His mother wasn't gone, she was lying next to him, he could feel her rotten body on his side. She only left small room for him on the terrible mattress that was still premium compared to the floor of his prison. He gave up to fight her, she held him tight and he felt how hard breathing was.

He didn't want to breathe in the stinking mixture of blood, spite, sweat, urine, wetness, mold and only God knew what else was rotting there. He didn't want to breathe her in, scared he could breathe in whatever monster she was and get infected.

She had a tight hold onto his chest, it felt like she would grab right through down to his heart and held it too tight, making it almost impossible for it to beat. The dead woman stroke his cheeks with a thin bony finger. The skin on the finger was gone, there were foul flesh, bones, muscles, blood, well and those horrible maggots.

Her mouth was next to his ears. She kept whispering to him, grate on his ears, repeating things like "You've always been a loser. Always told people you're the death of me. You're worth nothing. You're unworthy of love. Nobody wanted you. I didn't want you. Never cared for your sorry ass." Every word stole a piece of his self-confidence and there were her juices in his ears.

That all was worse than a nightmare, because one could wake up from them. But the drugs were too strong. If this hallucination hadn't been enough to bring a healthy man down, it certainly was too much for Evan who had been drugged and drunken too often in the last months. He hadn't even noticed that he had been filmed while fighting against his mother, that they had taken the cloth out of his mouth nor that he had been given a bit more of the drug.

The men looked at each other. They couldn't kill the guy, not yet. But they could have some fun until they finally got what they wanted and needed. Till they came to their friends and he could finally be used to bring them money, especially his brothers money. He had disappointed his closest person once and there wasn't anything that they wouldn't do to make him do it again. Wouldn't matter anyway, they wouldn't have any need for him after they had the money. He wouldn't last long enough to be in need for explanations towards his brother. Eddie was going to leave the country with his wife and the other man and he, well he would just disappear.

"Eddie someone is parking outside." The men watched the older Lawson getting out the car and pulling Emily out of the trunk. It was dark enough. The guy probably knew, that nobody would care about the tied up woman, that was awake but seemed hazy. They smiled, Henry had no idea what he was himself bringing into.

Hank was glad, when he finally turned into the street where his father lived and could see the house. He took a deep breath and parked the car. He waited a moment, before he left it and went to the trunk. He wasn't sure, but he thought that there had been a man standing in his fathers house and looking down on him through a window. He was sure it was his father and he didn't care. Eddie should know that he had Emily and that he'd get her, if Hank got his brother back. Hank had already planned to call the police and got the two arrested as soon as he and Evan sat safely in his car. But there was no need to let his father know.

Emily was still dizzy and sleepy, but awake. She had trouble to follow him on his way upstairs to the door, but he didn't care. He just pulled her with him. He was anxious of what he would find and worrying about his brother, there was really no need for him to worry, if his ex the snake stumbled on his side or lost her shoe or whatever. As far as he was concerned she could be happy that he hadn't lost it, because he was pretty sure that she would have suffered then, a lot.

He didn't ring, their was no need, his father had seen him, hadn't he? He knocked hard against the door and yelled. "Eddie! Open the door!"

The door was opened and his father stood there. "Hank my son, I'm glad you visit me. Oh and there is that sweet girl."

"Shut up! All I want is my brother. You get your whore and I get him. Evan and I leave and she will live!"

Eddie laughed. "How would you kill her?"

Fuck! He didn't have any gun and that was good, but he could have brought a knife with him. That's so like you, Henry! He smiled inside about Evan's remark in his head, on the surface, on his face there also was a smile, but it was devilish. "I have my ways. I know the humans body very well, studied it, remember?"

"Sit down with me, my son. You must be tired from driving here. We can talk about..." he paused to put more scorn for his youngest son in his voice "...Evan."

"DON'T YOU EVER DARE TO SAY HIS NAME AGAIN! I don't want to sit! I do not! want you to call me YOUR SON! I want EVAN! NOW!" Hank had loosen his grip on Emily, hardly able to hold himself back. His eyes were locked with his fathers and he was sure that there was a second of fear in the older mans eyes. But then he saw a shadow crashing down his shoulder. It was too late to react. He went down on his knees by the impact. He groaned in pain and Eddie kicked against his chest. Eddie pulled his feet from under him and pulled him to the basement.

Hank was still gasping for air, when the door closed behind him. The room was dark. He knew it was the basement and he also knew that he had no way to turn on the light. Not from inside the ugly room. His cell phone was useless down here.

He got on his feet and took a few steps downstairs, but a noise stopped him. He tried to figure out from where it came. It was a whimper. "Evan? Are you there?" There it was again. "Evan, are you okay?" He followed the noise until his left foot touched something and there was a strong odor. He went down on his knees until they rested on the edge of the mattress, he had to swallow hard to keep him from getting sick. The figure lying there was his brother. He could see the pale, almost white skin and was it fear in his eyes?

"Evan? It's Hank, what's wrong?" But there was no answer. Only the low whimpers that never stopped. The doctor was now more than worried. He knelt closer to the scared man and touched his arm.

There was a sound and not long after a voice, but it was too far away. He could hear it, but couldn't comprehend it. And as soon as it was heard, he forgot about it.

His mother was still there, whispering her mean words, dropping her blood from her mouth to his, squeezing his heart, her ugly fingers scratching along his cheek and in his hair and since a while she wasn't alone anymore.

There were more hands and fingers touching him. Faces that spit out ugly words or laughed at him. Faces from kids and teachers that had tortured him in his childhood, faces from college and work. People that had always made him feel worthless. His grandfather was one of them, had hazed him whenever he had gotten a chance. The people in the foster home, that treated him like dirt, whenever his brother was gone. The worst thing was that he couldn't fight them off, he was unable to move. He didn't know what to do. To him this was real. It wasn't a hallucination. It was happening now, all the meanness, the hurt, the pain, the blood, the laughter, the torture was thrown at him, right then and right there.

Then there was another hand on his arm and was worse than all the others, because it was strong and his arm hurt. The man laid his second hand on his cheek, right on his mothers fingers and the pressure on them pushed them deeper into his flesh. He screamed out. It weren't several screams, it was one, never ending and the volume didn't die down. The man tried to hold him tight. He was sure the man wanted to hold him so he could take advantage on him like it was back then. He screamed even louder for help, in pain and in fear and he was finally able to move.

Hank felt the tension in Evan's body rise with his touch. The whimper became louder. He touched Evan's face and tried to calm him, but this second touch made things worse. The scream that came from Evan's throat sent shivers down the doctors spine. "Evan, it's okay. I'm here. Let me help you." His brothers eyes were uneasy, bloodshot and wide open. "Oh my God! This fucking bastard!"

The realization that his brother was totally drugged and had a very bad trip hit him like a steel fist in his guts. His eyes were watering and for a few moments he was paralyzed from shock and stared at his brother. "Nonononono, NO! Oh God, Evan!"

There was nothing he wanted more than to hold his baby brother in his arms. He grabbed his brother into an embrace. "It's okay, Evan, I'm here now. Please, let me help you!" But he wasn't prepared for the reaction.

Evan screamed in agony and he screamed in fear and for help, all because the man that always took care of him wanted to hold him. It broke Hanks heart and it hurt even more, when Evan started to fight him. Tried to push his hands from him, pushed him away with little strength he had.

The younger Lawson was scared the man, who he didn't recognize as his brother, was going to bring him down and hurt him. The older Lawson was scared for his brother and tried to hold him very tight to comfort him during his trip.

Both of them were wrestling with each other and the horrible aching, both felt deep inside, each of them for different reasons.