"Well, that explains a few things." Lucas said dryly. "I wondered why there wasn't a guard at the door."

Kristin sighed, "and why they took our shoes." She turned away from the door, "this still might be our only chance. Help me find something we can use to protect our feet. We can attach it with the medical tape." She began opening the small supply box.

Instead of joining her, Lucas crouched down and picked up a piece of the glass. "Wait, why would he give us any kind of warning of what was going on, or something that would help us? It doesn't make sense... Unless," he crumbled the glass in his fingers, "it's fake! It's just break away glass like they use in movies."

"Is it safe to walk on?" Kristin asked, worriedly staring at the amount they had to cross.

He nodded, "yeah, should be. It might scratch us, but not that bad. Where is Captain Bridger's room?"

"Two doors down. But..."

Before she could caution him, Lucas bound into the hallway. He only made it a few steps before screaming in pain and dropping to his hands and knees. He yelled again as his palms made contact with the glass covered floor. Kristin could see the bottoms of his feet bleeding profusely around the clear jagged shrapnel.

"He mixed it!" Lucas gasped, "the damn bastard mixed real glass with fake."

Kristin slowly eased into the hall after him, pushing pieces away with her toe in a shuffling manner. "Can you crawl back?"

Grunting and whimpering in pain, Lucas started the short journey back. After they reached each other, Kristin all but carried him back to the bunk. "Lay down," she commanded, assessing the damage.

"I'll be fine, try to get to Captain Bridger, you can still get him out." Lucas cradled his also bleeding hands to his chest. "It isn't hard to pick the lock, just feel for the tumblers and jiggle it around until it clicks." He pointed to the piece of metal he had left beside the computer.

Kristin shook her head, "I need to get these out, if you try to walk at all they'll dig deeper. I can't do anything without major surgery if they sever the tendons."

"We don't have time!" Lucas reasoned, "he's never done anything to hurt me. He just wants you. If you two get out, you can come back for me."

Kristin hesitated, nearly swayed by his logical argument. A boot crunching on the glass behind her negated any more thought, however. Wendell stood outside the door with another large man, smiling smugly. "I knew you would try something. Dr. Zellar said not to worry, but I stayed at my post. You must have disabled the camera, but all I needed was that scream."

"Wendell, please, we just want to go home." Kristin took a step towards him. "I know he's been drugging you, but you don't have to live like this. Help us, and we'll get you out too, both of you."

He snorted, then laughed loudly. "You're assuming I'm not happy here. Dr. Zellar has given us the opportunity to be part of the new world. He gave you that chance too, but you spit in his face." He rubbed his hands together gleefully. "I told him not trust you, you need to be watched every minute."

"So what now?" Kristin whispered.

Wendell glanced over his shoulder to the man accompanying him. "Sam, take the old man back to the tank."

"No!" Kristin yelled and launching herself forward towards his retreating back. She was easily pushed back by Wendell. "You'll kill him! This was my fault, punish me."

He laughed as he held her arms down at her sides, "who says this isn't your punishment?"

She heard the door open, followed by a short but intense struggle. Sam returned, carrying Nathan over his shoulder with ease. His wrists and ankles were clamped in Sam's beefy hands, giving him no leverage. Blood dripped down the side of his face, landing on the already gory floor.

When Nathan saw the thick smears of drying blood below him, he started to struggle. "Who's is that? Kristin, who screamed?!"

Sam simply twisted his body sharply, slamming Nathan's head into the wall. Kristin wrenched herself free from Wendell, body-checking him and clawing at his face. She was rewarded with just one slash across his cheek before he backhanded her.

Lucas was on his feet before the blow connected, but dropped to his knees in agony alongside of her as she slumped to the floor. "Doc? Doc talk to me!" He called frantically, shaking her shoulder. Her eye was already swelling, and blood oozed from her nose.

"I'm ok," Kristin whispered, blinking away the haze that was taking over her vision. She pushed herself up in time to see the door slam. "But I think we're all in trouble."

"Well, at least this is distracting me from my brain electrocuting me." Lucas moaned as Kristin extracted the final piece of glass from the bottom of his foot.

From her position, kneeling in front of him, she dabbed at her nose with a piece of gauze before responding, "how bad is it?"

"You'll have black eyes for a while but it doesn't look broken." Lucas sighed and leaned back on the wall next to the bunk. "Haven't you looked at it yet?"

Kristin stared at him for a few moments before clearing her throat, "I meant the shocks, Lucas."

"Oh," a blush spread up his cheeks. "I… uh… I don't know how to describe it really. There's a pattern to it, so that's nice. I know when it's coming. But it doesn't happen every time. I'm kinda waiting every five minutes for it to zap me, then I'm annoyed when it doesn't. Does that make sense? I know it's going to hurt, I'm expecting it, and when it doesn't, I don't know how to handle it."

She nodded, arranging her supplies around his legs. "The human brain will always try to find comfort in patterns. It's understandable. Are you ready?"

"This is going to hurt more than pulling the glass out?"

"I'll be as gentle as I can, but yes, it will be quite painful."

Lucas groaned, "I don't suppose the esteemed Dr. Zellar included any kind of anesthesia in that box."

Kristin shook her head, and held the thin hooked needle up. "There are only a few places you need to be stitched up. They're very deep and I don't want you getting infected. Just be thankful there's rubbing alcohol. I'll go as quickly as possible."

"Yeah, great, just awesome." His breath hissed out with repressed pain every time she touched him, but soon, Kristin was finished. She had just finished wrapping the wounds and securing the bandages when there was a knock on the door.

They glanced at each other, but didn't voice an answer. It couldn't be opened on their side, and they had no control over who entered. After a moment, Dr. Zellar entered. He stood in the opening with his hands folded over his stomach, watching them. "I would like to apologize."

Kristin looked at him sharply, noting the woman standing behind him, holding a box. She was one of the three that had served them supper so long ago. "Apologize? For kidnapping us, forcing us to work on your insane plan, beating us bloody, or thinking for a minute we wouldn't try to escape?"

He smiled thinly, "for Wendell overstepping his bounds and hitting you. That was not allowed. He will be punished."

"Again, you are perfectly fine with killing millions, but anything concerning me brings a very different response. Why, Rubin?" Kristin spat and started to adjust the bandaging on Lucas' hands.

Zellar paused before answering her. He took a bundled package from the box. Kristin recognized her clothes from the cemetery, along with some others. Setting them down on the bunk next to Lucas, Zellar looked at her sadly. "If you do not understand yet, I am willing to explain it to you. But not here, come with me please."

"No," Kristin snapped, "I'm not leaving him alone, and I am refuse to go anywhere with you. Say what you have to say."

He nodded to the woman, and she entered the room, gathering the remaining pieces of the space heater off the floor and placing them in the now empty box. "Thank you, Liz. After the room is free of… dangerous items, I will."

The three of them watching Liz silently pick up the parts of the destroyed heater like some bizarre performance art. When she was done, she took the needle and vial from the bathroom sink and brought it to Zellar questioningly. "I need that." Lucas whispered, while looking away ashamed. "Please, don't take it."

Zellar smiled kindly, "of course my dear boy." He took the objects and set them down on the bed. Lucas snatched them up, and held them tightly in his injured hands as if they were a lifeline.

"Thank you Liz, that will be all." The woman nodded without looking at anyone, and slowly walked away. "Now," Zellar sat on the bunk, inspecting the work Kristin had done. "I trust you are feeling better?"

Lucas simply stared at him, partly in horrified shock, but also very confused. He pushed himself to the very edge of the bed, away from the man, unable to even offer up a retort. Kristin stood, crossing her arms. "Stop, you want to tell me something, leave him alone."

"Very well, you want to know why it pains me to see you hurt, my dear. The truth is, I am in love with you, Kristin."