The silence of the cells was broken by Mirov's voice, full of bitterness:

"Could your friend Croiff talk to Captain Fizard?"

"I'm not sure, master, since Fizard has been missing for a long time. But Croiff has always been very helpful and efficient. If there is a way to find the captain, my friend will try to do it," replied Radof.

The ex-counselor walked from one side of the room to the other, anxiously, waiting for some news that gave him hope to leave that place.

"Tomorrow will be visiting day, chief. Maybe Croiff will appear."

"I hope so. And that he brings us good news."

"He has always been a good friend, and in this situation, we are, he's the only one who can help us," Radof concluded.

"What was that story he was telling about you helping his family? What did you get out of it?"

"I helped because I realized that they were in need. I don't like to see children starving. The world is unfair, sir."

"I do not waste time with those idiocies of charity." Mirov scowled at the thought of helping someone. "Only power interests me. Therefore, when I am king, I will have everything I need."

"My lord has lost all compassion. Perhaps life has mistreated him and hardened his heart. I hope one day he will recognize that life without friends is empty. I'll try to help him! He's the only person I have left in this life." Radof thought as he listened to his master's comment.

Mirov was blind and could not see the truths of life. The very help he was waiting for was the result of a retribution from a friend to an act of kindness from his servant.

***

Luckily for the two prisoners, Croiff appeared on visiting day. It was the chance to hear news about Captain Fizard.

"How are you, my friend?" Croiff asked Radof.

"We couldn't be worse. Did you get in touch with Captain Fizard?"

"Everything was done as we planned. I think we'll hear from him soon enough. One of the guards was my childhood friend and I asked him to let me bring gifts for you. These are holographic glasses so you can watch movies and listen to music. Our ancestors loved this kind of fun. Imagine spending the rest of your life inside these bars without having access to anything new..."

"It's a good thing someone thinks of us. You will be well rewarded!" Mirov said, entering the conversation.

The courtyard was full of prisoners and their visitors. The conversation between them was not even noticed.

"You'll have a surprise tomorrow! When using the glasses, thoroughly inspect the compartment on the right-side rod of it. I think you'll like what you'll find." Croiff said softly.

Mirov frowned, eager for possibilities.

"You're proving to be more efficient than I expected. It will certainly have a place in my reign," Mirov said after hearing Croiff's remark about the surprise and imagining that it would lead to an opportunity for escape.

"I am doing this for my friendship with Radof, but if you wish to reward me, I shall be very grateful."

Croiff went away thinking of finding a way to meet the captain and once again help his friend.

***

The other day in the morning, at the time of sunbathe, in the courtyard of the prison, Radof met his master and the two talked about the glasses they had won as a friend's gift:

"What the hell! I didn't find anything in the glasses that Croiff gave me as a gift and from so much searching I ended up breaking it. I angrily stepped on it until I destroyed it. Your friend deceived us..."

"No, master. The artifact came in mine! It's a mini communicator. I'll place it discreetly in the pocket of your uniform."

They wore silver-colored uniforms that only had pockets on the right side of the shirt. There was an electronic lapel where the names were printed and everyone wore a red luminous identification bracelet on the left arm. It was a tracker that showed the prisoners' position on a central computer in prison.

In the courtyard, there were a few benches for the prisoners to sit in, and two small trees were the only things that adorned the gray place, all made of a kind of concrete.

Radof took advantage of the moment when the guards talked to each other and put the artifact in Mirov's pocket, who was looking to all sides. He didn't even thank his servant for the favor he had received.

"Croiff is a good friend, isn't he, master?" He commented, glad to have helped. "He told me that he got the frequency of communication from Fizard's ship in the archives of the central command of the fleet."

"Shut up... Now we need to talk to Captain Fizard! I will offer him the military command in my reign and he will certainly help us. We will talk to him at night, not to catch the attention of the guards. Let's wait for them to sleep and only then will I use the communicator in my cell."

The captain's wife did not return any reply to Croiff. Because he was a royal palace worker it was safer for him not to tell her anything about her husband's whereabouts. But being as smart as he was, Radof's friend got the information by hacking into the central computers of the government.

Mirov stared at the laser grid that surrounded the only window in the cell. Every day he watched the light of the sun and the moon reach the ground, but he was expecting soon a different vision of light... A special one... The one of freedom.

At Fizard's barracks, a light blinked and beeped incessantly.

"Captain, there's someone who wants to communicate with us," Dargan said.

The captain pressed a button and a holographic screen opened in the air. The image of Mirov appeared before him:

"It's been so long, Captain! Ten long years. What a pleasure to see you again. I got in touch because I made an escape plan and I need your help. I guarantee you will be very well rewarded when I rule the planet Life. I will give you and your family riches and you will not regret helping me. Your soldiers will also win a prize and be part of my army."

"Sir, King Zador will obviously punish us vehemently if there is a rebellion."

"Don't worry. He's old and I already know how to subdue him. I need a ship in good condition. You will come with your men after the second moon and will position your ship above the prison. Bring sleeping gas and masks. When they notice, all the guards will be asleep. Then I want you to teleport me and my servant, Radof. You will be well rewarded along with your men. The position of military commander of the planet will be yours if you help me conquer my freedom."

The captain just shook his head. The plan was already outlined and there was no alternative that could get him and his men out of that dark place. He decided to take the opportunity to try to change his life.

***

On the day planned for the flight, very early in the morning, Radof waited anxiously.

It seemed like nothing was going to happen, everything was quiet, when the explosions began. The gas began to invade the environment and several men materialized inside the prison, to confuse the guards with an attack, while the real goal was the escape of Mirov and his servant.

The noise was deafening, and several guards fought with the invading soldiers, who were wearing oxygen masks. Soon the watchmen began to fall unconscious.

A shadow started covering the moonlight that lit the floor of the cell, in a square shape marked by the bars.

Suddenly, two masks appeared hanging on the outside next to his cell, and Radof quickly picked them up, carefully placing one of his hands between the laser beams of the grid. Then he threw one of them to Mirov. It felt close to the cell and the villain pulled it cautiously toward him.

In a few minutes, a white smoke circulated throughout the building's cooling system. Some guards, realizing what was happening, put on masks and sounded the alarm.

While Dargan and some soldiers were fighting with those who stood in the entrance, Captain Fizard contacted the former adviser Mirov:

"Mirov, sir, prepare to be transported to the ship."

The captain was afraid of the consequences of joining the prisoners in a rebellion, but he also hoped to live in freedom and take command of the military forces, a position of prestige for any soldier.

Mirov's words spoke aloud in his head:

"You will be the new military commander of the entire kingdom of the planet Life."

His eyes glittered with all the ambition his heart felt. Besides, it was an opportunity to safeguard the freedom of their soldiers and to offer them a prestigious position in Mirov's government.

The fugitives were illuminated by a red beam that teleported them into the ship.

Most of the guards fell asleep with the sleeping gas, and the others succumbed to the forces of the invaders. They all were immobilized and locked inside the cells.

"Dargan, position your men at the entrance to the building. I'll teleport them to our ship."

"Captain, will you allow witnesses? Some are unconscious, but they have seen us and can tell someone about us."

"Don't worry about it. From what I know of the former counselor, things are not going to stop here. Hurry, get ready for teleportation," the captain replied.

They all touched their bracelets and went back into the ship. Dargan, inside the ship, looked at the soldiers and wondered what their future would be, "It would be better than rotting in a hiding place in the Mutant Forest."

"Fizard, let's get out of here immediately, because this place will soon be full of guards," Mirov said.

"Yes, sir."

Then they went back into the hideout. Mirov left the ship and felt the air and the sense of freedom:

"I waited for this opportunity for ten years. I will begin to put into practice my plan of revenge. No one will prevent me from destroying my enemies! They will pay me dear for the betrayal and for all these years that I lost of my life!"

Radof could hear his master expressing his anger and didn't know what to say. He had no choice but to listen to him and follow him. But he thought:

"Sometimes in life, we go so far in error that even knowing the way back, it becomes too long to be traveled."

"Do not just stand there, Radof. Contact your friend Croiff at the royal palace and ask him for a report of the working routine. I want to know King Zador, Princess Isadora and Counselor Kenan's every step! They'll get what they deserve," Mirov said with a wicked grin.

_______________________________

Read #TheDeathMoon by #ChaieneSantos