Awwwww man, shit's kicking off!

plot progression ftw

Roger pov:

It's been a week since Benny's friend headed up to Jason's old house to check things out. It was another week of waiting with no sleep. I was passed out cold on the couch when the loft door slammed open, and I jumped nearly ten feet, falling off the couch, and landing hard on my side. I snarled in pain and frustration, rubbing my eyes.

Collins poked his head out from the bathroom, toothbrush still hanging from his mouth. I looked at the clock. It was 7am. Fuck. I hated mornings. I wondered what caused the commotion, but my question was answered as I saw Benny looming over me, looking like he was ready to piss his pants.

I didnt have time to speak. I was hauled to my feet with such force, I felt dizzy. A folder was thrust into my hands.

"Roger! look what we found! we know where Mark is!" what I felt after hearing those words was indescribable. I wasn't asleep anymore. It was as if I was shot full of an adrenaline/vodka cocktail. I nearly tore open the damn paper.

Inside rested a copy of what looked like a crude children's drawing. Upon further inspection, it looked to be like some sort of house. It was one story, with a basement, and an oddly slanted roof. The other paper inside was a small paragraph, talking about what was being planned.

It needs to happen at night. Nobody can see me. He will be mine once more. Marky, you've been away from home for so long. Stuck as a prisoner to that nobody. It'll be over soon. I'm gonna save you. You and me, forever and ever. It's just us now.

Clipped to that paragraph, were a few photographs. One was of a blank white wall. The next was the same wall, with some wall paper torn away, to reveal a small crack in the wall. The next was the crack widened into a hole that was big enough to step through. The last photo was what chilled my blood, and made me feel sick.

It must have been something as small as an 11x11 space, but the walls we're COVERED in pictures of Mark. Ones from his college years, ones from his new to the city times, and what was even more disturbing, one from the morning he left for his interview. The same morning he went missing. In the center of all of this, rested a picture of Mark, and who I presumed to be Jason. Mark was in his lap, giggling, while Jason pressed a kiss to his cheek. It must have been from when they were still dating, even before I met Mark altogether.

The last paper inside was a small one. It looked kind of beat up, but I could make out the stanzas. It was a poem.

Blue eyes flashing with brilliance

Blond hair back with grease

Why when I see you, does my heart seem to cease?

Youve been gone now, for years and years, but I remember.

I remember how happy we were together.

Marky belongs to me.

Marky isn't allowed to roam.

Marky is coming back home.

Today is the day.

My Marky is coming home… to stay.

I looked at Benny with disbelief. He looked back at me, fear in his eyes. We both knew what this meant. I handed the folder to Collins, and he looked it over. A small gasp escaped him.

"So that's it then…" I murmured, still in shock. I took a hold of the 11x11 room photo, and stared at Jason's face with a murderous glare. "This is him… he has Mark… there's no doubt about it…"

"Dont be so trusting, Roger… he could have planted that house drawing to throw us off…" Collins began. Benny quickly shook his head.

"My friend and I had to rip up TWO sets of floor boards to find that file, and everything else was gone. The place was bare. We found a shit ton of gasoline, and matches in the garage…" Benny countered. I looked up.

"So… after he got Mark, he was gonna cover his tracks… but he never got the chance…"

"He tried, but it wasn't enough. It could have been something so simple as not taking Mark for one more day. He didn't prep his escape right." Benny added.

"Where is this house? this must be where Mark is…." I whined helplessly, searching desperately for an address.

"We don't know…" responded Benny, sighing. "We were gonna take copies of these to the police, and my friend is gonna stake out Jason's old place for awhile, just in case he tries to clean up his mess again…"

"That doesn't help!" I screamed suddenly, slamming the paper down. I got to my feet, snarling at Benny. "Mark is with this psycho, we know that now for sure! anything could be happening! I have no way of knowing what's going on, or if he's still even safe, or where they are! what if… what if-!" Collins grabbed a tight hold of my shoulder.

"Roger.. calm down… think of it this way… from the way those poems sound, Jason obviously has an obsession with Mark. He went through a whole lot of trouble spiking his drink, and dragging him away, out cold, but alive… if he was gonna kill Mark, he would have done it that night. Mark is alive, I have a feeling."

"You don't know for sure… anything could have went wrong…" I grumbled. Benny watched me.

"At least we have a lead, Roger. We arent in the dark. We know exactly what we're looking for. We just have to find it." Benny reminded, and I looked up at him.

Strangely, I felt some hope ignite in my chest. I decided to cling to what Collins had said. Mark had a good chance of being alive, and If we did find this house soon, we would be able to bring him home. I clutched the folder close suddenly, determination flashing through my eyes.

"He's coming home;" I began "And Jason's gonna get it…. Mark isn't staying with that creep… not over my dead body." I got up, walking over to the windowsill. "Wherever he is…"

The sunrise never looked so depressing. Mornings were Mark's favorite. I imagined a sleepy looking filmmaker, stretching with a yawn, glancing at the clock, fixing his askew glasses, and getting excited over the fact that it wasn't sunrise just quite yet. I pictured that same man crouched where I was standing, his eyes going wide behind his camera as the brilliant golden light slowly awoke, and bathed the loft in warmth. I promised myself that id watch the sunrises from now on, and hope he was doing the same.