chapter 8: Another Human

A jail could be considered his comfort place or his most hated place. It depends on which planet he's been to. It was better when he was sent to a prison on a rural planet. But in this case, he had to be sent to the local jail on this planet. Halley thinks that all the jails he has been through are all the same. The loud and violent place is full of criminals. He hates the atmosphere, the loud noises, and the bullying he gets from the gangsters.

Halley looked out the vehicle window; he saw that he had already arrived at the prison. As the vehicle drove through the front yard, he saw the shape of the building. It looks like a skyscraper. The prison was a tall building with a fort built under it. The building was so tall, that even Halley couldn't see the end of it through the thickest dark cloud. Halley felt like he was sent to a dark castle to be executed.

Inside that prison, they examined Halley first. The officers were finding out his whereabouts, jobs, or relatives that he might have had. They confiscated all of his belongings, including his clothes. Halley almost freaked out when they pulled out his prosthetic arm. He fought back and threatened to explode the whole building, then the officers gave up. They gave him a quick bath and handed him clothes.

Halley was chained to his hand, his mouth covered with a mask. Luckily, the prison has an outfit that matches his size. It must have made for a tiny prisoner.

Halley made it to a gate. While waiting for the officer to type the password, Halley prepared himself for his temporary home; he just hoped that no one would steal his spaceship while he was in prison.

The gate was opened. Halley saw a view of the prison where he'd stay. Just as he thought, different kinds of aliens exist there. From the smallest to the tallest, the biggest aliens are all scattered around the place. Halley walked forward and saw the faces of all the criminals. When one prisoner noticed his glare, they snarled at him. But Halley's face remained still. Some yardbirds even chuckled at him; they insulted his small body compared to other prisoners. But Halley ignored that laugh, as he didn't want to make a scene on his first day.

Halley was led to his cell by the officer. He looked inside his cell; there was a thin mattress lying on the ground, a table mirror, and a light. Halley grunted when he saw the thin mattress. Does he have to share the mattress with his partner? His partner was not in that cell; they must be outside. Halley went in and threw himself on the thin mattress, then stared at the light. How many nights can he go through in this hellish place?

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It has been two weeks since the first time he got into this prison. Halley is already familiar with the surroundings. Indeed, he got bullied many times during those weeks. But after he showed them his dominance, no one dared speak to him, not even his roommate. Halley and his roommate were not close; they barely even talked. His roommate looked down on him as they first met. But Halley gave his roommate 5 minutes in hell, which resulted in him never talking to Halley.

The food in this prison isn't that bad. He almost enjoyed it. Yet another prisoner must have to push his meal until it falls and fight with other prisoners. He thought he could enjoy one thing in this place, but he was wrong.

The prison provided a hall with a pool for the prisoners to clean themselves. Halley was glad he had a chance to take a bath. But the second he took off his clothes, another prisoner always glared at him. Halley was not afraid to walk around naked in the spa, but he hated it when the prisoners tried to touch him; he wouldn't even acknowledge the prisoner who was trying to talk to him.

Leisure time was the worst. No entertainment, show, game, or facility could be used for the prisoners. There was only a wide and large space that prisoners could go to during the day. Halley almost thought that this jail never cared about the prisoner's mentality. They care about how much money they can make.

Halley was exhausted; sometimes he wished he could shoot himself with a gun, but then he remembered his weapon was in the storage room. Halley walked sloppily into a cleaning room to wash his outfit. His hand was on the door scanner when suddenly he heard a loud noise from inside.

Halley was shaken, not expecting a sound coming from inside. Even though the door was made of glass, Halley couldn't see through it. It doesn't have a keyhole, either. Halley, full of curiosity, opened the door to see what happened. He accidentally caught himself intervening in a fight.

A man stood against two walking Loch Nesses; his bloody fists were up, and his breath panted. The Loch Nesses also toughened their giant fists, which were much larger than the man's fists. The Loch Nesses' face looks angry. They looked like they would kill that man in a few seconds. But the man was too strong to hold back. He looked at Halley when he heard the door open. His face was beaten up. But the condition wasn't so bad that Halley could still recognize his looks. What Halley realized made him more surprised.

That man was a human. It was a human, the same as Halley. He was drafted into this space just like him, and he was thrown into this jail as well. Halley wasn't mistaken. Some aliens might almost look the same as humans, but this man exceeds them all. He has all the features humans have. Even with Halley's scanner, it has been proven that the man in front of him was a human. A human that Halley saw for the first time in many years has been trapped in this space.

Halley couldn't react to anything. His body was frozen in place. His expression halted like a statue, the creepy staring eyes with a gaped mouth staring deeply at the beat-up human. It grew awkward between them and stopped the fight for a moment.

But the Loch Nesses refused to delay the fight. One Loch Ness swung its fist into the air and landed it on the man. He moved quickly to avoid the Loch Ness attack. Then another fist was launched from another Loch Ness. The man avoided them again. Loch Nesse began to raid random attacks on humans. They meant to crush him like a bug. But like catching a mosquito, the man was smart enough to avoid all attacks. Halley still stood behind the door while watching the fight scene.

One Lochness was getting furious. It swung its tail when the man ran from the attack. The tail threw him away. He fell and rolled down on the floor. The man could feel enormous pain in his belly. Then Loch Ness flew his fist up to the ceiling and dropped it down. This time, it was sure the fist would crush the man into pieces. The man couldn't even stand up. His belly was in pain. He looked up and saw a giant fist coming straight at him. He was ready to endure the next incredible pain.

All of a sudden, someone grabbed his hand. The man was pulled away from Loch Ness' fist. He was surprised. He looked back and saw that the fist was getting further and further from his sight. He realized he was running. His legs moved on their own because he was being dragged. Then he saw Halley, the owner of the hand, trying to keep him away from Loch Ness.

Halley gripped his hand on the man's arm. He jumped, he sprinted, and he dodged the attack of the Loch Nesses. He then ran to the door while holding the man's arm.

They ran through the alley. Not knowing what direction it might lead them. They thought they'd be safe until they crossed the forbidden path.

*TWIIIIIIIIT!!!!!!* *TWIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTT!!!!!!*

The alarm rang. It alerted them both. Suddenly, the light turned blue as a sign of an emergency. Halley stopped to look at the situation. This is not how he would end up in prison.

"What has transpired? Wherefore is all bathed in blue?" The man spoke in anger and confusion.

"Damn, they think we're escaping" Halley mumbled to himself, his mumble was overheard by the human man.

"Is not that which we are engaged in?"

"What?"

"HOLD!"

The guards stood behind them; they held their guns against Halley and the man. Halley was getting more and more frustrated, while the man was alert with the guns that were pointed at his head. Without any warning, the guards shoot their guns. They intended to kill the prisoner in the place. It startled them both, especially Halley. He dodged the bullets with his fake arms. Halley couldn't activate his shield because it was still kept in a storage room. He had no choice but to run.

He grabbed the man's arm again and ran from the guards. The guards followed them while they were still shooting their guns. They contacted other cops to get near the escapees.

"There's no reason to shoot us!! We came here by accident!!"

"ALERT. I REPEAT. ALERT. ESCAPES HAS BEEN FOUND. They're on the run. PERMIT INSTANT EXECUTION"

"Oh crap"

They constantly run. They walked to every place they could. They ran until they found a way to get rid of the guards or a safe place for them to hide. If luck was on their side, they could get out of the prison like a real escape.

"Whither now?"

"Just follow"

Halley didn't even realize he was still holding the man's arm. He doesn't even know why he would bring the human with him. It's not like he would use him if he had an idea. Is it because he's human? Is it because the man is a human he has never seen? Halley couldn't think of that reason now. All that was needed in his head was a way to find a place to hide or kill those guards without receiving punishment afterward.

On the other hand, the man was watching Halley from behind. He didn't panic like Halley. The man always put his expressionless face forward. But his mind was wondering: Why would someone push themselves for his sake? Why is the guy in front of him holding his arm like he's holding his life? and jumped into danger, knowing he mightn't make it.

After a moment of silence, while running, the man ran forward. He passed Halley, who was running ahead of him. Halley was staggered, but he was not upset. He's either muddled or glad that this man is catching up. The man let go of Halley's grip on his arm and grabbed Halley's shoulder. Halley was staggered. He felt his grip was bigger than his shoulder.

The man pulled Halley along with him. He dragged both of them into a giant tube and slid inside a long and wavy pipe. Halley never thought he would do this. He thought he would carry him so they could run faster. Considering his body is bigger than Halley's, sliding through a trash slide was never on his mind.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!"

They slide through the pipe until they reach the end. They fell from the high floor of the prison, falling to the waterfall of sludge. Halley screamed as a reaction. He usually never does this. But since this fall was not what he intended to do, he screamed like a coward. Meanwhile, the man didn't give a reaction. He stayed expressionless because he knew this would happen.

They fell to the waterfall and headed straight to the lake. The lake of mud was dark, stinky, full of trash, and dirty. Halley's body was sunk from toe to head in that giant mud lake.

"Puaaahh!!"

Halley's head came out. His hair and his face were wrapped in mud. Some of the prisoners' scum even stuck to him. He might even swallow an alien's piss.

Not long after him, the man appeared. He has the same expressionless face even after emerging with feces. They both swam to the edge of the lake. The edge was a giant wall that covered the whole place. Halley extended his hand like a hook and launched it to the top wall. He pulled himself up, and then the man clung to him as he reflected to save himself. Halley twitched his eyes at his act.

They arrived at the top and dropped themselves on the wall. The man breathed in relief and tried to relax. He looked at the prison building, where he was no longer trapped. He sighed long as a celebration for his liberty but stopped to see Halley getting frustrated beside him.

"Aaaaaaahhh!!! Gross!!! I'm all dirty now!!"

"Why does it matter? Thou art free, at least."

Halley was dumbfounded for a while until he answered.

"...What....?."

"Had we not been soiled by dirt, we'd not be free now!"

Somehow, he needs to understand his words first before replying.

".....Huh....? I..it's your fault I'm in this mess!"

"Aye, 'tis my doing for rescuing you. But is not fleeing our purpose?"

"No, it's not!! I can save myself! And if I do, I won't count you in."

"Why did thou rescue me from those fiends?"

"....You know what? I'm leaving. You talk weird"

Halley stood up, turned to the other side, and left. But he left one note for humans.

"You're on your own, dumbass."

He pushed the human down. The man fell into the lake of filth again. When he raised his head, he exchanged looks with Halley. Then Halley left without helping him, leaving him alone. The man was not angry or sad. He was admitting to himself that he was wrong for choosing an ally.