Journey of A Thousand Miles (Part 8)
Justin was about to peer through the other window when he heard the scream.
His head whipped to the side, instinctively trying to locate the direction that the sound was coming from. It was too low and muffled however, and all that he could tell for certain was that it was close by. He froze, unsure of what to do or where to go until another scream, louder and longer this time, came to his ears.
Then another.
Then another.
Then silence. A silence so complete and total that it was nearly deafening.
"Oh God," Justin said softly as the sounds of the screams continued to echo in his head. The agony in them had been so pure, so white-hot…The person who had made those screams had been in so much pain. And if that person had been Joshua…
His mind turned away from that thought, not quite ready to face it right now. Instead he focused again on the location of the screams. This time he had no doubt as to where they were coming from; they were coming from inside the house.
Justin stood up quickly and began to pound on the window, desperate to get inside the house, yet scared shitless at what he would find there.
He grunted in frustration when he realized that the window’s glass was too thick and that he would never be able to break through it with just his hands. He turned and began to run towards the front of the house; intent on trying to break the door down when something on the ground caught his eye. He stopped, then crouched down on the ground to pick it up. It was a large rock, one of the many that lay casually around the property. He took it in both his hands and quickly ran back to the window, then stood a few feet away from it and threw the rock as hard as he could at the glass. It connected with a loud thud and caused the glass to crack slightly.
"Damn it. Damn it," he muttered under his breath as he picked the rock back up and threw it again. This time the rock caused the glass to crunch loudly and the crack spider webbed out, growing even bigger.
He almost had it. One more good throw should do it.
Justin picked up the rock once again and then hauled back, putting all his strength into getting it through that glass. Just as he had thought, the third time turned out to be the charm. The window finally caved in under the repeated assault, sending deadly shards of glass flying into the room. To his ears, the sound of the breaking glass sounded as loud as a thousand sirens and he was sure everyone in the neighborhood had been alerted. He didn’t let that stop him however, as he continued to strike at the remaining shards of glass with his arm. As soon as he saw that there was enough room for him to get through the window without getting speared by jagged glass, he hefted himself through the opening he had made.
Once inside, he glanced around quickly at his surroundings and saw that he was in the huge living room that he had seen before. His head whipped around furiously as he tried to determine which way he should go.
As much as he hated himself for even thinking it, he decided that another scream would be really helpful right now.
He looked over to his right and saw the broad sweep of a huge staircase that led to another level of the house. He decided against going up there for now, opting instead to stay on this level of the house. He walked cautiously through the living room, alert and ready for anything that might come his way. He walked into another room that resembled a living room except that all the furnishings in it were much more casual. He guessed that this was the family room. He crossed this room quickly, then passed under an archway that led into a large kitchen. Everything in here was stainless steel and impeccably clean. So clean in fact that it almost looked like no one had ever stepped foot in here.
Yet now that he thought about it, the rest of the house looked the same way. Everything he had seen so far had the cold, impersonal air of a museum rather than a home. Justin repressed a shiver caused by the disquieting thought and then looked around, his face expressing his mounting frustration.
There were no rooms beyond the kitchen, which meant that he would have to retrace his steps to find where the screams were coming from. Which meant that he would be losing precious time. Which meant that whoever had been screaming could be seriously hurt or dead by now. His mind still wasn’t quite ready to accept that the person screaming might be his Joshua, so it simply turned away from the thought altogether.
He was giving the room one final glance when he noticed the door next to the refrigerator. It was either the door to the basement or the pantry. Justin was willing to bet anything that it was the former. He walked to the door, put his hand on the doorknob and pulled it back slowly. The door opened soundlessly to reveal that it was indeed the entrance to the basement. Justin stood in front of it and looked down the long staircase in front of him. He couldn’t see what was at the bottom of it, but he could make out the faint glow of some kind of light.
Gathering up every bit of courage he had, he put his hand on the staircase’s banister and placed his right foot on the first stair step. He almost sighed with relief when the move produced no sound. Instead he thanked God profusely and continued down the stairs as stealthily as he could.
When he was on the fourth step he heard the unmistakable sounds of someone sobbing quietly. His heart clenched in his chest at the sound.
Joshua. Oh God, Joshua. There was no denying it now. He knew who had made those screams and he knew who was down there now. It was his Joshua.
And he sounded so broken.
Justin’s feet moved swiftly down the stairs now. There was no time to attempt to be quiet; he had to help Joshua. He was forced to stop mid-way down however, frozen by the sight that now met his eyes.
There, in the middle of the room, was Joshua, the man that had been haunting his dreams and his waking hours. He was naked; his chin resting on his chest, his arms high above his head, held there by thick rope that wound around his wrists and that looped around a huge hook imbedded in the ceiling. His entire body sagged as if standing were too much of a feat for him. Even in the dim lighting, Justin could make out the dark bruises on his too-thin body. He could see the blood covering his pale skin like splotches of paint on a canvass. He could see the cuts across the skin – the wounds made by unknown sadistic weapons. Justin felt tears forming in his eyes, right alongside with a burning anger in his heart. He had never felt so angry; had never felt so much hatred for anyone in his life. But he felt it easily for whatever monster had done this.
Justin tore his eyes away from Joshua’s battered body and searched for the monster. He found him immediately. There, about ten feet in front of Joshua, stood a tall man in front of an old wooden table.
The monster.
The man’s back was to Justin, indicating that he hadn’t yet heard him approaching. Justin guessed that he was too engrossed in whatever he was doing. This was the perfect opportunity to get down there, surprise the man and then beat the shit out of him for everything he had done. Justin was about to take the next step down when the man suddenly turned towards Joshua. Justin’s eyes widened in horror as he glimpsed the large butcher knife in the man’s hand.
"Blood will have blood," the man said as he took a step forward.
Joshua lifted his head, surprised at hearing the man speak after all this time. The surprise was replaced by fear when he was what the man held in his hand. He whimpered softly when he saw the man lift the knife and take a step forward.
The paralysis that had overtaken Justin broke when he saw the man advancing on Joshua. "NO!" he yelled as he flew down the remainder of the stairs and charged at the man. The man turned in confusion, the knife still mid-way in the air. Justin reached him, grabbed him by his collar and threw him to the ground before he could even react.
He landed heavily on his back with a loud grunt, dropping the knife in the process. Justin kicked it away from his already reaching hand.
"Don’t you fucking touch him," Justin growled as he advanced on the man.
The man propped himself up on one elbow and stared up at him with a mixture of surprise and rage. "What are you…" he started to say before Justin launched himself at him.
He landed on him directly, causing the man to fall back again and hit the back of his head against the concrete floor. The man was obviously stunned by the impact and Justin took the opportunity to punch him hard in the face. The man’s head fell to the side and blood began to trickle out of his nose. He now seemed barely conscious. Justin punched him again, relishing the feel of the man’s nose breaking against his knuckles. He watched with great satisfaction as the man’s eyes rolled back in his head and then closed.
"Bastard," Justin spit out as he pushed himself to a standing position and stepped away from the man. His entire body shook from the excess adrenaline in his system as he turned around and walked towards Joshua.
To his dismay he saw that Joshua’s head had fallen back onto his chest and that his entire body was very still.
‘Please don’t let me be too late…please let me have gotten here in time…’ he prayed silently.
Once he stood in front of him he placed trembling fingers on the side of his neck and felt for a pulse. He let out a shaky sigh of relief when he felt it under his fingertips.
He was alive.
Thank God, he was still alive.
"Gotta get you down," Justin murmured as he stepped back and looked around for the best means to achieve his statement.
He found a chair a few feet behind Joshua and he figured that that was probably what the man had used to hoist him up there. He dragged the chair over and stepped up on it, then reached up towards the hook.
He grabbed a hold of the rope, cursing his still shaking hands as he worked to undo the knot. It took him two tries, but he finally managed to free the rope from around the hook. Now that there was nothing holding him up, Joshua fell bonelessly to the ground, his hands still tied in front of him. Angry with himself for letting that happen, Justin jumped down from the chair and kneeled down on the dirty floor next to him. He carefully lifted the other man’s limp body from the ground and brought it close to his chest, cradling him like a child.
Now that he was close to him, he could easily see the extent of the damage that Joshua had suffered. He could see the burns and the slashes and the deep purple bruises. He could see the welts and the strange lacerations on the skin whose origins he couldn’t even begin to comprehend.
He began to stroke Joshua’s face gently, brushing away the damp strands of hair that stuck to his skin. He was so much more beautiful than in the dreams – even like this, with his face marred by lines of pain and bruises and swelling. Even like this, he looked like an angel.
"Joshua, please open your eyes for me. Please be ok. Please," he whispered as he continued to touch him, to run his fingers along his cheek, his brow. "Please Joshua…JC…please…" he begged.
He stared down at the still face as he pleaded and was surprised to see that small raindrops were falling against his skin. He looked on in confusion for a few seconds before he realized that the raindrops were his own tears. A short, brittle laugh escaped his throat before turning into a sob. He choked it back, not wanting to lose control now. Not when Joshua needed him to be strong. He was about to wipe the tears away when he saw Joshua’s eyelids begin to flutter open.
"That’s it. Open your eyes, baby," he said excitedly, not even questioning his use of the term of endearment.
Joshua slowly opened his eyes and groaned softly. He blinked heavily and looked up at Justin, confusion evident on his face. He opened his mouth as if to speak, then tensed while his blue eyes filled with fear. "No…no…" he whispered as he stiffened in Justin’s arms. His bound hands came up and pushed at Justin’s chest ineffectually.
Justin held on to him as gently as he could, understanding that the man was terrified beyond reason. "It’s ok. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m not going to hurt you," he said soothingly.
At the sound of Justin’s voice, Joshua stilled and his eyes seemed to focus. He lowered his hands and stared up at Justin in wonderment.
"It’s you," he whispered.
Justin didn’t say anything; he couldn’t say anything. There were no words that would convey the depth of emotion he was feeling right now, and even if he had them at his disposal, he doubted he could say them without bursting into tears. Instead of speaking he nodded and smiled down tenderly at the man in his arms.
Joshua’s next words came slowly, as if it pained him to speak. His voice was raspy and weak from too many days of alternately screaming and disuse.
"I didn’t think you were going to come, Justin."