END GAME: THE COUNTDOWN STARTS

[sailmods]

[the prisoners wake up on cold, hard floors.

the lights are bright, glaring, a sterile cell with sterile bars facing a sterile hall. the prisoners with you, across from you, and no one else. no rocking of a ship in waves, nothing. just the prisoner and their prison.

time passes, one assumes. the rhythmic click of Friday’s heels down the hall. it’s almost like the ticking of a clock.]

Comments

[decohere]

"Whatever limited choice she has now was an act of defiance. You have to be quick, before Malin catches on... but she probably doesn't believe Friday capable of such. The Captain hardly had." And that works to their advantage, that Malin won't even suspect Friday of bending orders even in the smallest ways...

"Do they seem locked? Like a number pad or key?"

[teethoftherisk]

"The Captain is an idiot and if we escape, he owes Friday her freedom at all costs." He doesn't linger anymore on this. Ava's right - they have to be quick before Malin catches on.

"The doors don't have anything on them. I can't tell if they can be pushed open, or if we'll need to do something else to get through them." He sighs a little, but there's one bright spot. "At least they aren't round doorknobs. Those are difficult to open with paws."

[decohere]

"None of us deserve to be free if not all of us are free," Ava agrees. Because she refuses to gain hers at the expense of anyone else. Not anymore.

"Hm. I wonder if they lead different places."

[teethoftherisk]

"Yes." This is something they will always agree on and he's glad for it. Ava knows more than most exactly what it means to not have your freedom.

"I think they must. There would be no need for two doors otherwise, and the Captain is not trying to trick us." He glances towards the 'front' door, the one that was nearest his cell, then towards the 'back' door. "... I can't be sure of anything, but I think the door going further away is the one I should go through first. There are empty cells all around it, so I think maybe that means something..."

[decohere]

"Empty? Are there people already missing...?"

[teethoftherisk]

"Yes. There are some people I cannot find. I'm not sure what it means..." But he does know - it means what it always has meant. "I know Erin and Ash are gone. Johnny is as well. I do not see Grace either."

[decohere]

"... No... No, she couldn't have traded them off so quickly... maybe they're being kept elsewhere..." Because if they're already gone, how much longer do the rest of them have?

[teethoftherisk]

"They might be. Maybe beyond the corridor. I'll look for them when I go there." Maybe he'll be wrong and they will be there. That would be good.

[decohere]

:( she's not counting on it though.