-Preston's POV-
Waking up, I could feel a slight breeze run past me, and I could also feel the sun on my face. I opened my eyes to find the meadow I was born in. It was small, and the grass had overgrown, but I still saw my mom's old cove in the hillside, crumbling. I knew she wouldn't be there, and I never knew my dad. So I didn't even know if he existed.
But what bothered me was why I was here. I swear I'd gone to sleep with Rob in a cage... Unless... I bolted for the cove, and realized I had acted in time. A sniper let loose on an arrow, and it landed where I'd just been laying. I stared at my hands. I was once again my lava self, but now it bugged me.
Rob isn't here. Without Rob, I'd never felt comfortable with myself. Never. My mom thought it was something truly wrong, but I've just never felt comfortable with being in my own skin. It's just really weird for me.
I flex my fingers, and ball up my fists. My suit is a wreck, but I brush it off a little, and move. Just as another arrow lands where I'd stood. I back further into the cove, to block myself from this aerial sniper. But the sniper leaps out of the tree, and aims again.
I roll sideways as yet another arrow tries to kill me. Finally, I find the necessary bolt hole, and run. Zigzagging right to left and left to right, I miss tons of trees, while I hear the sniper occasionally run into one or two. He's skilled in aim, not agility. Advantage: Preston.
Bounding effortlessly through the trees, I find two that are extremely close. I stick one foot flat on the side of one at top speed, and run upward between the trees. Sitting on the one tree, I leaned over and watched for the sniper. I ended up hearing him before I saw him. His language was very colorful.
I leaned closer, and he noticed. "Bastard, asshole child..." I heard him loudly mutter. "Ya know, if you were sensible, you would keep your colorful language to yourself, but apparently, you don't have the decency to keep it in." I shouted down. "You're a damn child. How are you so fuckin' fast?!" "I was born in these woods, doofus. I know the area by heart."
"Well, fuck. I'm not getting you anytime soon then." "And again. Keep the language to yourself. Have decency. I'm only 12." "I don't care, if you haven't noticed." "Well I do. So please have a half clean mouth at least."
He puffed air, and sat down on a rock. "By the way, what are you?" "A lava creeper. My momma told me we were small in numbers, and very rare. You?" "I think there are too many of my kind. I'm just a regular human, like most folks." "Oh. Do you have family?"
"As a matter of fact, I do." "Are they okay with you trying to kill me?" "My wife doesn't know exactly what I do for living. She only cares if it makes money." "Ask her. Tell her what you do. If she doesn't like it, too bad. Stinks for her." "Fine. I will. But kid, I got a quota to fill, and that includes you dead."
"Why?" I pouted. "I dunno! The boss just told me you had to come back dead, or for me to never come back again." "Stage it? Cuz you ain't killin' me." "I know I'm not. So yes. Stage."

-Rob's POV-
I woke up still in the cage, but Preston was gone. I panicked, and started to cry. They told the truth. He'd be gone. Not willingly, but gone.
I waited an hour or so, and I heard castle gates open above me. A voice boomed loudly. "The child you had given me is dead as you asked, my lord." I heard that, and screamed, tearing at the iron bars in front of me. It hurt way too much for me to bear.
Another voice, the one from last night, echoed louder. "And let me see the dead body." A shuffling. "Indeed, the child is in fact dead. Thank you. Your quota is filled. Take the body to the furnace below in the cell block." "Yes, my lord. I shall do so now."
A set of footsteps came down the steps, and I saw the faint yellow glow of Preston's eyes as a shadow figure passed. "Preston!" I cried. The figure stopped. They turned, and what I saw filled me with dread and regret.
Preston lay motionless in the person's arms. I couldn't see his face, but the glow of his eyes told me he was gone. It was dimmer than before, and he didn't speak. He was gone.
The figure saw I had nothing else, and kept walking. "Preston..." It killed me to know what had just happened, and I had no way to go back and stop them from taking him from me. Preston was dead, and it was my fault for letting myself fall asleep with that threat.
But suddenly, a curse echoed through the cell block, and a familiar glow came closer, as the cursing resounded. Preston flew into the room, limping of course, but otherwise okay. I saw his ripped pant leg, and the blood stained cloak bit. His wound had opened back up. But I was stunned that he was alive.
He looked so... dead before. He hastily unlocked the cell door, and I jumped into him. I grabbed his waist in time for him to collapse in a heap in my arms. His leg was done, and I couldn't save it. I don't have the skill.
I carried him outside, and realized we were being pursued. Whoever had carried Preston down, was running after us to catch us. I don't know how it was so hard for whoever it was, because Preston had stopped moving, and it was me lugging him along, barely running. I turned back, and found the same person still running after me, but looked like he was deliberately slowed down so we could escape.
I passed through the gates of the castle, and whistled loud and hard. I then pulled my handmade whistle, and blew into it. It made no noise. Dang it. Then I understood. I just can't hear it. I made it as a dog whistle, and dogs hear high pitches we can't.
Soon, the wolf pack had arrived, and so had Bianca from my regular whistle. The wolves held off soldiers while I situated myself and Preston on Bianca's back. I snapped the reins, and Bianca shot off like a desert wind, the wolves in pursuit. We arrived home, and I carried Preston inside to find Sky in the main hall. "Rob? What happened?"
"Preston's hurt! I'll fill you in later! Just help him!" "Alright! Relax Rob! Give him here." I handed Preston to Sky, and he teleported up to his room, taking me with him. He busted around grabbing all sorts of stuff and asked, "So. Where were you?" "I don't know."
"What?! How do you not know?" "I never saw it. I only saw the cell block." "Ugh. That doesn't help." "I know! But they did something to Preston." "They gave him a drug. It stops the heart momentarily, but doesn't kill."
"Okay... Is his leg gonna be good?" "It will, but it'll take several weeks to heal. He won't be able to do much while it heals." "So..." "He'll have to stay in bed and rest, Rob." "Okay."
He handed Preston a small pill and a glass of water. "C'mon Preston. We don't have all day." He took it, and fell asleep soon after. "What'd you do?" "Anesthetic. He'll be out for a while."
"I'll take him to our room." "You need help. I saw the way you wobbled under his weight. You aren't carrying him up and down stairs." "Okay... Can we teleport then?"
He nodded. He then picked up Preston, grabbed my wrist, and teleported. He laid Preston down, and shot me a thumbs up. In a flash, he was gone. I went downstairs to let him rest.
I sauntered about, bored and confused about what happened to Preston. I ran into Ty, who was also wandering around bored. We exchanged no words, but merely looked at each other and kept walking. I realized I'd never seen Ian without his sunglasses. Impulsively, I pulled them off his face.
He cried out, and turned away. His hands flew to his face, and he reached behind himself for his glasses again. Does he have something wrong with him? I handed them back and apologized for being rude. He nodded.
I ran back upstairs to check on Preston, and found him curled up around my pillow and wrapped in my blanket. He was also just a tangled mess in my blanket. His feet were trapped, his arm was pinned against him, and I couldn't see his head. Under his free arm, was my pillow, and I caught sight of his dark red-orange hair. I pulled the blanket back to reveal his head, and a bit of his shoulder.
He shifted, and I suddenly saw his brilliant yellow-gold eyes. He blinked at me a few times, and tried to sit up. He failed, and winced. I tugged the blanket, and it was unraveled from around Preston. He tried to sit up again, and managed it this time around.
I leaned him against a pile of pillows, and he took the blanket back. It was laid across the bed, covering from Preston's stomach to his feet. He smiled at me sleepily, and I sat next to him. He keeled over, and landed with his head on my shoulder. "You still tired?"
"A little..." "Lies. You're barely awake. Go back to sleep if you're tired. Don't let me keep you up." "But I'm-" "Preston. I swear to Notch. If you say you aren't tired, oh my god I will leave the room." "Fine. Just don't leave."
"You will sleep." "Yah. Night Rob." "G'night Preston." His eyes rolled up in his head and he fell asleep against me. He was out.
I felt my own eyes growing heavy, and I blinked slowly. But the exhaustion was too much, and I passed out with Preston next to me.

-Sky's POV-
Preston and Rob are definitely closer now, and something happened that they won't talk about. Rob's got something bottled up that he won't let go of. Preston was really out of it, so I got absolutely nothing from him. I had gone over what Preston actually had as injuries, and found nothing bad. He had a few gouges in his arms and leg, but that was nothing compared to what else I found.
And it's gonna hurt everyone to tell them.

-A/N- Ooohhh... What is it? 50 chapters already? Next chapter is gonna be a loop for you guys. Just so you guys know, I do grammar checks as I go through the story in my library. If there's anything I miss, comment or message me. I don't care which. Love you guys!
                     ~Percabeth1Jackson