Parli in Italiano?

A man with a gun stood in the middle of her room. He had been there for what felt like hours, watching. She hadn't slept, she wasn't sure if she could even recognize sleep any more. Maybe it was one of his tricks. Maybe he was trying to break her, just like he broke everyone else.

But Angelique knew that broken people didn't live this long. They couldn't survive this place. Broken people were dead or gone.

She shifted and the chair creaked loudly but the man didn't react to her movement. Instead he just stared at the wall in front of him. She wondered how much longer it would be before he killed her.

The door burst open and a man marched into the room with a woman in tow. He was tall, almost as tall as the man with the gun, but his hair was dark and his eyes were brown and kind like the soil after rain. The woman seemed older, but only by a few years and they both looked so clean and neat despite being in such a dirty place.

The man with the gun turned to face them and Angelique held her breath. She knew what happened next, but she couldn't recall why it happened or when it happened or who these people were exactly, but she knew what happened next because she'd seen it all before in so many different ways each time ending in death and despair for everyone involved.

That's what this is about then? A test? Is someone watching me from behind those reflective glass windows? Are they deciding whether I'm worthy of living anymore or should I just take my punishment now?

Pierre walked over to the man with the gun and put his hand on his shoulder gently. The man didn't move but Angelique saw him tense slightly at Pierre's touch. After a moment Pierre laughed softly and shook his head before walking around to stand beside Angelique again as if nothing had happened at all between them two men standing in the same room threatening each other with guns while both of them tried to save her life at once from an unseen enemy beyond their walls watching everything they did through cameras hidden all around them somehow that they couldn't see but she could?

What do you want me to do Delphine? I can't save her myself even if I wanted to because it's not just me against this guy; it's me against every other person here too. I don't have any money, supplies, weapons, food, or even friends because we're all locked up together for some unknown reason in this prison that resembles Bordeaux but isn't really Bordeaux. Instead, it's actually an unbearable hell on earth controlled by callous individuals pretending to be ordinary men living their daily lives while waiting for death to claim us all, despite our careful adherence to their rules in a futile attempt to earn our keep.

Angelique blinked hard as the world spun around her, and she tried to focus on something besides breathing quickly in and out like a dying animal trapped in a cage. The overwhelming noise and chaos surrounding them all made it impossible for her to think clearly, causing her to lose all sense of self and comprehension of her situation and the people around her.

"We need your help," Delphine said softly while Pierre watched the two men warily like he expected them both to shoot at any moment. Why were people here so determined to kill each other? No one ever bothered to explain why they had been banished from society or condemned to live out their sentences behind these walls. Questions only led to vague responses, and secrets were closely guarded – knowledge rarely shared willingly, and then only to exchange favors.

How is anyone supposed to navigate this strange place, where time seems to move backward, causing everyone to forget even their own identities? The surreal atmosphere made it challenging to distinguish reality from madness or comprehend why so many people suddenly seemed concerned with protecting her today when they never did before.

Pierre moved closer towards her and took her hand into his own, but Angelique couldn't feel him at all. She was uncertain whether this was an elaborate ruse or a desperate attempt to save her life. The only thing that felt real were the rooms beyond those glass windows where others silently watched, judged, and calculated who among them would live or die based on their actions, beliefs, strengths, and countless other criteria.

"What do you mean exactly, Detective Galois?" Pierre asked, looking directly into her eyes and trying to hold onto reality and hope, though he knew better than most that hope was fleeting in this place of endless pain and suffering.

Angelique blinked again, wiping away tears as she desperately tried to remember who these people were and why she should care about helping them – or why she should care about anything anymore.

"I need your help," Delphine repeated, clutching tightly onto Pierre's hand, refusing to let go even though she knew that eventually, everything and everyone would disappear from her life, leaving her utterly alone once more.