Thank you so much for letting me know that you're reading this. It's encouraging. Keep it up!
x-x
Malcolm entered the yard cautiously, standing to the side of the door as he let other prisoners pass him. He leaned against the wall and let his vision adjust to the sudden brightness, his eyes roaming the wide, dusty courtyard. There were people gathered in various groups around the sun-baked space, while the guards were hidden in their towers high above them.
Malcolm noticed a commotion nearby, and he heard a shout. He started a slow walk towards the group, breaking into a run when he realised that it was Trip, and a group of prisoners had him surrounded. When one stocky, dark-haired man raised a fist to punch, Malcolm grabbed his arm and spun him around before he found himself on his back on the ground.
He blinked up at the man, surprised. These men were stronger than humans. The man that he'd grabbed gave him a twisted smile and waved his cronies off.
As they walked away, Trip reached down and gave Malcolm a hand up. "That was Hemsej", Trip said, frowning.
At least they'd backed off for now, although Malcolm knew that it wouldn't last.
x-x
Trip wasn't in his cell when Malcolm returned from his work shift in the mess. It wasn't until he woke in the morning that he realised that Trip must have returned in the night.
As the prison came awake around them, Trip sat up on his bunk and turned to face Malcolm, revealing a new bruise.
"You all right?" Malcolm asked.
Trip nodded. "Yeah. Nothing broken." He flashed a hard grin. "Apparently my height's not a hit with the guards, either."
x-x
Trip pulled Malcolm aside in the busy courtyard. "You'd probably do better if you stayed away from me," Trip said, looking pointedly at the cuts on Malcolm's hand.
Malcolm gingerly covered his right hand with his left. In the days since his first encounter with Hemsej, he'd managed to make himself almost as much of a target as Trip was, simply through his friendship with Trip. "I'm not going to leave you to fend for yourself against those thugs," Malcolm said, looking at where Hemsej and his counterparts were gathered.
"Malcolm -"
"Don't ask me to," Malcolm said, his voice sharp.
"It's not your job -"
"Don't tell me what is and isn't my job, Commander," Malcolm said heatedly. "This has nothing to do with my job."
Trip blinked rapidly. Then his lip twitched, and he smothered a smile.
Malcolm felt his anger leave him, and he returned Trip's almost-smile. "We may not be here for much longer, anyway." At Trip's surprised look, he continued. "Our way out is through there," Malcolm said, pointing at a low stone building. He began walking, trying to keep with the flow of prisoners mulling about the yard.
"The psych ward?" Trip replied, stopping to stare at the door before hurrying to catch up with Malcolm.
"Yeah," Malcolm replied, thinking back over the observations he'd made over the past few days. "From what I've been able to tell, it seems to be their least defended point, with the most outside access." He glanced at Trip as they walked the perimeter of the yard. "If we can get out from anywhere, it will be there."
"Okay, I'll bite," Trip said with a frown. "Say that is our only way out. How, exactly, do we get in?"
"We don't." Malcolm stopped walking, and he faced Trip squarely. "I do."
x-x
Please let me know what you think so far! Thank you.