The door led to a flight of stairs leading up. We must've been pretty deep underground, because it took seemingly ages to climb up the whole thing. Or it was just because I was still unbelievably weak.

At the top, I asked to lean against a wall for a moment, breaths heaving. Gray hardly seemed bothered from dragging me up all those stairs.

"You alright, kid? You don't look too good."

"No, I'm... I'm fine. Just- Give me a second."

He raised an eyebrow at my obvious fib, then sighed and leaned against the wall next to me.

"Whenever you're fit to go, I'll help you out. Just remember to stay away from the robots."

I nodded.

"Hey, uh, Gray? Do I really look beat up?"

He studied me for a moment, then shrugged.

"You've got a couple bruises, but I've got no clue what they're from. Could've been a bad fall, maybe someone beat you up or something. I dunno."

"I'm ready to go, Gray."

"Good. Can you walk, or do I still need to help you?"

I took a step to see if I could walk, and despite my leg being wobbly, I was able to stay afoot.

"I think I can walk."
"You can't think, kid. You gotta know, or you'll definitely be dead out there."
I took another step, then another. I wasn't falling.

"Alright, I know I won't fall."

I couldn't see his face, because of the mask, but I could practically hear his smirk.

"Hey, kid, what's your name?" asked Gray.

"I..." I thought for a moment, trying to get something, anything, but all I got was nothing.

"I don't know. I can't remember."
"Give yourself one. I'm not gonna call you 'kid' for the rest of the time we're together."

"Um... I don't know."

Gray looked me up and down.

"You look like a Jason. Let's call you that for now, then if you want a different one later, just say so."
"Alright sounds good... So, we gonna head out soon?"

"Yeah. We just need to do our talking inside, because talking is one of the Can't Do's out there. You talk, the robots catch you. Got it?"

"Yep. No talking. Got it."
"Remember what I told you down there. Do exactly as I say, and you'll live."
"I'll make sure to pay attention."
"Good."

Gray stepped toward a large door with a hand wheel in the center. He pulled the wheel to the left, with a bit of effort, managed to pull it open. The door was at least two inches thick, made to keep things out.

"Hey, Gray? This place seems pretty secure. Why did you say it wasn't safe down there?"

"Nowhere is safe nowadays. Even underground, it isn't completely secure. Now, shut up. We're gonna go out."

I had a feeling that any further questions would just start to annoy him, so I followed him out of the open door and into the sunlight.