Jim followed the priest from the interrogation room and very sharply to the right.  Father Edward unlocked an old metal door that opened inward.  On the other side of this door was a very small room, more like a closet.  There was a single ladder against the wall.  Father Edward began climbing the ladder and manipulated some kind of latch.  A hatch opened and daylight poured through.  Father Edward disappeared through the top.  Jim climbed the ladder himself and then climbed his way to an upper platform on one of the perimeter walls.  The outside world came into full view again.

The prisoners had been quelled substantially.  Jim glanced around quickly to try and gain sight of his crew, but he couldn’t find them yet.  Just the random face giving him a curious side-eye.

The path beneath him had been reinforced at some point.  He was walking on concrete with fine metal grating underneath, an absolute nightmare to walk on with shoes, he was sure.  Beneath the grating, he could see old wooden planks with faded maple polish.  Long strips fitted into each other about six inches wide.

As they approached a corner tower, a guard stepped in to block their way.

“Who is this man?” asked the guard, suspiciously.

“A guest of honor, weren’t you informed?” asked Father Edward, zero hesitation in his voice.

The guard continued looking at them suspiciously.

“On whose orders?” the guard asked, patience clearly not one of his virtues.

“Major Burnside.  Would you care to be the next unfortunate soul to question his orders when I tell him of your insubordination, or shall we just pass through and go about our business?” Father Edward spoke sharply, yet somehow still soft.

From behind them, another guard had approached from the other tower, a little out of breath.

“They’re okay, let them pass!” the other guard said, very informatively.  “Major Burnside’s orders.  I only just got them myself.  This man is to be touched under no circumstances!”

The initial guard let out a huff, clearly annoyed with the delay of information.  He nodded and turned away back to his post.

“I’m just trying to do my job, this outpost sucks!” the guard could be heard muttering to himself.  Clearly under the impression that no one could hear him.

Jim couldn’t help but feel for the guy, he was, in fact, only doing his job.  But, nevertheless, Jim was happy the confrontation was over, and he was on his way again to his new living situation.

Jim continued studying what he could of the inside of the fortress.  There wasn’t really a whole lot to be seen.  There were a couple of doors opposite of each other where the men and women seemed to flock to at night. This must be where the prisoners' sleeping arrangements are. The rest of the compound was a large dirt field, a couple of really old basketballs were lying around, and a really old wooden backboard with no hoop or net attached to it.  Just a painted black circle in the center.  Father Edward nudged him.

“Take a look at that view!” Father Edward said, excitedly, pointing to a lake in the distance that could now be seen from the center of the walkway through the trees.  “It’s our supply of fresh water, it’s also used for other things, but, we’ll get into that later. Come, we’re almost to your temporary quarters.”

Jim and Father Edward continued walking along the upper platform.  They approached a corner tower.  The guard at this one merely looked at them.  Clearly this guard had gotten the memo about Jim.  There was another hatch on the floor. Father Edward opened it.  They both descended down another ladder.  They were faced with two different doors.  One of which had a lock on it, the other a latch.  Father Edward fished in his pocket and produced a key.  It was an older key, skeletal.  He unlocked one of the doors, then handed the key to Jim.  

“This is your room, it locks on both sides of the door.” Father Edward casually said, his hand guiding Jim to open the door. 

Jim didn’t know for sure yet that he trusted this priest yet, but he seemed innocent enough.  Jim only ever knew one catholic to his knowledge and he didn’t trust him at first either.  Simon proved to one of the good guys after all.  Simon, like this priest, was simply following orders as well.  Jim also couldn’t help but notice the pleasant and dare he say innocent smile on his face as he encouraged Jim to his room.  Jim certainly couldn’t tell him everything that was really going on, but he couldn’t ignore his desire to do so.  Accepting the invitation, Jim opened the door.

“I’ll leave you to it then.” Said Father Edward with a smile. “As much as I’m sure you’ve been through, you’ll probably want to get your energy back.  There will be food sent to you later on when dinner time comes.  Are you thirsty?”  Jim nodded. “I’ll have a guard fetch a pail of fresh water for you.  I do hope I can make your stay comfortable while you’re here.”

“Can I ask you a quick question?” Jim asked, before the priest could leave.?

“Of course.  What’s your question?” Father Edward said, looking very calmly at Jim.

“Do the prisoners here have similar living spaces as the one I'm about to enter?” Jim asked, already knowing the answer.

“I wish it were that simple.  I only wish these so-called ‘Prisoners’ had a better living situation.  Unfortunately, they all bunk together, men with men, women with women.  Not all of them are prisoners though.  Some of them are volunteers at this outpost.  However, they also know that they volunteer with the understanding that they will be here for an undetermined amount of time.  We’ve had instances of people changing their mind after getting here.  They learn all too quickly that the front gates rarely swing open after they are closed if you understand what I’m saying.”

Jim understood enough.

“I get it.” Jim replied, a very visibly concerned Father Edward looked more relaxed that he didn’t have to spell it out.

“Anyway, food later, and fresh water soon.  Have a pleasant night Jim.” Father Edward said, before climbing back up the ladder.

Jim turned to look at the door and had no clue what to expect upon entry.  Jim turned the knob and entered.

Jim wasn’t entirely sure what he was expecting, but this room about summed up his expectations.  It was small.  There was a single bed, it looked to be a twin size mattress.  There was a night stand next to the bed and a single window with thick bars in it.  Even as a ‘guest of honor’ The room still very much made Jim feel like a prisoner.  He could only imagine what the other actual prisoners lived like.  Jim approached the night stand which had a single drawer in it.  Jim opened it and found a bible.  

The bible itself looked rather new.  Not too many people must have picked it up to read it.  The spine was in impeccable condition, at the top were three letters, KJV.  Inside the front cover was an illegible signature.  Perhaps a gift from Father Edward he thought.  Jim didn’t consider himself very religious, but he felt drawn to open it.  He stopped on the index page and noticed two different distinct sections, ‘The Old Testament’ and ‘The New Testament’.

Jim looked casually over the different names and titles.  Some names sounded fairly modern, while others sounded foreign.  He couldn’t help but wonder what their stories were.  He couldn’t help but wonder what kind of struggles they faced, and had to overcome.  The days and times that these people experienced were long since over, but he couldn’t help but wonder if the struggles were at all similar to modern struggles.  Jim took a tally and found sixty-six total books in the bible, thirty nine old, twenty seven new.  Jim scoffed at the concept of new.  Ironic, he thought.  New as of when?

There was a knock on the door.

“Come in.” Jim said loudly.

A guard walked inside with a pail of clear water and a single cup.

“A gift from Father Edward. Oh and this as well.” The guard said, pulling a chunk of bread out of his pocket.

Jim couldn’t be sure of the sanitary nature of the bread, but he took it anyway.  The bread itself seemed okay, in fact it still felt just a little warm. Freshly baked? He thought to himself.  Jim nodded a thank you to the guard and just as quickly as the guard came in, he was gone.  Jim was once again alone in the small room.

Jim placed the chunk of bread on the nightstand.  He was incredibly thirsty and that pail of water was calling his name.  He dunked the cup in the pail.  The water was cool to the touch.  He pressed the cup to his lip and allowed the cool liquid to saturate his incredibly dry mouth.  The sensation that washed over him was, dare he say, heavenly.  His body was reacting incredibly well to the hydration.  He was very much engulfed in the moment.  

Jim glanced out the window while enjoying his water. There wasn’t a whole lot to see other than more of the trees he found himself in with Sam not more than a few hours ago.  This got Jim to thinking about the escape that he had to plan for himself and his crew.  Would it really be as simple as sneaking out and making a break for the tree line, running as quickly as they could to get as far away as they could? What then? In what direction could they run and be able to survive out there? Should they try and make their way back to the REGENEX shelter?  What if they were followed the whole way? Wouldn’t they be exposing that kind of technology to the wrong people?  At this moment, Jim genuinely didn’t know.  This was absolutely a concerning thought to him.  Jim had to have a solid escape plan.  One that would get them far away and quickly so that no one was following them.

There was another knock on the door.  Jim was lost in his own thoughts about the escape and still very much enjoying his fresh water.

“Come in.” Jim yelled again, his attention solely on the outside, planning.

The door opened, and then, a familiar voice was heard.

“Jim?” Veronica said, emotionally elated.

Jim spun around in pure reflexive motion.  He came eye to eye with Veronica.  Connor and Lydia were right behind her.  The door closed.  The cup that Jim was holding gave way in his now immobilized hand and collided with the ground, spilling the remainder of the water.  Jim’s eyes inadvertently welled up with tears.

“Veronica!” Jim managed to choke out in absolute shock and relief.