Dedicated to my irl friends Sarah and Mayuki, who are two of the funniest, kindest, and most supportive people I've ever met. You guys inspire me to become a better person, always listen to me when I need to rant, give me the best advice, and never give up on me no matter how frustrating I can be. Friends for life ~

Jake snuck out of the room, taking one last glance at his inmates. They are asleep. Every one of them. I am alone. Once he was convinced they were really asleep and the hallway was empty, he began to walk. Sleep deprivation was affecting him badly, sometimes even making him forget things. Or maybe that wasn't the lack of sleep... No, I'm fine. Everything is fine. Jake found peace in the grungy, horror movie-esque hallway. He didn't know how long that peace would last, so he treasured it. He was almost calm enough to sleep.

Almost.

It was clear that some people were still awake, but not even a fraction of the total amount of people who were on the ship. Any voices Jake heard were like distant mumbles. That is until he reached the end of the hall and was about to turn the corner.

"Do you remember the coordinates to tell the captain?" A man's voice asked.

Jake could feel his paranoia rising, but he held his ground and stayed listening.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it." Another voice answered.

"Are you sure? You can't screw this up, you know? We'd be in so much trouble."

Jake's heartbeat increased. He started breathing shallower in order to relax himself. They're not here for me.

"I got it!" The second voice answered defensively. "I even have it written down."

Jake moved so he would be able to see what was happening. Two men stood there, one holding up a paper and the other glaring.

"Give me that!" The first man said angrily, snatching the paper away. He looked it over and then gave it back. "Alright, you got it."

"I told you I did." The second man tried to stick the paper back in his pocket, but it slipped as he removed his hand. Neither of the men noticed.

Eventually they walked away, and Jake went to pick up the paper. He stared at the coordinates for a moment before stuffing the paper in his pocket. He didn't know what it meant, but he wasn't going to leave it there for anyone else to find.

Just in case.

"Welcome back, Jake." Aurora's voice whispered from her hiding spot as the Jake entered the darkened room.

Her eyes widened in surprise and horror when he pinned her to the wall using one hand against her throat. She was about to strike back when she saw the recognition in his eyes. He quickly let her go, backing away in shame. "I'm so sorry, Aurora."

To anyone else she would have lashed out, making them regret even thinking about touching her, but the look she saw in his eyes before he knew who she was changed her mind. She had never seen that kind of fear mixed with such angry determination before. "It's okay. I didn't mean to scare you." She found her voice to be softer and more feminine than usual, as if she was talking to a child.

"You didn't scare me. It was a reflex." His face turned to stone.

Aurora cleared her throat. "Of course." She felt a little bit of anger rising in the pit of her stomach when he didn't react to her mildness the way she expected, but she swallowed her pride and let him walk away.

The noise of Jake's arrival woke everyone else up, but only minutes earlier than they would have woken up anyways.

Jake watched them go through their average morning routines; something he had memorized by now. Paradox and Aurora would get up and do these stretching exercises that seemed to help them wake up faster. Occasionally Kithara would timidly copy them. Audrey would take off her sleep mask, carefully open her trunk and set it inside, and then drink the water which she always asked for the night before. Logan would stretch out like a starfish on his bed before groaning and catapulting himself into a sitting position on the side of the bed. Warren would address someone with a nickname, starting off his day with a joke, and so on.

Eventually the guards came, and it was time for everyone to parade to the showers before breakfast. The steady marching of feet brought Jake back to his days in the military. And suddenly the orange jumpsuits ahead of him began to look like green and black camouflage.

~~~~~ Jake ~~~~~

"Attention!"

Ever the perfectionist, a slightly younger version of Jake moves into pose quickly, going over everything in his head to make sure he's doing it correctly. Heels together, feet forming an angle of 30 degrees, shoulders level, arms straight at the sides, wrists straight, back of the hands outwards, head up, neck touching the back of the collar, eyes steady...

The drill commander continues talking while another group of soldiers jogs by. Jake lets himself look for a split second as they pass, and almost smiles at the brunette that makes a face at him.

"Alright, stand at ease!"

Heels ten inches apart, arms behind the back...

~~~~~~~~~~

Jake stared at the ground, not making a sound.

"Hey bud, you alright?" Oliver asked quietly, making sure not to touch him.

"What?" Jake broke out of his gaze and stared at Oliver.

"You were kind of zoned out."

"Was I?" Jake smiled. "Sorry, tired I guess."

"No worries, I was just asking if you'd seen the movie Warren was talking about." Oliver explained.

"Probably not if it was made in the last few years... What's it called?"

"Uh... Let me think. He said it was..."

Kithara sat down timidly beside Paradox and Aurora in the busy lunch room. There were almost as many guards as there were prisoners in the room, which was a bit of a comfort. Kithara picked Paradox and Aurora's table because of how close it was to the door. She liked Paradox, but was terrified of her friend. The fact that the girl had a life sentence was gnawing at Kithara. What could she have possibly done that was so awful and still yet have a friend who still genuinely thought she was a decent person.

"Hey, kid." Paradox smiled. "How's it going?"

"Going alright..." she whispered. "I guess."

Aurora and Paradox made eye contact for a moment before Aurora asked her, "So... what'd you get for lunch?"

Kithara tilted her tray in Aurora's direction, showing off her bland prison food.

"Ah... Yeah, that doesn't look super tasty..." Aurora awkwardly said.

Kithara could tell that Paradox had asked Aurora to be nice to her, but it only made her feel more uncomfortable around her. If Kithara had it her way, she wouldn't even have to speak to Aurora. It did sound rude for her to think that way, but she really was scared to death.

Before anyone could say anything else, a beautiful, athletic looking girl with dark skin set her tray down on their table. "Can I sit here?"

Kithara and her two inmates stared at the girl for a few moments. She was the first person not in their cell —not including guards or others who worked onboard— to have talked to them.

"Well?" The girl looked impatient, tapping her fingers against the table.

"Sure..." Paradox finally spoke.

"Thanks." She nodded.

Kithara kept staring, her anxiety levels rising. Another person, another person.

"The name's Mirage." The stranger said after taking several bites of her food. "And yours?"

"Aurora."

"Paradox."

Kithara realized it was her turn to speak. "Kithara..." She croaked.

"Nice to meet you."

Another long, awkward pause took place while the four girls stared at each other and quietly ate their meals. Kithara watched the newcomer closely. She had gorgeous, dark brown curly hair, and dark eyes. She held herself in a dignified, proud manner, but didn't seem to be an arrogant person.

"I like your hair," Kithara whispered.

Mirage looked up. "Oh, thank you!"

"You're welcome."

"Uhm, are you three all..." Mirage paused and made a face. "Roommates?"

"I guess so," Aurora said with a sarcastic laugh. "Roommates sounds so much more civilized though."

A grin spread Mirage's face. "I suppose it does."

"So, I guess I should ask the infamous 'get to know you' question." Paradox smirked. "What'd you do?"

Mirage winked and put a finger to her lips in a 'shh' motion.

Kithara smiled, suddenly feeling more comfortable around this new girl. She liked her carefree, teasing attitude. It was completely ordinary, just not for a place like this.

"Ah, I see how it is." Paradox nodded. "Same here."

"Scandalous!" Mirage took a sip of her drink. "What level are you guys on?"

Kithara was confused for a second, but quickly realized that Mirage was talking about what deck of the ship their cell was on. "Oh, second."

"Wow," Mirage looked impressed, "Practically at the top. I'm down on fourth, which means if we ever hit an iceberg, I'm drowing first."

Aurora and Paradox laughed, but the thought of the ship sinking made Kithara's bones feel cold.

"Well I think we're more likely to hit a sand bed or rocks." Kithara said after a moment of thought. "Too hot for icebergs."

Mirage looked to Aurora, who was sitting beside her. "Smart kid."

Kithara bit her lip. She wasn't sure if she liked or hated being called a kid by everyone. She was probably only a few years younger than the three who sat with her, but it didn't seem to matter much to them.

The four of them talked until lunch ended, when they said their goodbyes to their new friend. Then it was back to their cell for another boring, awful day.

Warren turned over to look at the clock. 12am, it read, making him groan loudly. The noise earned him a loud "Shut up!" from Aurora, but he didn't give a crap. It had only been half an hour since he went to bed, but the storm raging outside was keeping him wide awake. Even from inside the ship he could hear the screaming of the wind. He could feel the pounding of the waves too, like something from a movie. It was almost amusing to him, thinking about how much he wanted to be asleep. He felt like an old man, only finding comfort in sleep. If he were home, his night would just be starting around this time.

"The storm is really loud..." Audrey whispered. "It won't do anything to the ship, will it?"

Warren raised his eyebrows in surprise. It was probably the first time he had heard her say something that didn't sound proud, like she was better and smarter than all.

"It should be fine," Jake said after a prolonged silence. "If there were anything wrong, they'd call for help anyways, and it would take a lot to bust a hole in this rig. Trust me."

"Thanks," Audrey said.

"Are you sure, soldier?" Warren spoke up. "How would they get everyone off in time if something happened?"

He heard who he assumed was Kithara whimper.

"This type of ship would have a pretty big helipad, maybe even big enough for them to land a plane on. It would be fine."

It was official, Warren would not be sleeping that night. So, he decided to sit up in bed in order to carry the conversation on further. As much fun as he had annoying his inmates, he kind of liked this conversation they were having. It felt... innocent. "Helicopters are pretty fun."

"Are they?" Oliver asked.

Warren then realized that it was probably only him and the soldier who had ever been in one.

"They're loud though," Paradox said. "Really loud. Sometimes you think you're talking but your body just doesn't make the sounds, which is funny."

"How did you guys get helicopter rides?" Foster asked.

"For work." Paradox's voice became quieter.

"Oh, really? Where did you wor—"

"How about we go check out what the storm is like and see how the captain is handling it so we can tell you and you can finally stop worrying, shut up, and sleep?" Aurora interrupted Foster's question.

"Only if you take me with you," Warren demanded. Maybe I can learn something about those two...

"Sure," Paradox agreed before Aurora had time to protest. "As long as you're quiet."

"I can be quiet when I want to be quiet," Warren said as he watched them slide open the barred cell door. He was amazed that the guards hadn't figured it out yet. He followed the two girls into the hallway. It had just a bit more light than their cell did, as it was lined with lights giving off a yellowy glow.

"Want to see the control room?" Paradox whispered in his ear.

Aurora scoffed, Warren nodded.

Graphic attached was made by the lovely Galasriniel_00!

Thank you for reading chapter three! I appreciate it so much. I hope you enjoyed reading it. (:

If you did, leave me a vote and some comments!

I asked you guys already who your favourite characters were, what about your least favourite?

Thanks again for reading! Have a lovely day ~