Double update because why not

Cade and Leo got along surprisingly well.

    Since Leo was assigned as Cade's guard, he was nearly always there. He only left to go on short, ten-minute breaks every few hours, during which two other guards would stand in front of his cell.

    Every few hours, Leo would somehow conjure food out of nowhere for both himself and Cade, and while they ate, they would have conversations.

    "What was your experience with Covid?" Cade asked randomly once. Nowad had constantly chided him, in its very violent method of pinching him on the arm or trying to pull on his fluffy hair, to stop getting so friendly with a guard who helped torture him. Cade had argued in a low tone, so the two guards standing in for Leo wouldn't hear, that it didn't hurt to have conversations about nothing in particular.

    Now, some time had passed—he wasn't sure how much time exactly, because Nowad was stubborn and wouldn't tell him, and he knew the meals weren't given out on a fixed schedule—and Cade could say that they were acquaintances at least.

    Leo, leaning against the wall outside the cell, shrugged. "Covid didn't have that much of an effect on us down here. The monsters don't get sick, and we humans don't really go outside for long periods of time. It sure made for interesting drama on the news, though." He looked at Cade with his blue eyes. "What about you? Ever caught it?"

    Cade nodded. "Twice, actually, despite the vaccines and boosters. It sucked. My team had to take care of me both times, and only, like, two of them got sick!"

    "Maybe they're just on a higher level than you."

    He glared at him light-heartedly. "But like actually, they're immune, or something. I've been with some of them for more than three years, and I've known one of them for six, and I've never seen her get sick or have a cold once, nor the others!"

    Leo snorted. "I can't relate. But I know someone down here who gets sick all the time. Stuffy nose, coughs, Covid, hay fever, the plague. He's infinitely grumpy about it." He paused. "I think it's less of him getting it and more of the nosoi constantly pranking him."

    "How do you prank someone with a fever...?"

    "Nosoi are daimones of diseases, plagues, and such. They're one-trick creatures, and quite mischievous."

    "Ah. Well...I wouldn't want to be in his shoes."

    There was a pause in the conversation. "What is your team like?"

    Without thinking, Cade answered. "Morons. Crazy. A little unhinged, especially those that have been on the team for a long time. Even Hal, who's the leader and probably the sanest despite being the one who's around the longest, can be morally bankrupt at times."

    "Really? What's she like?"

    A loud bang came from the toilet, and Cade jumped. Leo raised an eyebrow, but he didn't seem to care.

    Cade wondered what the heck it was doing.

    Ignoring Nowad, he answered Leo. He was pretty eager to talk about something he was familiar with, as to make the feeling of claustrophobia die down. "Outside, she's super menacing and cool and stuff. She's like that one strict teacher at school that always stayed on top of her work and very no-nonsense, but she's never mean or anything to us. Inside, though, she's just a fluffy kitten that needs a hug, and it's kinda—"

    He cut himself off, and coughed into his hands, turning away to hide his expression. Uh, he...definitely wasn't about to say something embarrassing just now. Totally not.

    "Sorry, I...forgot what I was about to say."

    Uh-huh.

    Leo did the one-eyebrow-raise thing again, in amusement, before pushing off the wall he was leaning on. "I'm going to take my break. But I'm looking forward to hearing the ending to that sentence once you remember!"

    Cade glared at the back of Leo's head as he walked off. He retreated into the cramped cell as two guards took up Leo's place. He sat down in the furthest corner from the window, mostly hidden by the shadows, as Nowad flew up to him on silent propellers. Its red eye seemed to narrow at him.

    You're getting too comfortable here, it accused. Is this Stockholm Syndrome?

    "I'm just making a friend," Cade whispered. "It's not Stockholm Syndrome...mostly... But it's not bad to have someone who trusts you in this situation, right? Maybe he can help us?"

    Nowad pinched his arm. It's definitely Stockholm Syndrome. He helped torture you in case you don't remember!!!

    The extra exclamation marks were enlarged and seemed to be glaring at him. It also didn't help that it reminded him of that weird sensation of his mind tied to a string, and constantly being pulled on. It didn't hurt as much anymore—the pain had dulled once he got used to it—but it was still jarring when it would suddenly resurface randomly, out of nowhere. The feeling wasn't pleasant, that was for sure.

    There was also a new, strange emptiness. Like someone had just taken something away from him, something important, but he couldn't figure out what it was.

    Aren't we supposed to get out of here? They took away your sat phone, didn't they?

    Cade crossed his arms. "...What if we get Leo to help us?"

    Nowad stared at him. Are you actually crazy?! No! Didn't you hear him? He seems to be quite familiar and loyal to the people down here, ƒrom how he talks about them! The people who tortured you!

    "But what other choice do we have?" Cade sighed, glancing at the window before lowering his voice even more. "What if we get him to cover for you while you fly out there and look for an exit?"

    The gaps between the window bars were big enough for Nowad to go through, whether Cade picked it up and put it out in the corridor, or it used some fancy aerial maneuvers to go through. That part was no problem. The real problem was the guards. Originally, the corridor was empty. Now, apart from Leo and sometimes the two guards, other guards in groups of two or three would patrol the corridor every few minutes.

    He wondered what they had done with the centaur he had knocked unconscious. He could bet he was furious at Cade, though.

    ...That's not the worst idea you've come up with so far, Nowad acknowledged. But the problem still remains! Can you really trust him? You don't know if he's just putting on an act or not!

    "I don't think he is," Cade said honestly. "And we have to try, right?"

    Can't we at least watch out for other opportunities? Isn't this a decision we should make as late as possible?

    "I thought it was a decision that should be made as soon as possible?!"
    Not if failing means that I'll be discovered and you'll be tortured again! You might even die this time! Why are they keeping you alive anyway? What use are you to them?

    "Well, thanks for the vote of confidence..."
    They said you were bait...for what? Actually, forget that— Even if we can trust Leo, how are we supposed to do this? Just walk up to him with me and ask?

    Cade shrugged. "What other option is there? We might as well just get it over with. So are you agreeing with me to talk to Leo?"

    Nowad seemed taken aback. It whirred and clicked, and spun around in circles silently midair, glaring at everything. It was frustrated at being forced into this decision, Cade could tell, (how did programming have opinions and emotion? Don't ask him) and he felt bad for forcing Nowad into such a position, but it was right. They should probably try and get out again. Preferably as soon as possible, but even if they waited, who knew how long they would have to wait for another, better plan?

    Cade truly believed they could trust Leo. He hadn't done anything to make Cade not trust him. As far as he remembered, all he had done was escort/carry Cade to and from the torture place, but he never did any of it himself.

    Surely, surely, he was trustworthy. Even if for the short-term.

    Nowad shook itself. Fine! But... ARGH. I have an emergency alarm on me, so if something happens to me and you can't see me, I'll set it off, so you'll know not to trust Leo. And you better be careful and not do anything stupid while you're by yourself. It paused. Actually, if Leo is going to help get us out, shouldn't we just ask if he can unlock the stupid door and lead us to the exit—

    Cade felt the urge to smack his own forehead. "I didn't think of that...Alright, we can ask him that."

    But why would he? I mean, if he could've, and he's trustworthy, wouldn't he have done it already?

    Cade gently smacked his own forehead, as to not make a noise and alert the guards. "...I don't know. But it's worth asking, right—?"

    CADE WHAT I MEAN IS THAT HE CANT BE TRUSTWORTHY SURELY??

    Wow. Cade blinked in surprise at it. Nowad was so frustrated that it was missing proper punctuation... Was this the equivalent of it shouting angrily? Wait, no, that was the multiple exclamation marks. Maybe this was the equivalent of it throwing things at the wall and shouting.

    Focus.

    "Ugh, I don't know." Cade rubbed his temples. "I... I think we should still ask him... Just in case."

    Nowad clicked and spun again, and seemed exasperatedly frustrated when it turned to glare at Cade once more.

    "He genuinely doesn't seem like that bad of a guy!" Cade insisted.

    Three red dots appeared in front of Cade, and flashed, as if it was thinking. Then it disappeared as Nowad dropped its head, and sighed, before its head rotated up again, and flashed a new message.

    Fine. I'll agree to this nonsensical, crazy, terrible plan. Just... It let out a strangled whirring noise. Just be safe and don't say or do anything stupid until he unlocks that door. Actually, until we find an exit.

    Cade sighed. "Alright. Thank you, Nowad. I know this can possibly be dangerous, but—"

    Yeah yeah, at least you have enough sense to know that. And he should be coming back any minute—don't reveal that I'm here unless something happens, alright? If he unlocks the door, I'll just follow you out.

    Cade nodded as Nowad flew back to hiding behind the toilet. Cade just sat in waiting, rubbing his temples. That conversation, for whatever reason, had taken a lot out of him. Why was he in such a state? Was it because of that weird feeling of a string in his head? His thinking was quite muddled.

    A few minutes later, he heard the guards leave, and he saw Leo's silhouette outside the barred window, and Cade stood. He glanced at the toilet.

    He was suddenly struck by a thought. Why was it that Leo, his usual guard, was by himself, while there were two guards when he wasn't here?

    Cade had a theory but...

    No. He pushed it out of his mind. He might as well ask first.

    He walked up to the window again, leaning on it. Leo was standing there, his arms crossed, looking down the other end of the corridor.

    Cade wasn't sure how he was going to ask this. "Hey."

    Leo turned. "Well? Thought of what you were about to say before I left?"

    Cade turned his head and fake-coughed again, trying to hide his embarrassment, again. Gosh, did he have to bring that up? "Ah, no, unfortunately I forgot and I don't think I remember."

    He smiled innocently.

    The blonde didn't seem convinced, but he let it go. "Sure."

    Cade racked his mind. Should he just...say it straightforwardly? Or should he approach it more subtly?

    "Apart from the other person I saw you with, I haven't seen any other human beings down here," Cade noted casually. "And the guards aren't human, are they?"

    The guards on patrol and ones that guarded his cell when Leo was gone were all—how should he say this—unusual. Some stood taller than any normal human could, some had one eye, some had demon-like horns protruding from their heads, some walked weirdly—more like they were gliding along the ground than walking, and Cade couldn't see under the robes they wore, so he didn't actually know. Some were clearly not human. A centaur had passed by as a guard once, and sent a nasty glare at Cade through the window. A...blob of something had floated by once, along with a strange, humanoid being, but was completely not human, not if the feeling of foreboding that it carried around was any indication.

    Maybe it was his imagination, but Cade thought he saw Leo stiffen, before returning to his usual stance. "No, they're not. Most of us down here are not human. Most of us aren't mortal either, even if we're human. You're actually lucky you even met me and Arvyn. We're not usually up and around so much."

    Arvyn. Cade stored that name into his memory for later use. The brunette from earlier. The one Leo had called 'Sir'. Was he the leader? Or someone close to it?

    He was surprised Leo had told him this. He wasn't sure what it indicated, but he hoped it was because he trusted him somewhat.

    "Why are you up and around so much?"

    "Well, since we captured you, the Plan is now developing at a fast pace, so we're all busy. Arvyn is always keeping us busy, even with stuff that we don't quite understand." Leo glanced at Cade, his expression unreadable.

    Oh. So he was one of those things?

    This could work in his favor, actually. If Leo didn't understand what he was here for either...would he agree to get Cade out?

    "What do you understand about why I'm here?"

    Leo tilted his head. "I see no harm in telling you—and you heard me and Arvyn anyway. I understand that you're here to lure the daughter of Death here. I don't understand why we need the daughter of Death, or why she's important to the Plan."

    Cade nodded.

    Here goes nothing.

    "Do you think you can get me out of here, then?"

    Leo frowned. He turned and stared at Cade.

    Cade immediately started rethinking his life choices. Straightforward, yes, but was this too straightforward?

    Luckily, Leo didn't seem like he was going to report him for the suggestion or anything. He seemed a little shocked, a little confused, but he didn't immediately shoot him down. Metaphorically, of course.

    Possibly.

    "...I mean, I..." Leo paused, looking away, down the corridor. (Was that...out of guilt? No, that had to have been my imagination.) "First off, I don't have a key. The Warden doesn't trust the keys to anyone, even Arvyn."

    "Can you steal it then? Like the centaurs did?"

    "No. The centaurs only managed to steal it by luring him away and then breaking into his room through pure brute force, but it won't happen twice." Leo looked back at Cade again. "They were brutally killed by him. If we did it, we wouldn't get far, and we would both be tortured."

    Cade remembered the mind-breaking pain.

    "...So not that."

    Leo sighed. "I'll...help you. I believe I know a way to get you out of that cell. It might take a little time, but it'll work."

    Cade brightened slightly. He tried to stifle it, but he wasn't sure how well it worked. "Great. Uh, thank you. That's good. But— What about you?"

    He shook his head. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I think you should be worrying about yourself. And...I'll get you out. Leave it to me."

    Cade nodded, giving a small smile, although Leo had already turned away. "Thanks, Leo."

    Leo simply replied with, "Tomorrow. I should be able to get you out tomorrow."