The Neverseen's Last Resort

42!!!

Dex

Dex's fists clenched as he watched. Sophie was twitching and shaking, tears spilled from her eyes and occasionally, he'd hear a cry or two. Each time, she would whimper Alvar's name-- probably knowing he'd been the one to do this to her. Okay, fine. It'd been Dex who'd made and delivered her the liquid, but it was Alvar who'd forced him to. And it was Alvar who'd led Sophie here in the first place. 

A gasp drew Dex's attention back to Sophie, and he saw her eyes fluttering. Before he could do it himself, Alvar rushed to Sophie's side. 

"Don't touch her!" Dex yelled, shoving Alvar away from her. He'd already done enough. Dex didn't need him to hurt her anymore. 

"I'm--" to Dex's surprise, Alvar was stuttering. "I'm trying to help," he growled, pushing Dex back. Dex moved towards Alvar, glaring, but was interrupted by a third voice. 

"Boys," Gisela sighed. "Always squabbling, aren't you?" She pushed them both aside, and Dex with a little more force so he'd fall into Fintan's hold. 

"Don't--"

"'Touch her'?" Gisela smirked. "I can do as I please." Dex snarled as Gisela brushed her index finger across Sophie's cheek, leaving a streak of dirt. A groan, and everyone turned their attention to Sophie, again. 

"She's waking," Gisela breathed, before nodding to Fintan. "Take him back to the cells." Dex planted his feet, determined to stay with Sophie, but Fintan just laughed, throwing Dex over to Alvar. 

"He's all yours."

"She just--" Alvar closed his mouth when Fintan raised a questioning eyebrow. Obediently, Alvar dragged Dex from the room and through the dark hallways. 

"Let me go!" Dex cried, thrashing around and trying to wriggle free from Alvar's grip. It was too strong to escape. "What are you doing with her?! You're going to--"

Dex skidded onto the rough ground, gathering scratches and scabs all across his left side. Alvar glared over him. 

"Don't come back." 

Dex could only stare back in awe. "You- You're letting me just... go?" Silently, Alvar nodded, his eyes narrowing in a testing way. As if a threat. Dex didn't take the hint, instead climbing to his feet to meet Alvar. 

"I'm not going back to a cell?" 

"Don't tempt me," Alvar grumbled, turning to leave. Dex chased after him, curiosity overpowering his fears. 

"I don't unders--"

"You don't need to understand. I'm giving you a free pass! Are you taking it or not?" Alvar snapped, and Dex winced. Once again speechless, he watching Alvar disappear into the dark halls once again. In defeat, Dex turned around, hoping he'd be able to find an exit somewhere nearby. 

He wanted to race back to Sophie's side, but this would likely be his only shot at freedom. If he were to return, he doubted Fintan would be as kind as Alvar. Kind. Did he seriously just call Alvar... kind? The thoughts sent a chill down his spine. From the second he'd seen Alvar, he'd seemed... different. Changed. Why was that? Dex focused his thoughts around this, mindlessly walking down the halls without any sense in direction. He only came back to reality at the sound of his name.

"Dex?" Dex perked at the familiar voice, nearly mistaking it for Alvar's. Squinting through the dark caves, Dex strained to see the figure at the end of the hall, standing in what looked like more light than what Dex had. An intersection, Dex realized. 

"Fitz?" 

"And Keefe!" Keefe added, waving his arms around. Dex laughed, relieved to see some familiar faces-- Neverseen members not included. 

"What're you guys doing here?" 

"We came here with the council," Fitz explained. "What about you? I expected they'd have you locked up or something." 

Dex nodded. "They did. But--" Dex shut himself up before he could tell Fitz about Alvar. If Dex didn't understand it, surely Fitz would go ballistic. 

"'But' what?" Keefe asked, petting a... rock? 

"But," continued Dex, raising an eyebrow towards the rock. Keefe replied with a lopsided grin. "I... escaped. Actually, we ran into the council. They should all be back home by now." 

Fitz blinked. "Home? The council left?" 

Dex nodded. "Yeah. Linh was injured and we needed help getting her home." 

"So, why are you still here?" Keefe asked, and Dex felt his cheeks warm as he remembered Biana. 

"I decided to stay. For Biana." 

Fitz straightened, and Keefe looked to Fitz in surprise. Both of sighed with relief, until they thought about it. Dex had gone back for Biana, but here Dex was... without Biana. Dex jumped to assure them it was fine, realizing how it looked. 

"She escaped," he explained. "At least, I hope so." Confusion replaced the boys' concern. "I gave her the escape device Oralie gave me, but I was found by the Neverseen. Biana was invisible, so I just hope she didn't decide to stay." 

Fitz's hands clenched, nails digging into his palms. "She better have escaped. If she didn't--"

"She did," Keefe tried to assure his friend, and Fitz relaxed. A little. 

A loud boom made them all tense, and they turned in search of the noise's source. Their eyes landed on a big boulder blocking off on of the four halls. 

"What was that?" Dex asked them, but they shook their heads. 

"Dunno," muttered Keefe. But soon enough, they had their answer.

Another loud rumbling, followed by a crash- and the boulder burst into fragments. The three boys dove for cover as the fragments-- no smaller than splotch balls-- flew everywhere. Dex winced, the rocks reopening the wounds that had just healed from his time spent with the Neverseen. 

When all had calmed, the boys slowly opened their eyes. Dex gasped, and beside him, Keefe did the same. Where was Fitz? 

Dex looked around, hoping he hadn't gotten too badly hurt during the blast. When Dex finally found Fitz, he saw that Fitz was fine-- no wounds at all, it seemed. However, these were physical wounds. Because as Dex studied Fitz, he realized something was very wrong. The blast must've muffled his hearing, so the sound hadn't concerned him. But as his hearing returned, he saw that Fitz was screaming; threatening a lean figure in the center of the rubble. And collapsed on the floor below the figure, was Biana.