Tam

Headcanon #19

Tam had known the Neverseen were clever. But he hadn't been prepared for this. 

Alarms blasted him awake, his room flashing red and black and making his eyes hurt. He had no idea what was happening, but he threw off his covers and leapt to his feet, the stone floor like ice beneath him. 

His door crashed inward. He raised his hands, feeling the familiar tug as the shadows responded, rushing towards the red-and-black figure--but a ruby flash of light illuminated their face, and the shadows disappeared instantly. 

It was Linh. 

"Tam, come on!" she cried, gesturing for him to follow her. 

"Linh, what--"

"Come on!" Linh dashed into the hallway, disappearing in the flashing lights until he couldn't see her at all. 

Tam didn't understand. There were shouts everywhere and echoes that sounded like melder blasts, and if that really was Linh, he couldn't waste any time. 

Deciding to lecture her later, Tam bolted out of his room, dashing down the hall faster than he'd ever run in his life. He heard a melder blast to his right and pain flashed through his entire body. He hit the ground hard, paralyzed. 

The alarms stopped immediately, and the silence rang in his ears. The only sound was the triumphant clicking of high heels. 

"Tam, Tam." Lady Gisela loomed over him, a melder held aloft and her hair pulled back so tightly it looked like her face was about to split in two. "You're a smart boy. Did you really think we'd be so easily broken into?"

Tam blew his bangs out of his eyes and glared at her. 

Gisela tsked at him, and the disappointment on her face would've seemed motherly if she hadn't tried to kill her son on multiple occasions. 

"We're just trying to secure your loyalties, Tam," Gisela said softly, bending down on one knee. "We don't want to do this."

Tam would've laughed if he could've. As it was, his ability to express annoyance was severely limited. 

"Pick him up," Gisela ordered, looking behind her to someone Tam couldn't see. "Take him back to his room."

That was far from the first time. 

Next it was Biana. The order was the same--the alarms, the door, the figure in the doorway. The same, "Tam, come on!"

This time, he'd been ready. 

"What's your favorite color?" he asked, standing with the shadows ready. 

"What?" Biana looked incredulous. "Purple!"

"Have you gotten your match lists?" 

"No, Tam--!"

"How long have you known Sophie?"

"Tam, please!" 

There was a real fear in her voice, and though he only caught her face in ruby flashes, Tam knew he couldn't risk it. He followed her. 

That time, he'd gotten electrocuted. 

The next one didn't come for months. Just when Tam had begun to think the Neverseen had given up, Sophie and Dex show up at his door. 

For following them, he'd been deprived of meals for three days. 

The fourth time, Keefe had shown up. That time, Tam didn't follow. He laughed and went back to bed. 

The fifth time, he didn't even bother getting up. He shoved a pillow around his head to block out the alarms and tried to go back to sleep. He was done being tricked. 

The sixth time, no one showed up. He heard his name, the usual shouts and melder blasts. He thought he heard Wylie's cousin--Marca?--which was an interesting touch, if far-fetched. The Neverseen were obviously running out of people. 

He stayed in bed while, one by one, the voices were silenced. The alarms shut off, and he went back to sleep. 

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Guys, that got so dark. 

So I know Tam's out, but I actually posted this on Tam's wiki page a while ago and was reminded of it recently, so yeah! 

(If it wasn't clear, the sixth time was a real rescue attempt but he didn't believe it, which was the Neverseen's plan all along, and all his friends were killed)

Dedicated to Blerbee