#12

You sits up once more.

This time, this is no dream. It feels more logical, and there's less dream-logic instantly; You senses solidity, and there's no fluffiness at the edges of things, no cotton-swab licking the tips of the brain. You reaches out and feels cold, rusty iron bars. There's a stench, but it's not like that stench from Your dream, which...what was that again?

You stands up, and sees that You's in a prison cell; something that the feel of the bars let you guess. It's really cramped in here; barely enough room to turn around and take a few steps in. The walls are covered in moss and corrosion. There are cracks in almost everything. This prison is in ruins, but someone put You here. You decides to look out as far as You can from the bars and see if anyone's around.

But there's no one.

Water drips somewhere in the depths of the building. The first few drips are awkward, but as You drinks in the scene, it becomes somewhat unsettling. The long hallway is full of cells like Yours, but all of them are empty. The ceiling of the hall is partially imploded, and sunlight nervously leaks in, giving a little illumination, but very little. (This of course indicates that it's day—night must have fully fallen, and You slept through it.) Vines have wrapped themselves around the bars of other cells, leading down around corners where there must be even more cracks.

“Hello?!”

No one.

You leans back against the wall of the cell, but suddenly there's a bit of movement as a flock of spiders suddenly makes their presence known. You jumps a little bit, slamming against the bars. Your cry of surprise echoes down the hallway.

You looks up, though, when You sees a little red dot out of the corner of Your eye. It seems to be a power light for a fuel mechanism. It's hooked up to the cell across from You.

Sure enough, it is such a light. The tiny box that it's attached to has a number of wires feeding almost microscopic amounts of fuel to locks bound to the cell. You doesn't know the exact manner of operation, but the fuel powers a battery which keeps the locks clamped. If the fuel-box isn't powered, the locks will open and the bars can slide open.

You peers out, looking for such a device on Your cell. Sure enough, there's one here too. If You can break the fuel-capsule, the fuel will leak out and the locks will open. You reaches out and tries to grab onto the capsule, but to no avail. It's too far away. You'll need something else to reach it. You reaches inside Your pockets, but it looks like whoever captured You took all of Your belongings. There's nothing, nothing except...

They did leave one of the table fragments. It's a small one, but it's thick, and it's got a somewhat sharp tip. You's only got one chance. You throws it with a quick snap of the wrist...

Success. The capsule is shattered. The fuel is starting to spill out onto the floor, taking away power from the locking mechanism. Within a few moments, the lock opens with a snapping sound, and the bars can be slid away.

You steps out of Your cell, picking up the wood shard on the way out. Now it's time to find out what the meaning of this is.