A Deliberate Step

My joints loosened quietly. The floor below was cool, patterned in vast, pale squares. Directly ahead stood another figure with vibrant green hair, frozen in a defensive crouch. I did not rush. I shifted my weight onto my left heel, feeling the faint friction of the tile beneath my boot. With a single, measured pace forward, I extended my right hand and tapped the other figure's rigid arm. Solid plastic. It did not stir. The room remained quiet, vast, and still under my observation.