Jacob woke up stiff and sore on the mattress, woken by the sound of wind howling outside the caves front wall. Guess the storm rolled in… he thought. The generator and lights weren’t on, though thanks to his unnatural night vision that did little to impede Jacobs sight. With a little luck this storm will last for a few days, and I get to live a little longer.

  Though I doubt they’ll give me food or water. For all I know, they won’t even check on me until the storm passes. Then they’ll ‘drain my Nanos’—whatever the hell that means—and dump my corpse. I lose either way. I can’t believe I survived for over a hundred years in stasis, only to die a week or two after dethawing. Am I really useless enough that the universe would do that to me?

  Jacob wanted to cry again and rolled onto his back, attempting to shift around on the lumpy mattress. It almost felt like there was something beneath it. Is there something under the mattress? Jacob got up with a grunt, his wounds protesting from the effort, and lifted a corner of the makeshift bed up.

  Underneath the mattress was a small metal container and a large homemade knife. Shiv, the man thought. That’s a shiv. Jacob pulled it out and inspected the container. It looked like a small cookie or chocolate tin with a faded, illegible label on the top. Jacob pried it open to reveal a tube of toothpaste, dental floss, and a needle like the ones in the first aid kit, down to the STIMM-A label. At the bottom was a note. Confused, Jacob opened it up and began to read.

  To whoever finds this.

  You may be innocent. You may be guilty as sin. However, I will give you the benefit of the doubt for now. You must act quickly. A great danger threatens this settlement, though it hides beneath a normal exterior. Within a week or two of writing this letter, a group of raiders will attempt to breach the walls and pillage the town. Even worse, traitors from within plan to open the gates under the cover of a storm and doom the colony.

  Nobody believes an old wastelander with a poor reputation in this town though. Please warn the people here and they may change their opinions of you. Regardless, the fate of The Gap is in your hands. Please, do what I cannot and ensure my former home stays standing.

  Jacob blinked at the message. What the hell does any of this mean? Why should I care? They call me a demon and constantly talk about killing me. I owe them nothing. Jacob then turned back to the supplies in the tin. He wasn’t sure about the toothpaste and floss, but the syringe… might be medical supplies? The man picked up the syringe, inspecting it. It was thick and sturdy, much larger than the ones Jacob was used to. The needle and its cap were normal, and the plunger similar, but it looked far sturdier and more advanced than what he remembered.

  The man popped off the cap and placed the needle over the vein near his elbow, like he’d seen the nurses doing when they took his blood. With a deep breath, Jacob plunged the needle into his arm and pushed down the plunger.

  A warm sensation flooded into his arm, spreading as Jacob pulled the needle out. The warmth quickly turned to a burn, and the man could see his veins bulge as the sensation spread. His heart rate sped up, and Jacob gasped, clutching his chest as his entire body burned. A glance at Jacobs leg showed the muscle healing over, pale skin replacing the wounds.

  Within five minutes, the man’s injuries were healed, replaced by new skin and tissue. Jacob was left heaving as his heart rate settled, though he still felt like he’d chugged an energy drink. That… was insane, though at least my wounds are gone. Now I just have to figure out how to get out of here.

  Jacob looked at the toothpaste and floss, then back at the rebar cage. Some part of his memory was tingling, something about prison breaks. Wait.

  Can I cut the bars with dental floss and toothpaste? Like in the movies?

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  Jacob picked up the bottle and squirted a bit of toothpaste onto his finger, a mint smell flooding the room. The paste went straight onto the bar, before Jacob pulled out a length of the floss. After wrapping it around the rebar and then starting a sawing motion, Jacob began to cut through the bars with a loud grinding sound. Good thing the storm's here, Jacob thought. Otherwise I’d be caught within the first minute.

  Even with the noise cover, the bars crude nature, and Jacob sawing as fast as possible, it was still slow going. Each piece of bar took thirty to forty-five minutes to cut through one side, and the string often snapped, meaning he had to get new string, which took even longer.

  By the end of what had to be most of the day, Jacobs hands were raw again and his arms hurt like hell. However he wanted to cheer as the last bar clattered off and took a minute to relax, shocked that he’d pulled through. The man pocketed the remaining floss and toothpaste before he picked up the shiv and expected it. It was longer and larger than the rebar knife—which I never used—and made of a piece of knife-shaped scrap metal. A thick piece of bolted-on plastic served as the handle.

  Jacob felt the weight of the blade in his hand. It felt off-balance and he doubted the thing would cut that well, though he thought the blade might be decent for stabbing. I hope we don’t have to find out. Jacob wasn’t sure he could kill someone. Sure, he’d almost killed the lizard-person, but that was in the heat of battle and he’d been conflicted. Could I kill someone in cold blood?

  I don’t want to find out.

  Jacob crawled out of the hole in the cage and looked towards the front door. Beyond, he could hear the howling of the storm and the moan of wind coming in through gaps in the metal exterior. How bad is it out there?

  Only one way to know… Wish my clothes weren’t all torn.

  A heavy bolt secured the door in place, which Jacob undid with a click. Here goes… he thought as the man forced the door open and stepped into a cloud of dust. Jacob sputtered as the door slipped out of his grip and slammed into place with a very audible clang.

  Oh shit. Theres no way the guard didn’t hear that.

  Jacobs night vision partially worked in the dust storm, but only enough to see silhouettes. His grip on the knife tightened as the door opened and a bulky figure stepped out. A blob was held in one hand Jacob knew had to be the guards revolver. “Couldn’t have waited until it was over…” the man heard through the wind. “Now I have to deal with sabotage and escaped prisoners…”

  He’s one of the traitors… Jacob realized. And I’m going to get killed if I don’t do something.

  Jacob moved as quietly as he could, knife held at the ready only for the gun to go off two inches to his right. “You think you can get the drop on me demon?” he could hear the guard—Shard—jeer. “I’m Rank Five and you’re Rank Zero. Zero! I’m going to enjoy this…” He let off with a dark chuckle as Jacob heard him cock the hammer.

  Its single-action, the man realized. If he misses, I have a chance to get a strike in before he rearms the revolver. Jacob kicked a rock and then lunged as the revolver went off again. Shiv raised high, he plunged the improvised knife down…

  …and sunk the blade deep into the man’s shoulder.

  Shard yelled in pain and swing the revolver at Jacobs face. The man’s nose broke, and he knew he was going to have a nasty bruise after this fight. If I survive. However his insane pain tolerance came to the rescue, and the man only felt a bit disoriented from the blow. In return, he pulled the shiv out and slashed at Shards torso. The cut only scraped off the man who seemed to be wearing a vest of some sort.

  Shard swung the revolver again though this time Jacob ducked. He was getting into the groove now, realizing how to fight. You didn’t just swing wild, you had to dodge, try different angles, keep your body steady. However Jacob was finding out quickly that not only was his opponent better than him in a brawl, but also was wearing both forearm and chest armor.

  Shard blocked Jacob with his forearm guards and pushed the man to the ground. He then tossed the gun away and began to kick him with what felt like steel-toed boots. Jacob could feel the pain, which meant they were definitely doing heavy damage to him. What… do I do? Jacob thought as he got smacked in the face and everything went blurry. A rough grip took the shiv out of his hands. “How poetic I’m killing you with your own weapon isn’t it?” Shard sneered. “Now say goodnight demon!” Jacob could see the knife raised above him and on instinct, kicked the man in the crotch.

  That part appeared not to be armored, and Shard fell over with a wheeze. Jacob scrambled for the revolver, grip wrapping around its wooden grip and thumbed the hammer. “Shit…” Jacob could hear his opponent wheeze, then growl.

  [WARNING: FERAL MODE ACTIVATED NEARBY]

  Oh fuck, Jacob thought right as Shard leapt at him with an animalistic scream.