The Imprisoned Ones, Part 3

The prison cells are made of reinforced concrete, with only 4000 cubic feet of space to fit any given inmate inside. Prisoners like Elevatô just fit inside, the ceiling only two feet from his head.

Instead of metal bars to seal them in, walls of pure plasma are generated by emitters that are embedded in the walls. If any prisoner were to try and dig them out, an alarm would go off, and nearby guards would rush to the cell.

Guards are given half a dozen cells to watch over, and are armed with powerful, solid-ammo rifles. Other than that, their own natural abilities are the only weapons they have against the inmates if a riot or prison break were to happen.

The triplets watch their guard and two more from within their cell. Tic watches a Birdman while Tac keeps track of a four-legged guard. Toe watches their actual guard, a hairy cyclops with a bulging gut. Neither of the three are moving to change shifts, only pacing back and forth, up and down their alotted six cells.

A few cells down, Hammer watches a fourth guard, different from the triplets'. He looks at his wristwatch every so often. His shift must be over soon, and he's getting impatient. This'll help the plan quite nicely.

In another part of the prison, Elevatô sits on his bed, staring at the plasma wall as his guard moves past it. It is like an incredibly boring movie broadcasting on a giant screen, the guard going left, disappearing off screen, then returning to go right, and again disappearing of screen.

Lacertilia lies on his stomach, flickering his tongue at the air. All he can taste is the warmth of the plasma as it buzzes and hums. His tail swishes back and forth, counting the time his guard takes to walk by his screen. It's the only thing that keeps him from going insane with boredom inside that drab and empty cell.

After 15 minutes of waiting, Hammer's impatient guard hurries to his right, Hammer's left. A few other guards in the area head in that same direction. At the same time, different guards come in and start pacing up and down. Where the original guard was of average size and build, the rifle his only real weapon, this new guard was bigger, with two curved horns purtruding from his light purple forehead.

Lacertilia's five-eyed guard is replaced with a fellow reptilian, but of a slightly different breed. Where as Lacertilia is green with a relatively narrow snout, this reptilian guard was reddish-brown, with a broader snout.

The triplets' guards were not a part of the group that changed out, nor was Elevatô's. Logging this information away in their minds, it is clear this was the change in guard in which to make their move.