Holding On

I

Loki limped down the bleak hallway, his heart beating fast against his chest. His breaths were ragged as he gasped for air. The months he spent in the cell had made him used to the dirt-filled air instead of the clean air that circulated around the ship. The sound of soldiers' heavy boots striking the stone floor trailed behind him. He sped up his pace, pleading that they were running toward the attack instead of him.

Loki turned and twisted through the ship. The time he had spent in the cells made his mind fuzzy, and suddenly, the blueprint of the ship was forgotten in his racing mind. He made a quit right, diving into the space pod wing of the huge space shuttle as he heard soldiers on his heels. He looked around frantically, hoping that no one had spotted him. But for the first time in years, he was in luck. No one was there.

He whipped his head frantically, looking for a ship most like the ones on Asgard. One that he could control with his expert piloting skills. A golden gleam caught his eye: a pod on the far side of the giant room. He began to limp over to the small ship.

The noise in the background had grown louder. Piercing sounds of screams and gunfire sounded throughout the hollow ship, bouncing off the walls and up and down hallways. The soldiers' marches had been drowned out, leaving Loki to rely on his eyes alone. He gazed over his soldier wearily before climbing into the ship. He preferred to not be shot in the ass as he tried to make his escape.

Loki quickly found the button to activate the ship. Loud engines rumbled in his ears as the cover of the ship closed. He let out a sigh of relief as the pod floated and the floor beneath it opened, swallowing him into the abyss of space.

When Loki was far enough away, he looked back at Thanos' ship. The far left side had burst into flames, people and equipment were being sucked out and thrown into the darkness. Their faces were covered in fear as they froze over and death took them. He saw yellow and orange bursts through the windows, engulfing the ship one part at a time.

He didn't know who dared to challenge the Mad Titan, only that they were sure to be dead within the hour. And so would Loki if he didn't travel far away and fast. He could already see it: his head mounted on a spike, dry blood spewing from his mouth, and dead eyes that gazed at anyone who looked at him. The image shook him to his core.

But there was one more problem: where would he go? He couldn't go back to Asgard or Yodenheim. The Asgardians despised him, blaming him for the death of their beloved Queen Freya, and Odin. Odin would surely mount his head on a spike as well. He would even parade it around Asgard for all the people to see and laugh.

Although he was a rightful prince to the people of Yodenheim, they wanted no such thing to do with him. They would only laugh as he proclaimed his thrown and then they would throw him off their wrenched world and into the deepest darkest canyon.

Perhaps Midgard, or Earth as they called it. He would go somewhere far away. Somewhere no one would be able to find him. Somewhere people would be safe from the dangers he brought forth. Of course, he knew how the people there felt about him, but they were mere mortals. They could do nothing to stop him. He would make it so the ship was indetectable, keeping anyone with peering eyes away from him.

Loki landed the ship in an open field. He hadn't seen a house or sign of people for miles. With another push of a button, the door opened, allowing him access to the fresh air. He once thought that the air in the hallways of Thanos' ship was clean and beautiful, but now he knew he was wrong.