The gray shadows filled the room, the only light source being the two Audichrons' reflecting eyes.

Joseph sat in a feeble position, resting his head on his hands, exhaustion and hunger wracking his mind. It has been days, days since he was brought to this dark room. And within those days, the aliens had only came in once with food, and the flashbacks haunted him night and day—though he wasn't sure when they began or ended—and prevented him from getting a millisecond's worth of sleep.

Simon, the ten year old Audichron sat next to him, staring into the dark. He didn't seem as affected by the lack of food, but then, he had said he had been there for a while, so long in fact that he had lost count.

How long was Joseph going to have to stay there? Stay in the room in the dark. Closing his eyes with a scared sigh he tried not to imagine what those three aliens might do to him. Opening his eyes once more, he turned to Simon. The little boy looked tired, Joseph could tell by his slumped figure.

He's weaker than I am, Joseph thought. So why am I worrying on my behalf?

He leaned over and moved closer to the kid, gently pulling his head onto his shoulder. Simon didn't complain- all he did was glance up at the older boy before turning away and shifting into a more comfortable position. "Joseph... right?" The ten year old whispered, gazing across the room at the nothingness.

Joseph nodded, "Mmhhm."

Simon stayed silent for a few moments, "Never mind. It's nothing important right now," his voice was so small and soft as he spoke.

Joseph wanted to smile and tell the little boy that he could tell him anything at any time, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. He already had so much on his mind, and he couldn't even encourage himself. So what makes him think he can do it for the kid? He just hugged him a little closer, more for his comfort than Simon's.

He sighed and tried to make out the Audichron who was sitting on the other side of the room. All he could see were the glowing gray eyes and a dark silhouette.

So much time had passed. Kat... hopefully she had somehow gotten out of the bathroom. The small cat-like creature didn't deserve to be locked up for such a long time, starving to death in a small, dark room. And then there was the Bar's manager. What would he think, about Joseph not showing up for work without any call to tell him why? Those were the only two aliens who had really gave him more than a simple 'are you really human?'.

Joseph hung his head, pulling away from Simon.

Simon gazed up at him, confusion in his wide eyes. "Are you... okay?" He murmured so quietly, his words barely audible, head cocked to the side.

Nodding his head he half-lied, "Yeah. I'm fine." The last thing on his mind was to frighten the smaller boy even more. He couldn't do that, even if he had to be dishonest with himself. "I just miss my old friend... That's all."

"Who was it? I- I mean, if you feel like talking about it."

"It's okay," he muttered sadly. "She was just a friend that kept me company at night. Nothing much more to tell." Even though he said that the way he did, he regretted it. Kat was much more than that to him; she tried to protect him when those three aliens barged into his house.

A tear slid down a cheek at the thought.

He scrambled to wipe it away. He mustn't cry.

He can't be that weak.

Not with the little ten year old by his side.

He hugged his knees, and focused his mind on something else. Eyes traveling around the room he saw the door. The door that led out of this dark room.

Giving the tiniest of smiles he closed his eyes and rested his head on his arms.

You'll get out of here, kid.

The Audichron's words still seemed to echo among the walls, the only reason why he hadn't been driven mad by the darkness and the flashbacks. It was a source of hope, although it wasn't a very big one. It barely made as a hand-hold. But it at least prevented him from falling into the black pit that laid underneath him.

XXX

A thin ray of light appeared and spread along the ground, moving to wake Joseph from his short doze. Blinking his eyes a couple times, he could see that both Simon's and the Audichron's gaze traveled to the door. There stood Geerth, annoyance filled his eyes and he carried something in his hand. It glinted in the light like steel as the alien took a step forward, his form passing through the open door.

"You damned filth," he murmured so softly, so darkly. Joseph flinched at the tone and pressed his back against the cold wall. "It's because of you that it happened!" The alien gripped the object he was holding tighter as his voice rose with every word. "They found us... because of you!"

His arm jerked to the side, the fingers opening just as quickly. The object flew through the air and disappeared into the area not lit by the only light source. A thud sounded afterward. Geerth padded quietly over to the wall his object got stuck in and grabbed the hilt, ripping it out from the stone.

Joseph then got a closer look at the object.

A kitchen knife.

There were bangs and shouts radiating outside of the house; he could hear them through the walls. He hadn't noticed them before the dark room became deathly silent, other than the pounding of his heart. What had the alien meant by "they found us?"

He pushed his hands to the wall to keep himself from shaking.

What does the alien plan to do with the knife?

Both of those questions swarmed through his head as Geerth walked closer to them, each step slow and deliberate.

XXX

The last of the two aliens were beaten down.

Lia stepped over the broken body, a lengthy, cat-like alien jumping off of her shoulder at the same time. The cat raced into another room and meowed loudly.

She smiled, signaled to a couple others to make sure the aliens didn't wake up, and then quickly followed after the other cat. The lights were turned on in most of the rooms she passed. All of them except for one. The one the cat was peeking her head into.

A soft mutter was heard.

"I won't let them have you, because you're my prisoners."

She turned the corner and went through the open door into the dark room. Her shadow blocked the light for a second, and when it reappeared she saw a scene unfolding in front of her.

The alien known as Geerth stood in front of an unmoving Audichron. The Audichron's eyes glowed as they stared at each other for no more than a split second. And then the alien moved.

He slashed the Audichron's throat with a kitchen knife, blood spurted out of the open wound, revealing the steaming flesh inside. And to add to it, Geerth stabbed him once more through the chest. The blade went through a lung and hit the bone behind; it made a sucking sound as it was pulled out.

The Audichron couldn't scream as this happened, only make a pained gurgle as he clutched and clawed at his throat. He couldn't seem to breathe anymore.

Geerth whipped around and slashed at ten-year-old Simon's face.

The little kid screamed, tears running down his face as some skin was torn off of his cheek. He fell to the ground and tried to scoot away from the alien.

The cat jumped forward, biting onto the alien's leg before he could do another thing to harm the little kid. Lia sprinted over to the Audichron, looking over the bleeding wounds recently inflicted upon him. The glowing of his eyes faded and flickered.

She grabbed the alien's shoulders and looked around for something to use to stop the bleeding.

Her eyes grazed past Geerth, only to return instantly as a pained meow echoed. The cat was kicked across the room, and the alien once more advanced on Simon.

Lia dropped the Audichron and went to take a step toward the enraged alien. And while she did so the human sitting on the floor nearby slowly stood up. He glanced back and forth between the Audichron's steaming, gushing wounds and Simon for a moment before his eyes became glazed.

"I- … Can't believe you did that," he murmured, pure rage in every word. He stared up at Geerth and ran at him, arms outstretched.

XXX

A warm wet liquid dripped down onto his hand, snapping Joseph out of his anger filled daze. He instantly withdrew his hands from the alien's neck, watching the body fall limply to the ground- a puddle upon stone.

Blood streamed down from the corner of Geerth's mouth, staining the skin a russet color. His eyes stared up. The expression that usually glinted within them was replaced with one of shock and pain. The alien's crushed throat couldn't draw in any air, and his face soon turned blue before all life passed through and ceased to exist.

What... did I do!?