Danny didn't come back till much later, sprouting many bruises and cuts. He didn't talk to anyone, choosing instead to sit in a corner, knees pulled up to his chest. God, was he tired. He had never felt this tired before, not after he pulled all those all nighters for his tests, not after all the constant ghost fights, not even after the whole CAT incident where he was forced to fight his future evil self.
He glanced over at Dan asleep in his cell, body pressed against the glass to Flare. She was also sleeping, curled up against the glass, facing Dan. The site made him smile despite himself. They must be really close to each other with the way they acted. Part of him wondered that, if they ever got out, if those two would date. He knew it was impossible here. Either one of them could easily die in one of the experiments. It just wasn't worth the heartache.
Sam came to mind. He wondered, what is she doing right now? What was she thinking? Was she waiting for him to come back? Or was she planning on how to break him out?
Did she just forget about him?
And what about his family? Did Sam and Tucker tell them what happened? How did they take the news? Did they cry? Are they worried about him? Did Jazz lock herself in her room like she use to when they were little? Are they planning with Sam? And Tucker, how was he coping? Did he check out of the world? Did he not? Were they even still going to school?
There were just too many questions, and not all of them were happy. Actually, none of them were happy. He shivered clutching at his torn shirt. He looked at himself. It couldn't have been more than a few weeks here and his cloths were torn to shreds in both human and ghost form. His hair resembled grey more than white or black and he was covered in scratches and bruises. He was amazed that Dan didn't look worse than he was, what with all the torturous experiments and constant cages.
Yes, that's what these were. Cages. The glass that surrounded him, confining his movements to only a few steps either way. How much he wanted out, if only for a second. He wanted to run and fly and laugh, something. He wanted to see the stars and the moon, to watch a sunset or sunrise. He wanted to feel the wind in his hair, the grass on his skin, the sun on his face.
But he was only left with the glass and steel and stale air. There was the constant throb of pain from his collar and the sting of his cuts and ache of his bruised bones. The only constants was the pain, glass cage, and the two ghosts that some how have wriggled into his mind as friends.
He begins to appreciate Flare's stories more than ever. They would distract him from everything and put him in a world where he was having small adventures with his family and friends and feeling loved. When she wasn't there, Dan was. The muzzle prevented him from saying more than a grunt, but he still had his own ways to convey how he was feeling. His strong presence was comforting in its own way. Just the thought that he wasn't alone in this, that Dan was here too.
Time passed strangely here. There was no night and day. You slept when you had the chance, not when it was dark. You never knew when you would be taken away. By all accounts it was random, though probably not to the scientists.
And the guards were everywhere. There was at least ten in the room with the cages at all times. Outside the room, there was even more, the halls teeming with the metallic creatures. Where ever you went, the guards watched your every move. There was nothing no one could do but wait for the right moment.
Then that moment came.
