Chapter 5

A Chapter by Tess

"Thank You," Caspian said as he turned his newly healed wrist and walking around the room.

"Welcome," Hope replied, as she tried to stand up. She moved only a few feet when her legs gave out. She would have hit the floor had Caspian not caught her. He laid her back down on the mattress, and once again she moved to get up again.

"Stop, you're too weak. Let your body recover. If you keep pushing yourself you'll be dead by the time your thirty," he pushed her back down by her shoulders, "Rest, Take a nap," she eyed him suspiciously, she still didn't trust him. Boy, would that have to change, "I promise, on my life, that I won't touch you while you sleep. Happy?,"

"I'd be happier if I could get out of here, but since the room is travel proof, I'm stuck here with you," she wrinkled her nose as if being stuck with him was like rolling around in last week's garbage, then taking a bath in the sewers.

"Well, you could try again. I do love to watch you try to orb out, only to be bounced off the ceiling or walls. It is hilarious, but I think you should try to gather your strength, seen as how they probably won't feed me. Which means they won't feed you because nobody knows your here!," He smiled like a total fool. He just loved tdo bring up the fact that she was so stupid as to enter a POW's room and not tell anyone where she had gone. They probably believed she was AWOL. What was with her thoughts and military lingo lately?

"I don't want to try again. I want to go to sleep, but I can't since your male and you're loodking at me like I'm your next meal," He'd been staring at her ever since he made her lay down.

"I apologize, but you are the only thing in this room with any color. Everything else is white. Anyway, you should get some rest. I'm going to go take a shower," he smiled in a way that was probably supposed to make her feel comfortable, but only put her further on edge. He walked away, the sound of his footsteps soon replaced by the sound of running water. Slowly the sound lulled her to sleep, even with the uncomfortable mattress, and no feeling of safety.

~~~

Caspian came back out to find Hope asleep, she was twisted up in the blankets like she had been tossing and turning before falling into a peaceful slumber. He sat down on the side of the bed and looked at her before whispering, "What makes you so different from everyone else?"

"Probably the fact that I'm a very light sleeper," Her eyes were still closed but she smiled mockingly.

"How long have you been awake?"

"Since you turned the water off," she moved and pushed herself against the pillows so that she was sitting up and looking directly at him, "How long was I asleep?"

"About a half hour."

"You took a half hour long shower?," she chuckled.

"No, I took a ten minute shower. I spent twenty minutes hitting my head against a wall, and that's your fault."

"How could it be my fault? I didn't make you hit your head repetitively, I'm as trapped as you are," she pointed out.

"Yes, but you don't need to be so nice about it," he actually sounded angry that she was a generally nice person.

"What?," she laughed, "You're mad at me because I'm nice?"

"Yeah, It makes my life very hard. I have to keep from scaring you, keep both of us alive because you trapped yourself in here, and keep myself calm so I can figure a way out of here," He was pacing around the room.

"Okay, backup, rewind, and hit pause while you're at it. First off, I can keep myself alive. Second, there is nothing you could do to scare me, and Finally I can help you find a way out of here."

"No, you can't. If you do and we manage to find a way out you'll be convicted of treason. I won't let you get in trouble for me," He sighed and shook his head as if he was talking to a four year old.

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm already in trouble because of you! I'm trapped in here because of you!," now he was starting to get her upset.

"I didn't trap you in here, I didn't ask you to come here, and I did not leave a bread-crumb trail leading you to the door," he seemed surprisingly calm, but it didn't fool her. He was probably one of those people who acted calm to keep from hurting others. She hated people like that, eventually they always broke down and lashed out.

"That's a load of bull. I'm a healer, I can't bear to let people suffer. Just by letting Jaz break your wrist, I got trapped here! So This is all You're fault!"

"Oh, no. You can't blame this on me. I didn't let Jaz break my wrist, she just did. In case you haven't noticed I'm a prisoner! And you shouldn't be here, You need to get out of here," and that's when the thought of the air duct came back to him, he was to big to fit through, but she wasn't. "That's it! The air duct, you can get out through the air duct!"

"What the freak are you talking about?," Hope was now standing in front him. His eyes were glazed over, as if trapped in a memory. Then he looked down, almost like he was seeing her for the first time. he grabbed her arm and pulled her over to the air duct.

"The air duct, you're small enough to crawl through. Just be careful where you exit," He said as he worked the grate off the wall, "Go, you wanted out? this is the only way you'll get out."

"What about you?"

"Who cares about me? You'll get out and I'll find a way to get out," he pushed her into the duct and closed it again behind her, "Go!"

Hope looked back once and then she started forward and when she was out of earshot she whispered "I care about you," a single tear escaped her eye and splash landed on the metal beneath her hands and knees.

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