The Lonely Cell

A young man sits alone in his dirty, damp cell. He didn't know why he was there; it's not like he did anything wrong. His sunken eyes stared at drip, drip, drip of water fall from the ceiling, landing in a small puddle near his feet. Suddenly, a loud noise broke the silence.The man immediately rose to his feet and hurried over to the cell door. He could feel his heart beat rapidly against his chest. The noise sounded too familiar, and he immediately knew what it was. It was a door being opened; the door to the jail the man is in at this very moment. Has the alien ambassador come to release him? Maybe someone is breaking him out? Too excited and overjoyed to think this through, the man tightly griped onto the bars of his cell door and tried to peer through to see if anyone was coming. "Hello?" he shouted,"Is anyone there?" No answer. The man shouted again, " Anybody there?" He listened carefully for a response back. Still, no answer. The man was starting to get frustrated by now. What if it was just a false alarm? What if nobody's coming for him? The man's anger and frustration rose, and he became even more determined to get out. He couldn't stand it anymore. With his hands gripped onto the door, he started shaking it furiously back and forth. It was as if he was hoping that with enough force, the door may break loose. "Anyone there?" He tried calling again. "Please, let me out! I don't belong in here!" Even with the shaking cell door and shouting, nobody come. The loud noise must have been just a fresh, new prisoner being put in his cell, and not someone coming to rescue him. After a while the man slowed his shaking of the door to a simple stop. He had to face the horrible truth: nobody's coming for him. He let his arms dangle loose by his sides and rested his head against the cell door. He let out a deep sigh. A part of him was hoping this was all just some horrible nightmare and eventually, he'll wake up from it. The man pictured himself waking up in a nice cozy bed, with the smell of his mother making breakfast filling the air. He pictured seeing his brother playing outside under beautiful ray of their planet's sun. By the time breakfast was over, his father came home with a bag full of expensive jewels and odd looking artifacts. He would go in explaining how expensive these are and that they would make a fortune out it. The man could picture his father's warm smile whenever he come home from work. It was as if every day was a great day for him. That's because it was. Suddenly, a voice threw him from his thoughts. "I wouldn't have a whole lot of faith on someone coming to your rescue, if I were you." The young man looked up from the puddle and stared directly at the prison cell across from his. There, leaning against wall near the doorway, was a small, scrawny man with a ragged clothing. He must have been here for a couple of years, because he had grown a long scruffy beard and his face was sunken and dry. "Believe me kid, nobody's coming. You're best bet to is at least repent for your sins." The young man just stared blankly at him, as if he was still lost in his own fantasy. "What are you in for? Thievery?" The man shook his head. "Nope, it's even worse. Murder." He formed a sly smile on his face, as if he was extremely proud of saying his crime. The young man just looked astonished. "Murder?" The man nodded in reply. "Yep, I murdered someone. Not the most pleasant thing in the world but, hey, at least I get paid." The young man was going to ask wether he was some sort of a bounty hunter, but he decided against it. Too many questions can really start to mess with your mind. That's exactly what the young man is trying to avoid. So instead, he just went back to staring at the small puddle on the floor. The man across from him followed his gaze, and gave a curious look. "So, what brought you here? I don't suppose you're into the murdering business too?" The young man looked up and shook his head. "No, not at all. In fact, I'm not even a criminal. They threw me in all because my father is the most wanted man on the whole planet." At the mention of his father, the man's eyes lit up ,as if he just realized something. "Wait a minute. Are you talking about Damian Nova? The most famous outlaw in all of Azure Prime?" The young man nodded. "That dude is wanted throughout every sector. Humans and aliens want that guy dead. Oh man, you're really screwed now kid. You're his son!" The young man nodded, sadly. "Yep, that's me. Aaron Nova." The man went on about Aaron's harsh punishment. "Once the alien ambassador finds out you're the son of Damian Nova, they'll ripe your flesh right off. Take you away, tie you down so you don't escape, and have you executed right on the spot. Damn, there's going to be a lot of blood." Aaron's heart dropped to his stomach. Executed? Really? His father would never allow that? I mean, would he? The man must have notice Aaron's concerned look because he finally said, "Well, isn't your daddy coming to rescue you?" Aaron shook his head, his mind lost in thought and disbelief. The man shrugged his shoulders. "Figures. Why would a famous outlaw like Damian Nova rescue his precious little boy? After all, he probably figured you could make it out all by yourself. You are the son of a thief, you know." Anger started brewing within Aaron, and shouted,"I'm not like my father, ok?! I would never turn to a life of crime." The man just laughed. "Whatever you say, kid. I mean, whether or not you did something, the alien ambassador probably thinks you're a criminal as well." The man let out a big laugh. "He's probably preparing the guillotine for you right now." "No, just shut up! I don't believe it!" Aaron shouted, shaking the door with all if his might."I'll get out of here; I know it!" The man raised his hands in air and started stepping back from the door, as if he was saying he had nothing to do with this whole conversation. "Hey, whatever you say kid. I'm just telling you the truth." "Yeah, well, you just shove it up your-" Suddenly, a loud noise erupted. At first, Aaron didn't get excited. He assumed it must have been another prisoner being thrown in here. But then, he heard voices. But not just any voices, and they sounded fairly familiar to him. The man just laughed his head off. "Oh boy, here they come. The alien ambassador is here to kill you." Aaron snarled. "No, you're wrong! Just shut up!" But the man just kept laughing away. "Better say your prayers now, kid. This may be your last chance before you're dead." Suddenly, a long sword slammed against the door, causing the man to jump back in terror. "Shut up, you filthy wretch. Or I'll have taken away on a nice trip." A deep voice snarled. Aaron tried to get a glimpse of who the sword belonged to, but the the figure was out of his line of sight. Just then, he saw the sword retract from the door and out of his sight, indicating that the figure must be putting his sword away. Then, before his own eyes, the figure came into view and stepped in front of Aaron's cell. Aaron could tell that this figure meant business. He was fully dressed in this futuristic black armor from head to toe. His sword wasn't like any sword found on Earth. It had this long plasma blade that went all the way down to his heel. The hilt looked like any simple sword hilt, except it had weird markings on it. Just then two more figures come over. One of them looked exactly like the guy wit the sword. Aaron assumed they must be guards. Now, as for the third figure, Aaron had to have been an idiot to not recognize this face. The third figure wore a long black silky cloak around his shoulders that stretched down to his knees. His outfit looked pretty crazy, with the big necklace with red jewels that covered most of his chest. Despite he odd choice of clothing, this figure standing before him was the alien ambassador himself. Aaron wanted to leap for joy at his presence, but he had to keep himself in line for a moment. What if that man was telling the truth? What if the ambassador really is sending him to his death? Now all of his happy thoughts of freedom vanished, and were replaced by fear and terror. Aaron couldn't speak. The ambassador cleared his throat before speaking," Aaron Nova, is it?" He asked in polite tone. Aaron nodded slowly. Something wasn't right here. Why would the ambassador ask for his name? Shouldn't he be heading off to the guillotine by now? The ambassador continued," We need you urgently. So, something terrible has happened." By now, Aaron wasn't worried about possible getting his head chopped off, but more about what was the ambassador worried about. "Well, what is it?" He asked. The ambassador just gave Aaron a worried look and turned to face the guard in his left. "Open the door and release the prisoner. We need to get out of here." The guard nodded and opened the door to Aaron's cell. Aaron looked stunned. "Okay, seriously.What the heck is going on?" The ambassador made a quick glanced behind his shoulder, as if he was afraid someone might hear him. "Look, I'll explain everything later. Right now, we just need to get out of here." The ambassador was already turning around and making his way to the exit. But Aaron wasn't moving. "No, I'm not going anywhere until I get answers." The ambassador turned around and and his lip. Aaron could tell this was really troubling him, because the ambassador was rarely worried about anything. "Like I said, we'll tell you later, alright? Now let's just go." "I'm not moving!" Aaron said, persistent. "Don't question the ambassador, child." A guard shouted, reaching for his sword. Now the guards were getting pissed. "You either come with us, or continue to rot in your cell." "Fine!" Aaron turned around and started walking back toward his cell. Just then a hand grabbed him by the right shoulder and spun him around. It was the ambassador. "No, please. Don't leave. I don't want you to die." Aaron raised an eyebrow. "Then tell me what's going on." The ambassador took a moment, as if he was second guessing his decision. Then, with a deep breath, he said," We're being attacked by space pirates. They have come to kill me."