Mentally and Physically Tearing Him Apart

Chapter 11

Luz and Amity were walking together through the dark corridors of the dungeons. They were looking through cell after cell, but most seemed to be empty. Once they got to the end of the hallway they hit a dead end, figuratively and literally.

"I don't get it, he should be here!" Luz voiced her confusion as she looked around the hallway again.

"Maybe he's just not in this part of the wing?" Amity suggested, trying to comfort her. She could see how worried Luz was getting, and she was trying to be as upbeat as she could. Which was odd considering it was always Luz who always tried to stay positive and not lose hope. But Amity was determined to help as much as she could. Suddenly a thought popped into her mind.

"There is no way Belos would keep Hunter in the ordinary cell dungeons, he was after all the Golden Guard and his right-hand man. Meaning he should be in a private cell!" Amity concluded as she began to scan the hallway for any stone doors that they might've missed. Her eyes then landed on a narrow stone door encased in the walls a couple of meters to the left of them. Luz and Amity rushed over to it, Luz attempting to pry open the door with her hands. Amity couldn't help but crack a small smile at the attempt. She moved her hand over to Luz and held it in front of her,

"Allow me." Amity started to draw small circles in the air with her hand, the bottle strapped on her waist starting to shake. Suddenly the cap of the bottle fell off and the abomination liquid started to flow out of it. It seeped within the cracks of the door and
The stone door fell open in front of them. Luz jumped back, trying to avoid the impact.

"Woah! Nice job!" Luz exclaimed as Amity's smile widened.

They both stepped over the door and peered inside. They could see a boy pacing behind the bars of the cell.

A very familiar boy, Hunter.

When the light appeared from the outside into the darkly lit room, he stopped dead in his tracks, his head whipping towards them, his eyes widening.

Luz ran towards the cell bars and grabbed the cell bars with her hands. The amount of relief that flooded through her when she found her friend was unimaginable. He didn't seem to be physically hurt, Luz would've hated herself if anything did happen to him. "Hunter! Are you okay?"

Hunter walked up to the other side of the bars, a small smile tugging at his lips. "Yeah, yeah I'm alright."

"Don't worry we'll get you outta here!" Luz tried to assure him as she looked around the room for any way to open the cell bars. Her eyes landed on a small lever next to the outside of the cell in the corner. She rushed over towards it and gave it a hard pull. Hunter stepped back as the cell doors slid into the wall. As soon as that happened Luz ran up to him and wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

"I'm so glad you're alright," Luz whispered, hugging him tightly. Luz supposed she missed him more than she thought and would like to admit. In the few weeks of knowing him, Luz's perspective on the former Golden Guard shifted a lot through that. But she was now finally certain of her view on him.

He was once lost.

Alone.

Afraid, and maybe still is.

But he is kinder than she thought.

He is curious, intuitive.

He is smart and witty.

He was a friend.

He was her friend.

She could feel Hunter wrap his arms around her too, hugging back which made Luz smile even wider. "I've missed you too, Human."