As strange as it sounds all that I could think of was how peaceful it seemed. The colors streaming through the tinted walls had cast everything in cool light. The interior was comfortable and clean. Compared to the outside world it was a sterile reality away from the dream of war. Everywhere I went now, people carried guns. Dust swirled around like locusts. The earth was dry, sometimes cruel. Although I knew I was in immediate danger I did not for a second feel unsafe. I don’t know how else to explain it. It was almost unfair that she had this place to herself. So beautifully designed. One of the last bastions of human innovation. A white floored Eden and I was sharing it with woman who, as far as I could tell, either wanted me dead or alive for nefarious reasons.

Her eyelashes fluttered through the humid air. She awaited an answer. So I had to give her one. Initially I thought I would lie. Tell her something she might like to hear, or rather something that might scare her. Last second though I decided it was best to be up front. She’s used to being lied to, she wouldn’t expect the truth anyway.

“I’m here, to talk.” My words were terse. I thought it best to work my way up to fluid conversation.

“About what?”

“Whatever you want to talk about…” I cringed a bit. There was no way she’d ever buy that.

“Why are you reaaaally here?” she continued. I bit my lip and decided to just lay all my cards on the table right off the bat. “This another feeble attempt at an interrogation?”

“Yes...and no.”

“What does that mean?”

“Let me just sum it up for you…” I began. She rolled her eyes and turned away as if to feign disinterest. She slumped against the right wall and brought her knees up to her chest.

“We would like to know more about you. More about your...ehhh kind.”

“You already tried, you already failed. If you want to gas me, then just do it already. I don’t pander to tiny people.” With an air of disgust she turned her head away from me to stare at the wall next to her.

“That’s the other reason I’m here actually.”

She said nothing.

“I’m in charge of determining...I mean….I’m here to…” I stumbled over my words. I’d never felt so embarrassed. God what was I thinking. It was never going to work.

“I’m here to determine whether or not you should be executed…” I finally blurted out. Through the dewy haze I saw her head twitch. She wanted to look at me. Wanted to believe me, but she didn’t.

“Really?”

“Yes. I’m a...contractor of sorts, I do a variety of things. And well...they wanted me to come in and see if. Well if you really are a threat.”

She shuffled a bit uneasily. Her muscles tensed up and I could sense a flame of ferocity growing inside of her.

“Let's assume I believe you…” she finally said. “You’re telling me that if I sit here, and answer your damn questions, I might, just might, get a chance to walk free.”

“Well I won’t lie to you…The chances of you walking free again aren’t likely. If it was up to the men holding you. Well, you’d be dead already. They brought me here to see what you knew and then they were going to pump this chamber full of chlorine and send in you into oblivion. However, lucky for you, and for me I might add, it's not up to them.”

Again, she remained completely still.

“No…”

“No what?”

“No that’s not possible.”

“I assure you its quite possible I-”

“Shut up!”  

“I-”

“No listen to me.” she began again. Her head swiveled around so that her eyes lay fixed on me. “This is how this is going to go down. I know you just want to wring what information I have out of me and then you’ll kill me. I can’t stand that thought.”

“Death”

“Death at your hands!”

The spite was mounting in her voice.

“But…” she continued. “If you play along...I might let a few things slip…”

“Alright, what did you have in mind?”

“Hmmmm” Hair fell from her face as she looked to the ceiling. A few fingers tapped against the flank of her face as she pondered. Her eyes rolled up then back down again. They hung on me for a moment before she finally let her hand drop.

“Questions…”

“What kind of questions?”

“We’ll take turns. I ask one then you ask me. For every question you decide to skip, I get to skip as well.”

“Will you choose which questions to skip or-”

“I’ll start” she chirped. She shifted her weight around until finally she sat cross-legged in front of me. Although a few hundred feet separated us I couldn’t help but feel uncomfortably close to her. It would seem I’d be there awhile. I took a seat on the lip of the outer edge and leaned forward so that my elbows rested on my knees. Casual, that’s what I was going for. I needed her to think I was comfortable.

“Ok, hmmm, where to begin…”

“Try something simple.”

She shot me a nasty look. “Excuse me...I don’t need your help…”

“I-I am sure you don’t I was just trying to-”

“But I suppose you’re right.” She paused again. The stare wasn’t helping me at all. I felt like a mouse about to be preyed upon by a lioness.

“Alright, what’s your name?”

“Ellis. Yours?”

“This counts as your question.”

“I know, what is it?”

“What is ‘Subject Aleph’ not good enough for you?”

“Too impersonal.”

“So we’re being personal then?”

“I’d like to!”

Her nose scrunched up. I didn’t know why she was so reluctant.

“Vera”

“Interesting...”

She rolled her eyes and slumped back against the wall. “Ok ok, next question.” She pondered again for a short while, but her eyes never strayed from me. Again the knot in my stomach nearly caused me to gag.

“Why specifically did you want to come in here? Couldn’t you have just asked me the same way the others did?”

Hmm, that was pretty forward. Again I wondered if I should tell her the truth or if I should protect myself with another lie. So far she seemed to be pretty perceptive and I doubted I could get away with much of my usual trickery.

“Like I said, we’re being more personal. This is a good opportunity for the both of us. Besides, I can’t expect to learn about you through a computer screen. Right?”

She seemed satisfied with my answer. Another eerie smile crept across her face. She changed the position of her legs with a few twists of her body. Once more the ground shook and I, still shaking, struggled to grip onto the white tile beneath me.

“Fair enough, go ahead…”

“How often are they feeding you?”

“Ughhhh, Boring!” she muttered. Her hand brushed a few more locks of hair away whilst her eyes danced along the corners of the chamber. “Twice a day, if I’m lucky”

“That’s unfortunate. I’ll see what I can do about that…”

When I looked back up I caught her narrowed gaze once more. Like a looming tidal wave she inched forward. A stark look of skepticism sprawled out across her face.

“Ok then, why do you want to help me?”

God, she was making this difficult. I could feel the tension in my muscles growing with each word of our conversation. My tendons felt ready to snap. The strain in my ligaments told a painful story of internal terror. So far, it would seem, I had only succeeded in making her more suspicious of me.

“Some might say…” I paused again when our eyes met. “Some might say that this is strictly business. That I am...simply trying to bribe you, and although that is the essential goal I-I uhhh” My speech gave out as she leaned in closer. A towering face hanging over me like the mask of a god. Was it anger in her eyes? Fear? No, I couldn’t say.

“You are…?” The force of her breath smashed against my entire body. I’d never felt so helpless in my life.

“I’m just trying to,” Suddenly a nervous cough gripped ahold of me. The weakness was evident. The giantess glowered at me with an unwavering intensity. “Establish a good relationship. So that I can learn more...about you that is.”

No response. Trust, as my father would say, is not a bridge or friendly handshake as most would characterize it. No, trust is stairway, one that gets steeper and steeper as you climb higher. Its much easier to fall far once you betray someone who trusts you. I had no intention of betraying her but I could sense she felt the same way about trust as I did. She would not welcome this...relationship with open arms. I would have to fight for it. Show her that I was not like the others and that I truly had her best interest in mind. Looking back I wonder if I made the right decision.

“Your turn…” she finally whispered. I shook myself back into reality. Much of the contempt had left her voice, though I could sense the peace was temporary. My notes lay in pool of water. My head shook as I tried to think of another question. It was maddening how easily she threw off my train of thought.

“What’s uhh. No I mean…”

“What?”

“Sorry I lost focus…”

“I’m sure you did.” she hummed with yet another playful smile.

“How often do you sleep?”

“What was that?”

“Sleep, how is it here? Do you get enough, do they keep you awake?”

With lazy flop she let her head fall into her hand. An enormous sigh followed. “You’re really bad at this you know that?”

“You’ll have to teach me to do better”

“Oh, I will. But to answer you I’d say well enough. I can’t keep track of time but it gets pretty boring in here so yeah I sleep a lot. Not comfortably, but enough.”

I went to mark it down but another wave of warm air hit me. I looked up and saw her face stationed only twenty feet from where I sat. At first I saw only her teeth, but as my head shot up to catch her light blue irises a spasm started to take control of my breathing. I lunged backward, clawing toward the wall clumsily as my limbs scuttled along the slick floor. It wasn’t much use. I was a fly caught her web. There was really nothing stopping her from killing me then and there.

“So, little one. Tell me, are you afraid of me?”

I turned away. When I finally did glance at her face again I half expected her to have her usual sinister grin. I nervously looked on at the eyes I had thought would be filled with mischief. Instead, she looked serious. Dead serious. As I peered up the realization of her wicked game finally stuck in my brain. I had to answer her eventually.

“Yes. Though, I...uhh...uhh assume you noticed that by now” Finally it was out. I had been trying to expel words from my throat for what seemed like hours.

“True, it's just always nice to hear you little things say it.” She replied. Again the smile returned and again she retreated to her resting position against the far wall. “Now I’m curious, how do you expect us to become...what was it? Personal? Yes! How do you expect that if you’re so scared of me hmm?”

She had a point. I needed to prove that I was adaptable. That I wouldn’t be swayed by her little mind games forever. My mental faculties scratched through the recesses of my social tact for a new card to play. I’d have to show her I could keep my wits about me even when I was pressed up against the wall. Both figuratively and literally. Then, in a flash of willful light, I had it.

“Uhhh, wait! You asked two questions. You can’t do that. Its my turn.” I stated boldly with a false vigor. “And another thing, I want to make a new rule.”

“Rule? You?”

“Uhh yeah, no questions we already know the answer too.”

“Is this a retroactive rule?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact it is. I get a free pass on a question.”

Whilst she considered my proposal, beads of sweat rolled down the back of my neck. I hoped she wouldn’t notice.

“Fine, I’ll agree to that, but only if you answer my second question.”

I thought for a moment. How was I to put it into words? I had hardly formulated my plan a few moments ago and now I had to spell it out for her? I couldn’t pass on this question, not now. I’d loose my footing again and she knew it. Yet, just as I was about to croak out some ludicrously constructed answer she stopped me.

“Nevermind, I think you already answered that for me.”

Oh thank god. I sighed silently. The relief was immense. Now the ball was back in my court. I had to stray from my usual mining technique. I needed to play along the way she wanted me to. I’d gain more ground that way. This would require a great deal of judgment on my part. So I needed something new, something fresh. Something that I could push back with.

“Since we’re on the subject of fear…”

She perked up. For a moment I thought I could detect a minor spark in her pupils.

“Yes?”

“Are you afraid? I mean, being here and all?”

Now she seemed half compromised. Though subtle, I could see her shoulders scrunch up ever so slightly. My sense for psychological cues was especially attuned now.

In a low voice she started to speak. “I don’t scare quite so easily…”

“So no?”

“Is that a second question?”

“Well what’s your answer?”

A flash of anger was all I saw before she slumped back into her solemn angst-ridden posture. I may have hit a nerve. Yet, just when I thought she was going to slink back into silence her right foot shot out. It slammed against the wall above me. The shock of the impact was so loud and violent that I instinctively rolled down onto my stomach with my hands covering my head. I had performed that maneuver dozens of times over the last few years. Phantom dust and debris pelted my back. Chunks of collapsed building rained down alongside me. The memories came with it. Then I opened my eyes.

There was no debris. No heaps of cement pinning me to the ground . I looked back up and saw her foot pressed against the wall a good forty feet overhead. I looked back at her. All the while choking back a few lingering screams. She looked pleased with herself.

“Something wrong?”

She wanted to turn the tables on me again. I was terrified true, but I had enough sense to keep pushing. With some effort I rolled back into a sitting position. I paid no heed to her leg hanging above as I had a question that needed answering.

“You got me...I-I-I’ll admit that.” The words I managed to squeak out were quiet and fragile. I knew she couldn’t hear me, she just wanted to see me quiver.

“But, you haven’t answered me. Are you afraid?” I finally screamed. My voice swelled up in volume as the sentence dragged on. “I am, you know it...I know it. This is just a straight question. I want to know”

A frown. That was all I got at first. It wasn’t rage though, she seemed more or less annoyed. I suppose she expected me to shrink up into a ball like the others, but I was more hot blooded than that.

“I suppose I should be truthful...passing would only make me seem cowardly. But to answer you…” she stopped. I waited. Another of her fingers tapped against the wide floor. “Yes, everyone is at least a little afraid of the prospect of dying. But lets get one things straight. I’m not afraid of you, or any of your little friends hiding up there!” she cried up to the ceiling. I nodded and stood. The groundwater had thoroughly soaked my leggings. Her attention quickly snapped back to me. She leaned forward again, this time pushing her whole body closer. I instinctively stepped back a bit, wary of her massive form.

“So, if what you say is true. You being here to evaluate me or whatever it was you said. Tell me this. Do you think I’m worth saving?”

I blinked rapidly. Obviously I hadn’t made a conclusion yet. I would need more time with her, and I had hardly gotten any usable info so far.

“Pass”

“No passing”

“But I have…”

“I don’t care, answer me...now!”

“Pass”

She slammed her fist on the ground. Startled, I barely had time to stabilize myself on the plexiglass wall.

“No passing” she said a bit slower. Light brown hair swept down over her head. The ends, still laden with water, dripped with a steady stream that splashed down mere inches from me.

“Maybe…”

“Just maybe?” she replied. One of her eyebrows arched up, signaling a sincere curiosity.

“I haven’t decided yet.”

Again another awkward silence. She withdrew slightly, all the while lowering her head a bit so that her chin rested on the ground.

“I like you…”

That was odd...and fast! So odd and so fast that I didn’t know how to respond.

“Really?” was all I could muster.

“Yeah…”

“Ok” I bluntly replied. I got down on my knees and began to gather my things. All the while her sky blue eyes trained on my comparatively tiny shape. Her face was calm and I could feel the warmth of her breath seeping down.

“Don’t screw it up…”

Once I had all my things I rose back to my feet and stood firmly.

“You leaving?” she asked.

“I’m afraid so, I have...other business I must attend to. We can pick this game up next time…”

“When will that be?”

“I, I don’t know yet”

Steadily I inched toward the door. I never once considered turning my back on her, lest she decided snap my spine in two.

“Fine, but on one condition…”

I stopped. “What is that?”

“Well actually two conditions…First tell them to turn the damn water heater on.”

I nodded profusely.

“And second...I want a comb.”

“A what?”

“A comb”

“Like for hair?”

“Yes of course for hair!” she said with a groan.

Again I nodded. I gave a small, half-hearted wave and began a more steady approach to the door.

“Alright, I’ll see what I can do…Vera” I let her name hang on my tongue for longer than I felt comfortable. I don’t think she really heard me though anyway. Once I was finally down the narrow hall and back into the cool, air-conditioned atrium I could truly breath again.

The guards barely looked at me. On my way out of the facility people stopped as I passed them. Still no one said a word.

Treble gave me a knowing nod. He seemed pleased.

“Get some rest Ellis. You’ll need it in the days to come. I must say I’m rather impressed with how you carried yourself in there, although I hope your next few visits will be more fruitful…” The disappointed lilt in his voice was sharp.

“Don’t worry sir…” I hoarsely responded. “It’s all part of the job.”