Dance of the Macabre
Chapter 5
I slowly awoke in the cot and I yawned as I heard Calyx jump down from the top bunk.
"Well, I hear that Butch got killed yesterday."
"Yeah, after almost killing me." I said and I swung my legs onto the floor. Calyx sat next to me and I rubbed my eyes as I woke up. "Oh, I had a bad day yesterday."
"I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you man."
"Its ok Cal, you could have been hurt or worse, killed." I replied and he shrugged.
"It would have been a better alternative than this."
I sat with my panther friend and there was a new batch of inmates coming in the main gate. I watched them and I sucked in a breath; I saw him, he was walking alone and it had been three years since he had killed me.
"Calyx, it's him…" I stood up and I began walking toward him. The fields stopped me but I stared at him and for a moment we locked eyes. He saw me and he went white under his feathers.
"F-F-Fox McCloud?" He said as he walked by.
"Falco Lombardi," I whispered and Calyx walked up to me.
"So he killed you?" I nodded and I clenched my paws.
I walked into the cafeteria and Calyx nudged me in the side.
"Hey, there he is." Falco was seated alone at a table and I restrained myself as I walked over. He kept eating and I sat down across from him.
"Falco." He dropped his fork and he was unable to speak as Calyx sat down next to me. "Welcome to the Shark Tank; you can either be my friend or you can wind up dead on the shower floor." I gave him my paw and he slowly took mine.
"Fox, uh, I…" I gripped his paw tightly and my eyes blazed fire at him and I let him go.
"Watch my back and you will be protected from the sick bastards that are here. Falco, put it behind us, the past is the past." I said. I was making amends with him because I needed all the support I could get.
"Falco, Calyx." The panther said as he shook the avian's wing.
"Fox, why have you decided to forgive me?" I smiled at him and he was taken off guard.
"Because even though you shot and killed me, the past is the past and it won't get me out of here if I kill you." I replied.
I sat back in my cot after dinner and I slipped on a pair of sleek headphones; they analyzed my brainwaves and my favorite band began thundering into my ears. I loved Demon Hunter and I used to think of their songs when I was on some sniping missions. They would keep me focused and I never missed. I slowly closed my eyes and the music took me away from Shark Tank.
I try to push myself up
I'm breaking from the inside
I try to push it out of mind
Switch
Switch
You better take it back and run
Switch
Switch
You better take it back and run home
Over the next few weeks, Falco and I began developing a friendship and my group grew from Calyx, Falco and two tigers that were new to the prison system. They were brothers that were caught in a triple homicide and were sent to prison. I walked onto the prison yard and I saw my 'posse' if you will. I walked up to them and they had occupied the small ledge where I had first sat.
"Janus, Mishkin, Falco and Calyx, what have I missed?"
"A few females have asked about you." Falco responded and Calyx held in a chuckle.
"Don't be an assclown Falco."
"No I'm serious; a lioness over there has been looking for you." Mishkin, one of the tigers, added.
"Too bad she wasn't looking for you Mishkin." Janus said and I shook my head. I walked over to the field and the lioness pressed her paws to the barrier.
"Hey there."
"What do you want?" I asked and she locked gazes with me.
"I want to screw you so bad it hurts." She said quite dryly.
"No really, what do you want with me?" She repeated the phrase and I sighed; just another whore who wanted what was in my pants. "Later." I walked away from the barrier and my crew was laughing quietly at me. "Oh shut the Hell up." I sat down next to them and I saw something starting on the other side of the yard on the female side. "Stay sitting, we don't want to get involved in this."
"What's going on over there, Fox?" Mishkin asked me.
"The females are getting into a fight."
"Just ignore them." Calyx intoned. There was a large explosion in one of the guard towers, the main one in fact, and the shield system died.
"Oh shit!" I said and another explosion rocked the prison.
My way out was opened.
"Fox, what are we doing?"
"Run with me, I'm getting out of here. Come on Mishkin!"
"What if they catch us?" Mishkin asked, quite worried.
"Will they kill us?" Janus asked.
"Not if we leave now!" My crew and I ran past the main gate and assault rifle rang out everywhere as guards were brutally killing the inmates. We ran into the docking bay and it was in flames; I saw one fighter that was unoccupied and I ran to it. The hatch closed behind us and I sat in the pilot's seat. "Does anyone know how to fly this?" I asked.
"I can." Mishkin said and I let him take the seat. He ran his paws over the console and the fighter lifted off. Falco let out a yell as it shot off the planet and I gripped the seat as the g-force pressed us back.
"Mishkin, have you ever flown before?" I asked when we reached space.
"Well," Mishkin coughed nervously and I gave him a look.
"Mishkin, you've never flown this type of fighter before." Janus said and he laughed.
Author's Note: Lyrics from Demon Hunter, Album Demon Hunter, And Song: And the Sky Went Red…I think.