Chapter Six:
Solitary Togetherness

	The guards marched the group of prisoners around the hall. They reached the top of a small flight of stairs. Ahead of them at the bottom of the stairs was a set of doors. One of the guards moved up to a control panel on the wall. Rocket cocked an ear so he could hear what was said. The large size guard hit the button and leaned in.
	“Hey Lloyd, it's Remi from block D. Buzz me in please.” His voice was gravely, which contrasted his face.
	There was a low buzz and the guard jerked one of the doors opened. Behind it was another flight of stairs that led into the darkness. The only lighting was from the sconces set into the concrete walls. The dirty light covers cast everything in a dim light. As they were walking down the stairs it occurred to Rocket, they must have been deep under ground, because it sure seemed like a long way down. Finally after a minute or two of descending stairs they made it to another door. 
	A younger guard opened the door from the inside to let the prisoners in. Besides the young guard, there was another much older guard standing by. The room that served as the main hub of the solitary wing, was much the same as any other part of the prison. Though the rules must be far more lax, since the floor was dirty, the walls had cobwebs on them. The air itself smelled putrid, of grime and decay. There was a desk littered with old papers, and used beverage cans. A folding table sat in the middle of the room. It looked as if it had fallen out of stag party. Ashtray full of cigar and cigarette butts, face down poker hands. A bowl of snack food. No wonder why the place was a cesspool, Rocket thought, the guards were much too busy with other things to keep it clean. The older guard reached back and picked his rifle up from where it was leaning against the wall.
	“Hello there.” The gravelly voiced guard stated as he stepped into the room with Soft Thom in tow. “Got some new comers for you.”
	“Shit, seriously. We're almost booked solid here. After that unfortunate incident in the yards earlier in the week. Me may have three cells left.” The younger guard said as he turned to dig through the pile of papers on the desk.
	“Tough break then. I guess big'un will get his own cell. Then these two, and last the lizard and the raccoon. I don't care if you wanna mix and match them or whatever you guys do all day just keep 'em down here until further notice. And don't let anything too tragic happen to the raccoon, he's a bounty to be collected.” The gravely guard said before shoving Soft Thom forward.
	“Uh, yes sir. Right away.” The younger guard stepped forward taking Soft Thom by the arm and leading him toward one of the cells.
	Rocket watched as each of prisoners were moved down the line and put in their cells until he and Silas had been lead to the last open cell. Poor Silas had to duck when he walked into the room. It was always nice since Rocket didn't have to worry about places being too small for him. Thankfully the guards were nice enough to remove the handcuffs Rocket thought before closing them into the cell. The small room was filled with a heavy clank of the sound proof door being closed behind them. Rocket skimmed his new accommodations. There was only one bunk against the wall. A metal sink and a toilet on the far wall and that was about it. The one think he didn't see was any indication of listening devices. These rooms were meant to be sound proof so the prisoners felt like they were isolated from society. It was perfect. Rocket looked up at Silas and realized that there was barely enough room for Silas to stand all the way up.
	“Hey brother you can take the bunk man, it looked uncomfortable for you to even stand in here.” Rocket said quietly as he paced to the back wall.
	“Thank you. It's good to see the first part of your plan went off without a hitch.” Silas said flopping down on the bunk.
	“I know right, things could have gone a lot differently for us up there, Thank you so much for having my back. I for one don't want to become a red smear.” Rocket stated as he ran his fingers along the slightly jagged wall.
	“No problem, I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it at least a little bit.” Silas chuckled leaning back on his elbows.
	“I'm glad, there's just one thing that's nagging the hell out of me. Who the hell are you, really?” Rocket turned around, crossing his arms.
	Silas recoiled at the accusatory tone in Rocket's voice. “What you talking about?”
	“You and I just met not  more then a few hours ago, you've been going along with all my shenanigans so willingly since the beginning. I say jump, you say how high. You even got involved in a physical altercation in the mess hall after proclaiming yourself a pacifist. And don't hand me any bullshit about being a huge fan. Something's not clicking right with me.” Rocket's tone sounded frustrated, but his demeanor was calm.
	“Alright, alright you got me, I'll show you who I am, but you have to give me time to explain myself before you start yelling and screaming at me.” Silas said, waiting for Rocket to agree.
	Rocket didn't say anything, he just nodded. Silas stood up from the cot. He had to keep his head cocked to the side so he didn't hit the ceiling. Rocket kept his eyes locked on his large friend. He didn't foresee any problems with the reptile man, but if he made any funny moves Rocket was ready to pounce. In normal circumstances Rocket would always bet on the bigger guy, but he had the advantage of being smaller in such a smaller room. More room to maneuver.
	 What happened next was the last thing Rocket had expected to happen. Silas's form slowly started to melt into a milky green ooze, shrinking down into a lithe figure. Rocket jumped back, his shoulders hitting the wall behind. The melted mass started to solidify into that of a reptilian female. Her eyes, scales, smooth scalp and spine ridges were the only things that were reminiscent of Silas. It looked as if Silas just became his little sister. Her fingers fumbled to keep her pants up over her hips. Her small form was now swimming in her orange fatigues.
	“Wow...” Rocket started to say, but the new Silas held one finger up.
	“You agreed to hear me out.” Her voice was soft and smooth, carrying the same drawn out “s” sounds.
	Rocket nodded and held his hands up, moving over to sit down on the bunk. There was really nothing he could say. For the first time in a long while his mind was blown. It was going to take quite some time to recover from this one. His dark brown eyes watched as she moved to sit down next to him on the bunk.
	“Most of the stuff I've told you about me has been true. My name IS Silas, I AM a Quazi from Teraxis. The only difference is, I was a student at the tech institute on my home planet when a unnamed group assaulted the school and captured a few of the students.” Silas paused for a long moment, her smooth, orange tongue lapped over her drying lips.
	She continued, her eyes finding his in the dim room. “They took us to an off world laboratory and experimented on us. I was the last test subject alive when it was all over. Something about my DNA being able to accept the new genetic codes they forced into my blood stream. My mutation wasn't what they expected though. I became this...I guess you could just call me a shape shifter. I was able to just walk out of there with no problem.”
	“This was the furthest planet from my home that I thought to travel too. I was hoping to escape them for good. I also knew that the extradition laws are air tight on Ar'Leir. If I did get caught, I would have plenty of time to escape while they were pushing through the red tape. I ended up joining with a group of protesters. It was fun at first, but then it became a vice. I ended up joining two groups. One was an all male group against government enforced military controlling the average Joe. The other was an all female group protesting against the president and the government forcing people against their wills to be used in scientific research. I guess I was fortunate that day to be playing the part of a man or things might be very different right now.” She hugged her small body, no doubt it felt colder in the room now that she had a small figure.
	“I was sure they were going to kill me, and I would never get to see my family again. As for me being a fan of yours, that's true as well. I knew as soon as I saw you, that if anyone could help me get out of here, it was you. You're one of the Guardians of the Galaxy, you're suppose to help those in need. I decided I would do anything you wanted me to do to insure my freedom.” Silas exhaled slowly and looked up into the raccoon's eyes, expecting to see a judging look, a look of anger, something.
	Rocket sat there dumbfounded for a second and then smirked. “That is one hell of a story, and I don't want to be a negative Nelly, or a doubting Thomas, but I've been burned before. You're going to have to so me some more of that shape shifting stuff. I mean what's to say that your race doesn't have the ability to change the gender when it's convenient.”
	“Well I suppose that's fair.” Silas said standing up again.
	Silas let her fatigue bottoms fall to the floor. Her private bits were still completely covered by her fatigue top. It was large enough to be warn as a pajama gown if she so chose to. It took only a second for her to think of what she was going to change into. Again her body melted into the milky green ooze, she melted down even smaller, but as she was solidifying the ooze broke into individual fur follicle. What was left when she took her new shape, was amazing. Rocket drew close and studied her. She looked exactly like him, right down to the small scar on her left eyebrow.
	“Impressed?” She said, but it was his voice in her throat.
	“Holy shit you sound just like me. You're like one of those X-men from back on Earth. Color me impressed. Now you can change back to whatever form you chose, just as long as it's not me, that  is  creeping me out.” Rocket said moving back to sit down on the bunk.
	Silas too her feminine for before moving to join him on the bed. “I'll just take my natural form. It hurts to hold a shape too long. It's much the same as flexing a muscle for a long period of time. Thank you for hearing me out before reacting.”
	Rocket shook his head. “No worries, I've seen far crazier things in my life. I just hope you're on the up and up and I can help you get out of here. Either way chances are looking pretty good.”
	 Silas nodded, but didn't say anything she just pulled her knees to her chest. Rocket could see in her face she was relieved. Her shoulders were slumped as if she'd had a heavy weight removed from her. It made him feel good that he could help her. There was something about her, that reminded him of Alicia. He couldn't quite put his finger on why.
	“Are you cold?” A smile pushed out across his lips.
	“Yeah a little bit, but I'll live.” She answered back, her body trembling.
	Rocket grabbed the brown folded blanket from the foot of the bed and threw it across her shoulders. “There you go. It's not much of a blanket, but do try to get warmed up, while I do some thinking.”
	Silas nodded slowly. “Thank you for taking care of me Rocket, this is the best I've felt in a long time. Always feeling alone, scared, and cold. Not know if someone is going to figure you out. No to mention holding a different form for a long time leaves you drained. In an all male prison there was no way I was going to let my guard down long enough to relax. Do you know what they'd do to a girl in in this place?” Her question was as ironic as her tone, she knew all too well it didn't even need to be asked.
	“Yeah I can image, but I promise you, you're safe now. And you have my word that I won't try anything either.” Rocket said pacing around the small room.
	“...unless I ask right?” Silas added in a questioning fashion.
	At first Rocket thought this might be a trick. If he said anything too eagerly it might make him seem like he was up to no good. He certainly didn't want to make her not trust him. On the other hand, they were partners now, and needed to be honest. If she was expecting him to say no, she might also think he's lying. Or worse she might think he doesn't find her attractive.
	All of the thoughts rushed at him at once and for some reason the cute look on her face pushed all of those thoughts aside and make him say. “Yeah, unless you ask me too.”
	Silas smiled shyly and covered her face with the blanket. “You know I never asked how you ended up in here.”
	“Oh it was an age old story honestly, it went something like this...” Rocket paced around the room telling his story.
	Silas listened intently, Rocket made sure not to leave anything out. The story starting with when he was younger, and went all the way to the point where he faced off against Arty. It was almost a perfect telling of his story, except for the few omissions he left out for her sake. Even though he suffered from violent tenancies and romantic escapades. It didn't need to come out on the first day he made a new friend. It was quite a nice way to burn some time. Silas had to admit she was drawn in. He was quite the story teller, better than she could ever do. Instead she opted out of telling more of her story and just kept asking questions to urge him to tell more of his.
	Slowly the lights started to dim, casting the room in even a darker light. “I guess that's all for the story telling today.”
	Silas giggled and laid out on the cot. “I guess so, maybe you can tell me more tomorrow.”
	“Nah, tomorrow we have to start working on the plan so we can get out of here.” Rocket sighed and sat down on the floor next to the bunk leaning against it.
	“You're as remarkable as I always thought you would be.” Silas said looking into Rocket's eyes.
	“Yeah, I guess I'm alright. Now you get some sleep.” Just then Rockets stomach grumbled loudly. “Jeez I'm starving.”
	“Yeah me too. Good thing breakfast is usually served at first light. The sooner we get to sleep, the sooner we get to eat.” Silas shifted inward on the cot, so her back was against the wall.
	“Good, I think I could eat a horse.” He said more to himself than anyone.
	Silas reached over and grabbed Rocket's shoulder. “You can lie in bed with me if you want. It would be a lot warmer for me, and not so hard on your butt.”
	“I just didn't want to seem so forward.” Rocket chuckled and looked over his shoulder at her.
	“It's fine, besides I have your word that you won't try anything funny. So get on up here” Silas giggled softly and yawned show to large fangs.
	“Well and then there's those to help enforce it.” Rocket whispered to himself
	Rocket pursed his lips and said nothing, he just climbed up onto the cot next to her. Silas slid forward and pressed her body to his back. He shifted his arm under the pillow to add a little more height for his head. It wasn't much more comfortable than the floor, but at least he knew Silas would be warmer. Just then he jolted a bit at the feeling of her arm wrapping across his chest, pulling his tigher to her chest. Her head resting at the back of his neck. Rocket licked his lips nervously and opened his mouth to say something, but decided not to. Nothing would come of it, and if something did, he was going to make sure she made the first move.
	They lay there together for a long moment. It wasn't until he could hear her soft breathing that he knew she was asleep. It gave him some time to clear his mind and think about how the escape may work. But the sound of her soft breathing was lulling him to sleep. The last thing he could think of was how he hoped not to dream about anything, but if he had to dream. He wanted the dreams to be good. Maybe something happy for Silas. Or maybe to see Groot again. A warm sigh escaped Silas lips and brushed against the short fur on the back of his neck. It was that gesture that finally pulled him into darkness.