A/N: Iiiiiit's new chapter time! Are you as excited as I am? Let's do this! ;D

Guest - Thank you for all your reviews! Sorry I kept you waiting - I hope you enjoy this next chapter :)

Lisaaaaaaaaa - Haha, it might be a little evil to want that! :P But don't worry! If you know me at all, with me, Channy's endgame. Or is it...? o_O We will see :D

I don't own Sonny with A Chance.


Lost Soul

Chapter 11 - Short Stack

Waking up on the hard, pebble-ridden floor was painful. My back ached, and there was a small cut along the back of my hand where I must've rubbed it against a sharp stone in the night. It wasn't very big or worrying, but I decided to try my best to clear the little cut of blood, and hoped that somewhere in the never-ending backpacks there was a first aid kit. I groaned in discomfort as I rolled from facing the cave wall to facing Chad – or that is, where I expected Chad to be.

But unfortunately, where I expected Chad to be and where he actually was were two entirely different things. As I slipped further into consciousness, a mumbling became clearer to me. It wasn't a gentle mumbling, like I would've hoped – the mumble sounded angry, heated. This noise shocked me into full consciousness and I shot up, gulping and wondering why I hadn't noticed this already.

Chad was stood - not laying beside me - his sharp blue eyes piercing the two men stood in front of him. I couldn't recall them as being the men from last night or not, but there was no doubt in my mind that they were the enemy – especially when I registered the obvious mutual fury shared between Chad and the men.

But then they seemed to stop and notice me, and while Chad's face registered something of worry, one of the men – the one closest to Chad – smirked.

"Your precious girlfriend has woken up, then."

The man closest to me yanked me to my feet and snaked his arms around my throat, while the other gripped Chad and secured him in a headlock, too. If it wasn't for the firm hands locked tightly around my neck I'd have laughed. Putting Chad in a headlock was like encasing a dragon in a rusting cage.

The determination and sharpness in Chad's eyes hadn't disappeared since the moment I'd opened my eyes. He was clearly ready for something to happen, and I knew straight away that our attackers were fools for seemingly forgetting or not noticing this. Chad attempted some sort of signalling nod, making out like it was all he could handle at this point – though I knew he was feigning his apparent inability to break free of his captor's grasp – before he darted his eyes towards the cave entrance. I knew what it meant. Run, he was telling me, Run and keep running.

I supposed that I would probably be of more use away from the fray than within it, when it broke out. So within seconds of mentally and physically preparing myself, I was ready to get out of there. I elbowed my attacker sharply in the gut. I found myself almost grinning sadistically as he jerked back and cried out in agony, moaning various curses. I was out of there as fast as I could, only sparing a short glance at Chad that I knew he would believe to cost me valuable time.

Another profanity exploded from my captor's lips, as he shot a deathly glance my way. I could only see this because I was still watching the scene, while running at the same time. I stumbled on something – a root, maybe? – but I didn't stop running, however scrambled and messy my footing was.

I took another glance back and then I saw it – Chad finally fighting back. He had escaped from the grip of his aggressor and had seemingly thrown him to the floor. The man looked dazed on the ground, while Chad began hand-to-hand combat with the one who held me – the darker-haired, shorter man of the two.

Watching Chad fight for real was kind of surreal to me. It was the first time I'd properly seen him attack someone, in broad daylight, and it didn't feel right. I didn't imagine Chad as one of those natural-born fighters – he didn't have the look of a weak, frail person, but then again, he was no large, stocky, six-foot monster. Seeing him fight like this just made it all so real, and yet all so fake, all at the same time.

And that's what I thought of as the cave disappeared and the trees enveloped my view – that this was just yet more proof of the oddity of my situation.


Chad found me a couple of minutes after I arrived at a decent hiding spot – so clearly he'd had no difficulty whatsoever in taking down our ambushers. I'd found a perfectly hollow tree trunk, rolled myself into a little ball, and waited for only a few moments before Chad's footsteps were approaching me. I wasn't absolutely sure that they were his – but I'd be foolish to doubt it. I'd broken away from these guys, for crying out loud!

"You alright in there, short stack?" He nearly cooed, bending down so that only below his knees and his head were in view from my point. It looked pretty uncomfortable, but I was focussed on something else entirely.

"Short stack?" I was almost smirking. "What's with the weird nickname?"

Chad smirked too, "Well, you're short." He explained.

"Wow." I drawled, "Thank you; I had no idea. I best get a pin with that nickname on so I don't forget about my inferior height."

Chad laughed, falsely hurt, "Hey, I wasn't finished! I was gonna say you're short, and sweet." He scuffed his shoes against the floor, sneering at me, "But guess you didn't want to hear it."

Oh my. "Hey, don't use your flirting tactics on me." I warned, climbing out of my hiding spot and shoving him, "I've read all about them."

Chad clicked his tongue. "Well, then you know how much of a great flirter I am."

I shoved him again, "I also know you have a girlfriend."

"Yeah." He simply said.


Our walk back to the cave was a short but quiet one. It wasn't awkward in any way – well, not for Chad – but I was too busy reassessing every decision I'd ever made in my life ever.

All because of a couple of words.

"You're short… andsweet."

Sweet.

What the hell did that mean?!

Sweet?! How was I sweet? And why was he calling me sweet? Was he just joking around?

Probably. I mean, he had Monica – the girl he cared for so much, who could've been a few mere hours away from him. He was just messing around with me. I knew it.

Besides, now that we were back near the cave, he seemed to have returned to the quiet, stony, laser-vision Chad whose determination to succeed excelled him. The two men who had attacked us were flat out on their backs, still passed out. Chad assured me that they weren't dead, but I knew he was fully capable of causing their demise and so crouched down just to check for their breathing. He picked up their belongings that we could use as supplies while I shot the two of them a pitiful look and followed Chad.

Standing in front of that skinny hallway that led into the underground made me feel sick. My head span at the very notion of having to go down it – not to mention it was pitch black through there – no torches to light the way, no daylight seeping through some kind of skylight. There was a glow at the end of the tunnel, but that was probably a good couple of hundred metres away. Instinctively I reached for Chad's hand and squeezed it.

"Scared of the dark?" Chad asked. I couldn't decide whether he was mocking me or genuinely asking. I was hardly listening, what with the thrumming in my ears. I just sort of nodded pathetically. "Hey, don't worry." Chad said, and this time I could tell that he was definitely comforting. Something in my chest bubbled at this.

Chad gripped my hand harder. "Don't worry," He whispered, "We'll borrow the torch down there when we get there. You just need to make it a few metres."

Few hundred, more like… "Don't they have… torches in their packs or something?" I asked, my voice shaking, "You know… actual, electronic ones?"

Chad shook his head, the frown one of sympathy. For the first time, I didn't tell him to stop pitying me. "I'm here, don't worry. I'll help you. Just… think of something else while you go down. Close your eyes and think about something else. I promise you'll be fine."

Once I was ready – I'd taken a few deep breaths and calmed myself, with Chad's help – Chad gently tugged me along like a towboat, down into the darkness. The daylight slowly disappeared as we got further and further in, deeper and deeper underground. Biting my lip, I slammed my eyelids shut and tried to follow Chad's advice.

My mind immediately led me towards my previous thoughts of Chad. Chad and that nickname.

Not that it bothered me. Not really. It was just why he gave it to me that worried me. Not the 'short' part – I'm used to being shorter than pretty much anyone I know – but the sweet. Sweet? Me? Why was he calling me sweet? Didn't he have Monica?

I was probably thinking too far into it, I began to suggest to myself. It was just a cute little endearing nickname – there was nothing behind it.

Not in Chad's eyes, anyway. But it mine, it was just another irritating reminder of my obsession with the character of Chad in the book. It made me feel uncomfortable. Obsessing over a fictional character, well, it was normal (to some people…) – girls my age always did it. But crushing on a guy who already had someone, and who was real? Now that just made me feel sad. Sad and guilty.

It just wouldn't leave me alone. No matter how much I tried to deny it, no matter who I told that it was untrue…

Those feelings wouldn't stop.

"Ow!"

"Sorry," I heard Chad mumble as a pain shot up my toe. "This way…"

He led me away from the wall I seemed to have bumped into by just a few inches, before we continued straight. My eyes fluttered a bit and I realised how far away we were for the entrance and how there was no turning back now. I froze, my feet seemingly having frozen in place. Chad paused. I didn't know what he was doing, but I could just imagine the confusion on his face, highlighting his blue eyes. It was a surprise those shining eyes weren't a source of light in these tunnels.

"Is everything okay, Sonny?"

I opened my mouth to talk, but thought I would heave. "I feel sick." I managed.

"Sit down." He instructed me carefully. I didn't know if he knew exactly how to deal with this crumbly, shaking girl in his hands, but his gentle tone distracted me from my fears for just a moment. I sat down, leaning my back against the stone walls, tilting my head back. My stomach chose that time to start rumbling and I swear I could have passed out.

I heard some movement and felt a weight on my knee, and I turned to my right to see a sort-of outline of Chad's body. I could imagine his smile; comforting, friendly.

"Do you need a rest?" He asked. I felt so stupid. I was being selfish and weak, and we needed to get moving. No doubt the S.O.U.L. men had woken up and knew where we had gone. Maybe they were only a few metres behind.

"I-," My voice shook, "I'm being silly. Let's go."

I tried to get to my feet, but I just felt light-headed again. The darkness was enveloping me, and my fear and hunger were gnawing away at my insides. I felt Chad's arm wrap around my back, while the other stayed rested on my knee. I didn't know whether his embrace was comforting and calming me down, or just making me feel more encased. My stomach rumbled – much louder now – and the sound echoed up and down the tunnels. I hoped that this wouldn't give us away to any suspecting men or stalkers we may have picked up.

"You're hungry?" Chad whispered. I nodded, before pathetically realising he couldn't see it. He seemed to have guessed that I'd done so, though, because I sudden felt his hand move from my own, and then it was replaced with something soft. I recognised the texture – it was a little handful of bread. My mouth watered at the pleasure of the smell which soon reached my nostrils. When had I last eaten anyway? Had we eaten this morning? No, we'd been ambushed. Did I eat dinner last night? I couldn't place a memory of it. In spite of my light-headedness and my confusion at when my last meal was, I had no problem wolfing down the handful of bread.

"Found that in the pack?" I asked.

"Yeah."

I found myself incredibly thankful we'd come across those men both last night and this morning.

"Ready to get going again?" Chad asked me. I took a couple of deep breaths, encouraging myself to continue with the thought of our potentially-approaching enemy, and after a few more moments I was ready to get going again. With the darkness masking everything, I'd pretty much forgotten the enclosed space we were in, and my claustrophobia outweighed my miniscule, childhood-rooted fear of the dark.

We were back in the light soon after, anyway. We'd only had about seventy-five more metres to go when I freaked out, and I know I was grateful to finally reach the light at the end of the tunnel. As soon as I was back in the light, and my eyes had adjusted to colour once again, I had a check around the room we were in. It was certainly more comfortable for me than the tunnel was – the ceiling was a metre or so higher, and the whole room was about five-by-five metres in area. There were torches lining the walls – two on each wall – and on each wall there was a little tunnel leading to somewhere else. The one that we had come from was the smallest and the most poorly lit – Chad suggested that this was due to them trying to remain inconspicuous. The three other tunnels were wider – wide enough for Chad and I to walk beside each other and still have plenty of elbow room – and I could see the tell-tale glowing of fire down each of the three corridors. The torches – both the half a dozen or so in this hall and the ones lining the corridors – were held by sconces.

"So which way?" I asked Chad, having no idea myself. Chad seemed equally bemused, though.

"I don't know," He sighed, looking down the corridor to the left of the entrance. He then crouched down, checking the sandy rock below our feet. I guessed he was looking for someone's tracks, footprints, to give us a clue of where people could have come from. I decided to be of use and check myself – I tiptoed towards the corridor opposite that awful entrance – and studied the dust carefully. The ground was definitely worn and scruffy, and I suddenly considered that it would be stupid of them to light a tunnel that was not of use. Unless, of course, it was used as some sort of trap. But to trap whom, exactly? I had no idea.

Just to be sure, I checked the corridor to the right, which had also obviously been followed down by someone lately. Chad confirmed that his has been followed too, and so that plan was shattered.

"So, what, or who, we're looking for could be anywhere down these tunnels." I sighed, "And we have no idea how big this place could be."

"For all we know, this could be your underground city, Sonny." Chad said, and suddenly I felt myself shuddering. This could be as large as a city? Add that to the fact that this place was such a labyrinth, I feared we'd not be back in the daylight for quite a while. I hoped I would be able to keep in contact with my mother down here.

"So, what do we do?" I asked. "Split up?" I could tell Chad was hesitant straight away. "It'd be best," I said, trying to avoid an argument – especially in enemy territory. "We'd cover more ground, and we could meet back here in a little while."

Chad pinched the bridge of his nose, "I know I'm not gonna be able to change your mind on this, so why not?"

I grinned, "Great."

"But I have rules for this-,"

"Ooh, rules!" I exclaimed mockingly, but Chad was too busy being… well, annoying, unpredictable-yet-too-predictable Chad. Taking everything way more seriously than was necessary.

"Seriously, Sonny," He said warily, coming a little too close, "We split for an hour, two at best. We meet straight back here when we're done, and in case we get lost or caught, we set a trail for the other person to follow to find us. Got it?"

"Yeah, okay, deal." I said, giving Chad a smile just to reassure him. He didn't seem too impressed, but he didn't argue. Maybe he felt exactly the same as I did about the prospect of disputing behind enemy lines.

I turned to make my way down the corridor to the right of the entrance. I turned back as I approached it to see that Chad hadn't moved. He was frowning a little.

"Be careful, Sonny." He said carefully. I gave him a smile.

"You too, Chad."

I had to tear my eyes away from his to get on with my self-chosen task. In fact, I knew that if he'd called me short stack, I wouldn't have been able to drag myself away from that room; away from Chad.

The hall faded behind me, and I submerged deeper into the darker, lonelier tunnels, realising my plan probably was a mistake as the tunnels became darker and darker, less and less well-lit. This tunnel was more extensive than the entrance one – it had several different paths leading off from the bigger one – some of them just leading to doors (possibly bedrooms or something) while others led into tunnels much like the entrance one – dark, and of an unknown, indeterminable, and frightening length. I made a vow not to go into any of those; at least, not without a torch.

Anywhere that I deemed it useful – like when I turned a corner, for example – I drew an arrow in the sandy rock under my feet. I hoped that Chad would pick up my trail, should I have gotten lost. I even dropped a few bread crumbs at one point in Hansel-and-Gretel style, but gave up that idea when I realised that the crumbs looked just like the small rocks and so the effort was pretty worthless.

I checked my phone about thirty minutes into my search, wondering whether I should turn back or not. A sound suddenly alerted me though; it was forward, and to the left. I walked forward a few metres to be met with two tunnels; one to the left, and one to the right. The small, fearful part of me suggested that I just give up and turn back for Chad, but my curiosity of the noise to my left got the better of me, and before my brain could register it, my feet were moving down that way.

The little tunnel was only about a hundred metres long, as well as wide and well-lit, so no claustrophobia conquered me there. But what I met at the end of the hall was much more impressive than my little adventure.

A large hall met me at the end of the tunnel. The room was vast and incredible, and there was no way I'd be claustrophobic in here. The hall was several metres high, and its size reminded me of some kind of grand hall in medieval castles in movies. Perhaps that is what it was – all those years ago, should that book I got in the library have been true. Maybe this was the grand hall of the underground city's beautiful citadel. The hall was subject to ruin now – dust covered the ground, the stone walls worn and broken, the ceiling seemingly ready to collapse. But still, it was gorgeous, awe-inspiring.

There were an insubstantial number of torches, when you considered the enormity of the place. There were two either side of my entrance, and then – I counted – about twelve more glowing lights in corners and on edges, possibly highlighting more corridors. The rest of the room was nothing but black abyss, and I decided I should take some kind of torch across on my search so to not collide with any rubble in the dark.

I removed the torch on the right from its sconce, holding it right out at arm's length. I couldn't remember why I'd come down this way until I heard it – that sound, once again. Now I was closer I could understand what it was a little better – it was definitely a human. It was high-pitched, too, so most likely… a girl.

I listened out again, this time determined to place exactly which of these corridors the sound was coming from, because it was too far away to be taking place in this room. It was pretty sick of me to hope that the sound came again – the voice had sounded in pain. But I needed to find whoever was yelling out – maybe they could help me find Monica.

Maybe they were Monica.

It was a few long moments before I heard it again. The sound was coming from the right, right in the very back corner. And then I heard laughter – rough, deep laughter – and echoing footsteps. Gasping, I fixed the torch I'd stolen back into its sconce, before hiding myself in the darkness, in the corner furthest from the noises. I watched a torch emerge from the hallway, and two men exited, laughing to each other. I squinted my eyes to get a closer look at each of them. The man holding the torch was just like the other S.O.U.L. men I'd seen – tall, wearing a dark suit. The other man who followed him was very different – he was short but bulky, and his clothes were scruffy in comparison to the pristine suits the S.O.U.L. men wore. I couldn't make out their conversation – though I heard various points, like mention of paying the bulky man, a few times a girl – a prisoner – was mentioned, and I picked up Chad's name easily – it came up plenty of times. And then they were gone, down the corridor opposite to the way I'd entered.

I waited a good few minutes, just to check they weren't coming back, and then I removed the torch again, and made my way to the corridor where they were keeping this 'prisoner'.

It was a good job I brought the torch with me, because the corridor where the prisoner was being kept was jet-black, and it was only slightly wider than the entrance one that Chad and I had came through. This one was short, too – I was able to stand easily, but Chad would've needed to crouch. I was pretty shocked upon reaching the end that I'd made it to a prison cell without a hitch – there was no guard for this prisoner, no traps (that I set off, anyway) - but when I arrived at the end of the tunnel and entered the prisoner's cell, I realised why.

A large, metal weight took up half of the room, on the right. From the weight, three chains were attached – they shined, reflecting my torch fire.

The prisoner gasped at my entrance – maybe she thought her torturers had returned. It was this moment when I got a better look at her. Two of the chains attached to the weight were wrapped around her wrists, while the larger one was squeezing her chest.

She kept her face down, but I could make out certain facts about her. She was about my size, my height, and probably my weight. Her clothes were torn and bloody – so she'd probably been down here a long time, and was in a lot of pain. Her skin, even in this light, was much darker than mine, but it was decorated with marks and cuts and bruises – up her arms, her legs – both of which were not disguised well, since she was wearing a short T-shirt and jeans that must have been torn. Her hair, which was curtaining her face, was ebony black. It was knotted and stuck out in all manner of crazy ways – another confirmation that she hadn't left this room in ages.

Dark skin, black hair… all this added up to confirm my beliefs. I dropped the torch on the floor carefully, before rushing over to the girl. "Hey…" I said softly, and this seemed to calm her down as she stopped shaking. I supposed I didn't sound like either of her attackers - not the gruff, unfriendly tone of the scruffier man, or the smooth, deep tone of the S.O.U.L. man. Her head kept down, though, and so I had to gently hold her chin and lift her head so she'd look at me.

Just like I'd recognised Chad from the book cover on the night we'd met, I could recognise the girl in front of me in a flash of time. Despite the bruises adorning her cheeks and forehead and a large cut along her chin that made her flinch when I accidentally touched it, she was the same pretty girl that I'd spent so long reading about that I knew enough of her story to write a book (or fan fiction...) about.

I smiled as I whispered her name, delight colouring my tone. "Monica."


A/N: WHEEEEEE SHE FOUND MONICA :P Lisa, feelin' bad now? :P And yes, I managed to squeeze 'short stack' in there. *does a little happy dance* Paraphrasing the great CDC, I do miss short stack. :P

So, here's where things are gonna get complicated. And not just with S.O.U.L. - I'm sure you're all wondering what'll happen with that Sonny-Chad-Monica love triangle, huh? :D

I'll see you all soon! My exams start, officially, next Monday, and they'll continue for a month or so. But I still hope to write in any spare moments! :D

Don't forget to review on your way out ;D

~Amy x