"Are you…uh…feeling better?" Len asked as he stumbled over his words slightly. Luka had calmed down considerably at this point and she was no longer crying to herself. There was only one thing that bothered Len.
She still continued to cling to his hands tightly.
With every passing second, Len could feel his heart beating quicker in his chest. He knew that he had been the one to instigate the hand holding, but in that moment he had been acting on impulse; anything to stop Luka from crying. Now that the impulse had ebbed away, he couldn't help but feel awkward and uncomfortable, almost as if he was going to get in trouble if he continued to hold Luka's hands.
This is idiotic… Len grumbled to himself as he waited for Luka's response, Why am I all of a sudden so much more uncomfortable around her?
"Thank you so much Len," He heard Luka answer in a small voice, "I was…so happy to hear that mommy still cares for me that I guess it just made me…cry…" By the end of her sentence, Luka's voice was quavering once more with the promise of more tears.
"C-Come on, you just finished crying!" Len said as he took this opportunity to remove his hands from Luka's grasp and instead place his hands on her shoulders. Luka's body instantly stiffened under his touch and she flinched so violently that it caused Len to quickly retract his hands.
"Sorry…" Len apologized as he shoved his hands down deep into the pockets of the pants he was currently wearing. She probably didn't want him touching her shoulders; it would only stand to remind her how horrible he had treated her before.
"No…I'm sorry…my body just…reacted on its own…" Luka said slowly as she looked up at Len's face. Her eyes were still puffy and red around the edges from the tears she had just cried, but her eyes were dry for the moment. Len could have sworn that in those eyes he saw a small flicker of determination.
"Mommy's going to help us escape…right?" Luka asked as she held his gaze.
Len responded with a nod of his head before he lowered himself to the floor and sat down. When he looked up at Luka, confusion was splayed clear on her face.
"Why…are you sitting down?"
"We can't do anything until your mom holds up her end of the bargain. She said that she would provide a way out for us, so I say we trust her and wait for whatever she's going to do."
"…You trust mommy?" Luka asked as she sat down not far from Len.
"I trust that she still cares for you and honestly wants to get you out of here."
"She…still…cares…" Luka said quietly as her voice wavered once more. Len could have smacked himself; he was going to make her cry again.
"Of course she does, but that's not something to cry about."
"Oh, of course it isn't…sorry…" Luka said apologetically.
"All you do is apologize now," Len responded with honest annoyance in his voice. He watched as Luka opened her mouth to speak, "And don't respond to that with 'I'm sorry'"
Luka closed her mouth once more and didn't speak a word as worry flashed across her features. Len could tell that she was frantically searching her mind for another way to apologize without actually saying 'I'm sorry'. Len couldn't help but smile to himself at the display.
Luka was silent for a moment as she continued to mull over her choice of words. Len continued to watch her as he allowed her to struggle with finding a way to apologize without actually apologizing. After a few moments, the girl raised her head and meet Len eyes. Her face was calm as if she had finally answered a question that has been plaguing her for the longest time.
"Len…" She stated in a level tone, "Will you dance with me?"
She wasn't sure what brought about the words, but the minute they left her mouth, she wished she could swallow them once more. Perhaps it was the look of complete shock that came over Len's face that made her want anything to happen to break the silence that had settled after her last comment.
"I'm so-" Luka cut herself off prematurely as she remembered Len's comment earlier, "…Just forget what I said. It's not important. Let's just wait for mommy to help us."
With her comment made, Luka stood up and headed to the other corner of the room. Her soft footsteps on the floor only seemed to reinforce the silence that hung around the two of them. With each step that brought her further away from Len, Luka couldn't help but wish that Len was forgetting everything she had just said.
Why can't I just ask him things anymore? Luka wondered to herself in the ensuing silence Why does everything seem so different now than when I first met him?
Luka looked down at her hands. They looked the same as always; plain and ordinary, just another pair of hands in the world. But even though she looked the same, she could tell that something was different.
Maybe it's not something on the outside…but on the inside…? Luka thought to herself as she raised her hand to her chest. Her heartbeat was dull within her chest, just like it always was. Nothing had changed there.
Nothing had changed anywhere.
But something was different.
What is dif-
"Fine."
Luka's thoughts were abruptly cut off by the sound of a voice. It was so sudden and unexpected that at first she had no idea where it had come from. She foolishly looked to the ceiling as if she expected that to be the source of the voice.
Then she realized.
Len was the one who had spoken.
She turned around slowly, afraid that if she turned around to quickly it would somehow undo the answer she had just heard from Len. The young boy now stood and he had taken a few steps closer to Luka. All Luka could do was stare at him.
"If you want to dance you can't just stand there and stare at me," Len said with annoyance in his voice.
"But…what do I do?" Luka asked.
"First, we have to be…really close together…so…uh…just come over here!" Len said with a raised voice that caused Luka to flinch. She looked at him slightly worried about what was going to come next.
"Sorry…" Len apologized quickly as he lowered his voice, "I'm going to have to keep in mind that you have no idea what dancing is."
"So…first we get close?" Luka asked as she closed the short distance that separated the two of them. Up close, she was slightly taller than Len to the point that he had to look up slightly to meet her eyes. She stared at him and waited for his next instruction.
"Right, now you place your hand here," Len said as he gently took Luka's wrist and positioned her hand on his shoulder before he placed his hand on the small of her back and pulled her even closer. Luka flinched slightly from the touch, afraid that he might shake her again.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to shake you," Len responded with a tone that said he was annoyed that she would even think that he was going to hurt her.
Luka gave a small nod of her head and felt her body relax the tiniest bit. She then looked at Len confused as he took her hand in his own. The two of them stood frozen in this position.
"This is…dancing?" Luka asked with even more confusion.
"Not yet," Len said more harshly than need be, "I'm trying to remember that melody you sang earlier."
"You mean the lullaby my mommy sang to me?"
"Your mom sang that for you?"
"Only once," Luka admitted as the two of them remained locked in position, "She told me that her good friend taught it to her before she had to go far away."
Len gave a deep sigh as his eyes narrowed. "Dammit, why don't you just give me more evidence that my parents were involved in this twisted project," Len muttered darkly to himself.
"Len?" Luka asked as she attempted to meet the boy's eyes. It was difficult in the current position she was in, but she didn't want to move in fear that if she moved from the "dancing position" Len would change his mind about dancing with her.
"Sorry, just thinking about crap I shouldn't think about," Len responded as he once more turned to Luka. She watched as his face flushed red for a moment as he realized the position he was currently in.
"How do we start dancing?"
"Well, the first thing I want you to do is start humming the melody from before."
Luka gave a nod of her head and called upon the warm memory of her mother humming the lullaby to her that her six-year old self held so dear. The notes flowed easy from her throat and seemed to lift the darkness of the empty room just the tiniest bit.
"1, 2, 3; 1, 2, 3," Len muttered to himself as he stared at his feet and slowly got on beat with the melody Luka was humming. After a few moments he gave a decisive nod of his head, "Alright, now what I want you to do is follow my lead."
Luka gave a nod of her head, careful not to interrupt the stream of notes that issued from her throat. Before she realized it, Len moved his foot. Luka didn't have proper time to react as she felt her footing fall from underneath her and she fell to the ground. She heard Len fall to the ground next to her with a soft plop.
"We're damn graceful," Len said with a wry smile as he quickly stood up and offered his hand to Luka, "Come on, let's try this again."
Luka nodded and took his hand. The two of them got into position once more and Luka began humming the lullaby. This time when Len moved his foot, she knew what was coming and she moved with him. The movement felt awkward and stiff as Len paused for another moment before he moved his other foot and Luka barely managed to move her foot before Len was taking another step. The two of them stumbled once more and Len gave a low growl of frustration.
"I'm so-" Luka's apology was cut off from a sharp look from Len, "Maybe we should stop."
"No way, we started this, so now we're going to finish this stupid thing," Len said as he once more took his hand. This time instead of counting, he began to hum the melody that Luka had been humming. She felt him start moving and she fell into step with him.
Before she realized it, she was humming along with Len.
The two of them continued to sway around the floor. It was by no means graceful, but the two of them managed to stay in step as they continued to hum together. Luka lost all sense of time as the two of them moved with an odd combination awkwardness and gracelessness across the black floor that had once contained the universe. Their voices spun together and met in the air where they hung together and seemed to fill the world with life. For reasons she couldn't explain, she wanted desperately for Len to look up and meet her eyes, but he was busy concentrating on his feet as the two of them continued to move along.
Just as quickly as the moment had begun, it ended.
The last notes of the song died away and the pair stopped their dance. Luka could tell that her face was slightly flushed and her heart was beating quickly in her chest. She looked down at Len, who finally looked up and gave a small smile.
"So…there you go, dancing," Len said dismissively as a way of ending the dance, "Was it everything you thought it would be."
"It was…" Luka said in awe as she searched for the right words, "It was…wonderful."
And she meant it.
When she danced she felt like she was gliding through the air. It was like nothing she had ever experienced before. It made her feel light as a feather; it made her feel like a bird.
Her heart glowed in her chest as she smiled and felt the weight of the world fall of her shoulders. All the worries about escaping fell away as she reveled in the intoxicating effects of the dance that had just taken place. Her heart continued to pound in her chest.
She felt so free.
"I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it," Len mumbled quietly as he allowed the hand that was gripping Luka's to drop.
But although they were no longer in a position to dance, he didn't let go of her hand. Luka might have been imagining things, but he seemed to grip it tighter.
Luka opened her eyes and looked at Len. He was carefully avoiding her eyes still, but he hadn't moved either of his hands and they were so close Luka swore she could heart his heartbeat.
Or maybe that was just the sound of her own heart beating madly within her chest.
…being able to spend time with the one you love…
That was one of the things mommy told me would lead to freedom Luka thought as the phrase returned unbidden to her mind, 'Spend time with…the one you…love'?
Her heart was beating like crazy in her chest.
Her palms were sweating from holding Len's hand for so long.
The one you love…
You have someone else to live for…
Another new voice added to the conversation. It sounded like the voice of a little girl; a small voice that was nudging her to say her question out loud.
"Len…do I love you?"
Her question issued, she watched as Len's eyes spread wide and he quickly released Luka's hand and backed away a few steps. Luka felt her heart fill with worry; had she said something to upset him?
"I'm-" She cut herself off earlier this time as she fell into silence. She didn't know what else to do but apologize in this situation.
"Y-you can't ask me if you love me," Len managed to stammer out after a moment more of silence, "T-That's not something I can answer."
"Then…do you love me?"
"Wh-What?"
"Do you love me?"
Silence fell in the room once more as Luka continued to stare at Len who refused to meet her eyes. He was muttering half-formed syllables as he kept clenching and unclenching his hands. Luka wanted to say something to make it alright; she wanted to do something so she could go back to the flighty feeling she had had when the two of them were dancing.
Instead, she felt dread rise in her throat; it was choking her. It felt as if however Len answered the question she had just posed would change her life forever. Her mind buzzed with activity, but she couldn't decide what answer she wanted to hear.
You want him to say yes.
The young voice inside her spoke up once more and Luka couldn't explain it, but she instantly agreed with the voice.
She wanted Len to say yes; she wanted him to say that he loved her.
"I…" Len started as he looked up and met Luka's eyes.
Whatever words Len was going to follow with were lost as a slight rumble shook the room. The moment broken, both Luka and Len turned to look at the wall.
Where there had once been nothing but blackness now led to a corridor lit dimly with harsh yellow lights. Luka felt her breath catch in her throat as she looked down a corridor that had never been there before; a freedom that had never been available before. She turned to look at Len, the boy who had never been there before; a freedom that had never been available before.
The young boy's mouth was set in a grim line as he turned to look at Luka. All the nervousness and awkwardness of the moment before had melted away as his face displayed nothing but grim determination.
"We'll have time to talk later, let's get out of here…together," Len said as he held out his hand to her, "Hold my hand to make sure we don't get separated."
Luka gave an almost unnoticeable nod of her head before she took Len's hand. The two of them headed toward the tunnel, but Luka couldn't stop but pause and look at the room that had been her confinement for fourteen years. As she looked at it, she realized something.
She hated it.
Without a second look back, she headed into the tunnel with Len and the two of them began to pick up their pace as their footsteps echoed hollowly against the close walls. She kept her eyes firmly on Len's back, refusing to even consider looking back at her old life; she didn't need to.
She was escaping her confinement of freedom and heading towards reality.
The woman watched as the two of them exited the room. She felt her hopes rise slightly in her chest as the seconds ticked away. If all went according to plan, they would reach the end of the tunnel in a matter of minutes where she would be waiting for them to aid their escape.
Without a moment to lose, she turned around and headed out the door.
Then she felt her heart stop dead in her chest. She backed up a few paces before she felt her back bump against a wall; there was nowhere for her to escape. She knew that they were aware what was going on, but she thought she had a little more time. The several guns trained on her told her that her assessment was wrong.
"Didn't I warn you not to do anything stupid?" A cold voice asked as he took a few steps toward her. The woman's eyes settled on the man, someone who had once been her close friend, as she bit her lip out of nervous habit.
"It's not stupid, it's what's right," The woman answered in the most level voice she could manage.
"By doing what's 'right'," The man mocked as he drew ever closer to the woman, "You have forfeited your own life."
"So be it," The woman answered even though her fear was threatening to overwhelm her; she had prepared herself to accept her death if it was required, "Just kill me now and end this long drawn out charade."
"Oh, but that would be too easy, don't you think?" The man said as a twisted grin spread on his face, "Besides, who would be there to witness your glorious sacrifice? No, if you're to die it should be a…special…event."
The woman felt true fear in that moment. The last time she had felt fear this intense was the day she was forced to lock Luka away in her glass prison.
"You wouldn't…" She managed to mutter with her face as white as a sheet.
"Those two little lab rats should be reaching their rendezvous point soon; what better way is there for them to be welcomed back into the world than an…execution."
A/N: I've been waiting to write the dancing scene since I started this story. Also, we're getting close to the end. Stay tuned!
