I woke up to the sound of a bell ringing. I sat up and looked outside. Guards were walking down the hall and opening most of the cell doors. The silent one that had escorted me to Jessica yesterday unlocked my cell. “Where are we going?” I asked. They didn’t respond, just nodded in the direction everyone else was going as if to say /Follow them./ I didn’t appear to have any choice, so I did. I couldn’t find Chaiyn in the crowd by the time it dispersed, so I looked around. We’d arrived in a large room that looked something like the dining hall back at Welsburry. Prisoners of all ages and species hung around, talking. To any outsider this would’ve looked just like a group of students talking in the halls. But everyone here was on edge. The little kids huddled in the corner, eyes wide with terror. The older prisoners stayed in close groups, looking over their shoulders. I spotted an Avisian alone in a corner. I walked over to him, cautiously approaching, still looking around for Chaiyn. The Avisian had messy brown hair, light skin, a scar across one of his multicolored eyes, and his wings were goldish-brown. His wings were folded behind his back, probably in an attempt to look normal, but they were still rather obvious. When I approached, he looked me dead in the eyes. “What do you want?” I shrugged. “Just thought you might like company. If you want me to leave you alone I can.” He gave me a suspicious look. “You’re new. Let me tell you; with that attitude, you’ll be dead within a week here.” “Thanks for the advice. I think. Do you want me to leave you alone or do you want me to stay?” There was a long pause. “You can stay.” I smiled. “What’s your name? I’m Wolf.” “Tobi.” I finally located Chaiyn at the edge of the crowd. Tobi followed my gaze and let out a small sigh. “I suppose you’re going to go talk to him now?” I looked at him strangely. “He can come over and talk to both of us.” Chaiyn met my eyes and I saw a spark of relief in his expression. He started nudging his way through the crowd towards me and Tobi. “Are you sure?” Tobi asked. I nodded. “Yes.” Chaiyn appeared at my side a few seconds later. I glanced at him. “You okay?” I asked, noticing that he looked slightly panicked. He nodded. “Yeah,” he said quietly. “I’m just not used to a group of people this large. The auras are… overwhelming.” He focused on Tobi. “Hi. I’m Chaiyn. Who’re you?” “Tobi,” he answered flatly. “Are you a Sight-Seer?” Chaiyn nodded. “Yes, I am. And you’re a Mimicker, right?” Tobi flinched but nodded. “Yes,” he said in an uncanny representation of Jessica’s voice. I whistled under my breath. “Wow. That’s cool… but also kind of creepy.” Tobi cracked a small smile, the only emotion I’d seen from him in the past five minutes we’d talked. “I’ve gotten that a lot,” he said, mimicking my voice. “So. If you want to share, why are you here?” Chaiyn asked Tobi, still talking quietly. I realized that being a Sight-Seer meant /all/ of your senses were heightened - at least, most of them - so being in a loud and crowded room must’ve been hell for Chaiyn. “Jessica burned my village to the ground and killed everyone left but me,” Tobi answered, voice devoid of any emotion as if he were a robot. “I think I’m the only Avisian left from my world.” “/Uovoilid/ still has Avisians. They’re actually rather common,” Chaiyn answered, even quieter. “I think we’ve lost most of not all of ours,” I said. “What world did you come from?” “Magailya,” Tobi answered, voice still lacking emotion. “Oh, cool. That’s my world,” I said, thinking. “Why are you two here? I doubt you did anything wrong,” Tobi asked, breaking the small span of silence. Chaiyn and I exchanged a glance. “We, um, kind of are associated with the person who killed Jessica’s father,” I said slowly. Tobi’s eyes widened. “Oh. Does she want you dead?” “I don’t think so,” I said at the same time as Chaiyn said, “No.” “Then what does she want?” “She wants information. Probably to target our other friends. But apparently what she really wants is for me to make her a werewolf,” I said, decreasing in volume as I finished the sentence. “Why?” “I have no idea. I tried to talk her out of it but she’s too far gone.” A bell rang again - the same bell that had started the free time. The crowd started moving. As the crowd hurried past us Chaiyn winced and closed his eyes. “You sure you’re okay?” I asked quietly. He nodded, taking a deep breath and opening his eyes again. “I’ll manage.” Tobi looked at the two of us strangely as we were escorted and locked back up in our cells.
Notes/Credits: Hi! Welcome to The Dark Prison - the third book in The Wolf Stories. If you haven't read The Wolf Boy or The Monster's Curse, I highly suggest you do so! This is Chapter 11, enjoy! Previous Chapter(s): Chpt 1 Pt 1: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/750051827/ Chpt 1 Pt 2: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/753809497/ Chpt 2: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/758384060/ Chpt 3: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/765725763/ Chpt 4: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/766550820/ Chpt 5: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/774614819/ Chpt 6: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/774738889/ Chpt 7: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/777459716/ Chpt 8: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/780463719/ Chpt 9: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/780508789/ Chpt 10: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/784447198/ Credits: Me, for being the author Shannon Messenger, JK Rowling, Eoin Colfer, Rick Riordan, and many other authors for inspo @aqua_di_angelo, @AL600AWESOME, @Lanze_cupcake_face11, and @Yayabinks for inspo and supporting the story! QOTC: Opinions on Tobi and his backstory?
