Chapter 4: A kind heart?
The woman held her hand out to me. I could barely see it in the dim lighting, but it was definitely there, and although I should probably have been suspicious of the instant offer of help, I very much liked the idea of having someone to share my feelings with. Taking her hand, I was led not too far from the lifts, but to the end of one of the corridors of this dull black labyrinth.
"Welcome to my home, kid," the woman spoke after sealing the cell and turning on the brighter lights, then standing by her bunk bed. I could now see her features a bit more clearly, from her shoulder-length dark green hair, to her wide blue eyes, to, dare I say, a rather prominent chest (When you're a boy in your early teens, you notice that stuff, though I try not to draw attention to that). "By the way, what's your name?"
"Toby. Toby Tredwell. You?" I responded. The way she asked the question seemed so… caring, that not to reply immediately would have sounded insulting.
"Rebecca Scarlet. So you say you're with the Carnivore?"
"Yes. Any idea what her real name is?"
"No clue. Nobody has any idea as to her real name could be. Probably better that way."
"Okay."
"By the way, you can come closer." Rebecca must have noticed that I was still standing by the cell edge.
"You sure, Miss Scarlet?"
"Rebecca is fine. And yes, I'm sure. Don't worry, I'm not gonna bite."
Slowly… ever so slowly, did I make my way towards Rebecca. For some reason, probably due to my receptions from the Carnivore and the Beast, I felt ready to turn tail and run. I was a quarter of the way there, but so far, Rebecca didn't make any aggressive movements. Still apprehensive, I didn't want to risk increasing my movement speed in case of something bad happening, so I maintained my go-slow action.
I was halfway towards Rebecca when she decided to close the gap of her own accord, reaching me in a second. Noticing her speed, my reflexes took over and I found myself turning towards the sealed cell bar area with my other foot ready to take a stride.
"Jumpy, aren't we?" she spoke, pulling me onto her body. "I told you, I won't bite. You must have been shaken quite a bit for you to be this skittish."
"It's this place, Rebecca!" I couldn't help myself. Tears were threatening to spill out as Rebecca guided me to the bunk bed. "I think the Arcadia Movement lied to me! I just want to go home, away from this place and back to somewhere where you can see the sky! I want to go back to my sister. Where exactly are we anyway?"
"Nobody knows. But why did you say Arcadia lied to you?"
"They told me to pack my possessions as I was leaving. I thought I was going to a special Duel Academy. They even promised to inform my sister!"
"Ah yes. Arcadia has never been known to play messenger. Sadly, your sister is probably in the dark. Lie down."
"Thanks, Rebecca. I could actually do with a bit of sleep after everything that's happened today." I sighed as I lay on the bottom bunk mattress. The tour, the picture taking and especially the Duel had left me quite exhausted. Even though the light was on, I still felt my eyes closing. The mattress was comfortable, the pillows doubly so, and there was this comforting aroma about the bed.
Some time later, I found myself awake to see Rebecca lying in the middle of the cell almost completely naked. The only things she had on were a bra and panties, along with a pair of sunglasses. She seemed to be lying directly underneath the light, even after she had apparently noticed my movement due to the fact that she turned to look at me. "Morning, Toby!" she spoke, where I hurriedly tried to look away. "Don't worry, you can look. I'm just sun-tanning a bit."
"Sun-tanning?" I wondered. Surely the light wasn't sufficient to allow for that?
"Yeah. I used to love it back in New Domino. I would go to the beach and just sun-bathe, with the cool ocean air blowing on me. Sure, there's no beach here, wherever this is, but that doesn't mean to say you can't go to one."
"I suppose not. Isn't this a bit embarrassing, though?"
"What?"
"Sun-bathing when someone else is in the cell."
"Nah. People used to look at me all the time on the New Domino beaches, I didn't really mind at all. Besides…" she got up and started walking towards me. I couldn't help but get a little nervous. "…attention and companionship are rare commodities in the Void, and what's more, that black clothing we have to wear makes me sick. There are times when I just need to be out of it and relaxing on a small sand dune on a beach somewhere. I mean it. Deluding myself that I'm on a beach instead of a cube-shaped jail cell only comforts me up to a point. I want to feel the real thing: from the breeze, the sand that you can feel through the towel, the sun shining down on you and the waves from the water."
"I suppose you are right there. Do you mind if I ask how long you have been here?"
"Five years, give or take. By the way, could you shift up a bit?" She was now right by the bed. Once I shifted to the side, she lay down directly beside me.
"Is this really okay? I think we're struggling for space." I wondered. We were practically pressed up against each other, and I was finding it extremely unnerving, yet enjoyable at the same time, partly due to sensual reasons as well.
"You worry too much, Toby. Besides, I haven't been able to share anyone with anything for a long time now. It's been so lonely here."
"I guess that's true. You're the first person to extend a hand of friendship to me; everyone else just shoves me up against a wall or accuses me of stealing the Carnivore."
"That is why we need to savor every moment together. According to the clock on my wall, you have about thirty minutes before you need to be back in your own cell. So let us just enjoy this moment of intimacy that we have before I am left alone and you are in danger of getting your head bitten off, figuratively speaking of course."
"Speaking of which, where is my cell?"
"Notice how each of the cells are labeled. Mine is 06C20."
"06C20?"
"The first number, 06, designates which Cellblock it is in. The letter specifies the row, each row starting from the row of black lifts from A until J. The second two-digit number is which column it is in; starting from the column of white VIP lifts from 01 through 20. It's actually on your keycard as well."
"Can I check now?"
"No. I told you just now, we need to savor this moment. Besides, to be quite honest, were it up to me, I'd never let you go."
"What?" Fear started to rise in me as she said those words.
"Like I said, you worry too much. I didn't mean to say that I'd detain you within this cell for the rest of your days, but actually that I'd want to be by your side."
The next twenty minutes were actually quite pleasant. Rebecca and I lay together, just talking mainly, and when it came time for me to leave, she let me go without any trouble, but with a wish to see me again. Looking at my keycard, I could see in the bottom-right hand corner "TOBY TREDWELL 07J19". So the first was my Cellblock, which led me to direct the lift to Cellblock 7. Then, I had to walk all the way to the end of the corridor once I got out the lift. From there, it was cell 19. I eventually found it, amid the dim lighting, and it also said "Cell 07J19" above the scanner.
My keycard successfully opened the cell, and I could see a silhouette waiting for me in the darkness of the dimly lit room. Closing the cell door, I started hearing machinery. The partition began rising up from the ground and sealed off the cell in a matter of seconds.
"Took you long enough," I could hear Carnivore state, "…not that I'm complaining, but Duels don't usually take this long to conclude."
"Well, thanks for your concern. I suppose you think the Beast won."
"He's just an animal. I'd be really surprised if he did. Was the Duel that long?"
"No. I was just lost. I didn't know where we were, and besides, I'm probably going to leave you alone for a lot longer."
"How so? You don't have anything to do except laze around in this cell until your Leniency Week has expired."
"Leniency Week?"
"They didn't explain to you, eh? I'm not surprised. Every new failure gets a one week grace period before they are required to take 'lessons'. You have six days left. How do you figure leaving me alone for all that time?"
"Well, I have got a friend!"
"Fantastic. Go bother him then. What's his Cell number?"
"Well, for one thing, she hasn't got a cell phone as far as I am aware."
"Cell number, moron!"
"06C20!"
"Oh… you poor fool…"
End note: I hope everyone's enjoying thus far. This story is probably going to get the majority of what attention I can spare this month, so future updates should come soon.