A/N- Be warned- this is a bit shorter and less eventful then some of the other chapters…I'm hoping to have more soon, but in case I don't get a chance to continue this weekend, I'm posting this section to let you know that I'm still alive;) I apologise in advance, and I hope you still find it mildly entertaining.
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Chapter 22- Hopeless Imprisonment
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Chris awoke with a splitting headache.
For several confusing seconds, he had no idea where he was...
No idea what had happened…
Why was he in pain?
Why was the room so dimly lit?
Why was he lying face down on a cold cement floor…?
His head was throbbing, and his mind was spinning as he tried to make sense of the situation.
This place felt so unfamiliar. So cold…
He strained to recall his most recent memories…maybe that would help him figure out what was going on…
They had been talking in the living room, he could remember that clearly. Mel had written a spell, and they had been taking a few moments to relax…
There had been a quiet scratching by the door. Aunt Paige had gone to investigate….he had gone to make sure that she was alright…
He had rounded the corner into the manor's entrance way only to find himself face to face with a horde of surprised looking men, and one- the one in the middle- had shot him with some sort of dart…
That was where his recollection ended….everything had fallen into darkness after that, and now, he was here…wherever here was exactly…
Groaning, and trying to clear his still fuzzy head, Chris rolled painfully over onto his side and brought a shaking hand up to his shoulder. He could feel the small puncture wound that had been created there and the distinct feeling of warm blood seeped onto his fingers. He knew the injury was far from fatal, but it still hurt a hell of a lot. He couldn't be sure exactly what type of dart he had been struck with, but it was pretty safe to assume that what ever poison it contained had successfully knocked him out for the past while.
Chris summoned all of the strength that he could, and slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position. His head spun from the sudden movement, but he tried his best to ignore it. He needed to figure out where he was- and how to get out. Blinking several times to focus his vision and adjust to the dimness of the room, Chris began to survey his surroundings.
It was immediately apparent that he wasn't alone.
He could make out three other figures in the room, and as his vision cleared further, he realized who they were…
Wyatt lay crumpled in a rather uncomfortable position across the room. His Aunt Paige was positioned against the left wall, her chin slumped against her chest and her arms limply at her sides. And Jenny was lying three feet to his right, her hands clasped peacefully across her chest and her wings fanned neatly out beneath her.
None of them showed any signs of movement.
Heart beat increasing rapidly, Chris moved to his feet and spun once around, taking in the entire room. It was small- very small- and all but one of the walls were made of solid cement. The fourth wall- which allowed a faint light to seep in from a distant hall way- was composed of thick metal bars.
Chris had never been in such a dismal and unwelcoming space before, but judging from what he could observe, they were most likely in some sort of jail.
His mind continued to race….the men…the men at the door…
They must have been cops…Darryl and DJ must not have been able to stop them from storming the manor…and now they were all trapped…
Or at least, four of them were.
He could only hope that the others were still safe…that his parents hadn't been taken too…that Mel had managed to avoid capture…
He didn't want to even think about what they would do to her if she were found…she had said it herself; no mortal would believe that some one who looked demonic could possibly be good…
Suppressing a fearful shudder, Chris decided that he should try to wake the others so that they could make a quick escape. He was willing to bet that whoever had trapped them didn't know that they could orb…
"Wyatt." He said loudly, kneeling at his brother's side and giving the older witch-whitelighter a rough shake. "Wyatt, you need to wake up. We have to get out of here."
Wyatt moaned and shifted slightly. "Idunwanna."
Chris sighed before trying again. "Wy, I'm serious. We're trapped in some sort of prison and we need to orb home."
"Prison?" the older boy asked, clearly beginning to come into his senses. "What? How?" The witch-whitelighter blinked several times and clutched his own throbbing head. He too was feeling the after effects of the tranq darts.
"I don't know how." Chris stated as he helped his brother sit up. "But I do know that we have to get out of here as soon as possible. If we've been put in here, someone obviously knows our secret already…but if we can get out quickly- before anymore damage is done- we may still be able to cover this up."
Wyatt nodded, his eyes still partially glazed over with slumber. "Yes…" he muttered quietly. "Let's get of out here." He paused. "Where is here, exactly?"
The dark haired boy shrugged, his green eyes clearly showing his anxiety about their current predicament. "I have no idea…jail obviously. I don't know how long we were knocked out for, but hopefully they haven't had time to ship us out of San Francisco." He gave a loud sigh before continuing. "My guess is that we're at Uncle Darryl's police station. He must have been unable to stop the cops from coming to the manor…maybe there was another copy of the tape…maybe something happened to him…"
"Something must have happened." Wyatt agreed. "He'd never let them come for us if he could stop it…we have to get the hell out of here before the news station shows up to capture more footage…"
"We have to wake the other's first. Jenny and Aunt Paige are here too."
A quick glance around the dim room confirmed the Chris was indeed correct. They couldn't orb out until their friend and aunt were also awake.
Wyatt drew a deep breath to help clear his head before moving across the room to Paige's side. "I'll wake her." He stated, his voice taking on his 'I'm the big brother so I'm in charge tone' "You wake Jenny."
But before he could so much as lay a finger on his aunt, the woman let out a long groan of pain and began to wake- the sedative was beginning to wear off on its own.
Her brown eyes slowly fluttered open and, after several seconds, a look of intense worry crossed her face.
"Wyatt?" she questioned, seeing her oldest nephew knelt at her side. "What's going on? Why is it so dark?"
"We're not sure what's going on." He explained. "But we seem to be trapped in a prison of some sort."
The boy quickly told her what he and Chris supposed had happened, and offered a hand to help her stand up.
"This isn't good." The Charmed one muttered, glancing around the tiny room. "I mean, I've been put in prison before, but never at a time when exposure was such an issue. If it weren't for these damn wings this wouldn't be a big problem..."
"No kidding." Wyatt replied as he turned around to see if his brother had made any progress with Jenny. As the seconds continued to tick by he was growing more and more anxious. They were alone for now, but he didn't know how much longer that would last. The cops could return at any moment…a news crew could arrive to report on the discovery of angels in San Francisco…scientists could be on their way to study and dissect them…
Chris's initial assessment had been right; they had to get out of here…
Much to his relief, Chris had managed to wake Jenny, and was now helping her get back on her feet. The girl looked shaken and disoriented, but still well enough to leave.
"Alright, let's go." The witch-whitelighter stated, glancing around at the others.
Paige nodded, Chris took hold of Jenny's hand, and seconds later they all dissolved into swirls of blue.
Wyatt sighed with relief as his orbs began to streak up to the ceiling. He felt the familiar call of the heavens pulling him upward, and the comforting sound of light singing echoing in his ears…
It was going to be okay…
They were going to escape…
They were going home…
'BAM.'
Wyatt felt a jolt of energy run through his dematerialized body. He was suddenly falling back towards the ground. Instead of comfort, he felt pain…
Within seconds of the strange impact, he hit the cold cement floor of the jail cell with a loud thud.
"What the hell?" He heard Chris' angry voice remark from behind him.
Chris was there too…
They hadn't escaped after all. They were right back where they started.
Trying to shake off the pain, Wyatt shakily got to his feet and looked worriedly at the others. "You couldn't orb either?" he asked, his heart pounding rapidly in his chest.
This was bad.
Really bad.
"No." Chris replied, rubbing the arm he had fallen on.
"Same." Paige stated. "It was like orbing into an electric fence and being forced back down. I don't see how….unless…" she tailed off and snapped her head to face one of the room's dark corners. "Crystals…" she said, her voice suddenly quiet. "They've trapped us with crystals…"
Her nephews followed her line of vision down until they too could see why their orbs had been stopped.
In each corner of the cell lay a small white crystal, exactly like those they themselves used to trap demons.
"Crystals?" Jenny asked, her blue eyes wide as she clutched worriedly onto Chris' arm. "What does that mean?"
The youngest Halliwell brother sighed. He could sense her pain and fear…he wanted nothing more then to take it away…to reassure her that everything would be fine…
But he couldn't lie.
They weren't fine…they were far from fine…
"When magical crystals are placed in a circle they trap anyone contained within." He began to explain. "Both good and evil use them to trap their enemies and stop them from teleporting out."
"The question is, how would mortal cops know how to use them…" Paige muttered, her eyes still locked on the small object that could very well doom them all.
There was a brief pause.
"Good point…"Wyatt muttered, his mind beginning to race. "I wonder who-"
But before the boy could complete his sentence, the sound of approaching footsteps distracted all four witch-whitelighters away from their thoughts.
Someone was coming…
There was nowhere to hide.
The steps drew closer and closer- Wyatt felt as if his heart was about to burst out of his chest. He may have faced down demons on a weekly basis, but right now, the threat from someone completely normal seemed a lot more frightening.
Wyatt had always embraced his magical destiny- he had always thought that he could lead both a regular and magical life. But these past two days had clearly shown him how wrong he had been. There was nothing 'normal' about him…and he couldn't keep hiding from the truth. He couldn't keep lying to himself…
He hadn't asked to be the twice-blessed…he hadn't asked for powers…he didn't want to be a freak…
But not wanting it didn't mean that it wasn't there.
He wasn't human.
He wasn't normal…
And he was about to pay for these factors which he could not control.
For the first time in his life, Wyatt Halliwell felt completely powerless…
"Impressive." A cool voice said from the dark hallway. "I'm glad I took precautionary measures."
Wyatt turned to look at the new arrival. He was a rather tall man, middle aged, with a noticeable bald spot atop his head. He was the type of person that, on any regular day, Wyatt would not give a second glance…but today- considering the circumstances- the mere sight of this man sent chills down his spine.
"That light thing you just did was the same thing you did on the video." He continued, his eyes locking on Chris. "Fascinating…"
Wyatt almost stopped breathing. This man had seen the video from last night…and he had somehow been watching them in the cell…the place must have been bugged with cameras…they should have realized that before they exposed even more magic…
"Who the hell are you?" Chris spat, his confusion and fear coming out as anger.
The man smiled smugly, clearly proud of himself for successfully keeping them all contained. "I am inspector Jameson…" he began. "The lowly police officer who will undoubtedly acquire fame and fortune when I expose you for what you are."
The youngest Halliwell took a step forward, his green eyes narrowed dangerously at the inspector. "And what do you think we are, exactly?" he asked challengingly.
Jamison smiled again. "I don't think…I know. You're obviously some sort of angel….and once I expose you, you'll be front page news."
"Need I remind you that it was Halloween yesterday?" Chris retorted, searching in vain for a way to throw the man off track. "Just because we got dressed up doesn't mean…"
"Dressed up? Hardly." The inspector scoffed his conviction still as strong as ever. "You honesty think we wouldn't check for that? Those wings are just as much a part of you as your arms or legs. They're real…" He paused slightly before continuing. "Besides, how do you explain the light thing? That has to be some sort of other worldly magic."
Chris said nothing.
He couldn't think of another come back.
The inspector was right…they couldn't deny it…he had already seen too much proof…
"You can't keep us here forever." Paige piped in suddenly, deciding to take a different approach then her nephew. "We have powerful friends…they'll come looking for us, then you'll be sorry."
Jamison continued to look unconcerned. Setting his stubborn jaw, he walked forward until he was only inches away from the bars. "You don't scare me." He said haughtily "If a tranq dart can knock you out, it can knock your friends out too. Then I'll have more freaks to add to my collection." He paused before adding under his breath. "Might need a few more rock thingies…"
At first, Chris wasn't sure what he meant by 'rock thingies', but then, it hit him…Jameson was talking about the crystals…
"What are those rocks anyway?" the boy asked, deciding to play stupid so that he could get a sense of how much the inspector really knew.
Jameson looked back over at him, somewhat annoyed that Chris had overheard what he had muttered to himself. "Not sure." He admitted. "A strange looking fellow we captured last night was carrying them around. I confiscated them, and asked what they were…he said something about them being used as a cage. I didn't believe him of course, but then again, I didn't believe in angels yesterday either….so I decided to test them on you…to see if they really did what he said. Evidently, he wasn't lying."
There was a slight pause. The Halliwell's were now pretty sure that Jameson really was just a mortal.
A mortal that was hell bent on ruining their lives….
"How long are you planning to keep us here?" Paige asked, her annoyance evident.
The inspector shrugged. "Not sure yet…I'm going to wait until the results of your blood test's come back from the lab…then I'm going to call up every major news station in the country…with any luck you'll be national news by the end of this week."
Chris felt his heart almost leap into his throat. Blood tests?
He quickly glanced down at his arm where he could see a small bruise forming around a tiny pinprick…the inspector wasn't bluffing. He had taken blood samples. He had examined them. He had video footage…
Even if they did escape they would be hunted down for the rest of their lives…
"Well," the inspector began again. "It's been a lovely chat, but I really must get going. I have many important things to sort out….and I'm rather anxious to talk to that demon I captured at your house. I suspect she'll be awake soon…"
Chris exchanged a fearful glance with his brother. They weren't the only ones Jameson had caught…Mel was imprisoned too…
"I'll be back to check on you later." The man said with a sickening grin before turning around and walking down the hallway. "Be good."
As the sound of his footsteps echoed off the walls, the four part whitelighters stood in silent shock. They were trapped. Mel was trapped. The crazed inspector wanted to expose them for his own fame and glory.
For a brief second, Chris allowed himself to think that he was dreaming. It was all so surreal. So unexpected.
But it wasn't a dream…it was real…
The true nature spell had done so much damage to their family, and it was about to damage their last shred of normalcy. Life would never be the same again.
"I hope they don't hurt Mel." Wyatt whispered, fighting back the tears prickling behind his eyes. He too was overwhelmed by everything that had happened. "I'll punch him right in his pasty face if he so much as lays a finger on her."
Chris nodded in agreement. Just the thought of that man- or anyone- harming his little cousin was enough to make his blood boil. "We have to get out…we have to save her…"
He felt Jenny clasp her small hand in his. "We'll find a way…" she whispered, hardly believing her own words. "There has to be a way."
More silence followed her remark as all present became wrapped up in the same hopeless thoughts…
What if there wasn't a way?
What if they truly were doomed?
"Mom and dad will find us!" Chris stated suddenly, the hope flashing across his bright green eyes. Jameson may have had Mel, but he didn't have the rest of the family. "As soon as they realize we're gone, they'll track us down. And then we can all orb home and reverse this stupid spell."
Both Jenny and Page smiled at the boy's enthusiasm, but Wyatt's features remained sombre.
"We had better." The older boy remarked, glancing down at his watch. "We only have forty five minute's until we're stuck like this forever…"
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A/N That's all for now. I shall answer your lovely reviews next time around. I'm so sorry, but I've had a lot on the go recently. In case it wasn't clear, Jameson knows about the crystals because he confiscated them from one of the stray demons the cops captured the previous night (a Darryl mentioned earlier, the cops managed to bring a few exposed demons into to custody, but all quickly escaped.) Also note- as I have said before – THERE ARE NO CLEANERS- I hate them, and they would make the story too simple.
Next time- Mel thinks, Darryl and DJ keep trying, and the adults realize what's gone wrong…will they save them in time? Stay tuned…