Shifting Eyes

CHAPTER SIX

I wake up with a start.

Ever since I've arrived at The Kyln, I've learned that it pays off to be a heavy sleeper. There are sleep-talkers (myself included), people who never sleep, and guards who make you go to sleep no matter what.

Staying awake also means that you aren't getting enough sleep, which in turn, means you are tired and off of your game. If you're off your game and someone catches you at the wrong moment, you can be in grave danger.

Usually when you hear someone yelling, it will either be them sleep-talking, or someone is getting shivved.

When I sit up and rub my eyes, I see a shadow pass the open doorway of the sleeping cell I'm in.

I'm fortunate to be considered a dangerous enough inmate that I'm given my own small sleeping cell. when I say small, I don't mean a comfortable-sized cell where you can stretch out. I mean a cell that is so small you have to sleep in the fetal position every night.

I sit up and stretch my back, hearing it crack a couple times.

I hear the yelling once more and almost go back to bed when I hear Drax's voice.

It's usually a good idea to stay away when someone is getting stabbed—or else you could be next—but the fact that Drax is wherever this mystery person is getting murdered, I'm intrigued enough to get up and look.

I creep out of the cell quietly, but quickly enough so I don't miss whatever is about to happen.

"Her life is not yours to take." I hear Drax before I see him.

I turn the corner and see the Terran man and the creature he entered with.

"Quill." He whispers to the man in warning.

"He killed my family," I look past the two to see Drax and the green woman surrounded by a couple of other prisoners. Most of them hold the woman back against the wall.

"I shall kill one of his in return."

"Of course, Drax. Here I..." One of the men hands him the knife. As soon as his hand wraps around the handle, the woman breaks out of the hold they had her in.

She grabs the hands that had knives to her throat and twists them, causing a craving-worthy crack to echo in the bathroom. She then holds the two knives she stole up against the necks of Drax and the man beside him.

I contemplate what I should do. Should I help Drax complete his revenge and kill the woman? Or should I let her kill Drax and everyone else, getting rid of the only line of defense, other than myself, of protection in this prison?

Before I make a move, Quill and the animal start creeping closer. "Quill! What are you doing?" The animal asks.

"I am no family to Ronan or Thanos." The woman breathes. She cautiously lowers the blades and takes a step back.

"I'm your only hope at stopping him." At her words, Drax yells and runs forward, pinning her to the wall once again with a knife to her neck.

"Woman, your words mean nothing to me." He seethes in her face.

All of a sudden, Quill walks up. 

"Hey! Hey, hey, hey, hey! Hey!" I duck around the corner a bit more as they look at him and face my direction.

"Oh, crap." His friend says behind him, facepalming.

"You know, if killing Ronan is truly your sole purpose, I don't think this is the best way to go about it." He keeps walking towards them with his hand out, like he's talking to a wild animal.