Author's note: I do have some insecurities with this chapter but hopefully you will like it
All mistakes are still mine

CHAPTER 8

He didn't know how long it had been since he was taken. There were no windows to provide light for him, just a small light dangling from the ceiling. Without windows he couldn't separate day from night and there were no other indicators of what time of day it was.
A man came into his room everyday to give him food and change the bucket that was his toilet. Neal had tried counting how many times it been but he wasn't that good at counting and his body and mind felt weak.
He was only given one sandwich a day, always the same plain sandwich, with nothing but icky tasting bread and a dry piece of cheese. Even Neal knew that there was no way he would survive on just the plain sandwich and one glass of water a day in the long run.
His whole body hurt from sleeping curled up to a ball on the hard floor and he had several bruises from his one, stupid, escape attempt.
Neal had stood by the door and as soon as it was opened he bolted out of the room but was instantly grabbed by the man and literally thrown back into the room.
Since then he hadn't even dared to think about another escape attempt.
Sometimes the man came inside with a gun and a phone and Neal got to talk to Mozzie. In the beginning he had high hopes for Mozzie saving him from this hell but as time went by he lost it. Mozzie would never come and he would never get out of here. Neal had accepted that he would go to heaven and see the angels and his mommy. He just hoped that it wouldn't hurt.

Neal sat in one of the corners, curled up into a ball and head leaning against the wall. He didn't know if it was day or night but he was tired either way. He tried to sleep as much as possible, he was a very active kid who liked to activate his brain and it was killing him to not being able to do anything. He was close to sleep when the heavy door opened and the man stepped in, closing the door tightly behind him. He was holding a gun and a phone as usual. The man gave his legs a light kick and Neal whined like a scared puppy. The man laughed at him, a low and menacing laugh which made Neal's skin crawl. He really hated this man, his mommy always told him that hate was a strong word and that you should never hate someone but this man deserved it. He was a very bad man, with crazy eyes and a huge, scary scar over his face. He smelled like beer, just like Neal's dad, and he always looked angry. He never said anything nice and he didn't care when Neal got hurt. He really was a very bad man.
The man lifted the gun and pointed it at Neal. Even if he had been in this situation several times now, he was still just as scared as the first time. It seemed like he never got used to having a gun pointed at him.
The phone rang and the man immediately picked up and put it on speaker.
"Hey Mozzie"
He called out, no longer feeling any happiness about talking to Mozzie. It was more of a duty, to prove he was alive, and nothing else.
He could hear Mozzie asking for a private conversation. Why did Mozzie want to talk to him in private? Did he want to tell Neal that he was gonna give up on trying to please Keller and wanted to say goodbye to Neal?
As soon as Keller agreed the man turned off speaker and gave the phone to Neal, not looking too happy about it. He put the phone to his ear, with his a slightly shaking hand.
"Hey Neal, you okay?"
Neal had never been less okay in his short life. He would rather go back home to his father or go back to foster care. He had been hurt a lot, he had been beaten, he had been kicked, he had been yelled at but he would without hesitation go back to that if it meant that he got out of this place. At least in his previous homes he had the option to escape, he could see the sun and he had the chance to activate his brain. Here he had nothing.
"No"
He answered truthfully. He wasn't okay and Mozzie needed to know that. If Mozzie was gonna give up, he at least needed to know that Neal was not okay.
Neal was honestly surprised by Mozzie not saying goodbye but actually promising to get him free. He wanted to believe it, he wanted to believe it so bad, but it felt too good to be true.
"I don't believe you"
Mozzie told him the name and address of a woman, telling him to remember it and that he would be safe there before Keller's voice could be heard and the call ended.
Mozzie said he would be safe there, but he couldn't understand why he couldn't be safe with Mozzie.

June Ellington. June Ellington. June Ellington.
Neal repeated the name in his head over and over again. He didn't want to forget it.
It was also a way to activate his brain. He tried to figure out how you would spell it and how many letters there were.
He was in the middle of his name mantra when he heard a loud bang followed by yelling. His instincts kicked in and told him to run but he knew very well that there was nowhere to run. There were more yelling outside and he whimpered as he hid his face in the t-shirt. It had long since lost the smell of Mozzie that had given him comfort in the beginning.

He didn't know what was going on but he could hear several footsteps outside the door and then a loud bang that made his ears hurt. He lifted his small, dirty hands and placed them over his ears as another bang could be heard. Someone was yelling again and the next thing he knew the door flew open.
Neal didn't want to look, but his need to know what was going on was strong and he slowly lifted his head and saw a man walking inside, holding a gun in his hand, looking ready to shoot.
Neal whimpered at the sight of the gun and it attracted the man's attention. The man looked at the boy and immediately lowered his gun.
The man walked closer to him and Neal expressed his fear by whimpering and pressing himself against the wall. This was not the bad man that had been feeding him or pointing a gun at him before, but that didn't calm him down at all.
The man seemed to notice Neal's fear and put the gun away before crouching down. His warm, brown eyes met with Neal's. The man reached into his pocket and showed him a badge.
"I'm from the FBI. I'm not going to hurt you"
Without thinking Neal got up on shaking legs and ran over to the man, throwing himself in his arms.
The man put his arm around the small child and gave him an awkward pat on the back.
"It's okay buddy"
He said his voice stiff and awkward, as if he was trying to be reassuring at the same time he didn't really know how to deal with the child.
The man tried to release Neal but he refused to let go of the man. He didn't care who he was, right now all Neal could see him as was his saviour.
He heard a sigh before the man grabbed him again and stood up with him, carrying him out of the room.
"Boss we found something"
Neal heard someone say, a female. Probably another FBI agent.
"Yeah? So did I"