i'm glad you like it.
the films that inspired me, the ones i can remember anyway, were Shawshank Redemption, Green Mile, Cool Hand Luke, Papillion, and the fan fic Fragments written by Danny Rettick.
also Saving Private Ryan, helped me with conflict, and the film Enemy Minehelped me with relations between two different species.
all of them, good films in my opinion.
CHAPTER 11
HEROES ARE BORN WHERE SINNERS ARE PLENTIFUL
Nox heard the robotic footfalls of slig CO’s, and had to think fast.
“Fuck!” Nox swore, grabbing the mudokon child and placing it in a trolley full of sheets.
The child looked confused.
“What are you doing, mister?”
Nox felt an urge to tell the kid his name.
Now ‘aint the time for talkin’!
“Call me uncle Nox.”
“Ok!” The child replied happily.
“Now stay here ‘till I say so, ok?”
“Is this a game?”
“No – yes, oh just stay still! Its important!” And before the mudokon child could answer, Nox dumped a bundle of soft sheets onto it, obscuring it from wary eyes.
Nox turned around just in time to see the two slig CO’s enter, asking suspiciously;
“Why are you still here?!”
“Oh, sorry, I was just finishing a rag. It was filthy!” Nox deceived.
“Whatever, just get the hell out before I decide to beat yeh! I gotta’ lock up!”
You could ‘ave that scrawny shit!
“Yes sir, sorry sir.”
Nox walked out, past the CO’s, and into the corridor where he proceeded to enter the hall, and grab a tray of supper off one of the kitchen staff at their feed trolley. Nox soon found his pals and sat with them.
“How’d it go?” Rowl asked, spoon in hand.
“Oh, well. Yeah, alright actually.” Nox replied, the kid hiding in the laundry basket and getting locked in, still fresh in mind.
“What’s up? You look like yer miles away?” Glon tested.
“There was a fight in the laundry room -”
“Oh again!” Rowl interrupted, “Their always bloody fightin’ in there! Must be the heat.”
“Nox here has been in the ‘D&M’ war, it couldn’t of been just a fight that’s makin’ him look so…odd.” Glon corrected Rowl.
“Was there blood?” Billy asked, minced fllech dripping from his half open mouth.
“Yeah…yeah, there was blood. Quite a bit.”
Billy resumed his eating.
“And?” Rowl said ignorantly, “That couldn’t of been it?! There’s nearly a fight everyday here, and your lucky if yeh see one die!”
“Lucky? Lucky?! These are lives we’re talkin’ about! Not programmes on telly! ‘Lucky if yeh see one die’, what planet are you on?!” Glon scolded.
“Alright! Calm down old slig!” Rowl snapped. Glon gave a disapproving look.
“No. It weren’t the fight.” Nox said solemnly.
“Then what was it?” Rowl asked yet again, patience growing limited.
“Look, I’m just having a funny day is all. Nothing of interest to report, captain.” Nox joked, trying to throw Rowl off the scent. Glon knew something had happened, but could never have guessed.
They ate in silence, and bid farewell to each other when supper was over, and time in their cells had drawn close. The cell doors locked shut again, and the lights went out, leaving hazy silhouettes. Nox pondered what the kid might be doing right now. Playing around with tools in there, wheeling the trolley around. He laughed at first, then concern dawned upon him. He was going to make sure he was first in there tomorrow, and just hope the kid was still in the laundry basket.
“Hope…huh, enough to keep any fool occupied.” He muttered to himself. He fell asleep shortly after.
♠♠♠♠♠
a whistle blow…
…
“Breakfast…people…”
…
…Wake up Nox…
…
…Get the hell up!…
…
…Heh heh, WAKEY WAKEY!!
Nox awoke with a start.
“Whoa!” He yelled.
…Bad dreams…
Realizing his task, he immediately left his opened cell, and ran down the stairs, beating the crowd. Luckily, not many people where in the hall, eating, and there were no CO’s to be seen. He just hoped the door to the laundry room was unlocked.
He reached it and gave the handle a turn.
Open.
“Yes!” Nox said under his excited breath, knowing he’d done something right for once.
The room looked the same as when he’d left it the day before. He made his way to the laundry trolley, slamming the door shut behind him.
“Come on…be here…be here…” Nox mumbled whilst searching through the sheets.
He touched something hard.
Is it?
He lifted a big pile of sheets from the basket and flung them onto the floor. There it was, curled up and fast asleep, the baggy inmate clothing camouflaged it quite well. But Nox knew the kid couldn’t stay in here, who knows where it would end up. Probably in some thug’s cell when the sheets were being given out. He couldn’t let that happen.
He paused for a moment, a very risky moment, so as to look at its sleeping form. So innocent, so guiltless, nothing to worry about…strangely enough, it reminded him of himself before the ‘D&M’ war. Well, he wasn’t going to let something terrible stain the soul of this innocent creature.
But where?! Where the fuck do I hide you?
“Uncle Nox?” The kid had woken up, and was rubbing its eyes.
“Do you know any hidin’ places kiddo?” Nox asked lightly.
“…Yes, why? Can I stay with you this time? I’m hungry.”
Oh shit!
As strange as it may seem, Nox had forgotten that the thing had to eat.
“Stay here.” Nox said, running out of the laundry room, ensuring the door closed behind him, and into the hall. Not many inmates were around, but three CO’s stood by the food trolley, taling. Fortunately, they had their backs to Nox.
He approached the trolley, and took a tray off of one of the mudokons as he heard the sligs talk.
“Well, there’s no point installing a new fire system without the electronics getting fixed first.”
“No no no, the system would sort out the electronics, easily!”
“Oh remember when that slurg crawled into the circuiot box and short circuited the whole lot? Yeah, we nearly had all the inmates runnin’ loose!”
“Yeah, but I’ve seen worse. Let me tell yeh, scrabs and circuit boards do not mix. Had a bad bout of paramites covering ‘em in that sticky shit at Rupture Farms too, last I heard…”
Nox had already made his way back into the laundry room again, and gave the mudokon kid the tin bowl of processed fleech, along with the spoon, leaving the tray on a table in the hall. The kid needed it more than he did. Now Nox had to think.
Where the hell do I hide this kid?
Nox noticed something around the back of the third vat. He investigated to find that it was a small hole in the plaster of the wall, revealing a hollow between the wood and bricks of the wall, but it wasn’t big enough for the kid. Nox used his initiative and pulled the edge of the small hole, tearing the plaster away to reveal a bigger hole.
Yes! That’s right my son!!
Fuck me, if you spent as much time on you as you are already on this kid, you wouldn’t even be here! Huh…
“Kid,” Nox whispered, returning to the trolley, knowing someone could walk through the door at any moment, “Come ‘ere.” He said, lifting the child out of the basket and taking it towards the hole.
Putting it amongst the shit and ratz, shame on you!
“You’ll have to stay here, until I find somewhere better. You now not to go out when I’m not around don’t yeh?”
“Yeah. Thanks Nox.”
“Whats your name anyway?”
“Lage.”
He noticed the kid had finished the tin bowl of mush, and still held the bowl and spoon in its hands.
“Let me get rid of them.” Nox said calmly, taking them and dumping them on the ground.
BANG
“What you doin’ in here?”
“Nox stood up swiftly, and turned towards the CO. he already had his baton drawn.
“Just some sheets been dumped here. I tell yeh, no matter how clean yeh get ‘em, they just get dumped on the floor anyway!” Nox faked whilst putting the sheets he’d thrown out earlier back into the trolley.
“You may as well stay in here, the others are comin’ now.” The CO spoke kindly, much in contrast with his officer friends.
He then put his baton back onto his belt, and begun whistling as he exited. Nox exhaled deeply.
That was too fuckin’ close!
That’s what I’m talkin’ about!!
♠♠♠♠♠
After one month of sneaking food into the laundry area, and keeping it hidden and safe, Nox developed a bond. One particular supper time, Nox was sitting behind a laundry trolley, hiding himself from the view of a potential CO looking in from the doorway, and the child was stretching its legs from out of the hollow wall. It seemed cruel to keep it hidden in there, but it was either that or the unbearable suffering of being captured, by inmates or CO’s.
Nox would rather die than let them capture this child.
“You know uncle Frally?” The small child asked Nox.
“Yeah.” Nox lied.
“Has he gone on holiday?”
“Yeah…you could say that. Why? Is it bad being with me?” Nox asked, actually feeling slightly hurt.
“No!” The kid answered, “I like being with you.”
Nox’s mood immediately lifted, “Thanks kid.” And he patted its head.
“Nox?”
“Yeah?”
“Why do you look different to Frally?”
How the hell do I answer that?
“Because…” Nox began, “Err…I come from somewhere different.”
“So…did I come from where Frally came from?” Lage asked, looking slightly confused, now picking its fingernails.
“Yeah. Don’t you ask me where that is!” Nox teased, Lage laughed.
The kid made Nox feel settled, and he noticed that the voice had quietened down whilst he spoke to it.
I’m still here, Nox…
-----
there you go. dont worry, Nox aint going soft.
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