Midnight Eyes ✵ Phan

*30*

A/N I think this chapter was the hardest thing I've ever written. I put three chapters into one and the length was far beyond what I expected. And, TITLE CHANGE! This fic is now Midnight Eyes, hope you all like the new name :) (It was previously Lone for all of you that don't know). Any, without further ado, here's CHAPTER 30!!!

Phil worked at the zoo five days a week and watched as Dan's form deteriorated. His cat form was little and bony, resembling that of a stray's, whilst his human figure was withered and gaunt, the pallor of his skin to white to imagine. Phil couldn't do a thing but watch and wish that things were different. It was Dan's fault, he realised, but he refused to acknowledge that fact.

It was not Dan's fault that he was trapped but it was his fault that he didn't eat, couldn't eat, he claimed. He refused to be treated like an animal and his hunger strike was his easiest way to rebel. He had made the decision subconsciously, his own body forcing him to lose his appetite rather than any sort of active rebellion.

Phil had tried to feed him himself but nothing worked. Dan had become immune to starvation. He choked up each thing that went down and gagged at the sight of the fish they flung at him. He wasn't an animal, he kept repeating that. Phil believed him but wished he would just act like it for a second.

To live because an animal's instinct was to survive.

Phil didn't know why so many humans failed that.

Phil was desperate and in his desperation, he began his plan. Within four weeks, he had made friends throughout the exhibits and had even talked to the animal trainers- specifically the Neko trainer, Ana. She was nicer than expected and Phil was surprised with the respect that she gave him that she lacked in her training. She claimed that they needed discipline and her strictness was the best way to accomplish that.

Seeing Dan's state, Phil was not too sure.

But, in doing so, Phil had gained vital information. The layout of the training centre for one, from both cleaning it and being shown rooms that- technically- he was not allowed to clean. Ana had taken a liking to him and was easily manipulated. Phil hated it. But, it was necessary and if that meant asking her to do things that were, possibly, against regulations, then he would so.

The rooms he had found were things he would rather not think about. White cells, padded walls- similar to the cells that Phil had so often seen in American films when they flung the psychopaths into prison, straight jackets and all. They called it the 'disciplinary room'. It was for those who actively rebelled.

Phil hadn't stopped trembling for days at the thought of Dan being locked in there, unable to see anything but white. Dan had claimed he hadn't been there before. Phil wasn't sure whether to believe him. With his current behaviour, he imagined that the staff hadn't taken it too well. He had been too afraid to ask Ana.

Other rooms were ones that were used for mating. Unused, so far, they were still being prepped. Dan was the first male they'd had, the Neko they had been waiting for. Phil had lost his appetite that day too.

Six weeks passed since Dan was first locked up and nothing had changed. The light in Dan's eyes had died and the hope that urged Phil on was dwindling like a candle in the wind. He had a plan, he did. Sort of. Get Dan when he was in one of the training rooms, take him and run.

Unfortunately, he hadn't yet planned for any of the consequences of that plan nor what could go wrong. A lot could go wrong. A lot. But, it was something, Phil decided- maybe to just boost his own ego or maybe because it was the only thing that allowed him to have any small slither of hope that was left.

Phil mopped the training room floor, trying not to ruin his work at the sight of the moulded blood- a rusty red staining the marble. Phil didn't want to think about what got it there. Although, behind few layers, he knew why it was a reality he was seeing and not his own mind playing tricks on him.