"Uuuuh, nice, er, reptile," I stammer out, looking at the oversized lizard. It stares at me with unblinking eyes. A flick of the tongue and it's gone again, silently.

I let out a breath. I'm about to attempt some light-hearted comment to my bizarre new acquaintance, when another sound comes from the darkness at the end of the corridor. This time it's definitely human!

Some basic mindset snaps into place, and I walk towards the source of the sound. The faint light from the torches and the slit windows leads to a darker vacuum in the wall.

It's a sort of cell, its door ajar, keys still dangling from it. I take a torch from the wall and look in. Shocked, I see a human figure backing away from me, trying to vanish into a corner, but a chain tied to her neck holds her fast to the wall.

A girl in tattered rags! Why is she here? A sudden thought crosses my mind: some experiment by Desmond? No, my school buddy would never have done such a thing... Another noise in the distance, threatening, getting closer. There is no time to think!

"We have to free her," I say, about to step into the cell. I look at Dr. Luong, and am surprised to see him looking critically at me. "What?"