Neil stays like that, frozen in that excruciating agony, for another good minute. The metal bars bend to form decent hand impressions.

A brief touch pulls his attention back to his surroundings, to his body, and bit by bit, Neil releases the tension, the heavy grip on the metal. A piece snaps off and falls to the wayside, which he ignores to concentrate on breathing.

He inhales and exhales for a moment, eyes wide open and chest heaving. It takes him longer to chance speech. "Do...it..."