I was not dragged back in the direction of the cell that had been my home for the past two days. Rather, I was half-carried to the area of the prison meant for maximum security prisoners. Once again, my traitorous eyes flicked upwards before I managed to force them back to the ground.

The grip on my arms didn't lighten as I was shoved up five flights of stairs. Everyone in the common area stared at me as I was marched into a room, then forcefully let go. Before I could blink, the door slammed shut behind me, leaving just me and my new roommate.

He started talking the second the door shut, but my body was screaming for sleep. I pulled myself onto the top bunk, dropping down like a bag of rocks.

How did I guess that something like this was going to happen?

My roommate was still trying to make conversation, "My name is Alex. I was brought up here when I was caught trying to escape. What's your story?"

"Yusei, and none of your business."

"Aw, come on! I told you why I was here. Fine, were you trying to escape?"

"Not even close."

"Attacked a guard?"

I laughed, "Hardly."

"One of the other inmates?"

"Nope."

He sighed in complete frustration, "Do you even know?"

"Not in the slightest."

After that, he finally left me alone and I finally was allowed to doze off.


My peaceful rest was destroyed by the bell alerting all of the prisoners that free time was starting. Every muscle screamed as I sat up and climbed out of bed.

Thankfully, Alex had already left the room by the time I got out of bed.

Unfortunately, I had barely gotten out of my door when a familiar ball of energy shot up in front of me, "Did you get moved here too?"

"Yunagi? Did anyone else get moved here?"

His eyes sparkled as he led the way, bouncing, "I ended up sharing a room with Tanner, but I don't think that anyone else was moved."

Red flags flew up, and a question fell out of my mouth that was bothering me for the past couple days, "Hey, Yunagi? How long, typically, is the sentence for going somewhere that you aren't supposed to go?"

"Around 2 or 3 months typically, it mostly depends on how much you have been caught. Why do you ask?"

By this point in our conversation, we had gotten to where Tanner leaned against a pillar, "I was curious because I was wondering why my sentence is so long."

Tanner's eyes locked on me, "How long IS your sentence?"

"Two years for trespassing, coming to the city as a Satellite, owning a deck, and owning a runner."

Both of them stared at me like I grew a second head (which wouldn't be shocking from all of the stuff dumped in Satellite), before Tanner spoke, "Are those normally crimes for Satellites?"

"Yep. One of my foster brothers keeps getting thrown in here for having a deck. Thank heavens that they don't know about his eyesore of a runner."

Once again, Yunagi jumped into my face, "You have a runner?"

A sigh escaped me, "Past tense. It was taken by Security when I was arrested."

Tanner moved into my personal space, "How long is a typical sentence for a deck and runner?"

"A month or two for a deck, six for a runner. Most of the time in Satellite the cops just take our stuff and that's the punishment."

Both men stared at me in confusion, while Yunagi spoke what we were all thinking, "Two years? But that would make your final sentence over a year long! That's absurd!"

Keeping my face calm, I leaned against the railing, "I'm well aware. I never said that Sector Security likes Satellites. Maybe it is that long, maybe they're just counting on me to not know the rules."

A loud bell rang through the enclosure, causing me to stretch, "Well, looks like we need to get back to our rock hard beds."


I lay on my bed, trying to ignore the aches in my body as the sun fell beyond the horizon, Seriously. How could my sentence be so long? Crow's never been gone for more than a month or two, despite all of the insane shenanigans he decides to do. Is their precious way of life so dependent on us being meek little mice?

"Psst."

For a second, I debated on whether or not to look at what my roommate was doing.

Curiosity won.

Leaning over the edge of the bed, I saw his mattress propped up, and a massive hole underneath. My rebellious mouth spoke before I could think about what I was seeing, "What in the world?"

Alex stuck one foot into the hole, then waved at me to follow him before disappearing down the shaft.

I dropped silently onto the ground, following him like I had my foster brothers once upon a time on our little jaunts around Satellite (that our mother figure had no idea about).

The two of us slipped through the belly of the prison, and outside into fresh air. We slid along the outside wall, both trying not to slip until we got to a certain point. Alex pointed up above us to the road, "Tomorrow night my friends are going to bust me out. My sentence should have ended eight months ago, but now I have no idea when I'll get out. I'm willing to take you with me."

"Only if my friends can come. If I escape, they'll be punished."

Wide eyes stared at me in horror, "Well, if that's the case...sure. They can come too."


A/N: I learned the hard way last time to break down how much I put in a chapter, both for my sanity, and so people don't feel overwhelmed by how long the chapter is.