Chapter 2: First Cashback
The guards came for Nathan before the system’s glow had fully faded from his mind.
Several moments later, he was on a bus with other people, heading toward what the court had decided would be his last home.
He sat by the window, his wrists chained to a bar in front of him as he watched the view pass by in a blur.
Arkis City stretched out beneath grey skies. Nathan had grown up here. He’d never noticed how gloomy the city looked.
A figure in blue and white shot across the sky followed by a news helicopter. The hero waved in no particular direction then kept moving.
Show off.
The bus took several turns that led to the landscape surrounding Stone River State Penitentiary.
The structure came into view. High walls, barbed wires catching the late afternoon light, guard towers at each corner.
Stone River. A supermax favoured for death row inmates and low-level villains alike.
Like Frost-Spice.
The queue was long but nothing he didn’t expect due to the level of crime in the city. He stood in line, wrists chained and studied his surroundings.
Almost everywhere he looked. There was a guard or a camera.
The guards wore dark blue gear and carried batons with blue-coloured tips. Each had a radio clipped to their vest.
A shout erupted several places ahead. An inmate had stepped out of line.
Crack!
One of the guards swung his baton. Blue electricity burst from its tip the instant it struck the man’s side.
His body convulsed before he crumpled onto the concrete with a strangled cry.
Two guards grabbed him under the arms and dragged him away without a word.
No one else moved.
Nathan kept his eyes forward until his turn came.
The officer behind the desk was a man in his fifties with a midsection that suggested he had seen more burgers than gyms. He looked at Nathan like he was a lab rat waiting for his treat.
"Empty your pockets."
Nathan produced a candy wrapper, a torn dollar bill he’d carried for luck, and a handful of expired lottery tickets.
The officer stared at the tickets in disbelief. The guard beside him snorted.
Nathan didn’t react. His primary concern had been the system card being discovered, but the system notified him it could be dispelled and summoned.
He’d made sure to test it before being taken to the bus.
"Strip," a guard said, handing Nathan a transparent bag with orange jumpsuits.
He’d known this was coming. Knowing didn’t make it easier.
Mugshot happened in two flashes, side and front views. The fluorescent light illuminated his messy hair and highlighted the dark circles around his eyes.
The prison account setup came next. A long desk with four officers was in charge of the process.
A woman was at the section of the desk Nathan was sent to. She looked younger than him. Her brown hair framed a face that held a frown and her chest tag read ’Nadia’.
"Your name," she said without looking up.
"Nathan Ledger."
Her fingers clacked furiously on the keyboard. She explained the prison account setup and how it could be used to receive deposits, make transfers and make purchases for items.
And if he was able to work, he could also receive payments from the state too.
"Additionally, any cash confiscated will be deposited," she finished.
An image of the torn dollar bill flashed in Nathan’s mind but he quickly suppressed it.
The set up took a few minutes. A printer ejected a piece of paper and the clerk handed it to Nathan, without looking up.
He took it and looked at the contents.
| Acct name: Nathan Ledger |
| IDN: #808-D67-NL |
| CN: Stone River State Penitentiary |
He barely finished reading it before the bell chime rang in his head again.
[Ding! The system has detected a new account affiliated with the host. The host may bind accounts to the system to enable efficient transfers.]
[Would you like to bind the account?]
[Yes] [No]
Nathan raised his finger to click the yes option. The woman’s eyes followed his finger to empty air, her brows raised in confusion. Her expression shifted to surprise as her eyes caught his face.
"Hello," she said, her tone softer than before.
"Hello," Nathan responded, returning his attention to the system screen but the woman’s eyes remained on him.
’So how do I transfer money to the account?’
[The Host may transfer using tactile or mental commands.]
’I should start small. Send a hundred dollars to the prison account’
[Transfer Successful!]
[System Balance: $99,900]
[Stone River Acct: $100]
Nathan narrowed his eyes at the message. A feeling of relief washed over him, but he had no way to verify if it worked.
Nadia, whose eyes were still on him, suddenly glanced at her screen. Whatever she saw made her frown.
"That’s odd," she said, mostly to herself.
"What is?" Nathan asked.
"Your account just received a deposit but the sender information isn’t displaying. It’s probably connection issues." She looked at the guard beside her. "Did processing add a state allocation already?"
"I don’t know but its possible. They rarely hand out free money. If it’s an issue they’ll resolve it on their end." The guard shrugged and moved to restrain a rowdy inmate.
Nathan kept his expression neutral, but internally he was surprised.
Well I’ll be damned.
"Your account now has a total balance of a hundred dollars. Do you have any questions?" she asked, her tone softer than before.
"How soon can I send money to my family and buy stuff?"
Her expression softened. She almost looked sorry for him. "You can do both if you know their details. But right now you don’t have much to begin with and charges may be made depending on legal fees owed and..."
"And?"
"...And if the victim’s family requires compensation."
Oh, I see." Nathan lowered his gaze. Despite not being the murderer, someone had died.
Almost as if sensing his demeanor, the woman opened her mouth to say something but stopped herself.
Nathan did not notice the action as he stared at the screen. "Now, about the things I can buy?"
"Oh, yes of course." She pulled a tablet with a selection of items like soap, towel and other items. Nathan tapped almost all of them, ensuring the total was $50.
The clerk was on the computer for some moments and in a few seconds she confirmed the transaction was done.
Nathan saw the system screen.
[Spent: $50]
[Rebate (2x): $100]
[System Balance: $100,000]
[Stone River: $50]
It doubled it.
[Ding! Congratulations on triggering your first rebate. The system will provide more features as you progress.]
More features? What could be better than this?
Nathan turned to the clerk. "Are there other items I could buy that are not listed here? Like books or phones?"
"Phones? No. Books? Yes. But they have to be ordered through third party platforms, vetted and will take some time to arrive."
Nathan nodded. Phones were illegal in prison, but he’d seen posts on Breaddit where inmates somehow got their hands on them.
Some had even uploaded pictures of their cells.
Nathan held her gaze, letting the silence stretch for a moment. "So what’s next?"
"Now it’s off to medicals."
A/N : Thank You for reading. Please leave a Vote, suggest to others and add to library
For character images I’ll add them as soon as book gets a contract. Thank You for your support.