Time did not exist in the cell. Just like Steel expected, he soon lost track. Two days? After that, morning was night and night was afternoon. Time became regulated by when water was brought to him. Even though he told himself he would not break, Steel's resistance already started slipping away. Like a good little prisoner, he drank. He couldn't afford not to. He expected that someone would appear--maybe that man who knew his name--and torture him for information. That day had yet to come though.

Instead, Steel slept. Without proper sustenance, plans of fighting back or shows of anger became less and less likely every day. With sleep came his usual dreams. Every time he closed his eyes, he found himself on the sunny bank of a lake with a chill in the air that felt comforting. He knew he wasn't alone beside the lake, but he never turned his head to the side to see his companion. He never heard their voice. Always, every night for as long as he could remember, he sat on a lake shore in his dreams. Part of him wanted to believe it was a memory, but of what?

He woke to the sound of a scream. Or was it his own stomach churning with hunger? The hunger cramps had become his friend. Most of the time he could put them out of his mind, but some moments there was no ignoring them. He sat up and stared out past the bars. Was he supposed to think of himself as lucky that he wasn't being tortured? Maybe he would be alone in this cell forever now. If that was the case, Steel didn't know what he would do with himself. Maybe bite his tongue and end it sooner. Something needed to happen soon or he would do it.