K I D N A P P E D - P H A N A U

Chapter Fourteen

Dan woke up to an empty bed. He didn't recognize where he was, and he started panicking, about to burst into tears.

"Ph-Phil?" he asked quietly, looking around the room. He suddenly realized that he was in Phil's room and relaxed slightly.

But where is he?

G O N E

Dan let out an audible squeak of surprise. He thought that the voices were gone for good. He needed to find Phil and tell him as soon as possible.

Don't bother. He's gone. We took care of him.

"NO!" Dan said, his voice rising. "No! You didn't touch him!"

His head filled with mocking laughter.

Oh, but we did. See you soon, Dan.

---

Dan actually woke up to see Phil's concerned face looking at him. "Dan? Are you okay? You were rolling around a lot and you kept muttering," he said gently, holding Dan's hands. Dan looked at Phil in surprise and relief.

"It was a dream?" he asked

"Yes, Dan, it was a dream. What happened?" Phil asked gently, sitting next to him. Dan straightened himself so he was sitting across from Phil.

"I woke up, and you weren't in the room. I didn't know where you went and I started freaking out and I asked myself where you were and then... The voices were back. They said you were gone and that they 'took care of you'," Dan said, now shaking.

Phil gently wrapped his arms around Dan. "It's okay, I'm here. Nothing happened to me. We're both okay," he murmured, trying to calm him down. Soon, Dan stopped shaking and he smiled lightly.

"Can we play video games now?" Dan asked, giggling.

Phil smiled and nodded. "Of course we can," he said, standing. Dan followed and the two of them walked out of Phil's bedroom and to their living room, where his game consoles were set up.

Phil started rifling through his games, obviously looking for a specific game. Dan sat down on the couch, watching him.

When he finally found the game, he lifted it up and said, "Mario Kart! The best game for starters!"

Dan giggled. "How do you play?" he asked, looking up at Phil. He handed him a controller and joystick. Dan just looked at it, confusion written all over his face. Phil chuckled and started explaining it to him.

After a few minutes, Dan decided he was ready, and they started playing. Phil chose Tanooki Mario, and Dan chose Luigi. They chose a random stage and started playing. Dan was surprisingly good for his first time playing; he was obviously a natural. Dan ended up coming in fourth, while Phil came in ninth.

"You're really good!" Phil said, smiling at Dan, who returned with a goofy smile and pride shining in his eyes.

"I can see what you meant when you said that this game was fun," Dan said, giggling. "Let's play again!"

The two boys played Mario Kart for the next few hours until Phil suddenly had an idea. He paused the game and turned to Dan.

"I have an idea," he said, looking excited. Dan just looked confused and gestured for him to continue. "We should go visit your parents!" Phil exclaimed, doing jazz hands. Dan looked unsure.

"I mean... Okay," he said quietly. His parents hadn't exactly accepted him when he was found, but maybe they had changed.

Phil smiled gently and hugged Dan. "Don't worry, I'll protect you if they do anything. I'm sure they'll be proud of how far you've come," he said encouragingly. Dan nodded.

The two got dressed and walked out of Phil's house in search for Dan's. They soon found it and walked up to the front door, knocking lightly. Dan was obviously nervous, while Phil was excited. He was thinking of as just meeting Dan's parents like any couple would do.

Dan's father opened the door, looking somewhat confused as to what Phil was doing on his doorstep. He then noticed Dan and glared at him for a split second before calling for his wife. Dan bit his lip. His mother soon came to the door and gasped audibly, covering her mouth with her hands. Phil gave her a small smile.

"Hello, my name is Phil, Dan's caretaker," he said. He looked at Dan, who glanced at him before looking at his parents.

"Hi," he said quietly, growing slightly more confident when he realized that he didn't stutter. Dan's mother looked like she was about to cry tears of joy, while his father didn't look impressed.

"Caretaker?" he asked, looking at Phil.

"Yes, caretaker. Dan had spent too long on his own, so he lives with me. At least for the time being, that is," Phil explained. Dan nodded.

"So he can't even live on his own?" Dan's father asked, crossing his arms. Dan bit his lip harder and looked at the ground. This was exactly what he was afraid of.

"What?" Phil asked, looking at him in surprise.

"You heard me."

"Of course he can't live on his own. Who's going to help him with his nightmares and panic attacks?" Phil said. Dan knew this wasn't going to help at all, and he wished Phil would stop talking.

His father nodded, taking it in. His mother was silent, though it was obvious that she didn't agree with what he was saying. "Do these panic attacks and nightmares happen often?"

"Not as often as they used to. He's improved quite a lot, as you can s-"

"He still looks broken. He looks like a freak. No son of mine is a freak," Dan's father said, glaring daggers at Dan.

"Dear, please-" His mother started to say.

"No. We have moved on. We have another child. A successful one. And you come here and give my wife false hope that our son is okay when he obviously isn't!" Dan's father shouted, now glaring at Phil.

Phil looked at Dan, who was trying not to cry as he looked at the ground. He wanted his parents to be proud of him. He turned back to Dan's father and glared at him.

"You have no idea what your son went through. He went through hell and came back broken. And he's getting better. He's come farther than anyone expected him to. He's amazing, and you're too blind to see it," he said, crossing his arms. Dan was shaking slightly.

"No, I don't know what happened to him, because he's never told anyone!" His father said, glaring at Dan.

Phil opened his mouth to say something when Dan looked up, about to cry. He glared at his father. "I was k-kidnapped!" he shouted. His mother gasped. Phil stared at him, looking surprised.

"Get off of my property," Dan's father growled. Phil took Dan's hand and glared at his father.

"Fine," he said, and turned, bringing Dan off of his parents' doorstep. They walked down the street and could hear yelling coming from the house, but they didn't look back.

When they got back to Phil's house, Dan broke down completely. And no matter what Phil did, he couldn't console him.