> "Think about it. It's just us in here, trapped in a box. We're all we have, which means that you're my only influence and I'm yours. Do you really think you're strong enough to resist becoming like me? You've already started copying my mannerisms."
> He points at you, and you quickly realize that you are sitting in the exact same position that he is, with one leg out and one knee up, providing a place to rest your arm on. You quickly adjust the way you are sitting.
"Remember what you told me not too long ago? About how a lack of socialization is bad for the brain? That's why solitary confinement is torture. Here, do me a favor. I need you to look around this room."
> You obey. You don't see much, just the same bland concrete walls. You kind of want Belani to stop talking.
"There's nothing to do. Suicide isn't even an option here, so wipe that thought out of your brain. We are meant to suffer here for the rest of our lives. They want us to lose our sanity, to sit in here and see things, to make enemies with our own brains. But... to toy with us, they allowed us one human being. See, they want us to bond over our shared traumatic experience in this hell hole. They want us to sympathize and empathize and all that bullshit, they want us to grow close, so close that we become the same person. Don't you see? Once we get to that point, talking to you is going to be like talking to myself. Then we'll actually be in solitary confinement."
> You want to ask Belani who "they" are and why "they" were doing this. You want to say that this treatment is unfair, especially since you aren't even sure what crime you committed. In fact, you aren't even sure if you committed a crime.
"Just... what I'm trying to say is, if we don't draw clear lines between you and me, we're going to go batshit insane. And we're going to be stuck like that for the rest of our lives."
> You begin to feel anxious.
"Be honest with me. Do you hate me?"
> You humor him and say yes, regardless of your true feelings.