The Conqueror Of Cities!

"Oh, just a bell to signal lunchtime. Come, let\'s go eat," replied my cell buddy.

"Sure."

We descended the cold, metallic stairs and made our way out of the cellblock. As we walked down the long, dimly lit hall, I took the opportunity to strike up a conversation with my weird cell buddy. "Yo, what\'s your name?"

"Zehar."

"Goofy ass name"

"Bruh, what\'s your name then?"

"Dionis."

"Pfhahahah, don\'t talk about other names with that kind of name." Zehar teased.

"It\'s a good fucking name, man. It represents the God of the sun in Illyrian belief, as well as the god of wine in Greek mythology. So, it\'s a cool-ass name." I defended.

"A god, huh? Well, I don\'t believe in that stuff." Zehar remarked.

"Even if you don\'t it\'s still a cool name."

Just as I was praising my name the two of us entered the cafeteria and got in the long line waiting for our turn to be served food.

Slowly I got bored of waiting, so I started looking around the cafeteria.

I saw a diverse range of people, from short and skinny, resembling anorexic midgets, to tall and muscular figures. It was a mix of young faces, some appearing as young as 10, while others seemed fucking 40, despite all of them falling between the ages of 13 and 18.

"What a weird ass place"  I whispered to myself, but it didn\'t escape the notice of the giant guy in front of me. He turned around and confronted me, "What the fuck did you just say, bitch?" he said as he grabbed my collar, lifting me off my feet.

Zehar, without hesitation, intervened, grasping the man\'s hand firmly, and said in a cold, ruthless tone, "Release him, now."

"Ugh, alright," the man grumbled as he let go of me, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

At that moment, I realized that Zehar was someone strong and respected in this place.

We were served some unappetizing, greasy, musty food and found a two-seat table to sit down quietly.

We started eating quietly, but Zehar couldn\'t resist breaking the silence, "You\'re probably wondering why he feared me so much."

"Yeah, I guess," I said between bites of my food.

"Well, people like me are called lone wolves, and we—"

"PFHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHH, LONE WOLVES?!" I burst out laughing, spraying all the food on Zehar\'s face. "What the hell is this place? Do you all have an eighth-grade syndrome or something? \'Lone wolf\'? Stop embarrassing yourself, bro, hahahahah."

"Tsk, I know it\'s embarrassing, but let me finish," Zehar said calmly, grabbing a paper to wipe the food I had sprayed on his face during my uncontrollable laughter.

"Yea, yea, my bad. I didn\'t mean to laugh at your \'lone wo-wo-wolf\' status AHAHAHAHAHA." I managed to say between bouts of laughter. "HAHAHAH... Ahem sorry, sorry please continue."

"Sigh, This place might seem childish with these names and weird animal gangs, but, in fact, it\'s dangerous. It\'s filled with violence, gang fights, and sometimes even murder."

"Yea, Damir mentioned something about that," I said, still trying to suppress my laughter.

"Damir?!" Zehar\'s tone changed, clearly alarmed. "D-Don\'t you know who he is, Dionis?"

"Mhm, isn\'t he the leader of the bear gang or something?"

"Don\'t ever get involved with that man; he\'s a fucking demon, his gang is so strong that even if multiple gangs attacked him, they would still lose."

Slowly, I raised my hands, placing them on my cheeks, my mouth wide open, and sarcastically remarked, "Oh, he\'s that dangerous!" After a brief pause, I returned to a more serious tone and added, "Nah, he actually seemed like a nice guy."

"You don\'t understand, Dionis! He\'s a fucking demon!"

"Alright, I get it. So, you still haven\'t told me why that giant man feared you so much."

"Well, because I\'m a lone wolf," he began, but then he noticed me struggling to contain my laughter, with both hand holding my mouth, my cheeks puffed out, and my face turning as red as a potato. "DON\'T LAUGH, BRO!

"A-a-alright bro, calm down." I said, quickly pinching my legs.

"Sigh, as i was saying. I\'m the strongest one, so strong that in a one-on-one fight, I might be able to take down Damir. But he has a gang backing him up. Anyways, a lone wolf doesn\'t own or participate in gang stuff; they do their own thing and chill."

"Oh, so it seems I\'m a \'lone wolf\' for now HAHAHAHAAH," I said, joining in on the humor.

Our conversation ended, and we continued to eat our food quietly and slowly. Finishing our meal, we stood up with our trays in hand and went to the corner of the cafeteria to place our metal plates and trays. Then we returned to the cellblock, where Zehar and I parted ways: he headed to the gym, and I went back to my cell to take a nap. However, I couldn\'t sleep.

Leaning against the metal railing outside my cell, I observed the juveniles below, sitting in groups, talking, and seemingly having fun. Some were playing cards, while others engaged in conversations.

I sighed, thinking to myself, "This isn\'t that bad. They were exaggerating when they said this place is terrible. They\'re just peacefully spending their time."

My positive thoughts quickly turned negative as I noticed a group of guys wielding self-made knives from a distance. On the opposite end, another group was approaching them.

Excitement spread through the cell block as everyone seated at the metal tables hurriedly rose from their places, pushing chairs and tables aside, and rushed up the stairs. They gathered around the railing, forming a large circular crowd, screaming and cheering from above. I stood there, bewildered, not understanding what was unfolding before me.

Without warning, the two groups began screaming and charging at each other. In an instant, they collided, blood splattering everywhere, and the tiles beneath them turned crimson. The cellblock erupted with screams of rage and terror as a gang war unfolded before our eyes.

As the fight raged on, a loud, piercing siren blared, and guards stormed in with helmets, shields, and batons. Spectators scrambled back to their cells and locked themselves in, while the gangs faced off against each other and the guards, who started beating up kids with batons. But the gangs were persistent, so in the end they deployed tear gas, making it hard for all of us to breathe.

In my cell, fear consumed me. I clung to my bed, covering my mouth, nose, and eyes, but it wasn\'t enough. Tears fell, and my lungs felt like they were collapsing. Eventually, I succumbed to unconsciousness.

Several hours later, I woke up, dazed and disoriented. As I left my cell, I was shocked to see that all the juveniles were back to their usual activities, as if nothing had happened. They seemed entirely unfazed by the chaotic events. But then, like a bolt of lightning, Damir and Zehar\'s words echoed in my mind.

"They were right. This place is a hellhole, but I expected as much. Now that I\'m more familiar with the environment, I can start my operations here."

Without losses you cannot win - Dionis

Dionis_Asani