For the past thirty minutes, I’ve been trying to come up with an escape plan. I tried to get more info out of her on why I’m dying soon, but after our last conversation she clammed up, almost as if she has already said too much, or she just got tired of me. Either way, I'm pretty sure my death has something to do with her this place, and I'm not going to sit around like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

Sighing, I try to lift my arm again, with more success this time. I'm slowly regaining control over my body, but first I need to make sure that there's no possibility of being drugged without my knowing. I manage to reach over and carefully extract the IV out of my other arm, letting the end down gently so it doesn't make a sound, then prop myself up into a sitting position. Swinging my feet over the edge of the cot is a bit harder than I thought it would be, and I end up rolling off the edge and landing on my side.

Hearing me fall, the woman swings around in her chair to face my direction, but I’ve already scrambled to my feet and lunged towards the cell door, which luckily opens. Thank goodness for lazy employees. Frantically looking around, I spot a clipboard on a nearby table and grab it, swinging it towards her as threateningly as a clipboard can be. She smirks at me, and I weakly smile back. I wave it at her dejectedly, but as she reaches forwards to steal it from me, I leap forward with a guttural roar and slam the clip end into her hand, hard enough for me to feel it pass through skin and muscle, and as I rush towards the door I hear her scream, “THAT LITTLE SHIT!” I tug the door open and run, but as I remember her expression I start laughing and almost trip and fall.

Racing down the corridor while still chuckling, I see a junction and turn right just as someone comes out of a room. We slam into each other, and as I fall back I catch a glimpse of their face. They seem to have...whiskers? But before I even reach the ground, they pass by me in a flash, pattering down the hall behind me, and as I sit on the ground stunned I remember yet again that nothing here makes sense.

I get back up and peek in the room they just came out of. There doesn’t appear to be anything inside, but when I step in I hear a slight splashing sound. I look down and see that the floor is just a sheet of ice floating on water, with a few cracks running through it. Is this why the cat person ran out so fast? I step back out of the room, and an arm snakes around my neck.

“Hey there, we meet again.” It's the guy who let me out before, and who shot me a while back. “Haven’t you have enough already?"

“Of what, your face?” I probably shouldn't have said that. Great, I’m going to be shot again or choked to death. To my surprise, though, he throws back his head and laughs, releasing me and stepping back to give me space as I turn to face him.

“Ha, good one. No, enough of this. Running. It gets exhausting, trust me. Both physically and mentally.” He suddenly stops talking, but as he opens his mouth to speak again I hear footsteps coming closer.

“Quickly!” I drag the guy inside the room with the ice floor and quietly shut the door. Pressing my ear to it, I listen for footsteps. They come and go without stopping, and eventually disappear.

“Whew.” I lean against the door and look at the guy, who’s currently staring at his feet. I guess it'd be a shock for anyone.

“Well, at least it’s not cracking.” There’s immediately a large crunching sound, and I look at the floor to see that a huge splinter appeared in the ice beneath our feet, and more cracks are spiderwebbing outwards.

I glance up at the guy and sheepishly smile. “At least it wasn’t cracking while we needed to hide.” Another bigger crack starts to make its way towards us. We scramble back to the door and leap out just as the floor collapses into pieces. Wait, why am I so afraid of water? I know how to swim.

I turn to him and remark, “Wait, couldn’t we have just swum?”

The guy rolls his eyes and replies, “Yes, because the invisible piranha in the water are bloody wonderful.”

“Oh.” Hang on, invisible piranha? How did he know they are there if they’re invisible? I have so many questions.

“It would seem that this dream is a little less realistic than the others,” I mutter to myself.

“What?” The guy asks.

“Oh, nothing. Hey, what’s your name?”

He appears to think for a second, then replies, “Nah.” Did he just ‘nah’ me? What an ass.

“Seriously, I want to know your name. Thinking of you as ‘that guy’ is getting kinda tiring.”

“Well, then think of me as ‘handsome guy’.”

“Oh, you’re funny. I think I’ll call you ‘funny guy’. Hey funny guy, what's your name?” He sighs and passes a hand over his eyes, and I know I’ve won.

“Fine. My name’s Riley O’Connell.”

“Pfft.” I couldn’t help myself. That’s possibly the most stereotypically Irish name, and along with his slight Irish accent, it’s a perfect cliche.

"What?" He looks slightly defensive. Maybe he realizes that it's stereotypical, though I'm not sure if there's such a thing as Ireland in this dream, or maybe he's a bit more self-conscious than he appears to let on.

“Ok then, funny guy.”

“Stop it.” 

“Never.” I grin at him, and he sighs. Then he looks sideways at me.

"Hey, what's your name?"

I think for a moment, then say, "I'm Phoenix." I feel weird using my real name in a fake world, so I might as well use a fake name. Even though Phoenix is supposed to be a "boy's name", I don't really care. It's a cool name so I want to use it.

"Right. Phoenix, nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too funny boy." He drags a hand over his face, and I let out a small laugh. This is going to be fun. I think I'll hang around him for a while.