an unforeseen and inexplicable event occurred: Estrela fell. This news spread across the continent, and obviously, we had to send our authorities to assess the situation. Since it happened in South America, it took longer than expected.
I dragged the cuffs across my cheek, wiping away the little blood left on my face. — You went through the trouble of stripping me and putting me in this black prisoner uniform, but didn’t bother cleaning the blood off my face? Real professionals, huh?
— That has nothing to do with the matter at hand.
— And why should I care? — We stared at each other for a moment. I was completely disinterested in whatever she had to say. All I cared about was Blood Moon.
— Back to the topic. As I said, the event surrounding Estrela was inexplicable, and it could become a long-term danger. — She leaned closer to me across the table. — Everyone who lived in Estrela died. You were the only survivor found. With that said, I expect your cooperation, and I assure you your sentence won’t be too harsh.
— Honestly, I don’t know jack shit. Maybe there was a short circuit in Estrela’s engines, I dunno. Don’t look at me to answer your questions.
She glared at me with hatred, but I found it amusing. I had nothing left to lose, and this wasn’t my focus anyway. I could feel the venom in her gaze, the storm she wanted to unleash from those eyes was immense.
— Ugh... Fine. Prisoner 1000-702, back to your cell.
Before I knew it, I was being dragged away by two guards who looked more like machines than humans. And damn, I was inside the most “cyberpunk” prison I’d ever seen. Prisoners of all kinds—tattooed, modified, some not even looking human. It seemed like the yard, but what dominated the architecture of this place was dark concrete.
— Pose for the mugshot. — the guy behind the camera said.
Every prisoner gets their mugshot. Of course, there’d be a "Mugshot of Danme.” After walking through a few more corridors, I arrived at my cell, which had an entrance far different from what I imagined: oval-shaped, seemingly made of white titanium, with only a small window. As soon as the guard scanned his fingerprint, the door opened automatically from the inside, and they removed my handcuffs.
— Hold on! — I noticed something missing. — Where’s my necklace?
— Get in already.
They threw me inside the room where I’d spend an indefinite amount of time. I’m really screwed. The only thing breaking up the emptiness of this metallic cell was a painting of people walking through a beautiful garden. If only I could see all the colors, maybe I’d appreciate its true beauty. The door closed with an interesting sound, like a vacuum sealing shut. I ran my fingers over the fresh wound on my neck, still unsure what the hell had caused the necklace to embed itself in my body. All I could hope for was that it wouldn’t screw me over even more. Now, I’ll just lie down and pretend to be dumb until I completely lose my mind.
— Haaa...
How many hours have passed since I’ve been staring at the ceiling? It’s starting to make me drowsy, but I can’t rest. I’ve been clenching my fists for so long that my skin’s starting to tear. Blood Moon, the cause of my ruin. I’ll find you, and when I do, I’ll show you just how far I’m willing to go.
— 1000-702, you’ve got a visitor.
— Huh? Who is it?