The animal inside Taylor rose towards the surface as the fifth board from the door creaked as if someone had stepped on it. It wasnâ€™t until the hinge of the bedroom door released a soft groan as it was brushed to the side did Taylor actually wake up. He lay nearly stock still as his hand crept further under the pillow to the gun he always had hidden there.  The tension from his body released and his hand returned to the top of the pillow as he registered the now familiar scent of Meko.<br/><br/>Taylor let his eyes slide closed again once Meko had finally gotten comfortable on his side of the bed. He did his best to ignore the little weight at the bottom of the bed. He would have brought his own Panther in the bedroom if he wasnâ€™t so worried about movement pulling the stitches open. Taylor was just beginning to get comfortable and drift halfway back to sleep when his arm was shoved up and a weight nestled against him.<br/><br/>He clenched his jaw tight to keep from cursing as his consciousness was jerked back into full awareness. â€œWhat the hell Meko?â€ Taylor was considerate enough to keep his voice low in case his little warrior was actually asleep.  When he didnâ€™t receive a verbal answer or Meko didnâ€™t move away Taylor released a long heavy sigh. Heâ€™d be lying if he said he didnâ€™t hate himself just a little bit when he twisted his body to make Meko more comfortable and wrapped his arm tighter around the fae to make him feel safe. â€œAttachment, Rochester, attachment.â€ Taylor growled at himself as he stared up at the ceiling.<br/><br/>-0-0-0-0-0-0<br/>Sharp pain shot through Taylor as a rather large and heavy fist smashed into his face and his cheek bone cracked, the cry that fell from his lips only intensified the pain. He was hurting everywhere and all his senses were intensified, as if every aspect of his morphology was there at the surface except the animal itself. He could feel every drop of blood that slid down his skin; he could hear the soft drip as it fell off him and into the growing pool of blood beneath the metal chair he was shackled to.<br/><br/>â€œAww, youâ€™re nothing without that beast inside you.â€ The vindictive words came out of the intercom mounted on the concrete wall. Taylor vowed to rip Madam Directorâ€™s voice box clear from her throat. He opened his mouth to voice said vow but stopped as the near crippling pain in his cheek bone hadnâ€™t stopped. Another grunt ripped from him as a fist collided into his gut doubling him over and causing the metal shackles to dig further into the skin of his wrists, he could almost feel the hot metal touching bone.<br/><br/>Taylor had known that it was well past time to leave his fatherâ€™s cabin and yet he had allowed them to stay for<span style="font-style: italic">just one more day</span>. He went against every instinct he had for the sake of the exhausted Meko and the still healing panther cubs. He had allowed emotion to invade his heart and it had begun to rule his brain and now they were all paying for it. Some captain he was, he couldnâ€™t even keep them safe, he couldnâ€™t even keep himself safe.<br/><br/>â€œNow, you will tell me what that brat told you.â€ The voice from the intercom rung in his ears as his vision began to blur. Taylor had never been in this much pain. The drugs that they kept injecting into his system kept his nerve endings firing at rapid pace causing every touch to hurt much more than he had ever thought possible.  At first he had tried to escape, then he had hoped to bleed out and it had almost been the case. His green eyes moved slowly to the left to the blood bag hanging on the metal rack out of his reach. They were constantly replacing the blood he was losing with new blood. They wanted the information that they thought he knew.<br/><br/>â€œGo to hell.â€ He rasped his throat dry from thirst and the screams they managed to drag from him. He may be more than human but he wasnâ€™t inhumane. He felt pain just like everyone else and even his tolerance level could be broken. â€œAfter you darling, do whatever you have to Michael I have to go check on our other guest.â€ Taylorâ€™s entire body jerked at the thought of the Director going over to wherever Meko was being kept. â€œHurt him and Iâ€™ll tear your throat out.â€ He roared as he pulled on his restraints again.<br/><br/>The next thing he knew the TV they had brought in several hours or days ago flickered on with the image of Meko in a room similar to his own. Thankfully it didnâ€™t seem as if they were using metal shackles on his little warrior. A fist barreling into his face knocked his head backwards and for a brief second he thought his neck had snapped from the force. That is when the bone chilling sound echoed from the television set.<br/><br/>--0-00-0-0-0 Three days ago (two weeks after escaping the first time)<br/>The winter was coming in fast that little fact was evident by the slowly growing bite of the early morning air. Taylor had decided a thin long sleeved shirt would be better for the early morning routine but now as noon approached the weather had warmed to the point where he had stripped it off and dropped it somewhere between the doors of the secret tunnel and the training field where they were at now.<br/><br/>â€œYou are improving.â€ Taylor beamed with pride as he shifted his weight from right to left and back again. Today he had settled on closing the day out with teaching Meko a slightly more advanced technique of shooting a gun. It was almost amazing that the fae had picked up on the basics of nearly everything as fast as he had. It was almost as if Meko was a natural at it, almost. If it wasnâ€™t for the fact that his little warrior was so firm against nearly any form of unneeded violence Taylor would offer up the option of Meko eventually joining the military.<br/><br/>A laugh unwillingly left his lips at his own train of thought. Meko might almost be a natural but the poor kid wouldnâ€™t stand a chance out in the field of war. Heâ€™d be more interested in helping all the fallen people than in trying to kill the others. However, that was what made Meko unique. It was rather cute. Taylor shook his head feverently to remove that thought from his head. He had come to accept the fact that he was attached to the boy but that was taking it to a whole new level.<br/><br/>â€œGet the supplies and cubs Iâ€™ll head in and start dinner.â€ The second he said it something told him that it was a bad idea. His pride however told him that he had to put distance between himself and Meko; he had to clear his thoughts. He didnâ€™t say another word as he bent down to pick up his shirt and walk back to the passage way.