❝ AMEN, BROTHER ! ❞ lenny’s voice echoed against the imaginary walls of an imaginary palace as the imaginary sunset illuminated their imaginary pool. she had been floating there , face down , filling in her lungs with chlorine , for what felt like hours . maybe days . DIDN’T MATTER . the concept of time had become a distant alien life form , one oliver bird had taught her not to think too much about . he claimed it TO NOT BE REAL ; but heck , what was nowadays ? ❝ except , i mean , there are rats and then there are RATS, right ? ❞ she speaks easily , no coughing or panting to go with her words . no evidence of water ever gracing her respiratory system . the birds kept chirping , the lazy summer wind kept teasing her skin . and oliver spoke so nonchalantly , holding his stupid drink like this is some kind of fucking holiday . her DESPAIR had become MUNDANE … even to her . lenny felt like screaming . she didn’t . ❝ ‘cause rats don’t really … rats can’t ━━ I didn’t ask to know shit , man . ❞ she proclaimed , giving up on trying to match the other prisoner’s metaphorical prowess .
brown eyes didn’t bother glancing at her astral colleague . he was used to this bullshit by now ; living in the ice cubes of his drinks without it ever feeling real ought to be like a hobby to him by now … and that was what kept lenny somewhat sane ( if she ever had been ) amidst all those SYNTHETIC DREAMS : oliver had managed to survive somehow . he still danced and laughed at dumb shit . his party host aura was … comforting . ━━ but they weren’t cut from the same cloth . there was something disgustingly COMPLYING ABOUT HIM . something that made it easy for him to embrace his new HOSTAGE status . and that lenny could not get down with . ❝ cheddar … feta … ricotta … ❞ she turned her head ever so slightly . lenny couldn’t make out oliver’s expression . he was just a shadow against the bright orange sun .