"T-t-thank you," Red said, finally managing to find his voice. The rest of his food sat untouched at his feet; he'd lost his appetite. "I...I hope you get to go back home to your son soon."
The man chortled. "Kid, I appreciate it, but like I said before, I'm never going back." He slid something out of his pocket and set it in front of Red. It was an orange. "Keep this in case you get lost. You'll never escape the maze if you die of hunger or thirst first."
"Thank you," Red repeated, slipping it into his palm. It felt so small, and yet so tough. He'd never eaten anything like it back home. No fruit was such a colour on his planet; he wouldn't have even known its name if it weren't for the original Red's memories. And the man in front of him...he was a kind person. Red appreciated that.
The old man smiled. "What's your real name, kid?"
"I'm---" Red didn't have time to finish his sentence before the men in black burst in, taking them both by surprise. The old man jolted, looking startled at their sudden appearance. The armed men parted like a wave, allowing the man with the shiny head to walk through.
He sneered down at the old man, his face a mask of cruelty. "I've received information that you've been helping young Harris, Warren. We don't tolerate traitors here."
"I never---" the old man started, right before the silvery barrels of multiple guns were trained on him. He never stood a chance as shrapnel shredded his chest into mincemeat, completely destroying Red's only ally.
He said he'd never get to go back home.
He was right.
Sudden anger flooded through Red, hot and heavy and blinding. "He did nothing!" he yelled. "He didn't help me at all! You just murdered an innocent man!" Lies, lies, lies, all of no use. He's dead. He'd never been angry before, except for the one time he'd been so mad at a reckless spaceship driver that he'd purposely veered off-course and knocked her into one of Jupiter's moons. Fixing the huge crater in Io's side had taken much effort later, but it had been worth it.
It seemed ironic that he was in this whole mess because of the same reckless spaceship driving he hated so much.
The man kneeled and pointed at the orange in Red's palm. "Is that so? Then what is that, pray tell?" Red had completely forgotten he had it. His head immediately drooped in shame, his ears burning at being caught in a fib.
The bald man laughed, his chuckle grating like steel on ice. "You may be more entertaining than I'd thought, Red Harris."
Impossibly fast, his hand shot out. Red felt a sharp prick in his arm. The entire room instantly tilted sideways, blurring in and out of his vision. The man's distorted figure loomed over him, sneering with razor-sharp canines.
Was his head always that big?
"Sweet dreams, Red," the man said.
Everything faded to black.
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