A/N) Hello everyone! It's been a while, hasn't it? I'm very sorry for the delay, but life comes before this fanfiction, for me. I haven't read book 8.5 yet, but I'm excited to see what it holds! However, I am very busy lately and I've slowly lost motivation to continue this story. I'm determined to finish it tho! I think just to save time i might just stop answering reviews and cut back on the interviews every chapter. I'm very sorry about that, but to finish this fanfic, it must be done :( Thank you for understanding and for all the lovely reviews and support! You probably won't hear from me in any Author's Notes for a while. I'll miss you guys! ~Deci

ONTO THE NEXT CHAPTER!

Chapter 64

I heard the door to the outside creak open, and two pairs of footsteps made their way over to my little cell. My headache had subsided significantly in the past two hours, but whenever I tried to control the shadows, it spiked up again. My thoughts were muddy and it was hard to focus, but I tried my best to push through.

"So, have you made a decision?" Ebony asked me through the bars.

"I hope you chose the right one," Umber menaced. I rolled my eyes, trying to sit up. My wrists and ankles ached from the weight of the chains. I looked up at the women, the words I was about to say tasting sour on my tongue.

"Fine. I'll join."

"Yay!" Umber cheered. Ebony seemed surprised, but she smiled and nodded approvingly.

"Your sister will stay safe then," she told me. "I'll make sure of it."

"You better," I growled.

Umber clapped her hands together, breaking the stare between me and Ebony.

"Training starts tomorrow!" Umber told me. "Get some rest, cuz you're gonna need it . . ."

"Wait, don't I get anything to eat?" I called after them as they left. My voice was hoarse, and it hurt to speak so loudly.

"Uhhh, I don't think so," Umber shrugged, continuing up the stairs. Ebony stopped and looked back at me as I scowled. My stomach growled and churned. I watched as the young Neverseen member climbed up the stairs after Umber in a hurry. I slumped against the dirt wall and onto the floor, trying to at least get some sleep. But whatever device they had locked on my head was extremely uncomfortable. My thoughts just wandered instead.

Was this the right decision? Joining them to keep Linh safe? I knew that Linh was more than capable of protecting herself, but the Neverseen always found a way to get the better of us. It pissed me off. Maybe I could beat them by working from the inside? I highly doubted that a rescue plan from the Black Swan would happen anytime soon. I knew Ebony was a careful one. Maybe I could find a way to escape. If I could just get out of this cell . . .

"Psst. Peter Pan. Wake up."

The whispers interrupted me . . . sleeping. I guess I had knocked out after all. My eyes blinked open and I saw Ebony leaning over me, poking my shoulder. She held a tin plate in her other hand and had the sphere of light from earlier floating to my left.

"Ebony? What do you want?" I said, scurrying away against the wall. I hated the idea of cowering, but I was in no state to defend myself. She chuckled quietly.

"Relax, dude. I'm just here to give you this," she said, holding out the tin plate to me. I peeked over at it, seeing some stale, black tubules and squishy green fruit. "It's not much, but the food here sucks for all of us. I tried to get the best I could for you, though." I gave her a skeptical look, but took the plate anyway.

"I thought I wasn't getting any food today," I said, poking one of the fruits.

"Yeah, but it's 3 A.M. so it's technically tomorrow," she smirked.

"Three A.M.?!" I had slept that long? I must've been tired.

"Yep, so you're welcome." I thought she would've left, but she plopped down in front of me. I gave her a questionable look, and she shrugged and said, "I thought I might keep you company. It's not everyday we capture someone around my age."

I breathed out a laugh. "Yeah . . . right." I chewed one of the tubules and asked, "What's training with Umber like?"

"It's pretty fun, if you're a teammate. But you're still a hostage, so it might go a bit differently," she told me.

"I thought I was a member now."

"Nah, you gotta go through a special oath thingy first. They also need to monitor you for a while when you train with Umber and they'll probably make me or Gethen check your thoughts to make sure you aren't contacting anyone outside." She leaned back on her palms and tilted her head to the side, studying me as I ate. "I hear your Moonlark is pretty handy with covering long distances."

"Yeah, I guess." I put down the plate, nothing but crumbs on its surface.

"Well, the Flareadon"-she pointed to herself-"is gonna surpass whatever distance she can cover. I'm a lot stronger than her now, you know."

I scoffed. "Oh, really?"

"Yup! I've got all kinds of-" She stopped speaking suddenly, blinking twice. Her cheery, sociable expression changed to a cold, distant one. She stood, and I looked up at her, confused.

"My bad," she mumbled. She looked back at me, a smile spreading across her face as she chuckled quietly. "I almost gave myself away! We can't have that, now can we, Peter Pan?"

"Why do you keep calling me that?" I groaned as she took the plate, locked the cell door, and made her sphere of light disappear.

"Cuz your reaction to it is funny, and it just fits so well," she answered, turning on her heel. "Sleep well, Peter Pan."

I heard her walk up the stairs and close the door to the outside.

"That was . . . weird," I muttered, laying back down. "At least she gave me something to eat . . ."

It was weird for a Neverseen member to be so nice. Her behavior changed way too quickly, too. What was she not supposed to "give away"?

"I've got all kinds of-"

All kinds of what? Tricks? Moves? Methods of attack . . .? All this thinking was making my head hurt again. I decided I should probably try sleeping again, cuz I could already tell tomorrow was going to be a long day.

A/N) UNTIL NEXT TIME!