HEY ALL! So, this is my first PO5 story. With the new book coming out at the end of the month, I was rereading Nightrise and remembered Matt (past) telling Jamie that he had been the OLD Ones prisoner for a year. That got me thinking "Why on earth is he still alive then?" Well, this is my theory. Hope you like it. Leave me a review….please?!
The first thing that woke Matt up was his continuous shivering. It was absolutely freezing in there, wherever 'there' was. He could feel the cold beating down on his bare chest where his shirt had been ripped open.
The next thing he realized was the pain. Oh, it hurt so badly! Every time he breathed his chest and sides would scream in discomfort and his neck burned and ached. What could he have possibly done to get in this much pain?
His dark eyes suddenly shot open. He remembered. He saw himself as if through another's eyes, walking towards the edge of the forest near the City of Canals. There he would find the forgotten temple where Flint and Sapling would be arriving through. He was stupidly alone with only his sword and his power, but that would not be enough.
Somehow the Old Ones knew about the twin's arrival and went to intercept the three from meeting. Luckily, it seemed the twin's were running late, so they could only grab Matt before half an army of human guards arrived.
He had put up a fight but was easily overcome by the fifty or so servants of the King. By the end, Matt was hanging ten feet in the air, a man-scorpion's claw around his neck. He was about to suffocate, his lungs screaming for oxygen, when he saw the massive stinger rise up and hover and inch from his face. One drop of its poison was all it took to knock the boy unconscious. He remembered nothing after that, for all there was was darkness.
He suddenly shot up from where he was lying, making his head pound and go dizzy. Once the world stopped spinning, he took in his surroundings.
He was in a dark cell with no candles or torches of any kind to lend him light. The only way he could see that bare features of the cell was with the weak light shinning through the small window placed high on one of the walls. The bars that criss-crossed it were too small for Matt to even fit his hand through.
The door on the opposite wall was strong and solid metal. Again, there was a window on it with bars that were far too small.
Matt pushed himself off the metal shelf he had been lying on and limped across the length of the cell, which only took four or five strides. Everything in the room, which was only a hard looking chair and a table with a pitcher of gray looking water on it, looked like it had been made out of the same material as the floor. They would not budge, no matter how hard Matt pushed on them.
Fantastic! He thought sourly as he sat back down on the shelf and rubbed his aching head. How had he allowed himself to get into this mess? He was supposed to be the leader of the five. He was supposed to be the wise one, the one that would one day win this war along with the other four children.
But what really puzzled Matt was the fact that he was still alive. If he was in fact a prisoner of the Old Ones, which he was sure about, wouldn't they have killed him right away in order to ensure the five would never meet? In their eyes, if one was dead then the circle could not be complete and the remaining four will not be powerful enough to defeat them. So why keep their captive alive? Unless for another reason.
Matt jerked his head up as he heard footsteps approaching his cell. He counted three pairs of feet, one pair belonging to a taller man and the others to shorter. Matt stood up slowly and took on a defensive stance, even though he knew he barely had the strength to throw a punch.
Then the door burst open and the three figures came inside.
The light from the torch one of them carried blinded Matt for a second, and he was forced to look away until his eyes adjusted. When finally he could handle the glare of the flames, he turned back to his captors, a snarl on his lips.
The one in front, who was the tallest and obviously the one in charge, looked human enough, but Matt knew better then to assume such a thing. The guards behind him were in the form of humans as well, though Matt could hear the faint buzzing of thousands of tiny pairs of wings.
The being in front stepped forward, a smile on his thin lips. "Good." It said poisonously. "You're awake. We thought you might have been dead."
With a nod from the leader, one of the guards came forward, a rope in his hands. Matt noticed the long sword hanging form its belt, bumping against its leg as it walked. If only he could get the sword, maybe, with a lot of luck on his side, he would be able to make it out of there alive. Not to be cocky, but no one could rival him in a sword fight.
In his minds eyes, he saw the white cloud of his consciousness extend forward and wrap around the hilt of the sword. Sure that he had a solid hold on the blade, he began to pull it from the sheath.
The sword made it about an inch or so out of the sheath before the leader noticed what was happening, but it go not further. Suddenly the leader's arm, which had turned into the claw of a scorpion, flew through the air and grabbed Matt by the neck. The boy stifled a cry as the ridges of the claw settled on his pervious bruises.
He instantly dropped his hold on the sword, the white cloud disappearing, as his entire being concentrated on trying to breath or wiggle free. The razor grip of the claw tightened around his neck as he struggled so not a gasp of air could reach his lungs. His throat seared and the bruises from his earlier fight screamed to be released. Black dots appeared on his vision. His lungs cried for oxygen. Surely he would pass out soon, or die.
Finally the claw released its hold and Matt fell to his knees from exhaustion. His neck and head were throbbing and his knees smarted as they hit the floor. The guard came forward again and pulled Matt's arms behind his back to tie his wrists. Matt tried to elbow the guard in the face, but his arm sank through its nose as thousands of flies that had made up its head scattered.
The guard shoved Matt's arm out of its nose and tied it tightly to the other as its face returned. The leader had a snarl across its lips. "I suggest you end your useless attempts, human. Much pain awaits you but we won't resist causing you more."
Matt didn't doubt that. All they had ever done to him, since before he knew about the five, was cause him pain. Now that he is one of the few people who could bring them down and is in their captivity, pain was all he was going to get. Hating to admit it, he was scared.
The guard pulled him back to his feet, where, to his disgust, he tripped and nearly fell back down. With a brutal shove, the guard marched him forward to the door. As he passed the leader, Matt spat at its feet. Again the hand came out as if from nowhere and punched Matt across the face so hard he thought he could feel his brain rattle around. The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth.
The man-scorpion was talking again. "You humans have no sense of respect to your superiors. But I'm sure the king will be able to straighten you out. I think we'll go find him now."
Dread filled Matt's heart. They were going to see Chaos. Matt's pervious question was answered then. The reason he was still alive was so Chaos could kill him himself. And Matt was sure the evil king would drag it out as long as possible.
So there's the first chapter. What'dga think? Leave me a note. It's really not as hard as it looks. Just press the little button at the bottom of the screen. You'll feel good about yourself afterwards, trust me!
Till next time….