Finlay tilted his head back. He absentmindedly stared up at the ceiling. The scent of the orange gruel was making his stomach turn. When Rigel finds me, he's going to kill me, he thought. He bit his lower lip while moving his hands around, ignoring how the metal dug painfully into his skin.

Crack!

Finlay let out a low groan as he dislocated the joints in his fingers on his right hand, allowing him to slip out of the handcuffs.

Crack!

Finlay flinched from the pain when he put his joints back into place. He reached over and undid the other part of the handcuff, freeing both of his hands. He let out a sigh as he rubbed over the red marks on his wrists from struggling.

Bam!

Finlay nearly choked on his spit when the cell door suddenly burst open, slamming into the wall violently.

"What the hell are you doing in here? I was looking everywhere for you! The place has gone to shit!" Rigel barked before he looked up and down at Finlay. He shook his head in disbelief and leaned against the door frame.

Rigel stormed over to Finlay and gripped the collar of his shirt. "You can't be fucking serious right now."

"Yeah, Aster tricked me and then escaped. What else do you want me to tell you?!" Finlay shot back with narrowed eyes.

Rigel sighed before releasing Finlay. "Looks like you finally realized that I wasn't wrong when I said he was a real piece of shit," he pointed out with a smug grin when Finlay looked down at the ground.

"But that reminds me, you're heading with me right now, so hurry up!" Rigel ordered, turning on his heels to head out.

Confusion painted itself on Finlay's face when he processed Rigel's words. "Wait, what do you need me for?" Finlay asked. He rose up from the chair and walked over to join Rigel outside the room.

"I was going to deliver the finished paperwork to the Warden, but I ended up passing by Irene and Brett on their way out. Turns out the Warden has ordered all prison guards to subdue any prisoners and to head toward the landing dock," Rigel explained as he pushed open the door to his office.

Not Brett and Irene, Finlay thought. He placed his palm against his face and shook his head. Those two are way too quick to spill blood whenever they get the chance, and they can't keep their hands off each other, he thought, following Rigel inside.

"Is it really that serious to nearly send every prison guard to the landing zone? The Warden could've just sent a couple of us," Finlay brought up. He swiftly caught a pair of black metal gloves that Rigel threw his way.

"I thought the same thing, but it seems like the Warden isn't in the best mood today. Plus, I won't complain; it gives me a chance to teach that piece of trash a lesson after all these years, Rigel explained. He reached over to snatch a metal bat secured behind his desk; his eyes sparkled with joy as he imagined all the ways he could torture Aster with it.

"So, I guess I'm heading with you to the landing dock because you don't want to deal with any prisoners alone?" Finlay asked. He placed the gloves carefully on each of his hands. He pressed the button at the end of it, which glowed blue, causing sharp cerulean nails to push outward, ready to claim their first victim.

"You are because I'm willing to overlook the mistake that you made when you let out Aster, which caused this whole place to go straight to hell. So, if the Warden asks, I'll just make up an excuse," Rigel mentioned as he walked past Finlay. He swirled his bat in a circular motion as he exited the room.

"If you want my honest opinion, Rigel, you don't seem the type who would do that sort of thing. You seem more like a backstabber," Finlay blurted out without any hesitation as he followed Rigel to walk next to him. He glanced over when he heard laughter erupt from Rigel's throat.

Once Rigel's laughter calmed down, he reached up to wipe away the tears that formed in the corner of his eyes. He reached over to wrap his arm around Finlay's shoulder, pulling him close. "See? That's why I like you. You never hesitate to say what's on your mind," he said before a grin formed on his lips.

"I'm also not going to turn you in because I see the betrayal in your eyes. I think you now see Aster for what he truly is, like I do. A piece of shit who doesn't deserve kindness. How do you think he ended up in this place, to begin with? Anyways, don't get distracted," Rigel brought up, causing Finlay to frown at his words.

Finlay clenched his fists in frustration. He hated to admit it, but Rigel was right. Aster committed numerous crimes involving robbery and scams, which landed him a special seat in the prison he would never hope to escape from. Aster was labeled dangerous enough to be placed on the floor guarded by Finlay and Rigel.

I still can't believe I let him stupidly trick me like that. Why did I even go for it? Finlay thought with a deep frown on his face before a slight blush formed on his cheeks in embarrassment for having wanted more at that moment with Aster.

"Better keep your guard up, Finlay, because I won't be able to watch your back the whole time, and you won't be able to watch mine. So, I don't need you thinking about unimportant things," Rigel scolded.

The two of them walked inside the elevator, and Finlay typed in a special code to reach the middle floor quickly since it had a shortcut to head to the landing dock. Finlay leaned his back against the wall as he watched the numbers increase one by one.

Ding!

Finlay watched the doors pried apart to reveal an empty hallway. His jaw clenched when he heard screaming and shouting up ahead.

"Come on, Fin. Let's not let them have all the fun," Rigel said with a grin.

Finlay's eyes went wide, and his breath hitched when they approached the doorway, which revealed a large room filled with chaos around every corner.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Rigel swiftly ducked when a bullet whizzed by him. "Damn it! Looks like things got worse," he complained; he gripped the handle of his bat, getting ready for a fight.

Finlay's eyes darted from the left and then to the right. There are more prisoners than prisoner guards in this room, he thought. He quickly lept backward when a prisoner lunged at him, causing them to land on the ground. He cracked his knuckles, "Let's get things started."

"That's the spirit, Finlay," Rigel praised as he rushed forward. He crouched to the ground and swung his bat into a man's leg, causing them to stumble to the ground.

Finlay sprinted forward and lept onto a table. He jumped off of it and used a prisoner's shoulder to propel himself into the air. Twisting his body around, he aimed both of his gloves out. The cerulean nails shot out with threads attached to them, sinking into two men.

Finlay did a backflip to secure his landing. Once on the ground, he crossed his arms, forcing the threads to drag down the two prisoners.

"I c-can't move," one of them cried out, feeling their limps go numb.

It isn't like it's permanent; it'll end up wearing off, Finlay thought. He gritted his teeth when he jerked himself backward when a fist narrowly missed his face by a few inches. He did a cartwheel backward, kicking the man's arm toward the ceiling.

Without giving the man a chance to attack, Finlay dove forward. He sank the nails into the man's leg, causing him to scream out in pain. He didn't get the chance to sink in the other glove before he released a yelp when someone kicked his side harshly, sending him tumbling backward.

"Damn it, that hurt," Finlay grumbled to himself in a low tone while he rubbed his side to ease the discomfort. His eyes widened when a man raced at him. His breath hitched when the light above glided across something metal.

Finlay shifted his head to the right. His eyes darted to the left when a large knife sank into the floor near him.

"Damn prison guard, stand still!" the man roared as he ripped out the knife and aimed it downward at Finlay's throat.

Wack!

The man fell forward unconscious when a bat came into contact with the back of his skull. "Didn't I tell you to pay attention?" Rigel fumed. He pushed the man off Finlay with his shoe.

"Like you're one to talk," Finlay said before reaching out to grip Rigel's shoulder to propel himself up to stab the prisoner behind him, sending them stumbling to the ground.

Finlay let out a small exhale. I wonder how you're doing, Aster? Don't get yourself killed. You owe me that much after tricking me, he thought before fully getting up to assist Rigel.