Chapter 5 – Prison and friendship

James woke up with a start. It bashed his head against the bed above him. "Ow," the body exclaimed. It got up and admired itself in the window like you would. James looked through a window to see this. He was in a wooden room with a sole wooden chair which he was sitting on and a giant circular window. James had surmised that this was a trick that his mind had constructed to keep James safe.

"Why would you steal my body." He asked talking to himself while on a comfy wooden chair.

The body stopped admiring itself and frowned. "You are still here." It turned around to look at nothing. James was exceptionally confused. "I'm talking to you," it tapped its head.

"I'm glad we can establish a connection."

"Not for long." It went to its knees and screamed in agony. James felt a great pressure crushing down on him. He fell to his knees and crashed further onto the ground. He trembled from the extreme pressure. The house was crumbling around him. Helplessness overtook every thought in his mind, thousands of needles of searing pain hammered into his body. The screaming stopped.

James lay on the floor trembling. "Why? You could have finished this."

"No, the pain you felt, I felt." The body answered. "I can't risk your death. We might be somehow connected, this is bad."

James smiled and dragged himself up using the chair to support him. "It may just keep me alive so I'd say it is good. Not bad."

"Just stay out of my way." It grimaced at the thought.

"As you wish." James was being cautious to not anger it as the pain had felt was fearsome. James imagined a walking stick and one appeared in his hands. Leaning on it he steadied himself to his feet and sat himself back onto the chair to observe what happened.

It sat on the bed obviously confused by the unforeseen development. "This is stupid." James didn't bother saying anything to this.

The door to the cell crashed open, "Up and ready. It's time for your interview." The guard ordered. It got up without so much as a thought and followed the guard that had also punched him unconscious. They went through a bleak stone corridor that seemed to welcome darkness into the very walls. She opened a heavy iron door and in the room she pulled a chair and indicated for it to sit on it. She walked to the seat at the opposite side of the desk and swiftly took it.

"What's your ability?" she asked.

"Why would I tell you that?"

"We just need to keep tabs on you. If you aren't dangerous we will release you." James thought this was a good deal.

"Information is power. I can't tell you my power."

She sighed. "What was your name?"

It paused, "I don't know."

"How curious. It should be easily attained memories from your past host."

"It is James Sailor." He said trying to smooth the situation.

"Sorry," it said. "It slipped my mind, it was James Sailor."

"What do you call yourself?"

"Silk," it said.

"Stay still for a second," she sprung forward and took a sample of its blood. She leaned back on her chair and shook the syringe to see the blood go light blue. "You have some sort of illusion ability, that tricks people. The details are blurry and this seems to be unique, that isn't a good thing. It means you won't be able to share tips and tricks with others."

"On the flip side no one can guess what I will do."

"An optimist aren't you." She smiled, "sorry, but I will have to ask you to hold out your hand."

Silk did as he was told out of curiousity. James imagined a cup of hot tea in his hands and it appeared. The woman took its hand in hers and her eyes glowed a amber colour.

Silk jerked his head back in pain, "Get out of my head." It shouted furiously, unable to move its hands. Silk kept getting worse and worse until it broke down. "James, you are in my head, please help." It whimpered.

"Fine," he got up, walking stick in one hand and tea in another. He imagined a door out of the room and it appeared. He opened it and hobbled out into a desolate plain of whiteness. The room looked like a temple in comparison. The only thing linking him to the room was the door which he locked by tapping it with the cane.

It must be so plain because Silk was a new being like a baby. James saw an unfamiliar figure walking through the plane and he called out to it. "Do you want anything snooper."

The blurred figure turned surprised. "What are you?" the voice was the same as the woman in the interrogation room.

"That's not important. My friend doesn't want you here though so get out." He sipped his tea. He tapped the cane against the floor for effect and a window appeared showing the outside world.

"You can't make me." She made a move towards James while morphing her hand into a knife-like shape. Surprised James jumped out the way to find out the earlier pains had already subsided; however, he was still cut shallowly.

James knew straight away that in a fair fight he stood no chance against the perpetrator. James looked at his clothes to see that the tea had spilled all over him. "Come on, this is a white shirt." He cursed.

"Worry about the fight." She went in with a right hook which he blocked only to have his feet to be swept from underneath him. He crashed to the ground, gathering his wits quickly he kicked her legs making her take a step back which he used to awkwardly retreat backwards while jumping up.

"You are good," he complimented. She pointed her fingers in a hand gun shape and a black aura seemed to radiate from it. James quickly materialised a large shield in front of him to protect himself. He felt an awful power push against the shield but it held. The bombardment continued and using this time he tried thinking of a way out. Carefully he let the shield melt from the bombardment. It stopped, leaving him with half a shield.

"You are still alive."

"Yep."

"Not for much longer." She rushed forward to strike the finishing blow. James grinned, he had after all counted on this. She slipped on the melted shield which had the same properties as oil thanks to his imagination. She face-planted and lining himself up with his cane she slipped closer. He raised his cane, she got closer, she was just about upon him and using this he used a golf swing on her head. The window showed the women falling back on her chair with considerable force.

"That went way too well for someone like me."

"Thank you." Silk said.

"This wasn't a free act of kindness. You have to treat me as a friend from now." James closed the window before he could hear its reaction to this. James waved his hand and the wreckage disappeared. He headed back to his room and chair, which was a fair distance away, hoping that this would be the start of some sort of friendship.