Blood.
A vital liquid flowing in the bodies of many types of animals that usually convey nutrients and oxygen. In vertebrates, it is colored red by hemoglobin.
I have been seeing such a thing lately. My hands are soaked. Not only that, but the top bunk bed I am sitting on is covered in it.
"Tito why are you doing that to yourself? That cloth has already turned red. You shouldn't practice sewing in such a dark place. Just forget it and focus on something better!"
I turned to my side and looked at the beautiful pair of golden eyes staring at me in pity. Looking at the sad pretty face of their owner, one would think she is worried about me.
I just took a gasp of air and shook my head. Even if I took the liberty to explain to her why I am poking myself with a needle, she wouldn't understand.
I answer with a serious look, "I can just turn my head into a fire, if I need light and the same goes for healing my hands."
"I see." Her answer and reaction were different. She was shaking her head, hitting me with her long light brown hair, trying to get my attention.
The moment I looked at her again. She smiles and demands, "Join my team?"
"No."
"I refuse."
My eyes narrowed down in disbelief. Encender Tohil is a naive idiot, who wishes for the impossible.How can a prisoner dream about being Queen of the world? A world that is not even hers in the first place.
Yet, such a person has already gotten the other two cell mates to follow her. What's worse is that someone from the other cells is already love sick for her.
As I was lost in my thoughts, her fair hand grabbed my shoulder. That idiotic smile of hers was on her face, "You are going to join my team, no matter what!"
A vein popped up on my face, "Stop being so persistent. A no means, no!"
At my unexpected shout, her face started to contort. It took only a few seconds for her to pour out her tears.
This is why I hate kids. They think if they cry, they can get anything they want.
The sound finally came, "Hic, hic, waaaa.!"
Another vein popped into my face. She clearly knows I am sensitive to loud noises.
I spoke in an annoyed tone with hand covering her mouth, "Shh...Don't add more eyes to watch this cell."
This is Galactic Prison, a place where invaders to this planet are kept. The security is tight and there are no laws for inmates. Which means we can even kill each other. The place is literally hell.
If it were a VR game then this would be the beginning of the City. The prisoners quest is to escape, if they can.
For a person like me it is only a little challenging. Once I escape I plan to live on a non-criminal active island waiting for my death. Unlike this crazy mashhead who is sitting on my bed.
"Let's see.You want my help, huh? I thought about it to the point I lost all my sleep and the a-"
I paused my words when I noticed something wrong with Encender. Her face was drenched in sorrow. A tear broke from her left eye.
Her small spasm act made me feel like a needle had pierced my heart. I couldn't understand why, but I was feeling sad too.
For a few seconds she kept on staring at me, "Why do you keep on refusing me with that face?!"
My face scowled from rage and I pushed her back to hit the wall, "Just because I look like your brother doesn't mean I am him! Yes, we were born on the same day, but we are from different planets!"
Realizing what I did, I took a deep breath. It is so unlike me to get angry with someone, "Sorry, I didn't mean to shout at you. I just got overheated."
She didn't even listen to my apology and kept her head faced on the ground, "Why won't you work with me?! It's because I am an idiot, right?!"
That's part of the reason why, but not all of it. I extend my hand towards her, "Encender, listen-"
"No! Shut up! I am not done talking!" She rejects my hand with the back of her palm. "People have been calling me an idiot with stones for brains!"
They are not wrong. Her head clearly is made out of a substance stronger than iron.
" I know! I know that I am an idiot!" She was crying and making my blanket wet with her fountain of tears, but she kept on shouting, "I like to solve things with my strength rather than my brain! Tito you can cover that side that I am lacking!"
Her voice quieted down a little and she took hold of my orange t-shirt, "I know we can never be Wendy and Peter, but with you. I won't lose anyone dear to me. I-I-I do..n't want to be alone again."
She hides her head on my chest, "Tito. Please work with me."
I don't engage myself into romance, but I think a proposal would sound like this. I just can't turn down on a girl who is crying from her heart.
I will work with her to get out of this place and ditch her later. I can't get out of here without her strength anyway. Encender is the second strongest person I've seen so far.
"Alright, fine.I will work with you, Encender. But if you promise to never do anything stupid. I can't just work under someone who will get me in trouble."
She looked at me with a smile, but her tears didn't stop, "I promise."
"Good girl." My face suddenly turned serious, "Now go back to your bed."
"Ah!"
I don't like how things turned out to be. My mind started to wonder about the time I got into this prison a week ago.
....
December 2100, the day I got to this prison.
I was being transported by a big truck. My footing was unstable thanks to the rough path, we were going. My sense of vision was being blocked by a black garbage bag. The Earth Alliance soldiers all had their guns pointed at me.
"Try anything funny and I will shoot you in the head. Don't forget, you are cuffed in great stones, your ability won't work." A soldier state. He hits my head a few times with his rifle, increasing the rattling sound made by the chains on my body.
Although he is pissing me off, I don't have the strength to deal with him. Using my enhanced hearing, I picked on the sound, happening outside this soundproof truck.
It was like hail stones was raining. This action is too fast, more like gunshots. Ignoring the chatty soldier, I focus my hearing outside the truck. Palm sized rocks were falling on the truck. No, asteroids.
'This is troublesome.'
As soon as my thoughts faded, the Russian dude behind me grumbled, "Tsk. Why did we take this job with you smelly ladies?"
He sounded to be in his early fifties and was ready to quit his job. It would be a great thing if he did. The military is the worst place to be in. One had to fight aliens with guns. I have never used one before, but the latest model pistol bullet can drill a hole through an elephant.
Another soldier patted the guy on his shoulder. He had a calm feeling towards him. There were mostly friends who fought next to side together.
"We will arrive at Amazon soon. The guys will take a bath then, just bear with it."
A second after his words, the truck started to sway the right. Everyone rushed over to provide support to the left, leaving me at the center.
"What are you doing?! Come over to this side!"
It was a Chinese dude who shouted, he seemed furious. It isn't an expression a dying person should make.
"Come here? Where?" I asked in a flustered tone. I broke the great stone chains binding me and removed the smelly bin bag on my head.
I moved over to lean on the right side. I crossed my arms and educated this fools, "If you all rush to that side, you will spin over the truck. You need to maintain a balance. We are currently on an old road. If I must make a guess, your driver is probably an alien taking us somewhere outside of Earth."
All the soldiers turned pale, they knew only danger awaits if they get sold off to an Alien Planet. In their thoughts, it must be a place with horrific staff used to dissect humans in half, or being forced to fight monsters that only exist in fairy tales.
I might have lied about the driver being an alien, but he is a human. He just fell for a simple hypnosis. A trick known by those humans and aliens who engage in mentalism.
That insane alien is hiding among the soldiers in front of me. Aliens have all types of skin colors and this one just has to have fair skin like humans. It is alright, I already found out who he is thanks to the two heartbeats hitting on his chest.
'How should I fish him out??'
The boring thing about a mentalist is that they are extremely smart, despite being insane. I can't rule out the possibility that he already knows, that I figured him out.
Playing civil with such a guy will only make me the bad guy. I don't mind that, but it would be troublesome to fight in such a small place.
'The only option available is to act like a barbarian.'
The moment my thoughts ended, my leg turned into flames. I quickly propelled myself to perform a kick on his face.
Bam-!
His body fell to the ground with blood evaporating from the heat of my leg. The best way to kill an alien is to destroy the head, or both at the same time.
I matter to myself, "I am stuck on an unknown planet. What should I do?"