Dan\u2019s determination in SR earned him a lot of painful bruises and barely enough energy to crawl out of the SR Unit. Despite the soreness of his muscles and the pain of his bruises however, he was happy. He had never given up. He hadn\u2019t let the soulborgs win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He steadied himself against the side of the SR Unit as Heleer emerged from the one next door. She looked at him quickly, her eyes noting his various bruises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d she asked, a hint of concern in her voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI tried to climb a mountain,\u201d Dan said. \u201cThey didn\u2019t want me to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He could tell Heleer knew what he meant. She could guess, at least. She looked over his bruises once more, and then moved towards him, standing between him and the camera on the far wall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPlease stop,\u201d she said, taking his hand and squeezing it gently on the important words. \u201cPlease, please<\/em> stop.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dan, however, had spent the better part of a day refusing to listen to more or less this exact message. His anger roused at her words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhy?\u201d he said, not bothering to squeeze. \u201cWhy?!? Don\u2019t you know what\u2019s out there? Don\u2019t you\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dan stopped. Heleer\u2019s look had shifted from one of pleading to something completely different. She had taken a small step back, and was now looking at him\u2026 warily. With caution. But also with a hint of an anger Dan felt all too familiar with. Dan had never seen her look that way before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy mother once said the same thing,\u201d Heleer said. Her voice had changed. It was harder, colder. It was still her, but she sounded as if she were forcing herself to talk. Dan said nothing. Heleer had never talked about her mother before, or her father for that matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Heleer took a step closer to Dan. \u201cDo you know what happened to my mother, Dan?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dan shook his head. He found the change in Heleer a little disconcerting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe was killed,\u201d Heleer said abruptly. \u201cKilled because she was obsessed with getting out. She was like you, always talking about what could be \u2018out there\u2019, and never realizing what was directly in front of her.\u201d She took a step closer, until she was mere inches from Dan\u2019s face. She looked him right in the eyes. \u201cShe always needed more<\/em>; what she had was never enough. Never. Even though it was right in front of her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Heleer held Dan\u2019s gaze for a moment longer, and then left, going down the stairs quickly. Dan was left standing there, looking at the camera. He couldn\u2019t help but notice that it hadn\u2019t followed Heleer at all, but instead remained focused on him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So that was it. Part of it, at least. Dan knew there had to more to the story, more to the reason Heleer so feared anything beyond the walls. But he wasn\u2019t stupid. He knew now he had hit a nerve with her. He wanted to understand, to know what had happened, but he had to be careful. He didn\u2019t want her to shut off completely like she usually did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dan found Heleer sitting on the bed. The light was on in the bathroom, but she was ignoring it. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at the floor, not moving. Dan sat down next to her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIs that why you don\u2019t want to get out?\u201d Dan asked. \u201cBecause of your mother?\u201d He kept his voice gentle, not wanting to upset her anymore than she already was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Heleer looked up at him briefly. Dan could see a new emotion on her face: sadness. Sadness mixed with something else, something very close to disappointment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo,\u201d she said, looking back down at the floor. \u201cNot really. I might have wanted to leave, once, but my mother\u2019s impatience drove it from my mind. She gave me no time to make up my own mind; everything was about leaving, and leaving now<\/em>. My mother was reckless, impatient, and obsessed. And I won\u2019t be like that.\u201d She looked up at Dan again. \u201cI\u2019m happy here; trying to get out can only bring trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That night, long after the lights had gone out, Dan was still awake, watching the outline of Heleer as she slept. What she had said hadn\u2019t been lost on him. Part of him was excited that her mother had been like him, driven to escape. But that was only a small part. Most of him had listened to Heleer, and slowly, very slowly, he was beginning to realize something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He couldn\u2019t get out. Not right now, at least. He knew how to get into the Shaft, but he didn\u2019t know what to do after that. He still wanted to get out, but Heleer had made him realize that he had to be patient. Until he knew exactly how he would get out, there was no point in being impatient and making a mistake. He doubted very much he would get more than one chance to escape; he couldn\u2019t afford to not think it through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Patience was a foreign idea to Dan. Until Darren had come, Dan had no experience with patience or impatience, simply because he had nothing to be patient or impatient about<\/em>. He knew when everything would happen, and the opportunity to be impatient about something had never arisen. He knew the schedule. He knew everything would happen when it was supposed to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This was different. He didn\u2019t know when he would escape. He didn\u2019t even know if<\/em> he would escape. Without any promise of when or if it would happen, he had become impatient, wanting it now. But now he realized he couldn\u2019t do that. He would have to follow the schedule and wait. Think and wait. He had never tried to be patient before, but he decided it was worth a shot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dan woke while the ceiling was still dark. For the first time in two days, excitement wasn\u2019t coursing through him. His mind didn\u2019t immediately turn to thoughts of escape. Instead, he simply lay there, looking up at the dark ceiling, faintly lit by the blue glow from the Barrier. It was completely silent. The only sound was Heleer breathing next to him, a soft in and out, in and out, its rhythm tempting Dan to close his eyes and go back to sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He did close his eyes, but he didn\u2019t go back to sleep. He remembered what Heleer had said last night, and what he had decided. \u2018I will be patient,\u2019 he said to himself. Saying it in his head seemed to make it more real.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He listened a while longer to Heleer breathing, and after a moment remembered something. She had described her mother as impatient, obsessed, and reckless. Reckless. Dan had no trouble believing that if Heleer hadn\u2019t said anything, he would have taken the first opportunity to escape. And he probably wouldn\u2019t have gotten very far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dan realized that Heleer had probably saved him. He knew how to get the Shaft open, and maybe he could get the hatch open somehow, but then what? The soulborgs would find him and bring him back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dan opened his eyes. Or maybe they wouldn\u2019t. Hadn\u2019t Heleer said that her mother had been killed because of her obsession? Dan watched the ceiling, thinking. What would the soulborgs do if he tried to escape? Surely they wouldn\u2019t outright kill him? Dan didn\u2019t know. He couldn\u2019t know. He didn\u2019t have enough information. Whatever the soulborgs would do, Dan doubted it would be good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He turned his head and glanced at Heleer. She had undoubtedly saved him. She had kept him from making a mistake, possibly a deadly mistake. And what had he done in return? Nothing. He had been obsessed with escaping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018Just like her mother,\u2019 he thought to himself. He remembered the look on Heleer\u2019s face when she had told Dan about her mother. He remembered the sadness. \u2018I won\u2019t be like that,\u2019 he told himself. \u2018I won\u2019t be obsessed and reckless. I\u2019ll get out. I will. But when I do, I\u2019ll have a plan. When I do get out, it will be for good.\u2019 Dan began to see Heleer differently after that. The realization that she had kept him from doing something reckless made him pay more attention to her, and listen to what she said. He greeted her with \u201cgood morning\u201d when she got up and told her \u201cgood night\u201d when they went to bed. He listened to what she said when they ate, and by letting her talk, began to learn more about her. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Heleer must have noticed the change. It was obvious that Dan was paying more attention to her, and almost none on trying to get out. Eventually, she asked him if he still wanted to leave. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Dan had to reply that he did. Heleer\u2019s face fell, but Dan wasn\u2019t finished. He tried to choose his words carefully. \u201cI do still want to get out, Heleer, but there\u2019s no point in worrying about it. I don\u2019t know how to get past the hatch, and even if I did, I wouldn\u2019t know what to do after that.\u201d He remembered what she had said about her mother. \u201cUntil I have a plan\u2026 I might as well enjoy what I have.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Heleer glanced at him. She looked like she wanted to frown, but a smile still escaped her. They both knew it was what she wanted to hear, but it was true. Dan would wait. He would be patient, and wait for an opportunity to escape. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And when it came, he would be ready. Dan\u2019s determination in SR earned him a lot of painful bruises and barely enough energy to crawl out of the SR Unit. Despite the soreness of his muscles and the pain of his bruises however, he was happy. He had never given up. He hadn\u2019t let the soulborgs win. He steadied himself against the side … Continue reading Chapter Thirteen – Prevention<\/span>
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"