“Four Hundred and Twenty-Two Days”

Author’s Note: This is a Take Ten to Write story and has not been proofread for errors. If I feel inspired or if there’s interest in the story, I’ll post a revised, edited, and extended version at a later date. Happy reading!

Additional Note: While this story can be read by itself, it is a continuation of a previous Take Ten to Write story. Therefore, it would be beneficial to read Two Hundred and Forty-Seven Days first.

Prompt: “I’m free!”

Day four hundred and twenty-two of my imprisonment. Everything is still cold and metal. Everything still sucks.

But on the upside, Muff has become my permanent guard. We’ve started playing cards before bedtime, which is quite nice. Poker is my favourite–his colour changing is super helpful for me–even though I don’t win anything. still, it’s nice to have some sort of interaction with another living being.

The door clangs open, scaring the living daylights out of me. I whack my head on the wall as I jump.

“Ow,” I mutter, rubbing the bump I can already feel forming.

“Sorry,” Muff says, not looking the least bit apologetic. “I have some bad news for you.”

“You do?”

“Yes.”

He stops talking and just stares at me. So, I stare back, trying my best to win a staring contest against a ten-eyed alien. Yep, that’s how stupid I’ve gotten after spending four hundred and twenty-two days in prison on an alien planet.

Needless to say, I blink first.

“So, what’s up?” I ask, flinching at the feel of the cool metal of my bed as I lean backward. “It’s too early for cards, isn’t it? I mean, I can never really tell, since you never moved me to the cell with a window.”

Muff remains expressionless. Finally, he holds out his hand and says, “Give me your mug.”

I freeze. “My mug? Muff, what’s going on?”

He continues to hold out his hand. With a sigh, I reach under my pillow and retrieve my mug. My finger traces the four hundred and twenty-two overlapping lines on its surface before I reluctantly hand it to Muff.

Wordlessly, Muff reaches behind him and pulls out a bag. He drops my mug inside before closing the bag. Raising his eyes to mine, he holds it out to me.

I frown and take it. “Why’d you give me a bag?”

“Because you’ve served your sentence.” Muff sighs, the slightest tinge of blue appearing on his skin. “Prisoner nine thousand three hundred and fifty-eight, you’re free.”

I let the words sink in as I just stare at Muff. First of all, I didn’t even know that I was serving a sentence of a certain length; I just assumed that they’d let me rot in here until I died. Second of all, why is Muff turning blue? I thought blue was for sadness. And Muff…

Oh. I see.

“Hey,” I say gently, “I’m sure you’ll find some other delinquent to play cards with.”

Muff scowls. “Prisoner nine thousand three hundred and fifty-eight, you are free. Get out of this prison. If you are seen on the planet after the next twenty-four hours, you will be returned to this very cell to serve another sentence for trespassing.”

Even though he’s turned a dark blue, I can tell that he’s not going to say anything emotional. Still, I can’t resist throwing my arms around him as I pass.

“Good-bye, Muff,” I whisper. “Thank you.”

I pat him on the back before walking out of my cell door. My feet guide me down the hallway and out the prison door.

Cool air hits my face. I see the red sky and the three suns.

A grin breaks across my face. I’m free.

Final Comments: I really enjoyed continuing this story, even though it seems like forever ago when I wrote the first part. I might continue this one, but it really depends on what prompts are given to me.

Overall Rating: 😊