Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the storyline and my OC.
He heard her long before he would get the chance to see her. Her breathing was slow and ragged and sounded somewhat shallow amidst the darkness flooding his cell as well as the whole corridor, despite the muddled light coming from the single bulb hanging from the ceiling in the hall. His own body was screaming at him, his muscles painfully stretched, serving as an aching reminder of what he has been through just hours before but he had learned with time to force himself to ignore the pain. Right now he didn't even have to try though, because no matter how much he hurt, all he could focus on were the obvious efforts she had to make as she struggled to take a breath, which proved to be far more difficult that it normally should after the experiments she had undoubtedly undergone.
The noise was coming from the cell next to his, both of which opened into the corridor and therefore the barred doors were right next to each other. He could tell it was a female from the gentle pants and coughs she let out every now and then before she continued to quietly gasp for breath. He fleetingly wondered what she was like (was she young? what had they done to her? what colour was her hair?) before he realised the sounds had ceased.
A vague feeling of worry passed through him, startling him profoundly, as it had been long since he had felt anything even remotely resembling care for another human being (if he could even be considered that anymore). In fact, he had stopped feeling anything a long time ago, all sentimets had been wiped away from him in order to turn him into the useful machine he had become, pain was the only emotion he could still recognise. So this sudden feel of concern (was it that?) was extremely confusing, to say the least (was he even able to feel anything other than pain?). He immediately shook his head, his dark tresses falling over his face, covering his eyes. Sympathy is weakness, he reprimanded himself, thinking about the endless hours he had spent strapped to the metal chair in the experimenting room, as he tried to erase the small feeling of worry gnawing on him. If she was not strong enough to withstand the tests done on her, then she simply deserved her fate (right?).
Despite his inner turmoil, his ears strained to hear something, anything coming from the other cell, separated from his only by a concrete wall. Then his senses caught her faint breathing. It was indistinct and very low but it was definitely there. The exhaustion and strain must've caused her to fall asleep. And then, in spite of himself and of everything he had just tried to reason with, he felt relief wash over him, as he exhaled and closed his own eyes, letting the darkness take over him as well.