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Episode
124 |
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“The idea of death, the fear of
it, haunts the human animal like nothing else; it is a mainspring of human
activity – designed largely to avoid the fatality of death, to overcome it by
denying in some way that it is the final destiny of man.” Ernest Becker Sarah leaned against the bars of
the prison cell, her face in her hand.
Leaning her elbow on her knee, she rubbed her eyes exhaustedly before
looking up and sniffing the stale prison air.
“And there’s no word from either the UN or Assif?” “No,” Lisa whispered. “We think…” “These cells are bugged, Lisa,”
Sarah pointed out with an exhausted, but patient tone. The girl paused and looked into her
cell. She glanced about fearfully
before slumping against the bars in surrender. She held herself up by the steel bars, her
grip threatening to give. “What kind
of dreams have you been having?” Sarah asked. “Dreams?” Lisa asked, confused. “Are you sleeping?” she asked,
coughing with a dry throat. She stood
and headed to the sink, turning on the faucet. A tiny stream of water came out. She ran her hand under it, smirking with
annoyance at the lukewarm temperature.
She filled her hand and took a fast drink. “Lisa,” she said with an edge of force. “Um, not really,” she finally
said, struggling to stay on topic. “I
mean, it’s kind of hard to sleep without a door and stuff.” Sarah nodded and came back to the
bars. She looked around at the empty
prison and leaned against the bars to see Lisa. “Where’s Irene?” “The far cell, against the wall,”
Lisa said, motioning with her head. Sarah turned and looked. “Good,” she commented quietly. She turned back to Lisa. “When you do sleep, have you had any
dreams?” “Not really,” she disputed,
getting agitated. “Lisa, this important,” Sarah said
with a calm tone. “Have you had even
the slightest dream?” “Yes,” she snapped angrily. “Jason and me and Amy all went bowling
together.” She shoved away from the
prison bars and stormed into her room.
“Why the hell is that so damned important?” Sarah leaned against the bars,
sighing some relief. “What element of
that dream is off?” she asked, crossing her arms. Lisa stopped her pacing and
thought. “The bowling?” she threw out,
annoyed. “Try again,” Sarah said. She turned and looked out the bars. Lisa came back to the bars,
thinking. Slowly, she put everything
together. “Jason,” she repeated. “Correct,” Sarah said, appraising
the bars of her cell. She shook them
with her hands, throwing her whole body into the motion, getting little
response. “These cells don’t have any
anti-psi or anti-magic sigils. That
means these people don’t have a clear idea who they’re dealing with.” She scratched her neck as she considered
the cell. “That gives us the
advantage.” “I don’t see how,” Lisa said, sulking
again as she slumped down against the bars.
She looked around her cell for a moment. “How’d you make it off the island?” she
asked with a shaking voice. Sarah was considering the cell’s
window. “I was captured.” “What about Emma?” Lisa asked. “Emma’s dead.” Lisa’s heart stopped. A chill of hopelessness ran over her. She rose to her feet and turned to the
bars. “Did you say…” “The machine that got you guys to
the mainland killed her,” Sarah said, feeling the edges of the window. “That’s why the bubbles burst
while we were still in the water,” Lisa concluded morosely. She shuddered in thought. “Do you know what they did with her body?” “They brought it with me,” Sarah
said. “They’ve put it in a freezer
from what I understand, to preserve it.” Lisa shivered. “I, I can’t really imagine it. Emma, dead.
In a freezer.” “Emma isn’t in a freezer,” Sarah
said, shaking the bars of her window.
“A dead body is in a freezer.” “It was Emma,” Lisa protested. Sarah ignored her as she looked
around her cell. She spotted the small
shaving mirror and grabbed it. She
rushed to the bars and held the mirror out, facing to the end of the
prison. In the reflection, she could
see Irene’s hand dangling out of the bars. Sarah thought for a moment before
she snapped her fingers three times in unison. She watched for any change in Irene’s
position, repeating the snaps a second time.
Irene sat up and turned, looking out the bars. Sarah snapped again, waiting until Irene
held her own mirror out. Matching reflections,
Irene smiled with delight. ‘What is the plan?’ Sarah mouthed to her. ‘I have got the bars on my window
loose,’ Irene responded. ‘I just need
to get the doors open to get Lisa, and now you, out of here.’ ‘And the guys?’ ‘Jason says they’ll be ready
tonight,’ Irene reported. Sarah nodded and lowered her
mirror. She thought, looking up at the
ceiling, then towards Lisa’s cell.
“Lisa how far did you get in the handbooks?” No response came. “Lisa,” Sarah said a bit more forcibly, “how
far did you get…” “I heard you,” she snapped. There was an insubordinate pause. “I finished most of the first four books.” “Then you’ve studied up on the
bumblebee,” Sarah said. Lisa looked confused. But something in Sarah’s words caught her
attention. She thought for a moment,
struggling to connect the idea to the thought. She suddenly looked up, understanding. She turned back to Sarah’s cell, licking
her lips in anticipation. “Um, uh,
yeah. I remember. Uh, the, the bumblebee. It, uh, it doesn’t, it doesn’t, it’s not
actually supposed to fly.” “And yet it still does,” Sarah
said encouragingly to Lisa, considering her prison cell with a confident
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