^^^***Soul concept art Included***^^^
Nyx was sitting at her desk when she heard a knock on her door. She got up and answered it to see Nerissa.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Nyx asked quietly. She had asked them to give her some space after what she had seen Nate's friend go through.
"Uhh, Soul told me that you said to come here?" Nerissa sounded confused. She then yelped slightly when Soul appeared behind her and shoved her into the room and shut the door behind her when she walked in.
"I wanted to meet you all here. There's something I have to say." Soul sounded serious.
"Okay, what is it?" Nyx said as she sat on her bed after exchanging a look with Nerissa.
"So, about that day that you asked where I was before that live stream? I wanna talk about that." Soul said as she crossed her arms in a lax manner. Nerissa and Nyx exchanged another look before Soul continued.
"There's a guard here named Ed. He's this nice older guy who's a little taller than Matt. He's been here for a long time and I've built his trust and I've started...I guess the right word would be conspiring, with him. After what happened to Danny...I can't keep quiet anymore. I think the elders in my family are going to try and attack the compound to break out Damien." Soul paused to give her friends time to process before she added even worse news. "And if I know my family...it'll be a bloodbath. So Ed has managed to swipe some collar keys, if the time comes, he will meet us all here and release us from the collars...and we can leave." Soul finished while she looked at her friends from under her eyebrows.
Nyx stood up, "I'm not leaving without Nate." Her tone was determined.
Soul sighed, "I thought you might say that, we will have full control of our abilities, so we can easily go to the male block and grab him, probably his friends too. It wouldn't hurt to have more people to fight our way out, because we will probably have to."
"That's fine, although I won't be too eager to run into that crazy brother of yours." Nerissa chimed in as she shuddered, remembering what he did to Danny.
"Don't worry about that, I can handle him..." Soul's voice turned slightly darker.
~~~~~~~~
Nate received another letter that night. He entered his room after visiting Danny again in the infirmary and found it inside his room on the floor. He scooped it up and sat at his desk to read it.
Nate,
First things first, how's Danny doing? Is he okay? We all saw what Damien did to him and we're all worried sick. Secondly, how are you doing? I haven't gotten a letter from you in a few days...
There's something else too, I'm writing this while praying that this doesn't get intercepted but... Soul is worried that her family is going to try and stage a prison break for Damien...I haven't really told you this yet, but they're siblings...but I trust Soul and I know she isn't like him...but Soul knows her family pretty well and the fact that she is planning like this leads me to believe that it's a pretty big possibility. In the event that this happens, I need you to gather your friends and make it to the outer wall opposite the red brick wall. We will meet you there, get your collars off and we can leave. ACTUALLY LEAVE.
And please be careful, Soul also mentioned that if her family attacks, it'll be a bloodbath.
-N
Nate held the note for a while, staring at the words blankly. They have a chance to get out? Where would they even go? How would they sustain themselves? They'll become most wanted the moment they set foot out of the wall. Honestly though, Nate thought it was worth it. Danny was... extremely lucky, how long before someone else isn't so lucky? How long before someone he cared about was killed in that horrid arena? He didn't want to wait around to find out, he wanted him and his friends to be out of this place and he would do just about anything to achieve that. He got up from his desk and glanced out of the window, it was dusk now and curfew would be in effect. He didn't care though, he needed to tell Danny, if Damien's family is really as crazy as Soul said then Danny could be in danger. Again. It seemed like Damien had a real grudge against him.
He creeped through the empty hallways towards the infirmary. He clung to the shadows when he heard any type of movement. After making it to the door, he slowly turned the doorknob to make as little noise as possible. He cracked the door and peered inside, he didn't see anyone of authority so he let himself in.
"You know the curfew is in effect, right young man?" Nate whipped his head to the voice to see the kind nurse standing there holding a tray of various medical supplies.
"Yeah, I'm sorry I just-"
"Don't worry about it, dear." The nurse said before she turned around. "I saw nothing." She said kindly before walking back into the back room. Nate smiled slightly before walking over to Danny's bed, where he was sleeping soundly. Nate felt bad about waking him but this was a matter that couldn't wait.
"Danny, wake up." Nate whispered as he placed a hand on Danny's shoulder and shook him gently. Danny stirred slightly before he woke up with a sudden jolt.
"Oh, Nate. What are you doing here?" He whispered back as his breathing calmed. Nate's chest hurt as he realized that he probably woke Danny from a nightmare.
"Sorry to wake you up, but I have something to tell you and it's really important." Nate said as he sat down on the bed next to Danny. He sat up in a more comfortable position for talking and winced a bit as he did so. It was clear he was still in pain from the incident.
"Okay, what is it?" Danny responded quietly as he grabbed his glasses from Nate, who had handed them to him from his bedside table.
"I just got a letter from Nyx, apparently her friend, Soul, is worried that Damien's family is going to try and break him out of here in some grand attack. She also said that she made arrangements to use this to our advantage and escape in the confusion. We can actually get out, Danny." Nate sounded relieved to hear himself say that.
Danny was quiet for a moment, he took his glasses off and breathed on them before cleaning the lenses with his soft blanket. "What if they attack while I'm still bedridden? What then?" He asked quietly while looking at his interlocked hands placed in his lap.
Nate stuttered for a moment, "I'm not leaving you behind, Danny. If that's what you're implying, we will come get you." Nate didn't take his eyes off his friend, even though Danny wasn't looking at him.
"Nate, Damien may have missed all my vital organs, but he still shattered my pelvis. I can't walk until it heals." Danny looked at him from the corner of his eye.
"We'll carry you then. We are not. Leaving you. Behind." Nate replied firmly.
Danny sighed, "I guess I won't argue. I get the sense it wouldn't make a difference." Danny said before he looked away again.
"You're right again, it wouldn't." Nate said as he stood up. "I should get back to my room before the guards make their rounds." Nate turned to leave before he stopped and turned his head to look at Danny again.
"Oh, and uh...in the event the attack happens when you're healed up, if you see Damien...run." Nate said firmly again before leaving the infirmary to return to his room for the night.
Nate made it back to his room without being seen and laid on his bed. He stared at his ceiling for a bit, trying to run through every possible scenario that might occur during this "attack". He wasn't even sure if it was actually going to happen, he was just going off of a feeling that Soul has. However, after what her brother did to Danny...he didn't want to take the chance of being blindsided.
Six months later
Nate woke up with a sudden jolt from someone knocking on his door. He groaned and sat up, staring at the door with a sleepy annoyance. The knocking continued quickly and Nate groaned.
"Alright, relax! I'm coming!" Nate yelled out as he lumbered towards the door. He opened it to see Rhys and Drake standing in the hall.
"Look who was let out, finally!" Rhys yelled in excitement as he leaned over for a moment and pulled Danny from around the doorway, he stumbled a bit.
"Hey." Danny said quietly with a small smile as he waved at Nate once.
"Danny!" Nate said loudly, holding the last sound of his name for a second. Nate slung his arm around his friend and guided him inside the room where Rhys and Drake followed.
"Dude, show us your scars." Rhys said as he sat next to Nate on the bed.
"Rhys, I don't think-" Drake started to speak, but Danny interrupted.
"It's okay, Drake. I'm fine." Danny said in an even tone as he unzipped his jumpsuit and pulled it open. He showed his three large scars on his left shoulder, his stomach, and his right hip. Nate tensed slightly upon seeing them, he wasn't really sure what he expected but he knew that any sight would've hurt. Other than the scars, Danny looked like he had lost some of his muscle mass from being bed ridden for six months.
"Woah, that looks sick!" Rhys finally spoke, hoping to break the tension in the room. "You look badass!"
Danny scoffed as he zipped his jumpsuit back up. "Rhys, I almost died."
"Yeah, but you DIDNT." Rhys played off the harsh tone that Danny used. "Now you have some sick scars to show for it!"
"They are pretty cool." Drake chimed in with a slight chuckle. Nate looked out his window as his three friends continued talking about Danny's scars. His mind was racing, it had been six months since Nyx warned him, why hasn't it happened yet?
The anticipation was killing him.
~~~~~~~
Nyx was honestly surprised that this wretched place didn't even slow down with their stupid fights since the incident. Once again, Nyx, Nerissa and Soul gathered around Nyx's TV for the live stream.
"I can't believe they're still so energetic after what happened, these freaks." Soul grumbled out as she sat down on Nyx's bed.
"Yeah well, you know the rich, always looking for something to exploit." That snide remark came from Nerissa which surprised the other two girls. It was then that the TV flicked to life and the girls saw their warden yet again.
"Welcome to The Battle of the Odds! Today we have something for you all that has been requested higher than any other matchup!" Zachariah announced grandly and the crowd roared in response. "That's right, we have a rematch for you this time around, a rematch that you all have been practically shouting at me about! HARDWIRE AND MASAMUNE!"
"WHAT?!" The three girls shouted in unison. The girls watched as each elevator door opened, revealing Damien and Danny. Damien looked disturbingly calm, while Danny looked like he was calm, but his eyes were frantic.
"What the hell?! Why are they forcing him to fight Damien AGAIN?" Soul was angry. No one answered her though. No one had an answer for her.
The two approached each other and stood about ten feet away from each other. Danny raised his head to lock eyes with Damien, who was already staring down his nose at him. Danny's pupils narrowed in fear.
"I can tell you're scared, you know." Damien taunted him darkly as he smirked.
"Anyone could." Danny responded with a slightly shaking tone. Danny wasn't ashamed for being afraid of him after what happened to him. Damien scowled slightly as he waited for the signal to attack.
"Here we are, fighting fans! 3...2..." Zachariah began counting down to the beginning of the round. When he was supposed to say "one", something strange happened.
The power went out across the entire compound. The tvs went dark as power was cut.
"What the hell?" Rhys shouted as he held his arms out in front of him.
"A blackout?" Drake asked anyone who would listen. Nate had a sickening feeling in his stomach when he heard a strange and deep whooshing sound. He looked out the window and his heart slammed against his ribs.
"Shit." Soul said to herself as the power cut, she immediately knew that this was no ordinary blackout. Nate didn't put it together until he looked out his window to see the huge, enormous, gargantuan tendril of pure black shadow beginning to take shape into a large point. It was going to stab itself into the arena where Danny was. Nate's eyes widened in horror.
"Fuck!" He shouted as he stood up quickly. "It's happening! They're attacking!"