Edward took a few steps back, terrified by the angry-looking men around him. He was completely surrounded by the tyrants of the cell he was told about—the Black Vipers. Why was he so slow to have noticed it was Marcus Santosh from the beginning?
He scanned the dining room to see if anyone would say a word, but no one was willing to help him. It was just him against the horrible-looking men. "You dared punch Marcus Santosh in the face. It's like you have no respect," Marcus said in his Mexican accent, his burning gaze on Edward's frightened face. "I'm sorry, but I didn't mean to. I'm a new inmate," Edward begged, and the men all broke into laughter. "Hahahahaha." "Yeah, I know you are new, and that's why I'm not going to be different with you, unlike others. Since you punched me, you must be a good fighter. There's only one way out. We are both going to fight one on one. If you beat me, you have my respect and you are free, but if I beat you, you are going to be my puppet, and I promise to make your entire prison life so miserable. Deal?" Marcus said, stretching his hand to seal the deal. But Edward rejected it. He wondered how a pretty slender figure like him would defeat a muscular giant like Marcus. It was practically impossible. "I cannot accept this. I'm sorry," he pleaded. "You don't have a choice," Marcus said, and suddenly a cheering sound erupted from the hall as everyone began clapping their hands and screaming, "Fight! Fight! Fight!" Marcus smirked at this and said, "You see? They all want a fight now, and a fight they shall get. To the field now!" At Marcus' words, all the prisoners suspended their food, running outside the passage door that led to the prison field. One of Marcus' men carried Edward on his shoulder, and they all headed to the field. "Help! Please help, don't let them take me," Edward was screaming to one of the prison officers who was standing at the corner of the dining hall, but he just stood numb and watched like it was none of his business. They let Edward down when they got to the field, and Marcus stood in front of him, cracking his fingers with a sinister smile. They were both surrounded by the prisoners who were cheering them on for a fight. Amidst the prisoners, Rodney hid himself in the crowd so Edward wouldn't see him. He stared at Edward in pity. Without waiting for a signal, Marcus attacked first, giving Edward a heavy punch on the face that sent him crashing on the tarred ground. The force of the punch made Edward's vision blurry. He lay on the ground as blood started gushing out of his nose. He hadn't healed from the punches he received from Richard yesterday, and now this? Somehow he knew there was a difference between Mr. Richard and Marcus. With such a heavy hand, if Marcus gave him half of the punches Richard had given him, he knew he wouldn't survive. "Stand up like a man, you coward," Marcus screamed at him as everyone cheered him on. Gently, Edward scampered to his feet, and when they thought he wanted to attack, he turned and tried to run, but Marcus' men restrained him and brought him back to Marcus. They pinned him to the ground, and Marcus got on him and began punching him. Each punch that hit his face left a cut with so much blood. His eyes were beginning to close as he felt his soul leaving his body. "He's gonna die! Stop, Marcus!" he heard one of Marcus' men say, but Marcus didn't stop; he kept punching. Gradually, Edward felt his ghost leaving his body as the sounds from the background began to fade. He couldn't lift a limb. Almost at the verge of death, he heard the crowd give way as a fleet of expensive cars drove into the field and parked in front of them. This caused a distraction as Marcus stopped punching and focused on the convoy in front of him. The cars in the convoy were all expensive—a combination of Lamborghinis, Maybachs, limousines, and Sprinters. Out of the limousine, A tall, handsome middle-aged stepped out, and about 30 bouncers exited the convoy to give him cover. All the prisoners stared in shock. His looks screamed affluence. He was dressed in a fitted luxurious white suit beautifully adorned with diamonds, on his hand was an expensive Rolex watch ranging from 100,000 Dollars and above. His black Italian shoes reflected in the sun as he slowly walked toward Marcus. "I think you should pick someone your own size," he said to Marcus. At his words, Marcus stood up and faced him angrily. "And who the fuck do you think you are? What are you doing here? If you knew me, you wouldn't be here," Marcus said, and the man smiled. "Marcus Santosh, one of the most notorious drug lords and gangsters in the late '90s. Of course, I know you. But you are messing with the wrong person. And if you don't back off from that guy you are punching, you will learn the hard way," the man in white said. "Okay, let's see," Marcus said, and just as he raised his hand to punch, the man held his hand and twisted it backward until he heard a crack, and Marcus fell to the ground, groaning in pain. "Ahhh! My hand!" All the prisoners stared with their mouths wide open. Was this Marcus Santosh crying? Suddenly, Marcus' men came in their numbers to attack, but the bouncers with the man in white quickly barreled toward Marcus' men, and after a minute, the Black Vipers were all on the ground, groaning in pain alongside their leader, Marcus. Seeing Marcus crying in pain on the ground instilled fear in the prisoners as they began to wonder who the man in white and his associates were. This made them begin to dismiss the scene and head back to the dining hall. Marcus and his men scampered to their feet also and followed the prisoners inside, leaving the field alone for the strange men and Edward. Edward, who was bloodied, raised his head to look at the man in white towering over him, but he couldn't spot any resemblance. "Who are you?" Edward asked, and the man crouched towards him and replied. "Young Master Lloyd, I'm Donald, your butler, and I'm so glad we found you. It's finally time to embrace your true identity and became the god-like personality you were born to be," The man said, and all the security personnel who accompanied him knelt down in honor of Edward. ---Edward stared at the men kneeling in honor of him and was struck with amazement. Having observed them for a minute, being lost in a moment he thought would never happen to a peasant like him, he emerged back to reality. "Young Master Loyld?" he said, his voice laced with disbelief. "I think you have the wrong person. My name isn't Loyld. You better call the person you are looking for," Edward said as he struggled to get to his feet, and the man assisted him. "Are you not Edward? The biochemist who graduated from Presvile University with first-class honors last year? The one whose mom is diagnosed with kidney disease? The guy who was made to work as a mop boy in a company despite his amazing qualifications? And also, the one whose wife cheated on him with an influential man?" the man said, and Edward stared at him, shocked, as he wondered where someone of such repute or position must have known him from. Maybe it was him they were looking for. "Excuse me, have we met before? How do
"Young Master Loyld, I know you must be really surprised to see me like this. This was the reason why I didn't come to you myself. I was diagnosed with this sickness ten years ago. And that's why I avoided coming to you because the sickness is rapidly contagious," Mr. Lakes spoke through the pipe that was connected to his throat, and his voice was magnified on a small speaker sitting on the nightstand next to him. "What kind of sickness is this?" Edward asked, surprised. "It's called a Spirogyra virus. The name is gotten through the green and sticky nature of the sickness. You get a symptom of part of your body turning green in color. It starts from the heart and spreads to the whole body. It usually takes 3 months for it to completely spread to the whole body, and if this happens, the victim would die at this stage," Mr. Lakes said and motioned to Donald to come take off the cloth covering him. Edward flinched in shock seeing Mr. Lakes' bare body almost covered with the green colo
It had been a week since Edward came into possession of the great formula book. He had read extensively from its unending chapters, and his knowledge of the world of medicine had expanded tremendously. He delved deeply into the section on the spirogyra virus, working through the chemical formulas in the book to find a solution. Eventually, he did. Edward actually discovered the cure for the virus, but he was continuously surprised by the different formulas for various viruses and diseases he had never heard of. It made him wonder about the kind of mind his father had. Dr. Loyld was truly a genius.However, despite studying the book as Mr. Lakes had instructed and waiting for his freedom, a week had passed, and he still hadn't been able to use his knowledge to escape the boring prison. Everything seemed to be going as usual, and there wasn't an outbreak of the virus. At one point, he started to doubt whether everything Mr. Lakes had told him was true.He was seated in the dining area a
" What did you say?" One of the nurses wanted Edward to repeat what he said clearly."I said it's a spirogyra virus. A kind of virus that decapitates your whole body and makes you become vegetables," Edward repeated. Everyone in the dining hall, both doctors and prisoners, exchanged glances in confusion."A spirogyra what? Ha! You are no biochemist, just a cheap liar," the doctor said."It's a new virus and you wouldn't know about it. But only I can cure it if you give me the opportunity," Edward said, and the nurses hissed at him." .tsk... let's take him to the medical center," the nurses prepared to take Marcus away but they were stopped by the Black Vipers who protested."No, you can't take our boss elsewhere. Y'all are gonna treat him here for us all to see," the Black Vipers protested."We have to. It's important.""No, we don't trust you guys. Do the treatments for us here to see, or better still, we, the Black Vipers, will follow you into the emergency ward until you are done
"Martin, it's okay, don't hold our hero like that," Marcus said, standing up from his seat. Martin released his grip on Edward with a frown."Bro, you don't need to get angry about that. Your friends can join us," Marcus said to Edward, putting a hand on his shoulder. He motioned to Martin, who sighed and reluctantly left, returning moments later with Rodney and Junior to have breakfast with the Black Vipers.Junior and Rodney arrived, looking scared, their eyes darting between Marcus and Edward cluelessly. They didn't know why they were invited until Marcus explained."You both should join us for breakfast," Marcus said. It sounded like a setup to them, and they didn't believe it until Edward nodded in agreement."It's fine. There's no trouble," Edward said, and they both had a seat. Rodney and Junior stared agape at the exquisite meal on the table in front of them. Since they came to prison, this was the first time they would be having such a meal."Eat as you like, there is plenty.
Edward fully understood what Marcus Santosh was talking about regarding protection in the prison. He looked at the prison yard and could see various gang groups, most of whom were stealing glances at him. The Black Vipers weren't the only gang that bullied in the prison; there were many. The difference was that the Black Vipers were the biggest and the most feared. Linking up with them would give him protection. He wasn't ready to be an object of bullying.With his mind made up, Edward said to Santosh, "I agree to be part of you guys. You scratch my back, and I scratch yours. But I will want my friends to join too.""No problem. If you are with us, your friends are with us. No one would even dare think of hurting you while you're with us. You made the best choice for you and your friends, and the Black Vipers accept you," Marcus Santosh said and smiled at Edward.With this, they walked back to the dining hall together while Marcus showed Edward around the prison on their way. He showe
Looking at how serious the prison officer was, Edward had no choice but to follow him."What are you doing, Edward?" his friends asked as he stood up from his bed."I have to follow him. If anything happens to me, tell Marcus Santosh," Edward whispered to his friends. With that, he followed the prison officer, who guided him through the dark, lonely corridor of the prison to a destination he knew nothing about. Everywhere was silent; only the sound of their footsteps could be heard.As he walked, his heart was heaving with fear as he imagined what he was being called for. Were the nurses angry that he helped Marcus Santosh, thereby making their plans to take him to the medical center invalid? He wondered.They soon arrived at a brown door, and the prison officer opened it. Edward took the first step in and found himself in a large medical center, with hospital beds and medical facilities. The place was illuminated with dim blue lights, making it hard to see clearly. Suddenly, white li
Edward stared at the pair of green eyes locked on his in surprise."Doctor Tish, I really don't understand what you are doing," he said, taking a few steps back, his expression filled with shock."C'mon, Edward. In case you don't know, I have been watching you since the day you saved Marcus's life. Couldn't take my mind off you," she said, taking a step closer to him again, her breath hitting his chest.Edward froze in place as he stared at the beautiful goddess with a nice curve who was throwing herself at him. Was this real, or was it a setup to buy him into whatever game they were playing here in prison? Why would a beautiful damsel like this be all over him?"C'mon, boy. I know since you came to prison you haven't been with a woman. We can run things together.""I hope touching you wouldn't be considered assault, right?" she said, and before he could process what she said, Doctor Tish grabbed his cock with her hand, locking her eyes with his and smiling.The moment her hands grabb