“You go first…” Silverio said, laying down on one of the twin-sized beds in the room. He’s talking about taking a bath. There’s a smaller room within ours with an old-fashioned tub. I had filled it with water with the intent of letting Silverio go first, but I guess not. And so, I go in and close the door behind me.

My reflection is honestly a sad sight. My hair is messed up and sticking up. I look exhausted. Man, what happened before I was kidnapped..? My head hurt as I tried to remember. I assume my brain was trying to protect me from something. I look down at my clothes. I still wore the suit I was going to wear to my job interview. Except I never made it. Shucks.

On a small table is a stack of clothing. It definitely matches the vibe of this place more than my dark suit and red tie. I sigh and get to work. I slip into the tub, taking in the nice, warm water. I feel calm for the first time since we all arrived here.

So from what I’ve gathered, we have to save a whole world. Not only that, we were picked by the gods to play a little game for them. Just my luck. Kason would laugh so hard about this…

Kason?

My heart thumps in my ears, but not how it normally would when I thought of him. No, this hurt. I dug my fingers into my wet hair, massaging my head. It really did hurt a lot.

Kason…

I closed my eyes, and the next thing I knew, I was drowning. Right here, in a goddamn tub. I gasped, choking on the water that threatened to engulf my lungs. I can’t breathe…

Kason.

I sat up quickly, trembling. I’m alive…?

I rush out of the tub, grabbing a towel hastily. Never again, no sir. I turn to the bucket I assume must be used for…disposal of…things. And I step closer, bracing myself.

Because I’m about to blow chunks.

I puke up whatever I had eaten earlier, feeling hot tears burning in my eyes. Could this day get any worse? Silverio knocks on the door, asking something about me being okay. Damn it.

“I’m…fine…” I choke out, wiping at my mouth. Fucking disgusting. I feel sick.

“Alright…” he whispers, stepping away from the door. I hear the bed creak as he sits back down. I stand up, reaching for some clothes. A simple white shirt made of wool. And a pair of black shorts that are definitely too long for me. Whatever. I put them on. A while later, I step out of the washroom. Silverio looks up at me with concern. Worry about yourself, nerd. Man, I’m mean today.

“Hello…Dermot. Are you sure you’re okay? I swear I heard-”

“It was nothing,” I asserted. And that was enough. He nodded reluctantly and went into the bathroom. I’m so tired. The bed beckons to me, and I collapse into it. What the hell just happened? Why am I like this right now? And what happened to Kason?

I squeezed my eyes shut, a pang of pain hitting me like a train.

“Dermot!”

I turn my head as much as I can to see Kason standing a few feet away from me, his eyes set on my captors. Three guys wearing all black held onto me. My mouth was gagged, and I couldn’t scream at all. All that came out were muffled yells. Kason stepped a bit closer, holding something behind his back. Oh god, Kason, don’t. Don’t try to save me.

“Please…let him go,” he pleaded. I’ve never seen him so scared before. It brought me the slightest comfort knowing he cared so much.

“Step back, young man. We don’t want to use any unnecessary force.”

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“I’m begging you,” he maintained, his voice trembling. He really was scared, huh?

“Don’t make me repeat myself.”

He frowned, suddenly running at them with a switch knife. Kason…

I gasped awake. My face was wet from tears…and someone was embracing me. Their arms were wrapped tightly around me, and they muttered reassuring words. Silverio.

Normally, I would have pushed him away and yelled. But I didn’t have the energy. So I let him hold me.

“I don’t know why you’re crying, but it’s okay. I’m here…”

“Why do you care…?” I croaked out.

“...Because you’re my friend.”

We only met a few hours ago and he already thinks we are friends. Weird. Or is it? He hugs me even closer and I close my eyes once again. Maybe I need a friend here. Kason was all I had, and he’s probably…probably…

“Okay…” I replied quietly, “and…thank you…”

“You’re welcome.”

I fall asleep in his arms. And I have no more nightmares.

—--------------

“Good morning, sleepyheads!” Bandi bellowed. I blink awake and look around. Well, as much as I can. I hear a scream and feel myself roll off the bed. I curse out as I hit the ground, rubbing the back of my head.

Silverio is standing up, glaring at the ground in embarrassment. Oh yeah, we fell asleep in each other’s arms. Yay.

“Uh…y’all are weird,” Bandi shrugged.

“We weren’t doing anything, Bandi!” he complained, refusing to look at me.

“Hey, don’t worry about it. Last night was nothing. No homo,” I tease, smiling. Silverio frowns, still looking away. Man.

“I don’t even want to know,” Bandi sighed, leaving the room. I look at Silverio questioningly. He then looks me straight in the eyes.

“Do you feel better?”

“...Mhmm.”

He smiled, nodding. “That’s good. I’m glad I could bring you some comfort.” And he really did. I felt calm after last night. My stress usually lasts for days. Not even Kason ever did this to me…I need to stop thinking about Kason. Though, that pain that appears when I think of him doesn’t trigger this time. Hmm. No, it’s there. Just…duller.

Silverio looks away, grabbing a bag from the bedside table. “I bought this at the front…desk. Is there anything we should put in it?”

“Sure, uhm, we need food?” I mutter, not really up to this right now. Silverio nods.

“I’ll go find some…you rest some more, alright?”

It’s not like I wanted to get up anyway. “Yeah.”

He exits, closing the door behind him. So, this is bad. Real bad. If I had a penny for every time I skipped the friend stage and went straight to crush…I’d have one pennie. I’m a loser, okay? I’ve only ever liked, erm, he who must not be named. So, this is my dilemma. I need to distance myself from everyone here. I don’t want a repeat of…he who must not be named? I can’t remember what happened, but it must be bad. Why else would it hurt so much?

Music wafts into the room. I turn to the window and weakly step over to gaze outside. Someone plays a guitar-looking instrument, singing some chants. People gather around the hooded figure, listening to the music they created. Hm. Interesting. The person’s gaze moved over to the window I stood at, and I swear I saw them grin. I suddenly feel an immense amount of dread. Whoever this person is, they’re not good. I turn around and head to the door, trying to catch my breath. I need to warn the others. I don’t know why, but I get the feeling something’s going to happen. As I step out of the room, I run right into Atsuko. She shoves me, huffing.

“Watch where you’re going! Gosh!”

“Atsuko- hey- I think we need to go-”

“Huh?”

“There’s someone outside. I don’t know why, but we need to go. Now.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You’re really telling us to evacuate because of a hunch? We just got here! What if we can’t find another place to stay?”

I just shake my head, crossing my arms. “You need to trust me.”

Atsuko falls silent before simply nodding. She sighs and leaves the room, and I stand there. Relief sprung up in my mind and I closed my eyes. I know what I must do. I need to get everyone in my little group home. None of them deserved this, not at all. But perhaps, I did. After all, I did nothing as my best friend…

Loud crashing came from downstairs and I gasped. I attempted to hold onto my fleeting sense of safety but failed. And so, I slowly but surely make my way out and down the stairs. I pause midway as I catch sight of the scene before me. Atsuko was currently being held down on the ground; her hands were tied behind her back. My eyes move to spot Bandi leaning against the wall, frowning. They also had their hands tied up. My heart quickens as I realize what’s happening.

“Get away! Or…or I’ll have to attack!”

I glance in the direction of the voice. Silverio is backed into the corner, surrounded by three hooded figures. I expected the strangers to laugh since Silverio was clearly not capable of such a feat. My eyes squeeze shut as I take a breath. I’m starting to feel overwhelmed by the situation. And before I realize it, something slams against the back of my head.

I gasp as I wake up, wrestling with the covers of my bed. My eyes adjust to the light slowly; I breathe out. It’s about midday by now. What just happened?

“Finally wake up, sleepyhead?” someone mutters. I see Bandi sitting on the other bed, watching me with an amused expression. They don’t have their hands roped up, so that’s a plus. “Can you not sleep well without your teddy bear?”

“My what…?” I start to ask though I already understand as the words leave my mouth. I feel my face burn at the implication. “Bandi, I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t imply that I like someone I just met.”

“Huh? I didn’t say anything about liking!” they snickered, “It didn’t even cross my mind. And yet you couldn’t help but think about it, could you?”

“I- well…hey, I had a weird dream. Did I fall asleep again?”

“Yeah. Passed out or sumn’,” Bandi shrugged.

“It was…scary. I think, uhm, that something’s going to go wrong.”

“Uh.”

“Do I sound like an idiot?”

Bandi seems to think it over before nodding. “Yeah, you do. Buuuut, I don’t really care, so I’ll go tell the others to run away because you had a lil’ nightmare.”

I grumbled out an acknowledgement, and looked away. I hear them leave the room with a chuckle. I really do want to go home now.