"So your parents' names were Mandy and Matthew?" Ferris says.

I nod. "They were amazing. Mother gave me this necklace."

I take out the necklace from its hiding place in my fur pocket and show it to Ferris. "Look, it opens."

I click it open and show the watch to Ferris, who gives a half smile. "That's nice, kid."

"It's the last thing I have of them," I say sadly, looking down at the watch. I close it up and address Ferris. "They haven't come for either of us yet. Well, me again."

"No they haven't." Ferris sounds scared. "Which means it must be time soon."

"Don't say that, please," I beg. "When I get out, I'll need you with me."

Ferris sighs. "You know that's most likely not going to happen."

"Don't say that!" I screech suddenly, bashing my paw against the bar, startling Ferris.

"I'm sorry," the rabbit says quietly. "I just…don't want to raise your hopes only for them to be dashed."

I nod sadly. "I understand that. And I thank you for caring about me. I just really want to believe that you'll escape with me."

"I do too," Ferris says. "Believe me, I really do. It's just that…any day here could be my last and I don't want your final memory of me to be a bad one."

"Trust me, if you were to die—which you're not—the memory of you I would carry with me would be you helping me get over my parents' deaths and being there for me so I don't go crazy with no-one to talk to. That's what I'd remember about you."

Ferris smiles.

Suddenly, a human comes walking down the corridor towards our cages.

"Oh no…!" I gasp.

The human opens my cage and lifts me out.

"No!" Ferris reaches through his cage.

This time, though, I resist. I kick, scratch, bite, and claw, but human just hits me against the wall and dazes me. Through my dizzy brain, I hear Ferris yell, "JUDY!"

Then I'm taken to the same room as before. This time, I'm put on a tray with sides that are high enough and slippery enough to prevent escape. For some reason, the floor of it is metal.

I soon find out that that is for the electricity to be conducted through.

I don't know how many times I was electrocuted. All I know is that I feel the current shocking me and it feels even worse than the injection I received two days ago. That felt like I had been stung by a scorpion. This feels like I'm trapped in the embrace of a jellyfish that's stinging me over and over and over again, and it feels even more agonising every time a current goes through me.

I'm sure my heart must have stopped at several points during the exercise, but it must have restarted by the same currents that stopped it, because I found myself back in my cage, barely alive, after what seemed like days. I can hear Ferris's voice again, but my shocked and addled brain can't figure out what he's saying.

All I can do is lie on my side with my eyes closed and try to recover. I can't even eat or drink anything that they give me.

When I do recover enough to drink, I clean out my dual dish for the first time since arriving.

"Oh thank God, I thought you'd died!" comes Ferris's voice.

I look across the way at Ferris, who looks like he's almost fainting with relief.

"You didn't move for like a day," Ferris informs me, very much relieved. "I actually thought your heart had stopped."

"It did."

"What?"

I explain what they did. To my surprise, Ferris's face lights up. "Don't you see?" he asks excitedly. "That's gotta be the worst thing they can do to anyone, and you survived it! You could be released!"

"I-I could?"

"I don't want to get your hopes up, but you really could," Ferris smiles. "I hope you do."

"Me too."