Okay, let's try mine.
He pressed in 04042002. The panel flashed red again.
"Crap!" he whispered.
Nick could finish at any moment now and then it will be all over. Maybe I could reason with him since he’s locked inside the bathroom? Force him to give me the code? No, that would never work.
He looked around the room for any clues of what could the code could be. Then he glanced over to the large seventy-inch plasma TV resting near the foot of the bed with their Play Station 4 under it. He had an idea. Oh God, he's so going to me hate for this.
He unplugged the TV, wrapped his arms around it, and carried it over to the glass doors. It was like carrying a large boulder. He slammed it against one of the doors but it only made a crack. He slammed it again, thinking it would break through, but it only made another crack.
This was bad. Nick surely heard that one. He was going to have to go for it if he wanted to make this quick.
He backed up all the way to the back of the room and then charged at the doors. At the right moment, he threw the TV and it smashed through. Glass flew everywhere as the alarm went off. The whole house began to lock down.
Nick was still sitting on the toilet when he heard the alarm.
"What the hell?"
Josh stormed into the office and scanned around for the control box. He found it on the wall to his right and dashed towards it.
"Damn it, I knew it! Okay, okay, okay! Come on momma!"
He typed in 04141973 and the code panel flashed green, making a high pitched ringing sound.
"Yes!"
He opened the small box and turned off all the house controls and switches. He then placed the letter on Nick's desk. Then he heard his brother slamming against the bathroom door.
"Josh!" Nick cried out.
Josh panicked and made a run for it.
"Shit!" shouted Nick slamming his body against the door again, but it was still no use. "Goddamn it!" He reluctantly pressed his hand against the door and in seconds it blasted opened.
Josh ran down the stairs into the living room. The front door was only a few feet away. This is it! Freedom was within his reach. He stretched out his hand and grabbed the knob. I’ve done it! But his moment of triumph was jerked away from him as he felt himself being pulled away from the door. Nick had caught up to him just in time.
"No! No!" Josh yelled as he tried to fight out of his brother's grip. "Let go of me! Let go of me!"
He swung his right fist, and Nick’s head flung back. Josh was acting so fast he didn’t realize what he’d done until Nick faced him with a busted lip. He pushed back any remorse and continued trying to break free.
"I said get the fuck off me! I fucking hate you!” Josh screamed.
He felt himself being pinned to the carpet, but looking up, he saw sadness rather than anger in his brother’s face.
“Josh, please stop,” begged Nick.
“LET ME GO!” screamed Josh again, his voice breaking.
Finally, Nick sat him up and held him.
“Please!”
Josh wanted to hit his brother again so hard it would break him. But he couldn’t. He stopped fighting and sobbed on his brother’s chest. It was useless. After a few moments of silence, he felt his brother pull away from him.
"I can't stand it anymore," sobbed Josh.
"I can't stand it anymore either," said Nick.
Nick paused and then let out a sigh.
"Okay. I'll tell you everything in the morning."
"Why not now?"
"It's complicated."
"Does it have to do with mom?"
Nick paused again.
"I didn't mean what I said—"
"I understand,” said Nick.
Nick paused, and for a moment neither of them spoke. Then Josh saw Nick let out a sigh.
“Tomorrow, I'll tell you everything as a birthday gift," he said calmly with a smile.
"You swear?"
"I swear," said Nick.
Josh nodded in approval, feeling relieved. Nick helped him to his feet, swung his arm over him and walked back upstairs.
“You hit pretty good, but you know how I feel about those bad words,” said Nick.
"Which word?" asked Josh.
"That F-word."
"Oh. I hear you say it all the time," Josh admitted.
"Oh." said Nick surprised. “Well, that’s different,” he chuckled.
They continued to walk upstairs. When they reached the top, a thought hit Josh. He remembered the mess he made. He broke away from Nick and blocked him from entering his room.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!” he said anxiously.
Nick moved him aside and glared at the damaged done to his office. Josh dashed in towards the shattered glass doors.
“Leave it, Josh. It’s okay,” said Nick calmly.
“Really?” said Josh amazed.
Nick nodded.
“Go to bed,” said Nick, smiling.
He lightly pushed Josh out of his room. This was amazing. He had struck Nick in the face, used a swear word, and broke into his office. How could he be so calm? This made Josh feel ill as he entered his room. This was the only family he had left, and he had mistreated him. He’d make it up to Nick. No matter what, he’d make it up to him.
Chapter 8
Happy 16th Birthday
Josh
It was a clear and sunny morning. Josh woke up at 6:00am and crept down the hall to his brother's room, still in his pajamas. He opened the door and stuck his head in, spying Nick's body under the sheets in his bed. It was time for the good morning tackle that Josh gave his brother every so often. Before stepping in, he took a moment to look down at the floor for any signs of broken glass from the night before.
It was clean. Nick must have stayed up all night. I'll make it up to him. Josh thought as he made his way towards the bed. Once he was close enough, he jumped onto the bed and it flattened.
"What the?"
He pressed down and found that everything under him was soft and fluffy. When he pulled back the covers, he saw a bunch of pillows. He sat there confused until he noticed his guitar against a nightstand with a letter taped to it. He grabbed it and read it aloud.
JOSH
Happy Birthday little bro! I've gone off to do a few things for you. I should be back around 10:00am. Also, I've changed the codes for the house. Please don't try anything. Stay in the house! I trust you. Also, do not answer the door under any circumstances. Don't break anything else!
P.S. Nice try. lol
I could mess with the security system if I wanted, he glanced at the office, but he trusts me. He chuckled and placed the note back onto the nightstand. As he did he noticed a magazine peeking out behind one of the pillows. He pulled it out and held it up. "Is this another note?" He read the title: Juicy Beavers.
"Juicy Beavers?" He opened it—his eyes widened, his mouth hung open, and his face turned red. There were images of naked women.
"Oh…my…god!!"
He turned the page and there were more images of women, this time with naked men in many sexual positions. Josh's entire face went scarlet red as his heart pumped at an alarming rate. To make things even more confusing, he felt his penis getting harder. He rushed back to his room with the magazine and his guitar, walking awkwardly.
He sat on his bed flipping through the pages. He was less worried about his throbbing penis and more interested in the people in the magazine. He noticed that all the men had something in common with him. They had hair at the base of their genitals. “Of all places to have hair, why would it be down there? Does Nick have hair down there too?” he wondered, looking at his own pubic hair. This was unusual yet nice to see that he wasn’t the only one with, in his mind, this problem.
As he continued flipping through the pages, he kept seeing the men holding their penises. They looked like they were in pain. “What are they doing?” He looked at his penis and tried imitating them. He had no idea what he was
doing, so he just played with it. In the past he would just leave it alone when it got this way, but now it was kind of fun.
He stroked it and it tickled. He stroked it again and it tickled even more. He did it more, lying on his back moaning. Oh shit, he thought the more he stroked. The tickling sensation increased. His breathing became faster and for moment he thought he was going to pee. But pee did not come out. Instead, six milky streams shot out of his penis and onto the floor. He moaned rolling his eyes back as more warm sticky cum oozed down his hand and onto his stomach. As his body became limp, he dropped the magazine and passed out.
It was now 2:00pm. Josh was dressed in a baby blue shirt, dark blue jeans, and a pink wristband with a cute cartoon koala on it. He rested on his bed, writing in his journal.
4/4/18 - It’s my B-day today. Freak yeah. (I’m not using the F-word cus I promised Nick I wouldn’t use it, even though he uses it all the time.) I’m 16! I tired surprising Nick when I woke up, but he tricked me. Well, at least his sense of humor is getting better.
I found this magazine in his room with all these naked people in it. It was nice. I didn’t know breasts and penises could grow that large. Some of the pages were stuck together, though. I copied what some of the guys were doing with their penises and that white stuff came out again. IT FELT AWESOME!!! But it shot out, so it can’t be pee. Ha, Ha! All the men and women looked really nice. If Nick doesn’t show up soon, I’ll do it again, but in the bathroom this time. I don’t want to make a mess and to avoid the smell.
I’m super excited about today. Nick is finally going to do something for my birthday. It would be sad if it was something stupid though. But whatever it is, I’ll be grateful if it doesn’t suck. If it does, I’ll probably annoy the hell out of him until he’s an old man as revenge. Oh wait he’s already an old man. HA! HA!
He put the notepad down and moved over to his peach colored beanbag and sat on it. He figured he’d just fiddle with his guitar, which was resting next to it. The Juicy Beavers magazine was now under his pillow.
It was way past 10:00am, but it was hard for him to feel nervous. That thing he had done earlier had relaxed him to such a degree that nothing could worry him.
Maybe he was lying to me? No, he wouldn't do that, not after he swore. Ah, but why is he late?
He looked towards his brother's room and thought about the security system.
"No, he trusts me. Just relax, he'll be here."
He sat back down on his beanbag, grabbed his guitar, and started playing a joyful tune to take his mind off Nick.
In A minor: AEE FD EC DB CA, AEE FD EC DB CA
ABCD BCA EDCBA
AEE FD EC DB CA, AEE FD EC DB CA
He played for about ten minutes until a loud bang shook the room. Josh flew off his beanbag.
"What the freak?" he shouted.
It sounded like it had come from downstairs. He ran into the living room and saw that the entire front part of the house had been blasted open, along with the wall outside. Josh approached the damage, speechless. When he looked closer at the front yard, he saw Nick resting on his back in his grey sweats, white shirt, and dark grey hoodie, covered in black and purple mist.
"Nick!" he shrieked.
Josh sprinted towards him. Nick rose into the air and flew out of the broken wall.
"Nick!" he shouted again.
He chased Nick as fast as he could down the long empty cal-da-sac. He stopped to catch his breath. There was no way he was going to catch up to him. He turned to a driveway on his right and saw a mountain bike. Without hesitation, he took it and raced down the street the warm spring breeze hitting his face.
Nick floated into a sewer tunnel under a nearby bridge with Josh hot on his trail. Inside, the path was wide enough for him to keep cycling and wasn't too dark to see, but the most ungodly smell hit him. He could even slightly taste the musty air.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of flying through that tunnel, Nick flew upwards through a hole. As Josh approached the hole moments later, he saw that it was only wide enough for a single person to fit through, so bringing the bike was out of the question. He reached up to the broken ladder and climbed to the top.
Once out, he saw Nick floating into a very large park. He tried to give chase again, but he was too exhausted, so he took a few moments to catch his breath. Once he had gotten enough air, he dashed after Nick, passing a big brown and green sign to his left that read: Woodley Park. If this is a new workout, it’s not cool, he thought.
Chapter 9
Rotting Faces
Josh
The soccer field was filled with dozens of people writhing in agony, their flesh rotting off their bones. Josh ran in and stopped dead in his tracks in terror. Above the rotting corpses, he saw dozens of ghostly pink orbs being sucked out of them into a black sphere that floated above a cavity of decayed grass. Behind it stood a tall, black and purple wall of fire that stretched across the field.
“What—the—hell?” he uttered.
Then he heard a voice calling his brother's name from the ground near him.
"Nick, Nick, are you there?" cried the voice.
“Nick?” Josh repeated.
He searched around him to locate the source and found a small yellow smart phone on the ground a few feet away from him. The screen glowed a bright arctic blue that reflected on his face as he held it close. The caller I.D. read: Unknown Caller.
“Nick?” the voice cried out again.
"Hello? Who's this?" he asked while his right hand itched.
"Nick!" the voice said with relief. “I need your help!”
"No, I'm his brother, Josh! Who are you?" Josh interrupted.
"His brother? Thank God. Look, I need his help!” urged the voice. “I'm being attacked in section two of the park. Please tell him that Seth needs his help now! Ah, shit!" Seth shouted.
The connection broke. "Hello? Hello?" Josh shouted, standing there nervous and confused. Who is Seth? What are these pink orbs? Where’s Nick? What the hell is going on?
As he stood there, a little curly haired girl approached him.
“H-h-help m-me! Please!” she cried clutching onto his shirt.
Her eyes and face began melting like butter. Josh backed away, terrified. He watched her decay. His right hand itched again, but he barely took notice as he stood in shock, looking at the girl’s corpse. He screamed and ran back to the entrance, but it was block by the fire. He panicked around the field for minutes as more rotting people grabbed at him, until he fell onto the dark sphere, dropping the cell phone in the process.
His right hand hit the dripping sphere and a blinding flash of light covered it. The black sphere began to boil and let out a vile smell that made Josh crawl away and covered his nose. Then it evaporated and the fire behind it suddenly faded, revealing a new path to the next section of the park.
Whoa…what just happened? he thought, breathing heavier than he had before. It was indeed strange. He was completely winded. The pink orbs drifted around his face as he looked around the field to find the cell phone. He slowly walked towards it and placed it into his pocket. Looking up, he saw a sign on his right that read, “Section 2” and had an arrow pointed in the direction where the fire had once stood. He turned and walked sluggishly to the next section of the park.
Chapter 10
A Familiar Face
Josh
Josh noticed the sky was grayer and the atmosphere felt heavier as he approached an uneven and broken road. Parts of it were higher than others, which forced him to climb in order to reach the top. Once on top, he scanned the area for any signs of his brother or his friend, but Josh saw nothing. There was nothing but a large, multi-colored playground that was next to the long road. In the air, there were more ghostly orbs above him, but this time they were a pale blue color. What are they? he wondered.
He started to walk towards the playground, still looking at the orbs in awe. When he glanced down at the playground, he stopped in horror. D
ead bodies were everywhere again, but these were all young boys and men.
Then he heard loud gunshots, which made him scurry back behind the tallest part of the damaged road. He peeked up and saw an old man running away with a small boy in his arms. The old man was firing his gun behind him at a crazed mob of people who were chasing them. He managed to hit a few of them in the face but tripped, hurling the young boy away from him.
The crazed mob caught up to them and ripped the elderly man and boy limb from limb, like a pack of wolves. Josh's quickly sunk behind the road, horrified. His heart felt like it was about to burst from his chest.
The cell phone began to vibrate and ring. Josh took it out, shaking it desperately trying to make it stop. The sound might attract that crazy mob. He couldn’t get it to stop. He had never had a cell phone before. Nick had never let him. After randomly hitting the glowing screen, he finally got it to work.
"Josh? Josh? Are you there?" Seth asked out of breath.
Josh was silent for a while. Then he muttered, "T-t-they killed them. They killed —"
"Listen to me, kid! Your brother is with me, but we need help! We're in the last section of the park. Hurry! Ahh! Get the fuck off me! Ahhhhh!” Seth shouted.
The connection broke again.
"No, no, don't leave me!" Josh begged, trying to work the phone again.
But it was no use. He buried his face in his hands, shaking uncontrollably. He peeked again over the broken road and, though it was far away, he saw another wall of fire in the distance. Was that there before? he wondered. Then he looked around him and saw fire surrounding the entire park. He was so focused on the finding Nick and Seth, he hadn't realized that the strange-looking fire was all around the park.
This is a dream? There’s no way any of this can be real. Maybe he was going to wake up soon. He hoped Nick would walk in at 6:00am, like he always did, and take him into the back yard to train, and then make him breakfast.
He closed his eyes, hoping that when he opened his eyes again, he’d be in his room. He opened them, but he was still behind the broken road. This was real. After ten years of being in that house, he was finally out and it was horrible.
The Son of Light Book 1: Rebirth Page 8