It’s evening when we’re ordered to go to our cells. I, on the other hand, am taken to mine, which is near the door.

Exhausted from this first day here and everything that happened before, I collapse onto the bed and immediately realize that it’s different from what I’m used to. It’s more like a metal cot, with the only luxury being a thin fabric covering the metal. It’s not exactly comfortable, and I wonder if I’ll even be able to sleep on it.

What do I expect from a prison, anyway? The accommodations of a five-star hotel?

I suppose I should be glad to sleep on anything at all. After all, it’s better than the dirty floor.

The light goes out after the last guard leaves the room, and I lie down on the bed.

I’ve just closed my eyes when I feel a strong man’s hand running through my black hair. At first, I’m completely stunned. I forgot how close the cells are to each other. They border the hallway on the side of the door and neighboring cells on all other sides. My bed happens to be attached to one of the walls, and before the lights went out, I hadn’t paid any attention to my cellmate.

With a startled cry, I jump out of bed. But before I can shout at my cellmate, I hear laughter from him.

"They couldn’t have given me a better cell!" he says, amused.

I let out an angry snort as I lie back down on the bed. I don’t need light to know that my cellmate is Moriphos.

"If we ever get out of here, you’ll have to go out to eat with me," the Zeitstümer requests. Then I hear him turn onto his back.

"I thought this prison was called the Death Zone because no one ever comes out alive?" I ask him. At least that’s what Kaia claimed. But I also don’t believe that anyone could break out of such a well-guarded prison.

"You can always try," is his opinion.

It seems I’m not destined to stay here forever. After all, Torsos mentioned that I’m of his race, of which apparently only a few remain. So, I can’t imagine he’ll keep me here for long.

A little hope comes with that, though.

Kaia and Otscharsan were surprised by the fact.

I’m burning to know why. Why did he lock me up here?

How is my mother doing? I also wonder. She seems to have few friends here. I’m so worried about her and my father, Herbert.

A faint whimper comes from the cell to my right. It sounds like a woman. What’s she doing here? I feel sorry for her.

"Shut up!" one of the other prisoners yells. The whimpering stops for a moment, probably out of fear of the other prisoners and their reactions tomorrow.

"Idiots!" Moriphos mutters softly, then turns back to me. "That was really good, the way you handled yourself in the cafeteria. You definitely impressed those guys with your actions. Though I still don’t understand how you managed to eat all that disgusting stuff." He laughs quietly. "You’ve probably lost your sense of taste entirely now."

"No, the pitiful remains are still intact." I join in his laughter.

"You’ve certainly earned the respect of a few of our fellow prisoners."

The whimpering resumes, interrupting our conversation. I feel so sorry for her. Maybe I should say a few words to the girl to help her?

"Crying is forbidden during quiet hours!" one of the prisoners shouts across the room, accompanied by the laughter of several others.

"Wrong!" a sweet female voice counters. She stands in the doorway, illuminated only by the light shining in from the hallway. She’s a petite young woman with short, fiery red hair and a black uniform that tightly hugs her slender body.

It’s clear who she is. After all, there’s only one woman like her here.

"Screaming and noise are forbidden during quiet hours, but if you’re unlucky enough to encounter the wrong guard, you can expect a fitting punishment."

Kaia leans against the doorframe, letting her gaze sweep over the cells. She tries to locate the troublemaker, but he’s suddenly quiet.

When her search yields no results, she pushes herself off the doorframe and slowly walks through the room.

"Guys, do you have to spoil my fun? I would have loved to personally strangle that troublemaker." Her voice sounds mockingly disappointed as she turns down our hallway.

Most of the prisoners look at the redhead with contempt, even Moriphos. She, on the other hand, seems hardly bothered by it. It even seems as if she enjoys the power of her position and the fact that most of the prisoners are afraid of her.

She stops at the cell next to mine.

Only now do I glance at the person from whom the whimpering is coming.

In the faint light coming from the door, I can make out a young girl. She’s pressing her trembling body against the cell bars, her legs drawn up and wrapped in her arms. Her face is buried in her knees and hidden by her long, curly blonde hair. The thin, summery dress she’s wearing is not only dirty but also torn in several places.

"Nora!" I gasp in shock, so quietly that no one hears. She’s still wearing the dress she had on during her date with Andy.

At first, I don’t know how to react and stare at her in confusion and horror.

Kaia crouches down next to her, gently running her delicate hand through the girl’s blonde hair.

"Hey, little one," she speaks to Nora. The girl’s crying stops, and she looks up at the redhead. "I don’t know what’s going on, and I don’t want to know, but pull yourself together, or these guys can quickly become very unpleasant."

Her words may not seem comforting at first and more cold, but I understand that she can’t afford to be otherwise. Among other things, it wouldn’t be in Nora’s best interest to be comforted by someone like Kaia. The prisoners would take that as an invitation to target the young girl.

"Tsk!" comes a snort from Moriphos, who has positioned himself in front of the cell wall and is glaring at the redhead with contempt. "The great Kaia seems to want to feign sympathy. You better not. Such feelings aren’t even possible for someone like you."

Kaia’s gaze shifts angrily to the Zeitstürmer.

"You!" she hisses at him. She stands up and steps to my cell to face him. "If what happened earlier wasn’t enough for you, we can continue right here."

I move away from the two of them, towards the side where Nora's cell is located. There, I kneel down beside the girl.

"Nora, are you okay?" I ask her worriedly.

When the blonde notices me, she is just as surprised as I am.

"What are you doing here?" she asks, confused. Her bright blue eyes, which usually look at me with nothing but hate, now seem sad and tearful.

On Earth, we were neighbors, but liking each other was never an option. Not anymore. On the contrary, we practically waged war against each other. Now, I even feel sorry for her.

"I always dreamed of a vacation far, far away, but with sunshine, beach, and sea, nothing came of it."

My jokes don't cheer her up, nor do they cheer me up.

"The last time I saw your father, he was doing well," I try to reassure her. "Well, he's afraid you might have run away because he's such a strict father—or that something worse has happened to you."

She crawls over to me.

It's unusual because we usually argue every time we meet. Often, it escalates to the point where we almost go for each other's throats. But in this situation, there's no room for that.

"I'm worried about Andy," she whispers in my ear.

Kaia's gaze is fixed on us, interested. She seems relieved, probably because she thinks I'm taking care of the other girl.

"What are you planning to do with the women?" Moriphos inquires. "Seems like Tormahs are running out of woman."

I visibly flinch when I hear that name. Once again, I wonder how my mother is doing.

"We just don't know what to do with them yet," she admits with a shrug.

"How about this suggestion!" I say. "You take us back to the planet we came from." I already know the answer before she even speaks, but it's worth a try.

"That's impossible!" she replies with a sigh.

Nora starts crying again. It takes some effort, but I put my arms around the girl to comfort her. After all, it's partly my fault that we're both here.

Kaia glances at me briefly.

"I wish I had such beautiful gray eyes," she admits with a sigh and winks at me.

"Yeah, that would be a dream. Maybe then you'd be as helpless as a normal woman." Moriphos laughs out loud.

"No, just damn happy!" A wide grin spreads across her face. "Then maybe I’d finally get a guy again."

Or someone special, I think to myself. The way Kaia swoons over Torsos, it seems like she feels more for him than just friendship.

I'm starting to get curious about this guy. Is he really that good-looking?

"And what is someone like you doing down here?" Moriphos asks.

"He's taking the night shift today," she explains cheerfully. "I'd be thrilled if there was some unrest here. Then I could really let loose again."

Kaia heads towards the exit, but before she leaves the room, she gives the prisoners a warning look. The door closes behind her, plunging the room into darkness.

"What was that earlier?" I want to know from Moriphos. "I mean the attack on Kaia."

"What are they planning to do with us?" is Nora's question. She has calmed down, but only a little.

"To answer the first question of this lovely lady," Moriphos smiles at me and also squats down on the floor by the bars of his cell.

I soothingly stroke Nora's back with my hand.

"I honestly hoped the legends about this race were false." He sighs. "As for the other question, only the one who ordered it can answer that. And he's quite the coward."

I look at him questioningly.

"No one even knows what this Torsos looks like," Moriphos explains to me.

 ⭑*•̩̩͙⊱••••✩••••̩̩͙⊰•*⭑

It seems it will be a while before I meet this mysterious figure, I think to myself. I haven't learned much about why this prison has such a reputation, but I'm glad about that.

I sincerely hope I never find out.

Things usually turn out differently than you expect.

 >>> Autohr Comment: <<<

And so, Janine's first day in a foreign place begins and ends in a prison.

Why the title is named this way will not be revealed in this season. Stay tuned.

Speculations are welcome. (^_~)