Danger Grounds

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Chapter 3:

“I am so sorry for the treatment given you, my name is Shayla, I am in charge of this base” she took both of his hands in hers and bowed her head slightly, a smile glowing on her beautiful face.

Lace couldn’t’t help but smile back warmly, “I’m Lace, and its fine, this is much better than what I went through with those Dark Ones. That was…a nightmare” he replied, face falling as tears threatened to spill. He hadn’t even thought of what had happened back then, he’d pushed it out of his mind and been happy and safe in his own little bubble.

“Oh, well, still I would like to make things up to you. Unfortunately, I have things to attend to, but Onyx will give you a tour and will be a gentleman about it” she threw a sharp look over at the tall man, and his wings twitched in response. “Good day to you, Lace” she turned and strode back out, leaving an awkward silence in her wake.

Onyx then sighed and gestured for Lace to follow him. They walked down the corridors, the tall winged man telling him facts about each room briefly, and quietly, seeming very uncomfortable with doing so. The tour ended in the gardens out back, where Lace gaped at the beautiful lush greenery, and the bright flowers on every bush. He laughed joyfully and hurried over to reach for a bright blue flower, yet to bloom fully, but just before his fingertips reached the soft-looking petals, Onyx’s long elegant fingers clamped tightly around his thin wrist. “Don’t touch it” he murmured, voice low and edged with urgency. Lace cringed away, immediately stepping back and keeping his eyes cast down, afraid he’d be punished.

Red eyes warmed a little at seeing the fear flicker across the boy’s face as he put distance between them, and he bent down to pick a small twig off the ground. Onyx slowly put the stick close to the flower and poked it, and no sooner had he done that, the flower snapped open and little sharp thorns tore the end of the stick off. “The thorns are poisonous” Onyx stated, chucking the twig away. Lace watched in fascination as the flower curled back in on itself once more. Did everything beautiful have a deadly twist to it in this place? Lace was beginning to think just that.

They strolled down the path, to a small fountain, a winged statue of a person, almost like an angel (except with a tail), was in the middle, clear, sparkling water spurting out from its cupped hands.

Lace sat on the edge, running his fingers over the cool water. Onyx stood nearby, looking up at the sky as the dome above them glittered in the sunlight for a moment. “This is such a beautiful place. That dark forest was horrible…and when I saw Lexi, he seemed like an angel, so perfect and bright. I assumed he was a good guy there to rescue me” Lace murmured, and chuckled humourlessly. Onyx glanced over at him, surprised at the unbelievable sadness etched onto the boy’s young, innocent face.

“What happened to you? It would help, to talk about it…don’t you think?” Onyx suggested, feeling like he owed this foreign creature some sort of comfort after how cold he’d been to him. The thought of the boy having feelings and experiencing horrors in his short life had never occurred to him, and he felt like an idiot for being so ignorant.

There was a short silence, and then, with his face turned away, Lace spoke about what had happened for the first time. “I was at the park, with my two friends. A nice sunny day, playing on the swings like when we were children…and then this big black hole tore us away from that. We ended up next to that horrible forest, and ran for our lives. Those men on those massive horses, they captured James and Carla and I haven’t seen them since. Then they got me…and Lexi, the leader, kept me as his ‘toy’. He…” Lace trailed off, his voice had cracked, tears spilling from his eyes. He took a deep breath and continued in a rush, “He raped me, hit me, cut me, humiliated me. He made me wash in the stream naked in front of the whole camp…he made me do things to him. It wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but it terrified me, made me sick”.

Onyx felt like finding this Lexi and battering his skull until it caved inwards, but the guy was probably already dead after their attack on his camp. Most of the Dark Ones had been killed, very few had escaped. He also felt like battering his own skull for being such a bastard to the suffering boy.

“You’ll learn to push it aside and enjoy life again, in time. Don’t ever let it hold you back” Onyx said, walking over to put a hand on Lace’s small shoulder. He looked up at him and gave him a watery smile. His long thick eyelashes were wet and dark, making his large brown eyes stand out even more. Onyx gave a little smile back and turned away as he found himself thinking how beautiful the little guy was.

Lace stood up and wiped at his face, sniffling. “I guess we should get back inside, I’m a little hungry” he said to clear the air of awkwardness, and followed Onyx back to the main building. They went to the dining hall, a few people were littered across the room, stopping to stare at Lace for a moment before continuing with their conversations.

“They’re only staring because you look different, they’re just curious is all” Onyx reassured him as they collected some food and sat down at a spare table. “How come you attacked that camp anyway?” Lace asked as he poked his fork into a potato. Onyx swallowed and then replied, “We had a suspicion that they were up to no good, but we didn’t know what. Now we do. They’ve mastered a way to open portals into your world, so they bring in slaves to sell or keep”.

“I hope my friends are alright, Lexi said they’d been sold” Lace muttered, suddenly not hungry anymore. He pushed his food around on his plate, eyes downcast, bottom lip stuck out in a slight pout that Onyx was finding more and more fascinating to stare at.

He blinked and looked away when he realised that the boy had spoken. “I’m sure they’re fine. We’ll do everything we can to get them back. What do they look like?” he said after clearing his throat. Lace began to describe them and then said, “I could draw them for you, if that’s easier”.

“That’d be much easier” Onyx nodded, finishing off the last bits of his food. He looked at Lace’s plate and then took it when he was certain the boy wasn’t touching it. “Come on, I think you should get an early night”.

Lace nodded and stood up with him, following him out of the hall and upstairs. As usual, there was a fresh pair of clothes folded neatly by the couch, and a long baggy shirt for him to sleep in. His collection was building slowly. He grabbed the shirt and went into the bathroom to have a shower, pulling the cap on his head to keep his hair dry. When he’d finished ten minutes later, he came out dressed in the shirt that hung almost to his bare knees, socks on to keep his feet warm, his hair slightly tussled as it hung nearly to his small shoulders.

Onyx found it hard not to stare as Lace came out wearing that shirt, pale skin looking so soft. As he walked by, Onyx got a whiff of coconut that smelled tempting. He found himself staring at Lace’s neck as the boy folded his clothes and put them by the couch. He wanted to bury his face against that soft neck and inhale that sweet scent, hold that warm, petite body against his own.

He snapped out of his thoughts when Lace said good night, and he found himself saying, “No, sleep in my bed, I’ll take the couch from now on, it was rude of me” . Lace smiled tiredly and shook his head, “It’s alright, you don’t have to treat me differently because of what I told you earlier…I don’t mind, this couch is really comfy, and I’m smaller than you, I fit on it perfectly. Thank you anyway” .

“Please take the bed, I want to make up for being cold to you. It will ease my guilt, if only a little. Besides, you’re my guest” he insisted. When Lace continued to protest, Onyx strode over and picked him so he squealed in slight fear, and then set him down gently on the double bed. “Stay there” he commanded, a stern look on his handsome face. Lace stared up at him dumbly and then nodded, lost for words. Onyx waited until the boy had settled down, snuggled against the white fluffy pillows, and then walked away into the bathroom to get undressed.

Picking him up had been a bad idea. Not only had it scared the poor guy, but it had given Onyx a raging hard-on from feeling that soft, delicate frame flush up against him, so warm and soft. He hadn’t wanted to let go.

He decided to climb into the shower, a cold one, to help calm himself down. When his body finally returned to a decent state, he dried off, flapping his wings a little, and then pulled his trousers back on, walking back out to lay on the couch, folding his wings in and tucking them around his body like a cocoon.

*

A month passed, and life on the base was almost perfect for Lace, but he kept on feeling the guilt that was determined to haunt him. Guilt at being safe and sound while his friends were still missing, most likely suffering.

Lace sat on the windowsill, finishing off the fifth picture he’d drawn of James’ handsome face, a playful smile on his lips, staring up at Lace with forgiveness. He sighed and set the pad aside, looking out to see Onyx coming up towards the building. With a grin he sprang to his feet, running out the room and down all the winding stairs to meet his new, (though slightly overprotective) friend.

His smile faltered at the dark look on Onyx’s beautiful features, red eyes looking haunted. “What’s wrong?” Lace asked, hurrying over to put a comforting hand on his friend’s arm. Onyx looked up with obvious effort, meeting his eyes, looking as if afraid the world would come crashing down around him if he didn’t.

“I found your human friends” he stated carefully, and Lace wanted to jump up and down in happiness, but something about Onyx’s tone made him stay perfectly still. “They’ve passed away”. Lace just looked up at him, as if he didn’t understand what was being said.

“Carla committed suicide, and James…he was with a different ‘master’, and he was executed for disobedience” Onyx said quietly, and caught hold of Lace’s upper arms when his legs gave way beneath him. “Dead…? No…James can’t be dead…” Lace whispered, eyes wide and begging him for it not to be true. Onyx just shook his head, heart aching at seeing the grief and agony in Lace’s expression, wishing he hadn’t have had to be the bringer of such devastating news.

Lace’s head bowed, tears running rapidly down his pale cheeks. He was quiet for all of a minute, before he threw back his head and uttered a loud cry, sounding so heartbroken Onyx had to fight back tears from his own eyes, something that rarely happened.

He pulled Lace to his chest, arms and wings wrapping around him tightly as he wailed until his voice was hoarse. “I’m so sorry” Onyx murmured when the boy had quietened down, and then gently guided him upstairs to lie down. Lace couldn’t sleep, not straight away, he continued to sob, unable to stop thinking about James, while Onyx sat beside him silently. “It should have been me. I’m the weak one. He was the strong one…he was supposed to come and rescue me” Lace whispered, clutching the pillow beneath his head. Onyx said nothing, not knowing what he could do or say to try and make things better. There simply wasn’t anything that could.