Maybe I Was Wrong (A Star Wars Rebels Fanfiction)

Chapter Twenty-Two

Elliot's POV

The darkness was oppressive, suffocating, even. It was like a living entity. I could practically feel it writhing around me, trying to strangle me with its all-encompassing nothingness that was at the same time everything morbid and horrifying.

A hatch door squeaked open, and artificial light flooded the room. The light was welcomed, for it chased away the bone-chilling darkness, but the person who climbed down the ladder was anything but. The heavy 'thud's of shoes on metal rungs sent terrified shivers down my spine.

I kept my eyes on the ground, for the light stung my unadjusted eyes, despite the comfort its appearance brought, and I could not look directly at it. Tattered boots entered my vision, and I was hauled to my feet with a gruff, "Get up."

I was led from the dark confines of the room I had been in since my arrival and brought up into the inside of a ship, not by Killian, but by one of his 'companions.' The hatch leading outside was open, and the bright sunlight that streamed inside burned my eyes even more. I squinted, my eyes watering profusely.

"Walk." I was shoved forward, stumbling before doing as I was told. I had learned to always do as I was told, lest I be punished.

My legs were wobbly from disuse and the several cuts that littered them, but I managed. I always did.

I was led away from the ship, staring at my bare feet as I was pushed along. Eventually, we came upon a house, small and probably cheap, but not dilapidated or uninhabitable.

In front of the house stood Killian, holding the door open with a sadistic sort of smile plastered on his face. "Right this way, my dear Elliot. I thought I should buy a house and stay for a while, ya know, accommodate my guest."

I scrunched my face up in a disgusted glare, if there even was such a thing, but that was all I did. I was shoved inside by the lackey and led down a hallway to an empty, windowless room. There was only one door, the one I had entered through, and within lie only the dismantled remains of a bed frame.

The man practically threw me inside, and I landed on my elbow, crying out, more in shock from the sudden burst of  pain than from any actual agony.

My escort turned around, slamming the door closed behind him, and I was once again left alone in the suffocating darkness.

'Ezra, where are you?'

***

Ezra's POV

"Ezra, focus," Kanan instructed.

"I am focusing, Kanan!" I replied, exasperated with the task that I was attempting to perform.

"Apparently not."

"Ugh, do we have to be doing this right now? We could be helping look for Elliot," I argued, dropping my hand to my side and no longer trying to use the Force to lift up a bowl I had previously eaten breakfast out of.

"We'd only get in Hera and Sabine's way. Might as well do something productive other than just sitting around doing nothing. Besides, this could be useful when we find Elliot. And we will find him, Ezra," Kanan assured me.

"Yeah, I know. I've always known."

"Then come on, let's get back to work," Kanan said, not harshly or demandingly, just as though it were the best option, which it was.

***

"Ezra! Kanan!" Sabine barged into the room unannounced, distracting me from my focus and causing the bowl that I had finally managed to lift to fall to the ground with a clattering sound.

"Sabine, what are-" I started, but was interrupted by Sabine's frantic hand motions and urgent voice.

"We found something! Come on, quick!" Sabine turn around without waiting to see if we were getting up to follow, which we undoubtedly were, and led the way to our destination.

Sabine opened the door when we arrived, and we shuffled in behind her as she entered the room. Hera and Zeb were standing bent over a table with some sort of digital map on it, discussing something amongst themselves. Chopper occasionally beep in contribution to the conversation. They all looked toward the door when we entered.

"What is it? What did you find?" I asked as soon as I was through the doorway, rushing past Kanan and Sabine to get a look at whatever it was that they were observing.

"Good, you're here," Hera said, fiddling with something on the digital map-thingy until it brought up an image of a ship.

"This is a picture of a ship that the Empire is looking for." She pointed to the vessel. "And, if I'm not mistaken, it matches the description you gave us earlier."

I studied the ship, recalling in my memory the visage of the one that had taken Elliot away, the image I had gotten of it before I had blacked out. It was similar in every way I could think of, not that there were many ways I could think of. "It does look like it, from what I can tell."

"Exactly," Hera replied before bringing up the map that they had been studying. She pointed to a planet, one I recognized as Lothal. 

"This is where we are." Hera moved her finger to another planet not far from Lothal. "This where they spotted the ship."

"Did they know where it was going?" I asked optimistically.

"I'm getting to that." She motioned to a group of planets and stars. "Now, clearly the Empire can't track them through hyperspace or correctly infer there intended destination, but they believe it was somewhere in this system."

"So we don't really know where he is, we're just guessing?" I said sourly, upset that it wasn't a solid clue.

"Well, we also have intel from...sources that say this ship-" she brought up the picture again,"-was seen on this planet about a day ago." Hera pointed to a planet within the system she had mentioned earlier after switching back to the map.

"Did it leave?" I questioned.

"Yes." My hopes fell. "But, when it stopped, it didn't pick up any fuel, which leads me to believe that it stopped on one of the nearby planets. And I found out – from sources – that someone recently purchased a house there. In fact, it was just a few hours ago."

"So..." I trailed off.

"So," Hera continued, "that means there is a high possibility that your brother could be in that house."

"Do you really think so?" I inquired, hopeful once more.

"It's our best shot," Hera said.

'Don't worry Elliot, I'm coming.'