The stairs we were sitting on did not look sturdy, not even a little bit, it was creaking under just the weight of our feet alone, and I had no idea if they could handle the pressure of us all. So what was I to do at that moment? None other than to sit back, and hope, and pray that the stairs would hold our weight together, because, what other option did we have? Exactly, we didn't have any other option at that point, we were stuck down there.

"Hey, Des, you gotta check this out." Matt's voice called out to me, which brought me out of my trance. Wait, where did he go? Had he somehow found his way down the stairway?

"Oh my god, Matt get back up here right now!" I called after him, pulling my feet in his direction even as I heard the floor beneath me creaking. "This is not a good idea, the wood's all rotted, and we have no idea how far a drop from this height could be."

"If you had another idea I would love to hear it!" Matt retorted in such a manner that made me cringe my nose."If we're just all huddled up in the same place it's going to be even worse right? So why don't we at least attempt to find out what's at the bottom of this." I stood still watching him disappear from the crackling fused light of the lantern I held in my hand. "So if you're going to come with me, then come, but don't just stand there and watch me... I know that I'm amazingly gorgeous and all, but it's kind of creepy, so yeah stop staring." I gave a small laugh, moving forward after him.

"Like I would be staring at you, I hate to break it to you Matt, but you're ugly." I shook my head playfully at him, but still felt unsure of what I should do.

"Ouch, my self centered ego has been crushed."

"Now why do I feel like I have heard this before?" I questioned awkwardly as I cautiously followed behind him. I didn't want to be in the way of anyone, yet I knew the creaking under the weight of my shoes was too undeniable.

"That, my dear, is probably because you have somewhere." Matt responded in a sly voice, and I felt my face beginning to heaten up. I was glad for the darkness now, hopefully he wouldn't be able to tell. But all of the sudden the creaking under my boots was growing so loud that my heart began to pound, and I wasn't able to stay calm anymore.

"Matt, I really think we shouldn't be doing this." I mumbled after him, still not willing to take a step forward. He didn't stop and I didn't know what to do, but I knew I couldn't just leave Matt to go by himself. So I moved forward again, forcing myself to take each step up, as it creaked and wailed with every step that I took forward. But then I could feel the wood under my feet begin to shake, and it seemed as if out of nowhere that I felt my foot slip right through the stair, and there were pieces driving right into my ankle, but I forced myself not to think about that. It was loud, and I let a yelp escape my lunges before I caught myself by the rail with my bad arm. "Matt!" I cried, feeling tears prick at the corners of my eyes. "Matt I'm serious don't go any farther." My voice was frantic, and I didn't know how long I was going to be able to hold myself up.

"Des?" It sounded as if he had stopped directly in his steps. "Hey, are you okay?" His voice sounded almost frantic, yet it wasn't loud at all.

"No!" I shook my head and tried to hold myself up for him, but I had not one idea of how long I would be able to do that. My arm was shaking and it felt as if the blood flow to my fingertips had stopped circulating.

"Hold on!" I could hear Matt's boots slamming up the stairway in such a rush that he stammered over his own feet a couple of times, but managed to keep himself up somehow. I couldn't let him come after me, I had to get out of this situation by myself, no matter how much pain I was in, or how much I longed to have him by my side.

"Matt don't!" My voice was shaking from the pain that shot right through my arm and into my shoulder. I tried my best not to let the fear that had inched into my voice show, but I couldn't seem to do much about that. So in order to clear my mind from everything that was happening at the time, I shook my head and calmed myself just enough to speak once again. "You'll fall right through Matt, my foot is already stuck down in here." My voice was shaking, and it wasn't an underestimate to say how frightened I was, yet I wasn't ready to let Matt see how scared I was.

"Would you shut up!" Matt's voice was breathless but it didn't sound rude or mean, it was full of worry and by the time he had reached me his breath was shaking but he didn't seem tired he was scared, and he look at me with those deep sapphire eyes, and I swear I could have just fallen right then, but somehow I didn't, somehow I had gotten stronger. Then Matt grabbed me by my good arm, and for a second my feet were back on the the staircase below.

It was just as I had predicted, the second I was there you could hear the squeaking and creaking of the stairway as it began to give way right under my feet... I screamed, but Matt had never left my presence. His grip on my hand was so tight, I thought that he was going to break my hand, but of course, he didn't. Then I waited for the impact of my body against the cold floor like a pancake to concrete. Though that impact never came, because I soon realized that I was in Matt's arms. I let out a sigh of relief and rolled into the concrete floor beside him. My hair was everywhere and my heart was still pounding ninety to nothing.

"Matt are you okay?" I whispered when I realized he still hadn't got up. Then I carefully pulled myself up so that I could see him, and I squinted my eyes as he stared right back at me. My shoulder was protesting, but I shook off the feeling that was just as agonizing as the day before.

"Yeah, I'm fine, you're just fat and I think you broke my arm." Matt finally responded jokingly, but there was a breathiness in his voice that I could only recognize as pain.

I was silent for the longest time, and then, I turned my head to stare at at his eyes. I just couldn't look away from him, and I didn't know what to say, but I knew there was some truth behind what he had said. "Matt seriously? Let me see your arm." I was getting aggravated, he wouldn't just joke about something like that.

Then I watched as he slowly pulled himself up to his feet and walked towards me. "Des I'm fine okay?" I stood up to look closer at him. "Why do you care so much?"

I felt my face start to heat up, but I didn't say anything. Just shook my head and looked to the ground. "Why wouldn't I? Haven't you always come for me? Isn't it just the right thing for me to come back to you?"

Matt stepped closer to me and I stumbled back only to find that there was a wall right there and now we were standing so close I could swear he could read my thoughts. "May I remind you how you saved me first?" He was breathless and moved closer to me and I knew he was talking about when we were at the pond five years ago. I balled up my hands and looked to the floor under my feet not knowing how I was supposed to respond to him.

"That's not true." I mumbled quietly, feeling the heat on my neck from the stare he had on me. "I don't think the wolves would have found me anyway, and Matt it's still my fault that you jumped in there in the first place, I was the one being stupid."

He shook his head laughing at me. Then he grabbed my hand and stroked the inside part of my palm gently. There was a small trace of shivers that came from his touch and shot right up my arm, but I didn't say anything just went silent. "Des, that doesn't matter at all, the only thing that does matter is how you got this scar." My eyes followed his hand that was striking the fading scar on the inside part of my hand. I shook my head.

"It's not a big deal Matt it was just a rock!" I quickly pulled my hand away from him. Every part of my body went numb, and the warmth from his touch was gone now. Matt didn't attempt to make a stray move away from me, he just continued staring at me and I kept my eyes pointed to my feet. "You're a real jerk sometimes you know that?"

"You like it." Was all he said. And he grabbed my chin to make me look at him. "You're beautiful, even all battered, bruised, and broken." He whispered. His eyes never making a stray movement away from me. "I don't care what you think, I don't care what you say, after that day-"

"Matt that was so so long ago." I whispered shaking my head. It felt like daggers were being pressed right into my chest. "You don't even know what you're trying to tell me right now."

"Now what is all of this Racket!" There was an old man standing in the hall with us now and he was holding a thick candle in one hand. "You two stop making out in my hallways!" He yelled and Matt started chuckling before he pushed away from the wall. My face was beat red, but I tried not to show it in the dim candle light.

"Sir we weren't-" He shook his head and started laughing again. "My name is Doorhan, Matthew Doorhan, most people call me Matt, and that girl over there, her name is Destiny."

"Oh my what pretty names you both have." The old man's hand was shaking which caused the candle light to sway back and forth across the walls around us. "But that doesn't really explain how you two found your way in my property."

Matt instantly tensed up, but I could notice that he leaned to the side and attempted to make himself look as if he hadn't been bothered by the man's statement. "Well sir, we were attacked, and we aren't alone, we were running from the Pendomites, and somehow stumbled along here." He paused and shook his head. "She was injured pretty badly already, and, Katrina, Destiny's little sister, she's up the stairs with Mayabelle." I felt myself begin to tense up. "Katrina got beaten pretty bad too... Mayabelle's fine-"

Matt didn't know this Man at all why would he risk things, and tell the old man this information? I could feel the anger radiating right off of me, that wasn't something that he could just tell anyone. I shook my head beginning to feel weary of the whole thing. I know that I was thinking too much, but I couldn't calm down. You know how it is when you want to take back the words someone had said, but there is no way to do that? How could Matt be so careless? Slowly I turned my head, staring daggers into the back of Matt's head. Katrina was one of the only things I cared about, and he was threatening the whole situation of what was up those stairs. I didn't know this man, I didn't trust him, and I sure as hell did not want want him to know that my little sister was in the same building as us. "Matt!" I hissed at him wide-eyed.

"Des, calm down, the man's right we trespassed, and he has the right to know what we are doing on his property." Matt responded calmly. "Sir, you'll have to forgive her, her injury was pretty severe, she doesn't really know what she's talking about right now.."

"Matt!" I whined. "He does not need to know all of this." Shaking my head at him, but it was true, I felt loopy from the medicine, and all I really wanted to do was just lay down and forget about the events that had happened this morning. Yet, I did not know this old man. I wasn't sure if we were safe here at all. Well that's when we heard a pair of footsteps reaching up behind The old man.

I immediately looked up at him. His hair was grey, and mixed with pieces of black hair while his eyes were something of a piercing green. While his hair showed age, his face seemed to be that of a young man of about twenty years. I felt uneasy, not liking the idea of being around these people, for I had no idea who they were. "Hey dad, what's going on?" His voice rang out behind the man that had found Matt and I.

"Hunter, it's nothing too big, looks like we have the lot of about four intruders down here." He shook his head meeting the gaze of the young man's eyes behind him. "I've got to give your brother his medicine... Take care of them, the girl, is injured pretty badly as you can see, and Mr. tough guy here, he seems to have a broken limb." After walking off the old man turned to meet my gaze. "I'll send those two to the infirmary on the way." He then Met the other man's eyes once more. "Oh and, we need to fix those steps again."