Travis moved to the round platform, and grasped the poles to brace himself. He waited as the screen remained grey, with the faintest of darker shadows flitting across it. “Is there any noise? I don’t hear nothin’.”

‘One moment,’ the screen printed in a light orange-yellow. Travis felt a sense to the room this time. The grey seemed to weigh heavier than yesterday. There was a sense of emptiness to it, which was ridiculous to Travis. He scoffed at his ‘feeling’ yet it wouldn’t leave him, and the empty feeling seemed to percolate through his skin, and weigh upon him, like regret.

The screen slowly lightened as noises became more distinct, moving from a soft background murmur to distinct voices and sharp, clattering sounds of metal on metal.

“Hey hon, you feelin’ better?” The wall irised open to reveal a dark, wide face atop a heavyset body covered in prison hospital blues. The woman had a set of black framed oval glasses with neon pink bows that added a splash of color to her dark brown features. Perched atop her short, frizzy hair was a white nurses cap held in place by bright green and red clips. Her name, Washington’, was barely visible at the bottom of the screen. “Y’all been out of it for a while, girl. Two days. Now you’re awake we can get that I-V out of yore arm and get some food and water into ya.”

Two days? That, they kicked the bejeezus outta her. He wondered if that was the feeling he’d felt. He shook his head and tried to will the view to change and show him more. Concern had him wanting to see the wounds and at the same time he felt a flash of anger at the abuse that landed her in here for two days. Payback, I want payback. They ain’t gonna get away with this. They don’t get to do that to me! He felt the hot anger flow forth, and almost immediately doused by that empty feeling. Something flowed across the screen. A profusion of color like the psychedelic colors before, but these were muted, colored in grey, blue, deep reds, and black. It felt, angry, and helpless.

There was a bloom of light orange on the wall. It reminded Travis of a wince. Others grew and added their own shades of orange on the wall, adding an overall sense of pain from the whole being of what he was a part of. He felt the pain, more as an insult to the whole of him, intimidating and vicious. It had the sense of pressing down, attempting to control his angry reaction. It was a frustrating sensation, one that bordered on despair, no matter how he tried to ignore or rid himself of the feeling, it was like a lead weight between his shoulders.

There’s got to be a way. If it was me I’d catch them one at a time and pound the snot out of ’em. He growled, and felt the room warm. That had to be the answer. A second thought entered his mind. I don’t know what this girl is like. She looked kind of thin in the dream. Maybe if she looked in a mirror I could see what there is to work with.

As if she had been waiting for the opportunity, the slim hand moved to the call button, and a nurse came in. “Hey hon, you mus’ be hungry. I can bring food in iffen y’all’d like.”

She came over to the bed as the girl said, “Can I have a mirror?” The nurse looked at the screen, which Travis now felt like was the girl’s eyes.

“Oh hon, you sure you wanna look? You might wanna wait another day before you do that.”

The screen waved back and forth as the soft, raspy voice said, “I wanna see.”