Chapter Eight [Part One]
Phil opened the large golden doors, and we entered a huge hall, everything being white and gold. Phil gave me a shove, pushing me foward slightly, so I started walking. When we reached the end of the hall, I saw the cheif sitting in his throne.
"Ah, well done Philip. I thought you had changed your mind, taking so long." He chuckled. Phil just nodded.
I tried to put on an emotionless face or at least seem defeated and destroyed, but it was a little hard with Phil's hand on my shoulder, his thumb soothingly carressing my back, hidden from the cheif's veiw. "So Philip, why don't I get a guard take that one down to the dungeon, and you and me can go down to the dining hall for some food?" I could feel his hand tense up, squeazing my shoulder slightly.
"No thank you, sir.. I'm uh.. I'm not hungry. I'll take him down to the dungeon."
"No no. You haven't eaten since this morning, you must be starving. There's fresh wine and deer." His grin looked oddly suspicious. Did he know about our plan? Did he know the potion was no longer in effect? Well obviously! I wanted to slap myself for being so stupid. Phil was supposed to be under the cheif's control. If the cheif said to eat, Phil ate. He needs to gain his trust. I subtly nudged his chest with my elbow. I guess he caught on to what I was trying to say.
"Yes, sir." He smiled, then, quite unexpectantly, pushed me onto the floor. I landed on my side, my head making a 'thud' noise as it hit the ground. I let out a small moan from the sudden pain. Phil was laying this on thick. I, obviously, wasn't complaining. That's how he had to act if it meant we could convince the cheif. I knew everything was for the plan. Only for the plan.
"There we go, I'll be right back with Chris to get this one." He gestured to me, and left the room.
Once he was gone, Phil dropped onto the floor beside me, cupping my cheeks with his hands. "Oh Dan, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to push you over so hard."
"No, it's fine, you're doing a great job." I rolled over so I was looking at him. I seethed slightly at the pain in my arms from the crude landing. "You just have to remember to do what he says, like the potion is still working." I paused thinking over what might possibly happen whilest they ate. "Be sure not to eat anything that could be poisoned. And try to make as little, or none, conversation."
He nodded as we heard squeaky footsteps coming back.
"Now, do something intimdating! Slap me, anything." I said fantically.
"What? I-"
"Phil. He seems suspicious. You have to convince him!" I whispered. Chris and the cheif were getting closer. Phil picked up the collar of my shirt and raised his hand. I closed my eyes ready for him to hit me. As the cheif walked into the room, Phil whiped his hand -fairly gently I might add- across my face, the impact errupting a 'smack'. The cheif motioned for Phil to follow, so put my shirt collar down, mouthing 'I love you' before turning to go with the cheif.
As they left, Chris yanked me up, and walked me down a few corridoors. I kept my gaze on the ground, not making eye contact on anyone or anything. This didn't seem like the same Chris who had tormented me in the forest not long ago. His grip was the same, cold and hard, but he wasn't scowling. He almost seemed.. sorry for me. I was tempted to look in his eyes, to see what I could read from them. Was that a good idea? I glanced upwards slightly, immediatly looking back down. His eyes weren't the meniacal green they had been, more of a soft brown. Strange.
We went down a few stairs, then entered a dark room with a black door. It was extremely eerie and horrifying. The two of us walked by some jail cells, all black and rusty. I hadn't expected there to be a dungeon in this castle. I guess there had to be, but Carrie and I had been sure that Atova's were instantly killed when brought here. My mind was now on Carrie. I would need to find her for our plan to work. Where was she?
Chris stopped abruptly at an empty cell. He brought out some keys and a knife. Cutting the rope that bound my hands, he opened the door, and threw me in. I landed on my knees on the cold, dark, dirty room floor. Chris locked the door, and left.
I was having a bit of trouble breathing. Whether it be from the unclean and musty air, or the tiny room I was in, I didn't know.
'It's only for one night. Not even that. Phil will be here soon. Stay calm.' I thought, breathing heavily in and out. I needed to focus. Focus on the plan. Think everything through in my head. What if something goes wrong? What if the cheif makes Phil drink another potion? What if we can't find Carrie? What if-
'STOP!' I yelled inside my mind. Everything will be fine. Phil can handle whatever happens. You need to be strong. I found myself rocking back and forth in the corner, thinking about my beautiful Phil. Was he alright? What time was it.. shouldn't he be here already?
After what seemed liked hours, I heard boots squeaking along the hallway. A bored looking guard walked by all the cells, barely making any eye contact with any of the prisoners.
"Finally" I breathed silently. Phil should be sneaking in here soon to let me out. When the squeaking boots man left, I went up against the bars. The only thing I could think about was Phil. My mind went to this morning, when he had acted like he didn't love me. The flashback skipped to when he were about to enter the hall to see the cheif. His voice rang in my head 'This is it'. I shut my eyes, imagining his face, with those blue orbs gleaming back at me. I imagined our last kiss we shared. His warm lips on mine. My eyes fluttered open when I heard the door creak open.
"Dan?" A tiny whisper came out. My heart leaped.
"Phil!"
I attempted to be as quiet as I could, looking as I far out of the bars as physically possible. Obviously, Phil's vision hadn't become adjusted to the darkness, for he kept stumbling around.
"Shh. You're gonna alert the entire castle." I hissed with a giggle. No answer. He finally made it to my door, inserted the clanking keys, and opened it up, making a horrible creaking noise. I smiled and wrapped my arms around him. He didn't hug back.
"Phil.." I looked into his eyes. "Oh no. Did he use that potion on you again?" Silence. His eyes were the black that they had been when he was at my tree that morning.
I leaned in and kissed, willing that this would work again. I felt his cold lips melt into my warmth. When we broke apart, he sank to the floor and started to cry.
"Dan." He whimpered.
"It's ok. I'm here. We need to be quiet." I rocked him. "Did he force you to drink the potion again?"
Phil nodded. "It was horrible. Worse than the last time.. it was all so cold. He made me-" More tears came, interrupting himself.
"You're fine now, it's all ok." I paused letting his last few tears fall. "Are you ready to carry out our plan."
He stood up, wiping away the remains of his sobbing, and nodded.
"Right." I stood up too. "Can you get us to Carrie? I know if I go, I'll be rocognized for being an escaped prisoner, but she'll probably knock you out once you unlock her cell door, if it's just you. I think the only way to convince her, would be if I came, but there's-"
"Shh, Dan stop rambling. I've already thought of that." He had a slight smirk on his face. Before I could ask what he meant, he pulled out a red coat from behind an empty crate.
"Phil.. how did you-?"
"I placed this here when I found you, just in case you were caught." He giggled.
"You're so smart." I gasped, and gave him a quick kiss. I slipped the crimson coat over my head. It was slightly big, which wasn't terrible considering I had been freezing in my cell. "So where are all the girls?"
"That is the boys chamber through this door" He pointed to one down the hall. "And the girls are directly upstairs."
"Okay. Wait.. why am I not in the boys chamber?"
"Oh. Yeah. This place, this is the maximum secruity room." He said nonchalantly.
"Maximum security?" I laughed. "I'd love to see what regular security looks like. I've only seen one guard in here."
Phil smiled his bright and adorable smile.
The journey to the girl's chamber wasn't exactly 'Mission Impossible.' With our red coats on, we could go anywhere without getting a single glance.
Once we reached the door, I stopped him.
"You stay here and keep anyone and everyone out."
Phil nodded.
Using his keys, I snuck through the mysteriosly creepy halls. There weren't many girls, and most of them were asleep. I knew Carrie wouldn't be though.
I walked through another door, arriving at the 'Maximum Security' room. Peering into the bars, I saw the back of her blonde curls facing me. She was looking at the opposite wall, breathing slowly. I opened the rusty cell door and entered.
"I won't give you, or tell you anything you want." She muttered.
"You sure?" I answered, a smirk crawling onto my face. She swung her head around, he face lighting up.
"Dan!" She pulled me into a hug.
"Shh. We can't let anyone know I'm here. I'm happy to see you too." I hugged her back.
She pulled away. "Wait, no I'm mad at you. How could you have done that to-"
"I didn't. And I will explain, but not now we're pretty pressed for time. You can either help us escape, or sit here and rot, your choice."
"Us? Whose us?"
"Phil and I are the us. I will explain everything with no lies, I promise. You just have to trust me." I extended my hand. She turned back to the wall.
"How can I!? After what you did!"
I sighed, and stepped out the room, closing the door slowly.
"Fine." She stormed out with me.
"You need to be quiet. I'll take you to Phil, and we'll tell you the plan." I said as we left.
Carrie and I emerged from the door. I look of relief swept over Phil.
"Oh thank goodness. I was afraid she'd say no."
Carrie kept her face emotionless.
"Right." I coughed awkwardly. "Ermm.. This is Phil, he's my bo-" I stopped. Was the word boyfriend about to come out of my mouth? Another awkward throat clearing. "He's helping with the escape plan." I said hurridly.
"I remember you!" Carrie exclaimed, ignoring my awkward pause. "You're that guard that we chased down that one night."
"Yeah.. that was uh.. that was me." He smiled.
She looked at me suspiciously. "I'm expecting a full explanation when we're done here. Now what's the plan?"
"You guys are gonna find Ben, Hazel, Dean, and everyone else, while I go find the cheif. Phil and I don't know where he sleeps, so we have to find out if the plan will succeed. We'll meet up at the golden doors. If anyone stops you two, Carrie, you have to pretend to be a prisoner."
She nodded. "And why do I have to go with him?"
"Because he has the keys, he's allowed to walk around the castle at night, and your gang won't trust him. He needs you. Please work together, our lives are literally depending on it." I said.
"Ok. We'll be back at the doors as soon as physically possible." Phil whispered. I gave Carrie a hug, and Phil a quick peck on the lips. She seemed a little stunned by our kiss, but didn't question it. They slipped off, and so did I. I was still wearing my red coat, so I hoped that would protect me, but Phil had given me a knife, for 'emergencies only'. He was clear on that.
'Time to focus.' I thought. Where would the cheif's bedroom be? I guessed the hall where his throne was would be a good place as any to start.
I snuck off into the dark hall. Thankfully, the security of this place left a lot to be desired. I saw a lot of guards asleep on the floor. I stepped into the room where Phil and I had shared our kiss. I smiled. Just thinking about his lips on mine made me feel protected.
I started wandering around the hall, going into corridoors, leading into rooms. One of these places had to be a bedroom. I wondered if Phil and Carrie were waiting for me with all of the other camp members. I hoped they were getting along without any troubles.
Room after room I searched. I came up to a large door lined with gold. This seemed like a possible bedroom. I silently opened it, and heard soft snoores errupting from the large bed.
'Finally' I breathed as I closed the door. I finally found where the cheif was. I tip-toed back to the golden door where we had planned to meet. They weren't there. I sat down in the shadows. They should be here soon.
After waiting what I guessed as half an hour, I started to pace. This wasn't good. The moon was all ready tipping towards the west. We probably had another three hours until day break. Once day came, there was no hope.
I peeked out into the hall. No sign of them.. what should I do? Go look for them? That seemed like the logical plan. I snuck back up to the girl's cells. Completely silent. No one. Going back downstairs was a little hard, sometimes tripping over steps, but my eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness. No one was down here either. Nothing but the slow breathing of the prisoners.
I proceeded back to the gold doors. They weren't there. Something was wrong. What should I do? I laid against the wall, and slid down onto the floor. A few tears slipped out, but I tried not to cry. Phil was strong, and so was I. We could stand anything. My thoughts were interrupted by a low chuckle. Someone was here. I stood up abruptly and grabbed my knife. Complete silence. Did I just imagine that? I couldn't have. It sounded so real and familiar. I heard footsteps coming closer in the dark.
"Who's there?" I held my small pocket knife in front of me. Another chuckle errupted.
Suddenly, someone hit me hard against my back. I fell over in shock and pain, my only weapon sliding across the floor.
"Owwhh." I moaned.
"Thought you could plan something on me?" The familiar yet invisable voice said. I recognized it as the cheif. I stood up, wobbling a bit. His voice continued. "After I figured out that you had found the cure for my potion, I knew I had to do something."
I squinted, finally making out the shape of a short man. Definitely the cheif.
"I've got to hand it to you, Daniel. You and your friends aren't the stupid Atova's I thought you were. If I got you under my spell, you'd be quite useful, I guess that'd mean the end of Philip. All he's caused has been trouble."
"No please. Don't hurt Phil." I squeaked. I knew he was insane, and would do anything, but Phil's life was the only thing that was clouding my mind. I needed to know he was safe. Or at least still alive.
He laughed menachly. "You know. That was about the exact same thing Phil said to me. You two really do love eachother. That's a shame." I felt a cloth rapidly wrapped around my mouth. Another punch to the skull, and I blacked out.
next chapter is personally my favorite ^.^