Not what I expected

From the other side of the door, I thought I could hear movement.

The door was so thick, my knock had sounded puny - so instead, I slapped at the door with my palm, hard enough to make my hand sting. Still no reply, and I couldn't hear any further sounds from within: had I imagined it in the first place?

I slammed the heel of my hand into the door, as loudly as I could. Down in this damp corridor, I wasn't worrying about being discovered.

"Jenny?" I said. "Jen? It's me, Alan. Can you hear me?"

There was definitely a sound then. I heard - muffled, but definitely there - footsteps approaching the door.

"Al? Is that really you?"

It was her! My heart beating faster, I felt a grin spread across my face.

"Jen! Yes, it's me! Listen, I don't suppose you can open the door, can you?"

There was a pause. "No," said the muffled voice. "Mr Lewis says that..."

I interrupted what she was saying; I didn't need to know what she'd been told about why she was imprisoned here.

"Okay Jen - it's not a problem. I can't open the door from out here, either. But I can get in. It's just that...well, it's ... you'd better prepare yourself for a bit of a surprise, that's all."

I wondered what the effect of seeing me appear out of thin air would be, but put the thought out of my mind. It had to be done. "OK Jen - are you ready?"

"Ready for what, Alan? What are you..."

Blink.

I stood before her, the final words of her question dying on her lips.

Looking quickly around, two things surprised me. The first was how the room looked: it was more like a very comfortable hotel suite than a prison cell.

The second was the look on Jenny's face. The shock I'd expected. The expression of anger was something I hadn't.



Story begins here.