<div style="text-align: justify;">Melinda's fingers only stopped caressing Dalindme's neck when she fell asleep. Even then, they took a while to fall and get away from Dalindme, as though they resisted the interruption of touch for as long as they could. As they laid there, close together and comfortable, Melinda relaxed enough to fall asleep quickly. The girl felt a  discomfort in the rib area, and other painful spots, but not even that stopped her from resting in that warm and safe spot.<br/><br/>Safe were her dreams as well, as Melinda let herself go into those happy places she had known as a child. Every trace of that happiness was still in hidden parts of her memory, parts Melinda could only reach in her sleep or if she focused for long moments. But as she slept peacefully, those moments came naturally back, allowing her to share them with her new friend and companion.<br/><br/>When Dalindme finally managed to make himself move away from her, Melinda was so deep asleep she barely noticed his absence. Her body shifted and moved a little, looking for the warm and solid body, but her mind didn't allow Melinda to wake up, so she continued to sleep peacefully, a soft and warm smile showing on her face.<br/><br/>As Melinda slept and dreamed of a past long gone, in the chamber where Dalindme's test subject was, things were very different. Instead of warmth and peace, there was only terror for the young woman who was hanging there like a sausage on a store. The poor girl had already lost all hopes of getting out of there alive. She didn't understand why she had to suffer. She didn't understand it, and in her mind she considered whether or not she was suffering for her sins. She knew she was a sinner. But she had heard that peopled died first, and then went to hell.<br/><br/>It was a mercy for her as she expired, the only thing that could cease her suffering. And so Dalindme would have a better work field, since it wasn't moving and letting out the soft wails it could muster after she could no longer scream. While Dalindme finished his testing, Melinda had been awaken by the throbbing pain on her ribs. She looked around and sat up slowly, feeling sweat on her forehead. Looking past the corridor, she considered calling for Dalindme, or looking for him. Instead, she simply tried something else, and let her mind try and communicate to his that she was awake and in pain.</div>