Here, at the Other Side – Chapter 5
Nora and Roxas arrived at the jail early. They had left Reno and Rude to sleep in due to the extremely early hour and Reno's inability to function before noon. The guards escorted them down a maze of halls and into a room where Rob was waiting for them. "Good Morning Rob." Nora greeted.
"I know where he is." Rob stated happily. "You have to get him out before the end of August."
"Why not the police, and why the end of August?" Nora asked.
"I already sent the police but Morgan seems to have paid them off. And you have to rescue him before the end of August because that's when I told her to kill him."
"You what?!"
"Why?" Roxas asked.
"It was the only way I could think of to get her to feed him more and treat him better. But more good news is that he's still fighting back."
"Thank you Rob." Nora said. "Will you give us directions?" As Rob rattled off the directions to Nora, Roxas was drowning in joy. So close, we're coming Axel!
oOo
Somehow, through sheer determination, Axel had managed to break a hole in his skin with the dull bobby pin and shove it in for safe keeping so. He knew if he hadn't done that he would have lost it when he fell into unconsciousness, and he couldn't risk that. It helped that he was still very numb from the low temperature of the dark basement. He'd have to make his move soon or he'd get an infection and ruin his entire plan.
Axel looked up as the door opened and the clack of heels could be heard coming towards him. Morgan was holding a surprisingly clean loaf of bread and a glass of water. "You'll be nice if I let your arm go, right?" She asked. Axel nodded; he needed to play this carefully. Morgan placed the water and bread on the floor before unlocking one of Axel's arms.
He grabbed the bread quickly and began shoveling it into his mouth. He was so hungry. Although, the lack of food made the few bathroom breaks he received a lot easier. After the bread was gone he downed the water and placed the glass on the floor, rather than throwing it at Morgan.
Morgan hesitantly grabbed the glass before walking away. Like always, she left Axel's one arm free until he passed out, because that was the only way they could lock it up without him hurting them.
oOo
Roxas dragged Nora, Reno, and Rude into the kitchen where he found his mom eating with Sora and Riku. "We know where he is." Roxas announced happily.
"That's great! When are the cops going to get him?" Ellen asked.
"They already did. Morgan paid them off. So were going instead." Roxas rattled off as he pointed to himself, Nora, Reno, and Rude.
"I'm going with." Ellen stated. "Do you need to call Demyx?"
"No, I already told him. His mother won't let him go with."
"Am I the last to know?" Ellen wondered.
"You seemed to care the least. I decided to tell the people who have been waiting at the edge of their seats first."
"Roxas, be nice to your mother." Nora scolded as she saw tears fill Ellen's eyes.
"It's true." He mumbled.
"She's just doing what she thinks is best for you." Nora insisted. "We're leaving now Ellen, so get yourself ready. We'll be in the car." Nora said before they exited the house.
Roxas, Rude and Reno miraculously squeezed into the back of Nora's car, while she got into the driver's seat. They didn't have to wait long before Ellen threw herself into the passenger seat. "So do we have a plan?" She asked.
"Go in there and steal my son back from that evil bitch!" Nora said intently.
"So, in other words, no real plan." Ellen said.
"We're just making it up as we go." Reno commented as he pushed Rude over more, successfully mashing Roxas into the window.
"Come on, the longer we sit in the driveway discussing our nonexistent plan, the longer Axel is in that awful place." Roxas said with his face smashed against the window before pushing Rude back into Reno.
While Reno let out an 'unff' Rude straightened himself out and using both of his arms, shoved Reno and Roxas into their respective windows. While this had been going on Nora had pulled out of the driveway and onto the road. "Has anyone thought about how we're going to fit Axel into this car when we find him?" Rude enlightened them.
"We'll think about it when we get there." Nora said.
"Morgan has Axel's car. We'll just have to find it." Roxas concluded.
oOo
Sora and Riku stared dumbfounded at the door Ellen had just run out of. "What the hell?" Sora said, stunned at his mother's sudden disappearance, "She didn't' even say bye."
"At least Axel's coming home." Riku recovered from his shock.
"Yeah, that's so exiting! Roxas is gonna be so happy!" Sora beamed. Then the doorbell rang throughout the house. He jumped off of his chair to run to the door closely followed by Riku.
"Did you hear?" Demyx yelled when Sora opened the door.
"Yeah!" Sora exclaimed back, much louder than necessary, as they jumped into each other's arms. Zexion and Riku just shook their heads as they watched their boyfriends foolishly jump around in excitement.
"Did they give you any indication on how long they're going to be?" Zexion asked Riku as he stepped through the door and around Demyx and Sora.
"No Mrs. Hikari just sort of ran out. She didn't even say bye." Riku responded.
"So, my mom's got the night shift today. Is it okay if Zexy and I wait here with you?" Demyx asked.
"Of course." Sora beamed, as he jumped onto the couch. Riku tilted his head down to hide the smile forming on his lips. He couldn't help it. Everything about Sora made him smile. Deciding it would be best to leave Sora, Demyx and Zexion to their excited bantering, Riku walked back to the kitchen to clean up the mess for Greta.
"Are you still having problems with Sora?" Demyx asked from the doorway. Riku remained silent. "It's not like you're a virgin."
"But he is." Riku said turning around to face Demyx. "And I don't think he's ready. You and Zexion were both ready, and neither of you were virgins. It makes it less complex."
"It's kind of cute though. Him being all innocent."
"Shut up Demyx!"
"Sorry Riku, but you can't deny that. I now it takes every ounce of your self control to keep your hands off him."
"Oh, Dem. He says he's okay with it but I still think he's upset about me continually telling him no. I have no fucking idea what to do. He thinks there's something wrong with him, but that's not it."
"Yeah, that's why I stay away from virgins. They make things so difficult." Demyx said. "Sora seems to think he's ready though, so tell me again why you don't make a move on him."
"I think he wants to be like Roxas, he even admitted that to me. I want our first time to be because he wants it, not because he's falling behind Roxas."
"Did you tell him that?" Demyx inquired.
"Hey don't be recluses; come hang out with us in the living room, Greta will take care of this." Sora said happily, standing next to Demyx in the doorway.
Riku sighed and followed them into the living room.
oOo
After Morgan left him alone, Axel used his still free hand to dig the broken bobby pin out of his restrained hand. Once he had it free he went to work on the lock restraining his hand against the wall. It took about five minutes to maneuver the pin exactly right and break it open.
He used the damp wall of the basement to help himself stand up, but as soon as he let go of it he fell over, letting out a small whimper of pain when he landed on his broken ribs. Cursing himself for showing pain and weakness Axel once again stood up using the wall. He continued to use the wall as he walked around the room getting use to the feeling again. As soon as he felt confident enough he let go of the wall and practiced walking without it. He had a sinking suspicion that if his body wasn't so numb this would be much easier.
Axel continued to practice walking until he heard Morgan walk out the front door, get in her car and drive away. He had no idea how long she would be gone so he swiftly made his way to the door. After cracking it open Axel stuck his head out to make sure no one was in the hallway, and slinked out when he was satisfied that he wouldn't be noticed. He silently closed the door and saw that it was hidden behind a rather large painting. I wonder if anyone came to look for me. Axel felt himself becoming weaker and hurried through the maze of hallways until he found the front door, at which point he had to lean against the wall for support.
His head was spinning, bones aching, and his eyes didn't want to stay open. Axel almost let himself sink to the floor and give up but his eyes caught the glint of his keys hanging on the wall across from him. It immediately reminded him of the day he'd gotten them. Roxas had shared the hospital bed with him that day. Roxas was waiting for him, and Axel knew it. He pushed himself off the wall, snatched his keys off the hook on the other wall, and made his way out of the house.
Axel's bare feet were being sliced open by the rocks on the driveway. He was silently grateful that it was warm outside, but also somewhat pissed. As the warmth returned to his body, the numbness dissipated, allowing him to feel every single rock cutting into his skin, the dull aches of bruises and cuts, and his screaming ribs. When he finally made his way to the garage he put his ear against the door and pressed the lock button on his keys to make his Saleen beep.
He twisted his head around when he heard the familiar sound come from the woods surrounding the house rather than the garage. Painfully moving his feet across rocks Axel followed the noise to his car. When he saw the beautiful piece of metal he almost kissed it, almost. Instead he walked around to the trunk and opened it, silently cheering when he saw his clothes were still in there.
He quickly peeled his pants off, the only piece of clothing he'd had in six months, and threw them into the woods, before pulling on fresh clothes. While rummaging through the rest of his clothes he was again, pleasantly surprised, to see that Morgan hadn't found his money. He gathered some to keep with him in the front so he could afford food, gas, and caffeine. He hated coffee but he defiantly needed it. Axel sat down in the front seat stared his gorgeous car, and began driving in the direction that would take him to Roxas.
AN: I'm not very happy with this chapter. I think it's very obvious that I was struggling with it. When I started writing it all I knew was that I wanted it to start in the jail with Rob, and end with Axel driving away from his prison. So to fill the space I went over Sora and Riku's problems again, and set up a few situations for the next chapter, which I hope is better than this one. Not that I think this one is horrible, it's just not my best. Maybe when I edit it again I'll try to make it better.
Next chapter is definitely more exciting, than this one.
Anyway, thanks for all reviews, favs, and alerts.