No matter how you position yourself, cold concrete never makes for a good bed, Nia thought. After several nights of being locked in a cell, it was the primary thought that kept assailing her. The cell, small and cramped, had been stripped of paint. Nearly every inch of its walls were covered in holes and pee stains. Rusty steel bars stood between her and the outside world.

The only contact she had with that vast beyond, then, were the memories that steadily dripped into her mind of a time before the cage, when she roamed the outer world freely without a gray thought about what might come next.

She mainly reminisced about her family, her mother, sister, and father, a man she had never known. However, she liked to imagine what he might have been like. The sum of what flowed through her mind was varied and vast. It came in bits and pieces, an image, followed by a flurry of words, her sister's last kiss, the sound of her voice, and the picture of her cherub face. How those puffy cheeks of hers glowed so brilliantly when they were red with joy; That made Nia blush in adoration at times.

Sadly, her mother's hair had grown gray with the cares of life. She once smiled so brightly. But after her second husband died, she went into a long decline. Yet, even before that, Nia had always found it hard to connect with her. Her mother was almost always distant and cold.

Most days, Nia was lucky to hear even a peep from her. It was only sometimes when their eyes met that her mother turned her lips upward into a smile out of embarrassment. But it was always contrived. Sure her lips smiled, but never her eyes. Yet, Nia always found herself smiling back, carrying on the charade, partly due to pity but also because that smiling character her mom played was the closest thing to the genuine vessel of happiness her mother once was.

It hurt Nia so much to think about how they must have thought of her.

How were they getting by without me?

After all, she caught most of the food that fed them on her dives. And she traded most excess catches for necessities. She knew her little sister would be spilling torrents of tears, waiting up for her, going sleepless. She could only hope her mother would not withdraw more deeply into her numbness because Acadia needed her.

You have to be strong for her mother, Nia thought as she paced back and forth in her deafeningly silent cell day after day.

I have to get back to them soon.

She was stuck thinking about how to escape the place. Theo was kept separate from her so that she couldn't count on him for help.

The only time a guard would come down was when it was time for food. Surprisingly the portions were good. She didn't expect to be better fed there than she'd been in years.

But anyway, the guard only opened the bars wide enough to slip the dish through, and she always insisted that Nia stand way back against the wall at gunpoint while she did. So rushing the guard would not be a smart move.

She had thought of other moves, but there weren't many. So the only viable play that remained was a boring one, patience. The local domina would have to see them eventually to issue a judgment.

And that day had come. A guard soon bent the corner. She had no food. Her hands hung long by her side. That piqued Nia's interest. What was she doing? Her facial expression gave nothing away. She stopped just in front of Nia's cell, twisted in the key, and rolled the cell bars open. She stood there, as stiff as the bars themselves, and eyed Nia up and down.

"Follow me."

Nia didn't know whether to be shocked or relieved as indecision washed over her. Finally, she stepped forward, staggering after the guard as she marched back up the corridor.

Nia's head swiveled. Her eyes bounced from wall to wall, observing them intently, then turned back to the guard. She followed her as she snaked through the maze that led away from the cell.

Soon, they emerged above ground into the blinding daylight, something Nia hadn't seen in days. The natural light was so overwhelming to her tired, sun-starved eyes that she struck out her palm towards the sun to shield herself until her eyes slowly adjusted. As the haze wore off, she followed the guard until they turned into a large courtyard with a high wall surrounding the compound. There were dozens of heavily armed guards patrolling the space.

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They kept moving and stopped in front of a woman resting in a chair. The woman was petite with dark eyes.

For a while, the Nia stood exchanging dreary looks with the woman, but not a word was spoken. All Nia could hear was the noise of footsteps approaching. Sure enough, she saw two men coming. One was hunched over. The other stood stall. Only when both drew closer could she make out their faces. It was Theo being dragged in by some guard.

He kept being difficult, so the guard kicked him to the ground and began beating him with a baton. Several other guards ran over and joined in until Theo stopped resisting. Nia looked over at him, concerned, something the woman noticed.

Finally, several of the guards dragged a limp Theo over beside Nia.

Once he arrived, the woman in the chair straightened her back and gestured to the guards with a nod. Both responded by standing closer to Theo and Nia, sandwiching them. Theo and Nia greeted each other with a glance.

"Welcome to my town," the woman said.

They stayed quiet.

"My town has certain rules, rules a waitress tells me you both broke."

"Well—"

"Shhhhh," the woman bellowed to Theo, who quickly clasped his lips,

"You will only speak when I allow it."

"Your debt to the restaurant must be paid. But we ran through all your belongings, and it seems none of you have any local currency or Xymoran money. Any ideas?"

Theo glared at the woman. Nia's breath curdled in her lungs as she looked away, desperate to avoid the woman's grating gaze. She tried to be quiet, as if there was a level of quiet that might cause everyone to forget she was there.

"Silence is not an answer," the woman's voice boomed again. "I should just sell you two; you're both young and fit, so you'd fetch a high price on the market. Unless you have people who are willing to pay for your release."

"My people will pay," said Theo.

The woman chuckled for a few moments.

"Well, give me their contact information."

Theo recited a number.

The woman stopped chuckling then, as did the guards.

"Good, go make the call. State the terms of the ransom," she said to some of her guards. "And throw them back in the cells."

The guards whisked them back underground, threw them both in a cell, and left.

After, Nia turned to Theo. He had dragged himself across the floor into a corner, leaving streaks of blood behind him on the floor. The beating had made him uncharacteristically quiet.

It seemed risky to bother him, but she had little choice. She had fears that only his answers could allay.

"Theo, Theo, Theo," she whispered.

"Maybe if you stopped whispering, I could hear you better," he responded.

"Are you ok?"

"What's your actual question?" He asked.

"Will your people pay for both of us to be freed?"

"No," he hissed.

"Oh, no! I'm going to die here. Aren't I or get sold into slavery?"

Theo chuckled, then cupped his face.

"No, we aren't. I sensed you would be a fast learner when we met. I'm disappointed right now."

"What are you talking about?"

"That number I gave her. She thinks it's just my family's number. But it's a specific number used by syndicate agents who need to be rescued. In a little while, my people will pour in guns blazing to rescue us. So I suggest you brace yourself for it."

"You really think she's dumb enough to fall for that? She's clearly an experienced woman."

"The thing is, even the smartest people let down their guard when they think they're talking to dumber people. And she thinks we're just a couple of clowns who didn't want to pay our restaurant bill. So yeah, she'll fall for it, not because she's dumb, but because she's smart."

Nia scoffed.

"Keep that in mind. Sometimes, when you can't outsmart someone because they are too smart, use that against them."