CELL

/ TWENTY EIGHT /

The man crouching before Ryan looked familiar, but he couldn't put a name to the face. Even the absence of a mouth below the man's nose failed to prompt anything.

Fucking memory.

Ah. Yes. There it all was.

"Jarvis," he said with a hint of triumph.

The man nodded and began to back out of the cage, the use of his name a sure indication Ryan was fine.

"The bitch shot me."

"You deserved it. You should tell her you don't remember anything. She won't have to keep killing you, then."

"Keep? How many times have I been shot?"

"I ain't telling you nothing. You've gotta learn on your own. Earn it." Jarvis shook his head emphatically. "If I tell you that, you'll be wanting to know how many times you've been stabbed, electrocuted and decapitated. She likes that one. Thinks she's a fucking samurai."

"Deca... How many times have I died? How the fuck can that happen? This is crazy! You all are!"

Fourteen. She said fourteen, didn't she?

"I don't deny that, 'cos I'm sure we are. Gotta be. This is the sanest thing ever, though."

"If you think that, you're crazier than I thought," Ryan said angrily.

"If you knew, you'd understand."

"Then tell me."

"Not a chance. IF she wanted you to know, she'd tell you."

"Then you may as well go. Leave me alone."

"I was going, till you started talking to me. You ain't so special, you know, whatever she thinks."

Bradley thought he was special. She'd said as much, more or less. But why? And...

"Decapifuctingtation?" he asked, shaking his head. His merging understanding had taken a severe beating.

Jarvis laughed.

"Decaifuckingwhateveryou..."

Jarvis didn't finish his sentence. Ryan turned his foot to the side and, with all his force, kicked out as hard as possible in the direction of the other's voice. Bones crunched unpleasantly under his heal. Jarvis stumbled back, but bounced against the edge of the cage's door, coming forward again. Ryan repeated his action, scrambling closer first to allow more power. This time, when his heel collided with Jarvis's face, the man was thrown back, violently. The back of his head collided with the doorway's edge and he grunted before slumping to the floor, unmoving.

"It's called decapifuckingtation, idiot," Ryan hissed.

He hesitated. He'd tried this before and it hadn't gone well. He'd been plagued by the ghost of his daughter – steady... steady... - and had been recaptured. This time, Jarvis was not going to be coming after him, at least not immediately. A light touch on the fallen man's neck indicated he was still alive.

Better than had befallen Ryan. Was there a twinge of disappointment?

He carefully sidestepped the crumpled jailor and moved out of the cage. Before leaving, he crouched and searched the, unfortunately not deceased, body. Ah! There! Keys!

He yanked them free of the clasp holding them in place, tearing material in the process, and hurried as cautiously as possible away. Within a few seconds, he was at another cage.

"Here," he whispered automatically. There was no need for secrecy, as the noise he'd made would have alerted anyone watching, but speaking normally felt wrong, even though he had done so with Jarvis. "Use these. Get out, then get everyone else out."