The Cell The light twitched and flickered as it shook. He sat squarely at a wooden table that had hundreds of names scratched into it, messages of warning and despair. He took no notice. His hands, shackled in ancient chains anchored to the stone floor, had begun to ache again. The deep bang of a door slamming a few rooms down sent the light spinning and twisting once more, flickering randomly. He smirked darkly, 'they'll be here in no time,' he thought. He took in his surroundings carefully; a tiny blacked out window behind him about five foot up, the smears and pools of dried blood on the floor from previous 'visitors', the constant flow of water dripping down the moss covered walls, - the cracked stone around the chain anchorage. How could he have missed it after all this time? He immediately began pulling upwards with all the energy he could muster. His hands roared with the agony but he couldn't stop, 'they'll be here in no time remember?' he reminded himself. Suddenly through the searing pain he felt a crack, he couldn't tell if it was the bones in his hands or the stone finally dislodging but he didn't care, time was running out. Then it happened. He burst backwards out of his chair with ferocity, landing in a heap against the damp stone wall. The clump of rock that came flying attached to the chains was substantial. It was enough to use as a weapon, enough to kill. He scrambled to his feet, picking up the rock and hurried it back into the hole he had created, a perfect fit. Then he wondered how often they checked the shackles. To his memory, once you were chained, they didn't check again until you were moved or killed. Another door slammed and this time it shook the entire room. The light went out completely with a thin veil of smoke and didn't come back on. “All the better to see you with, Captain,” he whispered, a smile appearing slowly across his weathered face. His eyes were fixed on the solid steel door handle when he noticed foot steps fading in, bouncing around his ears. Each step a countdown to a moment he couldn't and didn't want to predict. Then the footsteps stopped. A single bead of sweat trickled down his cheek and sloped into his mouth, the pleasant taste focused his senses and jolted him. He couldn't remember when he last felt alive, but he thought he felt something familiar at that moment. He took a deep breath and slumped back into a defeated position, but now, this glimmer of hope, this ticket out loomed in his mind so strong that he found strength he thought was lost long ago. As his head sank into his chest and his eyes closed, he heard the key snap swiftly in the lock. He took a deep breath. Feeling an icy shiver crawl up his spine his stomach began to fill with butterflies, and slowly, another smile.