Mask of Glass

Ch 3

Before Bruce went to bed he led Talon to the holding cell that had been converted into a room for him to stay in.

There was a mattress on the floor with a single pillow and blanket. The room had a small bathroom attached, but that was basically everything. Bruce judged that based on the fact that Talon was still shivering he would need more blankets as well as possibly some food and water.

Bruce left Talon to settle himself in and walked upstairs to grab a few more blankets as well as a water bottle and a hastily made sandwich.

When Bruce came back Talon was curled up on the floor. He was huddled in a small ball trying to preserve body heat.

"Talon. You don't have to sleep on the floor." Bruce said, gesturing towards the bed where he proceeded to drop the pile of blankets he had retrieved from the manor.

When he heard this Talon's eyes widened and he looked at the mattress in wonder. "For Talon?" Talon asked tentatively, still looking at the bed.

"Yes, that's for you to sleep on. Here is something for you to eat and drink if you are hungry or thirsty. Bruce held out the food and water and Talon cautiously reached for it before stopping and looking at Bruce as if this were some sort of trick and Bruce was going to yank the food away from him as soon as he got close.

Bruce set the water bottle on the ground and placed the sandwich in Talon's hands, since it was clear he was too scared to attempt grabbing it himself.

Talon ate like a man half starved. He practically inhaled the sandwich before turning to the water bottle. He picked it up gingerly and analyzed it curiously. After a moment he started trying to bite through the plastic to get to the water. Bruce had to work to hold back his laughter. "Water broken?" Talon asked with concern evident in his eyes.

"No." Bruce chuckled, grabbing the bottle and twisting off the cap. "You drink from here." Bruce said, pointing to the now open end of the bottle. Talon took the water bottle and took a single sip, waiting to see if there were any negative effects. When there weren't any he guzzled the rest of the bottle.

When he was done, Talon put the cap back on the bottle and handed it to Bruce. "Tank... Th... Thank you..." Talon said, looking to Bruce to make sure he had said the right thing.

Bruce smiled and said, "You're welcome." After that he turned and walked upstairs, ready to go to sleep.

Every few hours Bruce would wake up and check the feed from a small video camera he had installed in all of his holding cells. Each time he checked he found Talon wide awake, sitting in on the mattress in the middle of a nest of blankets.