12 years later

(Rob's POV)

I screech and writher on the ground, not quite sure where the people are. A heavy chain net pins me to the ground as men yell and shout around me. Echolocation can only do so much with all this noise. My camouflage ability's been all used up for now, I can only stay invisible for so long without my skin burning. I thought the water would be safe but I was apparently wrong. Spears must be how people greet each other around here. These people have been trying to catch me for years. It's not like I've ever hurt any of them without them attacking first.

     A wooden bat crashes into my side, bringing me out of my thoughts. I hiss in pain and finally stop struggling beneath the net. Exhaustion clings to me like a leech. "Looks like we finally caught you, fish boy", the man with the bat sneers. He nudges my side when I don't respond, making me flinch. "Are you going to look at me when I speak to you, or did you finally decide to die", the man laughs, earning a few chuckles from the others who are present. "You do realize that I'm blind, right?", I mutter just loud enough to hear. I use the sound of my voice to gage the distance between us. I can feel the vibration in the ground when he takes an unsure step back away from me. Yes, I look pretty non-human when I'm wet, but my fangs and glowing spots are the only give aways right now. I can always try to use the guilt card to my advantage. Then again, these people have been after me for years.

"You aren't blind, fish boy. You've escaped from us a few too many times to play that sort of trick", the man growls. "Do you wanna have another game of catch-me-if you-can? Just for old times sake?", I tease him. This earns me another bat swings into my side. I groan in pain and stay quiet, listening to my captors' conversation. "What do you reckon we should do with him now?", follower number one says. "Do you think he'd make a good pet? I bet some rich person would like to see it swimming around in a tank", follower number two says. He's always been slightly more considerate then the others. Only slightly. I mentally cringe at the thought of being a pet. "I have the perfect idea. The people at the pits will just love a new competitor for their 'champion' to face. It'll be a nice payouts knowing them", baseball guy chuckles. The pits? What are those? If I'm being traded off to some random people who have no idea how to handle someone like me, then I can easily escape. I'll just have to play along, for now.

     These people must have had back up, because it wasn't long before more people showed up with a iron cage on wheels. The entire thing is being pulled by a pair of stallions. All my memories from back then are kinda fuzzy, but this kinda reminds me of Daniel. I wonder if he ever made it back to his family? Did any of my friends live through that night from so long ago? I barely survived, thanks to Jerome. I'm snapped out of imagination land when the chain net on top of me is pulled forward. I instantly try to use my camouflage ability, but my scales only start to appear for a moment before I hiss in pain and force myself to stop. The men drag me towards the cage, complaining about the heavy net. Ha, they should imagine what I feel. I can barely breath with this thing on top of me.

     I decide not to struggle when I'm hoisted into the cage. The door is quickly slammed shut, everyone afraid of me possibly getting out. I don't know why. I have no way to attack them besides my fists, and I'm no good at hand-to-hand combat. All I've ever tried to do is get away from these people. I guess being different is some sort of crime to them. Now that no one's holding it down, I manage to wiggle my way out from underneath the heavy net. I almost fall over when the whole cage lurches forwards. Curling up in the corner with my knees to my chest, I listen to the sound of the horses hooves beating the ground. I have no idea where they're taking me. I just hope that I'll be able to get away. Despite my best efforts, I can feel my eye lids drooping closed. Exhaustion slowly forces me into unconsciousness.

* * * * * * *

     I wake back up to voices yelling all around me. The air feels cool on my skin, and I can distantly hear crickets chirping. It must be night time. All the noise slightly disorients me. A building must be near because I can hear the sound bouncing off of it. At least a hundred people are inside, from what I can hear. There about ten people outside of my cage, but it's hard to tell exactly what each person is doing. But I do notice when the door to my cage is opened. I bear my teeth and snarl at the two people by the door. "Sure is a feisty one. You weren't kidding when you said that you found another one", one person says, his voice unfamiliar to me. "A lot harder to catch, too. I'm sure that it'll be worth your time"' the second person grumbles. I remember his voice from when he hit me with a bat. Was there someone brought here before me? Where are they now?