REBEL FOR KICKS
vii. LATE NIGHT SNACKS
❝YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH.❞

"YOU KNOW, I WILL KILL YOU IF THIS DOESN'T WORK," the irritated yet pleasant voice of Gamora filled the quiet air which caused a wide grin to appear on Isabelle's lips. Gamora was directly behind her — close enough that Isabelle could feel her breath on her neck — as the two stayed out of sight. After Rocket had told them his escape plan, he had mentioned that he needed a few days to prepare for everything. In the meanwhile, everyone else was supposed to either scout out the prison and learn the routine of others. However, that seemed boring to Isabelle so after everyone had gone off their separate ways, she had suggested to Gamora that they raid the kitchen. It took some convincing, but Gamora finally agreed. It was how Gamora and Isabelle ended up in their predicament — hidden behind large kitchen counters while trying their best to avoid the guards.

"Don't be such a drama queen, Gam," Isabelle mumbled softly as she stayed crouched low to the ground. She pressed her body against the counter as she listened closely to the voices that were on the other side of the kitchen. Fortunately, the kitchen was big enough — considering they had to feed thousands of people multiple times a day — and the cooks were located at the very far end of the kitchen as they discussed what dinner's menu was going to be.

"That is not my name—"

Immediately, Isabelle slammed her hand on Gamora's lips which caused Gamora to let out a gasp in surprise, but Isabelle hushed her. One of the guards walked past them as he nibbled on a yaro root — something that Isabelle was craving now. It was silent between the two women as they waited for the guard to exit the kitchen. Isabelle looked back at Gamora and when she realized how close they were, she couldn't help but grin at her. Gamora rolled her eyes as she shoved Isabelle off. Isabelle scoffed. "I just saved our asses, you know?" Isabelle tried not to raise her voice louder than a whisper — the cooks were still in the room and she had no intention of getting caught. "Look, I know I'm joking around, but getting caught is not preferable. I have no interest in getting lashed in front of the other prisoners."

"We could have easily taken down that guard," Gamora reminded as she began to make her way towards the pantry while Isabelle followed closely behind. It was a strange feeling to crawl, but it almost reminded Isabelle of when she and Peter were children. They used to always sneak around Yondu's ship and managed to get in trouble almost every single time.

"Yes, but then our sentences would have gotten extended," Isabelle added as she tried to get ahead of Gamora, but the other woman just sped up. "I don't know about you, but I don't want attempted to steal food on my record."

Gamora's lips twitched upward at Isabelle's comment, but quickly dissolved back to a neutral expression. She paused for a second as she watched the cooks leave the kitchen as well which left the two women all alone. "—the length of our sentences does not matter, remember?" Gamora muttered as she stood on her feet before looking back at Isabelle who was still seated on the floor. She extended a hand for Isabelle to take. "We're escaping tomorrow. You don't have anything to worry about."

Isabelle stared at Gamora's extended hand for a few moments before she met her eyes. "What if it doesn't work?"

"What?"

"What if Rocket's plan doesn't work?" Isabelle abruptly asked as she kept her eyes focused on the frown that had made its home on Gamora's face. Gamora stared at the blonde as confusion flashed across her face. Isabelle sighed as she looked down at the dirty floor. "Look, I know Rocket has been able to escape from countless prisons before, but this is the Kyln. It prides itself on the ability to keep prisoners inside and no one has ever escaped from the Kyln — not alive, that is."

Gamora stayed quiet for several moments as she tried to think of what to say to calm Isabelle's nerves. After all, the thought had crossed her mind as well. But, her main priority was keeping the Orb far far away from the grasps of people like Ronan and her father. She had seen the devastating effects that something like the Orb had on people — her sister, Cahira, was most likely a victim. Granted, Gamora did not know exactly what happened to her sister, but she did know that Cahira had disappeared during her search for some stones that their father wanted. Gamora refused to share the same fate as her sister and vowed to keep the Orb away from her father. "Isabelle, there's too much at stake here. I can not allow that Orb to fall into the wrong hands and it's our only ticket to freedom. We all need the money to start over and get far away from here. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to escape. Are you?"

Isabelle stared at Gamora and took notice of the determination in shined bright in her eyes. She nodded as she took Gamora's hand and allowed herself to be pulled up. Isabelle gave Gamora a nod as the two stared each other down. It intimidated Isabelle to be in the presence of someone like Gamora, but over the past couple of days, she had gotten to somewhat understand Gamora. "Whatever it takes," Isabelle replied softly, "but first, let's get the food that we came for."

— — —

"I CAN'T BELIEVE THE TWO OF YOU SNUCK INTO THE KITCHEN WITHOUT US," were the first words that escaped Peter's lips as he — along with Rocket and Groot — walked into the small cell of Isabelle and Gamora. Groot struggled to get into the room but managed to make his way inside and take a seat on the desk. Isabelle and Gamora sat on the top bunk while Peter and Rocket chose to seat in the bottom one. The five of them munched on the treats that the women had stolen.

"It was Isabelle's idea," Gamora added before she took a bite out of a dried piece of fruit. It was sweet and Gamora savored the taste — rarely did she get the chance to sit and actually enjoy a meal.

"Yuck!" Rocket spat out as he tossed whatever he was eating back into the basket. Upon closer inspection, Isabelle realized that it was a yaro root — the same fruit that the guard was eating earlier. "How hard is it to steal food that is actually ripe?"

Isabelle rolled her eyes at Rocket's comment. "Why don't you pipe up, Princess? Do you want the whole prison to know that we were the thieves?"

"Yeah, yeah," Rocket muttered as he grabbed some bread from the basket and took a bite. Isabelle and Gamora had tried their best to steal the food that was meant for the guards since they had a much tastier choice of food. "Alright, listen up, morons, Groot and I figured out the layout of the Kyln and where patrols tend to roam."

Everyone quieted down as they listened closely to Rocket. He explained which areas had a high concentration of guards and which areas tended to be quiet. Some sections — like section 13 — were riddled with criminals that had life sentences. It made them more dangerous since they had nothing to lose. Rocket explained that it would be best if they kept a low profile until they were ready to escape — tomorrow night when everyone was hopefully asleep.

"In just twenty-four hours, we're going to be out of this shit hole," Peter mumbled as he leaned against the bunk bed's metal bar. He glanced up at his sister's dangling feet and let out a sigh. "You guys have any plans after we get our money?"

"I'm going to buy a planet," Isabelle blurted out and everyone turned her way with wide eyes. She frowned when she noticed their shocked faces. "What? I think it'll be fun to own a planet where everything is yours!"

"I didn't even know you could buy planets?" Peter mumbled, shaking his head.

"With enough money, you can buy anything," Isabelle added, smiling at her twin brother. It was true. Buying uninhabited planets was the hottest trend and Isabelle wanted one — not to flash her money, but to have a permanent home."Well, what about you, guys? Rocket? Gamora?"

"I am Groot," Groot replied, speaking before anyone else could. He wore a determined expression, but there was a mischievous glint in his eyes. While Isabelle didn't understand him, Rocket definitely did when he burst out in laughter.

"Now, that is actually a really good one," Rocket patted his friend on the back. Isabelle, Gamora, and Peter shared a look, but decided not to comment as they continued to eat. "Alright, my turn... With my share of the money, I think I will definitely buy a few new guns, gamble a little bit, and spend a few nights on Contraxia."

Peter Quill choked when the icy planet was mentioned and it didn't go unnoticed by his nosy sister. The attention was shifted onto him for a few moments, but things went back to how it was. Yet, Isabelle's focus was still on her brother. Peter quieted down as he nibbled on his pastry. While the others talked, Isabelle went and took a seat by her brother. Rocket had moved to Isabelle's spot, arguing with Gamora and Groot about which planet was best for a vacation. Isabelle cleared her throat, nudging Peter's shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he replied too quickly for Isabelle's liking.

"Yeah, that sounds like bullshit," Isabelle replied, keeping her eyes trained on her brother's sour expression. Despite spending years apart, Isabelle could still read her brother like a book. He was hurt and Isabelle could feel her protective nature coming out to play. She was used to looking out for her brother when she was younger and knew that things weren't so different now.

Peter sighed, knowing that Isabelle wouldn't stop bugging him until he confessed. "Look, I just have bad memories of Contraxia."

"Like what?" Isabelle asked.

"It's really none of your business, Isabelle," Peter got up, clearly not wanting to talk about it. Isabelle wasn't used to seeing Peter upset since he normally hid his feelings from her, but the pain was clear on his face. "I'm going to head back before the guards find out."

"Peter is right," Gamora added, jumping off the top bunk. She stood tall, staring at Groot and Rocket. "We have a big day tomorrow. Sleep would benefit us all."

"Yeah, yeah, just say that you want some alone time with your girlfriend," Rocket muttered, grabbing a handful of the food. Groot grabbed the rest of it, giving Gamora and Isabelle a guilty smile before rushing off. Though, Isabelle didn't mind since she had already eaten her fair share.

Isabelle got up from Gamora's bunk and entered into the comfort of her own, getting underneath the blankets. Gamora paused, half expecting a flirtatious comment from her roommate, but she received none. It was strange, but Gamora decided not to speak on. Gamora had never been once for comforting people. She was raised by a horrific tyrant and if she had cried, she would have been told to walk it off. It was why Gamora ignored the heavy sighs that escaped the girl above her. It was clear that Isabelle was worried about Peter and stressed about their escape tomorrow night, but Gamora knew that things would work out. It was their last night in the Kyln and tomorrow, they would be free.

♡

So... um... a year goes by very fast, huh? I literally have no fucking excuse on why it took me over a year to update? I am actually the worst writer in the world because no one should neglect a story for this long! I honestly didn't know a year had passed until I looked at the date that the last chapter was posted and I have never been more disappointed in myself. I love this story so much and I want to tell Isabelle's story, but I have been slacking so much. I truly apologize.

Moving on forward, I want to get more updates out. I want to finish Act One in the upcoming months and then move on to Act Two. It's been too long and this story needed to be completed months ago! I am back in a writing groove and I am going to push myself to get this story finished.

I am aware that this chapter was heavily just filler, but the next chapter will be action packed! I won't follow the movie, but some dialogue will be similar because I have the transcript. I am really excited to write it, ah! Anyways, I still hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Expect more chapters to come out very very soon! ❤️

— AMARA
PUBLISH DATE — 09.19.2019