Kenneth scuffed his boot across the floor and watched the door. He swung one of his fingers in time to an imaginary tune and chewed his lip. 

"Aren't there normally instructions on what to do in these kinds of quests?" Byrd asked, looking up at him from her cross-legged position on the floor. "I mean, I remember there being little guides, or at least--" she glanced at the NPC's, "someone there to tell us what to do and where to go."

With a shrug, Kenneth stretched out his neck and inhaled deeply. He sat there a moment before answering her. "Yeah, usually there is. If we're just waiting around like this it's probably safe to say that there's nothing we can do yet."

He cut his gaze over to Naomi and David. Naomi had simply been humming and rocking the boy gently. Byrd had already grilled both of them on any relevant story information that they were allowed to answer with. Sadly, even fleshed out NPC's had limits to their dialogue capabilities. Kenneth didn't feel like talking to them anyway. Naomi was gentle, but it all felt wrong. Maybe she was exactly what a mother was supposed to be, but every time he looked at her he just remembered a childhood he'd never gotten.

Kenneth shook his head and finished stretching out his neck before looking up at Byrd. She'd gotten distracted trying to braid some of the wires that made up her hair. He almost laughed but decided not to discourage her and instead slid off to sit down on the floor beside her. "So, waiting," he sighed and propped his elbows on his knees. His eyes fell over his tattoos and he reached over, thumbing gently over the game rendered version of his actual tattoo. Not bad. He knew there was a reason he loved Atlas Quest so much. No other VR world had this level of detail. 

"Say I did want to get one of those, where would you recommend?" Byrd asked after a moment. she let the wires of her hair drop and just leaned back, folding her hands behind her head. Her eyes were on his tattoo, though. "You mentioned laser wasn't painful."

His eyes flickered upward. "Are you old enough? I mean, I know they lowered the age to 12 with parental consent, but--"

"I'm 20," she said with a smile. "No worries, I'm old enough. I only live with my parents cause I work for them during the week. Speaking of which, I won't be on as much next week in the mornings cause I took the early shift."

He nodded and blinked a little, letting his head shift to one side as he stared at her. From the childish gleam in her eyes, he almost wouldn't have guessed she was already twenty. Seventeen was his initial assumption, maybe even his own age of nineteen. Then again, the way he'd seen her handle some situations definitely meant he couldn't deny the fact she was mature. However, women matured far faster than men. He'd have to take her word on it, though, because there was little way to tell simply by looking at her. He blamed the grafter pieces replacing the back of her head. Without her actual hair and full features, it was much harder to determine her age.

"You gonna stare at my trying to divine my age all day?" she asked after a moment and tilted her head so it was in line with his. She sat forward, though, grinning as she chuckled and then looked down, closing her eyes.

Kenneth sat up straight. "Oh, sorry. It's just that you look younger than twenty. I thought maybe you were...seventeen."

Her eyes peeked up at him and then a deep rosy blush crawled up her cheeks as she shrugged and just pushed back her hair with a half-smirk. "Well, I do act like I'm a whole of four and a half. I suppose that would confuse anyone." 

Shaking his head, Kenneth laughed and just closed his eyes. She wasn't wrong, but he couldn't admit that to her face. Instead, he buried his face in his hands and laughed. 

Her laughter joined his after a moment and he looked up to see her leaning back, giggling into the air. He chuckled and lowered his hands with a wide grin. Byrd had a personality he wasn't fully sure how to describe, but he knew it was captivating. She was herself, and nothing more. He almost envied her for it. He settled his head to one side and just smiled as her laughter trailed off. She probably doesn't even realize the light she is, he thought quietly.

The door clinked open. Kenneth jumped and turned around as he began to rise from the floor. He hesitated, though, when he saw the door was already shutting again. A couple of trays with food on them sat in the doorway now. Again, the lock clicked shut, but Kenneth got up anyways and picked up two of the trays. 

"I suppose this is...dinner?" he said, mainly to himself, as he stared down at the bland food. It looked like hospital food and he imagined it was probably just as bad. He'd never truly tasted in-game food before, though, so who knew? Maybe the designers had a concept of flavor that hospital cooks didn't.

"What is it?" Byrd asked. "Food?"

Kenneth nodded. "Yeah. I suppose it's dinner or something." He turned around and carried the two trays back. Carefully, he set one tray in front of Byrd and then the other beside Naomi and David. Each had two plates on them and two sets of silverware. Smiling grimly, Kenneth glanced at Naomi and found her eyes were still on the plate. 

Then she let David slip from her arms onto the side of the bed, though, he tried to crawl back into her lap.

"Something wrong?" Kenneth asked softly, peering around at her face. He couldn't see her expression well, though. Then he noticed the little arrow pulsing downwards at the tray. Kenneth reached out and touched it, frowning. 

Naomi lifted her head quickly after that and looked up at him. "I believe I know a way out," she said. Her fingers twisted in her lap but she reached out and touched the tray as well. She shifted the bowls off and Kenneth helped her, noticing the little arrow lighting up over each one. He cast a glance back at Byrd and she rose from the floor to come stand beside him. 

"What is it?" she whispered over his shoulder.

Kenneth shrugged but pointed to the tray. "I think something's happening."

Her eyebrows raised a bit and she nodded. Naomi finished her work and picked up the tray, staring at her reflection a moment. Then she put it in her lap and looked up. Her jaw set itself. "I used to work as a locksmith with my husband. You saw the locks coming in right?"

Glancing over at Byrd, Kenneth shrugged. He didn't actually remember looking at the locks. Byrd just shook her head. 

"No, we didn't."

Naomi nodded and got up. She walked over and pointed at the little box on the door. "These are magnetic locks. If we can slip part of the tray between the mag strip on the lock, it will open."

"It's really that simple?" Byrd murmured. 

Kenneth thought the same, but walked over and examined the lock Naomi was pointing at. He nodded a little as he peered at it. There were clearly two halves, but whether or not they'd be able to get part of the tray between there was a different matter. The door would have to be opened. However, there was no floating blue arrow.

"Hm, it sounds like a plan, but I don't think we can do it till the door is opened again," he said. Whether the game agreed, he wasn't sure, but such was how quests were played. You never really knew what you were doing until you tried it. Either it was right, or you failed.

He turned and looked back at Byrd. "I think we should eat, and when they come back we can try it."

She nodded and sat back down. Kenneth walked over and took his seat beside her before looking back at Naomi. The NPC woman still stared at the door, then she nodded as well and came back to gather up David into her arms. The tray was set to one side, so Kenneth reached up and snagged it off the bed. He stared down into it at the distorted reflection of himself. Then he set it aside and repressed a small shudder.

"You okay?" Byrd asked, reaching out to take the silverware off their own tray. 

Kenneth nodded silently and looked at the food. His fingers twitched, but he couldn't bring himself to pick up the fork and try it. Maybe the game designers hadn't made it taste as it looked, but the idea of simply putting it anywhere near his mouth made it impossible to pry his lips apart and even try. He scooted back beside her and just leaned back against the wall. "Yeah, I'm good. Just thinking."

She nodded but grinned thinly. "Don't think too much. It's not always fun up there." She tapped the blunt end of her fork to her forehead with a small wink. Then she went back to eating. 

Suppressing a scoff, Kenneth raised his eyebrows to the opposing wall. You're more right than you think. He let his eyes trail off and up to the little window at the top of the cell. Outside grey clouds drifted past, painting a swatch of nothing but greyness outside the already black and grey walls. He had to think that was someone's artistic vision at work to create a darker mood. He wrapped his arms around himself. Is that what they sky outside his hospital room looked like? He didn't know. He hadn't seen it in months. 

A grinding clank drew his attention as he heard the door swinging open again. Kenneth's eyes flickered to where the tray for their plan had been sitting. He paused, though. It was gone? Frowning, he glanced back as guards entered the room and began to collect up the uneaten food and the tray sitting between him and Byrd. His fingers twitched, but he couldn't muster anymore movement into his body as he watched them. 

Once the food was cleared up, they turned to leave. No one asked a single question about the missing tray. Really? I mean...they brought in two trays, why not ask for the second? His gut told him it was to serve the escape plot, but it still didn't sit right with him. The people in this game thought of everything. 

They were human, though. 

The guards disappeared and the door began to grind to a close. Out of the corner of his eye, Kenneth saw Naomi start with the tray in hand. She held it out, not actually moving towards the door, but the tray illuminated with a blue glow--a common game indication they needed to use it now. Kenneth's heart leaped to his throat, but his body turned to a leaden sludge. He couldn't move. He simply stared at it.

Byrd leaped up instead. She snatched up the tray and raced to the door, reaching out and slipping the tray hastily in between the lock. It closed around the tray. Kenneth held a bated breath as he started slowly to rise from the floor finally. No click came. That mean's it's unlocked, right? He thought as he reached his feet and started that way.

With a glance back, Byrd raised her eyebrows and then reached for the door handle. She tugged at it and kept a hold of the tray. A soft grind came from the floor as the door grated back open a few inches. 

Kenneth paused and looked back at Naomi and his eyes widened. A smile touched his lips at the same time they reached the NPC's. Naomi turned and grabbed up David and raised him into the air before kissing his head. No one said a word, but they all felt it. 

Freedom. Kenneth closed his eyes. Freedom. Weight slid off his shoulders and he crept over to where Byrd was to stop beside her. He peered out of the corridor from the small crack they'd created in the doorway. There were no guards at the moment. 

"Good to go?" Byrd whispered as she glanced up at him.

Kenneth nodded. The door grated open slowly. The sound seemed louder in all this silence, but he knew that slower would be better. Then it was open, and the gap was wide enough for Byrd to slip out. Kenneth followed her and watched her set the tray down just inside the door as Naomi stepped through, holding David close to her. 

Carefully, Kenneth moved forward and peered around the corner. His eyes skipped down the empty corridor and searched for any blue arrows indicating the way out. He spotted a couple to the left and frowned. The left route led deeper into the complex, at least he thought so. They'd come in from the right corridor, though, so there was no way the left was a way out. 

He turned around and waved to Byrd, pointing to the left with a shrug. 

She shrugged back and moved up behind him. Together, they started down the passageway to the left and followed the arrows. Kenneth checked behind himself frequently to ensure Byrd, Naomi, and David were still with him. Otherwise, he kept his eyes on the blue arrows, though. However, his frown deepened with each echoing step. There were more and more cells, but no ways out. He wanted to know where this game was actually taking them.

The arrows took a sharp left again and he crept up to the corner, peeking around it. Then he ducked back quickly as his heart began to race. His hands crawled up the fabric of his shirt to his chest, pressing tight to calm his racing pulse. 

"Kenneth, what is it?" Byrd whispered.

He turned to her. "Control. Room," he gasped out. His fingers felt cold and tight as he pressed harder to his chest. It's a game. 

Byrd lowered her head and stroked her chin. She nodded slowly, then moved around him and took the lead. "I think we need to open the other cells," she whispered. Her head poked around the corner and returned before she looked over at Kenneth. "We're going to have to fight. Can you do that or do you want to abort?"

His eyes were on his feet, but he looked up at her. There were three people around the corner if he remembered correctly. Three full-blooded humans. No different than the man he'd fought earlier, and no different than the men who had bruised up this avatar. They can't truly hurt me, and we're helping people...

He swallowed. His fingers trembled and he pulled them from his chest. Then he curled his fingers into a fist and glanced at Naomi and David out of the corner of his eye. They might not be real, but they had a bond that shouldn't be broken like this. Naomi was a good mother. David needed a good mother, and there were probably many more innocent grafters like them stuck here in this prison. He set his jaw and exhaled.

"I'll fight."