"And I mean, just you and me, " said Heather.
Heather looked past him to the audio recording device on the wall of the building. Suddenly, she reared back and spat a small jet of flame towards the device, melting it off of the wall. Immediately, a blue light lit up on her collar.
"Sorry, sore throat, " she said, mimicking a hacking cough. John backed up a little, and the light stayed lit. Heather waited a little. The light stayed blue, but the other two remained dark.
"Whatever, " she said, looking at the technician through the glass window to the monitoring room. He didn't quite believe her, but at least he wasn't going to shock her. The truth was that she had been practicing that move for several months for this very reason. She had actually gotten quite good at controlling her flames. After all, there wasn't much else to do. And it had served her purpose. Now, she could talk to John alone. At least, for a while. She saw the tiny technician on a phone, obviously calling someone to come repair the device. It would probably take some time to get someone out here this late at night, though.
"Alright, now it is just you and me, " said Heather. Heather looked down and saw that John had backed away. He looked nervous and ready to bolt at any second. "Relax. If I wanted to hurt you, you would already be dead. Besides, I know Kim likes you, and I wouldn't want to make her sad. Well, more sad than she already is, " said Heather, as she lowered her head to the ground, eye level with John.
At the mention of a problem with Kim, John relaxed. His fear was replaced by worry. "Sad? What do you mean?"
"You mean, you don't know? And I thought you were so close, " said Heather. "Well, I must admit I suspected as much. That's why I wanted this little alone time with you. You see, Kim won't admit it, but this confinement is killing her. Every day she dies a little more. I know, I can feel it."
"You guys are dying?" asked John.
"Well, not exactly. Physically, we are fine. Very healthy, in fact. I think we are going to live a very long time. And that's part of the problem. The mental strain of being cooped up in here is weighing heavy on her. Every day I think it is affecting her mind a little bit more. I have caught her slipping up on more than one occasion. But I can hardly blame her. I sometimes get a bit loopy myself, " said Heather with a strange smile. John stared at Kim's sleeping head with obvious concern.
"Yeah, " said Heather softly. "She is a sweet girl. Much too soft for something like this. Every day it gets worse. I can't imagine what it will be like as the years pass. And I have a feeling we are going to live a very long time."
"But they are working on a cure. She won't be like this forever, " said John quietly. He didn't want to wake Kim now. He wanted the honest truth, and he was afraid that she had been hiding her problems from him.
"True, " said Heather. "But how long do you think that will take? Years? Decades? Centuries? Do you think she will be able to last that long? To hold onto her sanity after years of imprisonment? Of course, you probably won't be around to see her cured anyway. I wonder how much faster she will fade away once you are gone. "
John winced, and Heather could see that her last barb had struck home. John had delusions that Kim would somehow be cured, and that they would leave the Zoo and start a family somewhere in the real world. But Heather had shattered his fantasy and brought him back to reality.
"Why tell me this, other than to hurt me? " said John angrily.
"Because she needs your help. WE need your help, " said Heather.
"What could I possibly due to help? I just a lowly technician, not a scientist. I can't cure her, " said John.
"Also true, " said Heather. Her tail wagged a little with excitement. Her plan was working. John was falling for it. He was so deeply in love and desperate to protect Kim that he never even really questioned whether what Heather said was actually true.
"But you can do something else to help. You can help us escape, " said Heather.