In the Shadows: A PJo x KotLC Crossover

Chapter 1

Beaten and bloody, Tam groaned as calloused hands dragged him down stone steps. Every few seconds, a "thud" sounded through the room, and every few seconds Tam's splitting headache throbbed like he'd been hit by a bus.

He could barely remember the past few days: everything had happened so quickly it was all a flash. He remembered a man in a black cloak grabbing him from behind during a heated fight. He could just make out a girl with brown hair screaming and running after him. Then the light had engulfed him, and she had disappeared.

Faces clouded his memory: brown eyes, a dimpled smile, tousled blonde hair.. (a twinge of annoyance battled through at the thought of that last one) but it was all just a blurry memory.

Tam's thoughts, distant as they were, were abruptly interrupted by a final hard, boneshaking "thud" as he reached the end of the staircase. 

His skull gladly took the tiny bit of relief  he had had before the calloused hands let him go and bigger, stronger hands slung him over a burly shoulder. Tam seemed to weigh less than a sack of potatoes to them, although he probably wouldn't weigh much anyway since he'd only had a few stale crackers to eat these last few weeks.

The sedative the Neverseen had used on him was so brain-numbingly powerful. Tam wanted to know what it was made of, but he sure didn't want to come across it again either.

"Is the sedative still working?" A grunt near Tam's right ear seemed to say. "The boy's  becoming restless."

"I can read his thoughts," another man's voice said calmly. This voice seemed more familiar. "He won't be much of a danger to us. What I'm worried about are his friends," he muttered darkly.

"They've found us?" the voice nearer to Tam asked in a state of disbelief. "Again? How?"

"I don't know," the familiar voice hissed. He seemed angry. "But we have to abandon him. They've probably attached some sort of tracker to him. You know their  Technopath loves messing around with stuff like that."

"So we leave him?" 

"Yup," was the agreement. "He's no use to us anyway. The boy wouldn't last a day in the Forbidden Cities on his own. He'll die eventually."

"Won't Gisella be mad?" the man carrying Tam commented, his grip tightening uneasily around his waist. 

"Gisella's already used him enough. What use is he to her tied up?"

"I suppose," answered the first man, and Tam felt a shift as he turned around. "So what do I do with him?"

"Just-" Shakes from above interrupted the second man's voice, sending what Tam thought might be debris clattering to the floor.

"They've found us!" Came shouts from above. "Evacuate this base immediately!"

"Damn," the familiar voice growled. "I didn't think kids could cause so much trouble."

"They're kind of intimidating," agreed the man carrying Tam.

"Don't get any ideas," the other threatened. "Dump the prisoner in the woods. He'll starve eventually anyway."

That was the last thing Tam heard before the light pulled him away at last.