500 - Part I - Distorted Shadows and Monsters

Chapter III - Found.

"I'd rather be home. Where I belong," Thackby told Grayden sadly. Grayden took a few paces forward. "This is your home. You'll just have to learn how to fit in," Alistair bitterly sneered. There was a grand chorus of laughs. "Thackby, you're not really on our side, are you?" Grayden continued, his fingers playing with Thackby's hair, "Not on our side, well my side."
"I have been loyal to you, since day one. I place my faith and respect in you, always."
"Right now, Thackby," snarled Grayden, "Always seems like never." Thackby remained quiet. "You're scared of my power. The power, which I — and I alone — can control. I'm invincible," Grayden stated.
"You're stoppable," disagreed Thackby, "You're not strong." Grayden's jaw seemed to fall to the floor, like a lift crashing down at a ridiculous and ludicrous speed. "Thackby, I want you to love me. Now! Love me!" After Thackby knew he had slipped up, he no longer cared about making mistakes or stepping one tiny toe out of line.
After a few moments, Thackby freed a snarl from the cage of his own mouth. The room grew with more tension, as words escaped from his imprisoning lips. "You're not strong," repeated Thackby, "And you're weak. Why should we love you, if you don't show us love?"
"Always taking it way too far, I believe," Grayden whispered. He stared, with his razor-sharp and knife-like eyes, which were enough to quickly slice through your flesh. "You had your final chance ages ago. I don't even know why I've been keeping you alive for this long," uttered Grayden.
"Neither do I," added Thackby, as a smile flickered across his face. His sudden optimism and ray of hope flashed, a fiery and powerful flame from a match. "I've always admired your courage. It's how you manage to smile, when you know the truth too well," Grayden said in a less dark tone.
"I learnt that courage and how to obtain it. From you."
"Me, Thackby? Me?" giggled Grayden. Daniel had never seen such a strange and exciting scene. Daniel feared for Thackby's life. He appeared to be supportive of the children. That's what mattered ever so much to Daniel.

"Thackby, you're always out of the ordinary, aren't you?" Grayden asked.
"It always seems that I am," mumbled Thackby.
"You need to sleep, Thackby. You're probably just tired," suggested Grayden. Thackby nodded. 'Hopefully, he won't sleep on it,' thought Daniel. "I think I need to," Thackby nodded drowsily. Daniel managed to get his hand caught in the hatch. He gasped in pain, as he attempted to free his hand. It had become wedged between the bars. "There's somebody else here," Grayden sensed. He did the worst: he looked upwards. Daniel had rescued his hand, before quickly scurrying away, like a tiny rat scampering away from humans. Daniel wasn't too tiny, but he was rather skinny. His once tanned face, from the Sun  was ghost-like and pale.
"Is everywhere in shut down?" barked Grayden.
"Yes, sir," Stevens replied, as he pulled down a lever, hastily, "Nobody can escape now."
"Good," said Grayden slyly, "We don't want any of them escaping, do we?"
"No, sir," agreed Stevens.
"How did they get in the vent though?" Grayden wondered. His question was left hanging in the air, unanswered. "Who?" asked Thackby, rubbing his eyes.
"Who? Who, Thackby? That child, who was in the vents, for heaven's sake!" Grayden exclaimed.
"Oh, right," quietly said Thackby.
"You're lucky; I still have faith in you. After all your betrayals, I find it hard to believe I haven't even killed you yet, or pressed a knife to your throat. There's no denying, though, that I have thought about murdering you before."
"In my sleep?" chuckled Thackby. "That's reassuring, isn't it?" he added sarcastically.
"No, that'd be far too difficult, because you hardly ever sleep, dear Thackby. I'd stab you in the back, before you could even reach my office. I'm always on the look-out, for the greatest opportunity—" Grayden threatened.

"Alright, good night, everyone," bade Thackby. Grayden laughed. "A good night to you too, Thackby," he grinned. He could hardly form words, as his chuckled made it rather difficult. Daniel heard Thackby leave the room. He crawled down the vent, retracing his previous movements. His heart thundered, like lightning striking it to the core. Daniel became drenched in sweat, as he quickened his pace, with every noise created by Grayden. "We haven't forgotten about you, don't worry!" echoed the terrifying man's voice.
Suddenly, sirens started blaring. Daniel's tears stung his eyes, as though they were minuscule, watery bullets being repetitively fired at his pupils. Red lights flashed all around him. The already incredibly narrow vent seemed to cave in even further. Daniel was now fighting to avoid being crushed. He held in his breath, each time he noticed his slow he was moving. Daniel's entire body tensed, when he heard a faint hissing noise. Hiss! He crawled and crawled, desperately. Hiss! The nerve-wracking sound increased in volume. Hiss! Now it was like a creepy, callous cobra was chasing him. Daniel felt a stabbing through his veins, every second. All he remembered was the hissing, a foggiest and dizziness. After that, his clearly memory of the experience was washed out, like ink blanketing an ornate oil painting. Every clear vision of what had happened was erased — somehow — from his memory. He didn't have the smallest idea of how it had all happened.
Next thing he knew, Daniel was slumped in a hard, uncomfortable, wooden chair. He felt hot breaths tickle his neck, sending shivers throughout his body. His hands tingled. They grew warmer and warmer and..."Hello there, Daniel," greeted Grayden. The man outstretched his hand, which surprised the boy more than anything else. Daniel shook it, his eyes growing wide with excitement. "Hi, Grayden," smiled Daniel. There was an odd sense of comfort in Grayden's presence, which was totally unexpected. "How are you?" asked Grayden.
"A little dizzy," Daniel answered honestly.

"Oh, I'm sorry about that," Grayden apologised.
"It was the dizzying gas, which makes you weak and fall asleep," a gravelly voice added. Daniel turned around a hundred and eighty degrees, when he met with two muscular, tough-looking men. Each were wearing masks of a jet black colour, so their eyes were hardly visible. Both of them had clenched fists, like heavy boulders, which could crush through many things. "Don't worry about them," laughed Grayden, "They're my bodyguards. They literally look like two mountain gorillas. Haha!" A silence hung by a frayed thread. Luckily, Daniel split it. "Why am I here?" wondered the boy aloud.
"Why are you here?" repeated the man, "You're the kid that went into the vents." Grayden's grey eyes stared deeply into Daniel's brown ones. Daniel's panic spiked significantly. "Please don't lie to me," Grayden whispered, "I just want the truth. That's all." Daniel's voice was much smaller and quieter. His throat was also an awful lot drier. "Yes," was all Daniel could manage.
After a few seconds, Daniel stood up. His legs buckled and he almost fell over. Fortunately, one bodyguard caught him — roughly — just before he did. "Daniel, what did you see?" Grayden demanded. The guard remained furious and snatched at Daniel's shirt jacket even more than before. "When?" Daniel swallowed.
"Just tell me everything you saw, whilst you were in the vent. Easy," Grayden informed him.
"I heard you laughing. Umm...and a guy called Thackby he...err—"
"He did what?" pressed Grayden.
"He seemed to talk in riddles. He was very tired," continued Daniel.
"Anything else?" Grayden grinned smugly.
"Oh, and you threatened him," Daniel shyly responded.
"Thank you, Daniel. I appreciate we haven't known each other for long, but you're an amazing, young boy."