Spy Guy: Here is the second one. :D E-Dantés will be happy to see this finally finished. Enjoy.
59. No way Out
"Caged."
"This is my zoo, created by me, for all of the unique specimens that I decide to keep alive."
フアントム
All around him was the pungent smell of decay and death. The teenager wrinkled his nostrils, rolling over onto his back, groaning slightly. Something rough crinkled beneath the weight of his body as he tried to force himself into a sitting position. The boy sluggishly reached a hand up to his throbbing skull, and paused, trying to gather his jumbled thoughts.
"Whelp…your powers have grown…"
A sharp flash of green burned behind his eyes.
Pain pushed everything aside. The boy's mind refused to recall any of his memories, and he was left more confused than before.
"Start with your name…" His mind said, speaking calmly. "What is your name?"
The youth struggled to remember for a moment, cradling his pounding head between his hands.
"Dan…" He whispered. "Dan…"
But he could push no further, the pain was too much. The boy fell into mute placidly, sitting in total darkness, unable to open his eyes from fear.
"Something bad is out there." He told himself. "I don't want to see."
For a few moments, he sat in silence, his eyes clamped shut, so he wouldn't have to see what he seemed to be so afraid of. The boy didn't even stir as a loud metal grating cut into his ears, and loud, pounding footsteps slowly approached him.
He whimpered as something seized him by his hair and roughly pulled him to his feet. The boy's fingers made contact with what felt like cold chain-link fencing. He held on to it, using its strength to support his heavy body.
"Wake up, Whelp." A low voice demanded. The boy suddenly felt very cold. It was as if ice was running up and down his spine. He slowly opened his eyes, staring out at the emotionless metal face of his captor.
With a gasp, everything returned to him.
"S-skulker." He rasped feeling fear course through his pained mind. His bony fingers gripped tighter to the fencing as his legs threatened to collapse beneath him.
"Aww…you remember my name." The ghost cooed in a mocking tone, casually smashing the boy's face up against the chain fence. The boy gritted his teeth, cringing as a slow stream of memories came back to him.
"My name is Danny…" He said to himself. "I'm…I'm half ghost. Skulker…he wants to kill me…"
The boy tensed at the last thought, trying to stare up at the large metal ghost who still gripped tightly to his ebony black hair.
"You're going to kill me." Danny rasped, trying to keep his voice from trembling. "And…and the you're going to skin me…and…"
Skulker laughed loudly, which cause Danny to whimper with fright.
"Why am I so scared of him?" He asked himself, staring up into the ghost's glassy green eyes. "What did he do to me?"
"You're such a rare specimen, whelp." The hunter grinned. "A halfbreed like you? I only know of one other, and he happens to pay me quite handsomely."
"Vlad…" Danny heard the voice in his mind whisper. "Your arch enemy."
"V-vlad…he's why I'm here...isn't he?" The boy asked, gripping the wire fence tighter as Skulker released his hair. His body felt heavy…and his limbs weighed down on him like lead. He could taste something bitter in his mouth, and realized that his tongue was swollen from thirst.
"You catch on quick, boy." The hunter laughed, his uneven teeth glinting in the faint green light. "This is my zoo, created by me, for all of the unique specimens I decide to keep alive. The only one who saved you from my knife was Mr. Masters. He paid me a handsome sum to keep you here, in one of the deluxe suites."
"Deluxe suite?" The boy scoffed inwardly. His enclosure was surrounded by tall chain-link fences that glowed a faint green. Another layer of fencing covered the top, and was held in place by metal chains. A few lonely pieces of plywood rested over the makeshift roof, providing some protection from the angry black clouds that hung low in the sky. In one corner was a small shelter comprised of more pieces of sagging plywood with a pile of hay thrown inside. Danny looked down, and realized that he was standing in another mound of mildewed hay, his nose twingeing in discomfort.
"You're to stay here with all my other trophies." Skulker continued, tromping out of the cage. "Don't even think about escape. This cell is ghost proof and human proof. If you even try to get out, I'll just set you loose in the middle of my jungle, and chase you down until you're begging me to take you back to your little home."
"Home?" Danny whispered, his sapphire eyes turning slowly to the hunter ghost as he turned to leave.
Skulker pointed to the small shack and then to the black sky overhead, before letting out a mocking laugh. He then turned, and walked through an iron-barred door, letting it slam shut behind him.
The boy turned his face to the sky, his expression growing dim as small beads of rain splattered across his skin. Danny poked his dry tongue through his lips, allowing himself to catch a few drops on his tongue.
The rain soon became more violent, smacking hard against the wooden slats on the roof and slipping through the fencing. In moments, the boy was soaked to the bone, and shivering violently. With one last look to the sky, he made his way toward the wooden shelter, and crawled inside, pulling his knees to his chest so he could fit.
"Now what?" Danny asked himself, staring out at his soaked enclosure. Skulker had him, and had done something to make him terrified of his presence.
"A life in a cage." The boy mused sadly, his eyes closing. "I wonder if people are going to come gawk at me, or throw junk food, or trash…"
Danny sighed deeply, rolling over onto his side. He knew that he was too weak at the moment to do anything other than comply. Until he regained his strength he would be an animal at Skulker's zoo. Until he thought of a plan, he would be a prisoner. Until help came for him, he would be at a ghost's mercy.
Until any of those things happened, there would be no way out.
プリソナ
