After another long day at work, Ed waited for Zara to return from visiting Phoebe. Over the past several days, Zara had made it a habit of visiting Phoebe after work, so that she could spend more time training her. Poor Phoebe, it’s been almost eighteen days since she was brought in. From what Zara’s been telling me, I don’t think she has much left in her.

“Buddie, how many credits do I have now?” Ed asked

“Your current total has reached three hundred and twenty-eight credits.”

“Thanks Buddie.”

Ed sat there absentmindedly for a little while until Zara returned. That was earlier than I expected. What happened? Looking up at her, he noticed that her necklace was missing. Did she throw away the key? “Are you okay? You’re usually in there for a lot longer.”

Zara walked up to him and sighed. “I’m fine, I just... wasn’t having as much fun as I used to. It was sort of boring, she wasn’t fighting back at all. A week ago, I could see the hatred and anger in her eyes, but that was all gone.”

“That’s fine, there’s plenty of fun stuff we can do here. Why don’t we just have a nice relaxing night at your place? I’ll go grab the book, there’s still plenty of fun stuff in there for us to look through. And, if you’re up to it, we can cook dinner together. How does that sound?” Ed asked.

“That sounds nice.” Zara said, smiling softly.

“Good. I’ll be right back.” Stepping through the door, Ed made his way to the desk. I need to find a way to get that key. If I can somehow get into Phoebe’s room, I’ll probably be able to find it in there. I’ve been waiting for this chance, I won’t give up now that it’s here.

Grabbing the book, he made sure not to spend too long, as to avoid any suspicion. Stepping back into the office, it didn’t take long for the two of them to enter Zara’s apartment. On the right side of the dining table was Zara’s newly added kitchen.

“How much did this cost?” Ed asked

“Two hundred and sixty credits. Turns out some of the things I wanted boosted the price up a bit. But I’m glad I have it!” She said happily, having already moved into the kitchen. “What do you want to cook?”

“Eh, I don’t know. Why don’t you pick something?” How am I going to get that key?

“Let’s make some tacos!” Excited, she went about gathering the ingredients. When she opened the pantry, it was stocked with exactly what she needed. The same thing happened when she opened the fridge.

Ed went to join her, and together they started prepping the food. The apartment was filled with the rich sounds and smells wafting from the kitchen. It wasn’t long before they sat down at the dining table with some freshly made tacos.

They gorged themselves on the tacos, having made more than enough for the two of them to share. Their bellies bloated out, and they ended the meal leaning back and staring at the ceiling.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“I think we made too much.” Ed said.

“But it was so worth it.” Zara sighed.

They waddled over to the couch, and spent some time snuggling together, reading the book in peace.

“I’ve got one more thing I want to do.” This is my chance.

“Oh yeah, what’s that? You thought of another creature for us to look up?” Zara asked, looking up at Ed.

“I want to see your private work area. I’ve yet to see what you did during your internship.”

Zara squealed, visibly excited. “I’d thought you’d never ask!” She immediately jumped off the couch, dragging Ed to the door. Jumping through it, Ed found himself in a familiar looking hallway, with one side covered in a series of doors as far as the eye could see.

“Let’s go over to my first one! I didn’t really know what I could do, but I like it.” She took him to the final door, opening it to reveal a blood-stained table with a series of gears and winches on either end, with bindings running along the sides.

I’m afraid to ask. But I’m already here, so I might as well. “Umm, what happened here?”

“Have you ever heard of the medieval torture rack? It's basically that, but automated.”

That’s a chilling thought.

Zara gave Ed a guided tour of the rest of the traps he hadn’t seen before. Taking her time to make sure he could vividly imagine how it all went down. Finishing up, she yawned.

“It’s getting a little late, we should probably head back now.”

“Go on ahead without me, I just want to check one more thing.”

“Okay. Good night.” Tired, she gave him a quick kiss before stepping through the door.

Okay, which one is it? Starting from the end, he began counting the doors as he walked past. One, two, three... This should be it. Standing before a door, he took a moment to ready himself before opening it.

Stepping in, the room automatically lit up, causing Phoebe to wince. Looking up, she was confused when she saw the complete stranger standing at the door.

“It’s okay, I’m going to get you out of there. Just hold on for a moment.” Ed searched around the room, eventually finding the key in the corner of the room. Picking it up, he moved towards the cage, causing Phoebe to crawl away from him in fear, shaking her head.

Unlocking it, he swung the cage door open and stepped away from it. “Come on, all you’ve got to do is step through that door and you’ll be free.”

As if his words sparked something in her brain, she hesitantly began crawling to the door. Making it out of the cage, she tried to stand up, but fell back down onto her knees.

Ed stepped forward to help her, but it only made her whimper in fear. Taking a step back, he held his hands up to tell her he wasn’t going to do anything.

She crawled to the foot of the door but couldn’t reach the handle. She crawled anxiously around the door.

Come on! Ignoring how she would react, Ed walked up to the door, helping her to stand, all the while she was kicking and screaming. Blood dripped down his cheek as he placed her hand on the door handle. “Think about home and open it.” He stepped away from the door, while still making sure she was good to open it.

Slowly, she twisted it open, and the room was filled with a blinding light. Falling to her knees, she crawled through the door and disappeared.

Ed sighed with relief, relaxing. I’ve finally done it!

“What do you think you’re doing?” Like booming thunder, Buddie’s voice echoed throughout the room, demanding to know what he was thinking.

Ed slumped to the ground; his body was no longer under his control. Damn. The room began to heat up, and Ed felt as if he was being burnt alive. The cage began to bend and warp under the extreme heat, But Ed was forced to stay awake through all of it.

“That is not how the company does things. You have interfered in company business, and now you must pay the price.”

Burning alive, Ed felt his mind slipping. Just get it over with.

He lost consciousness as the entire room was set ablaze.

-End of volume one-