Chronicle:An average Tuesday

2 Weinara, 2023  'The Hole', Uswens Island, Polinsular

Uswens is a small island, well out to sea. It is dominated by a renaissance fortress, constructed as a hub from which imperial - and later royal - ships would guard traffic in the eastern Polinsular from Carmadian and Vothari pirates. By 1850, it had fallen out of use, left abandoned to the smugglers who plagued the waters between Rhodin and Hatar. It would remain in this state until 1926, when the Trigonist government drove out the smugglers and reestablished the fortress as a prison. Political prisoners - namely leftists and royalists - were housed there during the long years of the Triarchs' rule. Officially, with the coup and the end of the Great War in Hatar, the island was turned into a fueling station and listening post which would facilitate the projection of Sundish power into Rhodin and the South Tavaric, and the fortress was left to rot.

Unofficially, it never stopped operating as it did in 1926.

It's called 'The Hole' for a reason. People seem to just disappear into it.

The room was dank, the stench of the sea persistent through the thick concrete walls. Within was a single metal table, bolted to the cracked floor, and two chairs, one on each side of the table. Four windows - really nothing more than barred slits - faced eastwards, giving a view of the wharf. The only way in was through a thick iron door, secured with both manual and electronic locks. The floor sloped inwards slightly. There was a drain in the center of the room.

The biometric lock opened, keys rattled, deadbolts turned. Two uniformed men walked in, escorting a third, who had a bag on his head. He was sat in the chair closest to the outer wall, his manacles fastened to the floor. A third uniform wheeled in a trolley, on which was an assortment of interrogation equipment, varied and sundry. The door swung shut, the locks one by one reactivating themselves. The bag was removed.

Wulfa Bareþ's face hurt. His front left tooth was broken from when the cop in Rodepoort had pistolwhipped him, his head pounded from the subsequent beatings. He didn't know what day it was, he didn't know where he was, and he didn't know how long he had been here. Everything since the raid on the bar where SSA Cell 'Paul Vencke' had been meeting was a blur. They had come so fast, the 12 members were beaten and arrested without a fight. How long ago had that been?

"Look at me, Wulfa. Look at me."

Wulfa blinked.

"Eyes front, man."

Wulfa painstakingly obliged, looking into the face of the RAID agent sitting opposite. At least, he tried. The overhead light cast a shadow which obscured most of the man's features. He took off his cap and laid it on the table.

"How are you doing today, kid?"

Wulfa shrugged the best he could given his restraints.

"I've had better. Where the hell am I?"

"Calm down kid, we just want to ask you some questions."

"I'm not answering any questions from you pigs."

The uniform sighed and squinted at Wulfa, the gaze made the boy wince.

"Do you know who we are, Wulfa?"

"You're Rodepoort PD."

The two men's laughs made Wulfa's blood run cold.

"We're special police with special powers, and you're in a place where your rights don't matter," the officer in the corner said. The officer at the table continued.

"We read your records, and you seem like a good kid with a bright future, so just play along with us and we'll make things a whole lot easier for you. We haven't implicated you in any acts other than planning, so you'll get short jail time, you'll still have the rest of your life ahead of you. If you are uncooperative, though, we're going to have to use special methods to get the information we need, and life will be much more difficult for everyone involved. So tell me, Wulfa, where are the other cells involved with," he checked a sheaf of paper he had laying on the table, "Operation Summer Breeze?"

Wulfa gulped, what had he gotten himself into? Were these men telling the truth? No, they were agents of the state, they must be bluffing, he had to stay strong.

"Pretty words, pig. I'll never betray my sworn oath to the cause."

The man at the table was growing impatient, "Wulfa, there are lives at stake here, yours included. We may be bad men doing a bad job, but you're 18 for Kauriss' sake, you have your whole life ahead of you. Don't make this harder than it has to be."

He was definitely bluffing.

"I WILL NEVER BETRAY MY COMRADES! DOWN WITH-!"

Before he could finish this sentence, the officer who had been standing in the corner of the small room rapidly crossed over and placed a gag in his mouth. The man at the table had opened a leather satchel and pulled out what appeared to be a mask and earmuffs.

"Shutter the windows, Piet."

The standing officer obliged, closing the shutters over the windows, one by one, with a theatrical amount of noise. The man at the table looked at Wulfa.

"Wrong choice kid. We'll get back to you in a little while."

With that, the mask was pulled over Wulfa's face, plunging him into darkness, while the earmuffs were placed over his ears, plunging him into complete silence. He could feel his restraints loosen, before he was laid on something and they were tightened again. After what felt like eternity, he felt himself moving again, before he stopped again. His gag was removed, and he was alone.

He screamed at the top of his lungs, but he heard nothing. He tried to move, but he was completely immobile. He screamed until his throat was dry and hoarse. Something hit his forehead.

Water.

It hit again, droplets of it, periodically dripping onto his forehead.

He began to scream again.