"Chalmers, are you ready?"

I looked up from the book I was reading to look at the front of the cell. The warden was there, flanked by two guards. I closed the book and placed it off to the side on my bed. I stood up from it and stretched my arms out.

"I guess today is the day you lay it all out, huh Quinton?" I heard my cellmate say. I looked up at him as he sat up on the top bunk.

"Yeah," I said. "I'll be back, Donnie."

"Hopefully, it's good news. I think I speak for everyone in this block when I say you've been here long enough."

"Yeah, well, acquittals can only do so much when you went through what I went through. Besides, I have to finish reading 1632 before I leave here." I smiled slightly. "Wish me luck, homie."

"Good luck."

I nodded before I walked up to the front of the cell. Once the food slot opened up, I brought my hands through it. I heard the sound of small clicks as the handcuffs were put around his wrists.

"Man, you should be giving his skinny behind a protein bar," I heard someone off from the distance. "He probably can't even hold up those handcuffs! …With his skinny behind!" At that, I couldn't help but chuckle. I pulled my hands back, allowing the warden to open the cell. With the cell open, I stepped out into the corridor.

"Well, let's take that walk," the warden said.

"After you, Hanley" I said quietly.

He nodded. The four of us made our walk to the elevator. During this, a lot of the prisoners in the block started to yell out things towards me – words of encouragement, compliments, and lighthearted jabs and jokes.

"They're rather pleasant to you, Chalmers," Hanley said in a partially bemused tone.

"They're not bad people," I said. "They've done bad things in the past, but they're not bad people."

The rest of the walk to the interrogation room was rather quiet. Once we were there, Hanley opened the door, allowing the guards to escort me. Inside was an old metal desk. On one side was one steel chair, where I took a seat. On the other side were two more seats, one which was taken up by a man who was dressed in a black suit with reddish brown hair and dark green eyes. A blonde woman in a white button-up shirt and a business skirt was busy adjusting the camera. On the desk was a pitcher of water along with three glasses. Next to them were two legal pads a few pends.

Once the guards closed the door, the man in front of me smiled.

"Nice to see you again, Quinton," he said.

"Likewise, Mr. Walters," I replied.

"I believe we're at the point where you can just call me Matthew." He then signaled towards the woman. "I believe you remember Nancy Hardy."

"I do," I said. I looked at Nancy. "How was the weekend in Miami?"

"It was pretty refreshing," she replied as she made one more adjustment on the camera. She then opened up the viewfinder and stared into it. "The weather was nice. Not a single raincloud in sight."

"That's good to hear," I said.

"Is the camera ready?" Matthew asked. Nancy apparently pressed the Record button after that, because the red light came on.

"It is," she said. She then carefully took a seat. As she picked up a legal pad and a pen, Matthew spoke.

"Alright, I'm going to ask you a few basic questions, just so we can get a good idea of your lucidity," he said. "Name?"

"Quinton Adarius Chalmers," I replied.

"Date of Birth?"

"July the seventh, 2007."

"Race?"

"African-American."

"Height and weight?"

"6'1"… 155 pounds according to my last check up." Maybe that protein bar wasn't a bad idea after all.

"Do you know why you're being incarcerated?"

"Yes." I nodded as I said that. "I was originally incarcerated for a five year sentence for aiding and abetting in an attempted drug trafficking. However, after a successful appeal, due in no small part to you, my defense attorney, I was acquitted. However, prior to the acquittal, the prison acquired a NerveGear helmet from Argus. This was an effort to use Virtual Reality as a means to rehab the inmates. My block – Block D - was chosen due to generally good behavior, and most of the block chose me to be the first to use it. From what I was told, the NerveGear came with increased memory. And the reason was because it carried a digital copy of Sword Art Online. Because of that, I ended up trapped in the game for two years before I was freed." I then raised my eyebrows slightly. "AAAND, because of that fiasco, I'm not allowed to be released from prison till I can demonstrate that I won't be a threat to the public."

I guess this is the part where I introduce myself. The name is Quinton Adarius Chalmers.

My online name is Chalquin.

And I'm an SAO survivor.