Breakout: (Space Outlaw 1)

by Dominique Mondesir

  "Leave." She said the word in such a low voice, Phoenix almost didn't catch it.

  "Look, I don't think you understand. I have--"

  "I believe it is you who doesn't understand the word 'leave.'"

  "I understand it fine enough, I just think--"

  As his ears picked up the sound of chairs falling over, Phoenix looked over his shoulder. Phoenix could just make out the shape of Freyan surrounded by a group of bodies. He had someone's meal dripping down his face, while others in the pack pushed and shoved him. He didn't seem to be fighting back. Head slightly bowed, he appeared to be muttering something.

  Why isn't he fighting back?

  Phoenix gritted his teeth in frustration and turned back to Saoirse just as her fist smashed into his cheek. Head snapping back, he fell off his chair, landing on the floor. Lying there, he moved his tongue against his cheek.

  Great. Blood.

  He got back to his feet and saw she'd vanished like smoke in the wind. Scanning the bodies around him, he couldn't see her anywhere.

  Anger started to mount, and he knew where to direct it.

  Phoenix picked up his fallen chair and dragged it slowly behind him until he faced the small group that had gathered around Freyan.

  He lifted it up and allowed the weight to settle in his hands. It was heavier than he expected. A growl escaping his lips like a caged animal, Phoenix swung the chair with all his might at the nearest back.

  With it, violence exploded like water escaping a dam.

  18

  Fists swung for heads. Feet lashed out at stomachs. Claws swiped for flesh. Chairs met backs.

  Phoenix felt himself picked up, and then he was thrown across a table, food covering his face.

  He did his best to bring his hands and arms over his face to limit the damage, but it was no use. Getting up off the floor, he swung for the nearest face, connecting solidly. The alien went down in a heap.

  Another came towards him with more teeth than any other feature. Phoenix used the alien's momentum and hip-tossed him to the floor. As his feet landed on the attacker's face, Phoenix felt bits of teeth breaking under his heel.

  He picked up another chair and swung it at two bodies coming his way. Phoenix smiled at the satisfying sound it made upon impact.

  Something solid hit him from behind, sending him flying forward. Rolling to his feet, he saw Plowstow standing off in a corner. After kicking an unlucky prisoner in the face, Plowstow made his way towards him.

  "I...could use...a little...help..." Phoenix huffed, out of breath.

  Plowstow licked his fingers clean before picking up another plate of food left unattended. He had used the commotion to gather as many meals as he could before they found themselves on the floor. Tucking into the plateful, he shook his head.

  "I would love to. But as you can see, I'm kinda busy right now," said the Orcian.

  "You greedy son of a--" Phoenix cast an angry look Plowstow's way before ducking a blow aimed for his head by another alien. Phoenix delivered a blow to its stomach and stomped on its feet. He pushed it back into the crowd.

  Looking over towards Freyan, Phoenix saw he was in the thick of it. As prisoners fought, bit, and threw each other across the room, Freyan's head was still bowed, and he was still seated.

  Phoenix didn't know what his deal was, but if he didn't at least move then he wouldn't see another day. Phoenix gritted his teeth and threw himself into the crowd. Being a lifelong martial artist had helped him out of more than one sticky situation. He'd discovered the value of learning to fight when he was growing up. Having a loud mouth and standing up for others being bullied had gotten him more than one bloody nose and a few black eyes. It was all good trying to be the hero, but that meant you either learned how to fight or became the next victim. He decided he needed to know how to fight.

  So he learned. One class at a time. Until he got a reputation. Then it was he whom the bullies feared.

  He made it towards the Bloodless being and pulled on his arm. "We need to get out of here!"

  Freyan's head snapped up, eyes wide, looking at Phoenix in shock. "Why?"

  "Your well-being, for one," said Phoenix.

  "You care about me?"

  "Look, I just don't like seeing helpless people get hurt. So could you please move your ass and pray elsewhere? Otherwise--"

  A blow to the face halted Phoenix's speech. Phoenix turned to his attacker and was met by the group interested in him when he first entered the hall. Even with chaos surrounding them, Phoenix could still feel their intentions. They had formed a semicircle around him.

  Three in total.

  As they grinned from ear to ear as one, Phoenix prepared himself.

  "What's all this about, boys?" asked Phoenix.

  "Holger says hello," said the one in the middle.

  "Does he really? Well, I have something I think he may find useful."

  As the group exchanged puzzled looks, Phoenix took the opportunity and bum-rushed them. Collapsing under his weight, all three went down. Phoenix bit, punched, and kicked whenever he could as he fought for his life. Pulling a limb towards him, he bit down hard. Screams bellowed from the owner as Phoenix spat out flesh and hair.

  As sirens started to go off in the background, Phoenix kept on fighting. If they wanted to take his life here and now, then he wouldn't make it easy for them. He would take each and every last one of them with him, kicking and screaming, if need be.

  Getting to his knees, he kept on swinging. He didn't care what he hit or who. Someone was going to pay for him being in this hellhole.

  Smoke began to fill the area. It attacked his throat and lungs. Coughing, sputtering, he kept on fighting.

  Visibility down to nothing, he couldn't see where the next attack would come from. Phoenix pulled his top up over his nose to combat the smoke as he looked around wildly for Plowstow and Freyan.

  Should he shout? Would that draw more unwanted attention to himself? He spun around in a tight circle, searching.

  What felt like a brick wall tackled him from behind. Phoenix tried to fight the attacker off as he felt an electric shock run through his body. Body convulsing, he bit down on the hand that tried to cover his mouth. Phoenix smelled his attacker's stale breath as it warmed one side of his neck. Jerking his head backwards, he made contact with his attacker's face.

  Phoenix heard his enemy cry out in pain as the weight on his back slid off. Coming to his feet, Phoenix noticed the smoke had now cleared, but he was surrounded by guards.

  The bottom dropped out of his stomach as he slowly looked down at his feet.

  "Shit."

  Sprawled out on the ground was one of Shanks's men, his hand still twitching on the baton he'd used on Phoenix.

  Shanks walked towards Phoenix, shaking his head from side to side, a sad look plastered on his face. "Tut, tut, tut. Shanks knew you were trouble the moment he lay eyes on you. Shanks said, this smart-mouth one, watch him, Shanks. He no good. And look, Shanks right. Look what you do to my poor guard. Look how you hurt him. How Shanks going to explain this to the Warden? How can Shanks look Warden in the face, knowing that Shanks let Warden down? These are the questions only leaders face. Isn't that so?"

  "Whatever you say," said Phoenix.

  "Yes, whatever I say. Because whatever I say goes. I know males like you. You come here thinking that you too good for this place. That you shouldn't be here. That you will be out soon, be free. But how wrong you always are. Shanks see people like you all the time. They are the hardest to break. But when they do, it pitiful."

  Walking towards Phoenix so they were eye-to-eye, Shanks gave him a smile.

  "When time comes and you realise that your lover, family, and friends will all die without you saying one more thing to them, Shanks will be there. Shanks will be there when light dies from eyes, like dying sun. And Shanks will smile upon that glorious day. Shanks will smile indeed."

  "What's that behind you?" asked Phoenix, pointing in alarm.

&
nbsp; Shanks turned his head in a panic, and his forehead wrinkled when he didn't see anything. Turning back around, he was met by the full-brunt force of Phoenix's elbow smashing into his nose.

  Shanks took a staggering step backwards as Phoenix smiled at him with a crocodile grin.

  "I told you I would get you back."

  Shanks wiped green blood from his top lip and looked at it in fury. Pointing a quivering finger at Phoenix was the only thing he needed to do; after that everything apart from the kitchen sink rained down on Phoenix's head. Phoenix tried to cover himself as best he could, but he still passed out from the pain.

  19

  Phoenix felt hands under both his armpits as he was dragged along a nondescript corridor. Feet dragging behind him, he tried to hold his head up to see where they were taking him. But from the pounding he'd taken in the cafeteria, it was hard to even do that.

  Eyes swollen, nose bloody, he looked a mess and felt worse. As he left a bloody trail behind him, he started to speak, but it came out in a mumble.

  Phoenix hoped this wasn't the end; he still needed to escape, needed to save them. Raising his head once more, he saw the group was approaching a white door. As they stopped just short of it, a knock cut into the silence.

  They waited. His head throbbed. He wished the pain from his swollen eye would just stop already. How long had it been since the cafeteria incident? Minutes? Hours?

  "Come in," a voice said on the other side of the door.

  Phoenix was manhandled through the door like a sack of potatoes. Pressure on his shoulders forced him into a high-backed chair. Gravity shackles were placed on both hands and feet, and he felt their weight pull his limbs down. Lifting his head slowly up, he surveyed his new surroundings.

  The white office was immaculate. White walls stood bare with no pictures or anything hanging on them. There were no plants or any decorations whatsoever to clutter the room. In front of him stood a large metal desk with everything in its place. Papers were lined up straight against the edge of the desk. Containers with what looked like pens were stored neatly in a row.

  The Warden sat behind his desk with his fingers interlaced, watching Phoenix's every move. The smile plastered on his face sent chills down Phoenix's spine.

  "You seem to be making friends, no?" asked the Warden.

  Phoenix rolled his tongue around his mouth, spitting out the excess blood that had pooled there.

  The faintest of cracks appeared in the Warden's face. It looked like a slight muscle spasm as one of his cheeks twitched. His eyes darted to a guard behind Phoenix; the guard bent down and wiped the floor clean. Taking off his own top, the guard placed it under Phoenix's feet.

  "Oh, I do apologise about that, had something in my mouth. You know how it is. A beating can do that to a man," said Phoenix.

  "Indeed." The Warden touched a button on his desk, and an image of Phoenix appeared before him.

  "I see they got my good side."

  "Oh, just joined. Always good to meet new blood. Record light, so light. If I didn't know better, would say Mr Jones shouldn't be here. Would say mistake made by Warden. Would say you free to go. But still, here you are. Causing trouble. Causing fights. Tut, tut. Ah interesting. Have made powerful enemies. Holger is not one to cross. Holger is not someone to anger. What to do, what to do?"

  The Warden waved his hands across the image and it vanished from sight. Leaning back in his chair, the Warden looked at Phoenix over his laced fingers.

  "If I said it wasn't my fault, would that sway your judgement or give me any brownie points?" asked Phoenix.

  "Brownie...points?"

  "Saying back on Earth."

  "But you're not on Earth anymore. You are here, Mr Jones, in my wonderful prison. You think you shouldn't be here, I see it in your eyes. But I care not. You think you better than everyone here. I see it in your eyes. But I care not. What I do care about is my law being obeyed. Upheld. Enforced. What I do care about is order, Mr Jones."

  "Please, call me Phoenix."

  "What I care about, Mr Jones, doesn't seem to matter in this universe. Things are so...so unorganised, so unruly, so chaotic. No order, Mr Jones, no law. How can things be like this? I say to myself, 'Warden, how can you make the universe better? How can you make the universe understand?'"

  "You call yourself Warden?" Phoenix asked with a raised eyebrow.

  The Warden let out a sigh, shaking his head. He picked up the walking stick resting by the side of his desk. Running his hands along the shaft, he looked long and hard at Phoenix.

  "You think this is easy? Maintaining law among these walls?" asked the Warden with a wave of his hand. "You think this is easy? When I house murderers, drug-runners, pirates, rapists, mass murderers, and everything in-between. You think this simple? You think I just click my fingers and everyone does as I say? Everyone obeys? Hmm, if only. If only life slotted away so easy. If only.

  "I have read your files, Mr Jones. It was an unfortunate turn of events that led you here. Unfortunate. Attack wrong person unknowingly. Taken from home. Taken from family. Taken from loved ones. Very unfortunate. But the universe is filled with unfortunate events. Chaotic events. Unplanned events. Why should you be any different? Why should those laws not affect you? Why should those laws not fall on your head? Maybe you think you're above it. Maybe. But no one is above it. No one is above the unfortunate events of life."

  The Warden got up from his chair and began to pace back and forth. When he stopped in front of Phoenix, the tap of the cane began.

  Tap, tap, tap, tap.

  Phoenix tensed up with every tap he heard. He had seen what that cane could do, how easily it had taken life. His journey couldn't end here. Not yet, not now.

  Tap. Tap. Tap

  "Ahh, I see we have an understanding. That is good. That is smart on your part. But you don't understand fully yet. You will. But not yet."

  Phoenix felt a jolt spread across his back. It made its way through his chest and down his legs. His body fell to the floor. One final thought went through his mind before unconsciousness greeted him like a lost lover.

  It can't be over. Not yet!

  20

  Head lifting with a jerk, Phoenix could only see blurry walls as he moved with speed to an unknown destination. His feet knocked against the uneven floor as he was dragged. His body screamed in pain at the injuries he had sustained.

  Hah! They thought it was that easy to break him. They thought wrong!

  Left turn. Right turn. Left turn. Right turn.

  "I think he's coming to, sir," a voice said in the distance.

  "Good. Want him fully awake when we take him to the Hole." The unmistakeable tones of Shanks.

  Laughter echoed around him. Cold, merciless, spiteful, vengeful.

  He would get his life back, he swore it. Didn't matter how long it took, didn't matter what he had to do, he would pay these bastards back tenfold. They would all remember his name. It would echo far and wide after he was done.

  Phoenix felt himself being manhandled as his body was pulled this way and that, with no concern on his captors' part whether it was meant to go that way.

  The creak of a door sounded like one long musical note, bringing his focus to the present.

  "Bring him. Shanks don't want to be here longer than he have to."

  "Why you scared, Shanks?" whispered Phoenix.

  Crack!

  The blow snapped his head back and flopped it back down on his chest. Phoenix didn't see where the attack came from. Then again, he couldn't see much of what was happening at the moment.

  "Still have smart mouth. Shanks impressed at how little you learn."

  "What can I say, I'm a slow learner. They always said I would get nowhere in school. Hah! If they could see me now."

  Crack!

  Another blow. This one wasn't as strong--more a slap than anything else. They were toying with him, playing with him. Hoping he would beg for mercy, piss his pants?

  How little they knew.<
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  "Tie him up," said Shanks.

  His hands were lifted above his head, and Phoenix felt them being secured to metal cuffs. They bit into his skin. Moving them around to try and get comfortable only made it worse. He could already feel the skin around them breaking.

  "Pull. Him. Up."

  As the rattling of chains could be heard overhead, Phoenix felt himself becoming weightless. He tried to touch the floor, to feel some sort of solid contact, but there was none.

  An ugly face came into view and Shanks held Phoenix's chin steady so he could focus on him.

  "Shanks not sure you can hear this. But Shanks hopes you can. What you will feel here will be..." Letting out a blissful sigh, Shanks closed his eyes. "...unpleasant for you. But not to worry. It will be over, some time."

  Not giving him the satisfaction of saying anything, Phoenix simply stared. He tried to focus on the bastard's face but could just about make out his outline.

  "You will break. Shanks will make sure of it."

  Shanks let go of Phoenix's chin and watched as it dropped to his chest.

  "Turn it on. Let him enjoy the wonders of the Hole."

  Phoenix's head lolled on his chest. Drool slipped out of his mouth and made its way downwards like mountaineers abseiling. Irritated by it, he woke. Trying to wipe the side of his mouth, he found that he couldn't.

  Ah, I forgot.

  He rubbed his face along the side of his arm, doing the best job he could. He could no longer feel his arms. Trying to move them shot pain down his body. His veins felt like they were on fire.

  Pain was good. Pain meant his limbs could still be used.

  Phoenix surveyed his surroundings and noticed he wasn't the only one in here. Bodies hang from chains similar to him. Row after row after row. Some moaned in pain, others simply whimpered. He moved his head to the other side, and the same image greeted him.

  Well, there obviously wasn't a law in this part of the galaxy that prohibited such things. Maybe there was and the Warden simply didn't care.