Walking back to the suite, she had almost entirely forgotten about poor little Elsie, which made her pace quicken. There had been so much going on that she had lost herself in the madness. Everyone within Branch's realm had succumbed to the visceral games that he played for them, but even having lived in what she had considered Hell itself after the fall, this was more grotesque and she was playing a part in the whole, sick perversion. Tom had survived, which was good, but Branch was not pleased with his performance, and there was no way of knowing how he'd handle such a public display. Dr. Faraday wanted herself and Elsie to be invisible, to be outside of his reach, but somehow leaving seemed like it was outside of their reach.

Throughout her brief stay at Branch Tower, there had been no departures outside of the dead. That troubled her and raised some serious questions that she knew better than to go around asking about in public. Stuart had seemed like an alright boy; a bit twisted and demented, but there was still something left alive inside of him beneath that shell of violent fantasies. When the elevator gave the ding for her floor, she squeezed herself out from the two couples that were inside; they were still going up a few floors, and it showed in their clothing, demeanor and conversation that she had been tuning out.

The floor that Elsie and herself were on seemed posh enough, but this lot were clearly a cut above a lowly doctor and were a part of Branch's elite upper-floor dwellers, far beyond those that had to work for a living to earn their keep in his madhouse. She fumbled in her pocket for her key card, thinking about poor Elsie, trapped inside of that room all day with no one to talk to. She would have to put on a brave face for her after what she witnessed throughout the day, but that poor girl had been through so much all that she needed was for Dr. Faraday to be there for her. That's it.

With the keycard now in hand, she jammed it into the locking mechanism, waiting for the light to turn green when she heard a man's voice from the inside, followed by the unmistakable sound of Elsie's squeal. Her stomach dropped and her heart raced; something was wrong, something was very wrong. What was she thinking, leaving that poor girl alone in this house of horrors? With the green light staring up at her, she scanned the hallway, looking for something—anything—that she could use as a weapon to help fend off whatever was attacking poor Elsie. The only thing that was in view was a cart with a meal tray with a lid. The lid was too clumsy, so she grabbed the embossed-metal tray and clutching it in both hands while she nudged the door open. Elsie's screech rang out again, this time louder, hardening Dr. Faraday's resolve while she pushed through the heavy door and charged into the room with the tray at the ready.

"You get your hands off of..." She paused at the scene before her, dropping the tray and feeling the tears welling up in her eyes.

"Ya okay, doc?" Stuart looked up at her from his seat at the small table, a smattering of playing cards laid out on it with Elsie sitting across from him in the other chair with a pillow underneath her, a big smile on her face.

"Elsie, my god," she cradled the girl in her arms. "I thought that something was wrong."

"Oh no, Auntie Ruth, Stuart was just playing Go Fish with me. I'm winning."

"Ya, the brat here's cleaning me out. 'Fraid she might be cheatin', ya see," he reached over and tickled the girl, her screeching out again before swatting his hand away.

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"This is how he tries to beat me, Auntie Ruth. He knows he can't beat me fair and square, that's why."

"Oh yes, my dear, you sure are good at that, aren't you?" She motioned to Stuart. "Dearie, would you excuse us for a minute?"

"Mhm," she mumbled, staring at the cards before her.

"Ya better not be cheain'," Stuart snarled. "I got my eye on you."

"Uh huh, sure you do," she said, sticking her tongue out when he turned his back to her.

"What's the matter?" Stuart asked.

"I just, well, I wasn't expecting you to be here is all, but I appreciate it. Shouldn't you be with Branch?"

"Eh, VD has been takin' care of things for me today. I figured you were down there helpin' my boys out as best ya could. Someone had to look after the girlie here."

"I appreciate it. Just don't know what to say. I didn't take you for the type, is all."

"Just becoz a guy knows his way 'round a gun don't mean that he don't care 'bout 'lil ones."

"Oh no, I wasn't implying anything, I just…" She embraced him and whispered, "thank you so much. Thank you, really. Thank you."

"Oh jeez," he pulled away, brushing off his jersey. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. My brother is right upset I reckon, gotta smooth shit out with 'em before he goes mental."

"Oh, right, TK with his ring and all of that."

"Ya saw it? I didn't, I just heard on my walkie here."

"I did," she said. There would be no shaking what she had seen in the arena that day from her mind. "Quite the scene."

"Things are 'bout ta get ugly in a hurry, let me tell you. Branch doesn't enjoy being shown up by no one, especially not some fancy Hollywood type. My brother? He's gonna be crazy for a few days. This is all bad, terrible. I dunno what Branch is gonna do, but I'll try to remind 'em that ya helped out and weren't a part of Gabriel's shit."

"What do you mean?"

"Boss has a tendency to make some.... extreme decisions. If I were ya I would run, but no way they'll let ya outta here like that, not after today, damned straight."

"What do you mean, we are prisoners here?"

"No, I mean…" He paused, deep in thought for a moment. "I don't know, but if I were you, I wouldn't try ta leave."

"Okay, but what about Tom?"

"If I were him, I'd get the fuck outta here and not look back, but he's gotta escape first, which ain't easy, let me tell you."

"Someone has to tell him."

"It won't be me," he said, holding his hands up. "I'm stayin' outta this. Me? I'm here to survive, along with my brother, nothing else. You focus on yourself and the girlie there. Stay outta it. He's a big boy, and he dug his own grave. You two still got a life here."

"I suppose we do."

"Ya do. I want nothing happenin' to her, ya hear?"

"Yes, I know."

"Don’t worry. I'll be back in the mornin'. Hopefully everything will be alright. Holler if you need anything."

With that, he was gone, leaving her feeling more uneasy than she had when she entered the room, thinking that someone was attacking Elsie. That boy had a good heart, which struck her more and more with each interaction. In a way, it gave her hope for the future. He seemed like a cold-hearted killer, but there was more to him, much more. That was important to remember in a world that had frozen over with fear and hatred; there were still good people there, beneath the surface. They all wanted to survive, to forge their own paths, but were continual victims of circumstance. He was just as much a prisoner as they were in the tower. He just had a job that afforded him more freedom than the rest.

Elsie was still at the table, fiddling with the cards. Dr. Faraday sat down across from her and looked over at the girl, who looked so innocent and sweet. She had to keep it together for Elsie.

"Auntie Ruth," Elsie said. "Where did Stuart go?"

"Oh, he had some work to do, sweetie. How about I take over for him?"

"Okay, let's reshuffle and start fresh, then."

"Let's do that. Did you have a good day with Stuart?"

"Oh yeah, Auntie Ruth. We played cards, watched a movie, and had lunch together. It was fun!"

"Good, good," she said, trying to keep her composure.