FicWad

A loud yell caused Tomo to spin around, tossed from his thoughts his brain almost clunking with effort to construct a ploy. The door which Ray had been battering for the past few minutes had finally decided to obey; it had swung open, revealing a musky cell complete with the tangled heap of Ray Toro in the middle of the floor.


"I was not expecting that!" Ray shook his head as he stumbled to his feet. They could not help but laugh at the shock on Ray's features.


"Hang on... Does that mean?" Tomo ran forwards to the next door, it opened with very little pressure, but no one was inside,"Qucik, split up, open every door!"


A noise descended upon their ears, turning them to statues, as though cursed. It was a girl's voice calling somethingsounding very much like: "Help,"


"Hayley," Tomo breathed before bolting to find the right, "Hayley! Hayley, where are you?" Another muffled cry, this time mingled with a male's, followed by a banging.


"Over here!" Leah cried pointing to the door nearest her before rushing forwards to open it.


Two people practicaly fell through the threshold; a boy and girl, both with flaming hair.


"GERARD!" Mikey threw himself onto his older brother, clinging on as though he was the only rock above a waterfall, "I missed you so fucking much!"


"Me too... I thought I'd never see you again..." They broke apart, thrown back to reality and the present situation. Raywalked up to Gerard, arms open and brought the faux redhead into an artery crushing 'man hug'. A moment of calm followed as all severn beamed at each other. They were lost in the reunion and after much hugging, 'thankyou's' and 'I'm so glad we found you's' Hayley smiled at Abbie and Leah, prompting an introduction.


"Oh, I'm Leah and this is Abbie," She nodded at Gerard and Hayley, the four exchanging hand shakes.


"Where's Shannon?" Gerard asked looking around.


"I was hoping you would have seen him... He came to rescue you guys a few hours ago..."


"We haven't seen him I'm afraid," Hayley answered shaking her head, "or Jared... Although-"Gerard shook his head to stop Hayley.


"'Although' what?"


"Nothing, nothing, it's nothing... We'll find them. I heard Caspian's cronies saying something about 'Cell 10',"


It was only then that Tomo realised that the doors had been numbered, they currently stood outside number '5'.


"There!" Ray indicated to the tenth cell. Mikey got there first, throwing open the door screaming: "Jared! Shannon! JARED! SHANNON!"


Only one figure lay in the shadows. They were bound at the wrists and ankles in the fetal position, blindfolded and gaged. The side of their face partially illuminated by the moonlight spilling through a shaft. Something was wrong: They were neitherShannon nor Jared.


"Dustin!" Hayley cried, running to his side and tugging furiously at his bonds, the others got the idea and helped her until Dustin lay free on the floor. He was shaking slightly and his eyes raw from a sea of tears.


"What happened?" Hayley breathed, "Where's Jared and Shannon?" Dustins eyes grew to twice their size at the mention of their names, he shook his head like a hysterical child, "Dustin please... was that scream... was it Jared?"


"Jared? Scream? What are you talking about?" Tomo demanded, aghast.


"C-Caspian..." Whispered Dustin. Hayley and Gerard exchanged worried looks.


"Caspian? What's he done?" Fear shot through Tomo's body.


"Take us to them..." Hayley pleaded a hand on Dustins thigh. After a minute's stare he nodded, slowly. Hayley smiled at him.


The large hand on Tomo's watch moved five full intervals before they were all out of the cell. Dustin had very fewphysical injuries, but he had clearly witnessed something that had turned his legs into spindly straws. All the while as they walked deeper and deeper into the maze Tomo felt sick, 'what had happened? Were they okay? What if after all of this something had already happened? - No! Don't think that!'


The tunnel ahead sloped upwards, there was no visible alternate route.


"Are you sure Dustin? this leads up to the warehouse."


Dustin nodded and stumbled over to the side of the tunnel and began to knock. Confusion morphed to comprehensionand soon all eight were tapping the rock, ears strained for a deviation in pitch.


"Whaa!" Leah lept back in surprise as her hand had just triggered the rock to shudder and shift like virgin flesh beneath her hand, "I'm guessing this is what we were looking for..."


The outline of a segment of rock, just high and wide enough to permit a large adult male, was carved by hundreds ofinvisible pick axes before their eyes. It pushed out of the rock face before moving sideways to uncover another tunnel barely larger than its entrance.


"Wow... Talk about Harry Potter!" Abbie breathed.


"I'll say, That's Diagon Alley right there, just less shops and cheery music, and more doom, gloom and spiders" Leah commented


"What is this, Dustin? It isn't on the map" Mikey asked, filing through the entrance behind Tomo.


"It leads to a little known part of 'The Den', as the 'oh-so' conspicuous entrance may have revealed, Caspian uses it when his actions are slightly more... sadistic and unorthodox. This just leads to another large caverns. He uses it for...testing" Dustin immediatley wished he could withdraw his words for they stabbed fear into his party. He shook his head, and instead changed the subject, "What map?"


Mikey began to explain the map and book and all were very confused when Dustin insisted he had never seen of norheard of it before, this struck Tomo as very weird indeed.


The torches shone bright, but could not illuminate the gunpowder-black atmosphere nor melt the verbal silence. Only the reflecting thud of sole on rock and the monotonous drip of water registered in their ears.


"Where is everyone?" Hayley may well have fired a bullet for the sudden noise crashed upon their eardrums.


"Well, area is very much on a 'need to know' basis -"


"Yes, but earlyer on, we've seen nothing, no forms of life, not even in the 'living quarters'!"


Dustin shook his head, flummoxed, his mosey hair licking his eyes, "that's very odd indeed," Caspian was planning something, he knew it. The unsettling feeling released a mouse into his abdomen that began to nibble on his stomach.

"Dustin... you said 'testing'?" Tomo furrowed his brows.


"Caspian likes to develop various items that he believes will help him succeed in his plan" Dustin the - for Tomo, Mikey, Ray, Leah and Abbie's sake - elaborated on Caspians plan.


"That bastard!" Tomo growled.


"So Jared and Shannon are down here, why?" Ray asked. Dustin's answer was to lead the group at a violent left. Three doors were in front of them.


"I have to warn you..."


"Wait, Dustin, why were you tied up in that cell? Why weren't Jay and Shann in there?"


"Because, Tomo, they were... Caspian wanted me to 'help' him,. After he had done it I freaked, tried to stop him so he turned on me and I'm guessing took them here as Kirus warned him that you guys were coming... I hope-"


"So Caspian knows we are here?" Tomo gasped


"Of course that is why it is very worrying that you have seen no-one, we have to be quick!"


He wrenched open the middle door, which was surprisingly unlocked. Inside were hundreds upon hundreds of jars containing various liquids and powders.


"Woah"


"It's like an underground pharmacy" Ray blinked


"I highly doubt any of these contain paracetamol," Dustin warned. He pointed to an electric blue liquid, "That's what heused to knock Shannon unconscious for those five days, no wonder the doctors were baffled... and that reverses paralysis."


"Mmmm, smells like almonds," Ray had his nose in a jar full of what looked like fluffy sand.


"NO! Do NOT eat it! It's got cyanide in it!"


"Shit!" Ray practically threw the jar back to the shelf.


They exited the store cupboard.


The next door's contents were disapointingly empty, as were the next's.


"I don't get it... They should be here!" Dustin cried.


"Wait!" Gerard pointed to the left wall of the room: Another door. Dustin got there first, it was locked.


"This is just great!" Tomo snarled, "And YOU!" he rounded on Dustin, concern for his friends taking over his normallydocile and kind nature, "What has Caspian done with them! Why are they here?"


"Tomo! Tomo stop, calm down!" Hayley commanded as Tomo made to grab Dustin's shirt.


"I-I-I can't, I'm sorry Tomo..." Tears began to rim his water line.


"Look kid, you know something we do not and if you don't want to end up with your nose up your arse!"


"TOMO please!" Hayley grabbed his shoulder, "I know your worried, but it isn't Dustin's fault!"


Tomo deflated with a sigh, lids covered eyes for a second, anger exiting him. She was right. Dustin composed him self,becoming less of a terrified rabbit by the seconds.


"I have a key.." Dustin withdrew a small set of keys from his pocket, "Caspian always trusted me enough to give me these." Tomolooked incredibly sheepish, the flesh not covered by a black bush was maroon.


He shoved the rusting black key into the lock and turned.


xXx

Shannon raised his head from his brother's damp hair as he heard the door open. Instinctivly he brought Jared closer to his body, hugging him tighter, peering into the ever increasing gap in the doorway.


xXx

Tomo was first to recognise the huddled mass in the middle of the room, first to fall through the threshold, first to scream:"Shannon! Jared!", first to realise that something was horrible wrong. Tomo flung himself at Shannon who grabbed him with one arm and started crying hysterically into his friend's shoulder.


"It's my fault! It's my fault!" He sobbed.


"Wha-?" Then Tomo looked straight at Jared curled into Shannon's body, only his face and limbs were visible, but that was enough "Fuck..."


He was as pale as the moon far above, drenched in sweat and caked in blood, a scarlet river trickled from his trembling lips. He was conscious, but barely. "Shann... What happened?" Shannon shook his head, tears splashed onto Jared'scollarbone.


"Shannon is a... Werewolf" The group turned to Dustin, each as exasperated as the next. Dustin purposefully did not look at Jared's shaking form, "Caspian turned Shannon - well Kirus did -, He forced Shannon to bite Jared, Shannon did not know what the was doing, but Jared's already a vampire, both blood flows through his veins... destroying him," He hung his head before muttering, almost inaudible, "I'm sorry"


"You mean there's nothing you can do," Shannon was aghast, letting out a howl as Dustin shook his head


"H-how long?..." No one could believe that something so pallid and frail could muster the strength to breathe, let alone speak, but neither could they deny that it had been Jared who spoke. His eyes were open revealing bloodshotorbs that no longer contained their azure shine. Dustin's throat ran dry, parched, as though he had been chewing onsalt. He had witnessed this four times more that he wished, watched Caspian destroy perfectly innocent people from the inside, he knew from previous expirience that Jared should already be dead - he did not look far from it. Dustin knew it could be hours, minutes... seconds, but how do you tell a person that? Dustin's silence was enough, Jared closed his eyes, the smallest if tears crept down his cheekand fell to the floor.


"No...NO! C-Caspian will fix him! YOU HEAR THAT YOU BASTARD? YOU WILL FIX HIM!" Shannon screamed to the room, to Caspian. Little did he know that Caspian could heat them, that he had just drawn a small chuckle from Caspian's cold lips.


"Shann... shh... It'll be alright," Shannon stopped upon his brother's wish. The room was silent except for the soft sniffled of Hayley. Jared seemed to deteriorate in front of their very eyes. His veins protruded through his impossibly white skin, it was a horrific sight.

"We have to get him out of here," Mikey commanded


"You can't move him!" Dusitn replied.


"We have to try, what are we gonna do just sit here and wait for Caspian to come? The guy is a nut job!"


"Fine... Jared can you sit up?" Dustin finished the sentence with far more tenderness than he started with. As Shannonmoved to help his brother the room inhaued violently. Jared's left side was a mangles mess, a few if his ribs were visiblethrough the ruptured flesh, as white as stars in a scarlet sky. He tries to move, but turned a nasty Shade of green before slumping back down.


"I'll carry you..." Shannon said as he carefully slipped one arm beneath his brother's cold neck and another under hisknees before standing. In another situation Shannon would have been highly embarrassed by the fact that he was completely naked. The change from man to wolf and back had resulted in his clothes lying in tatters back in the other cell. That did not stop him from becoming greatly relived when Leah rushed forwards with her jacket, Tomo helped stable Jared as Shannon tied the material around his 'area'.


"Frank! Frank! We've found them, we need to get out of here now!" Mikey urged into the 'walkie-talkie', a confirmation from Frank followed.


"Let me carry him, Shann," Tomo suggested,"You're weak"


"No, really, I'll take him," He cradled his brother's form in his arms once more. Jared's torso heaving more and more withthe effort of each new breath. Tomo smiled softly and fell into step behind Shannon.


"What I don't get is if Shannon's a werewolf why is he human now? The full moon is up outside," Ray queried, half jogging to keep up with Dustin.


"The change and it's properties completely depends on the human trapped within, from what I've seen, only actually being touched by the moon's light will trigger Shannon's change. Whether that is permanent or just for the first week, I do not know..."


All the while Tomo had a nagging feeling, the feeling that something had been forgotten, some vital detail. He shook it off, there were more pressing matters at hand, his best friend being inched from death for one.


XxX



"Do you agree with him?" Kirus was engrossed in the monitor


"Of course I do, that's what made Jared such a bloody nightmare. I was foolish to not appreciate his wild spirit... but Ithink I've finally broken him," Caspian sneered, Kirus sighed. He had seen a completely different side to his brother this day, and he did not like it.


"Are you seriously going to just let him die?"


"There's nothing I can do, is there? Besides, they may be more inclined to obey me when their friend and leader islying on a mortuary slab," Caspian shrugged


"Why on earth did you not take the key from Dustin?" Kirus narrowed his eyes


"You, my friend, know nothing of 'sport'"


"They will get away though, they have about a hundred people"


Caspian scoffed, "Gasp, and I only have an army of mythical creatures... Whatever shall I do? If it's a fight they want...It's a war they shall get!"