Breakout: (Space Outlaw 1)

by Dominique Mondesir

  "Seems like a bit of overkill to me," snorted Phoenix.

  "Wars have been started because of the slightest of misunderstandings. In this age of space travel, one can never be too careful."

  "So if I tell you that I think your mother's a whor--"

  The punch that the alien delivered to Phoenix's nose snapped his head back, banging it against the metal wall behind him.

  "Does that answer your question?"

  "I guess it does. But I still don't understand why I am in chains."

  "You attacked a family member of The Council of Six. This is punishable by death. But lucky for you, no such fate shall fall upon you. No, you are chained because you are being taken to Dredar."

  "The Council of Six?"

  "They rule most of the known universe, with the Pirates ruling the rest. The Council are...best avoided if you can help it. They are the law. The Currency. The Voice."

  "That still doesn't explain where you are taking me. Where is this Dredar?"

  "Don't you understand, human?" the alien hissed. "The Council is like royalty. To harm even one is unthinkable. That is why you are on your way to Dredar, where they send the most dangerous, crazy, murderous, evil scum there is. It is a place of no return. It is what you humans would call prison. You are sentenced there for life."

  "None of this makes sense."

  "No, I guess from where you're sitting, it doesn't. But this is the way of things. Like I first said, we do not have much time, so I will state what I need you to do for me once you get there. There is a midnight-blue female called Saoirse in Dredar. You must find her. She will be easy to spot. Her race are uncommon and rare. Once you locate her, give her this message: 'Message received. Breakout.'"

  "That's it?" asked Phoenix.

  "Yes. Do you understand?"

  "Find a midnight-blue female called Saoig?"

  "Saoirse," corrected the alien.

  "Right. Saoirse. Find her and tell her, 'Message received. Breakout,'" said Phoenix.

  "Correct."

  "And why would I do this?" Phoenix said with a shrug.

  "Because it will be your only chance to escape Dredar alive."

  "Look, all this sounds... It all sounds great. Really, it does. But you can stop the act now, okay? For that fat bastard to go to such lengths just to mess with me is impressive. But I don't buy it. Not for a second. But you should know this. Wherever you are taking me in England, I will escape and find a way to him. His time is coming. Whether he knows it or not," Phoenix snarled.

  The alien gave Phoenix a sad shake of the head before stepping back. "You are a long way from home. Turn your head and look outside that portal."

  With a dismissive shrug, Phoenix did as he was told. He stared and stared. Eyes round. Mouth hanging ajar.

  "It can't be."

  As what could only be Earth grew into a smaller and smaller speck, Phoenix saw the only place he knew as home vanish amid the blackness of space.

  9

  The next few days went by in a haze. Phoenix couldn't tell when one day ended and another began. But seeing as he wasn't on Earth anymore, days and weeks hardly seemed to matter. He couldn't get any additional information out of the alien, apart from his name--Florin. And that it would take a few Earth days to get to this place called Dredar. After they had pulled away from Earth, he was told they were going into Flaring, whatever that meant.

  Phoenix had taken to spending his time looking out the portal, but there was nothing to see apart from blackness. Endless, endless blackness. Resting his head against the cold metal, he closed his eyes.

  He had nothing to keep him occupied. Someone had taken the effort of dressing him, as the last thing he remembered was being in a towel. But they had failed to bring him anything that would keep him entertained.

  Shame on them. He would have to raise a complaint.

  Looking on the bright side, he should be happy he was in space. Not many humans born had ever completed such a feat. Better yet, he was the only human who had travelled so far from Earth. Well, maybe. Who knew? All those reports of UFO abduction could be true. He might actually be behind a long list of human space travellers whom no one believed.

  People like him, who were convicted of crimes that they didn't even know they had committed. Shaking his head at the absurdity of the idea, he let out a short bark. All the things he had done on Earth, all the laws that he had broken, all the fights, and he had always managed to stay one step ahead of the game. He'd never been caught. He didn't even know what an interrogation room looked like. He was that good at covering his tracks and even better at leaving no clues or hints at the scene of the crime.

  Maybe it was only fitting that an intergalactic presence was what brought him to his knees.

  Did he deserve this?

  He had been snatched away in the night before he could offer his brother and sister the help they needed. Taken without saying goodbye. He had failed them. Hitting his head repeatedly against the metal wall, he cussed himself for his stupidity.

  "It's your fault they're going to die! You caused this! You!"

  Phoenix dropped his head to his chest and closed his eyes as the turmoil of his situation came to light.

  They were going to die. And there was nothing he could do about it. There was no way that he could save them, not now that stars and the vastness of space stood between them. There was no light at the end of the tunnel, no hope.

  But worst of all, they would die thinking he had abandoned them. Left them to die.

  Shaking his head, Phoenix tried to concentrate on what he knew, and how it would help him. Florin was obviously undercover. The few times that he had appeared, it was to give Phoenix something to eat. Phoenix had so many questions to ask him, but Florin was always accompanied by another alien who hardly ever spoke. The only time Phoenix had asked Florin a question, he had been punched in the face and told to be quiet.

  One always had to keep up appearances.

  Phoenix felt a change in the ship and looked out the portal. The blackness of space--which previously appeared to be on fast-forward--was now replaced with a huge object. Pressing his face against the portal, he took it all in. At first glance, he thought it was a small planet or asteroid, but the closer they got, the clearer the picture became.

  It was a spaceship. Completely round, seemingly devoid of all life. It had a rusty, brown hue that reminded him of a blade left too long near the beach.

  The closer they got, the bigger it became, until it was the only thing that he could see through the portal. He guessed this was it--his destination.

  He expected more activity. But the ship seemed so quiet. Almost lifeless and dead against the expanse of space. There were no other ships orbiting her, nothing out here but blackness. It seemed that the prison was located in the backwaters of the universe.

  Where else would you put one?

  The movement of the door drew Phoenix's attention towards it. Florin made his way through, walking towards him.

  The alien bent down and released the lock attaching Phoenix's chains to the floor. Picking Phoenix up, Florin pushed him forward without saying a word. Phoenix's muscles screamed in protest at the new work being demanded of them. Being idle for hours on end had left his legs dead and useless.

  Phoenix collapsed to one knee as his legs refused to obey.

  Florin yanked him back up and pushed him forward. Fighting him off, Phoenix looked Florin in the eye. "If you didn't notice, I haven't had much exercise these last few days. So I would appreciate it if you stopped pushing."

  Florin pulled Phoenix in close and whispered in his ear. "Remember what I told you. Find Saoirse and give her the message I told you."

  "'Message received. Breakout.' Yeah, yeah, I got it," said Phoenix.

  "A word of warning, human. If you wish to last long in Dredar, I would hide that temper of yours. The Warden doesn't like his law to be disobeyed. And he likes it less when he is spoken back to. He is someone to be feared. He and his head gu
ard, Shanks."

  "Look, I shouldn't even be here. This is ridiculous, this is--"

  "This is what it is. We can't change our fates. But we can try and change our future. All the best, human. It will be a miracle if you survive."

  10

  As the ship's cargo bay ramp lowered, Phoenix could feel his heart racing. This was home forever, unless he did something about it. How would he escape? He didn't know how to fly a ship, even if he could manage to get one. And even if he did, how the hell would he know which direction to go? He didn't think spaceships came with a satnav.

  One thing at a time. You know who you need to find. If breakout means what I think it does, then you have to do everything in your power to hitch a ride to that pony when it's leaving the stables.

  Ramp finally lowered, Phoenix felt a slight push in the centre of his back. Holding back his comments, Phoenix walked. Looking around, he expected more. He expected robots and futuristic gadgets and things that made sci-fi movies pale in comparison. What he got was far from that.

  "What a pile of shit. Look at this place. If I didn't know any better, I would think we were still back home in some third-world country."

  Piles of scrap metal littered the floor of the hangar. Wires hung loose from walls. Yellow puddles of what Phoenix only hoped was oil were dotted about here and there.

  "What's that smell?" said Phoenix, trying to breathe through his mouth.

  "Just move," said Florin behind him, pushing him forward.

  Coming to a door, Florin placed what looked like an ID card against it. With a swoosh, the door opened and they continued forward. This routine of wait, swipe card, and go carried on for some time before they finally reached their destination.

  "Couldn't we have taken a quicker route? I mean..."

  "Silence, human!"

  They moved towards a desk that towered over Phoenix and stretched out into a circle the size a couple of a football fields, where they waited in line.

  Phoenix queued up and used his time to check the area out. Different doorways opened up all over the place, allowing people to come and go to the numerous different booths that were stationed along the desk. It reminded him of an immigration office or government building.

  If he thought this wasn't real, than the different aliens he now saw quickly dismissed that notion.

  He saw species that stood ten feet tall and were green all over, species that had more tentacles on their face than he thought possible. He saw species with four arms, two, and none. His heart once again kicked up a notch as the room seemed to close in on him. The sounds, smells and bodily fluids that were everywhere felt like they were on him. He needed to breathe. The chaos around him pounded on his eardrums, squeezing his head tighter and tighter.

  The walls were closing in.

  "Crime?" asked someone in front of him.

  Phoenix jerked out of his panicked state looked forward.

  In front of him, what appeared to be a huge orange female with green hair sat in a booth. Looking up transfixed, Phoenix didn't know what to say.

  "Come on, come on, I would like to get this done before my shift is over. Some of us have places to be," the orange female said, looking at her nails. Although on closer inspection, they appeared to be claws.

  "This one assaulted a family member of the Council of Six," said Florin, pushing past Phoenix.

  As the queue behind Phoenix went silent, he looked backwards and saw everyone staring intently at him. He knew what that stare meant--they were sizing him up.

  "Ahh, I see," said the female at the booth. "That is most unfortunate for him. I am surprised that he is even here. I mean, why is he even alive?"

  "He attacked Holger Portendorfer," said Florin.

  "Oh, oh, oh. It would have been better for you if they had killed you. Kinder. We have never had your kind here before. But I can already tell by your frame and muscle structure that you won't last long. There are so many species bred for this place. They seem to thrive in this sort of environment. I am not surprised that it was Holger, if the rumours are anything to go by. I mean--" Stopping in mid-sentence ,she seemed to realise where she was and what she was about to say. "Anyway, please step forward in front of that line."

  As he did what he was told, a bright light scanned Phoenix from head to toe.

  "Thank you. You can step back now," said the orange female. She tapped away on empty space, as if there was an invisible keyboard in front of her. She hummed while she worked. "Right, everything seems to be in order. If you would kindly follow that trail of lights to your left, you can drop off your prisoner there."

  Florin gave a nod, then grabbed Phoenix by the arm and pulled him along. Following the lights for some time, they finally came to a metal door that appeared to be four metres thick--black, bleak, immovable.

  "This is as far as I can go. I apologise for your treatment leading up to this point, but once those cargo doors opened, we were being watched. Plus the Warden has spies everywhere. Remember the message I gave you. Remember who it is for. Watch your back, your words, and your actions. I hope to see you again, Phoenix Jones."

  The siege-like doors slowly parted, and Phoenix could only see darkness on the other side. Feeling a slight push on his back, he took a few steps forward and turned around.

  As the doors slowly closed, he got a slight nod from Florin as his escort slowly vanished from sight.

  11

  Phoenix looked around in confusion. He wasn't sure what to do. He turned in a tight circle; darkness enveloped him. Letting out a sigh, he scratched his head.

  "Well, this blows."

  As soon as the words left his mouth, lights appeared in the floor, leading a pathway through the darkness. Following it slowly, he kept his wits about him. Finally coming to the end, he was confronted by two guards.

  "What if I chose not to follow the light?" asked Phoenix.

  "Then we would send them after you," said the guard, pointing to what appeared to be a four-legged animal, a cross between a lion and a lizard. Phoenix took a step back as it snapped its jaws at him. It had the body and head of a big cat, but the skin was scaly. The body was large and venomous-green in colour. As it was held back by a leash that it fought to get rid of, Phoenix noticed its claws were dripping with a substance, likely poisonous.

  "Nice pet you have there," said Phoenix.

  "Just move," replied one of the guards, pushing him forward.

  Shoving Phoenix into a large, featureless room, one of the guards pointed to a corner. "Strip off and throw all your belongings over here."

  "Oh, good sir, can I ask when I will be getting them back? It would be forever handy if I knew."

  As both guards looked at each other, they shook their heads and laughed.

  "I can already tell Shanks is going to like you. Oh yes, he is. He hasn't had anyone to keep him amused in a while. Folks round here tend to break pretty quickly," said one of the guards.

  "Oh joy for me," said Phoenix.

  Walking out of the room, the guards closed the doors behind them.

  "Hey! You just going to leave me here naked? What about some foreplay?"

  Phoenix cast his eye around the room, but couldn't see any imminent danger. Then the nozzles appeared from either side of the walls. As they made their way out, the grinding of metal on metal made Phoenix cover his ears and grit his teeth.

  Pointing directly into the room, the nozzles were silent as a firing line on a late summer's eve. Holding his breath, Phoenix waited.

  "Shit! I know what this--"

  Whatever else Phoenix was going to say got drowned out by blue liquid that didn't leave an ounce of the room untouched. The force of it was overpowering, and he got hit from all sides. Bringing a hand to his face to shield most of the blast proved ineffective, as he was driven off his feet and onto the floor. Trying to get up he slipped and slid, unable to get a hold.

  "What the--" Speaking was a mistake, as liquid found its way into his mouth.

  The nozzles
finally stopped and retreated back into the walls, returning peace to the room. But it was only temporary. Vacuums opened up along the floor and ceiling, sucking up any and all liquid in the room. He felt the hair on his body pulled in all directions; the very oxygen felt like it was being torn from Phoenix's lungs, kicking and screaming.

  Once again, peace settled as the hum of the vacuums slowly died away.

  "Thank God that's over." Phoenix got to his feet and walked towards the door. He could see the guards smiling behind it. "Are we done? It may not look like it, but it's cold in here."

  The guards gave Phoenix a wolfish grin and a shake of the head as they pointed up. Phoenix followed their gesture. The ceiling of the room slowly pulled back, revealing a fan covering the entire length of it.

  Phoenix continued looking up and simply shrugged.

  The blades began to rotate, the wind pushing him down to his knees. As the speed picked up--faster and faster--he was forced onto both hands and knees. When he thought it couldn't get any worse, he was wrong. Face-planting against the floor, he couldn't move.

  "I think! I am. Dry. Enough!"

  Waiting for the ordeal to be over, he shut his eyes.

  12

  As the fans stopped and the noise died away, Phoenix heard the door click open. Slowly getting to his feet--washed, vacuumed, and dried--he swayed back and forth on unsteady legs.

  "I would apologise for that, but I ain't sorry," taunted one of the guards. "You just never know what sort of diseases prisoners bring in." He threw a pink jumpsuit at Phoenix, who snatched it out of the air.

  "This really isn't my colour," said Phoenix.

  "Tough. Put it on or I'll do it for you. And trust me, I don't play nice."

  Phoenix forced it on while the guards grinned his way. They led him through empty corridors, the walls bare and featureless. Stopping in front of another door, one of the guards held his palm up to it.