'Dammit…' Gantlos muttered, watching Ogron's head loll against his chest, bruised and bleeding. They had to get out of here, but chances were, any move they made would register as a threat to the teenage hurricane having a panic attack on the rubble. He knew that feeling…Gregory was a living landmine right now. Their only choice was to stay here until he could breathe again. Unless they felt like being relieved of intact bones…
'I…I can hold him…' Anagan mumbled, trying not to lean on what was left of the warehouse as his eyes fluttered, his body barely holding him up. 'You don't…have to…'
'I do, you can barely stand,' Gantlos muttered back, his focus on the scene in front of him. 'Just try not to pass out, I can't carry two.' He'd try, of course he would, but he was damn sure some of his ribs were broken, and his shoulder was definitely dislocated. He was choosing to ignore both of those things, because Ogron looked way worse than him, and if he didn't carry him, nobody would, and he couldn't leave him behind in the dirt.
Sirens echoed in the distance, finally summoned by the catastrophe, but Gantlos ignored them. Just watched. Finally, finally, after ten minutes of soft reassurances and steady comfort, the ground ceased quaking, just as the tremors eased from Gregory himself. The young wizard eased himself to his feet, and Gantlos strained to hear.
'Gregory! You're okay…'
Gregory stood in quiet, shellshocked silence as Cindy threw her arms around him, crying softly into his shirt. His gaze roved across the estate, skin paling with each second that passed. Gradually, he came to lift his arms to hold onto the sobbing blonde in his arms, clinging to her like she was the only thing holding him together. Gantlos knew that look…he missed giving Duman that look.
'You're okay, you're okay, you're okay…'
'…Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay. Cin, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…'
'Shush…I forgive you…I forgive you, you were scared, I screwed up too, I didn't think about how this would affect you, didn't think about anything, I should have had your back, and I didn't, I'm sorry…'
'No…no, this was my fault.' Gregory steadily pulled back, stepping away from the Winx as the sirens drew nearer. 'This was all my fault…it…it isn't safe to be near me. Cin, I don't deserve you, not after this…'
Cindy's eyes widened, filling with fresh tears. 'Gregory…Gregory, stop…stop and think about this…'
'I'm not safe, you're not safe around me, around this…' Gregory glanced to where emergency services vehicles were pulling up outside the estate, and his gaze hardened with his decision. '…I'm sorry. You deserve better.'
'Gregory!'
Ogron must have done something right in training, as Gregory vanished in a whisper of smoke, Cindy reaching out and catching nothing but magic.
'No! Gregory, come back!'
'Bloom!' One of the firemen hurried out of his truck, pelting across the debris to scoop up the Winx's leader, talking in quick, worried tones to the other Winx, before handing her off to the paramedics. For a moment, Gantlos glanced to the ambulance pulled up to the estate. Felt Ogron's blood drip down across his fingers. For that heartbeat, he wanted nothing more than to hand his friend off to them. Get him the help he needed. Get him a hospital. He barely knew if he'd survive Neruman, but could he survive Omega again? No…no, he couldn't. None of them could take that hell again, and that was all the Winx would give them.
'We have to get out of here…' Anagan murmured, staring longingly at the promise of medical help, just as Gantlos had. 'They're remembering us.'
True to his words, Aisha and Musa were rapidly moving towards them, eyes narrowed. Gantlos could barely feel his magic after the exertion of the battle, but he forced himself to dredge up what little he had left, joining it with the lethargic spark from Anagan and managing to vanish, just as Aisha charged up an attack.
Half a heartbeat later, he had to clutch Ogron tighter to protect him as he tumbled to the ground, fighting to draw breath. Anagan was practically comatose next to him, and, as hard as Gantlos tried, he couldn't force himself to do so much as lift his head. It couldn't hurt, could it…to just lie here a while? He didn't even know where they were…but it felt safe enough… He didn't need another argument, his body convinced before he even started pondering the idea, and darkness chased him down, pulling him deep into its depths.
Wet. He was wet. Gantlos just assumed it was more blood, but this was cold. Cold…droplets…hard droplets…
With a groan, he forced himself to prop himself up on his arms, trying to ignore the sharp pains playing a sick symphony across his body. As his vision cleared, he managed to make out where they'd ended up. A back alley, lying amongst the broken glass and rats, too tired to care about either. Rain fell in harsh, steady droplets, a steady thrum against the faint sounds of sirens. The wails were far enough away that Gantlos let himself feel safe, just for a second. The Winx wouldn't find them here, not with their magic this weak.
A soft whimper drew his attention, and he quickly helped Anagan to lean against the wall, his friend's eyes cracking open, every movement a grimace of pain. 'Ow…'
'Yeah…yeah, I know. You're bleeding, put pressure on it.' Gantlos guided Anagan's hand to press down on one of his more serious injuries, before moving his attention to dragging Ogron across to lie next to him.
'Oh…' Anagan lifted Ogron's head up to lie across his lap, his eyes brimming with worry. 'He looks so broken…'
'He needs a hospital, but it's not like we can take him to one…' Gantlos muttered, chasing the exhaustion out of his tone. Later. 'You two are both hurt; stay here with him, I'm gonna find what I can.'
'Mhm…' Anagan kept one hand on his own injury, the other softly running through Ogron's hair as he made soft shushing noises at Ogron's whimpers, trying his best to soothe him through his distress.
Gantlos barely managed to struggle to his feet, but once he managed to get into the rhythm of walking through his pain, it wasn't that bad. He was ignoring the strong urge to throw up from pain.
His hat managed to keep the rain off, but since he was already soaked through anyway, he couldn't see much to be glad of. He didn't know where he was going, but since he had no money, he'd just stalk into a pharmacy and take whatever he needed. He had enough magic left to scare people into staying back.
One fairly minor crime later, and he was leaving a largely intact pharmacy, replete with supplies to keep Ogron and Anagan alive. And an ice pack for himself that he was fighting the urge to just stop and press to his ribs. They hurt. Whatever, he was breathing, and he hadn't punctured a lung, he'd survive. Just had to get back to the others…patch up their new cracks, then…then…what? What did they do after that? Just wait for whatever Neruman would do to Ogron? All of them? Ugh, he should just have let the Winx arrest them…
Snapped from his exhausted musings, he stopped short. The ground…the ground was shaking. It wasn't him, he barely had the magic to…well, do anything, by this point. He needed to sleep for a month.
Whatever part of him just had to follow whatever magic trails he picked up on, he truly hated in this moment. Truly hated. But he was too tired to argue with himself, so he just let himself walk, following the tremors around the corner, freezing as he saw exactly who he'd been expecting.
'Okay, okay, cool off, you can cool off, you're fine, just breathe, you know how to breathe, all you did was ruin your entire life and break up with the best person you've ever met, this is all fine, just breathe…' It was the worst calming speech Gantlos had ever heard. It even topped Ogron's. And those…those were some bad personal pep-talks.
A windowsill fell off a nearby building, and Gregory spat a furious expletive. Gantlos was willing to bet he'd picked that up from Ogron, since he somehow doubted that old Gaelic swear words were on California's curriculum.
He should just leave. Go back to the others and leave Gregory to figure this out. But…he'd had a hand in wrecking his life like this. And…he knew how this felt. He'd lived this panic attack a thousand times. But when he'd met Ogron, he'd had someone to help him through it. He hated suffering through it alone. Not that Gregory wanted to see him, but…he knew what he was trying to talk himself into being okay with wasn't what he wanted.
'…Hey.' As was pretty expected, he had to duck a likely-lethal bolt of magic. 'Well that was unhelpful.'
'You! Don't come near me! I don't know what you want, or what's going on, but I'm not going anywhere with you!' Some choice words followed, and Gantlos just rolled his eyes. He'd been called worse.
'You seriously think I want you hanging around me?' Gantlos asked, leaning against the wall in a way that looked quite casual, but was in fact just to take the weight off his aching legs. Relief…
'What, after you punched me and tried to kill my girlfriend?!' Gregory paused, glancing away, some of his bravado falling away. '…Ex girlfriend.'
'Yeah…' Gantlos raised an eyebrow. 'Why'd you dump someone that followed you to hell and back?'
'Shut up!' Everything shook again, but Gantlos's head didn't get blasted off his shoulders, which made him think that had hit closer to home than he'd expected.
'Nah. Seriously, if you're leaving the whole evil gig, which I guess isn't the worst decision you've ever made, why are you leaving your own life? Since you love that pixie.'
'Don't call her that!'
'Pixies are small, cute, and more powerful than they look. Pixie.'
Gregory huffed, but didn't push the point. 'Whatever, jerk. Yeah, I love her, so I'm leaving her. She'll be better off without me.' He turned away, his hair clinging to his back in rat tails. The moment was so dramatic that Gantlos almost glanced around for a quartet playing a movie score. Of course, there wasn't one. Just Gregory and his self-made drama.
'Wow. You wanna stop wallowing for five seconds? What makes you think she'll be better off without you?'
'Did you not f*#king see what I did to the warehouse?!' Gregory demanded, snapping out of his sad movie ending. 'She can't be around that, she'll get hurt!'
'She didn't, though. You didn't hurt her.'
'That doesn't mean I won't, idiot!'
'Of course it does.'
Gregory rolled his eyes like Gantlos might be a bit slow. Well, he was probably concussed, so that wasn't too far off, but still. 'And what experience do you have with it?'
'A lot. I've caused just as much unintentional havoc as you, probably more, but I never hurt the people I cared about, because…because some things are too important to break.'
'What a brilliantly vague piece of advice,' Gregory drawled, rolling his eyes and flopping to lean back against a wall. 'Any other gems to offer?'
'Yes, actually. You don't get to make the call on whether or not someone's safe to be near you. If they care, you're stuck with them, whether you think that's a good idea or not. They take the risk of getting hurt, and that's just a choice you gotta let them make.' He shrugged. 'Does it drive you crazy worrying you'll break 'em? Yep. But some people will follow you to the ends of the Earth, and that pixie's gonna do it, I can tell, so do both of you a favour, and just save on the time and go fix it.'
'…Are you seriously giving me love advice?' Gregory demanded, staring at Gantlos like he'd grown a second head. And that second head was also giving him love advice. 'You? You hate me.'
Gantlos rolled his eyes. 'I don't hate you. I don't even know you. I am grieving and angry at the world in general, and you had the misfortune to force yourself into a place you really shouldn't have been, whilst being just antisocial and irritating enough for me not to feel guilty about going off at you.'
Gregory blinked. 'Was…that an apology?'
'No.'
'Right. Good to know I hadn't accidentally misjudged you as having a soul.'
Gantlos winced ever so slightly, but played it off as being from his injuries, not the actually kinda hurtful implication that he didn't care about how his actions might impact others. He did. He just repressed it a lot.
Catching the wince, Gregory frowned as he caught sight of his injuries. '…I hurt you bad, huh.'
'Yep…if you didn't have a decent right to hate us, you'd be missing a limb or two for hurting Ogron and Anagan.'
Gregory scowled. 'They tried to hurt Cindy.'
'You see, when you're willing to risk killing for someone, that makes me think you shouldn't just walk away.'
'Why the hell do you even care?!' Gregory spat, folding his arms. 'Why do you give a damn whether I go back?'
'Because you'll hate yourself if you don't. You can actually go back to someone that loves you, and if you're seriously just going to walk away, you're even dumber than I thought.'
'You know I can probably kill you in a fight?'
'If you could kill, we wouldn't be here.'
'Sorry I'm not a murderer.'
'Not everyone has it in them; don't beat yourself up too bad.'
'Wasn't gonna.'
Silence lay heavy for a few minutes, before Gregory glanced back up, taking in how beaten down Gantlos looked. '…You gonna be okay?'
'You care?'
'Just answer the damn question.'
Gantlos grimaced, shrugging as best he could. 'I've had worse.' Not exactly an answer, but enough to put Gregory a bit more at ease. 'Look, I have people counting on me, and I'm not your life coach. Do what you want with what I said, but don't just screw up your life because you're feeling angsty.'
Gregory nodded slowly, and Gantlos hid a smile as the green blaze across his skin died down, his anger starting to ease. There. That was how you kept control.
Gregory didn't stop him as he walked away, just staying there, leaning against a wall in the rain, watching his path into darkness recede. Would he listen to anything Gantlos had said? Did Gantlos care? …Yes. Yeah, he did. He didn't like it, it frustrated him, but being alone with power like that was hell. They'd pretty much screwed up Gregory's life…and part of him needed to fix that. Stupid conscience.
'Shh…shh, it's okay…' Anagan tried his best to calm Ogron as the redhead writhed in his lap, muttering and groaning in his sleep. Well, sleep felt like the wrong word. This was more a complete and total lack of the energy to hold onto the waking world.
'…Hurts…'
'Yeah…yeah, I know it does…' Anagan had managed to drag them both under some weak shelter, so at least they weren't stuck in the rain…much…
'Neruman…he…he…he'll…'
'Shh, don't worry about Neruman…just rest, you'll be fine…' Anagan was lying through his teeth, of course. Nothing was set to be okay. Neruman would be furious, and there wasn't anything he or Gantlos could do to curb that rage. He'd take the blame, of course he would, but he knew it would all come to naught in the end. Neruman liked hurting Ogron. He sought it. He was just like Yllidith…
'How's he doing?' Finally. Gantlos managed to cram himself out of the rain, and Anagan couldn't help shivering closer, sharing body heat as though it might chase away the rain seeping into his soul.
'Not so good…the bleeding's mostly stopped…'
'Thank god.' Gantlos presented Anagan with a plastic bag, and Anagan rifled through it at once, breathing a sigh of relief at the supplies inside. Antiseptic…bandages…thank god.
Ogron stirred as Anagan started cleaning out the cuts, trying to swat his hands away, but, despite the ache in his heart at causing Ogron further pain, Anagan gently moved his hands back down, focused on getting Ogron through this without contracting sepsis.
'No…no, you need to let me help, okay?'
Ogron clung to his coat, whimpering incoherently, but not making a move to stop him.
'Put this on your ribs, I can see they're bruised at best,' Anagan instructed, passing Gantlos an ice pack from the bag. None of them liked ice, not anymore, but it wasn't like their bruises were just going to up and leave of their own accord.
Gantlos grimaced, gritting his teeth as he moved, but managing to settle into some semblance of comfort, sighing with relief as the pain visibly faded, just a little.
'So…guess this is rock bottom's basement,' Gantlos muttered, nudging a dumpster with his foot. 'Lying in an alley, in the rain, waiting to get eaten by rats.'
'Shush, that's not helpful,' Anagan chastised, focused on putting a band-aid over anything a band-aid might possibly help. 'And we're not going to get eaten by rats.' Hopefully.
'Might be better than whatever the heck's waiting for us…'
'…Yeah, no, I still don't want to get eaten by rats.'
Silence hung for a minute, the rain battling to break through their defences and give them all pneumonia, until Anagan spoke up again.
'…I really am sorry.'
Gantlos frowned, glancing at him in confusion. 'For what?'
'For what I told Gregory…'
Gantlos waved it off, grimacing a second later. 'We talked it out, Anagan.'
'No…no we didn't. We ran back to find Gregory…we didn't talk it out. You are hurting, and I-'
'Just don't,' Gantlos said firmly. 'Duman is gone, and acting like I'm broken or something won't bring him back.'
Anagan didn't know what to say. He'd never been all that great with getting Gantlos to talk about what he was feeling, Duman had taken care of that.
'It won't go away if you don't talk about it, you said you wanted to talk about Duman-'
'I just want it acknowledged that he existed,' Gantlos said firmly. 'I didn't say I wanted to turn a back alley into a therapist's office.' He sighed deeply, pulling his knees up to his chest, even through his evident pain. 'Look, I just…now's not a good time. So can you just drop it? …Please?'
'Gantlos, you need to talk about this, it won't-'
'Oh, the drama!' Both men startled at the sudden voice, gazes whipping around until, gradually, as though stuck in a horror movie, they looked down to the slumped shape of Ogron's shadow, now smirking up at them.
'N-Neruman…'
'Shut up, blonde one…' Neruman's smile stayed in place, but it twisted, becoming forced, furious. 'Aw…well isn't that sweet…' He grinned up at Ogron curled up in Anagan's arms. 'Very wholesome. Wake him up, I would have words with him…'
'My Lord, he's exhausted…' Anagan tried, but Neruman would not be swayed.
'You can wake him or he can break his own arm, you choice~'
Anagan quickly shook Ogron as gently as he could, stirring him from his rest. 'Ogron…Ogron, you have to wake up…'
Ogron stirred, his eyes blinking hazily up at Anagan, still lost in the bleariness of sleep. 'Anagan…no…I…I'm tired…' He tried to bury back into Anagan's arms, and Anagan's heart shattered.
'Ogron, you have to wake up, Neruman is-' That got Ogron awake in a heartbeat.
'Where?! What?! Ah!' He clutched at his arm, wide-eyed and trembling, whilst Neruman looked on from the ground.
'I see you finally saw fit to grace me with your presence…' their master purred, his voice low and dangerous. 'Good…' He grimaced, studying the alley upon which his shadowy form rested. 'Ugh…disgusting…let's get ourselves somewhere a tad cleaner, shall we?' The shadows of the alley coalesced into a dark mass, swarming the wizards and blinding them for a heartbeat, before they found themselves limp on the flagstones they'd left behind a month ago.
Neruman's castle. The Dark Dimension. They were back. Shadows flickered and seemed to whisper in the corners, almost taunting the returning failures.
Ogron buried closer, shaking violently, and Anagan clutched him nearer, as though he could protect him.
'Would you…' Neruman breathed, soft, predatory. '…care to tell me HOW THE HELL YOU MANAGED TO LOSE ONE OF THE BEST SOURCES OF NEGATIVE ENERGY I HAVE SEEN IN YEARS?!'
All three wizards trembled under the fury of the words, any stuttered attempts at an explanation dying in their throats. Ogron could feel himself drowning in fear, squeezing his eyes shut as though maybe, just maybe, all this was just a bad dream. A bad, bad dream that would go away if he could only wake up…he had to wake up, had to get away, had to do something, but everything hurt, it hurt so much…
'Ogron…' Neruman purred, the shift in tone so sudden it gave Ogron whiplash. 'Ogron, do you think my words so unimportant that they do not even warrant you looking at me?'
'N-n-n-no…Lord…N-Neruman…' Ogron stammered, his voice shaking as he tried to force the words out.
'Cease your useless cowering and stand! Afford me the respect I deserve, slave!'
'Ogron, you can't-' Anagan started, but Ogron had to ignore him. Had to drag himself to his knees. To his feet.
'Good…' Neruman stalked towards him, while Ogron stood on trembling legs, trying to cling to reality even as it burned and bruised him. 'Now, allow me to ask you…how did you fail so spectacularly?!' As the yell reached a crescendo, Ogron felt a sharp sting across his face, falling back and hitting the ground, eyes widening as he realised Neruman himself had struck him. Not a shadow, not his own hand, Neruman. He'd made his master angry enough to do his dirty work himself.
'Ogron!' Gantlos and Anagan quickly got to their feet, but a flick of Neruman's wrist sent them back to their knees, bound down the the carpet of shadows that covered this place.
'Uh-uh-uh…' Neruman tutted, pursing his lips. 'This is Ogron's punishment, not yours…do not try and involve yourself, or I might get upset…and if I get upset…' he leered down at Ogron, '…who knows what I might break…?'
'Lord Neruman, I'm sorry-' Ogron tried, his words slurred with pain and exhaustion. But Neruman was having none of it.
'Oh, you're sorry. Well, that restores my body!' Slap. 'That brings me back to my rightful place!' Slap. 'That makes you more than a worthless excuse for a wizard I dragged out of the muck for no good reason!' Slap. Slap. Slap.
Tears pricked Ogron's eyes, spilling over hot and fast as he tried to stay on his knees, to hold onto some semblance of steady. He knew Neruman would just have him drag himself back upright if he fell. He didn't have the strength…
'Useless slave!' Neruman roared, and Ogron scrambled back, only to find himself frozen a moment later. There was no preamble, no taunting to the punishment, just swift, brutal pain that left him gasping when it was finally over.
His vision blurred as he stared up at the ceiling, Gantlos and Anagan's shouts for Neruman to stop fading into the background. It hurt…it hurt so much…
'Right…' Neruman dusted himself off, indifferent to Ogron writhing on the stone floor. 'I think we've learned a little lesson here, haven't we?'
No response but Ogron's weak whimpers of pain. Gantlos and Anagan had been muted when they'd become an annoyance to Neruman.
Neruman's eyes narrowed. 'I said, we've learned a little lesson, haven't we?'
'Y-yes…' Ogron gasped. 'Yes…Lord Neruman…' He had to rip each word from his throat, tears spilling at every syllable.
'Now, I don't teach just to rid myself of my little pupils…' Neruman purred, back to his cheerful sadism once again. 'So don't worry, I won't be snuffing your meaningless little life out today. But…' He drew nearer, eyes burning with murderous intent. 'You ever fail me again, you are dead. And it will not be quick. Do you understand?'
'Y-yes…' Ogron was barely holding onto consciousness now, fighting to keep his eyes open, too scared of Neruman's wrath to pass out.
'Good.' Neruman clapped his hands, and the shadows let Gantlos and Anagan free of their grasps, though still barred their path to Ogron. 'Then I think we're done here. You two can go back to your cell, I think you remember where it is?'
Gantlos and Anagan just glowered at him, the threat evident in every line of their expressions. But despite the murder in their gazes, Neruman just waved a hand. 'Off you go, run along now…'
'We're not leaving him,' Gantlos said firmly, barely holding back a growl.
'Of course you are! You leave him or I break something more, your choice! I'm happy with either, honestly, I'd love an excuse to keep going.'
Gantlos and Anagan exchanged a glance, looking to Ogron. Desperate for it all to be over, he managed the weakest nod imaginable, his eyes pleading with them not to aggravate Neruman any further. He wouldn't survive…
Heartbreak and fury etched on their faces, Gantlos and Anagan allowed themselves to be chivvied from the room, Anagan shooting Ogron a last, helpless glance. Ogron tried for a reassuring smile, to tell him he'd be okay, but he would be lying. He couldn't dredge up anything more than a weak, scared whimper.
'You look tired…' Neruman sighed, watching Ogron with amusement. 'Don't worry, you can rest now…'
Despite his head screaming at him not to believe a single word that left this monster's mouth, Ogron felt his body relax slightly. He could rest…he'd be back with Gantlos and Anagan soon, they'd make everything okay…they would, they had to…
'It's quite clear you can't walk, so let me give you a little help.'
Ogron tensed back up again, just in time for a different rigour mortis to overtake him, a choked sob escaping him as his body was forced upright. He tried to tell himself it would be okay. He just had to make it through this. Make it to the cell. There were beds in the cell…he could lie down…pass out…oh, to pass out again…
However, as he was marched out of the throne room, past columns and creatures, his heart started to sink. He didn't know this way. There was a good chance Neruman was taking him the longest way he could think of, just to torture him, but somehow, he knew it had to be more sadistic than that.
He could feel his strength ebbing, deserting him with every step, but still, he kept walking, allowed no respite. He assumed that, if Neruman didn't let him go, he'd just keep walking until he died of exhaustion.
But it seemed Neruman had told the truth that he wasn't going to kill him. Finally, finally, he stopped. He didn't know where they were…it seemed deep, deep below ground, though. They'd gone down so many flights of stairs, deeper than his old cell. This whole place stank of rot and decay, a thick, musty silence clinging to everything. This was a place where things went to die. Where the worthless became the forgotten.
Neruman left him in a rush, sudden enough that he felt to his knees with a startled, pained cry, his already-bruised body jolted by the impact. Free from Neruman's hold, he shivered uncontrollably, his clothes of little use against the chill in the air.
'Yes, rather chilly…' Neruman remarked, as though conversing on the weather. 'You should get a good cloak, like mine.'
Ogron didn't respond, staring up at his master with fear, wondering just what fresh hell this place was for.
As though answering his question, Neruman waved a hand, and a thick, solid door on Ogron's right swung open, the dim, murky light of the corridor weakly creeping inside the room beyond as lethargically as Ogron now breathed.
'What…' Ogron croaked out, glancing up to Neruman in confusion.
'Ah, yes…well, I do worry that if I break you any more, I might kill you, and I am a man of my word when it happens to suit me, so the physical aspect of your punishment is, mercifully, over.' He grabbed Ogron by the arm, yanking him up and shoving him through the doorway to practically choke on the dank, musty air. 'You can rest now…in here. Until I have need of you again, you will stay here…' A twisted grin split his face in two. 'Alone.'
Ogron's heart split in two. Somehow, some way, that hurt worse than anything Neruman had done prior. Before, Anagan and Gantlos could hold him tight and tend to his wounds…now he was to be relegated here, to this hellhole, alone in the dark. Alone. He couldn't be alone.
'Please…' he begged, his voice shattering as Neruman stood over him. 'Please, no…please don't leave me here…'
'Perhaps you should have tried a bit harder with Gregory…' Neruman sighed with the demeanour of a disappointed parent disciplining a troublesome child. 'Get comfortable…I doubt I shall have need of you for a good while.'
'No…no, please…' He tried to get to his feet, but chains as inky and black as Neruman's shadows leapt to catch his wrists, dragging him back and into the thick, choking darkness, so black he could see only the two furious, murderous slits of red glowing from under Neruman's hood.
'Remember this moment, Ogron…' Neruman whispered, stepping back and out into the corridor. 'Hold onto it when I mercifully grant you your last chance.' The door clicked shut, and he was alone. Alone. Alone…
'No…' His whisper sounded deafening in the suffocating silence. 'No, please…' But nobody would answer.