Dear Nothing - Chapter 9 {All Time Low, Sing It Loud, Bring Me the Horizon}
Dear Someone,
To say that I was confused when I received the note from Oliver was an understatement. I read the note twice, three times, four times even, making sure that I wasn’t wrong about that it said. This had to be some sort of a cruel joke - but if so, why Oliver? How would these people even know that I had any connection to the Sykes family? It had been so long ago that I had been friends with Tom - the only explanation that I could rationalize was that the note really was from my friend’s older brother, that Oliver really was here and that he really did have something to do with all of this.
My brain multiplied all of the ways that this could go wrong - all of the ways in which I could end up being on the receiving end of a cruel, wicked prank, but what choice did I have? The note was offering me a chance at freedom, a chance to see Alex again, to breathe real air, to go back to being who I was, if that was possible. Even if the note was lying, even if whoever was outside my door was pulling my leg, I knew that I had to give it a shot.
The note said to be ready to run the second the door opened, and ready I was. I took a deep breath, trying not to attract any attention to myself and bolted the second the door was open. Oliver didn’t stand still for more than a second. He grabbed my hand and took off, half pulling me down the hallway. I had never run so fast in my life, nor do I think I ever will again. There were so many hallways, but Oliver knew just which ones to go down. I had no options but to trust him blind, to hope that he wouldn’t lead me into danger, though I knew there was always a chance that this was just another elaborate part of my captivity.
“HEY!” A voice shouted after us as we reached a door, but Oliver didn’t so much as turn around to acknowledge. He just slammed through, running as quickly as he had been before. Whoever had been chasing us must not have been much of a match, because it wasn’t long before Oliver let go of my hand, hurriedly unlocking the doors to an old-looking car.
“GET IN!” Oliver shouted and I wasted no time doing so. Even before my door was closed, we were speeding off. Once we were out of the parking lot, Oliver drove as quickly as he could for miles before finally stopping.
“What…what’s going on?” I asked him softly, curling up in the passenger’s seat.
“Too much.” Oliver sighed as he slowed his car to the average speed limit.
“I think…” I bit my lip as I looked at Oliver. His hands were gripping the steering wheel as tight as possible and he looked tense. “I think that I deserve an explanation.”
“I know.” Oliver nodded. “You do, I’m just not sure where to begin.”
“Start with why you kidnapped me.”
“I didn’t. I swear to god.” Oliver shook his head. “I just…I work for the people who did.”
“That’s the same thing,” I pointed out.
“No, Zack, it’s not.” Oliver sighed. “I needed a job. I needed a way to be able to support Tom. These were the only people that would hire me. They took you because you were alone on the street, not because I knew you. They didn’t target you, they just saw you by yourself and seized the opportunity.”
“Why?” I asked, my voice quiet.
“Because it’s what they do.” Oliver sighed. “They run experiments on people - you would have been released once…” Oliver trailed off, looking down at the steering wheel.
“Once what?” I frowned.
“Once you had lost the ability to communicate with others,” Oliver said softly. “Once you had gone…you know, crazy.”
“Oh.” I gulped, pressing my head against the cold window, wondering if, perhaps, it just would have been better not to know.
-Zack Merrick
Dear Discord,
I don’t know what to do for Alex anymore. The longer Zack’s gone, the worse he gets and I’m at the point where I genuinely don’t think I can do anything more for him. He went home a few days ago, went back to living with his family, but I went with him, partially because I knew that he shouldn’t be left alone at any time, partially because, well, he asked me too. However, as each day goes, I become less and less sure that I have any control over anything anymore.
This morning, when I woke up, Alex was sitting at the kitchen staring at a bowl of cereal. He had been sitting there long enough that corn flakes had become entirely soggy, yet it looked as though he had not taken even a single bite. The most disconcerting part, however, was that Alex positively loathes cornflakes - everything from the taste to the texture bothers him - it always has.
“Alex?” I frowned, looking down at the bowl. “Are you ok?”
“What?” he looked up at me, his voice abrupt, as though he hadn’t realized I was standing there at all.
“The cereal.” I reached down, lifting the bowl, but his hand grabbed my wrist, holding tightly.
“Don’t.” He shook his head.
“I’ll get you a fresh bowl, ok?” I said softly, trying to pry his hand off of my wrist.
“No. It doesn’t matter, it wasn’t for me.” Alex shook his head.
“What?” I frowned, setting the bowl down and taking a seat across from him.
“It wasn’t for me,” Alex stated again, looking back down at the bowl.
“Who was it for then?” I frowned, thinking I knew the answer, but hoping that I was wrong.
“It’s Zack’s,” Alex whispered. “He loves corn flakes. I thought…if there were corn flakes he might…he might come back.”
“Alex…” I sighed, reaching across the table, taking Alex’s hand. “Look, you know that I care about you, but that’s not healthy. I mean…you know that he didn’t run away, Lex.” I shook my head. “If he could be here right now, he would be, corn flakes or not. Something’s keeping him from you. You know that he loves you, I know that you know that.”
“I know, but…” Alex sniffled. “It’s starting to get easier for me to believe that I drove him away, that he ran away than that someone took him because at least that way I can make myself believe that he’s still alive, that he’s not hurt.”
“Oh Alex.” I wrapped my arms around my best friend, holding him as close as I could. “Alex, I’m sure that wherever he is, he’s trying to get back to you, alive, healthy and unharmed.”
“I keep telling myself that.” Alex sniffled. “But it’s getting harder and harder to believe.”
“I know.” I began to rub Alex’s back, holding him close. I wasn’t sure what else to say to him - after all, he wasn’t the only one starting to lose hope in Zack’s well being.
J. Barakat