Hey, hey, hey. Happy Valentine's Day. And as my gift to you lovely readers, here's a brand new chapter of JOTN. This is where the title of the story is officially put into use, as we continue to learn little by little about the boy's experiences when they were held captive. We'll also get a flashback from Harold's perspective. Enjoy!

Warning: Chapter contains flashback of child abuse. You have been warned.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 3: The First Entry

The next day for the boys was a bit easier, but it certainly didn't feel that way. It was the second day since their rescue, but for some reason, it didn't seem to feel so good. They were relieved to be home and seeing their families again... but that didn't get rid of the memories...

On the way to the hospital to visit his friends, Albert stopped by the local store to buy something... something that he felt would help his friends...

"A journal...?" Harold asked as Albert showed them the book with a green cover.

"Yeah. This is to help you with talking about your feelings. About what happened when those people took you." Albert explained, "If you aren't ready to actually talk about... you can write about it..."

Russell, Harold, and Bucky looked at one another. They weren't sure how writing in a notebook was going to help them in the slightest. But, they still trusted Albert, so maybe it would work...

"I dunno what to right..." Russell admitted sadly.

"Me neither..." Bucky added.

Harold took the journal and sat it on his lap, "I could write something... there's plenty of stuff on my mind, and I'm starting to remember some of the stuff that happened to us..." He said, taking the pencil Albert also had.

The large boy smiled, "Go for it..."

With that, the tall boy thought for a moment, before writing.

"Dear, Journal... my friends and I have been through a lot these past few days... I guess I should start with the very beginning..."

Harold couldn't see a thing. Like, at all. Was he blindfolded? It sure seemed that way. He was wondering where he was and what the heck happened? The last thing he remembered was walking home. And now... he's blindfolded...

What was going on?

Suddenly, the blindfold was removed, and the tall boy could finally see again... but when he did, he wished he could have the blindfold back. The location appeared to be a basement, and hanging on the walls were what had to be torture devices. The tall boy looked down to see a chain cuffed around his leg.

Harold also noticed that his friends were here also (Except for Albert) sitting on either side of him, and also chained and blindfolded, that is, until their vision was freed. From the looks on their faces, they were every bit of confused as he was... and scared too.

It was then when Harold noticed the lady who was removing the cloths covering their eyes. He had to admit, she looked rather pretty, with curly brown hair that stood at her shoulders, complimenting her nice caramel brown skin. She wore a black dress that seemed to be short on her, but Harold doubted that she cared.

The woman gave him a look, her red lips curved into a sinister smile that made the boy shudder a bit, "Nice of you sweet little boys to awake. Now my husband and I can have some fun with you all."

Husband?

As if on cue, the door to the basement opened, and down the stairs came a muscled man who looked even scarier than the lady, who walked up into him to give him a kiss, "Gabe, baby. Our little sons have awakened." She told him.

Sons?

The man, named Gabe, looked over to the boys, and chuckled, "So they are... well, I guess we better explain the rules to them, Bella..."

He then walked over to the boys, who all cowered in fear. Harold tried to shield them away in an attempt to protect everyone, but he knew he couldn't do anything while tied up. The man smirked, "Hello, boys. We're so happy to have you here..." He greeted in a deep gruff tone.

"Why are we here?!" Harold heard Rudy demand, "What are you gonna do to us?"

Gabe then glared at the rich boy, "You had better keep your mouth shut, Rudolph. Unless you want punishment already."

Rudy was stunned as to how these people even knew his name. But, in fear of getting hurt, he settled down. That's when Bella walked over, holding a whip, "Now, my little sugarplums. We're your new Mommy and Daddy. And you'll address us as such, or else you'll receive punishment."

This could not be happening. The boys were slowly starting to realize that they have been kidnapped, and these people were going to parent them? Harold gulped, as he knew that this couldn't end well.

That's when Russell spoke up in protest, "You're not my Momma and Dad! I ain't gonna call you that! You better let us go or else you're gonna get it!"

Unfortunately for the little boy, his words came with a big price, as Bella raised the whip, and struck him on the side, making him cry out and burst into tears. Bill gasped, before glaring at the woman, "Hey! You can't hit my brother like that! Who do you think you are?!"

The woman sneered, "I think I'm your Mommy, William. And I will not tolerate you raising your voice at me. That goes for the rest of you boys..."

Gabe then took over, "Now that we understand each other... here are some of the rules you'll be following in our custody. You already know the name thing and not raising your voice. While living with us, there aren't many rules to remember. But this is the most important one... you MUST do everything we ask of you. No ifs, and's, or but's about it. If you refuse, disobey, or even 'forget', you will receive punishment."

"Also..." Bella added, "If you be good boys, you'll get special treats from Mommy, and sometimes, Daddy."

Harold wasn't liking this already. This couple seemed like they would be abusive parents if they really had children of their own. He looked over at his friends. Bill was comforting Russell, Rudy kept his head bowed, Donald was whimpering, Bucky was shaking, and he felt Mush clinging to him. They were all terrified.

And as much as Harold didn't want to show it, he was scared too. If these crazy people were gonna keep them here, then who knows how long it would be until they saw their real families again.

He didn't a lot of time to dwell on that, as Gabe spoke again, "Alright. Since we got the main details outta the way, it's time for some fun. All of you, take off your shirts...

... What...?

The boys looked at one another in confusion, but when they saw the man's glare and heard Bella's whip crack, they scrambled to quickly removed their upper clothing. Soon, they were all shirtless. Gabe smirked, "Good... now stand up, and get in a line, smallest to tallest. Turn around, and put your hands up against the wall.

He didn't need to repeat that twice, as the boys did as told, standing in the line from left smallest (Russell), to the right tallest (Harold). Peeking slightly, Harold could see Bella walking to a nearby table, as she put the whip down, and then grabbed something else, though he couldn't exactly make out what it was.

The woman then walked towards the boys, and before Harold could see what was going on...

SNAP!

He heard Russell let out a high pitched scream. Turning to his left, the tall boy could now see that Bella had struck the youngest one on the back with a long leather strap. But she didn't stop there, as she then did the same with Bucky, causing him to yell out as well.

It then happened to Bill.

And then Donald.

And Rudy.

And Mush.

When Bella was behind him, Harold was already bracing himself for the strike. He could already sense that she was raising the strap, before bringing it down on his back with such force. It left a stinging sensation, and in a desperate attempt to not scream, he just hissed in pain. The woman giggled, before going back down the line of boys, striking them again a second time.

That's when Gabe joined in with his own strap, and soon, the crazy couple was taking turns striking every boy on the back. Screams of pain echoed through the basement. Harold tried as hard as he could to resist the pain he was feeling, but it was very difficult. Not after even three minutes later did he feel the wetness dripping down his back.

And after one glance at his friends, the same could be said for them.

After another five minutes of whipping, Gabe and Bella stopped. As for the boys, they were either breathing heavily, sobbing in pain, or both. Their backs looked like they were shredded by knives, as blood dripped from the open wounds onto the floor, even forming a puddle under a few of the boys.

"I have to say, that was quite the enjoyment..." Gabe chuckled.

Bella smiled, "It sure was. And you boys were so good. I'm proud of you..."

The response she received were moans, groans, and more sobbing. But of course, that's what she and her husband wanted to hear, "And since you were so good, you get to rest."

As soon as she said that, all boys dropped to the floor on their stomachs, relieved as the previous positions they were in were very uncomfortable. Harold looked over to see the man and woman walking up the stairs, "We'll bring you kids somethin' to eat later." Gabe told them, "But for now, you rest up. It's late."

"G'night, my little angels..." Bella blew a kiss, "Sleep well..."

With that, they left, locking the door in the process.

"M-M-My b-back..." Bucky whimpered.

"I-I-I-It hurts..." Donald sobbed.

"P-Pure AGONY!" Rudy shrieked.

"I wanna go home! I want my Momma!" Russell cried as Bill held him.

"Meb toob..." Mush moaned.

Harold frowned. This was not how he thought he'd be spending his night. And neither did the others. He winced as he felt his back, feeling blood on his fingers. He felt, as the oldest one here, that he should be the one in charge, "Uh... don't worry, dudes. Maybe this won't last forever... I'm sure our folks will notice we're gone, call the police, and they'll find us..."

But deep down, he wondered if that would ever be the case. Would they see their families again? Would he ever see Mom, Dad, and his little sister, Tiffany again?

He supposed that only time will tell...

"And that's all I have to say for now. But let me tell you, that was only the beginning. I'll be back with more to write about later, Journal. From, Harold." The tall boy finished his entry and closed the book, before giving it back to Albert, "I think I got what I want to say up here... for now." He said,

Albert smiled, "Good job, Harold. I'll read it later."

"U-U-Uh, h-hey guys..."

Looking towards the door, the boys smiled to see Donald standing there, along with Mush, who waved, "Hib, dudesb. Howb itb going?" He asked.

"I can't say good so... fine." Harold gave a thumbs up.

"The doctors said you were in here..." Donald said as he and Mush walked in, sitting down on the carpet to join their friends. Albert soon noticed that Donald was wearing oversized pajamas, while Mush had a brace around his neck, and his arm in a sling much like Russell.

"I can't believe we're even still alive..." The dimwitted one spoke, "I mean. Those mean people really put us through a lot... but... we made it through... and we're still here..."

Albert nodded, "And that's a blessing. I don't know what I would have done without you dudes."

Donald chuckled, "Yeah, you're lucky, Fat Albert. You didn't have to deal with it."

"Yeah... we weren't so lucky..." Bucky agreed

"At least ya'll don't look stupid like I do..."

Before the others could question that, Donald rolled up the sleeves on his arms, revealing stitches of all kind, most of them only slightly covered up by bandages. Albert observed them closely, and nodded, "Donald... you don't look stupid..."

"Yeah, I do! I look like a freak!" Donald began to tear up, "And my legs ain't any better." He rolled up his pants on his legs, revealing more stitches, "I look like some ragdoll with all these strings keeping me together! And I hate it! I hate it so much!"

Suddenly, the pink hat wearing boy began to break down in sobs, bearing his face in his sleeves. Mush rubbed his shoulder as a sign of comfort. Albert felt more and more saddened by all of this. First, Russell is distraught about Bill being in a coma, Harold's in a wheelchair, and Donald feels like he's a freak because of all the stitches he had.

"Donald. You don't look like a freak." He tried to reassure his friend, "Those stitches are to help heal your injuries. You're not gonna have them forever."

"B-B-But they'll leave a scare..." Donald sobbed.

"You mean a scar..." Harold corrected for him.

"I-I don't care what it's called! I look like some monster, and I just hate it!"

With that, he cried some more. The other boys felt it was best to allow him to let it all out, and they would reassure him when he was calm enough. Looking around the room, Albert noticed that someone was missing, "Hey, dudes. Do you know if Rudy will be here?" He whispered, as to not upset Donald any further.

Mush shrugged, "Ib haveb nob ibdea..."

"Last I heard, Rudy isn't ready to see anybody yet... or he can't..." Harold whispered back.

"I heard on the way here, that Rudy was on suicide watch," Bucky whispered.

Suicide watch?

"What? Are you saying that they think Rudy's trying to kill himself?" Albert asked in disbelief.

Bucky shrugged, "I don't know for sure. But that's what I heard from a doctor. They won't let Rudy see ANYBODY until they feel he's ready. And that could take a while based on everything that's been going on."

Russell frowned, "Y'know. As annoying as Rudy can be, he shouldn't take his own life. Even he doesn't deserve to die..." He said sadly, before balling up his fists, "Those people who took us are the ones who deserve to die! Especially after what they did to Bill!"

Albert put a hand on the child's shoulder, "Don't worry, Russell... you guys will get justice... I hope..."

Later on that evening, Albert took the time to read Harold's entry.

'Dear Journal,

My friends and I have been through a lot these past few days... I guess I should start with the very beginning. It was just a normal day for us. Hanging out in the junkyard, having fun until it was time for us to head home. All I remember is walking home myself, and before I even reached the front door... I blacked out. I dunno if I was knocked out or what, but when I awoke, I found myself in a completely different location.

It looked like I was in a basement, and I wasn't alone either. The other dudes, except for Fat Albert for some reason, were here too. And this lady was here. I have to admit, she was kinda pretty. But even I know that looks can be deceiving. Then her husband showed up, and they basically told us that they were going to be our parents from now on, and if we didn't do what they say, then we would be in trouble.

I knew from there that this was not gonna be fun. They then had us take off our shirts and lean against the wall, while they whipped our backs 'til we bled. I won't sugarcoat it, it hurt like Hell. I know I shouldn't probably be saying that word, but there was no other way of describing the pain. When they were done, they left the room, promising food for later. I knew the other dudes were hurting, but I tried to stay optimistic, telling them that our parents would find us... although I wasn't so sure of that...

And that's all I have to say for now. But let me tell you, that was only the beginning. I'll be back with more to write about later, Journal.

-From, Harold

Albert cringed as he read this. From what he could see, his friends went through absolutely Hell from this couple. He didn't even blame Harold for using that word to describe the beating they all took. This caused him to fear of what other forms of abuse the gang had to endure in their captivity.

And hopefully... they could recover from it in time...

So Harold's the first one to write an entry. As you can see, he's handling this a little better than the rest of the boys. And trust me, there will be most flashbacks from the others' perspectives. And judging by what Bucky said, Rudy's not doing too well, is he? Next chapter, it will be Bucky's turn to write, and we may get a lead as to where the kidnappers are hiding. Until then, I'll see you guys later, and don't forget to review, please. Thank you!