Realistic or Modern Gone But Not Forgotten

[Jupiter]

Milo and Shelley entered through the front door, changed, showered, clean and happy. Not for long, at least. Shelley... I suppose I should put a face to the name, now, shouldn’t I?

Spoiler: Shelley

It took the two a moment to realise what it was that Marc was holding, who’s phone it was... for a moment, in their worlds, the horror was over. Sure, the lingering feeling that Milo’s best friend might be dead somewhere far away, or that the boy Shelley knew was kidnapped and potentially doing something horrific, was there in the backs of their minds. But showering, talking. Spending time with someone you didn’t know...

It felt good. And normal.

But obviously the world all came crashing down when they realised it was Eddie’s phone. When the reality again hit them. Was it this house? Was it Marc?

Was it his belonging, thrust into their faces in that moment that reminded them of the fate of this boy?

Milo stepped closer. It wasn’t his number, and he’d never seen the messages before. He wouldn’t have known it was Shelley if the name wasn’t mentioned in the chat. He turned slowly and looked at her, mouth agape.

“I- I-...” Shelley recognised that that was her number. She recognised those texts, remembered that conversation at 5:30 and those tears. If Marc looked through the phone log, to see what phone calls he had, he would see a lot of that number, he’d see her popping up all over the place, sometimes for hours overnight, sometimes for a few minutes. The phone calls stopped around the middle of March.

“I can explain.” She mumbled.

“Then explain!” Milo barked out. “Why didn’t he tell me anything about knowing you if you know each other so well! Why wouldn’t he? I’m his best friend, why didn’t he tell me anything about you? What is it that you two were so close for, that he never told me about? Why are you looking for him with us?”

“You never even talked to him in the corridor. You never spoke to him in class... You would stand by when Jacob was fucking beating him up, and here it stands that you two were that close that he would spend so much time talking to you but not about you? Tell us!” Milo was getting emotional. He was getting angry. But the texts revealed a lot. About Eddie’s whereabouts? Nothing. But about Eddie himself... a lot.

“I... it’s a long story.” She mumbled.

“Then get talking.”

“I don’t know where to start!”

Milo snatched Eddie’s phone and scrolled to the top, thrusting it under Shelley’s face. “Start at the first of December.”

“I- I-...”

“Stop stammering and talk.”

“We were at a party! You and Eddie, at Jasmine’s birthday party at the end of November. You went home early because you were sick everywhere, Eddie was going to go with you but you got your mom to pick you up because you were upset, even Eddie didn’t know what you were upset at. Remember?”

“Barely. I don’t see what I have to do with this if I wasn’t there.”

“Exactly. You weren’t there. You’d gone home, Eddie didn’t know anyone at the party and they were like vultures the second he was alone. Let’s face it, you guys have never been the coolest at school, have you? They pounced on him the second you left.”

“What happened? Tell me what happened with you and him.”

“I am! Just let me finish.” She pulled her jacket tighter. “It’s nothing I’m ashamed about but it’s not something Eddie would want you to know. He went upstairs to the bathroom to clean off his shirt because someone poured a drink all over him, some weird punch mixture on his white top, and he went to go wash it out because he wasn’t completely with it... he walked into the wrong bathroom that I was in. I was upset, this stupid guy stood me up and I was in the bathroom trying to get high but I’d never done it before.” She looked from Marc to Milo.

“We got talking, we got high together, and we had a really deep conversation. I mean really deep. I barely knew him but here I was with this person who was finally listening to me about my problems, and he told me all about his. His mom, how lonely he gets, how he gets scared of how low he can feel sometimes. By the sounds of things he was pretty fucking depressed, but... he said at the same time that it wasn’t anyone’s fault that he felt that way, he just sometimes didn’t know how to deal with how sad he got about her.” She explained. “I remember we were talking about that for a while. Then we were talking about you, Marc, about how he wanted to make you proud more than anything. That made him happy. I don’t think he’s depressed more than he was having a bad high.”

“He started crying when he was talking about you, though. Talking about how he didn’t want you to be alone. How at least Eddie only lost a mother, but he still had you and would have someone else one day, how he couldn’t ever replace her but how he knew that in the end he barely knew her like you did. He was so sad you lost the love of your life.” Shelley was crying now, a single tear, and Milo was gawping at her. “Then he was talking about you, Milo. About how you don’t know much about him at all. You know what he wants you to know, you know enough to be classed as a best friend, someone he spent time with and would do anything for; but he cared too much about what you thought.”

“And you. He cared about what you thought of him too.” She pointed at Marc. “He was scared. He was so scared because he didn’t know what was going on in his head. He didn’t know a lot of things, but the one that kept coming up was that he didn’t know how he felt about people. Girls. And boys. He didn’t like either like he was supposed to. He said... he said that he liked them the other way around, and he didn’t like that. He didn’t want that because he knew it would make things complicated. He didn’t know what to think. I think at that point he was still figuring things out... he didn’t know what his feelings were.”

Milo took a deep breath.

A lot to process, all at once.

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Well, Jesus Christ." Marc said.

He looked away for a moment, off at the wall. He tried to process all of that - he'd opened up to her at a party? Good Lord above. That wasn't the main focus, though - if this was some shit that he'd told her, trusted her with - and it was something this heavy, had she told everyone about it? Did she reveal it to someone? Why would she do such a thing when she knew how bad it would get if all of this got leaked? Marc wasn't sure what to think at this point, really. He didn't know how much he liked or disliked the information, but...

There were some heavy hitters.

Eddie really thought that much of what he thought of him? Most kids are content enough with their dad showing love and saying 'well done' now and then. But Eddie really was worried to the point of tears what his dad thought of him? If he was proud?

Insecurity at its finest, Marc thought. Eddie even felt bad about him losing his wife - Jesus Christ, that was his mother. He had no real obligation to feel sorry for Marc.

But he did. And that's what mattered.

Eddie would get someone else. Marc potentially wouldn't.

That... God, that was some heavy shit. Marc shut his eyes and turned his back to them, slowly shaking his head.

He cleared his throat.

"And you told someone else all of this? Knowing how much trouble it would cause?" He asked. "Let's not talk about people standing around and doing nothing, either - that's all's ever happened. I can't recall one day where he came home and told me that someone backed him up in one of his fights. You know, I feared one day that these kids he started shit with would kill him. And now look what's happened." He shook his head.

Maybe he was being a little too strong. But he did feel angry. Eddie had friends here and there - why was it always him that had to be the punching bag? No one wants their kid getting the shit kicked out of them.

He paused.

"Keep going. Why did this get revealed?" He asked, quietly. "Who did you tell?"

 

[Jupiter]

Milo felt bad when Marc mentioned that people always stood around and did nothing. Had he? He remembered a time where he used to fight back and get hurt just like Eddie did, when it all started in middle school, and he could remember a time when Eddie used to run in to stop a fight... But... Maybe Milo got used to Eddie doing all of the work, taking all of the punches. He never said anything to them, or lashed out... Eddie was always the one who immediately got up. And did Milo even step in when Eddie was punched in the face, something that wasn't usual? No.

He was a coward. He knew that in the first place, but he supposed he really was a coward. A coward who ran away from his problems rather than facing them. Who let Eddie get the hits, and didn't step up, but complained about it as though he'd been hit.

What did that say about Eddie, though?

He kept doing it... Was he just someone who wanted the pain?

Milo shut his eyes when he thought it. Maybe he did just want the pain. Maybe he wanted to, in a way, be punished for something. Shelley said he seemed depressed, but... Milo had never seen any scars on his body other than the ones inflicted by others. Maybe that was how he-

Stop. Stop thinking that.

"Carry on, Shelley." His voice was slightly softer at the realisation that he was part of the problem.

"I didn't tell them everything." She insisted. "I'm not stupid, I wouldn't tell people like Jacob that he was depressed or they'd do something to take him over the edge, play on some kind of weakness. I know what they do is already hard but they're slacking, trust me. You know they're fucked up. They could send Eddie over the edge if they wanted to."

Milo shook his head. "They're cowards. Fucked up cowards." Aren't you one, Milo?

"They're cowards who like to make people feel like shit because of their own insecurities, yes." Shelley nodded. "I didn't mean to tell them any of it, but I kept my mouth sealed shut about that. And then... At another party, when I was finally being accepted into the stupid cheer squad and they were inviting me to their parties, I wanted to be liked... They were all laughing about Eddie, and I just wanted them to like me..." She gulped.

"So I joined in. I told them that he was gay." She shut her eyes and put a hand to her forehead before letting out a sigh, opening them again after a moment. "I don't know what came over me. I knew I shouldn't have said it, but when I did there was no taking it back, and they were all laughing and saying they knew it, and Jacob was saying he'd never be able to look at him, and you Milo, the same again. He said he knew you were fucking." The inflection in her voice when she said fucking was sharp, like she was angered by it. "I wanted to take it back, but... At school, they started making fun of him for being gay. Didn't you notice how it came out of the blue? Calling him those names and writing those things about him on his locker?" She raised her eyebrows.

"I noticed." Milo said, sharply. "I just thought they'd got bored of calling him something else."

"No." She shook her head. "It was because I was stupid. He found out, and... I told him and he wouldn't talk to me anymore, he was so upset... I felt so guilty about it and I was sure there was nothing I could do to take it back." She bit her lip. "I tried to defend him, when they were writing things and stuff I tried rubbing them away so that they wouldn't hurt him as much, and... I should have done more. I know I shouldn't have even opened my mouth in the first place..."

"You shouldn't have."

"I know. And I'm sorry." She looked down at the floor.

"I don't really think that it's us who need that." Milo sighed.

 

[DrTrollinski]

Marc just shook his head.

"Eddie trusted you."

And he thought maybe it would be best to leave it at that, because that was the truth. He didn't need to comment on that part directly anymore, but maybe there was one more thing he could say. "If someone relies on you in a way that they feel they can share something that heavy with you, that means they don't expect you to sell out for popularity." He said. "It's not easy to become friends with Eddie. He's not the type of kid who'll just be friends with everyone. He picks his circle closely, and for a while, you were in it." He said.

He sighed and rubbed his face, slowly. "Well, fuck the guys you told. They don't matter anymore, and they're not going to stop with the teasing." He said. "If you don't mind, I have something to do. Feel free to make yourselves some lunch." He said, and he took the phone back and tucked that into his pocket.

He walked upstairs. He needed time to process all of this, but, he also wanted to do some more digging. Mainly into the other stuff that Eddie owned.

Next stop, laptop - Google searches, browser history, emails. Anything he could find, he'd check. He wanted to know what was going on in his son's life leading up to his disappearance. Not like he had anything better to do while he waited for his own guys to get back to him.

Laptop. On. Let's go.

 

[Jupiter]

Shelley continued to look down at the floor, her arms wrapped around herself tightly. She said nothing as he walked away, and Milo stared at her for a while, listening to her sniffle, before turning and walking into the kitchen, to make some lunch for the three of them. After all, they were a team now. And as long as Shelley continued to help and do what Marc said, he would have no issue with her being there. After all, what happened in the past happened in the past and... And if Eddie forgave her for it, like he said on those text messages, then it meant something.

Eddie didn't just forgive out of the blue.

On his laptop were the open tabs from when Eddie had been looking through homework related things, and YouTube and such. Music, gaming, mainly the same as his phone searches on YouTube.

The big jackpot, I suppose, other than the amount of games on his laptop that Milo would have considered the jackpot, was his safari.

Things about survival, about doomsday...

Things about self harm. There was a thread that Eddie had viewed multiple times explaining how to get away with self harm without actually taking a weapon to yourself. Maybe Milo's theory about him getting in the way and being so cocky to get hit was right?

Or maybe there were other ways that Eddie was doing such a thing.

A few of the things listed were simple; walk into things a lot, something Eddie didn't do, get into fights with people, general destructive behaviours like setting fires, another thing he didn't do. Having pets play with you too roughly so they might scratch you. Being too reckless with your behaviours. Reopening old wounds by being too rough with movement. None obvious self harm.

Eddie had viewed that forum around 20 times during the month of January, and another 10 in February, but none in March.

In it's place were how to stop self harm or destructive thoughts.

They were visited less than the other, but they were there.

Along with these things, there were stupid normal things, how to cook certain things, how to do certain lab experiments, some wikipedia pages about famous people, some hints about how to progress further on games, and of course a few pornography sites. If Marc really wanted to go in deep on the specifics, he would find a range of types, blatantly displaying how Eddie was really trying to figure it out.

He was just a kid who didn't know how to deal with so much all at once.

 

[DrTrollinski]

Poor Eddie.

Marc never saw himself as the sort of guy that would be good at talks like that. About sexuality. He was masculine and very clearly into women - if someone was conflicted about how they felt, he was probably going to be the last person they wanted go to to discuss it. Understandable. As for the self harm? He was upset to see it. But then again... He didn't suppose that would be the easiest thing in the world to talk about with your father, either.

At least he'd been looking at stuff to help himself. At least he didn't necessarily WANT to self harm. That was the main thing here. It didn't matter much at this exact moment in time.

At least now he had some sort of leverage. He could use this if Shelley or Milo tried to hold out on him.

Not that he'd want to. But he would if it was necessary.

He got up from the laptop and went back downstairs after a few minutes of looking around Eddie's room. He went to the kitchen where he found the two of them.

"Shelley." He said. "What did Eddie do for your sister that was so major?" He asked her. "And... Why? Why are you trying to help now? What does this mean to you?" He asked.

He wanted answers to everything. And he was going to watch and see if she actually meant what she said.

 

[Jupiter]

Downstairs, Milo and Shelley were in silence. Shelley was sat at the table, her eyes set in front of her where there was a glass of water. Milo was cooking. He wasn’t very good, and I’m presuming there wasn’t much in the fridge, but he could cook eggs. And sandwiches. Eggs on toast, or something. It would be better than nothing. When Marc came downstairs, he was still going in silence.

And then the question was asked to Shelley. This time, it felt a lot less confrontational, it felt more... like he was trying to understand Shelley. Why she wanted to help Eddie so much that she’d sit through being yelled at by Milo about how she barely knew Eddie, why she’d stay at a strangers home to find his son. Perhaps she too felt sorry for Marc because of his wife. She knew everything, after all. Everything that Eddie knew.

“My sister... we were in school. She’s the year above me, and she isn’t... she’s not like the rest of us. She doesn’t understand as much and... she gets really upset really easily, and people like to make fun of her for how she deals with her problems.” She mumbled. “She wasn’t really dealing with her problems so well when Eddie helped. She was having a hard time with some girls in the year above us making fun of how she walks, and Eddie was nearby and saw her make a run for it, to the girls bathroom. Really upset. He came and found me and I went in and...” She gulped.

“There was blood everywhere. My sister had cut herself because one of those girls had told her she was worthless and that she should do us a favour and kill herself.” She spat, very obviously bitter. “She used a sharpener blade. Well naturally I started screaming for Eddie so he came in, he wasn’t going to go in because he didn’t know her so well and didn’t want her to freak out about a boy being in the girls room, but he stuck around in case and thank god he did because...” she sighed.

“He didn’t seem phased at all. Not a single bit. She had really done a number on herself and Eddie ripped the sleeve off his shirt and made a bandage out of that for the time being because he didn’t want to leave her with me, because I was freaking out and I was going to throw up because I’m not so good with blood...” she explained. “My sister was losing consciousness, I didn’t know what to do, he rang 911 and got an ambulance there for her.”

Milo shook his head. “How come... like if Eddie did that wouldn’t people have hailed him or something and known about it? Like why wasn’t Marc called? Why didn’t I know?”

Shelley shrugged. “Maybe it’s just not the kind of thing Eddie wants to talk about. I got in the ambulance with her but he waited behind and stayed at school. If he chose not to tell you, it’s on him... I don’t know what I would have done without him though.”

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Jesus Christ." Marc said, then ran his hand through his hair, "I'm sorry." He said. "I hope your sister's okay now. I'm glad my son was... Is... So noble, like that. So caring." He nodded, "I suppose he's too nice for his own good, sometimes. Now that I think of it, I think it's pretty accurate to say that his view is more or less along the lines of... There's too much suffering in the world already, so why not take some of it away?" He said. "I like to think that he thinks like that - if only he kept himself as a priority, too. That's the only thing I worry about with him. People use people like him. They take advantage of their kindness, their vulnerability." He said.

He thought for a moment.

"He tried to help that girl." He nodded, "He's infamous for helping people out, lending a hand, right? He's been involved in some heavy shit in the past." He said, "What if the people that took him knew that? What if that's why they wanted him? Let's say there is a reason for him being taken - be it the vulnerability or something else - what if his empathy plays a big part in all of this?" He asked. "Shit. The girl helped them catch him, like she said - she looked like she was in trouble. He helped."

He looked as though he'd just had the most shocking realization of his life.

"They must know more than we first thought." He let out a quick sigh.

He looked back to Shelley. "My other question. Why are you helping now?" He asked. "Is it because of what he did for your sister or is it because of something else? Be honest." He said.

 

[Jupiter]

Milo hated the idea that he'd been taken for a reason, because if he had been taken by random then there could have been something that Milo could have done to stop it, be it not run away or what. But if he'd been taken on purpose, for a reason... If they knew more about him... Then it would have been pretty much unavoidable.

But it was time for the other question.

Why was she helping?

She hesitated. "It... It was partly because of what he did for my sister... I mean, he saved her life..." She explained, but then let out a sigh. "But he helped me, too... I... In February time I needed his help because I was going through some stuff. My sister had just gone into a program and was inpatient in a hospital in another city, my parents only really cared about their work and not her, not me, or anything like that... I was in a bad place and... It turned out I was pregnant." She admitted.

"Before you ask, no, I'm not still pregnant. And you and Eddie are the only people who know I ever was. I don't know who the father was, not that I sleep around a lot but I don't remember what happened, I don't... It was at the party where I told them about Eddie. There's a huge blank spot there that... I don't know. It's all a blur. Something happened there, and... And in February I got pregnant. I told Eddie, he was... Supportive. He said he'd stick by me and make sure I wasn't alone." She explained.

"I couldn't tell anyone other than him. Somehow I figured he'd understand, he made me feel so supported and he helped me figure out what I wanted without once saying what he thought I should do... I didn't know at first but he just listened to me. In the end I decided I wanted to abort it. It wasn't... It wasn't a good memory. I didn't know who the father was, I didn't know what had happened that night and the thought that someone... Someone did that to me when I wasn't with it... It isn't something I like to think about, understandably."

Milo was a little shocked at this whole thing, but he said nothing, plating up the eggs and toast instead and pushing two plates out, one for Marc and for Shelley, and then, of course, he had one for himself too.

"So I told Eddie. I don't know, I thought he'd be mad about it, it was as if he was the father the way he was treating it, or treating me rather. But he supported that too. He came with me." She was shaking slightly, reliving this. "He held my hand and made sure I was okay, and he took me home that day and stayed with me until I told him he should go home or you would wonder where he was." She laughed slightly and sniffled. "And he called me every day after that, to make sure I was okay." She smiled slightly. "I'm not just doing this, looking for him, because I think I owe him. Obviously I owe him a lot, my sisters life, my life as I know it... It would all have been such a different outcome, but... But I don't think that's the only reason at all."

"I care. I want to help. I miss him, like you, and... And I can't bear the thought of something bad happening to him."

Why else would she go willingly with people who she suspected raped her months before, to try and find answers about a boy she 'barely' knew.

Because she cared.

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Hate to break it to you, honey... But..." He rubbed his head with his hand, "That little meetup you had with Jacob? You were drugged, remember? I've got a feeling that that's what happened in February, too. I don't want to be too blunt about it, but, it's not hard for me to put two and two together with that one. If you can't remember anything that happened the other night, and you can't remember February, I'd say those two events are connected." He said. "I don't want to bring back bad memories, but... You deserve to know what they were putting you through. Hopefully that gives you enough reasons to avoid being around them in the future." He said.

God. Jacob was a sack of shit, wasn't he?

Marc ran both hands over the top of his head. "Jesus, Shelley, I'm sorry if I came off as hostile initially. I suppose I was angry." He said, "But we all make mistakes, and we all have secrets. Thank you for being so honest... More so than I expected of you." He said. "I didn't expect that much background into it. I'm sure you understand that this is a hard time for me and right now I think I'd like to point fingers at just about anyone to find some answers, so, I apologize if I was too forward." He said.

He pulled the plate of food towards him.

"We'll do what we can to find Eddie. No, we'll do everything we can." He nodded. "We won't stop until we have an answer, just... You two be careful. If all of this turns out to be running deeper than we first thought, I really don't want anything bad to happen to either of you." He said. "We all miss him. Hopefully, the license plate links back to someone. Someone we can trace. Even if it goes to a random name, if it's anywhere near or within the state line of Maryland, we can check it out. Or at least I can. I'm not going to be pulling you guys across the country." He said.

Not unless they pretty much volunteered themselves to go, but, how likely was that? He wasn't about to try and get them killed.

 

[Jupiter]

Shelley sighed and nodded. "I'm sorry I kept it from you... For a while I think I was just protecting Eddie, I didn't know you and I didn't know how to bring something like that up last night or today or anything..." She gulped. "I think... It's good you know. It's good we all know. I know it sounds weird but somehow I feel like knowing everything we can about Eddie will be beneficial."

Milo nodded. "I think so. Especially if he's been targeted for a reason. We all know his character. He's kind, honest, takes the hits, helps whoever he can." He nodded again. "That means he could be an easy target... Or... Maybe a hate crime, someone who knew about him struggling with his sexuality..."

"I doubt that." Shelley shook her head. "That's relatively normal for a teenager, and when we talked about it it seemed like he hadn't acted on anything, he was just... Curious about some feelings he had. To me it sounded more like he was bisexual than anything, and that's... I mean some people laugh at it but I don't think it's worth kidnapping someone over."

"But people's kindness isn't worth kidnapping people over either. We have to explore all options, and we have to do it with the mindset of someone like that. They wouldn't be so sane as to give a shit if someone was only dabbling in homosexuality if they were even considering it at all. You know some freaks out there. They'll kill anything." Milo explained. "But, that being said... If we're considering everything, maybe there's a link between the fact that Eddie got taken by helping that little girl and why they chose to take him." He sighed.

"I can't think of any other reasons why they would take him. Unless it's just as simple as being a teenage boy." Shelley sniffled, and then began to finally dig in to her food, as did Milo. It had gone slightly cold with their conversation; but food was secondary.

 

[DrTrollinski]

In light of those events, something else was going to occur. It wasn't with Marc and his bunch, though, no. This time, there were two new people arriving, totaling seven. They'd been taken similarly to how the rest of them had. A normal (or abnormal) circumstance changing to a rather horrific one, which eventually ended in their abduction - somehow, some way. Either way, the two of them were confused, and one of them was extremely worn. She'd been a fiery one from the start, and when she was grabbed she kicked and screamed and potentially broke a nose. And maybe even drew more attention than what it was worth for her kidnappers. Either way, she was here now - she was only given about half as much food as the other person she was with, mainly because she told the Asian man to fuck himself several times over instead of actually answering his questions.

She didn't get why she was still alive. She was a pretty blonde girl, so if her kidnappers wanted her for sex, that ship would have sailed a long time ago. Why did she only have a few bruises and nothing more? Why hadn't they taken their chance to do whatever they wanted while she was all tied up?

It was night time, though.

It was dark.

It was cold.

She was in a tank top, jeans, and a snapback. Hardly fit for the spring, but... Hey, she was on her way back from the gym when she got snatched. She's not going to be wearing sweaters and jackets to the gym.

Spoiler: Girl

"Go inside. Don't look back. Don't run." The Asian man said.

"Bite me." She spat.

He looked at her. At this point he was sick of her shit - threats didn't work. Even after having her face covered for the whole day she still wouldn't shut her fucking mouth.

"Just go."

She walked. She walked alongside... Whoever it was.

The doors opened, and just as Eddie had experienced... Eventually the lights came on and revealed the man in the mask, who pointed at the door, slowly.

She stopped and stared.

"Oh, fuck this." She whispered, and maybe there was an element of fear to her voice. "Convince me why it's a better idea to go through that door instead of testing our chances and making a run for it." She whispered to her 'partner', of sorts.

 

[Jupiter]

The girl that she was with was quieter, she followed along, crying every so often and shaking. Generally terrified, she had no fight in her like the girl she was with. So when the man said to walk, she did, head down, like she was walking to her death. Potentially she was, to the execution block where her head would be sliced clean from her neck.

She felt her hair whip around her in the wind, pulling her sweater tighter around her. She’d been coming out of a hospital appointment. Dressed comfily, warmly, cosy... god she was happy for that now.

Spoiler: Girl.

She knew she was walking to her death. But she wasn’t going to run and try to get away, because she knew from each angle death was the only option; until it wasn’t anymore. When it wasn’t anymore, then she might try to run. Until that point, she decided to go for the death she felt bad more mystery, the one that might be quicker being left behind, because the one inside the barn might be... it might mean something more.

Inside the barn, she was sure it meant nothing more than a sick, cruel death.

“I... I can’t.” She whispered back. She had gotten used to this girls company. Despite her fiery attitude, she would cling to her if she had to, she would defend her if she must. She wasn’t losing the girl she came into this with. Not at all. “I... maybe if we go through that door we will live a little longer.” She whispered again.

“I’m not risking it.” She gulped, and parted from her new friend and instead made it to the door, pushing it open. When she had to walk down the stairs, and through the corridor, she huddled close to the girl who invitably followed, silent tears dripping down her face once again. She was so afraid. What did she do to deserve any of this?

Freedom is an illusion.

She ran her hand along the spray paint and glanced at her. “Good luck.” She whispered, barely able to get her voice loud enough to be heard. With that, she pushed the door open.

 

[DrTrollinski]

She sighed softly and reached out, grasping the other girl's hand.

What could she really promise in a situation like this one? This girl was terrified, and part of her was, too. They'd been traveling together for some time now... So, realistically, it was only natural for the strong-willed one to become protective of the girl who, at first glance, seemed rather vulnerable in a situation like this one. When she thought about it, they were both as fucked as each other - but thinking in a positive and strong sense could lull you into believing there was a way out of it.

But this time, there wasn't.

"Relax, it's okay." She said, "We'll make it through this. Just be calm."

She looked at the guy in the mask again, who was just staring at them and pointing. She met eyes with him and scowled. This son of a bitch. Surely, two people could outgun him, right? Right. But it wasn't worth the risk. Her buddy didn't want to risk it, so, it was best to leave it for now.

"Right. Luck." She said as she looked at the marked door, then stepped inside. She did hold her breath, and just as they stepped in...

They saw everyone else just sat there, most likely in silence as they would have heard their footsteps.

"Oh, shit..." She said, her voice nothing above a whisper.

"Hello, ladies." Riley nodded, "Welcome to our humble abode. Get comfy. We all float down here." He sighed. Looking at the two of them... Neither of them could have been much older than Eddie. But this was number 6 and 7. Was it going to be an even number? Was there going to be one more?

Yes, there was.

 

[Jupiter]

They were indeed in silence. Bill was stood, opposite from the door with his eyes wide. Elizabeth was curled up in a corner, looking between the others and hoping one of them reacted. Eddie was sat right next to the door, his ears twitching. He’d been trying to figure out if that was more than one set of footsteps.

And it was.

The two girls entered the room, and he knew immediately that that still wasn’t it. If they had sent one, he would have believed that maybe there were only meant to be six. But they sent two. There had to be one more. He looked up at the two of them and gasped slightly. Two girls, maybe the same age as Bill even if he was mentally in his fourties with the business attire. But these girls seemed... the one with the hat seemed younger mentally. Someone who would potentially be cocky, like Eddie could be. But not in this situation.

The girl went a little pale when she realised there were others down here. But... slightly comforted, she supposed, because that meant there were more people who could band together if they had to. She scanned around. No more doors.

“Wh-what... what is this place?” She gulped, she was gripping her friends arm, afraid. She was the one Eddie presumed would be the quieter and more mature one, or maybe the more vulnerable one.

“Home. For now.” Bill stated.

“What?” Her eyes widened. “How long have you been here? What do you mean home?”

“Well. There’ll be time for questions. Just come in and shut the door and... sit down and try to remain calm.” Elizabeth gulped.

The other girl looked at the men and the one woman, and shuffled slightly into the room, allowing the door to shut. But she didn’t sit. Not yet.

 

[DrTrollinski]

She didn't sit down, either. Fuck no. She moved over to the side of the room furthest from everyone else and sort of pulled the other girl along with her. She didn't want to trust anyone in this room - they were all varying ages, varying types of people, and it was a bathroom, for god's sake. A ropey bathroom with no privacy whatsoever. And these guys all seemed calm and collected. They were in this spot and they were calm? Why didn't they try and make a run for it as soon as that door opened? It was suspect. Not even suspicious. Just suspect.

Like, for real. She didn't buy into this in even the slightest way. She saw one boy who was... Presumably of similar age to her, but then the man that spoke was Australian, and then the other was American. New Yorker, or something, she wasn't sure. And then there was a woman with a funny accent. They had cuts from all cloths in here and she didn't like it one bit.

"I'm not sitting down, shit no." She shook her head. "This is... This is fucked up. This really is." She looked over them all, "Why are you all so... So calm?" She asked. "Why didn't you run as soon as that door opened? Why are there five of you being trapped by one man and... Oh my god." She ran her hands through the hair behind her head. "Can someone please tell me just what the hell is going on?"

"Calm down, princess." Riley said, "We're all in the same boat."

"Suck my ass - Don't you tell me to calm down."

"Whoa... Okay." James held up his hands, "Let's just relax."

Riley and... The new girl were sending each other daggers.

 

[Jupiter]

The other girl held on to her companions arm and was ready to hold her back from a fight in case something happened. She was going to try her best to keep her safe; but... let’s be realistic. It would probably be the companion keeping her safe if things went sour because she wasn’t the one who was so quiet and vulnerable.

“We’re calm because we’ve been here for...” Bill added it up. “We’ve been here for a while. We’re used to people coming in.”

“Do people ever leave?” The girl asked, whimpering.

“Not yet.” Elizabeth mumbled.

“Why- why are we here?”

“God. I wish we knew. Because so far we haven’t had any kind of explanation and all we’ve had is stupid repeats of the same conversation each time someone new comes!” Bill groaned.

Eddie said nothing. He stood up, though, surveying the two girls and then looking back at the door. He pressed down on the handle quietly, while the few were bickering together, and was surprised to find it was still unlocked.

He didn’t speak, just pulled the door slightly open and looked out into the hallway.

“Calm down, Bill. It’s not their fault. They don’t know anything.” Elizabeth tried to defend them, standing up now. The jacket that belonged to Bill was still wrapped tightly around her shoulders.

“We don’t know anything either!” Bill covered his face with his hands for a moment and took a deep breath. “If they’ve just arrived then... then it’s been another day we’ve been down here in this shit hole. I’m hungry, I’m tired-”

“We all are.” Elizabeth complained. “But don’t take it out on them already.” She turned to them. “There’s no use being... angry.” She sighed. “We don’t know anything, we’ve been here for maybe more than a week, people keep being brought down here and we don’t know why. We... we basically know about as much as you.”

The girl nodded along.

“What are your names?” Elizabeth asked them. In truth, she was happy to finally have some other female presence down here.

“Sarah.” She looked down as she spoke, shutting her eyes and taking a deep breath. She wanted to go home.

Eddie slipped out of the door that he was lingering around, and shut it behind him, slipping into the long corridor. The lights continued to flicker and he slowly walked through the corridor, looking around at the graffitied walls, slowly tracing his finger along them.

Bill, Sarah and Elizabeth did not see him leave, they were too caught up amongst themselves, none of them looking at the door that they usually relied on.

The teenage boy walked through the corridor that now felt never ending, and upon reaching the stairs, he took a deep breath. He might as well try. Eddie took the first few steps and then looked back at the other door. Should he get the others?

He didn’t know if it would be a waste of time.

He finally reached the door and pushed against it. Locked. He expected it would be. There was no saying that the people would have made it to the end of the corridor for a while, maybe too scared to go inside the door where freedom was an illusion... he looked at the door and kept his hand against it, before finally pressing his ear against it. It’s up to you if he heard anything. Soon enough he swapped, taking a step or two back and looking out from the gap under the door, his entire body pressed against the steps so he could get a remotely good angle.

Anything was something.

 

[DrTrollinski]

The door that Eddie was deciding to spy under didn't seem to have much at all. At least not at first glance. It was pitch black in there, so whatever was hidden in that room was being left as a surprise - or it was just there to make them ponder what could be within that room. For all Eddie knew, it was nothing more than an empty room. Just another factor of... Whatever this was being used to toy with them in some way. Yes, everyone else was bickering, but that meant that Eddie was on his own. He may not have seen anything under the door, but when he sat back up and looked at the stairs, the shocking part of the adventure hit him like a bat to the face.

Stood on the stairs, halfway down, was the man in the clown-painted burlap mask. He was staring directly at Eddie, watching him, his head turning in whatever direction Eddie decided to go.

In his hand, he held a knife. A big one. A hunting knife of some sort. He stared at Eddie relentlessly, silently - you couldn't even hear him breathing.

He just stared.

Probably a good idea to get back in the room, Eddie.

--

"Hungry is a rich word for the man who refused to share food this morning." Riley said.

"Riley, don't start this again." James rubbed his face.

"Who's this dickweed?" The blonde-haired girl nodded off at Bill. "My name's Melissa, by the way. I don't like that name shortened so keep it as Melissa." She said.

"I have a sister named Melissa." Riley said.

"I'm flattered." She said, plainly.

She had an attitude - but already she wasn't a big fan of Bill. No one was particularly enjoying their time here, were they?

"We've had a very long couple of days. We don't need the hostility. We'd just like things explained." She said. "Me and Sarah both got snatched off the street. I was on the way back from the gym, hence the clothes." She said, "Guy bumps into me, knocks my bottle out my hands. I bend down to pick it up and I get something jabbed in my side. Someone threw bag over my head and I kicked and screamed until one of them hit me. That shut me up. Hopefully someone heard."

 

[Jupiter]

He didn’t expect to see much anyway. He just... wondered how much of it was all for show. If, suddenly, there wasn’t just a one man show up there, but instead a few people... with no masks? Eddie was just curious, especially considering the door that separated them and this corridor wasn’t locked immediately. Was it ever locked at all?

Eddie pulled back and sighed, messing around with his hair for a moment before eventually turning around and-

Holy shit.

He didn’t make any noise, just gulped and stood up, looking over the man in the mask again. Impossible. Definitely impossible. The door to come in was locked and... He forgot there were other doors in the corridor of hell. Now he wondered what was behind those, too. How could he forget something so obvious? They were literally in front of him... it wouldn’t take too much time for the man in the mask to come down here, lock the door behind him, and go into another room. Stay there.

How would he know that Eddie was out here? He had to be monitoring them. There had to be cameras.

Eddie gulped and slinked up against the wall to get past the man with the knife, and started to walk down the hall quickly. As he got to the end, he began to run.

-

Bill and Elizabeth both nodded along. Melissa. Sarah. Why had they arrived together?

“I was coming home from the library where I work and... I shouldn’t go down dark alley ways but I could have sworn I heard someone yell for help. I went to go check it out and there was a bag over my head and I was pulled into a van. Now... here I am.” Sarah explained, similarly to her companion. The methods of being taken in all of their cases were all different. Some similar, but... all different. All tailored to what they were like, maybe.

“How come you two arrived together?” Bill asked.

“Bill, there’ll be plenty of time to ask questions. They just got here and I doubt they know.” Elizabeth interjected.

“You guys didn’t come in pairs?” Sarah asked.

“No... I’m Elizabeth. That’s Riley, that’s James, that’s Bill, and that-” She looked for Eddie and her eyes widened. “Where’s Eddie?”

But speak of the devil and he shall arrive, bursting through the door panting and pushing it shut again, leaning against it, a pale face and a line of sweat on his forehead.

“What the fuck did you do!” Bill yelled, raising his hands in defeat. They’d been fine before, and now he’d tried to escape?

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Jesus Christ!" Melissa jumped back when Eddie came in. "Oh, god. Please tell me you didn't just get us killed."

"What in the bloody hell?" Riley said, looking at Eddie. He got up and walked over to him. "You okay down there, mate? Look like you've just seen a ghost."

Probably quite accurate.

Was it a smart move of Eddie to go out like that without pointing it out to anyone? Time would surely tell.

"Eddie?" James looked at him.

"Oh, this place is just crazy." Melissa took her hat off and ran a hand through her hair. "Eddie. Eddie, right?" She looked down at the boy sat against the door. "What happened? Is that freak in the mask about to come in here and gun us all down or are we okay?" She asked.

She didn't want to die just yet. No way.

".. Because if he is we can get the drop on him nice and easy. There's seven of us." She said, simply.

She certainly had some fun ideas, didn't she?

 

[Jupiter]

"What did you fucking do, kid?!" Bill was up and over to him, looking at Eddie as he slid down the door into a sitting position, regaining his breath. "Come on, tell us if we need to start trying to arm ourselves with tiles or something."

"We're fine! We're fine!" Eddie blurted out. "I... I think it was just a warning."

"What happened?" Elizabeth asked. "When did you go? Where? How?"

"I- The door wasn't locked. I just wanted to try the handle and it opened. We're not even fucking locked in, not yet at least. But the door we came in first... That one is locked, down the hall." He nodded, finally back to his ability to talk properly, to think properly. "But... I don't think it's seven of us against one man. They wouldn't do that... And... And a mask? So we don't know if it's one person or multiple..." He shook his head. "I think it was just a warning to go back inside."

"What happened when you were out there?" Bill barked.

"Shut the fuck up, Bill." Eddie said, rather blunt and blank, and then let out a shaky breath. "I wanted to see if we were really locked in, and we are at the end of the hall, I didn't try any other doors, though... And... So I tried to look through the gap at the bottom of the door, see if there was anything out there. Nothing. I get up, turn around, freak with the mask is inside with us, probably came through one of those doors silent as fuck." He explained. "Stood there behind me, mask on, knife in his hand." He ran a hand through his hair that was looking wilder than ever with the sweat and the lack of taming over the last two days. Or was it three? God, Eddie couldn't lose track of days. He couldn't.

"He didn't move for me or anything. He just watched me. It's not like I could do anything, but it was more of a... A 'if you try again, I won't just stand here watching'." He sighed.

"Why would you go out and risk that?" Elizabeth sighed, and knelt down in front of him.

Eddie knew his reasons. "If we don't learn everything we can, we'll be useless."

"Bullshit." Bill piped up. "This kid wanted to escape, and he didn't even tell us, he was just gonna leave without us! Weren't you?!"

"No! I wouldn't have left without you."

Eddie recalled his thought in his head that going back for the others would be a waste of time... But... It would have been, wouldn't it? At that point he didn't even know if the door was going to be unlocked, and... Why lead the others to death for a stupid curiosity?

"I don't believe that for a second. You didn't tell us you were even trying it."

"And if I had?"

"We could have told you it was a stupid idea."

"A stupid idea that might have got us out alive. Isn't that what we all want, to stay alive? I'm sure that's why all of us came down here and didn't run? Don't tell me you weren't tempted to run but you didn't want to die, so you came down these doors and saw the stupid sign that freedom is an illusion, and you've sat here since because being alive even if you're trapped in a hole is still alive." Eddie spat. "Isn't that what is going through your mind, Bill?"

Elizabeth shushed him and put a hand on his arm. "You need to calm down Eddie. It wasn't the best idea."

"But at least we know." Eddie insisted. "We know that they don't lock this door instantly, that they lock that door first, probably the second that the person passes through it, and considering we don't know when we're due another person, that means we don't know when that's unlocked. There's nothing that we can do to get out of that door but... We don't know what's behind these doors, the other ones... Maybe there's more people like us."

She shushed him again. "Calm down."

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Hell no, this guy has the right idea." Melissa immediately backed him up. "You're telling me the rest of you have literally just sat here for the whole time you've been here and not even tried to come up with some plan? Are you telling me you guys are happy being stuck in this shithole? With the freedom to walk around and even go out of the room? And you're angry for him actually trying to figure something out?" She asked.

She looked around.

"Look, kiddo, it doesn't work like that." Riley said, "Brave, but how brave can you be before it becomes dangerous?" He asked. "Eddie could have died out there."

"But he didn't. He came face to face with the guy who could have killed him in a heartbeat. So why didn't he?" She asked. "If they're not going to kill us, why aren't we trying to use the time we have to our advantage? Why is it a better idea to just sit here?" She asked. "You know, the way things like this work? Where a load of people get snatched? They either get sold into slavery or they get killed. It's not a happy ending where everyone gets away, so, why is half the room vouching for pretending that things will be okay?" She asked.

She looked down at Eddie.

She let out a breath.

"You okay?" She asked.

 

[Jupiter]

Eddie, who didn't know the names of the girls because at that point he had slipped out of the room, was grateful to be backed up. But... Even he knew it was a stupid idea. He knew that he could have been killed for his curiosity, but at the same time he felt like he'd learned something. He'd learned that they were definitely being watched, but he daren't say that out loud, in case they didn't want them to know that.

Maybe he'd tell someone later.

He only knew they were being watched because how else would they be able to know when Eddie left the room? He wasn't in the hallway when Eddie was there originally, it had been when he turned his back that he had the chance to sneak up on him.

God, Eddie felt like he was in way over his head.

"We've had plans, kid." Bill tutted. "Listen, you've been here literally five minutes and don't know shit, okay? I don't know how long we've been here, it has to at least be a week and that's a really fucking long time when you think about it like that."

"And you haven't tried anything?" Sarah finally spoke up, her mouth slightly agape. She was terrified to hear that there was no escape down here, even if it meant that she had been the one to lead her and Melissa down here, it meant that she'd led them to their death, inevitably.

"Well..." Bill shrugged his shoulders. "We always presumed the door was locked."

Elizabeth nodded. "I guess I did, too."

Eddie gulped. "What matters is the one outside is locked, and behind one of the doors in the hallway is that masked man, and maybe others, and that means... That means that we know where we stand now, we know that's a wasted effort." He turned to Riley and James. "I'm sorry, it was stupid, but I had to know. I've been itching to try the handle and just... Just see. At least we know now, right?"

Elizabeth sighed. "Don't do it again though. If he was warning you, then... You don't need to do it again, because next time you might not make it back, and it's not like we're hiding from him, he knows exactly where we are and our life is..."

Eddie nodded. "In their hands. I know."

Anyway. He looked up at her and nodded. "I'm fine. I was stupid, but I'm fine." He ran a hand through his hair.

"How long have you been here?" Sarah asked him.

"Only since... Since yesterday, I think." He shrugged his shoulders. "Time runs differently here. I'm presuming it's night time outside since you're here, and I'm presuming last night you were at the place that seems to definitely be a Chinese restaurant, am I right?"

Sarah nodded.

"Then since yesterday." He gulped. He looked between them. Bill looked relatively annoyed. Elizabeth was just relieved that he was alive, and Sarah was still against a wall, biting her fingernails. "Tomorrow, the last person will arrive."

"What?" Sarah asked, her eyebrows suddenly raising.

"Ignore him, he doesn't know fuck all more than the rest of us." Bill let out a spiteful laugh.

"No, but, isn't it logical? Eight people. The way that man was talking about this place... He made it sound like an experiment. And you don't do experiments when you can't study even variables, do you? Eight people. Two arrived tonight... The only reason I can think of that that might be happening is because you either lived near each other, or they're running out of time to grab people before the experiment begins, or... Or it's part of the experiment."

"Can I please just fucking knock this guy out, he's driving me up the wall!" Bill made his hand into a fist and raised it slightly. "Just shut up!"

 

[DrTrollinski]

"You shut your cheap whore mouth." Melissa barked at Bill. Why was she defending Eddie? Maybe because he'd showed himself to be one of the only people who actually had a pair of balls. She wasn't liking Bill. Not one bit. "There's no point disagreeing with everything people say. Do you have any better ideas as to what's going on?" She asked, "Because right now it really looks like you're taking advantage of the one guy and letting him be the cannon fodder."

Riley looked around the room and then shut his eyes. "Guys... Jesus, just stop."

Would bickering go unpunished?

Definitely not.

In the middle of the argument, James' ears pricked up.

He held up a hand. "Guys, wait." He said, "Wait!" He yelled over the top of everyone and waited for the room to go silent.

Out of... Somewhere in the room...

There was a faint ringing.

Faint. But loud enough for them all to hear. High-pitched.

Somewhere in the room.

Somewhere. Anywhere.

It didn't stop.

"What the hell is that?" Riley asked.

James looked around. "I think it's a form of a noise complaint." He said.

It still didn't stop.

No sleep tonight, potentially.

 

[Jupiter]

Eddie bit his lip. He didn’t mean to cause an argument of course, he just wanted to get his theory out there. He thought people would want to know that kind of thing, think about it, try and understand the people who had them held captive. He supposed some did. Sarah seemed eager to hear what he had to say, and Elizabeth only wanted him to remain calm.

It was Bill that was the problem. He didn’t want to hear anything; it seemed he had already given up the hope of getting out, or at least of getting out alive. Eddie pitied that.

When the noise sounded, though, Eddie’s ears pricked up, he raised his eyebrows and looked around and then over at James.

Eddie groaned slightly and shut his eyes, rubbing his temple with his thumb and forefinger. “Great.”

“Hey, it’s your own fault kid. If we don’t get any sleep-” Bill was still angry, but he was interrupted by Elizabeth.

“Please finally be quiet Bill. I understand you are upset at this situation but I do not think it’s going to make much of a difference how much you yell now. In fact, it will probably make it worse, and in the interest of the rest of us, don’t.”

Silence.

Eddie bit his lip and looked around.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Elizabeth shushed him, hand on his shoulder once again.

They’d be in for a long night.