Blaze and his cellmates were almost asleep when they first saw Nova. Her white hair was spiking in every direction, her eyes were bruised, and she walked with a limp.
Nova, like all the others, was introduced to the crew by an Overseer.
She walked into the sleeping quarters looking defeated and filled with hatred. Sleepily, the other prisoners stared at her, wondering if she was a new addition.
And that she was. Blaze knew the drill, in fact, he had been in the prison the longest. He knew that there were no extra bunks. Only six for the six different prisoners.
He smiled at Nova kindly. “Welcome to my home, and to our family of cellmates. If you want you can have my bed to sleep comfortably during the night.”
Nova tried to return his smile but failed miserably. “I’m okay. I’ve slept on the ground plenty of times and I don’t want to rid you of the sleep you obviously need.”
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Blaze blushed knowing she had probably seen the bags under his eyes, or how he couldn’t open his eyelid completely anymore. “Thank you, Nova. I hope you rest well today because tomorrow you’ll have to work harder than ever before.” He gave her a side hug to make her feel a little more welcome. “And if you need any help just ask me or any of these dimwits.” He pointed to the other prisoners who waved. “Good Night, Nova.”
Nova looked at his eyes and was able to return his cheerful smile. “Good Night…”
“Blaze. My name is Blaze.”
“I like that. Good night, Blaze.” Nova lay on the ground and pulled her legs up to her knees.
Blaze climbed up to his bunk and stared at her wondering what was going on in her mind. After all this prison was only for the worst of humans.
Nova seemed restless as she twisted and turned. It made Blaze uncomfortable seeing her like that. It was how he slept.
Every night was the same nightmare. The overseers would come and they would kill his parents over and over until he woke up yelling for them to stop.
Blaze closed his eyes knowing it would happen again that night. And so it did.