Faira gasped and pressed herself against a wall as a scraping began at a door creating the only exit—or entrance—her eyes wide and heart pounding. The sound echoed in the basement almost in stereo as a second scraping from somewhere else in the room joined in. Her attention turned back to the woman in the glass, whom she had somehow nearly forgotten about.
 
With a shaky nod, Faira went to another side of the encasement. There, near the bottom and blending in with the glass, a small leaver of the same material waited. She looked up to the woman to mention it to her as she placed a hand on the lever, but froze. Her face paled and she went slack-jawed as the woman removed her arm and grabbed the letter.

Swallowing, she pulled the lever as the woman began to read the letter, and the walls of the cage pulled slowly apart. Her gaze shifted once more, and she felt suddenly faint at the sight of a demon at the door, the words on the letter doing little for comfort. She leaned against the wall behind her and ran her hand through her hair.

Demons… people with detachable limbs… robot-suited guys… someone going by Collector… What’s next? She thought, taking a shaky breath. “H-he like a serial killer or something?” She couldn’t help asking, her voice a whisper, wondering if she really wanted to know the answer.

She jumped at the woman’s panicked scream as the demon flung the door open. She gave a relieved sigh as it revealed only empty space beyond, and sunk down the wall with her back still against the cold stone. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath as the gentle music flooded into the room, alighting a small spark of curiosity within her.

She took another deep breath and opened her eyes. “Seriously,” she began, her words still soft. “Anyone ever heard of this guy?”