Come Back

Nothing but a single red light remains on in the dark room, making everything look like it was doused in blood. I almost step back when I see Thane strapped to the wall like some kind of... monster.

He remains still with his head down so I can't see his face. I take a small step forward and then another but when I step on what feels like sand, I look down to see something shiny catch my eye. I tilt my head to the side and bend down to carefully pick up the thing but when the broken chain follows, my heart skips a beat.

I reach up to my neck when the realization hits me. They took my necklace when I was left for dead... I look back down to the sand like substance and feel my heart skip a beat once again. No. His father wouldn't be that twisted... he couldn't.

And yet... I reach down to feel the sand and instantly jerk my hand back. These are human remains... these are someone's ashes! My head whips up to look at Thane lifelessly hanging there and feel my eyes burning.

I struggle to swallow as my throat tightens. I slowly stand up while clenching the necklace in my hand. I take another step forward and struggle to call out to him. "Thane..." Even to me, my voice was laced with heartache and uncertainty.

He doesn't move. As I get closer, I see blood dripping down both his arms. I swallow another sob as I step closer and call out again "Thane.." His fingers twitch and the muscles on his shoulders tighten. Did they do something to him?

I slowly reach out with my left hand and call out "Thane... Please." His head snaps up and both his hands turn into fists as he strains against the chains. His eyes are solid black, completely devoid of anything that makes him human.

He snarls and strains against the chains, scaring me and making me jerk back. A small sob escapes me as I look at the version of him that doesn't see me. That doesn't recognize me. Tears fall from my eyes as I take a breath and step forward again.

My chin quivers as I reach out to him again and lightly press my hand against his chest, right over his heart. He snaps at me and snarls in rage but I do my best to ignore is as I lightly cry out "Where have you gone? Come back to me, Thane. Please..."

I ignore his rage and the way the chains threaten to snap as I lean my head against his chest. He tenses and freezes, allowing me to wrap my arms around him. I press my body up against his and bury my face into his chest as I plead "Please come back to me, Thane."

His breathing changes before I feel his entire body starting to relax. I listen for his heartbeat but when I don't hear one, a cold fear runs down my spine. My heart starts to break until I hear it thud. I hold my breath, thinking I may have imagined it but I hear it again before quickly being followed by another.

A low, rough voice calls out "Little bird..." I sob into his chest as I squeeze him tight. I almost lost him. When he would go too far, his heart would stop beating and something else takes over him entirely. I don't understand how it works but I know he fights it every day and he almost lost this time because of his so-called father!

Thane's heart picks up speed and returns to normal as he calls out "Valerie?" I release him and step back to look him over with tears in my eyes. I use my power to unlock the chains and reach out to catch him when he almost falls.

We both land on our knees and even though I know his arms have to be numb and sore, he still pulls me into a crushing hug. He buries his face into the side of my neck and takes a deep breath before slowly relaxing.

I fight back another sob as I say in a shaky voice "You can't leave... you can't ever leave." He tightens his arms, nearly squeezing the air out of me as he says "Never" I lightly hit his side as I say "Promise me!" He lightly nips my neck as he rumbles "I promise."

When I lean back to look him over, he shakes his head and says "I'm fine, little bird. You're here so everything is fine." CheeChee pulls out a grape from his small vest and hands it to Thane with a smile. I chuckle a little as Thane takes the grape with a small smile and pops it in his mouth.

When he sees the chain hanging from my hand, his smile vanishes. He reaches for the necklace so I open my hand and show him. His eyes dart back to me before he pulls my shirt back to see the bruising on my chest. His eyes grow cold as he looks back to me with confusion and concern.

I pull his shirt back to see that they had put a medical patch on his, effectively healing the wound. I lift up the necklace and slip it back on as I use my power to fix the broken chain. I give him a small smile as I say "I'll explain everything once we get out of here. We need to hurry. Can you walk?"

Thane gives me a dark smirk and stands with ease before pulling me up and saying "I can do more than that, little bird." I give him a knowing smirk as I turn around and lead him out of the room. As we pass the other containment cells, I bend the doors and open them. I don't know what's in them but I hope they raise hell.

As we walk past the human metal burrito, Thane can't help but smirk. As we enter the elevator, I hit the only button and watch the doors slide close as I take Thane's hand. His larger hand tightens around mine as we silently go up.

In a low voice, Thane says "You said that you weren't strong enough to stand by my side but you're wrong." He turns to look at me as he says "You're the strongest person I know and without you, I wouldn't be strong enough to stay. Plus, this is technically the second time you've come to rescue me."

He smirks but I can still see his pride is hurt a little by that. I chuckle at that and say "You have all our lives to make up for it." As the elevator comes to a stop, the doors slide open. A loud alarm can be heard going off as red lights flashes in the otherwise dark hall.

It's go time...