You're Never Alone

Chapter 34

Word Count: 1445

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Dan flies across the room as the blast of heat slams against his chest. He falls to the ground but immediately he tries to get up, chest heaving and arms shaking beneath him. He doesn't even begin to stand before he's being thrown across the room again. As he crumples to the floor beneath him, he can feel the stitches from a little bit ago pulling on his skin uncomfortably under his clothes. His vision begins to go all spotty as he tries to suck air into his burning lungs. Before he can fully gain consciousness, hands are picking him up and throwing him into a room, tying him to a chair, and slamming the door behind them.

    The cement room comes into focus slowly only illuminated but a couple dim , lights in the ceiling as Skye comes out of the shadows. Dan squints at her, confused for a moment until he sees the rod in her hand. It's roughly longer than a foot but it does worse than it looks. She smiles at Dan as his eyes widen, watching as she presses the button on the handle. It crackles to life, covering itself in a layer of electricity.

    Dan's eyes widen and his breathing quickens instantly as she begins to step towards him. Dan leans away, trying to get as far from her as he can but there's only so far you can go when you're tied to a chair.

    "No no no no no no," he quickly begins to whisper as she approaches the chair.

    "Let's begin," she mutters before slamming the rod onto Dan's chest, ripping a blood curdling scream from Dan's throat.

--20 hours earlier--

    Dan sits on the piano bench in the room staring at the keys as he tries to find something, anything, to play just so he can distract himself from the wild thoughts whirling around in his head. After a while though, he just sighs and shuts the keys, resting his elbows on his knees and covering his face with his hands. Without even trying he begins to sob.

    The tears pour down his cheeks as all the built up emotion from the last seven months suddenly just overwhelms him. He tries to breathe as his chest shakes but he can't seem to get enough air into his lungs. Everything he did over the past months were for Phil and every damn night when he thought he couldn't go on, thinking of Phil  made it better because Dan knew that there was a purpose behind everything he did. But now all of that just seems to have washed down the drain because Phil keeps rejecting him.

    Dan doesn't hear the door open or the sound of someone quickly walking up to him. He doesn't notice that anyone else is with him until they kneel in front of the bench and gently pull Dan's hands from his face. Dan looks down to see big blue eyes looking up at him with concern.

    Phil slowly stands and sits next to Dan, rubbing his back softly as Dan continues to sob. The two stay like that until Dan calms down after a while. Phil sighs before pulling his hand away from Dan which makes Dan look up.

    "I know that now may not be the time..." Phil starts trailing off slightly before continuing quietly. "But I'm sorry, Dan. For making you feel like everything you did to protect me, and everyone you care for, was for nothing. Because I really appreciate everything you do. Every little thing."

    Dan takes in a shaky breath as he composes himself before responding. "Then why do you keep pushing me away?"

    "I..." but Phil trails off, unable to think of the right words for a moment. "I don't know. I guess everything is happening so fast and at once. It's overwhelming."

    "I get it." Dan looks up at Phil and Phil smiles back as he laces his fingers with Dan's and holds his hand. That's when Dan notices the chain around Phil's neck and going down his shirt. He reaches forward and pulls the chain out from under Phil's shirt to reveal his necklace he gave Phil when he first left. "You kept it," he breathes and Phil nods.

    "I always wear it," Phil replies simply before reaching up and tucking the necklace back under his shirt.

    He turns to the piano and opens the keys, looking down at them for a moment as Dan observes him.

    Dan tilts his head to the side in confusion. "Do you play?" he asks as he always turns to face the piano and Phil nods.

    "I used to play all the time but ever since all this rebel stuff, I guess I just stopped playing." Phil's hands gently touch the keys before they begin to play. "I know you're somewhere out there. Somewhere far away. I want you. I want you back," he starts, his smooth voice filling the room as he sings with the piano. "At night when the stars light up my room, I sit by myself... Talking to the moon... Tryin' to get to you." As he continues, Dan smiles to himself as the sound of Phil's voice makes his heart warm. "In hopes you're on the other side talking to me too. Or am I a fool who sits alone talking to the moon." And as the song comes to an end as the notes begin to slow, Dan watches Phil's fingers move so carefully over the keys. "I know you're somewhere out there somewhere far away..."

    The last note rings out into the room and Dan leans his head on Phil's shoulder with a slightly dopey smile on his face. Phil reaches up and gently touches Dan's hair comfortingly.

---

    Phil is pacing his room anxiously as PJ stands across from him with his arms folded over his chest. Phil is frantically trying to think of what to do but the more that he tries and the more he runs his hands through his hair, the less he knows what to do.

    "What the fuck do we do?" Phil exclaims as he pauses to look at PJ but resumes his pacing when PJ can't supply an answer.

    "For right now, I don't know but your damn pacing is making me irritated. Will you stop that?" PJ complains but Phil shakes his head.

    "I couldn't sit still if I tried, Peej." Phil's breath is shallow and uneven as he feels the anxiety seep into his bones like the cold. "We need a plan and we need one fast or we're all going to get killed."

    PJ nods and looks at the wall as he too tries to think of an idea. That's when the room starts to feel too small and the walls seem to start caving in. Phil looks around him with wide eyes before shaking his head and holding a hand to his forehead. PJ obviously sees this and is about to say something but Phil beats him to it.

    "I need some air," he mutter before leaving his room and going up to the roof. He opens the door and the chill of the evening hugs his shoulders. He closes the door behind him and sits on the edge of the roof with his feet dangling off the side of the building. He knows that PJ is going to go talk to Louise and Cat but that's all because the last thing they need is for the entire rebel warehouse to panic.

    Phil looks over the city and sighs as the cool air calms his quick breathing. He plays with his hands in his lap as the sun peeks halfway over the horizon, setting slowly. He takes a deep breath as his frantic heart begins to slow down and, for once, Phil actually feels himself calm down.

    He hears the door open slowly from behind him but he doesn't acknowledge whoever is at the door. A couple moments later, Dan sits down next to Phil with a small smile until he sees Phil frowning.

    "Hey. What's wrong?" Dan asks quietly and Phil sighs before looking over at Dan.

    "It's your dad," he replies and Dan's eyes widen. "He's coming for us."

    Dan swallows and shakes his head as his chest tightens. "No, that's impossible. He can't know where we are."

    Phil nervously licks his lips and looks away from Dan. "He's known where we've been for over a month now and he sent us a message. He's bringing the fight to us whether we're ready or not and he is going to slaughter all of us, Dan," Phil explains.

Ummmm... my bad?