Season II
Day IV
"Behind You"
Frantic breaths are all she can hear as Ryan fights to quiet her chest. She stares at the doorway from the back of the room, watching carefully as it sways shut. She should've closed it. It's too late now. All Ryan can do is pray that they lost him long before they turned that last corner.
"Is he gone?" Dania's whisper comes from the back of her throat. It sounds like it could just as easily have come out as a sob and, judging by the girl's flushed cheeks and wide eyes, there's still time. Ryan grabs hold of her hand and gives it a tight squeeze, but she doesn't answer. She desperately wants to, not just for Dania, but she can't pull the words loose.
It's hard to tell if it's Dania's breaths she's hearing now or her own. The room is so still, but that only makes her flinch with every shadow. They've spent most of their time in and around the cell blocks. It's been safe there - perhaps safe isn't the word but they haven't been bothered. The pair have been able to keep well enough to themselves until now.
They just can't seem to lose him. "We should keep moving."
Ryan's own words are even less than a whisper. They feel like an extension of her panicked breaths which are only now starting to slow. Back home, Ryan was part of the track team at her high school. If there's one thing she didn't think she'd have to worry about here, it was getting away. There are a hundred other factors to consider, but this one she should've had in the bag. Her coach would have made her stay for extra laps if he could see her now.
"We don't know where she went."
Ryan closes her eyes, focusing on taking slow breaths. In for three, out for five. In. Out. The heartbeat pulsing in her ears makes it impossible to think, impossible to remember where they are in the prison. She looks around - desks, shelves, chalkboard - she knows what this place is but that doesn't help. She needs to know what's beside them, how many more rooms are in this hallway, and how many routes there are to get to them.
She needs to think.
"Ryan." She flinches, pulling both hands against her ears because even a one word whisper is too much of a distraction. Ryan knows it's not all on her; Dania's told her as much every chance she can get. They're in this together for however long they have. Ryan trusts that. She has to. Except right now it does feel like it's on her. Dania is watching her with those puffy eyes and tear-stained cheeks. Her lips are parted so Ryan can barely see the gap between her teeth, but she's just staring.
Ryan needs to figure this out. They can stay here and hope that they lost her or they can run again in case they haven't. Are there any other options? Ryan can't tell because she can't think. It feels like Dania is a hundred kilometers away and when she looks up, she's even further. Tears fall in an irregular pattern down her cheeks and she just stares. It's as if she's not even looking at her.
Maybe because she isn't.
"Ryan," she breathes as she takes another slow step backwards. Ryan stiffens. She tells herself to turn around, but her body refuses to listen. All she can do is stare as Dania confirms her worst fear. "Behind you."