World of Night

Free My Soul


Shivering he huddled into the corner of his bed, resting his back against the massive silver wall behind him. His room, as they called it, was reactangular, perhaps 4 metres long and 7 metres wide. Three of the walls were massive, coated with silver and the fourth was a cage wall, with thick iron bars, that had also been coated in silver running from the floor to the roof of his prison.
The room housed a bed, a table and a chair. A door in one of the walls led to a small bathroom that had no windows or anything. The only means by which he could have escaped was the cage door but even if he had managed to get out of this prison he still would have had to get out of the old factory in one of whose many halls his prison stood.
He knew that there were always at least four guards in the hall and he did not doubt that there would be more on the property.
They were petrified of losing him, he was too valuable for them.

Sighing he drew up his legs and rested his chin on the faded denim of his once black jeans. He did not even know how long he had been here now. The only light he ever saw was the harsh neon glare of the floodlights above him. At first he had tried to measure the passing of time by the meals they gave him but he had soon noticed that the intervals between them were irregular. They did not want him to know.

“Shar,” he whispered, the tension in his body slowly fading away as the air around him prickled with warmth. Still, the rune was almost too weak to work. He did not know how but somehow they had found out that silver weakened his ability to cast runes. His shuddering returned. How much more did they know?
So far he had refused to cooperate but he knew that it was only a matter of time. They would manage to break him.

Slowly Sean looked up, hair obscuring his view, as footsteps approached his cage. The scent of something cooked drifted towards him and his stomach gave a low rumble. He had got used to eating whenever something was given to him. Unmoving he watched as the guard opened the door and allowed the man with the tray to enter, at once locking the door behind him.
Carefully Sean stood up, smoothing some wrinkles out of his jeans. He knew the guard; he had been here before. Without a word he watched the man put the tray onto the table, rearranging something on the tray as he did so. Sean frowned. He could only guess but he would say that the man was exactly as tall as he. The guy was slim without being lithe and had shoulder long blond hair, much like Sean had once had. He flinched.
For some strange reason they had shaven off his hair when they had captured him.

The man stepped back, coming to a halt next to the door and gestured for Sean to take the food. Sean looked up, gasping as he met the stranger’s eyes. He seemed to drown in two endless pools of sea-green. The man repeated his gesture.
Sean quickly took the few steps to the table, knowing that the man would only leave when he had taken the meal. He frowned.

A small piece of paper was half-hidden under his plate. Pretending to open the bottle of water he unfolded it and read.
*Don’t drink the water. It’s drugged. V.*
Sensing the guard growing nervous he quickly took the tray and carried it to his bed, settling down with it perched atop his knees.
Once more his eyes met the stranger’s unreadable gaze. Sean gulped. “What’s your name?” he asked finally.

The man did not answer and instead signalled for the guard to let him out.
“Nyzen,” Sean said firmly, directing the rune of understanding at the sandy-haired man to show that he had understood. This way the guards would not notice what was happening.
The man nodded only once, barely visible, as the key already turned.
Only seconds later Sean’s only route of escape was locked again. Dazed he stared after the stranger and the guards, his thoughts racing.
Why had the other man decided to help him? Or was it a trap?
Wearily he eyed the food. If the water was drugged, then the potatoes and the steak might be drugged as well. But they would notice if the suddenly stopped eating and drinking altogether.

Sean waited till the guards were on the other end of the factory hall and quickly called Utharr, the rune of annihilation. The silver made it impossible for him to escape but he could still use his powers to a certain extent. He put the tray onto the floor where he would not step on it when he got out of bed and curled up into a foetal position.

If there really had been drugs in either the water or the food then that could only mean one thing. They were planning something which required him to leave his cage. A brief smile flitted across his lips. Maybe he would get his chance to escape after all.

~~~

Viggo waited till the prisoner had settled down and watched him closely as the blond picked at his food. Hopefully the man would think far enough to recognize that the food had also been drugged. He did not know why this prisoner was so valuable but he intended to find out. Or maybe do something totally foolish.
He knew what the Night-seekers, as those who commanded this facility liked to call themselves, wanted him to do and he was almost prepared to go through with it. Almost. There was only the small matter of his conscience. And the green eyes of the prisoner that haunted him day and night. It just was not right. No human being deserved to be treated like that and if he had known what he was truly getting into he would never have signed the contract. But it was too late now.

He was in far too deep to get out with help from the officials and he had no desire to spend the rest of his life in jail. And he knew that would happen if he contacted the police or who ever else was responsible for this sort of thing. Somehow he doubted that it would be the police.
Trying hard not to seem too nervous he glanced at his wrist watch. Almost time. He sighed, There was no other chance but try to get through with the plan. It was the only thing he could do.

~~~

Sean glanced up as footsteps approached once more. Looking up he saw the man who had brought his food on the other side of the cage bars, the man whose name began with “V”. He mumbled something and yawned sleepily, studying the man through half-closed lids. Sea-green eyes and sandy hair. He was no guard. The man did not wear their uniform but neither did he wear a doctor’s cloak.
Black jeans hugged strong thighs instead, topped by a simple blue T-shirt. Sean shook his head, pushing the thought away as he reminded himself that he must not, absolutely not, feel anything but hate and resentment for his captors. This “V” was the only casually dressed person he had seen since he had been taken captive. Oh yes, in the beginning the guys in the suits had tried to talk to him but they were a rare sight now, only occasionally watching when the man in white were working with him, as they called it. This “V” had to be important if he was allowed to walk around without a uniform of some sort.

The door to his prison opened and Sean almost smiled bitterly as two mechanic guns were instantly aimed at him. No chance. They never gave him any chance of escaping. Obviously it was time for another round.

~~~

He winced inwardly every time a blow landed on the prisoner’s face or body bur forced himself to appear unmoved. He would only endanger himself if the guard noticed his reaction. Usually the guards would ask questions between the blows but today they did not speak at all.
Viggo shuddered slightly as the blond prisoner took an extremely vicious blow to the stomach and tried to double over in pain but was held back by the silver-coated chains with which he was bound to the wall. He frowned slightly, wondering why the Seekers insisted on the prisoner being surrounded by silver at all times. At least the blond managed to act drugged very well.
“Stop it,” Viggo said calmly, slowly stepping forward, “That is quite enough for today.”
“But, Sir,” one of the guards tried to protest.
“No buts,” Viggo placed himself between the prisoner and the guards, “The Seekers want this prisoner alive for as long as possible. I am the supervising doctor today and I say he has had enough, understood?”
“Yes, doctor.” the taller one of the guards grated out, making the last word sound more like an insult than anything else.
“You may bring him back to his cage now.” Viggo added haughtily, hoping that none of the guards would notice his nervosity.

~~~

Sean slumped heavily into the guard’s arms as they finally released him from his chains. The guards and doctors were always careful to inflict pain without causing any damage. Right from the beginning they had taken care not to seriously hurt him but the pain was still refusing to leave his body. Sean eyed the mysterious doctor from under half-closed lids as the guards dragged him through the white corridors. Why had the man written the note?

~~~

Viggo slowly swallowed the lump in his throat as they came closer to the hall which housed the prison. Even he could not tell whether the prisoner had heeded his warning or if the man was truly drugged. He would just have to pray that he was not. Apprehensively Viggo watched as the smaller guard briefly let go of the prisoner and stepped forward, to let the security system, scan his retina. Now or never, Viggo thought. He would not get another chance today, maybe even never if he did not act now. He frowned, forcing out a long breath. Now.

~~~

Sean barely saw the man move; everything seemed to happen at once. One of the guards stepped forward, looking into some sort of camera, thus leaving the other guard to keep him restrained.
The doctor stepped forward, hitting the guard’s neck, instantly rendering the man unconscious. Finally freed from the man’s grasp Sean stumbled backwards. The doctor and the remaining guard faced each other. The hammer of a gun clicked and two shots tore almost simultaneously through the air.
With a soft thus the guard hit the floor, staring at the ceiling with broken eyes. Sean was unable to move as he stared at the doctor’s shaking back.

~~~

Viggo groaned softly as his enemy fell, and slowly let the Smith & Wesson drop to the floor. He grabbed his left shoulder, pressing on the wound as he kicked the guard to make sure that he was truly dead.
He turned, staring into the prisoner’s shocked eyes. “Come on!” he shouted, gesturing for the paralysed blond to follow him, “They’ll kill us on sight if we don’t move!”

~~~

Sean barely registered what happened but obeyed the command instinctively. Stunned he followed his saviour, too shocked to notice what else was going on around them.
The next thing he really noticed was the doctor using an one-arm-shoulder-throw to get rid of the last guard on the hedge. The guard’s neck snapped with a sick crack as the man hit the ground.
“Hurry!” the doctor signalled for him to follow into the hedge and the forest beyond. Sean raised his arms, holding them over his head to protect his face from snapping twigs and branches. The forest was no more than a blur of green and brown as they ran on, feet drumming on the ground.
Quickly Sean glanced up, trying to assess the time by the position of the sun. It had to be early afternoon.
“Wha..” he groaned as he almost ran into his saviour. The doctor had stumbled to the ground and was now kneeling on the damp soil, once more clutching his shoulder. Only now did Sean notice the blood that was still dripping from the man’s fingers. Dogs barked in the distance, their growling and yelping coming closer and closer with every second. Determinedly he dragged the man into a thicket and pried the hand from his shoulder.

~~~

Viggo failed to stifle a groan as the prisoner took his hands, forcefully removing them from his shoulder.
“What…” he gasped out, “Do you want to do?”
“Let me help,” the man said, gently probing the wound.
“No,” Viggo shook his head, “The dogs will smell the blood, go on, run!”
“No.” the stranger stated calmly. “I can help.”
Viggo stared in amazement as the man placed his hands on the wound, fingers outstretched, without applying any pressure and closed his eyes.

~~~

Sean inhaled deeply, concentrating on the wound. The bullet was still in it but at least he could use the full extent of his powers now that he was away from the silver. Holding his breath he directed his attention onto the bullet.
“Utharr,” he whispered authoritatively, using the rune to destroy the tiny piece of metal. His saviour groaned in pain as the bullet disappeared. A fine sheen of sweat covered Sean’s temples as he spoke another rune, directing his energy at the wound.
“Rath,” he commanded, sighing with relief as the bleeding stopped and the wound lost a bit of its angry red. Slowly he staggered to his feet.

~~~

Viggo stared at his shoulder, unable to believe what had happened. The dogs started barking again. Quickly Viggo scrambled to his feet, a little unsteadily because of the blood loss, and got rid of his T-shirt. The dogs would be able to smell the blood.
Slowly they stumbled on, trying to get farther away from the dogs and the soldiers following them.

~~~

Sean frowned. Their pursuers were getting closer. He gathered all his strength and stopped, using his whole power for the rune he spoke.
“Vràr,” he whispered. At once shadows crept closer, enveloping him and his saviour in a blanket of darkness, hiding them from searching eyes and noses. Only seconds later Sean’s mind was also drowned in darkness as he lost consciousness and fell to the ground.

~~~

The first thing Sean saw when he woke were two worried sea-green eyes. Slowly he sat up, still feeling utterly drained. He flinched as a hand touched his shoulder and steadied him but he soon found out that his mysterious saviour was the only one close.
“Where?” he croaked, suspiciously looking around. They were in a small, dilapidated shed or hut or something. The wall to his left had a hole in it and some juniper bushes had invaded the small dwelling.
“We are save,” the blond kneeling in front of him told Sean,” I think,” he added after a moment.
Sean shook his head. His energy was slowly beginning to return and he could almost think clearly again but he also felt that he was beginning to develop a headache. For some time he stared at the other man, trying to decide what to do.
“I’m Sean,” he said finally, holding out his hand. The doctor grinned at the strange situation they found themselves in.
“Viggo,” the blond said simply. Once more Sean noticed the accent.
“You’re not English.” he said confidently.
“Guilty as charged,” Viggo grinned, tossing a can of coke to Sean, “I’m American.”
“Ah,” Sean nodded, greedily emptying the soft drink, “Where exactly are we?”
“Near Kew Gardens, in a deserted tool-shed,” Viggo shrugged, “They wanted to build another shop for their flowers here but as far as I know, that’s still just a plan.”
“I have to go home,” Sean looked grimly around.
“Sorry, no way.” Viggo sat down in front of Sean once more, “I went to a restaurant nearby some time ago. Trust me, we can’t get out of here.”
“But…” Sean tried to protest.
“No,” the American shook his head, “I heard the news, Sean. The police are looking for us all over London. We are charged with murder.”
“Murder?”
“The guard.”
“Oh.” with a sudden frown Sean slipped out of his shirt, ripping it into strips and quickly drawing a series of runes over them with his index finger, muttering something unintelligible in Gaelic. Viggo did not dare to interfere as Sean tightly bound the strips around his injured shoulder.
“Thanks,” the American winced, leaning back against he wooden wall.
“I could bring you to some friends where you could hide,” Sean offered, “But I really have to go home. We should be able to outrun the police.”
“The police perhaps,” Viggo retorted sleepily, “But never the Night-Seekers.”
“The what?” Sean asked, a foul taste in his mouth.
“Night-Seekers,” Viggo yawned, “The guys I was working for, the ones who kept you prisoner.” he raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you know?”
Sean shook his head. “I never knew who had caught me. What do they want?”
”They seek.”
“What?”
“To understand the talents of the night.” Viggo closed his eyes, almost too tired to answer.
“The what?”
“Your rune speaking. They call such things talents of the night.”
Sean stared at the doctor, trying to assess this new information as Viggo fell asleep on him.
He could not leave the American and he was still drained from his ordeal at the factory.
Sighing he decided to stay. At least until tomorrow.