Chapter Four – A Distant Yet Unknown Cry For Help
"Kendall Knight has been missing for three weeks now. It's been noted that he left without anything. Leaving all items, including his phone behind. Taking nothing but the clothes on his back." Officer Garcia read as he held a brown clipboard up to his face. He looked over the pinned papers to look at the few officers surrounding him. "Look- he's one of my son's friends. He's starting to get worried and he said Kendall's boyfriends getting really worried. Like- when he's not at home he's out looking for his boyfriend." The officer sighed as he leaned against the edge of the large wooden table.
"His boyfriend? Sorry sir, but I'm not gonna waste my time looking for a teenage fag when I could be out fighting some real crime." A tall and lean man coldly stated, moving things out of his way so he could use the messy table top as a way to help him get up. He looked at the other officers in the room, all dressed in their MPF uniform. Only two other officers, Officer Garcia, Officer Charles and finally, Officer Briggs, the man who had previously raised to his full height.
"Briggs- that is no way to talk about children! Especially ones who are missing." Officer Garcia scolded. Charles chuckled softly, leaning back in his chair to watch the other officers with a smug smirk. He was used to this now, the way the two got along. It was almost amusing in a way.
"I know he's missing and all- but it's been three weeks and the closest thing we have to a clue is our one and only suspect; James Diamond." Briggs stated as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Think about it though. How can Diamond kidnap his own boyfriend? He's been too depressed to do anything, then when he actually does do something he's looking for the boy." Garcia put his clipboard down, hands on hips as he glared at the other officer in confusion.
"Again- I'm not helping you find a fag. I have better cases to work on-"
"-Again with the word fag! Stop using language like that! It's inappropriate!" Garcia spoke through his thick Spanish accent.
"I'm not your son so don't talk to me like I'm a child!" Briggs countered loudly.
"I would if you would stop being so god dammned childish!" Garcia yelled, ignoring the muffled laughter Charles produced from his side of the desk. The door to the small room opened, a small Latino head peeping through. Carlos' chocolate eyes darted back and forth, looking at the people around him before he took a step inside the small room. Officer Garcia and Briggs being too distracted in their argument to notice the boys entrance.
Carlos took a seat next to Officer Charles who watched the two bickering men with an amused smile. "Well someone looks happy." Carlos said to the man who was sitting around his early 20's.
"Of course- you hear them right?" Charles chuckled.
"What're they going on about this time?" Carlos chuckled as he could hear things like 'If I were a child I'd run away from pedo's like you' or 'I am a highly ranked officer with a teenage son- whats pedophilic about that?'
"See, Jason called Kendall a fag." The boy said to keep it short.
"Right-right. When do you think they'll finish- I've got some pretty important shit about the case we need to talk about-"
"-Carlos! What did I say about swears?" Officer Garcia snapped- breaking his argument with Briggs. This made Charles laugh softly to himself, the irony being more entertaining then he thought it would be.
"Hey pappy!" Carlos grinned nervously. His father's stern glare softened, the elder Garcia patting his sons helmet covered head.
"Alright, what brings you in here right after school?" Officer Garcia questioned.
"Well, Logie and I were doing a little research over the past week about the case and we found some interesting facts."
❦ • ~ • ~ • • ~ • ~ • ❦
James huffed out a warm breath of air, falling forwards and landing on his soft bed. His eyes were sore and irritated, making him raise his hands to his face. James softly rubbed his eyes then let his hands rest on his face. He had been up all night desperately searching for more clues on Kendall's sudden disappearance. Staring at a screen all night and thinking hard can hurt a person's head. James grunted, staring through the small gaps his fingers made in his hands.
"I know where you are!" He yelled, rolling onto his stomach. He took a tight grip of his blankets, shaking his head. "I just can't remember!" James quickly grabbed his pillow and pushed it underneath him, screaming loudly into the soft head resting substance full of feathers and cotton. He panted softly then tightly squeezed his eyes shut. "Why can't I remember?" He asked himself.
He jolted back into a sitting position at a fast pace. He looked around his mess of a room frantically. "Where do I keep it?" He asked himself as he stood up and marched towards his desk. Large hands ripped through different items as he looked under books, paper and basically everything he owned. He hissed as his hand smacked into the side of his half open desk drawer. The corner had scraped the back of his hand, drawing a small amount of blood. James brought the hand to his lips and licked his tiny wound, giving it a small suck to try and stop any further bleeding or pain.
"Help me… Please… James… Help me… James? James! JAMES! HELP ME! I NEED YOU TO HELP ME RIGHT NOW!" A voice very similar to Kendall's screamed, making James wince and drop his hand. He looked around his room, worry coursing through him.
"Kendall?" His voice travelled through the nothingness of his room. James' room was completely opposite to Kendall's. Clean, white walls, a large window with silver drapes, a queen sized bed draped with black and silver sheets. A beautiful, soft grey carpet, a walk in wardrobe. A few band posters here and there, a book shelf. Everything seemed more organised, thanks Maria, the Diamond household maid. Although the maid cleaned as much as she could James still managed to make a complete mess of his sanctuary.
"James…" Kendall's voice was soft and weak, and appeared out of nowhere.
"Keep speaking bro- I'll find you." James said worriedly as he looked around his room, waiting for Kendall to speak again.
"Just hurry up and HELP ME!" The voice screamed loudly, the screech making James fall onto his bum. He huffed then covered his ears, the scream long and never ending. It sounded like Kendall until it faded then grew with a large animalistic growl. The sound continued to irritate James' ears until a loud knock at the door had them vanish within seconds.
"Kendall?!" James hiccupped as he jumped up and ran to his white, wooden bedroom door. He swung the door open, his large grin falling into an even deeper frown. "Hi mum…" He said softly, leaning against the door frame.
"Hey hun, how are you?" She asked soothingly. Brooke rested her hand on her son's shoulder, a cordial smile playing on her thin lips.
"Good." James said through a croaky voice. Brooke deduced the redness in James' eyes as well as the bags beneath his usually bright and happy hazel eyes, the redness in his nose and cheeks, the gravel like sound through his voice. James slumped forwards a little, looking at his mother through half lidded eyes as she stared at him in thought. "Need anything?"
"I heard you screaming… So like a good mother should do, I came up to check…" She smiled warmly.
"Right, cause you suddenly care-"
"-James! I'm sick of this behaviour! Kendall will eventually be found. Just harden up and come down stairs. Garcia's down stairs with Carlos and Logan." Brooke shook her head, drawing a soft sigh from herself. "Please James… Get out of your room…"
"I really don't feel like it though…" James whined softly.
"They wanna talk about Kendall." As soon as the words had left the boys mouth he was out the door and marching down the hall outside of his room. He walked down the carpeted hall, his bare feet pressing into the soft surface. He could hear and feel his mothers footsteps behind him, making him cross both his arms over his mid torso. He hugged his body tightly and bowed his head, Kendall's voice still running through his mind.
James' throat was sore, a horrid irritation he couldn't get rid of. The pain came from his small cried mixed with the pains of holding back each sob. The strains of trying to get rid of the voices through his own screams. Talking was hard, singing was hard, and yawning was hard. His longing for the blonde boy's return was painful. He yearned for the other male, he needed to feel his blonde haired lover again. James had been missing Kendall over the past few weeks, and he couldn't help but feel like his disappearance was his fault. Even though it really wasn't.
The tall brunette stepped down each step, watching his feet go past each step one by one. The stairs led into the small opening area the front door displayed. The marble floor tiles shone beneath the three pairs of shoe covered feet that stood at the foot of the staircase. James looked up, feeling embarrassed to be walking around in his PJ's when he saw his two best friends and one of their fathers.
"I noticed you weren't at school…" Logan said somewhat shyly.
"Again." Carlos added in a soft voice.
"I know…" James croaked as he swung his head back to look at his mother, a lazy glare full of disappointment being displayed on his features, only for his mother to see.
"Go sit in the dinning room, I'll prepare some snacks. Jen should be over soon too, I called her because I think she has the right to hear whatever it is you're all going to be talking about." Brooke smiled coldly, walking past her son and around a corner. James looked back at the three males, smiling crookedly- brokenly…
"Good- then we won't start until she arrives." Officer Garcia smiled. James led the three into his beautiful dining room that consisted of a large glass table packed with the correct amount of chairs, beautiful décor and a large window pushed into the area that faced the front of the house. The marble tiles continued into here, the kitchen but stopped at the lounge room and up stairs. The table had a single vase that rested n the centre, a few majestic yet dying flowers resting inside the glass, water filled case. The three boys and man shuffled around the table, pulling out leather coated seats and sitting down. Once all chairs and people were tucked into the table silence was drawn over all of them.
James sat and poked at the corner of the table as he had seated himself at the head. He continued to play around with the smooth corner, expression blank. The other three awkwardly stared at the boy who wore a black singlet and grey sweat pants. Wearing that sort of attire in Minnesota was almost impossible to wear. Unless you were in your own home fitted with warm heaters for three weeks. Officer Garcia cleared his throat, making James' eyes dart away from the glass so he could register the attention grasping sound.
"So, Kendall-"
!Knock knock knock! The loud banging of a fist against wood stole everyone's attention. James didn't budge as he heard his mothers fast footsteps as she quickly walked towards the door. The sound of locks being clicked open along with the door were faintly heard. The women greeted each other, a melodramatic shriek of excitement and a 'wow- she's grown a lot!' were also heard.
Eventually Brooke walked into the dining room, smiling as Jennifer and Katie also took seats at the table. "The snacks are almost ready, you can start now." Brooke had spoken for the mere reason of wanting to feel like she was the one in charge, not the officer who sat at her table.
Garcia watched the tall woman who dressed in her typical business suit walk away before he looked at the people surrounding him. "Hey Jen- wow- Kate's! You've really grown haven't you?" Garcia grinned. Katie looked away from the man and at her older brothers friends.
"I wish you'd all stop saying that." She muttered.
"Okay- so, right to business. Logan~" Garcia looked at the nerdy brunette whose skin slightly paled at the mention of his name. He wasn't really one for talking around a large group of people, no matter how long he'd known them for. James, Carlos and Kendall were usually the only people who actually heard the brunettes voice.
"S-So, I did some thinking… Like usual…" His side comment was aimed at Carlos, knowing if he didn't say it the Latino would rudely interrupt him. "To keep it simple, I found some clues." Logan's comment had James almost leaping off his chair and into Logan's direction. James' upper body hit the table hard, but he didn't care.
"Tell me! What did you find! I need to know! Now! Please!" He desperately yelled.
"I'm getting to it." Logan said softly. "I couldn't physically bring them… But I can show you if you want…"
"Why are we all sitting around a table then? Let's go-"
"-James- we can't go right now. We're not finished here yet." James huffed and fell into the back of his chair, folding his arms and almost glaring hard daggers at everyone.
"What else is there? Logan found some clues…"
"And I found some suspects." Officer Garcia looked at James then back to Jennifer. Ms. Knight was dressed brightly, her face displaying no grief, no worry. None of the expressions James had. James took note of this, of how Jennifer didn't look at all like she was completely affected by her sons disappearance. Yeah, James is depressed as hell because his boyfriend hasn't been seen for a few weeks now, but he still finds it hard to function. Then here's Jennifer Knight. A brightly coloured, happy mother whose going about with her everyday life as if her son was right by her side.
"Is Jen one?" James thought aloud. This had all eyes snapping in his direction, a few soft gasps and murmurs.
"How can Kendall's mother be the kidnapper?" Logan asked.
"Maybe that's what she wants us to think. Maybe that's what she wants us to think is the situation. What if she's keeping him somewhere, or sent him away or something. And because she's his mother we don't suspect a thing?" James' thoughts were being spoken for the whole room to hear. Jennifer could only stare at the teenager with disbelief.
"James, calm down. Sorry, he's not thinking right. He's probably gotten too much sleep." The comment made James chuckle darkly as he hung his head again.
"Don't apologise mum… Anyway, it's not that I'm getting too much sleep… it's more like I'm not getting enough." Just the thought of how James felt from not being able to see Kendall made his heart ache and his stomach churn. James couldn't sleep, just like when Kendall was here. The same nightmare based in that dark room, Kendall tied up and everything. That same nightmare continued to haunt his sleep, making getting any sort of rest at night almost impossible. His mother was always there to help pull him out of those dreams, even though it was right at the part where Kendall would either be left alone or killed. It killed James to not know, but it killed him even more to think about the nightmares. The nightmares in which Kendall's life was balanced between his and the shadow persons hands.
Nightmare… Kendall… Dark room…
Everything in James' mind started to slowly click together. He stared harshly down, everyone continuing on with the conversation on Kendall's disappearance. His mind was racing at a fast pace. Each thought passing by in a splitting second. He scrunched up his face in thought as the puzzle was trying to form the picture that would solve everything. It was the nightmare. It was connected to the blonde's disappearance… He knew it, he could feel it. Only the more he thought the more the answer fell away from him.
"Did you get any of that?" Brooke's sharp voice had James' head quickly snapping up.
"Hmm?" He hummed in question.
"About the disappearance. If Logan's clues don't help out at all, or if they really do… Well, either way, you're the prime suspect." Brooke was usually rather sophisticated. She hardly ever messed up something she was saying unless she knew it would harm her son.
"Wait-wait-wait. Hold up a sec here. I'm the prime suspect? How? What did I even do? Where's your evidence?" James' voice was still raspy but that didn't stop the stinging venom that slowly oozed through his tone.
"Logan might have it in his clues. You were the last person to see him, you were the last person to witness anything. You're also one of the closest people to him. That's what makes you the suspect."
"Please James! Help me!" Kendall's un-located voice ripped through James' head. His voice made James scream, gripping the sides of his head as the blonde's voice continued to repeat the same phrase. The same cry for help continuously played like a scratched record. A distant cry for help that James couldn't find or give any assistance too.
"James- hun are you alright?" Brooke asked with worry as she moved to help her son, only for the brunette to look up at everyone with watery eyes.
"I-I'm fine." James coughed a little. His throat stang, that scream hurting him a lot more then he hoped.
"Look- we know you probably didn't-"
"-So what's up with you anyway?" James looked at Jennifer, everything about the teen making her slightly nervous and fidgety. The red-haired mother looked at the teenaged brunette with a small smile.
"See, a lot can happen in the past. And a part of moving on is letting it go." She said in a soft voice.
"It's only been three weeks, and like mum said, we'll find him soon. Why are you giving up hope so easily? He won't be gone forever. Surely..." James was more so trying to convince himself as his voice broke through each word.
"How I feel is none of your concern. As a teenager you should know feelings go further then appearances." Jennifer's statement put James on the spot, making him sigh as he walked towards the arched entrance that led you into the dining room.
"Can we please go see these clues now?" James asked softly. Everyone looked back and forth, exchanging nods as everyone rose to their feet with different timing.
❦ • ~ • ~ • • ~ • ~ • ❦
Before they could go into Logan's house, they had to stop by Carlos' so Garcia could pick up some important files he'd left at home on the case. Jennifer and Brooke stood outside with Katie and Logan while James, Carlos and Officer Garcia went inside. The house was a traditional Spanish looking house, thanks to the way Garcia and Sylvia had set up the place. Garcia walked in the direction of his office, James following Carlos around the house for a little.
James had changed into some more appropriate attire by now. Dressed in denim jeans, the white v-neck Kendall gave him along with a few layers of stylish jackets he followed his Latino friend around. They continued looking around until James' eyes landing on something perched on the side table of Carlos' light brown orange couch.
"What's that doing in here?" James asked as he stopped in his tracks to look over at the small wooden table.
"What?" Carlos asked as he stopped to walk back over to James. "Oh- you mean the beanie?" James nodded his head to indicate his friend had guessed correctly.
"Why's Kendall's beanies here?" James sounded as though he was struggling to speak past a lump in his throat. Which he metaphorically was trying his hardest to do.
"He must've left it here last time he came over. How do you know it's his anyway?" Carlos looked at James then the beanie trying to register how James could even tell it was a possession of the blonde's from a far distance.
"Cause I bought that one for him. Can I take it?" James asked as he walked into the lounge room lined with wooden floorboards.
"Yeah~" Carlos said as he turned on the balls of his feet to walk in the opposite direction as his friend. James approached the small table, grabbing the beanie then slipping it onto his head. The warm feeling of Kendall's favourite item being on his head made him smile small. It reminded him of the blonde. This was when he would usually pull his phone out and play that all too important message. But now wasn't the best time for that, no matter how many times the needing thought pounded his brain.
"Okay boys- let's go to the Mitchell home!" Officer Garcia called, making James and Carlos jog in the direction of the front door. Once they were with Garcia, they exited the house followed by Garcia's consistent locking of the house doors.
The car rides to Logan's were full of nothing but pin drop silence. As soon as they had gotten to the moderately average sized suburban home Logan took the lead.
"Okay, so up stairs you guys can check out my room. I left a folder on my desk up there for you guys. But as for you two I wanna show you something else really quickly." Logan said as almost everyone entered the house, Brooke and Katie staying outside by the cars.
Logan led Carlos and James to a room on the opposite side of the house. The door was slightly smaller than the other door. The short brunette twisted the brass doorknob then pushed the door open, reaching around for a light switch. Once the switch was on, James took a step in. He looked down the brass steps and into a small cement room.
"Why are we going into your basement?" James asked, only to receive a shrug from Carlos and a grin from Logan.
"Cause I wanna show you the big clue. Oh- Carlos? Could you please go get the book I left on the kitchen bench? It has some important crap in it." Logan smiled warmly at Carlos, making the Latino sigh as he turned away.
James and Logan continued down into the basement. The lights started to flicker as they kept walking, almost blacking out once they reached the bottom. James wasn't in the mood for any games and he was hoping it would all get over and done with sooner or later. Hopefully sooner.
James looked around the small room. Cement walls, floors, roof. All of it was cemented. In the corner was a small box, one that was painted the same colours as the Minnesota Wild hockey team jersey.
"What's up with that box?"
"Dunno- go check it out." Logan's response made James raise a questioning eyebrow. He shrugged it off, not in the mood for caring as he had left the only fucks he could give at home. He stretched his legs then walked to the box, looking down at the object. The box was as big as a small table, perfect size to fit a body if you needed to.
…A body…
James stared at the box, hesitantly moving closer to it before he quickly pulled the top up. Nothing happened. There was no happy music, what he was hoping to see inside the box wasn't in there. Nothing. Just an empty box full of more space then space itself. James looked into the box, leaning in enough to try and see if there actually was anything. But the box was dark and endless, seeming like it had no walls or bottom. James was guessing it was just the effect of how dark the box was on the inside, how little lighting it actually had.
He leaned in closer, the beanie that was once on his head slipping off and falling into the box. He didn't think much of the objects fall, thinking he could just grab it and throw it back on again. Only he didn't see it touch the bottom, as there was no bottom at all. Confusion shot through the brunette as he continued to stare. A small white light appeared. A small spark.
The spark grew and grew and grew. It was beautiful and eye catching, yet dangerous and full of mystery. The lighted spark had distracted James from the world, from everything. Even his own morals and logic. As the light continued to grow Kendall's soft screams grew louder. It was like he could scream for hours and hours and never run out of breath or strain his throat. The light came closer and closer, swallowing the darkness with each seep until there was no darkness at all.
Until everything in the room was gone, leaving an unconscious James in the middle of nothing.
~ A/N; hey-okay- guess what time it is. Shitty Excuses as To Why I Didn't Update Sooner Time! With your special guest Bebo! Okay, here's the bullshit excuses. School has been so much work lately. I didn't think moving up into the next grade meant I had to work my fucking ass off with non stop homework and typical teenage drama. It's starting to really piss me off! So, I've been trying to update and a lot of writing on paper has been happening, it's just the whole typing-it-up part. I can't thank all of the beautiful people who reviewed/favourited this enough! It makes me feel so happy and makes me want to write a fuck tonne more. I really loved those few people who were trying to guess who's responsible for Kendall's kidnapping as you may call it? I dunno. Thank you heaps! I really appreciate all this amazing feedback. Now, off to writing chapter 5 ^-^