Eli listened to the conversation between the man seated beside him and the grizzled veteran, if the patches on his coat and jacket were anything to go by, soaking up details as his mind strained to fit them all together into something logical. Then again, falling asleep and waking up in a world where pain and death seemed to be the theme of things was as far from logical as one could possibly get. He took note of the way the handsome man's features twisted and relaxed, as if he were coming to terms with this strange reality just as Eli was, a slow meddling of fear and uncertainty seasoned with a pinch of salt as  he struggled to make sense of why he'd found himself in this hell hole.<br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#4da6ff">"So what?"</span>his brow furrowed as he turned to other newcomer. "<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#4da6ff">You just . . . walked into the forest searching for a missing girl and stumbled into this place?"</span>He didn't miss the way the other had glanced around as if searching for someone. Eli assumed he hadn't found her among  the small gathering now watching them with jaded curiosity. He turned back to the old man.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#4da6ff"> "But that's not normal, you said?"</span>So his handsome savior didn't even deserve to be here. Eli very much suspected, though, that he did, himself. The veteran coughed into his hand, lungs wheezing with the strain of a heavy smoker.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#808080">"Thas right. Megan over there," </span>he nodded to girl with pig tails.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#808080"> "She was a track runner, or so I've 'erd. Went fer a jog one mornin' and never made it out o the woods. Been stuck here longer than meself, she has." </span>Eli suddenly found the grass beneath him quite fascinating, or so it seemed as his gaze fell, currently wishing to be alone, but his need clearly was impossible in this moment. So Megan and . . . the other newcomer, weren't even supposed to be here. They were likely the only two here who'd had their shit together and now they were here, being punished, Eli suspected, just as he was. It didn't make any sense.<br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ffa64d">"Are you telling me, were stuck in some twisted version of the hunger games? Forced to live and die night after night without any hope of escape? Why even try, if that is true?"</span><br/><br/>That question caught Eli's attention, his head snapping up from his reverie as he, too, needed to hear the man's answer. Were they really doomed to relive death and terror every night  until . . . until what? Eternity?<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#4da6ff"> "What's the point?"</span>he seconded the handsome man's concern. The veteran laughed, then, a scratchy guffaw.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#808080"> "Only point's tah avoid more pain. An'  to satisfy  the Entity. If yeh don't obey, she'll snap yah up an' learn you a lesson yeh won't soon be forgettin'. Just don't piss 'er off an' you'll do just peachy here. The ones who don't learn, well . . . " </span>The man trailed off as  if that was not a lecture he intended to give today.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#808080">"Name's Bill, by ther way. Might as well introduce mahself, seein' as we're gonna be spendin' a great deal o quality time together from now on." </span><br/><br/>Bill. Eli's instinct was to offer  a shake in greeting, false friendliness engraved into him from waiting tables. Still, as he weighed whatever future he now had within his own head, he found he didn't feel much like observing social niceties. Besides, he didn't figure Bill would mind, considering he'd been stuck here for so long, likely, that he'd forgotten the demands of society.<i><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#4da6ff"> It's what I wanted, after all</span></i>, he reminded himself grimly. He'd wanted to disappear, cease to exist. And here he was.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#4da6ff">"Name's Elliot. Call me Eli."</span>