Jack barely opened his eyes now. It seemed to hurt too much to do even that. His body had been giving up, yes, and so now his mind was doing the same. Continue for what? Shut down, it was best. Shut down and eventually things would change. If there were anything he could expect it would be that. Eventually, things would change.

Funny, he thought. He'd originally come here on a whim. He'd pressed a button and met a woman and set off a sequence of events he could have never predicted. Dizzying as his life was, and there was little he could do, he would always get involved and swept away. It was who he was. And he could have never expected it, that he'd be here, his name in papers and life twisted into history.

And so he lay, almost as though he were asleep, but he wasn't, he was in a state somewhere between life and death, but not close enough to death for it to sweep him away.

But then, one day, one day like any other, things changed.

There was activity above, he was dimly aware of it. Aware too of the candlelight that accompanied the commotion. Small, yes, but given he'd had none it hurt and burned into his eyes. He huddled further into the corner, lifting his arm as well he could to shield his face.

He heard the grate as it was lifted and heard the footsteps as they came down towards him, and he was scared now as to what might be coming.

Not for a moment did he notice who was there.