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Chapter 16

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Eddie stared nervously up at Henry, who looked a strange combination of angry and nervous as he held onto Eddie's arms in tight fists.

He contemplated trying to shrug his arms out of the older boy's grip or asking Henry to let go, but he supposed it wasn't that painful, and he was honestly scared to say or do anything at this point. Henry wasn't actively threatening him or hurting him in a way that was significant, so he figured he should just be glad and keep his mouth shut.

"We're leaving..." Henry breathed.

Eddie inhaled a sharp breath as the older boy grabbed his wrist and started dragging him toward the stairs. "What?" Eddie breathed, feeling suddenly very nervous. Why were they leaving? Where were they going? "Henry, wait..." He stammered, not sure if he wanted to leave or not... He didn't know what it meant. Did leaving meant he got to go home, or did it mean something horrible as going to happen to him?

"Just shut up and come on." Henry growled, pulling Eddie along up the stairs.

"Where-" Eddie started to ask.

With a small growl, Henry tugged Eddie back and clamped his hand back down over the younger boy's mouth, staring angrily down at him. "If I let you ride up front, do you promise not to try anything stupid?" He asked. "No trying to escape or fighting or screaming or anything fucking stupid."

Eddie swallowed nervously, staring with wide eyes.

"Otherwise you're riding in the trunk." Henry stared, slowly moving his hand up off of Eddie's mouth. "Probably knocked the fuck out too. Don't try my fucking patience right now."

"I won't try anything..." Eddie breathed, shaking his head quickly.

"Good. Stay quiet. If my dad hears you, you're dead." Henry dragged Eddie by his hands up the stairs and quietly out of the house. He shoved him into the passenger seat of his car and climbed in the other side.

"Do I get to go home?" Eddie whispered as Henry started driving. His chest felt cold. He was shivering, both from having his shirt taken from him and from being completely terrified. Henry was being weird. All day he was weird - both more violent than usual and more friendly. It scared Eddie quite a bit just witnessing and experiencing how unpredictable Henry could be... Had the older boy lost what was left of his sanity? Was he going to take this as far as murder? Was that where this was heading? Did he want Eddie out of his house so he could violently kill him and not have to clean up the mess and the evidence as much?

None of this made sense. Henry was so violent, beating Eddie, choking him, shoving a gun in his mouth, forcing him to drink alcohol, threatening to rape him... and then he was more careful, more human, telling Eddie he wished he had a brother, sort of confiding in Eddie about his dad and his dad's former friend... even helping Eddie with his inhaler.

It was impossible to tell what the older boy was thinking - if he wanted to be decent or wanted to be horrible. Every time Henry approached him, Eddie had to wonder if he was going to act like a normal person or if he was going to do something violent and cruel. There was no way to accurately guess.

"Henry, are you taking me home?" Eddie asked again. "Please? Please take me home..." His voice started to shake as tears stung at his eyes.

Henry ignored him and kept driving.

"Where are we going?" Eddie tried again, feeling his heart pounding faster and faster. Why wasn't the older boy answering? Why wouldn't he just tell him? It had to be something horrible, right? Or he'd just say it...

"Are-" Eddie felt tears pooling in his eyes as a breath in his throat made him pause. "A-are you taking me to the woods?" He stammered, feeling his chest growing tight. Henry had told him if he tried to escape again, that was what was going to happen. That he was going to take him in the woods, let Patrick hurt him... and then kill him. He just saved him from Patrick... He just helped him use his inhaler so he wouldn't suffocate and die. Now he was going to take him out and kill him? Why would he do this? But what else could he be doing? If he was going to let Eddie go, why not just say so?

"You are, aren't you? Y-you're taking me to the woods... t-to kill me..." He whispered, shrinking down in the seat.

Henry still didn't answer.

Eddie felt his heart pounding in his chest as his breaths became more quick and shallow. He couldn't just sit quietly and allow this. He couldn't just lay low like he usually did. Henry was going to actually kill him this time - maybe let Patrick hurt him horribly first. His usual tactics of just quietly tolerating smaller abuses until he was left alone weren't going to cut it. He had to fight back - fight for his life.

"You can't, Henry... You have to let me go!" Eddie gasped. "I didn't try to escape... I didn't do anything!" He pleaded, hearing his voice shake with unshed tears. He really didn't... He wanted to try to escape, but he didn't. Maybe that was stupid and naive. Maybe he should have just gone for the window any chance he got... But he believed Henry when he said he would hurt him, kill him if he tried it... so he didn't. Not until Patrick started trying to molest him.

Eddie felt his breaths increasing again as he started to panic. "I did what you said! I stayed down there, and I didn't try to leave. I didn't even take the tape off my hands." He lifted his hands up to show him. His wrists had been painfully taped together for hours. "I didn't do anything! Patrick just showed up and started hurting me... I didn't-"

"Shut up." Henry finally growled, glaring toward Eddie for a moment before putting his eyes back on the road.

Eddie brought his hands up to his face and choked out a pained, frightened sob. Maybe Henry knew that Eddie tried to get out of the window again while Patrick was down there... Maybe the whole thing with Patrick was a setup - to trick him into disobeying so Henry could have a reason to kill him.

"Shut up!" Henry yelled again, reaching over and slapping Eddie's arm.

The smaller boy flinched back, but couldn't stop crying. "I don't wanna die..." He sobbed, shrinking back against the door, contemplating opening it and taking his chances. "I was just scared... I wasn't going to try to escape again. I did what you said! But Patrick was hurting me... I just wanted him to stop..."

"Shut. The. Fuck. Up." Henry growled, staring angrily toward Eddie for a moment before looking back in front of him at the road.

No one was out right now. It was still dark, but maybe almost turning light. Now that Eddie was outside, he couldn't tell if the sun was coming up or if it was just moon light. Henry had said something about it being four in the morning. That was too early for the sun to rise.

"Please let me go!" Eddie sobbed. "I won't say anything to anyone! About any of this! You never touched me. Patrick didn't either... I didn't hear you fighting with your dad or anything. Everything you said, everything you did... I forgot already... I'll say I got lost in the woods. I promise! I'll keep it all to myself. No one ever has-"

The younger boy suddenly flinched and whimpered a frightened breath as Henry reached across the seat and grabbed his arm, squeezing it in a tight, bruising fist.

"Be quiet. Or I'll stab you in the throat." Henry growled. "I mean now. Be quiet now. Shut your mouth. Stop making noise. Don't fucking say another word while you're in this car."

Pressing his lips together, Eddie brought his hands up over his mouth to keep himself quiet, but couldn't stop shivering or softly whimpering. He tried to focus out the window instead of on his fears. Everything was so dark... If Henry chose to kill him, no one would see it... He could probably kill him right here in the street.

Eddie stared down through blurry, tear-filled eyes at the floor board of the car as he breathed in and out shaking, tearful breaths. He wondered if these would be the last breaths he'd ever take, if the last scenes his eyes would ever see were the inside of this car, Henry or Patrick stabbing or drowning him... Maybe even shooting him.

Glancing back up and out his window, Eddie noticed more trees now... the road was becoming less manicured. It was rocky, dirty... Henry was taking him into the woods.

Eddie's vision blurred further with tears as he shook his head and sniffed back sobs. "Don't let Patrick..." He trailed off, pulling his feet up into the seat and pressing his knees against his chest. He knew Henry told him not to talk, but he couldn't just not argue his case. He couldn't quietly allow his life to end like this. "Please don't let him hurt me..." Eddie shook his head and choked out another small sob.

"I already made him leave, dumbfuck. He's not here." Henry growled as he pulled the car up near an old, half-collapsed house.

Eddie glanced over at Henry, then out his own window. The woods were thick... It was dark... If he jumped out and started running, he might be able to get lost enough that even Henry couldn't find him.

Without a second thought, Eddie reached out and pulled the door open, jumping out and starting to sprint toward the trees.

"God damn it..." Henry growled, opening his door and sprinting after him. "You're just gonna get yourself hurt, you little fucker!" He threatened.

Eddie didn't yell anything back. He had to focus only on outrunning his captor. He had to get away. He was going to die otherwise. Henry was going to kill him if Eddie didn't outrun him. He had to get away.

"No!" Eddie sobbed as he felt Henry grab onto his arms and pull him down to the ground in a rough tackle. "Get off of me!" He screamed, thrashing, kicking and swinging his bound arms as much as possible.

"Stop moving." Henry growled, pressing a hard hand against Eddie's throat.

Eddie choked a broken, pained breath and squeezed his eyes shut and as Henry gripped his neck harder. He felt tears running down his cheeks as he clawed uselessly at the older boy's hand. He couldn't breathe... Not even a little.

Just when he was sure Henry was actually going to kill him, the older boy eased up, dragging Eddie toward a nearby tree and pushing him roughly up against it. Eddie's back hurt as Henry shoved him hard against the tree's bark, but he was more scared than he was in pain.

"Please, no..." Eddie whimpered. He didn't know for sure what Henry was planning to do... He just knew he was scared. He didn't want to die. Even if Patrick wasn't going to hurt him first, Eddie still didn't want to die.

"You're so fucking frustrating." Henry growled. "I wanna beat the shit out of you..."

Eddie whimpered, coughing painfully as he shook his head. He gasped as Henry grabbed him, easily throwing him over his shoulder and carrying him back toward the car.

Eddie wasn't sure what was happening anymore as Henry opened the door to the back seat and grabbed something, then carried Eddie back toward the tree, putting him down so that he could stand on his own, then shoving his back against the rough bark and holding him there with a hard hand against his chest.

"Henry, I won't say anything if you just let me go... I'll tell everyone I got lost... You can leave me right here and I can find my own way back... I probably really will get lost, so it won't even be a lie..." Eddie breathed.

Henry ignored him as he took a rope - which must have been what he just retrieved from his car - and wound it around both the tree and Eddie, tightly fastening him to the trunk.

Eddie felt his breaths quicken, but he forced himself to hold still. Fighting back and attempting to run hadn't worked out for him thus far. He hoped Henry wasn't tying him here so he'd hold still while the older boy stabbed him or something.

After tying the rope very securely, Henry grabbed the all-too-familiar roll of duct tape out of his pocket, tearing off a piece and pressing it over Eddie's lips.

Eddie stared with wide, scared eyes up at Henry as the older boy stared back, frowning. "Don't you fucking say anything about any of this." The older boy growled. "To anyone. Ever." He emphasized.

Eddie nodded quickly, promising to keep quiet.

"I mean it." Henry growled, reaching out and squeezing Eddie's upper arm in a fist. "I'll kill you. And I'll kill your little fucking friends. So you just shut up about all this. Don't even tell them. Kids go missing around here every day. No one will ever know it was me if you force me to kill all of you. So don't say anything."

Just as quick as before, Eddie nodded again, letting a muffled sound of approval past the tape covering his mouth.

"None of this happened. If you've got to explain the tape, or the marks on your back. Bruises... Whatever... Make something up. Some creep kiddie rapist stole you for a day and beat the shit out of you. Alright?" Henry stared.

Eddie swallowed nervously, nodding as he stared with huge, wide eyes.

"Good. See you around." Henry waved.

Eddie felt tears pricking his eyes as Henry walked back to his car. If his mouth weren't taped, maybe Eddie would have yelled after him, asked him if he was really going to just leave Eddie out here all alone...

He wanted to be let go... but this really wasn't what he had in mind. Now he had a whole different set of problems. He was tied to a tree - in the woods... It was cold and dark and no one knew he was here. What if he couldn't get free? What if he starved to death out here? Or suffocated when he couldn't reach his inhaler if he needed it? Or maybe a wild animal would find him and attack him.

Eddie's heart actually felt like it was sinking as he watched Henry drive away...

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