CELL

/ SIXTEEN /

Ryan heard the laughter again, this time from behind him, and turned to find the source.

He saw movement, but the endless sea of bars obscured his view. All the other residents were still lying prone on the floors of their cages, asleep. Was it still a cage if it didn't have a roof? Yes, thought Ryan. He still felt caged, even with the extra feeling of space.

A flash of blue ran across the room a short distance away, taking him by surprised. He hadn't been looking in quite the right direction, as the movement wasn't from the same direction as the laugh. He turned to follow it, and it was only when the rows aligned that he saw any details.

A blue dress.

Bare feet.

Dark skin.

Long black hair, flowing freely as she ran.

"Hey" Ryan called.

The girl paused, but didn't answer. She ran on, weaving in and out of the cages, clearly having fun. Was she playing hide and seek with an as yet unseen companion? She'd obviously heard him shout out, so why didn't she respond?

"Hello?" he shouted. "Come over here!"

Again, the girl stopped running, then restarted. Frustrated, Ryan sighed and gripped the bars.

"Hey you, girl! Come here! Please! I just want to talk!"

The slight figure stopped running again, and turned to face Ryan's direction. He could see she was smiling from the flash of teeth but, given the angle and the obstructions in between, he couldn't make out any features. He was getting frustrated. If only he could get out and reach her.

He looked up to see if, with the cell having no roof, he might be able to climb over the top of the bars. They were tall, twice as tall as him and, with the smoothness of the rods, he would be unable to gain purchase. So that was out.

The door? No, it was securely locked. He knew that without the need to go over and try. He'd heard the mechanism move into place when Jarvis closed it.

Fuck it! What the hell was he supposed to do?

Knowing it was futile, he gripped the bars and pulled them apart.

Did they move? Even slightly? Was it his imagination? Was it...?

No. They weren't shifting at all. Ryan would have expected, given they weren't fixed in place at the top, there's be some, albeit minimal, movement. There wasn't. Still, he pulled harder and yet harder. He was grunting through gritted teeth and the muscles in his arms were straining. It was no good, and finally, he collapsed against the bars.

And slipped through.

He stumbled forward a few steps, the transfer from inside to outside unexpected. When he managed to steady himself, he looked around, taking in his sudden freedom. Freedom was a strong word, considering he was out of his cage, but still inside the building with no idea where or who he was, but he mentally used it, anyway. He felt open, as if the vastness of the room had entered his body.

He drew himself back in, inhaling the immensity and swallowing it back down. Shaking himself from his torso down to his extremities, he gathered his thoughts and looked around for the girl. She was gone.

No.

Was she?

He spun on his heels, desperately seeking her out and, at first, was convinced she'd disappeared. If she had, what would he do? His only thought had been of her. Now what?

Ah! There!

The blue of the dress was vivid and seemed to reflect on every surface around it. Once he saw her, Ryan couldn't understand how he could have missed her at all. She was dancing, spinning in circles with her arms out and her dress flaring. Every so often, there would be a little skip before the spinning resumed.