Part 2
Cassie opened her eyes the next morning to someone standing in front of her cell. At first, she jumped back, not realizing who was there. But, after looking again, she realized who it was. Him again? He was leaning against the wall across from her cell doing something with one of his pistols.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him.
"Relax." he said, holstering his pistol and taking a few steps towards her cell, "If I wanted to kill you, I'd have done it already."
"Yeah, I get that. But, I'm asking you what you're doing here again? Were you afraid we'd escape or something?" Cassie asked, standing and walking over to the bars. They were now standing face to face with just the bars separating them. He was much taller than her, but she didn't seem intimidated. He said nothing, just stared at her.
"I asked you a question. Answer me." she said. Something about his stare was unnerving, though she did her best not to let it show.
"I don't think you're in any position to be asking questions." he said, snickering.
"Fine, then. Don't answer me. Whatever." she said, crossing her arms. Erron sighed.
"Your name's Cassandra, isn't it?" he asked.
"Yeah. That's right. And you're Erron, right?" she said, relaxing slightly, letting her arms down at her sides.
"That's right." he said.
"My family isn't going to let this go, you know. If you guys kill me, They'll kill you and Kotal Kahn." Cassie said. Erron sighed again.
"Look, I'm just doing what I'm being payed to do. I told you, I had no idea the Kahn was planning this." he said, "Believe me, I..." He looked to the ground, not finishing his sentence. But, Cassie was curious now.
"What? What were you going to say?" she asked.
"Nothing." he said, looking at her again.
"You were going to say something else. What was it?" she asked.
"You're crazy. I wasn't going to say anything." he said.
"Yes, you were. Come on, spill it." she said. He didn't know what it was about her, but for some reason, she was able to get to him like no one else. He sighed again.
"Fine. I wish things hadn't ended up like this." he said. Cassie looked at him, her blue eyes widening in surprise. That was what he was going to say? That seemed incredibly odd for someone like him, but she was sure she hadn't misheard him. Besides, his recent behavior was odd for someone like him. He turned around and began to walk away, fearing that he had said too much, but Cassie reached through the bars and grabbed his arm, stopping him.
"Erron." she said. Her voice was soft, and it sent a chill up his spine. He turned around to face her. Her blue eyes were fixed on him, and he felt as if they would pierce right through him. But, he kept his cool, not daring to show how unsettled she had him.
"Why?" she asked, "Why does it matter to you?"
"I don't know." he said. He pulled free from her grasp and walked off up the stairs. His bare arm was hot where she had grabbed him. He was asking himself the same question. Why did it matter to him? Why did she matter to him? He had no more an answer for himself than he did for her, and he wasn't sure he wanted one. Though, in the back of his mind, he was afraid that he did already know, what he thought was worse than not having an answer at all.
Cassie stared at the stairway even after he was gone until a familiar voice got her attention.
"Cassie, who was that? I heard you talking to somebody." It was Jaqui talking to her from one of the other cells. Apparently, the others were just waking up.
"What? Nobody. There was nobody here but me." Cassie answered.
"What, were you talking to yourself, then?" Kung Jin remarked.
"I wasn't talking to anybody. You must have been dreaming." Cassie said.
"All of us? All three of us heard you talking, Cassie." Jin said.
"No way. You must have heard someone talking on the floor above us and just thought it was me. I woke up just before you guys. It couldn't have been me." Cassie said. This was a lie, of course. But, how would she explain to her friends that she was talking to someone who was supposed to be the enemy? She couldn't tell them the truth. Surely, this little white lie was okay, right?
