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Hello, you. Thank you for giving this story a chance and thank you even more for reading this foreword. I don't get a lot of reads, so each one counts. This was an interesting story to write. It has action, and a lot of tactical scenes. Tell me if you want this story to continue! My profile has a few other stories, so do check them out. Enjoy!

“Another one,” Reason ordered. Mahmud did one more handstand push-up, his face red from the increased blood flow to his brain due to his upside-down position. The veins on his temples bulging as if about to burst. Reason ordered another one, and Mahmud went down, and up; the muscles on his shoulders and pecs twitching, the striations shortening and lengthening. Emotion tried to interject, but was quickly brushed aside, as he had been for many years. Sweat dripping with seemingly no end, Mahmud sat up and rested.

He looked around him. It was just a white room, with a singular light bulb, a toilet, and rations that would restock after a few days. He had no sense of time as the bulb was constantly on, he had not watch, and no sense of weather as the room was filled with paddings that made it sound proof. He hadn’t seen another human being for years and his only friends were Reason and Evil. He wiped of his sweat, and took a chug of water. “A short nap would do,” Reason said. Mahmud agreed and sat back, sleeping almost instantly.

Mahmud awoke with a shock. “What? This is too soon”. Mahmud had set that he wanted a short nap and usually, he would wake up on his own. His body knew that that he woke up a little earlier than usual. The room shook violently, and Mahmud’s senses went on high alert. Like a cobra striking its prey, Mahmud snatched a container and water bottle that fell of table as a result of the shaking. The light bulb above him swinged back and forth, and the light flickered. Mahmud turned his gaze to the door. This was his chance.

“I don’t know for sure what happened before this. I admit that I have created a whole story for my past but I can still change the future,” Mahmud declared triumphantly. Mahmud banged on the door, yelling for help. On the other side of the door, the entire prison was in a chaos. The clanging of boots against metal echoed throughout the corridor as guards ran for their lives. The corridor glowed a bright red from the alarms going off. It was the monsoon season but this time, the hurricane that followed was unlike anything they had ever seen before.

Outside the building, the wind howled as if enticing everyone inside to come out. Roof tiles were blown straight off and the cars of the personnel were damaged by debris carried by the wind. “Water levels are are at ankle level and rising. At this rate, we will be under siege by water. We must evacuate,” an officer who was at the watch tower declared. Another officer inside relayed this information to his colleagues and instructed them all to undergo standard evacuation protocol.

This was the chief warden and he watched his underlings clear the area but when it was time for him to go, he couldn’t ignore the loud banging on multiple doors. He knew that if they left, the waters would rise and the prisoners would die. Left and right the doors banged. Releasing them would just endanger the community but he couldn’t let them die. Clenching his fist, he gritted his teeth and decided to take the risk. He took out the keys from his pocket, jangled them a bit and released the first prisoner.

The woman was asleep so the guard poked her with his nightstick and ordered her to leave. “Requesting units 1, and 2 to stand by at the main hub. We got prisoners here that need escorting. Bring them to the nearest police station,” the guard said on the radio as he saw the woman groggily walk down the corridor. The second prisoner was already wide awake and ran down the corridor the instant his door was opened. Then, it was Mahmud’s turn. The guard unlocked the door and opened it.

There was no prisoner in there. He took a step inside and looked around. He took another step and all he could register before he was knocked unconscious was a sharp painful sensation on the back of his head. Mahmud turned the guard who was on his belly to make sure that he was indeed unconscious. He took a moment to take everything in including the alarms, the red lights, the sight of another human being, the sight of something either than white blank walls.

Mahmud changed into the guard’s clothes, which barely fit his bulging muscles. He took the keys and released every prisoner there, asking them to wait, so they could move with him. His status as chief warden and impressive physique was enough to gain compliance so when everyone was rounded up, he asked them to follow him. “Get rid of them,” Evil suggested but Reason interjected “They are important for your escape. You are a guard, remember?” Mahmud didn’t really know where he was going but neither did the prisoners so he was safe for now.

Luckily for Mahmud, the prison layout was fairly intuitive. They quickly reached an elevator and Mahmud let the prisoners get in first and was about to get in himself when Saint shouted out loud “That guard let you go. He didn’t leave you to die. You can’t leave him to die”. Meanwhile, Reason told him “We are running out of time”. Divided within himself, Mahmud ordered the prisoners to go down to ground floor while he made several last inspections. He went back to retrieve the guard.

When he arrived, the man was still lying there. “Someone saved you when you were out cold during that stampede. Save him,” Saint told Mahmud. “Gouge out his eyes! He is a warden. He put you here,” Evil said. “Whatever you do, do it now. We are running out of time,” Reason said. Mahmud chose to listen to the last one and carried the guard on his shoulders. All his training would be put to the test as he carried this man that was only 10kg short of his own weight. The radio suddenly buzzed.

“Where are you, sir? The situation is getting worse”. Mahmud was no good at copying voices but he did have a few alternative voices. “I’m on my way. I just need to make sure this place is secured. Just go on. Don’t worry”. The voice on the other side said that he understood. Mahmud considered himself lucky as they used primitive walkie-talkies. Their voices didn’t sound so distinct so regardless of whoever spoke, they all sounded quite similar. After some time, Mahmud reached the main hub.

He could hear footsteps sloshing in the water. His supposed underlings weren’t very far. He looked out the window to see that the water was now knee-level. The storm was as horrific as ever and you could barely see a few metres in front of you from all the rain. Knowing that he didn’t have much choice, Mahmud stepped out in the rain with the guard still on his shoulders. He took one step at a time and it wasn’t long until the guard regained consciousness. He squirmed like a worm and would have taken Mahmud down to if it wasn’t for his strong legs.

Mahmud dropped the guard who looked around in a panic. He wanted to retrieve something from his pocket but realized that he was missing his uniform. He looked at the man in front of him and quickly put two and two together. Lightning struck and the world seemed to flash bright for a second. “You hit in the head!” the guard yelled out, barely audible through the howling of the wind. Suddenly, a branch came flying at the direction of the guard and Mahmud tackled him to the side. “You should have let him die!” Evil hissed.

Pulling the guard to his feet using only one hand, Reason took over. “Move! Just take him with you! We don’t have time!” Mahmud agreed and grabbed the guard by his shoulders. “How do you escape?” Mahmud yelled out. The guard wanted to subdue this prisoner but at the moment, more urgent matters were at hand. “Give me my keys,” he said, and he picked out one from the dozens of keys in the ring. “There’s a jeep at the back. Follow me”. Mahmud complied and waded through the rising water; his hat being blown off by the strong wind.

Holding firm onto the brick walls so as to not lose footing, the two walked round the building and reached the parking lot. The guard opened the door and asked Mahmud to come in. He relented, not knowing what would happen next if he followed this officer. Would he be sent to the police? He looked around and to the gate where he saw that the road seemed to stretch a long way. He didn’t have much chance without a vehicle. He eventually agreed. Inside, the guard turned on the radio.

“The conflict is said to have been caused by the fans of the losing side that threw blunt objects to the opposing side’s fanbase. It is said that the object hit a fan by accident and that escalated into a full-blown brawl between the two. The game has been stopped and authorities are trying to calm down both sides,” the reporter on the radio announced. The guard turned off the radio, annoyed to hear another conflict while he was in on himself. “I know you are formulating your escape right now,” the guard said, noticing that Mahmud was uneasy.

“The army,” the guard declared, recognizing Mahmud’s impressive physique. “Take him out and take the vehicle. You can have things your way then,” Evil snarled. “Listen to him. He’s trying to help you,” Saint said. “The tension in our region has been at an all-time high the past few months. Only three days ago, we declared war after an atomic bomb was deployed at our city. They are recruiting and I’m sure that in times of crisis like this, they won’t be too picky”. Mahmud nodded his understanding.

The jeep sloshed through the water, with the wipers having to constantly wipe the windshield that was splattered with mud and leaves. They eventually reached higher ground, and the engine didn’t roar as loud. The vehicle ploughed through the road, and the guard took a corner that stooped up to an apartment. “Take shelter here. This rain will subside in a week. I’ll explain everything to my wife”. This time, Emotion tried to share his thoughts. “He is being nice. Be happy. Be thankful”.

“Thank you, Ilyas. As soon as the water level drops, I’ll be on my way,” Mahmud told the guard, heeding to Emotion’s advice. “Do you have family?” Ilyas asked, placing his cup of tea down beside a psychology magazine. “I…yes. I don’t know. I don’t think I do. My father died in a submarine expedition down to discover the deep dark of the ocean and my mother was involved in a plane crash. The one that went missing almost a decade ago”. Ilyas was puzzled as he had never heard of these events.

Ilyas glanced at the magazine on the table. He summoned his wife and she soon emerged from the kitchen. Ilyas introduced them and she gave a curt nod. Ilyas told her about Mahmud’s story and she seemed intrigued. “You lost your memory and created new ones”. Mahmud who was slouching sat up straight and frowned. “She is an oneirologist, she studies dream. She knows a lot about how our brains work”. Siti sat down and looked at the confused man before him. “You lost your life. Go build a new one”.