A strong light seemed to tear through his retina. Even though his eyes were closed, the light forced him to turn his head.


    Suddenly, it simply vanished. Daniel opened his eyes. It was dark. Only the moon, peeking through a small window outside the cell, illuminated the bars in front of him. He touched the floor with his hands and felt its coldness. His eyes slowly began to adjust to the darkness, recognizing more and more curves and shapes around him. He realized almost immediately that he was in a cell. He also heard Jasper still sleeping beside him, evident from his heavy snoring. What he couldn’t understand, however, was why the robot had struck him when they weren’t allowed to harm guests.


    He remembered everything up to the final blow and the butt of the gun swinging toward his eyes.


    “Psst,” a voice came from the neighboring cell. Then the intense light that had woken him flared up again. “Psst, Daniel.”


    He didn’t recognize the voice and followed the light and sound instead. From what he could see, the prison was a long corridor. On one side were windows, positioned high enough to reveal only the sky, while the cells lined the other side. He didn’t know how many there were, but they were separated by thin stone walls.


    “Daniel!” He heard the voice call his name again. He moved closer to the wall. The light flashed once more. “Take this,” it continued. A shadow of an object appeared from the other cell.


    Daniel hesitantly reached out. He felt iron in his hand, warmed by someone else’s touch. He ran his fingers over it and quickly identified it as a lantern. He found the switch, and the cell lit up.


    “Don’t shine it outside!” the voice warned from the neighboring cell.


    “Who are you?” Daniel heard a male voice, but he wasn’t sure who it belonged to. It didn’t seem familiar.


    “I’m part of the team. I’m in prison just like you.”


    “But why…”


    “To give you the lantern without breaking the story.”


    “They attacked us…”


    For a moment, the man in the next cell fell silent. Then he spoke.


    “Look, Daniel. This wasn’t supposed to happen. We’ve taken steps. It did turn into quite a good story, though, but the blow that followed was an exception and beyond the robot’s authority.”


    “Will you get us out of here?”


    “If you want, we’ll get you out. But we’ve assessed that you’re fine to keep developing your story. Mr. Barnes is personally watching you. Believe me, it’s a privilege for Barnes to be monitoring you specifically.”


    Daniel was taken aback. The words touched him, yet he was still angry that the robots had attacked him. He felt a mix of rage and pride. But he didn’t want to imagine how Jasper would react when he woke up.


    “Daniel, are you there?” The voice from the neighboring cell bounced off the opposite wall and returned to him. “Is Jasper still asleep?”


    “Yes,” he replied to both questions.


    “I know you’re already aware of the company’s little secret and the robots.”


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    He knew what the man meant, but he decided to ask anyway.


    “What secret are you talking about?”


    “Come on, Daniel, we monitor everything. Your conversation with Jan was like something out of a movie. Though we had to pull Jan out of the park.”


    “We didn’t mean to hurt him. Jasper just lost it,” Daniel continued speaking to the voice without even considering whether someone might be toying with him. But that seemed unlikely; the man knew too much.


    “We’ll bring him back. We pulled him out so a doctor could check him. Your friend hit him hard. He was dizzy and throwing up. Turns out it was just a concussion. By the way, is he okay?”


    “Jas?” Daniel turned in the cell and briefly shone the lantern toward Jasper. He mumbled something but kept sleeping. “He’s fine. I think he’ll have a bruise. And who are you?”


    “My name here is Patrick. But that doesn’t matter. I’m in prison because of you. Afterward, I’ll return to the creative team. I wanted to make sure you’re okay.”


    “And the lantern?”


    “You’ll give it back when you get out of here. Our cameras can see in the dark, but it’s not perfect, and for us to track you, you need to shine it every now and then.”


    “What did you do with the robots that attacked us?”


    “Reed is fine. He’d never attack you. He’s awful and one of the biggest jerks you’ll meet here, but he wouldn’t harm you. Something went wrong with Bart and Wade. They’ve been pulled for now, but they’re key to the story, and we’ll bring them back soon if everything checks out.”


    “Let’s hope they don’t kill us next time?”


    “It’s hard for them to kill. The cartridges aren’t designed for humans. At worst, they’d scratch you.”


    “And the blow?”


    “That’s the issue. Even the knives here aren’t real, but a strong hit with something solid can be bad. I don’t want to alarm you, though. Rest assured, you’re under constant surveillance, and if anything happens, we have teams ready to pull the plug and get you out immediately.”


    “Hey, who’s talking over there?” A familiar voice rang out. Heavy footsteps shook the corridor.


    “That guy in the other cell is bothering me.”


    The man he’d just been speaking to snitched on him to the guard. It wasn’t fair, but Daniel understood why he did it.


    “Ah, what a snitch you are, Patrick.”


    “I’m not a snitch, Bill. I’m just doing my duty to the company I work for.”


    A massive shadow emerged from the corridor, blocking out every source of light.


    “Bill?” Daniel exclaimed.


    “You woke me up, you bastards,” the giant said, taking two more steps until he stood before their cell. He held something in his hands, banging it loudly against the bars. “Hey, friends, remember me?” He grinned like a fool. Clearly, they’d fixed him.


    “Hello, Bill,” Daniel greeted him quietly.


    “I’ve got scores to settle with you. I hear you’ve been bragging that I’m dead.”


    Daniel glanced back, trying to see Jasper. His friend still hadn’t woken up.


    “You were as good as dead, Bill. Jasper took you down good.”


    “As you can see, I’m whole and standing right here. Meanwhile, your friend’s on the ground, nearly dead.”


    “Where’s Jake, Bill?”


    “Jake’s probably sleeping. He wanted to talk to you too. He was shocked when he saw me. You fooled him good. But now the whole town will know what frauds you are.”


    “Show ’em, Billy,” came the voice from the other cell. Patrick was playing his role well.


    “You shut up. We haven’t decided what to do with you yet. Where are the two horses?”


    Patrick stayed silent.


    “Just as I thought. You won’t talk without a fight.”


    “How long are you keeping us here, Bill?” Daniel redirected the big man’s attention from the corridor.


    “That’s up to the sheriff. He’ll decide in the morning. And from what I hear, Mr. Reed will be here too. Mr. Reed’s good to us—pays us well to guard you. And if we catch some big-shot criminal with the sheriff, he practically showers us in gold.”


    “What are you gonna catch, huh?” Jasper had woken up. He was still lying or sitting—Daniel couldn’t tell, but he heard his voice from below. “Fatso, who brought you back from the dead?”


    Bill’s laughter filled the cell. He pointed at them and said:


    “I hope Mr. Reed hangs you tomorrow. In front of the whole town. No one’s gonna save you. No one. I’ll even ask him if I can kick the stool myself.”


    The fat man turned abruptly and disappeared down the corridor. His laughter echoed long after he was gone. No matter how much they fixed him, this model was bound to stay dumb.