[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

The next morning, when Moto woke up, he only briefly lay before getting up and moving over to Muroki. He wanted to go over to the police as soon as possible, and now that he was up, he saw no reason in delaying. He gently nudged Muroki, who responded right away. "Come on, let's go see Delano," Moto whispered.

He let Muroki leave the den before gently stirring Fadhili awake enough to hear him. "I'm going with Muroki to the Police. Stay with the kids today, alright?" He gently licked her before leaving the den. "Alright, let's go," he told Muroki.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki was about to say that he should probably let Umeme know where he was going, but he knew she'll understand. Also, the sooner they got this whole thing over with the better. Fadhili opened her eyes slightly and looked at her mate in the corner of her eye, letting him know that he could count on her. After that she yawned and closed her eyes again. Muroki meanwhile followed Moto towards the police. It felt kind of awkward to be alone with his father-in-law, because unlike the short conversation yesterday now they were going to be with each other for most of the day.

[DGFone]

Moto and Muroki began walking towards the police caves, mostly in silence. Moto was able to see the embarrassment in Muroki's eyes, but he chose to ignore it. "You did talk to Delano yesterday, right?" He asked, "after he was taken?" Muroki simply nodded. "How was he?"

Moto wanted to get Muroki to start talking. Seeing as they were family now, he wanted his son-in-law to get over the initial awkwardness. Even if the opportunity to talk was a bad one such as this, Moto still took it.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki sighed when Moto asked how Delano was, since Delano was obviously not too delighted to be there trapped alone in the darkness. "He hates it there." he said, spilling out the obvious. "I'm not too surprised. It's so dark in there, and being on your own... I hope he can handle it until we get him out..." Muroki doubted he would have been to handle it himself if it was the other way around. The only thing he could do to help Delano until they got him out was to be there for him.

[DGFone]

Moto nodded. "Well, then we better get him out quickly then," he commented, before looking at Muroki squarely in the eye. "Listen, Muroki... You are Umeme's mate, but as Delano's brother, you also mean a lot to Lina. What I am saying is that no matter how hopeless things will seem, or how close it might get to a bad end, I need to stay strong. For yourself, Delano, but for them as well." He smiled slightly at him. "If you can stay strong, and Lina will see it, I think it will help her, because she will see that if you can make it through, then so can Delano."

They walked again in silence before Moto spoke again. "Umeme was right about one thing yesterday," he said suddenly, "we really do need some sort of good news." He saw that they were getting close to the cave entrance, and got close to Muroki. "When we get inside, I want you to go straight to your brother. I will take care of the rest, alright?"

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki nodded in agreement, knowing that the sooner Delano was out the better it will be for all of them. "Alright sir, I'll try to remain strong." or at least look strong. Muroki nodded once again and walked quickly through the tunnels in order to reach his brother. He was quite eager to see him again and to know that he was alright. The two guards by the imprisoning area were the two same ones, so this time there was no need for the whole chit chat and Muroki was allowed in right away. "Delano?" he asked quietly, not sure whether his brother was awake already or not.

[DGFone]

Moto gave Muroki a slight grin. "Keep your chin up, Muroki," he said, "and what's with this 'sir' stuff? I'm not ordering you around. Anyways, when you finish, I think it will be better if you simply go back to the den. Don't try and look for me. Good luck." With that, he disappeared down a different corridor.

Delano was not really asleep. For what felt like an eternity, he alternated between sleeping, lying awake, or cowering from one of the latest nightmares that were now plaguing his mind. So when he heard Muroki call out for him, instead of rushing towards his brother, he backed away, whimpering. "N-No, don't... don't come closer..." He said, his voice raspy from a lack of water. "Stay-stay away!" His back hit a wall and he tripped over his legs, sprawling on the floor.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki was slightly taken aback by Delano's reaction to him, having expected his brother to be at least somewhat happy to see him. Then again, maybe it was the loneliness which was starting to slowly driving his brother crazy. "Delano, it's me..." he said softly, following his brother's voice. The way Delano was so intimidating by him and the way his voice was raspy made Muroki even more concerned about his brother's worsening state. He kept walking slowly until one of his legs came in contact with Delano, in which point Muroki groped for a few moments before giving his brother a hug.

[DGFone]

At first, Delano shied away from his brother, but when Muroki pulled him into a hug, he finally realized how much he missed him. Hesitantly, Delano returned the hug shakily. "I can't... I can't stay here anymore," he whispered, "I'm starting to see things... hear things... It's all too much." He collapsed against his brother, sobbing quietly. "It hurts so much..."

Delano clung onto Muroki tightly, seeking refuge from the darkness and loneliness of the cave. He recalled how when Muroki visited him previously, he discovered that a lot less time had passed than he expected. Dreading the answer, Delano asked, "What time is it?"

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki sighed as his brother tried to somehow express how horrible it was to be here all alone. "I'm sorry..." was all he could manage. He sighed before answering his brother, "It's morning now..." which meant that they had 2 more days in order to somehow get Delano out, because if they didn't... Muroki didn't really want to think about what would happen if they failed. He wished he could end his brother's suffering right now, but he knew that making a run for it or doing anything else crazy would get both of them killed on the spot.