Forever My Not-So-Grump
Chapter 2
The vision of a very tired Arin began to come back into focus as he woke up. Dan was still in a comatose sleep, so now was the perfect time for Arin to leave, again. He hated leaving Dan by himself without an answer. The guilt and paranoia ate him alive, but, he must do what he has to do if he wants Dan to stay safe.
Arin sat up on the bed and rubbed his aching head. It seemed more and more that waking up was a challenge for him, especially since he didn't sleep so well the night before, or really any night before that. He stood up and reached for his coat. The silence was broken when Dan had rolled over and coughed in his sleep. Not really that much of a big deal, but it scared the shit out of Arin, since he had expected him to wake up. Thank god he didn't. Once again Arin went back to throwing on his coat and grabbing his phone. He walked up the stairs as he fumbled around his pocket for the key to the outside door. Once he heard the jingle in his pocket, he pulled out his keys and shoved the correct one into the lock. With a silent click, the door opened and he slid his way out, making sure to close the door quietly behind him. He hesitated locking it again, but the more he thought, the more he realized it was for the better. He slid and turned every lock and bolt until the door was once again locked and secured. 'This is only for a little while,' Arin kept reminding himself.
For better or for worse, Dan was in a place he had never been, so there would be no way that anyone besides Arin could find him. It was actually in the basement of an old townhouse that Arin had borrowed from the original owners, those of who he was friends with. They only visited certain months of the year, so Arin was free to use the property as an escape from home if he so desired. He walked through the vacant kitchen and out the back door with a small creek as the door opened and shut. Out he walked to his car, making sure to stay as incognito as humanly possible, and climbed in. As he entered his car, he began to flip through the mail and papers that he picked up last night before visiting Danny. There were many junk and donation envelopes that he didn't really care for. In the paper, it was the same old headlines about someone getting murdered, the economy plummeting, how to stay safe from hackers, etc. This whole situation made him angry. All he ever wanted was to make a living doing what he loved with the people that he loved, and even that at this point seemed impossible. He threw the paper aside and dug his key into the ignition, backing out of the driveway and pulling out in front of an oncoming car. The car came to a screeching halt, blaring the horn as he had blocked their path. He didn't care, he was finished with all the bullshit.
The household was empty as Arin pulled into the driveway of his own home. The back window was still busted and the backyard was still a glass-embedded bloody mess. Arin began to feel the anger set in again as he recalled the events that happened. He tried not to lose his temper, but he felt like such a failure to his companions. He misses his Youtube friends, every one of them, even Ross. He stared down at the pile of paper and mail in anger and in one swoop, whacked them off the passenger seat and onto the floor. Only one envelope remained on the seat. Huh, it was an envelope Arin had never seen before. It had no address, just a giant X that was half blue and half black. His eyes widened at the sight of the envelope, because he recognized the symbol. Very carefully, he opened it. There was a black thin box and a piece of paper with one line typed in small print that said three words, "Good morning Arin."
Arin was a little confused, yet alarmed as he stared at the small disk-shaped object placed conveniently inside the box. He put it up to his ear and could hear a faint beeping that started to get faster and faster. Almost immediately, Arin threw the box, opened the door to his vehicle and dived for cover. Not even a second later, the little black box exploded and put his car up in flames, leaving nothing but a jet black frame of what used to be his vehicle. Arin's heart raced as he laid on the hard concrete trying to grasp his senses again. All he could hear was a strong ringing that overpowered his eardrums. His body was in shock as he began to experience flashbacks to the last time he talked to Barry. It was very vivid and blurry, but it was definitely locked in his mind as he tried to fit all the pieces together.
"Arin, Arin, Arin!"
Everytime Arin heard his name, it got a little louder as he played the flashback in his mind. It was definitely Barry's voice as Arin opened the door that was being beaten on by Barry's hard fists. "Arin!" His voice and his image were both now clear as day. Arin stared at him in shock. "Barry? BARRY? Oh my god you're alive!" Arin dove at him and hugged him tight with his big bear arms. He was almost in tears. It was definitely a greeting that was one in a million and much emotion filled the air. He dragged his long-missing friend into the house and kicked the door shut. It had been weeks since Barry had disappeared after leaving to go to Mark's house. For almost two months, there was no trace of either men anywhere, Mark or Barry. Seeing his appearance at the front door put Arin into a state of crying hysteria. Refusing to let go of the suffocated Barry, he threw both of them onto the sofa, crushing him under the sheer size of his body. After finally being able to grasp his strength back, Barry pushed the big lug off of his deflated body and onto the floor. He took in a huge breath of air, relieved that he could take a deep breath again. Arin crawled back up on the sofa, sitting upright next to a very exhausted Barry. The grin never left his face, seeing as he thought Barry was surely dead in a ditch somewhere. It took a few moments for the excitement in the atmosphere to calm down, but once it did, both companions were beyond thrilled to see each other. "Where the fuck have you been?! Everyone has been worried sick!" exclaimed an overwhelmed Arin. "I have to call Dan, Suzy, Ross, Kevin, everyone and let them know you're okay!" Arin went to reach for his cell phone which was sitting on the coffee table. Barry immediately intercepted Arin's hand by grabbing the phone before Arin could. Arin became confused at the panic reaction of Barry. "You can't," said Barry in a calmer manner. Arin was even more confused at this unusual behavior not normally found in his friend.
"Why not?" Arin asked in a more casual manner. He tried to play it off cool and break the tension in the room, but the serious stare never left Barry's face. There was no response as Barry kept his hard grip on the phone and never moved his gaze. Arin sat up more straight on the couch as the stress in the room only continued to grow. It was time someone broke the dark silence. Arin stared at Barry with a concerned concentration. "Barry, why not?"
Tears began to form in the waterline of Barry's eyes. He blinked his eyes dry as the streams ran down the creases of his face. All of a sudden, his grip released the phone as he hunched over to bury his face in shame. Arin put his arm around the sobbing Barry to try and comfort him in this time of distress. He was very concerned for Barry's condition, as Barry was usually the strong one of the group. All of this behavior was foreign for Arin and he wasn't sure what he could to do help. What was even the problem anyway? Where did he go?
After a few minutes of silent sobbing, Arin reached out and lifted Barry's face so their eyes met. His eyes were bloodshot and his face flushed with red. He tried to stop the tears, but they just kept coming. He was an emotional wreck. He could see the concern in Arin's face and knew that he should provide a reason for this unstable behavior. It was hard to even speak a word because he was so choked up. After taking a long deep breath, Barry was finally able to speak a few words. "It's Mark." Mark had been missing just as long as Barry had been and the idea that something may have happened to Mark was unthinkable to Arin.
Arin's eyes grew wide with concern and a little bit of panic began to sit in. "What happened to Mark, Barry? Where is he? Do you know where he is?" There was a long silence before Barry was able to build enough esteem to speak again. "I knew where he was." Arin's concern only grew greater as he could not understand what he was saying or why he was in such a state of delusion. Arin slowly moved closer to him and put his arm around his cold shoulder. Barry hunched over and buried his face again, sweeping his grown-out bangs away from his face as he tried to hide from the situation. Arin felt really bad. He had never seen Barry so upset. It greatly disturbed him. It also disturbed him that Mark was in some type of trouble and he was very anxious to find out.
It was a few minutes before anyone had said anything and Arin had just softly rubbed Barry's back and tried his hardest to comfort him. He was not going to force him to say anything while he was still a trainwreck. The sobbing continued for another five minutes approximately. It took a lot of courage, but Barry finally lifted his head, glaring at Arin with a dead serious stare that almost made him look like he was ready to kill Arin. "They took him," Barry blurted in a low, sinister tone. "They took him and there was nothing I could do about it."
"Who took him Barry?" Arin lightly grabbed his shoulders and made him face him.
"I-I-I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know? What did they look like? Were they thugs?"
"No, no, not even close. They were men, really strong men. Tall men, over six foot easy. They were wearing black, sleek suits full of strange weapon-like things."
"Strange weapon-like things. Like what? Where did they even come from?"
"I don't know, Arin. It was really weird. They just showed up."
"Showed up where? Where were you the past two months? I'm very worried that something happened to you." Barry was struggling to remember what happened and Arin could sense this. "Look, it's okay if you don't remember…"
"No I remember, I think. I remember Mark and me were out for dinner and a couple drinks, discussing things I believe about helping Mark edit his videos or something like that. We left the bar and headed home, but Mark needed to fill up his car first, so we pulled into the nearby Sunoco. Once there, Mark got out of the car and walked into the store for a moment because something was wrong with the pump I think. That's when they came." Barry started to choke up a little and Arin put his arm around him. The comfort helped him a little to keep the story going.
"There was a black van that pulled over into the parking lot and two huge-looking men stepped out. They were both wearing sunglasses even though it was nighttime, so I felt a little strange about them. They kept walking closer and closer to the car until I heard one of them knock on the window. I immediately locked the door. They just stood there and didn't move. Shortly after Mark walked out. The two men sped-walked towards him and asked him some question. I couldn't hear it. I rolled down the window and heard Mark say 'Yes I am,' in his usual friendly voice, and then, and then, oh god Arin." He buried his face in the palms of his hands and Arin tried to pull him closer. Barry pushed away and stared at him with a painful face.
"They beat him Arin. Bashed his face in and huddled around him when he fell. He didn't get up either. They then ran to the car with black rods ready to smash in the windows after me. I got out and started to run. It was the only option I had. I ran straight from the car and into the road, dodging traffic as I made it into the development across the street. I tried running to the first house I could find, but I don't even remember if I made it that far. All I remember was being tackled and pinned to the ground. I remember it hurt like hell. I think I might of smacked my head off of the pavement, because I have a cut right here." He pointed to the back of his head. Arin gasped as he saw a huge two-inch gash in the back of Barry's head. Arin exclaimed, "Oh my God Barry!"
"I know, but wait. Let me finish. The last thing I remember was their grins. One of them said, 'Goodnight Barry'. How they knew my name was the part that confused me. There was a pinching sensation and I felt numb. Then the world went black. I don't remember anything after that until I woke up in a strange place. All I know is that they took Mark. I don't know how I know, but I do. Hell, I don't even remember how I got here. I just kind of showed up on the front porch. It seems I only remember certain things. Do you know how frustrating it is not remembering how you got somewhere?" Barry took a deep breath as he tried to absorb his pain. Arin didn't know what to think, what to feel, or what to do. He just continued to put his arms around him in hopes that it might give some comfort.
Arin let Barry calm down for a few minutes. Arin needed a few minutes to process what Barry just said and what the right response should be for him to say. "Well, the important thing is that you're safe. We'll find Mark, don't you worry. I'll call the authorities. We can start a search party and maybe even put these thugs under arrest. Everything will be okay."
Barry immediately jumped up from the couch, pushing Arin backwards as he suddenly went from sad to angry. "No, Arin! Nothing is okay right now, alright?! Nobody can touch these guys because they're invincible! Mark is probably dead already! I can't believe you right now! You're not even taking this seriously!" Arin now stood up in alarm, surprised at Barry's sudden anger. It was now Arin's turn to reply.
"I can't believe you right now Barry! Who are these so called 'men'? What do you mean Mark is probably dead?! Why would he be dead? I'm so confused right now! None of this is making sense! I'm sorry I'm not very good at comforting people, but it's hard to comfort this! What have you seen Barry?! What happened that fucked you up so bad, because this isn't you!" All of a sudden, something happened that Arin had never seen before. Was it sorcery, or was it something more? Barry became consumed in anger (which is very unusual for him in the first place), grabbed Arin and threw him backwards, hitting the wall with a tremendous force. He didn't even have time to react when suddenly Barry's hands were around his throat, pushing him against the wall with more and more strength until his windpipe was completely cut off. Arin looked into his eyes and saw they were a completely different color. The left one was a deep blue, the right one almost black, unlike Barry's undetermined greyish-blue-green eyes. He began to feel faint as all of the oxygen to his head was put at a jolting halt due to Barry's incredible strength.
Thankfully, Barry's self conscience began to kick in again. His eyes widened as he gasped at what he was doing. He immediately released his grip from Arin's throat. Arin gasped for air as he fell to the floor, coughing and holding his throat as the color returned to his face. He had never felt more appreciative to be able to breathe air again. Barry could not believe what he had just done to his best friend. It was not him. It couldn't have been. The regret consumed him even worse now as he helped Arin to his feet. He hugged Arin as tight as he could, sobbing into his shoulder, apologizing over and over for almost killing him. "I'm so sorry, Arin. I can't help it. I just...I can't...I don't...oh god." He fell back down onto the couch and hid his face from Arin. Arin was still having a hard time talking and his voice was very broke and hoarse. He could only speak a few words at a time, but he needed to let Barry know that it wasn't his fault, or at least he didn't think so. He sat down next to his severely troubled editor.
"Barry, calm down. You're only...upsetting...yourself worse."
"Oh god, listen to you! What have I done? Arin, you need to understand that that wasn't me…"
"I already know...it wasn't you. Now I want you...to answer me...a question." Arin looked Barry right in the eyes. "What was that?" Barry's eyes showed nothing but guilt and pain as he tried to think of a way to even explain to Arin what was wrong with him.
"It's not me, Arin. I can't explain what it is. It's something they did to me. It's almost like I feel consumed at times by a darkness, as confusing as that sounds."
"You feel...consumed. Like a ghost or..."
"No, like I can feel an anger inside of me that I've never felt. I can control it most of the time, but sometimes it gets out of hand and I can't help myself. It starts with uncontrollable anger, then I start to lose my vision, then my hearing, everything until I'm not even in control of my own body until I calm down."
"Who or what... do you feel angry towards? The people who took... you and Mark?"
"Believe it or not, no. I want to be angry with them, but I can't. I literally can't. It's just...anger. Towards something I can't identify. I just feel so lost. It fucking sucks." Arin again wore a face of blankness as he had not a reply to supply Barry with. It was yet again another long period of silence before anyone could say anything.
Barry was in pain. He felt a little embarrassed that he could not explain what he felt any better to Arin. But the truth was, he could barely explain it to himself. It was even harder when he couldn't control his own body during those moments. Arin finally broke the silence. "Well, why don't I call Dan and see if maybe he could…" All of a sudden Barry was hit with a huge flashback. Memories came flooding back to his mind before Arin could even finish his sentence. All the screams, all the pain, all the details were forced back into his conscience. Without even letting Arin finish his comment, Barry sat up in shock. "Oh my god!" he exclaimed.
"What, what is it?" Arin exclaimed back. Barry scared him when he shouted. It sounded just like the kind of expression that someone would make when they see a kid fall on the sidewalk. His heart raced a million miles an hour at Barry's reaction.
Barry grabbed Arin by the shoulders. "It's Dan, Arin! It's something about Dan! I remember now."
Arin's mind was scattered as he tried to figure out what was even happening. "What are you talking about? Dan had nothing to with…"
"Dan had everything to do with this Arin!" Barry interrupted.
"What do you mean? You haven't even mentioned him."
"I couldn't remember to mention him because I only remember certain things. When you said his name, I remembered something."
Arin paused for a minute and slowly stood up from the couch. "What did you remember?" At this point Barry froze, wearing a face of hesitation. "Barry." It was a long few seconds of anticipation as Arin waited for a response. Barry finally broke out of his long daze. "Oh my god."
"What?"
"I can't tell you any details."
"Why not?"
"I just can't. I don't want anybody dead because I said something wrong. All I can tell you is that they're after Dan. I remember overhearing a rather disturbing conversation shortly after I escaped."
"What did they say?"
"Umm...honestly I can't remember much. But I remember what I felt after hearing them."
"Why Dan?"
"I don't even know."
"What did Dan ever do?"
"Nothing. I remember them saying they think that Dan is the answer to the problems they've been having. That's all I remember."
"How? How does that even make sense?"
"I don't know Arin. I don't have a lot of answers. I think that Dan's been framed for something far more deeper than we know."
Arin began to grow antsy. "Well why doesn't Dan just talk to the guy and explain that he's not who they're looking for? Here, I can call him right now and we'll get this situ…" Arin was interrupted main sentence by Barry shoving him to the ground. A ripple of pain shot up his shoulder as he hit the hardwood floor. "What the fuck Barry?"
"You cannot tell Dan! You need to get him out of here right now!"
"Get off of me!" Arin shoved Barry off of him and he fell backward onto the floor. Barry stared at Arin in disbelief. "I'm sorry," he said.
"It's okay," Arin replied. They both sat on the floor, staring dead ahead in frustration and confusion. Barry put a hand on Arin's shoulder. "Look," He said. "You need to get out of here. You all need to get out of here. Nowhere around here is safe. Take Dan, take Suzy, take Kevin and get the fuck out of here."
"Where do I go…"
"Anywhere. Get far far away from here."
"But what about you?" Barry breathed a sigh. "I can't leave," He said.
"What?" Arin exclaimed in alarm. "Barry you have to come with us."
"I can't. They put a tracker on me Arin. Anywhere I go, they'll know where I am." Barry then proceeded to brush the hair away from the back of his ear and there behind his ear was a little blue light, no larger than a pin prick."
"How did you get out then?"
"I don't know. Nobody followed me."
"Why?"
"They think I don't know about it. They think that I'll lead them right to Dan."
"Oh my god Barry. Wouldn't they be tracking you right now?"
"Yes, yes they would. They know exactly where I am. That's why I ran to you instead of Dan."
"Oh, thanks."
"You're welcome. That's why you all need to leave."
"Here." Arin stood up and walked over to the kitchen, grabbing a large rag and the sharpest knife he could find. He came back into the living room and kneeled next to Barry. "Give me your ear."
"No Arin."
"Give me your ear Barry. I'm cutting this son-of-a-bitch out."
"You can't. It's my whole ear, Arin. If you disconnect it, it'll self destruct and we'll both die."
"How do you know all this?"
Barry pondered for a minute. How did he know all this? Obviously there are still parts of his memory that are missing. "I don't remember how I found out all this, but I think I talked to somebody."
"Then how can I trust that what you're telling me is real?"
"Because you have to. Even if what you think I'm saying is complete bullshit, you still need to listen to me."
"I don't know Barry. This is a pretty steep step." All of a sudden, there was a silence and all the two could hear was a faint beeping sound. Barry's eyes grew as he put his hand up to his ear. "You need to leave," he said suddenly.
"What?" Arin replied. "What is that?"
"They're here Arin. You need to get out of here."
"Who's here? I'm not leaving without you."
"Yes you are Arin. You're going without me."
"No I'm not!"
"Yes you are!" Arin's eyes stared in disbelief down the barrel of a revolver that Barry had pulled out at him. Arin stepped back a couple paces as his heart dropped to his stomach. There's no way that this could be happening. Was it a state of hysteria, or was Barry actually right about being on a hitlist? "I'm sorry Arin, but if you don't leave, I'll have to make you leave."
"Barry," Arin said in a choked voice.
"Arin you need to save Dan. I'm already good as dead. Please, just go before we're all dead." Arin could feel the intensifying burn in his throat as he walked up to Barry. He made the risky move of putting his hand on the barrel of the gun and pushing it towards the ground. He put his thick arms around Barry's short body and hugged him close. Barry too hugged back as he felt the hard outline of the gun on his back. The hug seemed to last an eternity. Arin wasn't ready to lose his friend again. The thought of having to leave him to die tore Arin up inside.
The moment was interrupted by a loud crash of the back door breaking open. There was an ear-shattering crack as Barry shoved Arin away. He fell to the ground, but quickly got up and ran. As he looked back, all he saw was Barry collapse to the ground with blood escaping from the new wound in his diaphragm. Blood slowly dripped out of the corner of his mouth as he gave a small grin to Arin. Many tall black figures surrounded him, so many Arin could barely see his friend anymore. The many shadows picked him up and dragged him away, the back door shutting behind them. Arin ran out the side door and straight for his car. He reached in his pocket for his keys and immediately dug them into the dash once he opened the door. Putting it into reverse, he stomped the pedal to the floor and high-tailed it out into the street. With sharp screech, he sped down the road, doing about forty over the speed limit. He felt as if he was going into cardiac arrest because his heart was racing so fast.
It took a few moments, but Arin was finally able to release his god-like grip from the steering wheel to reach for his phone. Looking away from the road, he thumbed through his contacts looking for his spouse's name. There it is. He pushed the call button and waited for the dial tone. It rang and rang over and over until her voicemail kicked in. "Hey it's Suzy! Leave a message." Arin dreaded hearing the beep that followed. He tried leaving a message, but no words escaped from his mouth. He hung up and launched the phone to the other side of the car. He glanced down at the clock. 8:37 PM. 'Shit,' he thought to himself. 'Suzy's leaving work soon.' Maybe he can still make it. Hopefully she's staying late tonight. Arin sped down the road with fury and panic, barely missing a mailbox and a cat along the way. His goal was to grab Suzy and keep her from going home and seeing the disaster. This would turn out to be the first of many goals that Arin has to reach before time runs out. With no time to lose, he raced towards the Grump Space in hopes that Suzy was still there.
