Lero was meditating in his cell when he heard banging on his cell bars. If the time served him right, it was only 5:29 a.m. and he was missing on that bloody minute of complete focus. Opening one eye, he peeked to see a guard staring him down, clutching his baton tightly.
"Get your ass up." the guard spat in his cell, before moving on to the next person.
Taking a deep breath, the man heaved himself up just as the cell doors opened. The grumbling of prisoner talk filled the air, as Lero made his way toward the main hallway. Getting through the long roll call, he followed in line to the cafeteria as more people filled in alongside him. These last few months since the death of Thoam had really changed him. Each and every day, Lero was slowly strengthening as his muscles were somewhat leaner and more defined than before. Despite that, it was mental hell for him, as the tormenting of the guards inside and outside the prison only ramped up after the world war began. It was true madness in the complex, and little hope in sight.
Grabbing a fresh bowl of eggs and a slice of toast, Lero began making his way toward his usual seat where he and Thoam used to sit, except Thoam's seat was now occupied by another woman. Keru Brown, as he was quick to find out, was rather a replacement for the dead man, as she simply invited herself the next day from their first interaction. Lero didn't really care, even though it was clear that the woman was showing some sense of interest towards the man, whether romantically or beneficially, he couldn't pinpoint the matter. All he knew was that he most likely had another ally for his need for whatever he needed.
"Good morning Lero." she shot him a perfect smile, as the man sat down.
"Mornin', you always bloody early aren't ya?" Lero shot up a quick wave, before digging into his eggs.
"You're so funny!" Keru laughed as if that was the funniest thing he just said, "You know, once you get out, you should really be a comedian."
"Yeah, I'm sure getting out of this bugger faster than a skipping Henderal, which if you knew a thing or two, is a spiritual being back in Anertila, me homeland."
"We are so going to visit that place soon." the woman gazed towards the ceiling in thought, "As soon as you finish that plan of yours, right?"
With those words, Lero almost spat out the cold tea he was drinking. Plan? Did he really forget about what she had started discussing with him only a few weeks ago. Sooner than later, would their chance to escape be fleeting away, as some of the guards were returning after doing some service across the ocean in the war. The war that was actually giving him the opportunity to escape once they were outside the facility and into the open. But from there, they would need more information, as neither of the pair knew where in the exact world were they really at, as well as any of the nearby villages or towns, and changing clothes to not be mistaken, as some of the few of things they would have to be worrying about. Oh yeah, the time was ticking on this one.
"Yeah, of course. This noggin' think real hard about how we getting out this place here, alright?" Lero just nodded after the brief pause.
"Good, 'cause we will surely need it." Keru stated as she got up from her seat.
Lero watched as the woman moved closer to him, before sneaking in a quick kiss on his cheek. Too slow to react, the man just slowly put the fork with the remnants of egg into his mouth, looking through the corner of his eye as the woman moved back towards his cell. She was a weird one, he couldn't lie, as he quickly wiped his cheek with a napkin.
"You really do have a lover!" a nearby guard laughed several yards away, to which Lero shook his head in embarrassment, and got up to throw away his breakfast and to finish this "plan" before anything was too late about it.