Previously...

"Take him to the library and lock him in the cage where the valuable books are held" muttered the headmaster to the two boys who held Baines up. "And put a bandage on that wound, I don't want the books to get ruined" he added scrunching his nose in disgust, looking at the blood soaked shirt. Baines raised his half closed eyes at the headmaster, glaring at him through the curtain of dark hair while the man took out a metal rings that held a bundle of keys. Finding the right one, he put it in one of the boy's hands.

"I trust you with this," he warned them "don't let me down."

"Yes sir." they nodded and dragged half-conscious boy across the dark hallway to the library.

Present time

The large room was dully lit by the light that seeped through the tainted glass, creating shadows. The only sound in the room was the ticking of the large clock that hung on the wall, above the door. The tall shelves stretched across the library showing off the variety of books they held. Most of them were untouched, covered by a thick layer of dust and were there only to show that the school could afford them.

In the far corner, shielded by two tall shelves was a small cage which held the most expensive and valuable books that the institution had. They were so precious that only the most responsible and trusted students were allowed to borrow them. It was locked at all times and only the headmaster and the school librarian had the access to the key. No student was ever allowed to walk in there. The rule was never broken until today.

The cage was immersed into darkness because of the tall book selves that blocked all of the sun light. Baines sat on the floor, in the locked cell, resting his head against the old book shelf. His right shoulder that still had a bullet implanted into it, was sloppily wrapped in a bandage which was turning crimson. His black hair was messy and hung over his closed eyes. Despite his current situation, his face held a peaceful expression.

The only person in the library besides Baines, was a young boy with curly, ginger hair, who was told to keep an eye on the prisoner. He sat on a chair nearby, reading a book while resting his feet on one of the heavy wooden desks.

While being locked up in a cage, Baines was left alone with his own thoughts. He didn't know what would happen to him now, not that it mattered. His spaceship was destroyed and he was isolated from his family with no way of bringing them back. His last hope to reunite with them was shattered. There was nothing to live for anymore. He wasn't even sure how he was still alive. Without the doctor's immortality, he should have been dead weeks ago. It could be the power of the resurrection gem that sustained his life, but he wasn't certain it would last.

Suddenly his mind wandered to the girl who possessed the powerful object. He didn't know what exactly he felt towards her or why he was even thinking of her. Feelings were unfamiliar to him. It wasn't something he was used to. Even with his family it was never really about love or compassion. They were tied together by a bond and they were all striving to reach the same goals.

Being in the form of a human was changing him which was aggravating and made things unnecessarily complicated. How humans are able to deal with this every single day of their lives was beyond him. It was like a flaw in the system. A burden.

The fact that the girl had that power over him made him angry. It prevented him from killing the old man on the spot when he had the chance, along with the incompetent twits. It would have been so easy. Too easy. Yet he couldn't bring himself to do it while she was watching. That's what got him in this cage in the first place. If he met her few months ago he would have kill her without a second thought. An image of him holding a gun to her head and pulling the trigger flared in his mind. Suddenly, it felt like the bullet moved farther into his shoulder stinging him hard and causing his eyes to fly open. He breathed heavily holding on to the throbbing wound, the image still lingering in his mind.

"Need some water?" asked a voice mockingly. Baines glared at the boy, stray strands of hair falling over his pale face. If he ever gets out, the ginger is going to be the first to have his head bashed into a wall. A mischievous smirk stretched across his face, causing the boy to recoil in fear.

"I'm still the one with the key!" he said, talking more to himself than to Baines, and rattled the metal ring in the air to confirm his statement.

Baines rested his head back against the bookshelf, hoping to maybe fall asleep and rid himself of unwanted thoughts.

It was 3:00pm when everyone started to gather for lunch at the cafeteria. Lizy was working in the kitchen, filling the plates with soup and passing them to the students. As the line was moving, she overheard a conversation that was almost drowned out by all the noises in the room.

"..take him to the lab for experiments!" spoke one of the students excitedly.

"Hell! I say put a bullet in his head and be done with it already! I could do it myself you know! I can handle a gun." another spoke.

Lizy felt sick. How could they talk about murder in such casual tone? As if ending a life was no different from scoring points in a shooting competition. Was it some kind of a game to them? Although they weren't the ones to blame. They've been taught that it is an honor. She didn't see it that way. She knew it had to be done in certain situations, but to find it amusing and enjoy it? How could their minds be so twisted at such young age?

"I heard Lesnar was the one who shot him last night!"

"Didn't kill him thought, I would have."

"Yeah well I heard Rocastle promised him a medal of honor for it!" The two boys disappeared in the crowd after getting their portions of food and continued their chat with excitement. Lizy was left with a heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Her hands were shaking and she felt like she needed to sit down. Were they really going to take him away for experiments? She wasn't sure if it was just a rumor the boys were spreading or the truth. It seemed so inhuman. But again, they didn't take him for one did they?

She wasn't the one to judge and say if he deserved it or not. Suddenly she felt compelled to go and talk to him. Maybe if she did she would know.

Lizy walked up to one of the maids and asked her to substitute for her, saying she wasn't feeling well. The woman muttered something, irritated, but allowed her to leave. She hurried down the hallway towards the library, stopping by a broom closet and grabbing a feather duster. Thinking for a moment she went into the medical room and took some bandages and antiseptic from the cubboard while the nurse was having lunch at the cafeteria.

The room was incredibly quiet even for a library. The sight of all the untouched books were overwhelming. Looking around in awe, she wondered if she could spend her entire lifetime reading them, and still not finish every book in there.

"Hey! What are you doing in here?" she jumped as the voice broke the perfect silence, bringing her back to reality. A boy around her age towered over her with a serious expression on his face.

"I was sent here to dust the shelves." she replied shoving the feather duster in his face who recoiled at once in disgust. He scanned her for a moment and finally nodded stepping out of her way.

She carefully walked around him and breathed in relief. She could get in so much trouble for this. But she couldn't stop herself from seeing him. It seemed like she was pulled towards him by some magnetic force that she couldn't resist.

To prevent suspicion, her plan was to start working near the door first, and then move down, towards the back. The ginger boy watched her warily, as if she could start to drool foam and turn into a monster at any second. But she was grateful enough that he let her stay here instead of telling the headmaster on her. She waited patiently until he switched his attention back to his book and started to slowly move away from the door. The hours went by, and the boy seemed to doze off. Taking the opportunity, she quietly slipped past the snoring figure, and looked into the isolated area where the cage stood.

Baines sat on the floor, leaning against the book shelf, with his eyes closed. The bandage they put on him was soaked in blood and became loose. Her heart sank seeing him like this and she made another step, causing his eyes to fly open. He turned his head in the direction of the sound and frowned, confused to see her standing there.

"Um, hi." she said not sure what to say now that she was there.

"What are you doing here?" he asked puzzled.

"Just wanted to make sure you were alive." she joked trying to break the tension.

"Hardly matters now."

"I'm.. sorry you couldn't bring your family back." great now she felt guilty. He looked away and didn't reply. She had to hurry and get to the important part.

"I overheard someone say that they wanted to take you away for..scientific purposes." she said feeling uneasy. He smirked at that.

"Humans. Always trying so hard to fill their tiny brains with knowledge they can't apply."

She frowned and ignoring the comment said "Look I know you've done some things that I hope you regret. But either way I'm against this sort of cruelty. I'm not the one to judge you and I don't think anyone is for that matter. Nobody deserves this kind of treatment but I don't think it's in my power to do anything here." she continued feeling resentful. Why did she feel guilty? None of this was her fault.

Baines watched her curiously for a moment and then replied. "There isn't anything you can do and if there was I wouldn't ask for it. There is nothing in this world for me anymore. I wasted enough of your time." He closed his eyes and rested his head against the book shelf again. "You can go."

Elizabeth stood there speechless, not knowing how to react. Was he trying to trick her? Was it some sort of tactic he used to try and get her to help him? Either way she felt a lot worse about the whole situation and hated him for it. She turned to leave but stopped remembering something.

"The least I can do is change the bandage" she said showing the white fabric she held in her hand, feeling foolish. He opened his eyes and cocked his head to the side.

"How?"

She pulled out the bunch of keys she stole from the sleeping boy and held them up, trying to resist a small smirk growing upon her face. She wasn't the one to break the rules in the past, but it seemed so fun now that she was doing it. Must be the effect he had on her.

He raised an eyebrow and for the first time smiled widely instead of the usual, evil smirk. It was different, but she found that she liked it a lot better, and it made her feel like she wasn't about to walk into a lion's cage.

Pushing that thought aside she glanced at the boy who was left on guard, to make sure he was sleeping. He snored loudly as if confirming that he was in fact still asleep. She looked through the bundle of keys and wondered how in the world was she going to find the right one. There were so many and they didn't look very different from each other.

"The one with the round, rusty handle and a crack on the side." said Baines. Lizy looked up and wondered how he could possibly know which one was the right one. He was half- conscious when they brought him here. As if reading her mind he replied.

"I am very observant." Shrugging, she found the key that matched the description and inserted it into the lock. It clicked and she carefully pushed the door open. She began to wonder if it was a right decision. Anyone in their right mind would say it wasn't, but she wasn't about to turn and run away now like some coward. She carefully walked towards him, farther into the cage.