Tanisha reached out slowly and brushed her fingers against the still figures shoulder. Takeo reacted instantly by twisting away from her, which straightened him out a lot and brought his face around so it was visible.

Tanisha bit her tongue at his expression. "Takeo it's me!!"

He breathed in with difficulty, blinking his eyes without opening them as drops of water hit him. He mouthed something but no sound came, and Tanisha shook her head, brushing her soaking bangs out of her eyes.

"Takeo you have to get up! The men don't know I'm here, but if we're going to get out we have to move now before they come back!"

Takeo shook his head helplessly, moving his arm slightly like he was trying to pick it up. Tanisha reached forward, but his arm finally moved at the same time and he grabbed her wrist, Tanisha's intake of breath cut short at the sudden weight.

"Takeo please! I promised mom I'd get us out of here if it's at all possible!"

Takeo blinked his eyes part way open to look up at her. "Mom...?"

Tanisha pushed herself up part way to look over her shoulder. The water wasn't exactly coming down hard, but even in no more then two minutes Tanisha's clothes where three times heavier then usual.

"Moms in a room, the men come and talk to her every little bit to tell her how-" Tanisha stopped and tightened her jaw. "To lie about you. We can get her out if we go now!"

Takeo shook his head, his eyes falling closed. "Can't go now..."

Tanisha grabbed his wrist, breaking her hand free and searching for his other hand with it. When she found it, she stopped and stared at the chain. "Oh..."

Takeo blinked his eyes open again, having to squint as the water kept trying to hit them. "Get out of the painting... then burn it..."

"What?" Tanisha frowned at him.

"No one else can draw it... I can't get out if it's burned..."

"Uh that's exactly what we're not trying to do here!" Tanisha glared at him. "Trap you in with these sick men?! I don't think so!" Tanisha tilted her head, her glare softening slightly. "You where in this painting weren't you... for those twelve years... when you disappeared, it was cause you came in here and they got you."

Takeo turned his head away, his eyes closing with a look of anguish.

Tanisha bit her tongue hard. "That settles it even more. I'm going to find a way to get you out!!"

Takeo moved his wrist feebly, the chains clanking together. Tanisha tightened her lips, but then sucked her breath in hard. Takeo turned his head at the same time, pulling his right arm out of Tanisha's and struggling to sit up. Tanisha quickly searched the room for somewhere to hide.

"In there!" Takeo hissed, pointing to the one thing Tanisha had missed when she'd first looked in to the room. "Don't... touch the floor with your skin."

Tanisha gulped hard and turned to slip and slide across the room, the curtain stopping its movement with no time to spare. Through a slit at the base, Tanisha peered out at the man standing in the doorway. He was the one she had seen talking to her mother, and guessed he was the head man, partly because his robes where different and partly because the way he talked and moved just seemed a bit more commanding then any of the others. He also looked like someone but she couldn't think of who.

The water had stopped, but the man stayed where he was for a few minutes, Tanisha blinking as the floor turned reddish in places, patches of dryness spreading out from them.

Suddenly remembering Takeo's words, Tanisha moved silently but quickly, pushing herself into a crouching position and tightening her jaw as she lost her vision of what was happening. She couldn't think of any way to keep her skin off the floor and look out the tiny crack though, and wondered if Takeo had known that and told her on purpose. Even as she wondered that though, she knew if it had had anything to do with it it wasn't the only reason. Even through her shoes she could feel a burning sensation that she was sure on bare skin would have brought extreme pain and left scars for life.

The man said something and Tanisha frowned. She'd never heard any language that sounded like that before.

There was a silent pause and he spoke again, his voice moving part way across the room. Then Takeo answered in the same language. Tanisha raised her eyebrows. Of course! It fit perfectly with his strange accent! Tanisha hadn't even realized that the men had the same accent when they spoke in English. It sounded so much better mixed with Takeos voice.

There was a low rumble that Tanisha realized was supposed to be a chuckle and shivered at the sound. Then silence filled the room for another few seconds, Tanisha twisting to glance at the wall as the reddish furnace like glow of the floor brightened and splashed on to it. She wished she could see what was happening. Even though the floor was bright, she hadn't gotten much hotter, and was very glad for that. It must just have heated up to clear the floor of water so it wouldn't be so slippery.

A few seconds later Tanisha heard the sound of suddenly moving chains against the wall like Takeo was moving, and then after a short pause, the man said something as the chains moved again, more smoothly, and this time coming part way across the room and the ones hanging from the ceiling, which where a bit louder, moved.

Tanisha gulped. What was going to happen?