darker_london | Alone (Daniel) (Reply)

Daniel left Peter Kemp and he returned to his small room just down the hall from Peter's. He had never expected that one day the cell would be occupied. In his opinion, the Templar were a group of thundering loonies who were afraid of their own shadow. The thought of them actually finding the Antichrist was laughable.

And then they did.

And it was his cousin.

In what Daniel now referred to as his 'previous life', he hadn't known Peter Kemp beyond meeting him once when Peter had visited the Dresden Kempf Manor as a boy. Daniel had been about nine and his memories of Peter were nothing. Images of a slightly younger boy with crazy hair, who looked terrified of everyone and every thing. Daniel had ignored him. He didn't believe anyone who had left Germany for England, as Peter's father had, was worth his time or attention. Now the man was his charge. The cell below was filled.

Daniel hadn't seen the world above in five years. He had been given what the Templar referred to as a most important job. Daniel knew he had been given it because no one else wanted it. The place itself was located well away from the Templar compound. It was an underground shelter you had to go through caves and mazes and booby traps worthy of Indiana Jones to get to. It was a place out of Templar mythology, and only a select few actually knew where it was. The guardians, or rather...Daniel...had to live as a prisoner himself. He was locked in here, just like Peter was. Everything he required (in the minds of the Templar) was brought to him. Food, water, the Bible. Books. Paper. Pens. What else could a servant of God require?

Daniel had accepted the postion because he had believed it would put him in the perfect place to assist Dead Meat. That was before he had been locked in. Now none of them had heard from him in five years (he hadn't even known if Saul was still alive though he guessed from Peter's reaction that he was) and they probably believed he was dead, or that he had deserted them. He hadn't had a chance to tell them where he was going. What he was doing. The Templar hadn't allowed it.

Below the ground, Daniel had free-reign. There was an outer door which you had to work like hell to get to, and that was guarded by men Daniel never saw. He lived here by himself. He worked by himself. And now he wasn't alone.

He wished he could do more to help Peter. His own blood. He had heard much of the man now; the Templar who had brought him in had been keen to tell Daniel all about his charge. Daniel was impressed by this wiry, terrified man. Peter had spent a week, screaming in the dark, and now he was being pragmatic. Not everyone could do that. Daniel himself knew he felt like clawing the walls to get out, and he had light and food and books and coffee.

And his cigarettes.

Slowly, Daniel lit one and he moved to sit on his bed. He looked up at his books and he considered which one to read tonight. He wished he could go spend more time with Peter, but he couldn't risk his 'brethren' finding him entertaining their captive. He was supposed to supply Peter with water and nothing else. He had to be careful. He had spent far too much time down there already today.

He pulled The Pilgrim's Progress off of the shelf and he flipped it open. Slowly, he started to hum. He had heard Peter warn Dragonetti about his friends. If they came...maybe Daniel could go with them too. He had had enough of this place for more than a lifetime.