Mismatched(A collab with EmeraRider)

Chapter 6

Maybe I should have been uncomfortable with having been in a pitch black room with a killer. I should have been cowering in a corner, hoping I wouldn't be his next victim. Of course I had known that Nathan had killed people. He had to in order for him to stay...free. But now that he had talked about it, those haunting stories had come to life. But I wasn't scared, no, I felt...safe, almost like a warm blanket was draped over my shoulders. He was my ally now, and that was what mattered. And that was that.

    My limbs were weary and sore. All that running and fighting had finally caught up to me, and now, all I wanted to do was rest. But sleep was just out of reach,  because as the weariness settled, so did the weight of what had happened, and not just what had happened in the last few hours, but in the last few days.Within the span of fourty-eight hours, I had managed to be the cold-hearted, wretched Halfsoul's captive, was thrown into a prison with him, and had become his ally...what a life. Maybe being an Outsider's life wasn't so bland as the Keepers made it seem. 

    But on the other hand, I had just drawn blood for the first time, and my hands were still shaking from it. 

     I shook my head to clear my thoughts. I couldn't afford to think like that. If I was going to survive, I couldn't be thinking like this. I hated to admit it, but I had to become more like Nathan. More hardened and calloused..and less feeling.

   I thought about the boy next to me. His breathing had become slow and soft; he was asleep. How he was able to sleep in such a dark, morbid place as this, I didn't know. Another thing I didn't know about was his past. What dreadful thing had turned such a promising young man into the country's most wanted criminal? It had to be more than just refusing to be Matched. Many of my friends back home were reluctant at first to this idea, but had quickly complied when they themselves had found their other Half. Maybe Nathan had become an Outsider?

    The sound of a grinding stone had snapped me out of my reverie. Light poured into the room, and I squinted, momentairily blinded. A sillohuete of a man was clear; he was holding a lantern. I immediately shrinked into the corner of the cave, becoming as small as possible. Call me a coward for all I care, but I was deathly afraid, praying that it wasn't Michael. 

      He roughly shook Nathan's shoulder, his blonde hair absorbing the light.

       "Get up." He barked. Yes, it was definitely Michael. Nathan remained motionless. "You pathetic little cur--"

Nathan's eyes instantly opened at that. Couldn't take an insult, that boy. Before he could reply, he looked at me for a moment, assessing my injuries. Apparently, my face was more bruised and battered then I had thought.

         "What. Happened. To. You." he seethed, his eyes filled with silently raging anger. He reached to touch my face, his hand hanging in midair.

          "I...um.." I suddenly became afraid, but not for myself. I hadn't know Nathan for long, but I had already seen Nathan angry once, and that was enough for me. I'd hate to see what he'd to do Michael.

  "It's what happens when you don't cooperate, and if you don't want the same happening to you, I highly advise that you come with me." Michael sneered. Nathan's hands had tightened into fists, and I instantly felt pity for Michael. However, he had planned ahead. Michael snapped his fingers."Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you. Gabriel! Carter!" 

     Two men emerged from the entrance, both bulky and about twice the size as Nathan.

              "Make sure that Halfsoul here doesn't get any ideas."

They roughly seized each arm and shoved Nathan forward before he could react. As he was being lead away, Michael stayed behind and glared at me. I could hear Nathan yelling profanities until he finally disappeared.