Hey, hey, hey, friends! It's time for yet another chapter of JOTN. This time we've got good ol' Mushmouth to write in the journal. I'll just have his entry be normal writing since it might be too much to read in Ubbi Dubbi. This chapter will also reveal the other cause of Harold's shattered leg. I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 7: Bravery is a Broken Leg

"Whatb ab dayb..."

Mush was honestly glad to be home. He had been at the hospital for four almost five days, and today he was discharged at last. And so were Donald, Bucky, and Russell. Harold was doing some physical therapy, Rudy had to be monitored, and Bill... well... he was still comatose.

All Mush could think was of how lucky Albert was. He didn't have to deal with any of the torture and abuse he and the others had to deal with at the hands of that horrible couple. The Ubbi Dubbi speaking boy shuddered at the thought of them. They just seemed too delightful at what they were doing. He hoped they were found soon so that no other kid would suffer.

"Is there anything you need, James?" His mother asked as they walked through the door.

"Nob, M'amb..." Was his reply.

"You sure, dear? You're not hungry or anything...?"

"Nob. Ib justb wantb tob restb."

"Well, okay then. But if you need anything, just call me."

"Okayb."

With that, Mush headed for his room, and flopped down on his bed, happy to be able to lay in again, rather than sleeping in the uncomfortable hospital bed. Now, if only his neck could have some freedom. The brace he had was gone and replaced by a much softer one, but this one would need to stay on for at least another week or so.

And for Mush, it sucked.

But he knew why he had it. During their captivity, he fell and hit his neck pretty hard. Not hard enough to snap it, but hard enough for it to hurt for a few days. The few injuries that weren't the fault of that couple...

Sadly, the same couldn't be said for all the other injuries that were the fault. One thing the boy could remember was Harold's broken leg. It was completely shattered due to the sledgehammer on the last day of their captivity, but Harold was hurt WAY before that even happened...

That could make for a good journal entry.

Speaking of which...

Mush reached into the backpack he brought home and pulled out the journal. Albert let him have it for the night, in case he wanted to write something down. And now... he felt like he had something to write down.

"Dearb Journalb. We'veb allb beenb throughb ab lotb... but Ib haveb tob talkb aboutb Weirdb Haroldb... heb wasb sob braveb..."

Seven days...

It had been seven days...

Seven days since they were taken away from their families, and forced to stay in this basement. Within those seven days, they have been subjected to nothing but endless torture from this crazy psychotic couple.

Mush sat on the floor, his back again the wall. Harold was beside him, seemingly looking at a bruise on his hand. The Ubbi Dubbi boy looked to see the other dudes. Bucky was lying down, trying to sleep. Donald was still bothered by the cuts he received from Gabe the previous day. Rudy looked broken and traumatized. Bill and Russell were holding onto each other.

It was safe to say that everyone was NOT doing too well.

"So... how are you guys doing...?" Harold asked.

Silence was the response he got, and the response he expected as he sighed, "Yeah... I figured..."

"Heyb. Maybe whenb web getb outb hereb. Web canb gob forb ice creamb." Mush suggested, in an attempt to brighten the mood. Ice cream was always a good thing, right.

Again, there was silence, but this time, after a few seconds, Bucky spoke up, "I could definitely use some ice cream now..."

"I wish we were at an ice cream parlor..." Donald muttered, "It would be better than being in this place..."

"I second that..." Bill added.

"I third it..." Harold also added.

Mush smiled. He was glad that seemed to work. At least they were thinking of something else other than the predicament they were in currently. Ice cream completely took their mind off it... for now at least.

Speaking of said predicament... it felt pretty warm in the basement right now. Mush looked around to see if there was an air conditioner or something... before he noticed a dial on the other side of the room. Curious, he stood up, stretched, and began to make his way towards.

"Where're you going, Mushmouth...?" Harold asked.

"I thinkb Ib seeb a thingb tob turnb downb theb heatb inb hereb..." Was his friend's reply.

Wait! Don't touch anything! Those people might find out..." Bill said frantically.

But the Ubbi Dubbi speaker was just that focused on getting to that dial. So focused... that he forgot that he was chained, so before he could get to the other side of the room, he was not only stopped by the chain, but he also tripped over a board sticking up. It twisted him in a way that he ended up landing on his back hard... but also hit his neck.

"Ohhhb... myb neckb..."

Harold jumped up quickly to bring his friend back to the corner, "You okay...?" He asked softly.

"Notb reallyb..."

Suddenly, the doors swung open, and Gabe and Bell came down the stairs, "What's all the racket? We're trying to eat dinner in peace!" Gabe said with annoyance, "Who was making the noise?"

The boys stayed silent, all of them too afraid to answer, Mush especially, since he was the one who attempted to move. Bell then spoke, "Daddy asked you a question! Answer it!"

Again, the boys said nothing. None of them were willing to go through any more punishment tonight. But in the fear of receiving one, Harold spoke up, "It was me... I was making the noise..."

Mush looked at his tall friend. He was taking the blame for him?

Gabe stood over Harold and grabbed him by the shirt collar, "So... you want to be noisy, huh? Well, I got just the thing for that!"

As soon as that was said, the teenager was thrown to the floor, on his legs. Harold let out a howl of pain as he held his leg knee, gasping to see blood seeping through his pants. He looked up to see Bella standing over him with a large knife in her hand, "Aw, you hurt your leg, Harold?" She asked 'sweetly', "Let me fix that..."

With that, she swiftly swiped the knife down the tall boy's legs, leaving a long and deep cut. Harold hissed as he looked at all the blood that spilled from the cut. Bella smirked, "And that should keep you quiet. We only want you to scream when we're doing it to you... understand?"

"U-Understood..." Harold grunted before he was thrown back into the corner.

"Good. Now keep your traps up. We'll be back with dinner later..." Gabe said as he and his wife left the room once more. As soon as they were gone...

Mush put a hand on his friend's shoulder, "Whyb youb sayb youb madeb theb noiseb? Youb knowb itb wasb meb..."

Harold winced, before forcing a smile, "I didn't want you to suffer. It was an accident, and I know you weren't trying to make too much noise. I'd rather let them beat me down than let you get hurt over something so petty..."

Mush felt rather touched. Harold took the blame so that he wouldn't be punished instead. It brought back just how calm and optimistic Harold had been about this whole situation. While everyone else was in hysterics, he was the one with a cool head.

"And you know that goes for the rest of you cats. I'd take the blame for all of y'all, even if it meant getting punished in your place." The tall boy said, "And I still believe we'll get outta here one way or another..."

That warmed the other boy's hearts as well. As weird as Harold could be at times... it was nice to see him take charge of a serious situation for once...

"Haroldb wasb reallyb the bravestb ofb usb allb. I wishb I wasb thatb braveb. Butb I guessb hisb braveryb isb whatb helpb usb escape. Wellb, that's allb forb nowb. Untilb nextn timeb, Mushbmouthb..."

With that, Mush finished writing his entry in the journal. At first, he felt bad that Harold had to take the wrap for him, but at the same time, Harold knew the risk and consequences and didn't want anymore abuse placed on his friends. And that's how he got that broken leg, only made worse from the sledgehammer days later.

And now, Mush wondered what Albert would think of his entry.

Well, tomorrow, he would find out.

The next day, meetings at the hospital were moved to the children's section, in a much bigger and more childlike room, with tables and such. The boys met there yet again to hang out, and Harold soon joined in after a session of physical therapy.

"Hey, hey, hey. How's your leg, Harold?" Albert asked.

"Doing a little better. Still hurts, though..." Was the tall boy's response, "But I guess it'll be worth it."

Russell soon spoke up, "Good news. Bill's being more responsive. Chances of him waking up have increased greatly, the doctor says. I'm so happy and relieved..."

Albert smiled, "That's great, Russell..." But then, he noticed that someone was missing among the group of friends, "Hey, where's Rudy? Is he coming?"

Harold had an answer to that, "I heard he tried to kill himself again, so they have him under suicide watch. I think he tried to jump off the roof of the hospital this time."

That shocked everyone in the room, even Russell. Donald spoke, "Poor Rudy... he ain't been the same since we got kidnapped..."

"Who wouldn't be... after what those people did to him..." Bucky added with a frown.

"What did happen by the way...?" Albert asked with curiosity.

The others looked at one another, before Harold spoke again, "Well, remember when I said we made an agreement not to talk about our experiences until we felt ready... well, with what happened to Rudy, he made us pinky swear not to say a word about it. Not until he was ready..."

"Oh..."

But honestly, Albert was starting to have a pretty good idea of what happened to Rudy. And it wasn't a nice idea either. He hoped it wasn't the case, but judging by the way everyone was dancing around the topic, it seemed to be the case.

All Albert could do was pray that if it was the case, then Rudy would be able to recover from it.

That's when he saw the journal in front of him. Mush had pushed it forth, "Ib wroteb myb entry inb theb bookb..." He said.

"Okay, Mushmouth. I'll read it." The large boy said, taking the journal and reading with Mush wrote.

'Dear Journal... we've all been through a lot. But I have to talk about Weird Harold. He was so brave.

So we were in the basement. The man and woman had left, so we were alone. Everyone was sad, so I suggested that if we ever got out, we should go get some ice cream. That seemed to lift their spirits a little. I started to feel hot in the room until I saw what I thought could turn down the temperature. I got up to change it, but I ended up falling and hitting my neck, which is why I have this thing around it.

The man and woman must have heard me, 'cause they came down to yell at us, wanting to know who was making the noise. I knew it was me, but I was afraid to speak up. I knew they would hurt me for it. But then, Harold spoke, saying it was him who made the noise. So... they hurt him instead. The man threw him to where he hurt his knee, and then the woman gave him a cut on the same leg with a knife. Blood was everywhere...

After that, they left and told us to be quiet. I asked Harold why he took the blame for me, and he said that he didn't want me to get hurt for something that wasn't my fault. I felt bad at first, but I had to admire my friend's bravery. He also said he'd do the same for the other dudes as well. He was willing to get hurt to protect us...

Harold was really the bravest of us all. I wish I was that brave. But I guess that his bravery was what helped us escape. Well, that's all for now. Until next time, Mushmouth.'

After reading that entry, Albert smiled at Harold, "Mushmouth had some nice things to say about you, Harold. You were very brave when those people had you, hostage."

The tall boy blushed, "Well, someone had to be. I didn't want to be the one who lost my mind, so I decided to keep everything in check, and so the other dudes wouldn't lose their minds either."

"Andb Ib thankb youb forb being sob coolb..." Mush said as he hugged his friend.

"Aw, thanks..."

As the boys carried on with their day, the door opened, and Russell's parents walked in, "Russell, can we talk to you?" His father asked, "It's very important..."

Important?

The small child looked concerned, but nodded and met his parents outside. They closed the door so that nobody would hear their conversation. But the boys hoped that what Russell was being told.

It would be good news...

And you won't find out what the news is until next chapter. Is it good? Is it bad? Who knows? You'll have to wait and see. As for this chapter, Mush really praises Harold for being the bravest out of all the boys during their captivity. Next chapter will be a bit of a causal one. No flashbacks or journal entries. Just a chapter to take a break from all of that. I'll see you guys later. And don't forget to review, please. Thank you!