A/N: I should probably write for my other stories, but ONE DOES NOT SIMPLY STOP INSPIRATION! So enjoy what happens when everything goes wrong! Sorry for any spelling mistakes, I did not have the patience to go back and read through the whole thing, because it's a freaking monster chapter. Holy crap.
Gracepunk
"No. Absolutely not!" exclaimed Jen.
"Jen, we don't really have much of a choice," said Caleb. "I don't have a choice."
Jen shook her head. "No, there's gotta be something else we can do!"
"You heard what Ben said," Caleb coughed out. "We have to keep moving, but I can't keep going. And if you guys stay here for too long then they'll find you..."
"But..." Jen looked helplessly between Ben and Andrew; neither of them would meet her gaze. A moment later, she stood up and quickly left the tent. Ben glanced at Andrew and Caleb before quickly standing and going after her
Caleb looked over at Andrew. "You're gonna have to go calm her down..." he said.
Andrew raised an eyebrow. "But I thought Ben was gonna go talk her down."
"Just wait five seconds and then go talk to her," he insisted. "She'll listen to you."
Andrew shook his head. "We barely know each other. Why would she-"
Right at that moment, Ben limped back into the tent, clutching his chest. There was a large bruise on his cheek, and he grimaced when he knelt down.
"What's the damage this time?" asked Caleb, a small smile creeping onto his pale face.
"Let's see," gasped Ben, still clutching his side. "Four broken ribs, a collapsed lung, and a broken jaw that's already healed. And she broke my ribs with only one punch. Left-handed, too."
Caleb laughed a bit, but the laugh turned into a rough, dry cough.
Meanwhile, Andrew sat on the opposite side of the tent, his eye twitching. Now he was absolutely terrified to go try and talk to Jen.
Caleb must have sensed his apprehension, because he turned to look at him once the coughing fit stopped. "Don't worry," he said. "She only hits Ben and Josh."
Ben nodded.
Andrew gulped and looked at Caleb. "You still want me to go try and talk to her?"
Caleb nodded.
"Fine," said Andrew, standing up and leaving the tent, taking the light with him.
Outside, the dark night had closed in around them. Everybody was in their respective tents, and there was nearly no light.
Andrew shivered and pulled his jacket up around himself. The night was quiet, though, with no wind. And because it was so quiet, Andrew's abnormally good hearing picked up a faint sound coming from the trees. He quietly followed the noise for a while until he reached a small clearing. There, sitting on a fallen log in the middle of the clearing was Jen. She was facing away from him, but by the way she was sniffling, he could tell she was crying.
She must have heard his footsteps, because without turning, she said, "Go away, Ben, or I'll blind you."
"Not Ben, and please don't blind me," said Andrew. Jen glanced over her shoulder at him before turning back around, holding perfectly still.
Andrew hesitated for a moment before slowly moving forward and sitting down next to her on the log, giving her plenty of room so as not to provoke her.
They sat in perfect silence for a few minutes before Jen finally spoke up.
"Why are you here?" she asked coldly.
"I came to make sure you were alright," said Andrew.
Jen glared at him. "Alright? My little brother is dying, and the only way he'll survive for more than 24 hours is to get captured by Gracebeasts. And you're asking me if I'm alright?!"
Andrew scooted away from her a bit. She may have been stronger than him, but he was faster. He knew. They had raced back at the cathedral. It seemed like it had happened a lifetime ago.
Jen looked like she was about to continue yelling, but the fire suddenly left her eyes, and she sighed, turning away and putting her head in her hands. Slowly, Andrew scooted closer. He thought about putting his arm around her, but he didn't want to have it snapped off.
They sat in silence for a minute before Jen finally spoke.
"I can't let this happen," she said, not lifting her eyes from the snowy ground. "They'll kill him. I know they will."
"You can't be sure of that..." said Andrew quietly. "If he stays out here, then there isn't any chance for him."
"I know," said Jen, her voice nothing more than a weak whisper. "What if I went with him, though?"
"From what I heard, you're pretty famous for killing drones and Gracebeasts," said Andrew. "I don't think they would let you get away with that. And besides, you can't help him if your dead or in prison."
"I know, I know," said Jen, her tone becoming more frustrated. "It's just... I've been doing my best to protect him since we were kids. And it hurts that there's nothing I can do to save him now. I mean... you saw what happened to him the last time I couldn't protect him."
Andrew raised an eyebrow, not sure what she was referring to. Jen looked up at him.
"I know you saw the scars on his back," she said. "That's what happened the last time I wasn't there for him."
Andrew went slightly pale, embarrassed that he had been caught staring. "I was... I was wondering how that happened..." he muttered, staring down at his feet.
Jen nodded. "It happened a long time ago," she said. "About nine years ago, actually. I was eight, and Caleb was six. That was the year our mom died. I can't exactly remember what happened to her, but I know she got sick, and she never got better. Then after she died, our dad got really abusive. I think he blamed us for her death...
"One day I was at school, and Caleb was home sick... When I got home later... he was on the floor bleeding, and our dad was standing over him with a whip. I grabbed a knife from the kitchen, jumped between them, took two hits to the back, then... I killed him. I killed my own father. I threw the knife at him, and it hit him in the throat. Killed him instantly."
Andrew sat wide-eyed, listening intently and trying not to let any emotions appear on his face.
"After that," she continued, "I took Caleb, and we ran off. Somehow we made it into the forest without getting caught, but I didn't know what to do. I was only eight. I couldn't take him to a hospital because of his Grace, and then things got even worse when his wounds got infected. At some point I think I got bitten by a spider, because I was kind of delirious by the time Ben and Henry found us. I'm pretty sure I stabbed Ben in the chest.
"After that, they helped heal us, and their parents took us in and promised not to tell anybody about what happened. They even helped keep Caleb's Grace a secret...
"I still have nightmares about that. That I wasn't able to help him, and he got hurt because I wasn't there. That's why I... I can't..."
She stopped and bit her lip, holding back tears. It didn't last. A minute later, her head was in her hands, and she was crying. Andrew slowly scooted closer and put his arm around her shoulders. She turned and hugged him, crying into his shoulder.
They stayed like that for several minutes until the crying finally stopped.
"Andrew..." she whispered.
"Yeah?"
"Thank you."
Andrew slowly nodded. They sat in silence for a few more minutes before Jen spoke up again.
"We should probably head back," she said. "I bet they think I killed you."
Andrew smiled a bit, and then he stood up, holding out his hand. Jen took it, and he helped her up. They walked back to the campsite. Jen didn't let go of his hand.
When they made it back to the campsite, it was deathly quiet. Jen and Andrew silently made their way over to the large tent that had a small bit of light coming from inside. Right before they entered, Jen squeezed Andrew's hand before letting go and quickly ducking into the tent, trying to avoid letting any cold air in. Andrew followed after her and closed the entrance, activating his Grace so that heat radiated out from him. He noticed that his arms started to glow a bit orange as he did so.
Ben sat on the ground next to Caleb, who had slipped back into his fevered delirium while they were gone. The poor kid was deathly pale and sweaty, and he was weakly gasping for breath, moving a bit in his sleep. Ben was dabbing at his forehead with a wet cloth to try and keep the fever down. He tiredly looked up at them when they came in.
"Good to see you're still alive," he said to Andrew, too tired to add a sarcastic tone to his voice.
Jen knelt down next to her brother and took the cloth. She gently brushed his dark hair back before dabbing at his forehead.
"So how's he doing?" asked Andrew, kneeling down next to Ben.
Ben shook his head. "Not good," he said. "Look." He gently pulled the blanket away from Caleb's side, revealing the unbandaged bullet wound. The black streaks had returned, a sign that the Pitch had relapsed, and was spreading.
"Did you try that charcoal technique?" asked Andrew, his eyes wide, not only at the sight of the Pitch, but at the infected bullet wound.
"I tried," said Ben, "but it didn't work. The infection's too strong, and his immune system is too weak to fight much longer. Also, he almost stopped breathing a while ago. I think it was an asthma attack, because his inhaler stopped it."
Andrew glanced over at Jen to see her reaction, but her face was stony and devoid of emotions. It was probably easier for her that way.
"And... there's something else," said Ben, sounding impossibly more distressed.
"What is it?" asked Andrew.
"While you guys were gone, James came and visited. He said he was going to go with Caleb."
"What?!" exclaimed Andrew and Jen at the same time.
Ben nodded and absently picked at a loose thread on his jacket sleeve. "He said he was slowing everyone down with his bad leg, and that Caleb needed someone to look after him. So he's going to stay behind and get captured with Caleb."
Andrew didn't know how to respond. He was devastated that they would be losing both Caleb and James, but he was also a bit relieved that Caleb would have someone with him.
They were all quiet for a bit before Ben lethargically got to his feet. "I would suggest getting some sleep," he said. "It'll be an early morning and a long day tomorrow..." Then he quickly left.
The night dragged on slowly, and Andrew and Jen didn't get much sleep. They both stayed awake, Andrew providing light and heat, and Jen calming Caleb down whenever he groaned in pain or stirred in his fitful sleep.
Throughout the night, his condition steadily got worse. His fever was dangerously high, and he was barely breathing. Sometimes he would cry out in fear or pain, and Jen would have to calm him.
At one point, he was hit with a coughing fit so violent that he ended up coughing up blood. At that point, Andrew had gotten Ben, who told them that the Pitch had gotten into his lungs and was destroying them. That had been a tense hour, because Ben had to use several needles and a knife to perform a complicated procedure and remove most of the infected blood from his lungs. Then he had to give Caleb a small blood transfusion – luckily, he and Jen had the same blood type – to replace the infected blood. After that, he healed as much of the damaged lungs as he could, and then he stayed up for another hour to make sure the poison had been deterred.
Andrew and Jen ended up sleeping in shifts just to keep an eye on him. Neither one of them got more than an hour of sleep that night.
Finally, after what seemed like an endless night, the sky began to grow lighter. That was when Andrew went around and woke everybody up. They had to be on the move and far away from the camp by the time the Gracebeasts arrived.
While Andrew was waking everybody up, Jen gently woke her brother.
"It's time, isn't it?" he asked, his voice hoarse and weak.
Jen nodded.
Caleb was silent for a minute, his green and purple eyes unfocused. Then he reached up and unclasped the chain that was hanging around his neck, the one holding his key.
"Will you hold onto this?" he asked her, holding out his key.
Jen shook her head. "I can't," she said, her voice cracking a bit as she tried to contain her emotions. "You know I can't. I'm not a Keeper."
"You are now," said Caleb, putting the key in her hand.
Jen looked at Caleb with wide eyes. She understood what he was saying.
He was saying he was going to die.
"Caleb..."
"Go help the others," he said, looking away. "Please..."
Jen slowly nodded, and a second later, Andrew came back in. Almost immediately, Jen left.
"What's wrong?" asked Andrew, kneeling down next to the dying Seer.
"She's upset because she and I both know that I'm probably going to die in the next few days," he said. "Promise me that you'll look after her?"
Andrew nodded sadly. "I'll keep her out of trouble..." he said.
Caleb smiled weakly. "Look out for the twins, too. Keep an eye on them if you find a new place, because they'll run off and explore. A-and watch out for Ben, too. He doesn't know how to handle situations that well. And for god sake, watch out for Josh and Christopher. They may be idiots, but they do care..."
Andrew nodded. "I'll do my best..." he said.
Caleb nodded, and his focus started to drift away. Andrew almost thought he had fallen asleep again when he spoke.
"You're going to save us all, y'know," he said.
"What do you mean?" asked Andrew, raising an eyebrow.
"It's true," said Caleb, nodded as he stared off into space. "Because if you don't save us, no one else will..."
Before Andrew could ask what he meant, the twins quietly entered the tent. When Caleb saw them, he struggled into a sitting position, and the twins came over and hugged him. Andrew scooted all the way to the back of the tent to give them a bit of privacy.
The twins clung to Caleb as if it would prevent him from being captured.
"It'll be okay," he whispered to them. They only responded by looking up at him with large, sad blue eyes.
Caleb scanned the tent quickly before spotting his bag. He painfully reached over and grabbed it, then handed it to the twins.
Can I trust you to use these when you need to? he signed to them as they looked wide-eyed into the bag. They quickly nodded and closed the bag. Erika put it over her shoulder.
At that point, Andrew looked at his watch. "Guys," he said, "it's time. We have to go."
The goodbye's were quick, mainly because nobody wanted to be seen crying. Andrew built a large bonfire, using mostly green stuff that would smoke like crazy when lit on fire. It would also provide enough warmth to keep Caleb from suffocating in the cold October air. As soon as it was lit, the others would have to leave.
Caleb and Jen hugged for what would most likely be the last time.
As soon as the sun broke the horizon, Andrew lit the fire, and the group moved on.
James and Caleb remained sitting in the clearing, close to the fire. Caleb was bundled up in a single blanket, and he was leaning against James' shoulder, as he lacked the strength to sit up on his own. James had his arm around the small boy's shoulder to offer comfort and support so that Caleb wouldn't have to lie on the cold, unforgiving ground.
The group had only left the clearing ten minutes previously when the air around them became electric. The airship had found them and electrified the air around them to prevent them from running.
"Keep your eyes closed, Caleb," whispered James, hugging the small boy a bit tighter. Caleb weakly nodded, not opening his already closed eyes.
The dark airship appeared over the clearing and slowly lowered down through the trees. It was small enough to fit in the clearing, and when it landed, two drones immediately ran out of it. They ran through the field of electricity and grabbed the two Gracepunks.
The drone that grabbed James seemed to be in a bad mood, because it dragged him to his feet. When it grabbed him, his glasses fell off, and the drone stepped on them.
The other drone was a bit more gentle. It carefully picked up the small semi-conscious Gracepunk and held him instead of dragging him along.
They were brought to the entrance of the airship, the electric field vanishing now that the drones had their prisoners.
In the entrance of the airship stood Felix.
"I think this one is broken," the drone holding Caleb said to Felix.
"Get him inside," said Felix. The drone nodded and carried Caleb inside the airship. Felix then turned and walked right up to James. "I know you," he said.
"Then you'll have to forgive me if I don't recognize you," said James sarcastically. "Someone just broke my glasses."
WHAM!
James staggered backwards as Felix backhanded him across the face. Felix had hit him so hard that his hat fell off. Then, before he had a chance to balance himself, Felix grabbed him by the back of his neck and dragged him into the airship, where he tossed him down next to Caleb, who was still only barely conscious.
The drones took control of the airship and closed the door before quickly lifting the ship up and out of the clearing.
They were heading for the Factory.
Andrew had seen the whole thing from the top of an enormous pine tree. As soon as the airship had passed, he scurried down the tree and landed on the ground without a sound. Then he slowly walked back to the campsite.
The fire was still burning, and he used his Grace to move the fire closer together, then snuff it out by drawing the heat from it. He was only able to do this with smaller fires.
Slowly, he walked into the clearing and picked up James' hat. He thought about picking up his glasses too, but they were broken beyond repair.
Quietly, he left the clearing and moved through the forest, back to where the others were waiting. When he reached them, he sadly handed James' hat to Ben, who simply stared at it, fighting down the urge to cry.
"We should keep moving," said Christopher sadly.
For the first time, Andrew knew that he was genuinely sad, seeing as he had just lost another family member to the Gracebeasts.
Still, they walked on.
The ride in the airship seemed like it took hours, when it only took about 20 minutes. They flew over the forest, but they also flew over the desolation of the Dead City – a haunting, gray and shadowy landscape strewn with litter and pieces of buildings.
Finally, they reached the Factory. As soon as they landed, several more drones appeared and dragged James and Caleb out and through the doors, into the enormous dark building. They went through a maze of hallways before they finally came to a gigantic poorly lit room. Dozens of drones were lined up against the wall, waiting in case of trouble.
James gasped when he saw the Baron, and Caleb whimpered a bit, knowing what was ahead.
They were dragged all the way up and dropped in front of the Baron's throne. Caleb instantly dropped to his knees, too weak to stand, and James went down with him, keeping him from hitting his head on the cement floor. He wrapped his arms around him to keep him from falling over, and for protection against the Gracebeasts.
The Baron slowly stood up, looking menacing in the dim light.
"Well it's about time," he said, looking over at Felix, who was standing off to the side. He then turned and signaled to the drone standing behind James. The drone nodded, pulled out a small device with a small needle at the end, and stuck the needle in James' arm. James yelped in surprise, and the drone quickly brought the device to the Baron.
"This is nothing to worry about," said the Baron casually. "Just a quick blood test so I can know who you are and what your Grace is."
James went pale. He wasn't worried about himself, but he was worried about Caleb, who was still keeping his eyes closed.
"Let's see here," said the Baron. "James Flint, age 52, technokinesis... very impressive Grace." Then he stopped and squinted at the screen a bit. "Hold on. I know you," he said. "About five years ago, a group of my Gracebeasts killed your son. I remember because we took a blood sample from his dead body, and he had your last name and Grace."
James sat completely motionless. His vision went a bit red as raw anger flooded his body, and the only thing that stopped him from doing something stupid was Caleb's grip on his arm.
The Baron smiled evilly before looking at the drone standing behind Caleb. This one pulled out another one of the small devices and jabbed Caleb with it. Caleb didn't even flinch.
When the Baron looked at the device, James bit his lip, but instead of instantly ordering the drones to kill Caleb, he simply looked confused.
The device seemed to be malfunctioning, and the small screen kept blinking on and off. Instead of words, the screen only displayed shaky binary that kept changing. He had never seen one of the devices malfunction this bad since...
Suddenly, the Baron looked up and stared at Caleb with what almost looked like fear. He looked at several of the drones and quickly signaled to them. They sprung into action and grabbed Caleb and James. They dragged James off to the side of the room, and they sat Caleb upright so that he was on his knees. He was still barely strong enough to stay upright, and he didn't have the strength to lift his head. He still hadn't opened his eyes.
The Baron walked right up to him. Without waiting, he picked him up by the scruff of his neck, holding him by his hood, holding him at eye level, meaning that Caleb' feet were about two feet off the ground.
Caleb opened his eyes and glared at the Baron, his purple eye seeming to glow in the low light.
The Baron jumped back in shock and dropped Caleb to the floor, where he crumpled in a heap. James broke free from the drones and ran back over to him, carefully helping him up.
The Baron backed up a bit. "Well what do we have here? A Seer? The last Seer alive, probably."
Across the room, Felix's eyes went wide, and he muttered a soft "Oh shit." Even some of the drones took a small step away from the kid. They all knew how dangerous Seers were.
Suddenly, the Baron looked over at Felix. "Didn't you say that Warren laced the bullets with Pitch?"
Felix nodded, and then his eyes went wide when he realized what the Baron was really asking.
"That's what I thought," said the Baron, looking down at Caleb, who was pale and shivering from his fever. He looked up at the drones still standing behind the two captured Gracelings. "Take them to the infirmary. Felix, go with them."
The drones nodded and hoisted James and Caleb to their feet, and Felix joined them. They started to drag them towards another hallway branching away from the room when the doors burst open, and two drones entered, dragging a struggling teenage girl with them.
"What's going on?" demanded the Baron as the drones dragged the girl towards him.
"We discovered this female snooping around one of our base camps," said one of the drones in its emotionless voice. "She appears to be a spy."
"Well what are you waiting for?" asked the Baron angrily. "Scan her."
A drone jabbed the girl with one of the devices and brought it to the Baron. While this was happening, Felix, James, and Caleb were still on the far side of the room.
"We've gotta watch this," said Felix with an evil smile. "It'll be interesting."
The Baron looked at the device, which had finished its reading. He read out what it said. "Alex Riker, age 18... Ungraced."
The girl – a short and slightly pudgy girl with badly-cut short brown hair – looked up, fear in her large brown eyes.
"You're a spy," said the Baron, "so you must know what we do to the Ungraced bastards who try and bother us..."
The girl didn't say anything, but she continued to struggle. However, there was a drone on each arm, holding her arms away from her body. Their grips on her arms were so tight that their metal fingers had cut into her wrists, which were now bruised and bloody.
The Baron slowly walked forward. As he did, his mechanical right hand rotated; the hand disappeared and was replaced with a large knife. The girl – Alex – continued to struggle.
"No!" she exclaimed breathlessly. "Please! Stay away! Just let me go, I swear I won't tell any-"
The Baron cut her off by plunging the knife into her chest. The girl froze with her mouth wide open and her eyes wide. Blood started to drip out around the knife.
Then something happened. The Baron's arm started to glow bright green, right where the metal and flesh merged. Suddenly, bursts of green light shot through his arm and the knife, going right through the girl's chest. The green light surrounded her, and she started screaming and convulsing. The drones holding her jumped back to avoid the lethal light. The Baron's expression didn't change when the green light shot through her eyes and mouth, and the screams turned into a horrible choking noise.
A moment later, the green light receded back into the Baron's arm, and he pulled the knife out of the girl's chest. The body fell to the ground. Or... the remainder of the body fell to the ground. The girl's eyes had exploded and were now just a mess of bloody tissue. Her lower jaw had also been ripped off, and was only connected to her head by a few pieces of charred skin. Most of her hair had burnt off, along with her fingers and ears. Her nose was gone, and the blood and muscles and bone were spilling out through the gaping hole. The rest of her body was covered in third degree burns, and the skin was peeling away in some places, revealing cauterized muscles and tissues, which were still twitching as her fried nervous system died. Her blood was boiling.
Back on the far side of the room, James and Caleb stared with wide eyes and open mouths.
"So that's what his Grace is..." muttered Caleb under his breath. James looked like he was trying not to vomit.
"Good times," said Felix. He then turned and signaled for the drones to continue out of the main room. "Alright, let's go."
The drones dragged the two traumatized Gracelings down the hallway. Or, more accurately, they shoved James along and practically carried Caleb. The kid was losing strength fast. James could even see black streaks appearing on his hands, around his wrists.
Finally, they made it to the infirmary, and Felix opened the door and led the way inside. A skinny girl with long red hair, a doctor's coat, and brown and green eyes – Ginger – came up to them.
"I can handle it from here," she said to Felix and the drones. The drones nodded, turned, and left, but Felix walked down the hallway of curtains and disappeared inside one of the little rooms.
Ginger turned back to James and Caleb, but before she could say anything, Caleb cried out in pain and dropped to the ground.
"Duncan! Frankie! Get over here!" shouted Ginger as she and James picked Caleb up off the ground and carried him to a nearby bed.
Two more people appeared, one about Ginger's height with black and silver hair, and an incredibly tall skinny one with bright orange hair. They were both wearing doctor's coats.
The three Healers swarmed around the bed, and James took a step back to let them work, not knowing what to do.
"What's wrong with him?" asked the tall skinny one.
"Let's see... infected bullet wound, pneumonia, Pitch poisoning... Just keep his fever down," said Ginger. "Frankie, go help the other one."
James didn't know what she meant until the Healer with the black and silver hair broke away from the group and came towards James.
"This way," he said, leading James towards another bed across the room. James didn't want to leave Caleb, but he didn't really have a choice. He limped over and sat down on the bed that the Healer was standing next to.
"Is he gonna be okay?" asked James, straining to see the young Seer. He did manage to catch a glimpse of him, and he saw that he was deathly pale, and the black streaks were extending up the side of his neck.
Before Frankie could answer, Ginger started shouting, "Dammit Duncan, keep his damn fever down!"
"I'm trying, I'm trying!" exclaimed Duncan, who was looking slightly pale.
Frankie quickly pulled a curtain over to block James' view. "They can handle it," he said.
"What happened to him?" asked James nervously.
"The Pitch reached his heart and started killing him," said Frankie, adjusting the glasses that James hadn't noticed he was wearing. "But don't worry, Ginger and Duncan can handle it. They'll also get rid of the infection, the fever, and the pneumonia."
James nodded a bit.
"Okay," said Frankie, "so where did you get shot?"
James pointed to his knee, and Frankie gently placed his fingertips against it.
"Okay, let's see..." he muttered. "The bone was completely shattered, but it looks like someone partially healed it. Did you have a Healer with you?"
James nodded. "He's a wound Healer," he said.
"We could use one of them here," said Frankie as he started to heal the bone. "Rogue killed our last one, because he went crazy."
"Rogue?"
Frankie nodded. "That's his last name. I don't even know his first name, and I've been stuck here for twenty years. If you have a useful Grace, they put you to work. Rogue is the one responsible for torturing the prisoners that might have valuable information."
James started to get worried again.
"There we go," said Frankie, standing back. "I healed all the fractures, but your friend who healed you earlier didn't set the bone right, so I can't heal it completely. It'll probably give you a bit of pain, but you'll be able to walk on it now. If you wanted, I could break your knee again and heal the bone in the right position."
"I... I'm good," said James.
Frankie nodded. "I'll go check on your friend." With that, he left.
James pulled his legs up and sat curled up in a ball. He was worried about Caleb, and he was also worried about what the Gracebeasts were going to do to them. Would they imprison them or torture them? He had no way of knowing, and in a way, that was what made it worse.
After a few minutes, Frankie came back.
"Your friend is fine," he said. "They got rid of the infection, the poison, and the pneumonia. He still has that bullet wound, but it should start healing on its own."
James nodded and breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that Caleb wasn't going to die of an infection or a sickness or poison.
"... I'm sorry," Frankie suddenly said.
"What?" asked James, looking up at him.
"I'm sorry you and your friend got captured," he said.
James shrugged dejectedly. "We didn't really have much of a choice. It was either get captured or let him die."
Frankie nodded. "What's his name?"
"Caleb," he said. "Caleb McHale."
Frankie nodded. "And what's your name?"
"James," he said.
"Then it's nice to meet you, James," said Frankie with a smile.
Suddenly, they heard the door to the infirmary open. Frankie left to see who it was, but as soon as he turned to go, he ran into someone – a tall pale man with slick black hair and bright red and bright green eyes. The man pushed past Frankie and walked right up to James. Then he grabbed him by the back of his shirt and dragged him out. Frankie looked like he was about to protest, but a glare from the man stopped him.
Just before James was dragged through the door, he managed to catch a glimpse of Caleb. The boy was barely conscious, but his eyes were open, and he was talking to Ginger, who was sitting in a chair next to his bed and dabbing at his forehead with a wet cloth. Then the door closed and James was dragged down the hallway.
The man dragged him down multiple hallways before coming to a staircase that led down. James was dragged down towards a door at the bottom, where two red-eyed Gracebeasts stood on guard, both of them holding guns. They opened the door when the man and James approached, and James was dragged through the door.
The room behind the door was large, and it contained several large wooden benches. There were large piles of scrap metal sitting in the corners of the room. Gathered around the tables were about twenty people of various ages and genders. They all glanced up when James and the man entered, but they quickly went back to working on whatever they were doing.
The man shoved James into the room and handed him a large, rolled up piece of paper. James unrolled it a bit and saw that it was a blueprint for what looked like a large gun.
"Build it," said the man. Then he turned and left. The door closed behind him.
James simply stood there, not knowing what to do. That was when he heard someone walk up to him. He turned and saw a tall man with dark red hair. The man's eyes were silver and blue.
"Hi," he said, smiling to reveal a chipped front tooth. "I know you're probably confused, but it'll be okay." He spoke with a heavy Scottish accent.
"W-what is this?" asked James, looking around the room.
"This," said the Scottish man, "is where the technokinetics make weapons for the Gracebeasts. We don't have a choice. If we don't make what they give us in the blueprints, they shoot us in the head."
The man led James to an empty space on the table on the far side of the room. "Here's your workspace," he said. "Sorry that you have to work so soon, but it'll keep you somewhat sane." He then turned and went back to working on his own project, which was to the right of James' spot.
James didn't move for a minute, but he finally unrolled the blueprint. The design was incredibly complicated, but he saw ways he could make it. He gathered a few spare parts from the pile in the corner of the room and brought them back to his desk. He slowly got to work, putting together small pieces of scrap metal. After a moment, however, a small voice sounded from right next to him.
"It's not actually that bad down here," said the voice. "Once you get used to it, of course."
James jumped a bit, startled by the voice. He looked to his left and saw a small boy looking up at him. The boy had black hair, pale skin, and glasses. He was wearing a light gray turtleneck, jeans, and boots. His right eye was green, and his left eye was the same silver as James' and the Scottish man. James noticed in the back of his mind that most of the technokinetics in the room had a silver eye.
"Sorry," said the boy, realizing he had startled James. "My name's Simon," he said, holding out his hand. James felt like electrocuting every single Gracebeast within the vicinity for locking him in a room with a kid who had the same name and a somewhat similar appearance – dark hair and green and silver eyes – to his dead son. Fate was so cruel sometimes. However, instead of saying any of this, James simply smiled a bit and shook the boy's outstretched hand.
"My name's James," he said. That was when he noticed how small Simon was. The boy's head and shoulders only just came above the desk.
"Simon, how old are you?" asked James.
Simon shrugged. "I think I'm ten, but I might have turned eleven already. I don't know when my birthday is."
This shocked James. "You don't... how long have you been here?"
Simon shrugged again and started fiddling with a spare piece of metal, making it bend into the shape of a dragonfly with his Grace. "About five or six years... I think..."
James felt his jaw drop. "Five or six years... What about your family?"
Simon shook his head, still fiddling with his gadget. "They're all dead..." he said quietly. That was when he looked up at James. "What about your family?"
James slowly shook his head and looked down at his workbench. "They're dead too... Everyone except my cousin, but he doesn't really count."
"How did they die?" asked Simon, his child-like curiosity showing.
"He asks everyone," the Scottish man whispered to him. James glanced at him, and he nodded, gesturing for him to tell the boy.
James let out a small sigh, turning back to Simon. "Well... they died a couple years ago. I had a wife and two kids, and... they're gone."
"How?" asked Simon again.
"What do you mean?" asked James.
"I wanna know if they died the same way my family died," he said quietly. "The Gracebeasts burned my house down and killed my parents because they were Ungraced..."
James looked down at his workbench again. "Well... we were attacked by a mob of Gracebeasts... They shot my wife and daughter because they were Ungraced... and they tried to kidnap me and my son, but we tried to run... and one of them grabbed my boy and..." He stopped and picked up a wire, violently twisting it around his finger to try and distract himself. "And they slit his throat right in front of me..."
"I'm sorry..." said Simon, reaching over and gently patting James' hand.
James nodded. He was still worried and upset, but at least it wasn't so bad.
It could have been worse.
Caleb woke up later that day, pleasantly surprised that he didn't immediately have to struggle for breath. The second he opened his eyes, Ginger was leaning over him.
"Welcome back to the world of the living," she said.
Caleb smiled a bit, mostly at the fact that she had just used Ben's favorite thing to say when someone wakes up.
"How are you feeling?" she asked, feeling his forehead to discover that his fever was gone.
"Kinda crappy," he said. "My side hurts..."
"I'm sure it does," she said. "You've still got a bullet wound to think about. We bandaged it up, though, so it shouldn't get infected."
"Thanks..." muttered Caleb sleepily.
Ginger smiled and let him be.
Caleb slept for half an hour before he was woken up by the sound of shouting.
"No! Absolutely not!" That was Ginger.
"Do I really look like I care?" asked a cool, venomous voice.
Caleb opened his eyes, even though he didn't need to. His Grace told him that the voice belonged to Rogue, the warden of the prisoners and the infamous torturer. He was standing with his arms crossed, facing off against a very pissed off Ginger. Even though he was a foot taller than her, she still looked like a formidable force.
"If you think you can come in here and take my patients before they're even strong enough to walk-"
"I'm working under the Baron's orders, and he told me specifically-"
"Yes, I know what he told you, but that doesn't mean I can't argue."
"If you want to complain, you can take it up with the Baron. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a job to do."
Rogue pushed past Ginger and walked right up to Caleb. He then grabbed him by the back of the neck and pulled him to his feet. Caleb gasped in pain as the action stretched the wound on his side.
Rogue dragged Caleb through the door with Ginger throwing a rainbow of colorful words at him. Then the door closed and Caleb was dragged down a different hallway. The hallways and dark passages seemed almost endless. Finally, they came to a long corridor that ended in a staircase leading down. Rogue dragged Caleb down the short flight of stairs, and they reached a thick metal door with an impressive old-fashioned lock. Rogue unlocked the door, and at that moment, Caleb instinctively grabbed his throat before forgetting that he had given his beloved key to Jen.
The door opened to reveal another long dark corridor with a small barred window at the end. Through the window, Caleb could see the sky, and even a few stars...
Rogue dragged him into the corridor, and that was when he noticed that the walls were lined with barred doors, behind which were rooms. Prison cells. Each cell was holding about five people, as far as Caleb could see. Most of the people in the cells had shrunk as far back as possible to get away from Rogue.
When they reached the end of the corridor, Rogue unlocked the cell door on the right and unceremoniously tossed Caleb inside. He landed on the cold hard ground with a soft thud, grimacing as the impact sent shards of pain through his bullet wound.
"Don't get too comfortable," snarled Rogue. "You won't be in there for long..."
He turned around just in time to see Rogue close and lock the door before leaving. A moment later, the entire corridor went dark as Rogue shut the door leading out, blocking out all the light.
Caleb looked around. The cell he was in was smaller than the others, and it was empty.
He slowly pushed himself into a sitting position, and he looked down to see that blood had started to stain the left side of his jacket. He leaned against the wall, already exhausted an in pain. Looking over on the other side of the cell, though, he saw that there was a single bed against the wall. However, he knew he didn't have the strength to make it.
With a sigh, he closed his eyes and let himself rest against the cold wall. That was when he felt something in his pocket. He opened his eyes and reached into his pocket, feeling something small, smooth, and somewhat round. He pulled it out and saw that it was a tiny glass vial filled with a slightly blue liquid. Anti-venom. He vaguely remembered Ben giving it to him the night before. He had a feeling that it would come in handy, so he slipped it back into his pocket.
Then he felt something else. He pulled the object out and gasped. He was holding a tiny jar that used to contain ink, but now contained a tiny bolt of lightning from the Skysparks he had found. He carefully opened the lid and tilted the jar to the side. The tiny bolt of lightning fell into his bare hand and sat on his palm, peacefully sending off small sparks.
He stared at the little bolt of lightning, pretending that it was a star, and that when he let it go, it would float back up into the sky, and maybe take him with it. Then he would be free of this awful place and free of being hunted for the rest of his short life. With all his heart, he wanted to escape.
Then something happened. The little lightning bolt started to glow brighter, casting an eerie blue glow around the small cell. Then the lightning bolt sank into his skin and disappeared, leaving his hand glowing blue for a moment before it returned to normal and the light disappeared.
Caleb had no idea what had happened – only that the little lightning bolt was now inside of him. Suddenly, he found the energy and strength to move again. He got to his knees and made his way over to the bed on the other side of the room.
Somehow, he managed to crawl over to it and pull himself up. The second he was on the bed, he collapsed, gasping for breath and curling around the wound. The energy the lightning bolt had given him had disappeared, along with the idea of escaping from the prison. He was more miserable than ever.
That was when he heard a voice. "Sorry about that guy," said the voice. It was coming from the cell right across the hall. "He's always been a jackass." Caleb assumed the voice was referring to Rogue.
Caleb lifted his head and looked through the bars. Sitting against the bars was a thin boy with spiky black hair, pale skin, and electric blue and yellow eyes.
"Yeah, I kinda noticed..." Caleb mumbled tiredly.
The boy smiled a bit. "My name's Electro," he said. "Or at least... that's what they call me."
"I'm Caleb," he said.
The boy – Electro – smiled a bit. "Nice to meet you," he said.
Caleb nodded and put his head back down, too tired to try and carry on a conversation. However, he heard the boy's voice again.
"Hey, are you okay? I can't see you very well, but I know you don't look so good."
Caleb sighed tiredly. "Yeah... I'm fine..." he muttered. "I'm just... y'know... dying."
"From what?"
"Bullet wound."
"Ugh, I hate bullet," muttered Electro.
"Who doesn't?" asked Caleb. That was when he noticed that there were several other people in the cell with Electro. "Who else is in there with you?"
Electro looked over his shoulder. "Those two are Martin and Jacob," he said, pointing at two small boys who were sleeping back to back on one of the beds. "Speed and stealth Graces, and both of them are deaf." He gestured to an albino girl with pale skin and long white hair sleeping curled up on one of the beds. "That's Alice, but we call her Icy because of her Grace. And-"
"Who the hell are you talking to?" came a female voice from behind Electro. A somewhat tall girl with long, dark red hair stepped out of the shadows and came and sat down next to Electro. Caleb saw that one eye was black, and the other was bright, Gracebeast red.
"New guy," said Electro, pointing at Caleb.
"Hi," said Caleb with a small awkward wave.
"This is Danielle," said Electro. Danielle nodded and gave a small wave.
"Why do you have a red eye?" asked Caleb, getting right to the core of the question.
"Because I have a fighting Grace," said Danielle. "They tried to brainwash me, but it didn't work. All it did was turn my eye red. It used to be blue, I swear!"
Caleb's eyes went wide as he remembered the stories he had heard about people being kidnapped and brainwashed.
"Can anybody be brainwashed?" he asked.
Danielle shook her head. "No, only people with fighting or strength Graces."
Caleb went pale, but before he could say anything, the door at the end of the hallway opened again, and Rogue entered. He walked up to Caleb's cell and swung the door open. He grabbed Caleb's arm and pulled him to his feet, dragging him through the door. Caleb grimaced in pain as the wound on his side started bleeding again. But right at that moment, he looked at Electro and Danielle; both of them looked sad. A second later, his vision went black, and for a split second, he saw a large, poisonous snake. Without another thought, he dropped the tiny vial of anti-venom, and it rolled across the stone floor and landed right next to Electro, who quickly took it before Rogue could notice.
Rogue dragged Caleb down the hallway, but when he went through the door, he stopped. He pulled what looked like a small burlap sack out of his pocket and pulled it over Caleb's head, blocking his vision. He then dragged Caleb through the dark cold hallways once more.
Caleb had no idea where they were going; all he could do was stumble along and try not to fall over. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Rogue stopped. Caleb heard a door opening, and then Rogue dragged him down some stairs. When they reached the bottom, he heard another door opening, and the air suddenly got a lot colder. He was then thrown to the floor, and Rogue pulled the bag off of his head, allowing him to see where he was.
He was sitting on the floor of a small room. The walls were made of metal, and the ground was cold hard stone. There was only one door with a wall-length mirror next to it. Caleb knew that it was a two-way mirror, and he could only wonder who was watching from the other side. He also noticed a small security camera in the corner of the roof, right above the door. There was a little red light on, showing that it was recording.
Slowly, Caleb glared up at Rogue, who was standing in the center of the room, emotionless as ever. Then, after a moment, he finally spoke.
"Welcome to Hell..."
And then, instead of beating him within an inch of his life, he turned and left.
Caleb knew he had gone to get the Baron. And he knew exactly what the Baron was going to say to him.
Tiredly, Caleb sighed, but the action invoked a sharp stab of pain from his bullet wound. He didn't worry about it too much, though, because he knew soon he would be suffering from more than just a simple bullet wound.
Suddenly, the door burst open and the Baron walked in, having to duck to get through the door. The second he closed the door behind him, he grabbed Caleb by the front of his jacket and lifted him in the air so that they were eye level.
"How are you alive?" demanded the Baron. "All of the Seers were killed off years ago."
"Well I know that," said Caleb, unable to keep a sarcastic tone out of his voice. "About 26 years ago, people started killing Seers because they thought their Grace was unholy, and that people shouldn't be able to see the future. That's why the Pitch was developed..." Suddenly, Caleb got a distant look in his eyes. "It was... almost exactly 26 years ago..."
Snarling, the Baron roughly flung Caleb the ground. "I already know that," he growled. "Now tell me what you know..."
Caleb took a deep breath before slowly sitting up on his knees and looking up at the Baron. His eyes were glazed and his pupils had shrunk to pinpricks. He had a slightly deranged look on his face, not helped by the small lopsided smile that had suddenly appeared.
"I know exactly why I'm alive," said Caleb quietly, his voice ragged. "I also know why you're missing most of your limbs. I know why you stabbed out your own eye. I know why you're afraid of fire. I know why you changed your Grace and used that technology to experiment on people. And I know exactly who you are..."
The Baron narrowed his eye and took a step back, standing with his mechanical arms crossed. "Then tell me."
Slowly, a wicked grin spread across Caleb's face. He glanced at the two-way mirror. "I know Rogue isn't out there. That's because you knew I would end up talking." Caleb then looked up at the Baron. "Good to know you've still got a bit of your old Grace left."
The Baron narrowed his eye even further, and Caleb saw him start to clench his metal fist. But he didn't say anything. Caleb took that as a sign he could continue.
"It'll never leave you, your old Grace," said Caleb. "And you know it. There will always be a bit of your Seeing Grace left until the day you die... That's why you stabbed your own eye out. It was your purple eye, the one that identifies you as a Seer. But no... you were paranoid. I mean, I would be paranoid too if I had to watch my brother burn to death at the hand of the Ungraced. But you wanted to take it further. You wanted to get rid of your Grace entirely...
"You and your brother... you were both looking for the Professor... the Scientist... You got surrounded, you lost your leg, your brother got captured and burnt at the stake. Was that when you decided to stab out your eye?"
The Baron hadn't moved yet. Caleb took that moment to glance at the camera in the corner of the ceiling. The light was on. It was still recording
"You obviously found the Scientist, otherwise neither of us would be here right now," Caleb continued. "I don't know what you threatened him with, but he gave you a new Grace. And you stole almost everything."
"Almost...?"
Caleb slowly nodded. "You missed the most important thing. Something so small, but so important... But that doesn't matter now, seeing as the thing you missed is in the hands of the one who will ultimately kill you, and that's a conversation for later. What matters at the moment for the purposes of this conversation is that you managed to save your sister..."
"What does my sister have to do with any of this?" growled the Baron. "She wasn't even a Seer!"
"No, she wasn't," Caleb agreed. "She was Ungraced. But she carried Seer DNA, and that's the important part of this little story. The Sight Grace can only be inherited. That's why every single Seer in the world and their families were killed... All of them except you and your sister."
By now, the Baron's face had gone from red with anger to dead pale with fear.
Caleb saw his fear, and it was only the Baron's fear that gave him the courage to say what he said next.
"Your real name is Brian McHale. You're my uncle."
Without any warning, the Baron kicked Caleb in the chest, throwing him backwards and breaking several of his ribs. Caleb lay curled up on the ground for a minute before slowly raising his head and looking into the camera.
"Run. Now..." he gasped out.
The Baron didn't play any attention to what Caleb was saying. Instead, he took a menacing step forwards.
"If you ever repeat what you just said, I'll make you wish you'd never been born..." said the Baron, his dangerous voice low and ominous.
Slowly, Caleb smiled, blood dripping out of his mouth. "I don't need... to... repeat it... The c-camera was on... Someone has the tape... If you kill me... they'll play the tape... and everyone will know who you r-really are..."
The Baron took a deep breath and closed his eye, clearly hanging on to his last shred of self control. "I assume whoever has the tape has already run off?"
Caleb nodded.
Slowly, the Baron nodded to himself. "Very well..." Then he turned and started to walk out the door.
"I know you still have visions!" Caleb suddenly exclaimed.
The Baron stopped, but he didn't turn around.
"I think you should be worried about your own visions at the moment," he said carefully. "You clearly have no control over them. They mess with your health, those visions. Not just your mental health, but your physical health as well. Your visions take away your appetite and your ability to sleep. In fact, you're so skinny I could snap you in half like a twig..."
The Baron paused for a moment before finishing his thought.
"Your visions are killing you."
"Yeah, I know," said Caleb quietly, realizing that everything the Baron had just said was true. "But you do still have visions, don't you?"
"I do," he finally said after a long pause. "And I've recently had a vision you might find... interesting."
Slowly, the Baron turned around before speaking again.
"I see two brothers," he said. "Not in blood, but in bond. One of them will die in the arms of the other."
And then he turned and left.
Still curled up on the floor, Caleb's eyes widened and he began to panic. Two brothers? His mind instantly went to Ben and Andrew.
And then he could see it.
Been sitting on the floor, covered in blood, tears streaming down his face. And Andrew lying lifeless in Ben's arms, his dark brown hair now black and slick with blood, his normally tan skin dead pale, a half-healed knife wound on his chest...
Before Caleb could say anything, the Baron slammed the door shut and locked it.
As soon as the Baron was out of the room, he sent a message for Rogue to come. Then he went to the monitor.
Caleb had been right. The tape that normally stored any recorded Cold Room footage was gone. He had absolutely no idea who could have been watching. Anyone in the prison could have it...
A few minutes later, Rogue appeared in the doorway.
"Did you get any information, sir?" Rogue asked.
The Baron didn't respond, and that was how Rogue got his answer.
Slowly, the Baron turned to Rogue. He only said two words, but his message was loud and clear.
"Break him."
And then he left.
A/N: I swear, I got so excited writing this chapter that I almost threw up! EXPOSITION! YOU LEARN NEW THINGS! And meet a few characters. Haha, just leave it to me and Elliq to torture James with a kid that reminds him of his son. Also, that Ungraced girl that got fried? Yeah, she's based off this bitch in my Spanish class who I cannot for the life of me stand, and if this ever happened to her in real life, I would dance on her grave. No joke. And now I'm really hoping that she finds this and gets either really pissed or really scared, because I'm not the only one that hates her guts. Mwa. Ha. Ha. Elliq didn't have anything to do with that part, that was ALL ME!
Danielle belongs to Glampyra of FanFiction and deviantART and is based off of her character 10, and Icy and Electro belong to Twilight-Na of deviantART. Graceling belongs to Kristen Cashore, and 9 belongs to Shane Acker. Everything else belongs to ME! QILLE!
Hope you enjoyed this freakishly long chapter!