The feeling of hunger finally got to me, and thirst was unfixable, no matter how much water they gave us. Which raised the question of, "Why are they keeping me alive if they want me killed?" Matteo also asked this to me, and I was clearly unable to answer.The sun got to him first, as we had originally predicted, because his whole neck and face were burnt to the point of looking bright red and him calling out in pain randomly. We tried to sleep, although the daylight was constant. We decided to both sleep and both stay awake at the same time, not through an alternate system, because it hadn't primarily worked. And the little water that came every night was always cold and fresh. Matteo was nice enough to give me most of the portion, taking only a little bit for himself, even if I insisted otherwise.
It was on the fourth night in the cell that Matteo sat upright, his tension rising suddenly just as we were planning to rest. "What's wrong?" I asked nervously.
"You didn't hear that?" His eyes drifted up to the darkening sky. "It sounded like a door opening. All creaky and everything, the horror movie package..."
I smirked at him. "The sun's gotten to you."
He waited undecidedly, then eventually exchanged a look of relief with me and laid back down, his forearm over his eyes. I also lay on the dirty ground, rocks cutting into my skin. That's when I heard it. "You see?" Matteo said, standing up and walking slowly to our door. Unfortunately, there wasn't a window to see out of.
"Relax," I ordered. "I promise we'll be fine."
"But... but it's not like a guard is opening a cell! Somebody's either trying to get out or a rogue is trying to get in!" He turned back to me, his hands still pressed against the metal. "Isla, we have to get out of here."
I rolled my eyes. "You shouldn't worry like this. It's not good for you." But I doubted myself, thinking he was right.
"What if somebody's planning to kill us? What if they're coming to kidnap you again?"
"Why are you so worried about me? We've known each other for, like, five days."
He didn't answer that one. My first thought? Uh-oh. Somebody's fallen for me..., even if I wasn't completely certain.
"Ummm, how do we get out?" I finally said, distracted by the screeching noise outside the door. Thankfully, it was locked.
"Don't know. Ceiling?"
I looked up at the sky. It was almost black, stars etching a glimmer in every spot. "Yeah... Except that we have no rope," I replied.
He looked down at my hands. "No rope?"
I followed his gaze. Once I understand, I glanced back up at him and smiled knowingly.