Depths

5. Depths

This chapter has been edited.

...

It was dark again. Too dark.

Danny's eyes stayed hooded and only cracked open slightly as he let himself float there alone in the cave. He didn't know how many days had passed, he only knew it was impossible for his dad to be alive at this point. The loss of his father penetrated the darkest depths of his soul and spread like poison threw out his person. It was hard to believe that his father, the man that had raised and taken care of him since birth, was gone. He may not have always been there when he needed him in the last few years as he got more and more into his research, but he was still his father, and he had always loved him.

It was really cold in this cave. Danny didn't understand how he wasn't dying of hypothermia right now, it had to be close to freezing. Maybe it was another side effect to the merman constantly kissing him. The white-haired creature had told him a while ago that he only did that so that he would be able to breathe underwater. It was the only reason Danny had stopped fighting it when it happened, he wasn't fond of the idea of drowning.

Still, it was freezing. Danny wished that he could have a little sun.

Oh, the sun.

Would he ever see that again? It felt like a lifetime since the last time he saw the light of day, it was starting to make him feel a little more desperate than when he first got there. It was like the only thing standing between him and insanity, was the small chance his kidnapper would ever allow him to visit the surface, even for a little bit.

Speaking of his kidnapper, a soft glow shined in from the entrance behind him.

"How's my little pet doing? Did you miss Daddy?" he teased playfully as he dragged his body to brush across Danny's torso as he swam by.

Danny's eyes narrowed at the merman, the fire in his eyes showed just how much he found Phantom's playful teasing humorous.

Phantom started humming that same pretty tune he had done back on the surface before he had dragged Danny down there, minus the hypnosis, as he swam around the human to untie his hands. He put a wad of seaweed in the kid's hand, expecting him to eat it.

Danny stretched his arms for a second before putting the seaweed in his mouth and taking a bite. He tried not to think about all the bacteria and the amount of salt that was in the disgusting raw vegetation as he chewed. Beggars couldn't be choosers, and he knew that Phantom wasn't about to start swimming around for fresh chicken just for him. This was all that he was going to be given to eat, so he had to just suck it up and chew.

He could hear the crunch of the weeds as he chewed, and tried to focus more on that noise and not think about the flavor.

Chew, chew, swallow. Chew, chew, swallow.

"Did my pet have something he wanted to ask me?" Phantom was suddenly inches from his face, allowing no room for Danny to refuse eye contact.

Danny gave the merman a salty look, even more salty than the raw weeds in his mouth that he was forced to eat.

"You're going to have to ask me for it," Phantom smirked at the irritated boy. He knew the last thing Fenton wanted to do was ask Phantom for anything politely, but he completely got off on the kid's emotions. Playing with them was the single most entertaining thing he had come across in a long while. He knew Danny wanted so bad to see the surface, and Phantom wasn't against obliging, but he was going to train the kid to ask nicely when he wanted something.

Ask and he shall receive. It wasn't rocket science, and it wasn't hard. Say nothing, and he would spend the rest of his life in the dark like a prisoner and rot.