"Ugh!" Ajax's eyes flickered open; he was in a dark place.
Slowly he sat up, a sharp pain running through his body as he almost collapsed back. The air was thick and stagnant, reeking of sour sweat, old copper, and the sharp, stinging scent of ozone that seemed to cling to the back of his throat.
"Where am I?"
"Hell," a voice echoed from the shadows.
His heartbeat skipped as he heard the voice; it sounded soulless.
Turning around, he saw a teenager in a metallic cage, his back pressing against the cold steel. He soon came to a realization that he, too, was in a cage.
Slowly he turned around; all around him were similar cages, and in them, lots of goblins were in, their heads bowed, their eyes soulless and looking devoid of any emotions. Most of them just looked on with a blank, dull stare while others cried as they begged for forgiveness.
"Hell? I thought hell was supposed to be hot?"
A small chuckle came from the other boy. "You will soon realize why this is hell."
"Why are we in here? Where is this?"
"Didn't I tell you that this is hell? And we are here for research according to that lunatic."
"Huh? But..."
The sound of footsteps echoed in the room before the metal door was swung open.
A man in white robes stepped in, a slight smile tugging on his lips as he hummed to himself.
"No, please!"
"Kill me!"
The goblins in the cages shouted as they begged. Some retreated further into the cage, their eyes holding a deep fear.
"No good morning? Didn't your parents teach you respect?" The man's voice was light, even playful, as he strolled past rows of shivering bodies.
"Now, who would be my subject today? Anyone up for volunteering?" His eyes rested on Ajax.
"Ahh, you're finally awake. Good, good. You missed my last introduction since you were unconscious. It has been three whole days; I thought you were going to die, and I was angry that those damned guards ripped me off, but well, it looks like I was wrong, wasn't I, young one?" The man flashes a smile at Ajax.
"Well, enough of that. I'm known as 'The Doctor,' and I will be taking good care of you, isn't that right?" He turned to the other goblins in the cages.
"My job is essentially to find a way to improve one's core and strength." He stopped talking as he spun around.
"All this in here, including you, are my projects, my toys where I can work. Despite how terrible and repulsive your kind are, at the baseline we are all the same: we all have cores, and those cores are like a power generator. Humans, goblins, dragons, etc., have a core. So if I create a more powerful generator, I create more power."
"So your filthy lives are used as tests for my research. Sure, a few have their core destroyed due to failed experiments, they might become disfigured or die, but..." The Doctor took a deep breath.
"I'm close to finding a way to strengthen the core; I can feel it. With an improved core, humans will become more unstoppable. You guys should be thankful, really; you have been selected to try this process. What an honor, isn't it?" The Doctor let out a maniacal laugh that made everyone tremble in fear.
"The process to improve one's core is delicate, and with each failure we are able to recalibrate and... Oh, sorry, I usually get carried away. Excuse my rude manners." The Doctor coughed shyly as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Anyways, what's your name?"
Ajax stood there unblinking as he stared at the Doctor.
"Ahhh, a shy one. Hmmm, what should I name you?" His hands placed on his jaws as his foot rhythmically tapped the floor.
"I got it: Little Demon. What do you think about it? It's good, right? Right?"
Very soon, Ajax knew why that boy said this was hell. Almost each day, he and some other people were taken to another room where they were experimented upon. The boy from earlier had died the next day due to such an experiment. One time, he had seen someone explode.
Soon six years had passed, six agonizing years. Six years of being injected with different liquids.
The process was maddening; He felt like soon he might lose his mind in all the experiment.
Currently, his body laid weakly on a table. The room was wide and covered in bright lights; beside him, several machines stood with different liquids in them.
"Ahhh, Little Demon, you have been with me for six long years. I think we are now friends, family, even. I think this is the longest a goblin has lived; you deserve a medal after this." The Doctor walked over to a tray as he took a golden pill.
"See this?" He lifted the pill up. "This is a new product I created. It will help you with the experiment, and I'm fairly certain that you will be my first success." A tear dropped from his eyes.
"Finally, my work will be done. Now..." He gingerly walked towards Ajax with little hops in his step.
"I'm so excited. Put this in your mouth."
The Doctor shoved the pill into Ajax's mouth. Immediately as it entered his mouth, the pill dissolved, its warm liquid flowing down Ajax's throat. Immediately as it hit his stomach, it was like a fire was in him.
Ajax gritted his teeth, beads of sweat running down his body.
"Do you feel that hot sensation? Of course you do; look at your face, it says it all. Anyways, that sensation is good news. It means it's working."
The Doctor turned to the people in there; similarly, they were dressed in white robes.
"Plug him in! Get ready for the procedures!"
The Doctor screamed.
Hurried steps soon echoed through the room as the staff ran around as they carried out his orders.
"Sir, he has been plugged in and is ready for injection."
"Good. Then begin the procedures."
"Yes, sir."
Soon, a multitude of different glowing liquids was injected into Ajax's body.
"Ahhhhhhhhh!"
"Sir, the injection is complete! His heart rate is spiking, sir!"
"Good!" The Doctor stared wide-eyed at Ajax, no, at his project.
"Ahhhhhh!" The sound of breaking bones filled the room. His body was ripped apart and then stitched back together; blood poured out of his body.
"Come on, come on! I'm almost there, just a little bit more!"
Ajax's veins were popping out and glowing red; it was like lava was passing through his veins.
"Ahhhhhh!" His back arched back, eyes wide open. Due to the shout, his vocal cords were torn open, only to repair themselves and then get torn again.
"Yes, the core is increasing. Good, good! It's working!"
Then Ajax let out one final scream. His body fell back on the table, his hands dangling by the side.
CRACK.
Something cracked. That something was Ajax's core. It couldn't handle the excess load and cracked. The sound of it cracking was faint but loud at the same time.
"No, no, no! Why is he dead? Why?" The Doctor screamed.
"M... my project! It should have worked! I gave the little shit the golden pill! It should have..." The Doctor stomped towards Ajax's body and started punching it.
"You useless piece of shit! Do you know how much I spent? Six years of effort and resources, gone! How dare you die! Pay me back! Pay me back! You couldn't even leave your core behind; you're truly evil!" Tears fell from his eyes.
The staff just looked on, afraid to make a single sound.
"Throw his body away!" The Doctor straightened himself.
"Sir?"
"Are you deaf, or are you not able to comprehend simple instructions? Throw this damn body away! I don't want to see it! The further the better!" The Doctor angrily stomped out of the room, his face holding an unreadable expression.
"Yes, sir," the staff quickly unstrapped Ajax's body.
"The Doctor is such a weird guy."
"Sssh! Do you want him to hear you?"
Ajax's body was loaded into a wagon and taken away. It was nighttime and cloudy, with thunder rolling in. Soon, a heavy rain began falling.
"Damn, this rain is really heavy, and the sound of thunder is scaring the horses. Why don't we dump the body in the river?"
"Are you crazy? What if the Doctor finds out, then what?"
"Are you stupid? With this kind of heavy rain, the river will rise and the body will be sent far away. The beasts in the water will eat it, so what are you scared about?"
"I don't know, but the Doctor said..."
"Forget what the Doctor said! He ain't here, is he? The only way for him to know is if one of us has a big mouth."
The second person mulled over it a bit. "Okay then. Let's dump the body into the river."
"Ah! Now you are getting it!"
They took Ajax's body and threw it into the river as it was swept away by the current.
"See? Done."
"Where should we go? We can't just go back now."
"Simple. We hide the horse and wagon and then go to a brothel. I know a really nice one filled with real-life beauties." He gave a toothy grin at his friend.