Jerry stopped outside the cell and looked in. "What?"

Lucas smiled, although it lacked his usual cheeriness. "You're leaving, I take it?"

"I..."

"It's okay. Get going while you can. Things aren't going to get any better around here."

Jerry frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean this place is a madhouse and the inmates want blood. Leave while you're able."

"You want blood?"

"Not I," said Lucas. "This ugly little blighter on the floor. He's just getting started."

"How do you know that?"

"I've been around a while. I know a lot about a lot. This one means to destroy the human race."

Jerry looked down at the wounded creature and wondered how it could possibly be a threat to mankind. It was no bigger than a chimpanzee.

"Who the hell are you?" Jerry asked Lucas.

"Just an interested third-party. An observer, if you will."

Jerry shook his head, rolled his eyes. "Dude, why you got to be all 'riddle me this?' Stop talking bollocks all the time."

Lucas grinned. "You've become quite the man since I saw you last, Jerry-lad. I see your heart. It swells with a courage once absent."

"You don't know me."

"I know you well, from a time forgotten by all but the most perceptive, but it's of no import in this place and time. What's important is that the angry little monster currently sleeping on the ground between us will soon be up and well again, and when he is, it would be better to be gone from this place. My advice to you would be to hurry up and get in that lift. Go home and face your punishment. Life may still hold promise for you."

"How do you know about me? How do you know the things that I have done?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

Lucas ran his fingertips across the mesh of the fence. He blinked slowly. "When faced with a man, I have little difficulty in reading the verses of his soul. Your past, your present-they are etched into your mind and body. And when read together, they hold glimmers of your future. Which is why I am telling you one more time to flee this place. I fear you will not live if you do not, lad. No one would blame you for running."

Jerry frowned. He had planned on leaving anyway; that was why he was in the cellblock after all, heading for the elevator. Lucas's warning only added to the argument for trying to escape.

"Don't worry. I'm going. You take care, weird Irish guy." Jerry turned and walked away. He fingered the rubber fob in his pocket, making sure it was still there. Then he headed down the corridor.

Just running away as usual. But what choice do I have?

Further on down there was a large bloodstain. It covered the floor in a congealed pool, and probably came from Sun. Jerry stepped around it squeamishly. There were also several patches of chipped concrete where bullets had doubtlessly struck.

The elevator was just up ahead, past the cell with the horrible-looking vampire thing. It snarled and hissed at him as he passed, beating at the glass with its twisted hands.

Gonna be really glad to get away from that nasty sod. He looks like he wants to rip me to pieces.

Then something else caught Jerry's attention.

Wolfie sat up against the glass of his cell, wagging his tail and panting. When he saw Jerry pass by, he began to wiggle excitedly.

"Hey, Wolfie. How you doing?"

Wolfie yipped.

"I still can't believe they have you locked up down here with monsters like that thing next door. You're not a monster; you're just an animal."

Jerry thought about Lucas's words and wondered if Wolfie would be alright once things turned bad. Was something bad really going to happen, or was the Irish guy just messing with him?

Can I really walk away and leave everyone here to die?

Wolfie jumped up on his hind legs and pawed at the glass with his front ones. His long pink tongue slurped across the glass.

Jerry smiled. "I wish I could take you out of here with me, buddy. I bet you'd love it in the woods up there on the surface.

He placed his hand against the glass and Wolfie licked at it from the other side.

I'll probably be dead before I get within a mile away from this place.

Is there even any point trying to escape?

Wolfie never managed it and he's been here for years. Poor guy. Wonder when's the last time he even got out of that cell, or even had anyone to play with.

Jerry reached into his pocket and pulled out the blue rubber fob. He moved over to the LED screen for Wolfie's cell and placed the fob against it.

I must be crazy.

The screen flashed green and beeped. Menus came up on screen and Jerry started to jab at them, trying to navigate towards what he was looking for. Then he found the command he wanted.

CELL ENTRY.

He prodded the screen.

ENTER CODE.

Jerry remembered what Kane had told Sun and Andy when he'd given them the disks, and punched in 1-2-3-4.

OPEN CELL. YES? NO?.

He paused, finger hovering.

Then he pressed YES.

There was a shrill ringing, emanating from above the cell. The glass barrier began to slide away. Once it opened up to a gap of about four feet it stopped sliding. The ringing halted.

Jerry stared into the cell.

Wolfie stared right back, his ears pricked up like the tips of spears.

Kane's computer blinked. His eyes narrowed. He glanced up at Rimmer and Gornman and then leapt out of his seat.

"What is it?" Rimmer asked, his hand instinctively moving over his holstered pistol.

Kane shoved past the two of them, heading for the door. "Someone's opened up cell number 5. I did not authorize that."

"Who?" Rimmer asked.

"Sun Dennison-Jones."

"But she's in the infirmary. She couldn't be up on her feet yet."

"Exactly." Kane moused through his surveillance cameras until he came upon the werewolf's cell. "It's that British pest."

Jerry stepped forwards into the gap between the glass barrier and the wall. Wolfie padded backwards, looking both curious and nervous-almost cowering. Up close, Jerry realized he had underestimated the size of the beast. Wolfie was closer to the size of a pony than a dog. It was clear by the animal's body language that he was unused to someone being inside his cell. His fur had spiked up and his shoulders narrowed.

It's his territory.

Jerry considered backing out of the cell and closing it again, if only because of the smell. The stench inside the cell was primal, beastly. It made his eyes water. Jerry looked down at a bundle of blankets that formed Wolfie's bed and saw spoor mixed in with the straw that lined the floor. He also saw something else.

"Is that..."

Jerry reached down towards the blankets.

Wolfie let out a low, rising snarl.

Jerry slowed his movement, held out a hand. "It's okay, boy. I'm not going to hurt you. Easy does it."

Wolfie stopped snarling, but his lips remained curled.

Jerry grabbed the rubber ball amongst the tangled blankets and straightened up with it in his hands.

Wolfie hopped backwards, lowered on his haunches, his rear in the air. If not for the wagging tail, Jerry might have thought the animal was about to pounce.

"You like that, don't you, boy? You like to play with your ball."

Wolfie wagged his tail faster and yipped.

Jerry threw the ball. It sailed down towards the back of the cell and hit the rear wall, bouncing back the way it had come. Wolfie raced after it, leaping in the air as it almost sailed over his head. He spun around with the newly-captured prize in his mouth and flopped down on his belly, losing the ball so that it rolled back to Jerry's feet.

Jerry bent down and picked up the ball, held it in the air. "You wanna go again?"

Wolfie reared up ecstatically and waited for the ball to be thrown again.

"You're just a dog, aren't you? Is the reason you're down on subbasement 5 just because you took a chunk out of that asshole, Kane? I bet you were up on subbasement 1 before he came along."

Wolfie wagged his tail, barked at Jerry.

Jerry threw the ball. This time he threw it harder and added spin, trying to add a bit of variety for Wolfie to enjoy. The ball bounced off the rear wall and this time it flew far over Wolfie's head and back towards the front of the cell.

Jerry giggled at the sight of the huge beast sliding on its paws before spinning around excitedly and giving chase in the opposite direction. Wolfie threw himself across the cell like a bat out of hell, almost taking Jerry off his feet.

"Hey, Wolfie, stop. Slow down."

The ball continued racing through the air and flew out of the gap between the barrier and the wall. Wolfie immediately followed, wagging his tail dementedly. Seeing that he had just inadvertently let the animal loose, Jerry sprinted out after him, urgently calling his name.

"Wolfie! Wolfie, back in your cell, before they-"

There was the sound of gunfire.

Wolfie flew sideways across the concrete floor. Jerry put his hands up and saw that Rimmer and Kane were standing in the corridor. Kane had a mean-looking revolver pointed out in front of him, the barrel smoking.

Jerry looked left and saw Wolfie's large form panting on the ground and bleeding. His pained whimpers filled the cramped corridor.

"Wolfie!" Jerry attempted to rush to the animal's side but Kane shouted him to a halt.

"You stay right where you are. One move and I'll put you down, too."

Tears in his eyes, Jerry turned to face the general. "We were just playing ball and I threw it too hard. Please, just leave him alone. He might still be okay."

"You let out a monster, you fool."

"He's not a monster. He's just a big dog."

"You have no idea what you're talking about. He was coming right at us."

"He was chasing a goddamn ball!"

Jerry's legs folded and he collapsed onto his side, moaning and crying. His blurry gaze met Wolfie's as the two of them lay on the cold ground. Two outcasts, all alone in the world, so very far from home.

"It's okay, boy. It'll be okay."

Wolfie whimpered. His eyes focused intently on Jerry as his pink tongue lolled out between his jaws. Jerry reached out, managed to place a hand on Wolfie's snout. There was a brief wag of the animal's tail and Jerry felt a lick against his wrist.

"I need a team and a containment crate in here immediately," Rimmer said into the intercom on the wall.

It wasn't necessary. As Jerry wrapped his arms around Wolfie and patted his massive head, the beast let out a lengthy sigh and closed its eyes for the last time.