Visions of the Visor

Chapter 2b

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Roman was a strange yet inviting character. He was fearless to the point of near stupidity, though he was never caught for his conversations with Ethan. And while Ethan was eyed several times by the passing Vertigo, he too was never actually punished. But Ethan could tell it was more than Roman simply knowing how to get away with things, for also he pushed them far beyond their limits. This left Ethan convinced his neighbor was half crazed. And then there was that glint in his eye, which despite the darkness could still be seen, haunting and still so very intriguing. So when Roman one day said he was going escape and he wanted to know if Ethan wanted in, Ethan had to think twice about the offer. Was this lunatic really serious? And if he was how far he could he really get before getting caught? When the topic came up again Ethan rolled his eyes back into his head and told Roman he wasn't serious and to just drop it. While Roman may not have been showing any signs of detainment illness, Ethan was. And each day was becoming a struggle. His lungs ached, the pain in his bones and muscles made him not want to move at all, and he could feel his body weakening. Roman may be ready to run to freedom, but he was not.

"Shit Ethan, are you gonna' tell me you don't want to get out of here because your too damn tired?" Roman replied cynically to Ethan's rolling eyes.

"No," Ethan said with his eyes still closed. He coughed, his chest heaving as his back hit up against the wall. "I just don't think you're serious."

"Don't think I'm serious? Ethan, I'm crushed. You should know by now that I am a man of my word. Why talk about what isn't possible?"

"Roman, come on. Nobody has ever made it out and I'm half dead as it. Why would I want to escape anyway?"

"That my friend is a good question. Have you ever seen the Vortex?"

"No. Nobody has. Nobody even knows where it is."

"See now that is where you are wrong my friend. There's this girl in the highest part of the Vortex, locked away or some shit like that, and in need of a good fucking."

Ethan gave a little laugh followed by a larger more labored cough. "I see. So you think I should risk everything to get out of here to find a girl that may or may not exist in a building that may or may not exist that also happens to be the home of the Visor who also may or may not exist just to have sex with her?"

"Well shit, Ethan you make it sound so anticlimactic. My point is do you want to die in here, or out there doing something fun, something that matters?"

Ethan laughed to himself, not sure if having sex with a random girl was something that constituted grounds for merit. Roman's ideas on what mattered in life, Ethan had discovered, varied greatly from his own. But he was none-the-less intrigued by this idea of a beautiful girl held captive in the Vortex. Why was she there? If the story was true it defied all the insane logic of the Visor's ways. To fuck her is something Roman would want to do, but to sketch her is something Ethan would want to do. "All right smart ass," Ethan said, though without the conviction, "how do propose we get out of here?"

Roman just barley stuck his hand through the small slot and opened his hand. "With this."

Ethan was still leaning up against the wall, and when he did not hear anything further from Roman, he turned his head slightly and opened his eyes. In the palm of Roman's hand he saw a key. Ethan pulled himself to sit up. "How did you get that?"

"It's not so much a question of how as it is where," Roman replied pulling his hand back through.

"Well how long have you had it?"