Chapter 12
Matt paced back and forth in the small cabin bedroom, nervously chewing his bottom lip. He'd tried laying down several times, but was too wound up to sleep. Too wound up to do anything but pace the floor. He'd heard the Rattlesnake leave in the truck and was fearful that he was being left alone again. But to his relief the Rattlesnake had returned a short while ago.
Matt sighed and sat on the bed, hating that he'd gotten to the point that he was actually comforted to have Austin around, but couldn't help it. Yet even though Austin was back, he was still alone, without even the comfort of having Eddie with him. Why hadn't the Rattlesnake done anything? Why hadn't he come back to check on him?
He stood back up and began pacing again, clenching and twisting his hands together as if ringing out a washcloth. Never had he felt more alone or beside himself. Anxiety was eating on his last nerves until he couldn't bear it any longer. Going to the door, he turned the handle then paused. The Rattlesnake could be waiting on the other side, ready to deliver his punishment. Yet when he finally opened it up, he saw the Rattlesnake was sitting quietly in his chair by the fire. The fire the only light in the dark room.
Not sure what to expect, Matt wrapped his arms around his chest and cautiously stepped out of his room. With Austin's back to him, it was hard to tell what kind of mood the unpredictable man was in. Halfway into the living room, he stopped and waited to see if Austin would say anything. He didn't. Finally Matt swallowed. "Can I come out?"
"You should go to bed." Austin replied, without turning.
"I can't. I can't sleep." Matt said honestly. He rubbed his arms, once again telling himself the skin crawling sensations and jitteriness was all in his head. Nothing more than the affects of the drugs. But for some reason, telling himself that didn't make the sensations stop.
Austin slowly nodded, as though not surprised. "Come have some of this with me. It'll help."
Gratefully, Matt went to the couch and sat across from the Rattlesnake. He then raised his eyebrows, seeing Austin was smoking a joint. Austin held it out to him.
Matt looked from the joint to the Rattlesnake. Why he was surprised, he didn't know. Especially considering the other more lethal drugs Austin apparently messed around with. He shook his head at the offer. "I don't do that shit." He jumped, almost startled, when the Rattlesnake suddenly threw his head back and laughed.
"What the hell do you think you've been doing?" Austin said. "Hell, this is nothing."
Matt narrowed his eyes. "I didn't do it because I wanted to. You tricked me."
"I didn't trick you into snorting the shit, now did I?" Austin gave back.
Matt flushed, lowering his head.
Austin impatiently waved the joint. "You're not too good, even though you think you are, now take it. It'll bring you down."
Matt furrowed his brow, not sure how getting even higher was suppose to bring him down. But Austin's expression was becoming more impatient and at the moment, he didn't want to risk angering the sick man. Taking the offered joint, he hesitated a moment, took a drag and almost dropped it, choking on the smoke.
Austin chuckled and took it back. "You're not smoking a cigarette. Haven't you ever tried weed before?"
Matt could only shake his head, momentarily unable to speak.
Austin snorted sarcastically. "You must have been the perfect little Boy Scout." He took another hit then passed it back over. "Just suck it in slowly kid."
Matt wiped a hand across his watery eyes. "Can I just have a cigarette?"
Austin gave him a look of disapproval. "Didn't anyone ever tell you, smoking is bad for your health."
Matt looked down at the joint he was holding. "And what's this? A vitamin?"
The Rattlesnake simply laughed, indicating for Matt to hurry up. Matt sighed and reluctantly took another hit, this time much slower. The weed still burned his throat however and he quickly handed it back.
Austin just shook his head in amusement, but didn't say anything else. They sat in silence, watching the flames of the fireplace, while passing the joint back and forth. Matt cast a glance at the quiet Rattlesnake, unable to picture himself just sitting around and smoking pot with the dangerous man, like they were a couple of high school kids. But here he was doing just that. The strange situation was beyond odd. Beyond ludicrous. It was so unbelievable, he couldn't help himself and burst out laughing.
Austin looked over, raising his eyebrows. "Damn kid. You really are a lightweight."
Matt attempted to calm himself down. "I was just thinking, what if somebody came to the window and took a picture of us then sent it to my brother as a postcard. Can you imagine the look on his face?"
Austin chuckled. "You should have seen the look on his face the other day."
"The other day?" Matt frowned a little. "What do you mean?"
"When I made my big return to wrestling." Austin snorted to himself. "Now that was a picture."
Matt blinked, not sure if the slight buzzing in his head was making him hear things wrong. "Did... Did you say you returned?"
"Yeah." Austin shrugged. "You should have seen it. It was quiet a show."
Matt's frown deepened. "But...How? People think you're dead?"
"You forget, nobody thought I was dead." Austin corrected. "They thought I'd left and now I've come back."
"You went back and... and left me here?" Matt asked quietly. "Why?"
"I had my reasons." Austin simply answered. He went back to gazing into the fire.
Matt could only stare at the Rattlesnake in disbelief. The secret was done and over with. Austin had returned to the world of the living, while keeping him secretly locked away. Matt lowered his head into his hands, his vision blurring with furious tears of grief. For all anybody knew, he was the one who was dead now.
Something fell into his lap and he lowered his hands to see his pack of cigarettes. He looked up at the Rattlesnake, who was silently standing over him. Austin simply returned to his chair, without saying a word.
Matt lit one up and took a deep relieving drag. Leaning his elbow on the arm of the couch, he propped his head up and sighed. "So you saw my brother, huh? Did he look okay?"
Austin snorted. "He looked like the punk he always was."
Matt stared into the fire, understanding how Austin found it so fascinating. The twirling orange and yellow flames were simply hypnotic. "I know you hate him and all, but you've just got to know him. He's a really good person. He's always donating his time and money to charities and things. He would never intentionally hurt anyone. Or steal other peoples material."
Austin looked over and realized, Matt was talking to himself.
Matt took another drag off his cigarette. "He must be worried sick. I just hope he'll be able to take care of Dad. He can be strong, but it won't last. At least Chris is with him. Chris will help him out. Rob too. Rob's always so strong."
"You're not dead." Austin interrupted, snapping.
Matt just sighed again. "My life's gone, I might as well be. Not that you'd understand."
Austin regarded him for a few moments. "You remember that night we fell off the bridge?"
Matt raised his head a little surprised. Not once since the Rattlesnake had captured him, had either of them brought it up.
Austin's expression took on a far away look. "I tried to find you in the river, but couldn't. It was too dark. Turns out we somehow landed far apart from each other. I saw two guys run in and pull you out, yards from where I was. I guess because it was so dark they didn't see me, so I just swam to the other side of the river and sat on the bank. I watched the ambulance and police cars show up. I watched the crowd of people grow and your brother and Jericho drive down to the bank. I watched them all try to save you. And though-out the whole time, you know what they were doing to me?"
Matt slowly shook his head, not daring to speak. Not daring to break whatever trance Austin seemed to be in. He had to know the rest of the story.
Austin lightly snorted. "I guess you wouldn't would you? Not that you'd care. Not that any damn body cared. Nobody knew what the hell happened to me. And nobody tried to find out."
Matt thought to himself. "They tried. The police conducted a search for you..."
"...Not until the next day." Austin snapped. "What good would that have done me, if I hadn't made it out of the river? Your stupid little brother and Jericho knew I went over the bridge with you. But during the whole time, not once did they mention to anyone that someone else might be in the river too. They left me out there to die."
"No..." Matt shook his head. "That's not true. They were just so worried that...that..."
"...That they forgot?" Austin cynically chuckled.
Matt fell silent. He wanted to explain it wasn't intentional, but for some reason, couldn't bring himself to say it. While everyone was so worried about his life, who even gave Austin's a second thought? Who once wondered if Austin was floating in the river dead?
"You know what's funny?" Austin continued. "The next day, when the so-called search for me started, I was in my motel room sleeping. The motel was closer than the arena and I was on foot, so after they took you to the hospital, I went there. I even tried to call Vince, but couldn't get through to him. Obviously, he was busy trying to figure out how to end the show and such. I'm sure you can imagine I wasn't feeling all that great, so I just went to bed. You'd think someone would have had enough sense to check the motel wouldn't you? But like I said, who gave a shit."
Matt lowered his head. He wasn't going to feel sorry for the Rattlesnake. Why should he? Austin brought everything on himself. The Rattlesnake's bitterness and hate controlled his actions and rule his life. Yet living a life where no one cared if you lived or died, how could you not feel bitter and hate? Why would you care about the things you did to others, when no one ever gave a damn about you?
Matt pushed the thoughts out of his head. "So you really did just up and leave. You went to hide out."
Austin shrugged. "I just went home. I watched the little announcement Vince made on Raw, not to mention that stupid little Rock, and that was that. I figured hell, I could use the vacation anyway. I never went to hide out. No one ever looked."
Matt frowned. "But why didn't you just call the police or whoever and tell them?"
Austin gave dry snort. "I did. They thought I was someone playing a prank."
Matt lowered his eyes, almost feeling overwhelmed with the new information. How easy it would have been to locate Austin, when the whole time, he was simply sitting at home. Yet, he didn't stay at home for long.
Matt raised his eyes to the Rattlesnake. "Why are you here? Why am I here? When did you start following me?"
Austin remained silent for so long, Matt was afraid he wasn't going to answer, but finally the Rattlesnake spoke. "I know what your stupid little brother and friends think. They think I was trying to kill you. Whether or not you want to believe it, I don't care, but it was an accident. You weren't suppose to go over the rail."
Matt brought up a mental picture of the look of shock on Austin's face when he was dangling over the river. Austin had risked his own life, trying to pull him back over, but they both ended up falling. He could remember it all so clearly and not once did he believe, Austin was actually trying to kill him.
Austin shrugged to himself. "A man takes responsibility for his actions and I wasn't denying it was my fault. I wanted to make sure you were alright so I checked on you every now and then."
Matt waited for Austin to finish, but apparently he was. He didn't need the Rattlesnake to finish anyway. The rest he could pretty much figure out on his own. Austin may have felt genuine concern but obviously his concern had turned into something else. For at some point, during the whole period, Austin had to have realized he was okay.
Matt flipped his finished cigarette into the fireplace and leaned his head on his hand again. Suddenly he felt so tired. "I bet your comeback was pretty awesome." He said quietly.
Austin smiled fondly to himself. "Wasn't too bad, if I do say so myself."
Matt nodded. "I bet a lot of fans missed you. Millions of people who care about you."
Austin turned to Matt. "Don't play mind games with me kid."
"I'm not, I'm just saying..." Matt trailed off. He had a vague idea of what he was trying to say, but couldn't seem to keep a grasp on his thoughts.
"What?" Austin spat. "What the hell are you trying to say?"
"I don't know." Matt finally mumbled. "I just think you need to get yourself help."
Austin glowered at him. "I think you need to go to bed, before you say something else stupid."
Matt didn't argue. It seemed impossible to be this tired after sleeping more than half the day, but found himself laying his head across his arm and closing his eyes.
"Go to bed." Austin ordered.
"Can I stay here?" Matt murmured. "I won't do anything." If Austin ever answered, he must not have heard. Getting off the couch was too much work and after a moment, he felt a blanket being placed around him. Then the next thing he knew, Austin was shaking his shoulders.
"Listen to me kid." Austin said, shaking him harder.
Matt sighed wearily and opened his eyes.
Austin sat on the edge of the couch. "Meth and ecstasy."
Matt slowly blinked at him. "What?"
"Meth and ecstasy." Austin firmly repeated. "Remember those names."
Matt frowned, both exhausted and confused. There was something about those names that wasn't right, yet he couldn't put a finger on what it was.
"That's what you've been given." Austin cleared up. "Remember that. Just in case."
Matt nodded and started to close his eyes, but the Rattlesnake shook him again.
"What was it you were given?" Austin gruffly asked, testing him.
Matt groaned, wishing Austin would leave him the hell alone. "Meth and ecstasy."
Austin nodded, satisfied. "Good. Keep repeating that to yourself."
Matt closed his eyes and sighed with relief as the Rattlesnake finally left. Austin had wanted him to remember something- What was it? Whatever it was, he was too tired to care and rolled over, sinking into the darkness of slumber.
The next day Matt woke and slowly sat up on the couch. He winced, the movement alone making him ache all over. Closing his eyes he sat for a moment, waiting for the wave of dizziness to pass and the nausiousness to subside. He held a hand over his head, feeling as though it were being pounded with a hammer.
There was no way he could take another day of this. Austin may not want him dead, but was still managing to kill him slowly. Matt finally lowered his hand and opened his eyes, squinting in the harsh glaring sunlight that shown through the window.
Austin was no longer in his chair. He must have gone to his room sometime during the night. Sighing, Matt threw aside the blanket and stood. He walked toward his bedroom, moving and feeling like he was eighty years old. Stopping at his door, he glanced over at the Rattlesnake's closed room. The bedroom was silent.
He was a little surprised, Austin trusted him enough to leave him alone in the living room. Not that he could have gotten out, anyway. Matt looked back into the living room, pondering a moment. Something seemed a little off. He wasn't sure what, though. Nothing was moved or out of place. But for some reason, the area felt lifeless and empty, like he was the only one there.
Suddenly, his heart pounded with alarm and he looked back at the Rattlesnake's door. It was too quiet. Hurrying into his own room, he went to the window and looked out. The shed doors were standing wide open and Austin's truck was gone.
Matt's mouth dropped in horror. Austin had tricked him again so he could leave in the middle of the night! Leave him alone in his prison for who knows how many days!
Turning away from the window, he crawled on the bed and collapsed on top of it. This time he wouldn't survive and he squeezed his eyes shut, trying to force back the tears that made his body shudder and ache even more. He lay for the longest time, wishing he could pass out, but he horrible migraine wouldn't allow it. The least Austin could have done was drugged him up some more. It didn't matter with what, just as long as he didn't have any physical feelings or mental awareness.
"Midnight!"
"Midnight!"
Matt didn't move, unsure of what he was hearing. The next thing he know, he was being rolled over onto his back.
Rob sat on the side of the bed, cupping Matt's face. "Midnight... talk to me, are you okay?"
Matt found the strenght to sit up and stared in shocked. Was he hallucinating again? He squinted, trying to see past his blurry vision until Rob's worried face came into focus.
Rob looked him over, still holding his face. "Are you okay?" He repeated.
Matt felt his heart painfully skip a beat. The voice sounded so much like Rob's, it almost hurt to hear. But he knew better. Austin had given him more venomous drugs after all and this was just another cruel trick being playing on his mind... It was the Rattlesnake!
"NO!" Matt jerked his head away and tried scooting away from the diseased man. "Why do you keep doing this to me?" He cried.
"Midnight, it's me." Rob reached out to Matt's shoulder, but Matt furiously slapped his hand away.
"DON'T FUCKING TOUCH ME!" Matt yelled. "I KNOW WHO YOU ARE!"
Rob held up his hands. "Midnight please... You know it's me."
"No I don't, I..." Matt faltered. Austin was gone and Rob was just suddenly here? He shook his head, unable to believe what he was seeing. His judgement had failed him more than once. No longer could he trust it.
Rob cautiously moved closer. "Look at me, Midnight. Who else knows your name?"
"What?" Matt blinked, feeling more distraught than ever.
"Who else calls you Midnight?" Carefully, Rob reached out to him again.
Matt tensed, but didn't move away when Rob brushed the back of his hand over his cheek. A touch he hadn't felt in so long. A gesture, like the name, that could only belong to Rob. Rob pulled Matt close and wrapped his arms around him.
"Everythings going to be okay, Midnight." He soothed, feeling Matt's hesitation.
Matt closed his eyes, able to feel the breath of Rob's words against his ear. Finally he wrapped his arms around Rob, unable to stop his tears as Rob's steady hands stroke up and down his back. "Please be you."
"It's me." Rob promised. "And we're getting you out of here. It's over."
Matt nodded, almost too stunned to speak again. He'd pictured over and over what it'd be like to have Rob rescue him, but this wasn't how he'd pictured it. Everything was just so unexpected and confusing, he didn't know how to react. And for Austin to just suddenly disappear...
"Austin!" Matt pulled back, forgetting about the Rattlesnake. "Austin was here. It was him, Rob, he's alive."
"I know." Rob cupped his face. "Don't worry, Jeff and Chris are outside looking for him now."
"Jeff and Chris are here?" Matt blink, almost still afraid he was having a false drug-induced experience. Yet if he were that high, would he be in so much pain?
"They're here." Rob confirmed. "And we're going." He stood and went over to a chair in the corner, gathering up Matt's cloths.
Matt furrowed his brow. Not only were all his cloths there, but they were washed and neatly folded, as though ready to be packed up. Austin had done that before leaving? "How did you find me?"
"Anonymous tip." Rob answered. He looked around to see if there was anything he missed.
Matt just looked at him. Who in the world could have known about him being trapped in this cabin, in the middle of no where?
"Matt!" Jeff appeared at the bedroom door and ran over, throwing his arms around his brother. "Thank God we found you. I didn't think we'd ever see you again." He cried.
Matt winced painfully in Jeff's tight embrace, but tired to ignore it, embracing him back. Jeff, his annoying little brother, whom he loved with all his heart. In the next moment, Chris appeared and ran over, hugging him from behind.
"Easy guys." Rob gently urged them to let go, noticing Matt's pained expression.
Jeff placed a hand over Matt's cheek, studying his glassy red eyes. "What has he done to you?"
"I don't know." Matt forced a smile. "I'm really happy to see you guys, though."
"Not as happy as we are to see you." Chris said.
Matt tried to reply, but ended up groaning and clutching his stomach, his abdominal muscles twisting into knots.
Rob dropped the cloths. "We're getting you to a hospital, now." He grabbed Matt's arm and Jeff took the other, both helping Matt to his feet.
Chris grabbed the cloths. "I'll bring up the car." He said, rushing out of the room.
"We didn't call anyone before we left, because we weren't sure if the tip was a prank or not." Jeff explained as him and Rob led Matt out. "When we got here, we tried calling the police, but couldn't get a signal."
"I know." Matt said weakly. Each step seemed to be draining more and more energy from him. By the time they got through the living room and out the front door, it was all he could do to stand.
Chris had the car waiting at the steps and jumped out to open up the back door. Matt climbed inside and fought the urge to collapse on the seat.
Rob quickly climbed in beside him. "Hurry up. Let's go."
"Wait!" Matt stopped Rob from closing the door. "I have to get Eddie. Where is he?"
"Eddie?" Jeff looked back at the cabin, shocked to think Matt wasn't the only person there.
"The dog." Matt tried to look around, but his vision was beginning to swim.
"There was a German Shepherd tied to the shed in the back..." Chris said. "Was that him?
"Yes, will you get him?" Matt pleaded.
Jeff shook his head. "Who cares about the dog. We'll call an animal shelter or something, right now we've got to get you to the hospital."
"NO!" Matt snapped. "I promised he'd come with me. Fucking get him!"
Jeff stepped back, surprised. "Okay...We'll get him." Him and Chris hurried to the back of the cabin.
Matt sighed in relief, feeling every last bit of energy flow out of him as he did.
"Lay down." Rob urged. "They'll get him."
Matt brought his legs up on the seat and lay across Rob's lap, feeling incapable of doing more. The pain and sensations were like when he was locked up in the bathroom and the thought alone, made him shudder.
Feeling Matt's shudder, Rob soothingly combed his fingers through the dull Midnight curls. He looked up, hearing a bark and tensed, seeing the German Shepherd run over to the car. "Uh... Here he comes."
Matt raised his head. "It's okay." He pat the side of Rob's leg. "Come on Eddie."
Eddie jumped inside and started excitedly licking Matt's face.
"Will he bite?" Jeff asked, him and Chris climbing up front.
"He won't hurt anybody." Matt assured. "Lay down boy." He smiled when Eddie obeyed, lying on the floorboard.
Rob didn't try moving the dog off his feet. "So that's Eddie?"
Matt nodded and closed his eyes, while absently petting Eddie below him. "Get used to him, he's staying with me. He stayed with me the whole time."
Chris started the car and maneuvered it around to head back down the path. "I would never have thought to look here. Who would have known there was a cabin out here?"
Rob nodded, thinking the same thing. "Midnight..." He looked down, but Matt had already crashed.
Jeff twisted around in his seat. "Is everything okay?"
"I'm not sure." Rob replied. He could feel Matt's slight shivering and rubbed his arms and back, trying to give him warmth.
Jeff carefully studied his brother then looked out the back window, watching the cute little cabin in the woods grow smaller and smaller. It seemed so innocent and harmless. He didn't want to imagine the lengths Austin went through to successfully keep his brother trapped inside. "It's not over yet." He said quietly.
Rob nodded. Nothing would be over until the Rattlesnake paid.
Matt faded in and out of consciousness, the constant motion of the car jarring him awake and adding to the nausiousness. Eventually, the ride began to smooth out and he was finally able to fall asleep. Then out of no where, a blinding white light pierced through his sleep and into his skull, like lightening. Squeezing his eyes shut, he jerked his head away, groaning. It took a moment for his senses to take-in his surroundings, making him aware that he was already at the hospital.
Jeff, Rob and Chris stood and waited impatiently for the doctor to finish checking Matt' pupils. A RN stood on the other side of Matt's bed, cleaning his arm with iodine.
The Doctor pocketed his light and scribbled a few notes on a clipboard. "We'll be taking some blood and begin treatment, after we have the results."
"But you already know, he's been loaded up with drugs." Rob said. "Can't you just pump the shit out of him?"
The doctor shook his head. "We can only use gastric leverage for recent overdoses, where the drugs are unabsorbed. However, due to his symptoms, he's absorbed too much and I'm guessing it's been continuous."
Jeff looked away when the RN, inserted the needle in Matt's arm. "Can you at least give him something for the pain?"
"We can't give him anything until we know what he's taken." The doctor patiently explained. "Certain medications, mixed with certain drugs, can have no or a diverse affect. Even fatal."
"Meth and Ecstasy." Matt weakly whispered.
"What?" Jeff leaned over his brother's bed. "Meth and Ecstasy? Are you sure?"
Matt tried to nod, feeling himself fade out again. "He told me to remember."
TBC...