Even after travelling together for about two days, the tension between the siblings and Hermes was still palpable. Hermes is fit enough to travel on his own, but due to a lack of supplies and nothing to trade for them, he sticks around with the siblings. Swad still has reservations on Hermes as he keeps a close eye on him, but Allie is keeping him on a short leash. On the third night, a fog of smoke and steam hovered over the night sky. Soon it closed in on them, and as the air started to get choking, they got low to the ground and tried to navigate the situation, but they could hear the beeping and whirling of drones.
After a while, the air cleared up slightly, and they were able to stand on their feet again.
"What was all that?" Hermes said.
"We have to be very careful, we're getting close to the middle ring," Allie said.
"The middle ring? I can't be here." Hermes started walking in the opposite direction.
"Seems this is where our journey ends then," Swad said.
"Wait! Why can't you go back? What happened?" Allie said.
"I'm a fugitive here; if I get caught, I'll probably be killed," Hermes said.
"Really, is there a bounty or reward on your head?" Swad said.
"Well, if we were caught, we'd probably be killed too," Allie said.
"Why? Why would you even go there?" Hermes said.
"Because it's our job as scouts to enter enemy territory, find out what we can and report back to our leader," Swad said.
"Leader? Sobeek?" Hermes said.
Allie and Swad shared a look, but before they could say anything, a drone hovered above them with its computer screen scanning Hermes "Target identified. Apprehend suspect," an automated voice coming out of the drone said, after which two identical drones appeared. Allie and Swad pulled out their laser rifles and shot at the drones while Hermes ran, but the third zip forward caught him in an instant, and a shot from Allie took it down. However, more and more drones began to appear, and they all began to run in search of safety.
"They are here for him. Let's give him to them." Swad said.
"No, we can't do that," Allie said.
"Why not?" Swad said.
"We just can't," Allie said.
Swad suddenly started charging towards Hermes and knocked him off his feet, causing him to fall on his face. "I'm sorry," he said.
A drone launches an electrocuted net at Hermes and knocks him out cold. After that, all the drones stopped and turned back. After they were out of sight, Swad and Allie stopped running and tried to catch their breath.
"Why did you do that?" Allie said.
"It worked, didn't it?" Swad said.
"I can't believe you," Allie said, walking back to Hermes' unconscious body.
"What the hell are you doing? They'll soon be back for him. We have to leave now." Swad said, pulling her back.
Allie shook him off as she rushed to Hermes' body and felt his pulse "He's still alive, maybe we can get him out of here in time, come help me," she said.
"No way, we have to get out NOW!" Swad said.
Then a group of officers dressed in all black with headgear and masks approached him. The man leading them stood out the most as his right arm was a robotic arm, and he held a laser gun in his normal hand.
"If either one of you moves, you'll be dead in an instant. You're both under arrest for stepping into this territory, aiding a fugitive of the state and destruction of some valuable drones. Officers, arrest them, but leave that one to me," he said,
The officers went over to Allie, where she stood stunned and cuffed her. Swad tried to run, but he was caught up in an instant, so he stopped resisting. The leading officer removed the net from Hermes and rubbed his hair with his robotic arm.
"Looks like I can finally get my revenge," he said and began to laugh maniacally.
When Hermes regained consciousness, he found himself in a plain white room with no windows or doors in sight. His hands were strapped to an electronic chair that made a low, buzzing sound. There was a helmet on his head connected with wires to the chair, which was connected to a computer that was reading his brainwaves. He struggled to get free but to no avail. Soon, a part of the wall in front of him seemed to morph into a door and open. In came the man with a robotic arm without his mask. Hermes recognised him immediately.
"YOU?" Hermes said.
The man flashed a devious smile "Good, you remember me. Take a good look, thanks to you, I got this free, sweet upgrade." Moof said, showing Hermes his robotic hand.
"What do you want from me?" Hermes said.
"Nothing, I want nothing from you, I'm just doing my job," Moof said, his face suddenly expressionless.
"Then, why am I here?" Hermes said.
"Really? Nothing? I thought I had perfected my emotionless face." Moof said.
"What does that have to do with me?" Hermes said.
"The CHAR didn't want to send me after you because they feared I would be driven by my anger, which would be dangerous, so I promised them that I don't need a chip to be emotionless. You, on the other hand, Wow! I saw some clips of your chipped self, and my mind was blown." Moof said.
"What do you mean?" Hermes said.
"Don't worry, I'll show you," Moof said and tapped on his tablet. The chair turned to face the computer, and a video played.
The video showed Hermes in uniform picking up a laser pistol and aiming it at a man's head as the man sobbed and begged for his life. Hermes' face showed as he shot, the man watched his fall and went silent. Then, he shoots another and another and another until Hermes couldn't watch anymore and turned his face away from the screen. His hands trembled as tears rolled down his cheeks.
"NO! That's not me, you're lying, I didn't do that, I would never do that." Hermes said.
"But you did it and a lot more to, what can I say, you were one of the best at what you did. That's probably why the CHAR thought it'd be wasteful to kill you and tried to fix you, not knowing Tedra was such a snake." Moof said.
"What are you going to do to me now?" Hermes said.
"Well, Tedra turned himself in on the condition we won't kill you, so I had the perfect idea for what to do to you. In fact, I'm already doing it." Moof said.
"What are you talking about?" Hermes said.
"It's simple, really. If the chips are failing, that can only mean one thing. Our research is nowhere near perfect. So I suggested that we insert a new chip in your brain, one that won't suppress your emotions but study them and collect data on them. Then, I will put you through the most extreme form of psychological torture I can think of. What do you think? Isn't that a great idea?" Moof chuckled.
"What's going to happen to me and the others?" Hermes said.
"You? Well, by the time we are done, your brain will probably be fried, so we'll have no choice but to kill you then. But as for your friends, we can use them to begin the first phase of the psychological torture if you know what I mean." Moof said with a cocky grin.
Hermes gritted his teeth and began to shake more violently as his eyes turned red.
"I....WILL....KILL....YOU......WITH....MY......BARE....HANDS," he snarled.
"Is that supposed to scare me?" Moof said, slightly taken aback.
"SCARE YOU? NO! I'm just predicting your future if you don't let me go NOW." Hermes said.
Moof looked at the computer screen as it displayed Hermes' brain waves and had a worried look on his face. "I'll give you one last chance to say goodbye to your friends," Moof said and left the room.
Moments later, two officers came in and shocked Hermes unconscious before unhooking him from the machine and transporting him into an operating room. There, he was operated on, and the new chip was installed. After the operation, Hermes was transported into a jail cell with Allie, Swad and Tedra.