by John M Grier
~***~
Inside the cell Paul was freaking out. “Jack! What do we do now? We can’t stay here in this place!”
After a quick look around the sparse cell and coming to the conclusion that there was no easy means of escape, Jack sat on one of the narrow cots and with his head propped in the corner and his legs crossed in front of him, he settled down to relax and wait. “Calm down, Paul. We still have an ace in the hole, so to speak. Suzie is still out there somewhere.”
Nervously pacing the floor, Paul exclaimed “Yes, but what can she do? Aside from walking through the door to see us, she can’t be of much help.”
With a smile on his face and his eyes beginning to droop closed, Jack said “Don’t underestimate her abilities.”
Eventually, dinner was brought to them. It consisted of rice and some grey substance that could just as easily have been either meat or vegetables, but whatever they had done to it to serve to them made it largely unappetizing indeed! Still, they managed to eat the rice at least.
They settled down for the night on the two cots that had been provided in their cell, fully expecting to be there a while. Just as the lights simulated daytime, at what seemed the appropriate time, twilight came upon the small town.
Jack fell instantly to sleep which simply amazed Paul. He couldn’t see how Jack could remain so utterly calm in such a situation. He was so wound up that he may not sleep for a week.
