Chapter 7: Life Is But A Blink Pt. 1

"You better wash off good. I'm not going to take you if you don't."

"Yeah, yeah." Shawn cupped a hand full of water and splashed it on his face and in his hair. He began using his hands to run water over his half-covered body. Hunter watched him from a distance as he put on his jeans and T-shirt, smiling when he thought about Chyna. They were planning to go to her house later on after school.

"Hunt," Shawn shivered as the cold water ran down his back. "We gonna be early this time?"

"Yes, we are," Hunter sat down on a nearby log and tied the laces on his shoes. "Mark wants us to help him with the ideas for Prom."

Shawn shook his head with a wide grin. "Like we're planning to go to that thing."

"Just clean up before I do it for you." Hunter shook his head and stood up, grabbing his and Shawn's old clothes and throwing them into a plastic bag. He kept his shirt in his hands, however, and waited patiently for Shawn.

"Alright." Shawn called, extending his hand.

Hunter stood up and walked over to the edge of the lake, handing over the shirt to Shawn without difficulty. Shawn took it and quickly wrapped it around the lower part of his body before walking towards the shore and quickly dried off. Hunter walked towards the log and picked up the bag. He looked back at Shawn and said, "I'm going to put our clothes next to the blankets."

"Okay." Shawn called as he rubbed off his upper body with Hunter's shirt. It was all they had.

Hunter walked back towards their home and placed the bag under the folded blankets. Then grabbed his backpack and placed it over his shoulders. He took Shawn's backpack and the small box of pecans and looked out in the horizon. Everything in the forest was peaceful and quiet. The Birds sang a little as the sun began to rise higher in the sky. Hunter could tell it was around 6:00 by now. Hunter balanced the heavy items as he walked back towards the shore.

Once he got there, Hunter noticed Shawn was nowhere in sight. He sighed and said, "Enough games, Shawn. We have to get to school."

Hunter waited for a reply, but nothing happened and he started to panic on the inside. He dropped the box of pecans gently and walked towards the edge of the lake. He quickly scanned the water for Shawn, but nothing but ripples on the water were found. Hunter looked towards the front of the water and quickly noticed a small figure in the distance. Hunter gasped under his breath when he heard a crackling noise around the forest's sides.

"Shawn?" Hunter whispered.

Hunter listened closer, and the crackling noises turned into crunches. Hunter backed away slowly, his eyes darting the water and forest at once, and quickly heard another noise. He turned swiftly and saw a figure in the bushes behind him, cowering but providing sight to see it was Shawn.

Shawn put his hand to his mouth and whispered, "Hunter, over here."

Hunter quickly and silently walked over to where Shawn was and crouched down next to him, hearing the noises increase as the two brothers cowered back and managed to keep their breaths slow and easy. Shawn, now fully clothed, clutched Hunter's shirt in his hand as he spotted something in the distance. He nudged Hunter gently and pointed with his finger towards the figure. Hunter looked closer and saw the figure emerge from the forest's edge, an object in hand and forest leaves all over its body.

"What is that?" Shawn whispered.

"Shh." Hunter signaled his brother to be quiet and the two cowered down as the figure moved across the shore's edge and bent down, the object moving around towards its back. Hunter's eyes widened as Shawn breathed deeper. The two watched the figure as it cupped water in its palms and made noises that wasn't natural. Then again, it couldn't be wild. Something human.

The figure washed its hands off and stood back up, nudging the gun back into its hands and quickly turned around. Hunter and Shawn, from the peaks in the tall leaves and thorns, could see the human's face clearly. The human had a large forehead, but a small head and body frame. It had a small beard on its face and long, muscular arms and legs. Its eyes looked cold and heavy.

Shawn looked at his brother and saw the fear in his eyes. Hunter continued to look at the human and its cold stance, looking out into the clearing that he and his brother were hiding behind. Hunter looked at Shawn a moment, but turned his head when the crunching noises returned and saw the figure walking back the way it came, the noises echoing in the distance.

Hunter and Shawn saw the human disappear, then, before they could stand, they heard other noises:

"Did you see anything?"

"Nope. Nothing."

"All right. Better get back."

Hunter's breath stopped as Shawn looked at his brother, questioning what he just heard. Hunter shrugged and slowly rose to his feet, a hand on Shawn's shoulder to keep him down, and looked out in the clearing. The noises stopped, but a squealing noise suddenly emerged and echoed away into a faint distance.

"I think we're good." Hunter whispered.

Shawn slowly rose to his feet, looking at the clearing with a fearful look, and quickly handed the shirt back to his brother. Hunter sighed and walked back to the box of pecans.

"H-Hunt," Shawn's voice cracked. "What was that?"

Hunter shrugged and picked up the box. He turned and walked towards his brother. "I don't know. But I do know we're definitely going to Chyna's tonight."

"What about our things?" Shawn walked along his brother down the forest path.

"We'll get them after school. It's not safe tonight."

"Why?"

Hunter paused before answering, "Because that human wanted to find something."

Shawn shook his head. "But why?"

Hunter picked up a broken tree branch and held it up. Shawn ducked under and grabbed the branch, Hunter ducking and following the same routine. Shawn waited for his brother's response, but all Hunter had was a look in his eyes. A worried look.

"Hunt?" Shawn's voice became uneasy. "Is something wrong?"

Hunter clenched his fists. "Stop asking me about it."

After a tough day with four periods behind them, Shawn and Hunter chipped and ate the pecans they picked. Shawn ate half of them and Hunter ate a few, not much up to an appetite after what they found earlier. Shawn smiled when a large figure approached the two men and quickly sat down across from them.

"Hey, Mark." Hunter said.

"Hey." Shawn said.

"Hey there, gentlemen," Mark smiled wide. "Are you two up for the plans for Prom?"

"Sure," Hunter ate a pecan. "What are they this year?"

"The Dark Era. Sounds awkward, but I can't let her down."

Mark was talking about Michelle McCool, who was now his girlfriend. They had been together since sixth grade, when Mark finally managed to stay away from fighting her guy friends and hang out with them. Michelle was the one who kissed Mark at the spring dance and now the both of them became nominated for Prom king and queen along with AJ and John, Damien and Kaitlyn, and Ted and Maryse.

"Sounds nice," Shawn ate a pecan and chuckled. "I think you should make all the decorations full black with little white stripes in the middle."

"Why would I do that?" Mark asked.

"Maybe you should consider making all the lights green and just leave the decorations out of Prom." Hunter said.

Mark nodded and looked at Shawn, who continued eating pecans. "Seems risky to even put up decorations because of the low ceiling. You didn't know that, Shawn?"

"How do I know what Prom looks like? We've never been," Shawn pointed to Hunter and added, "Maybe Hunter would if he got the courage to ask his girlfriend."

"Shawn, stop." Hunter said, trying to hide his tone.

"Come on, Hunter, it'll be fun this year. You can watch us cast ballots for Prom king and queen," Mark said. "You're brother could be you're best man."

"Who has the money?" Hunter asked, serious, looking in Mark's eyes.

"Yeah," Shawn added. "Who has the money for that expensive stuff?"

Mark chuckled and looked around the area, spotting a few people eating and talking before bringing his attention back to the two men.

"Well, I gotta go," He said. "Thanks for the help, boys. If you have anymore ideas, you know where to find me."

Shawn and Hunter nodded and watched Mark get up and leave the table, instantly walking over to his girlfriend and wrapping his arm around his shoulders. Shawn smiled and looked at Hunter, but Hunter kept staring at the ground. Shawn nudged his brother, but Hunter didn't make any movements.

"What's wrong, Hunt?" Shawn asked, offering his pecan to his brother.

After a few moments, Hunter got up and walked away from their table, walking towards the end of the field. Shawn quickly got up and followed him, worried.

"Hunter!"

"Leave me alone, Shawn!"

Shawn stopped in his tracks and watched his brother disappear as Hunter walked towards the fence and leaned against it with his hands. Shawn looked around and saw a few students looking at him and, when Shawn stepped forward, they immediately went back to their own conversations.

Within an instant, the bell rang and all the students got up and went inside the building. Shawn was about to go back and gather the pecan box, but noticed Hunter didn't move from his position on the fence. He sighed and went back towards their table, grabbing the box and thinking about heading inside to get to class.

But looking back at Hunter, he didn't think twice about it when he walked over to the fence where Hunter still remained, this time his back against the fence.

"Hunter?" Shawn asked, his voice shaking.

Hunter looked at his brother and back at the ground. "What?"

"What's wrong? W-What did I do this time?"

"What haven't you done? You and your big mouth."

"Hunter," Shawn shook his head. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You know as well as I do that me and Chyna have nothing to do with Prom. I can't even consider how humiliating that is to hear that coming from you."

"But, Hunt-"

"No."

Shawn shook his head. "Hunt-"

"Leave me alone."

By this time, Hunter got off the fence and stood in front of Shawn, his fists clutched. Shawn saw them and gasped under his breath, stepping back. Before Hunter and Shawn could do anything, a man stepped up to them and cleared his throat. The two boys looked at the man and quickly stopped what they were doing.

"What's going on here?" Mr. Bearer asked, his arms crossed at his chest. "You two are supposed to be in my class after the bell."

Shawn sighed and Hunter looked at the ground and back at their teacher. Mr. Bearer pointed towards the building and the two brothers went inside without looking at one another.

Sounds of skin echoed as a limp figure was thrown hard on the floor and punched a few good times before getting slapped with a belt on the back. Shawn whimpered as his torture became harder to bear, his father's hard hits with his fists and his belt were painful. The belt dropped on the floor and Shawn tried to crawl towards the bedroom, but his head pulled back. Shawn smelled the alcohol on his Dad's breath as Dad punched him again, this time gripping Shawn's arm so he wouldn't fall or escape.

When the punches stopped, Father said, "You can't do anything right, Shawn! You're worthless!"

Shawn sniffled and choked back tears when Dad suddenly gripped Shawn tighter and walked towards the staircase. Before Shawn could protest, he felt pain throughout his body as his head began to spin out of control, his body hitting the cold concrete below. Father grinned when Shawn began crying.

"Stay in there and rot." Father spat before slamming the door shut.

Shawn sobbed for a few minutes before curling into a ball with his hands around his chest, trying to warm himself in the cold basement. He sniffled and gained some composer, but Father's words hurt him deep. He thought about what he did wrong. Mom left for work hours ago and the boys were left raking leaves in the yard. One of the bags broke and Father got really angry, grabbing Shawn and dragging him into the house, torturing him for an hour before now.

Then, the door silently opened and footsteps echoed down the stairs. Shawn remained where he was, refusing to look at who was coming. He couldn't look even if he wanted to, the pain was that bad. Shawn felt a hand on his shoulder and attempted to look, but the pain in his neck kicked in. His ribs were hurt the worst. Even when he moved just an inch, it hurt like Hell.

"H-Hunter?" Shawn whimpered.

Hunter limply smiled and wiped the tears off Shawn's face. "Don't listen to Daddy. He's drunk."

Shawn sobbed. "What if he did mean it?"

"He didn't," Hunter wrapped his arms around his brother as Shawn cried hard against the floor. "He didn't."

Hunter sighed and heard his brother's cries, trying to sooth him by rubbing his back or stroking his hair. But nothing worked. He and Shawn were both lucky enough to have each other, but they remained heartbroken.

"Shawn? Shawn?"

Shawn blinked and shook his head as he looked at the figure in front of him. He felt confused when he noticed the desks were empty. He looked behind him, but Hunter wasn't there.

"Class is over. I think you better go catch your brother." Mr. Bearer peered over his desk and watched as Shawn quickly grabbed his books and walked to the door.

"Shawn." He said.

"What?" Shawn asked.

"Excuse me?"

Shawn sighed. "Yes...Sir?"

"Better," Mr. Bearer took out a paper from a folder on his desk and motioned Shawn to come over. "I think you might need to see this."

"Mr. Bearer...I-I have to go find my brother. I-"

"It'll only take a second, Shawn."

Shawn slowly walked over to Mr. Bearer's desk and looked at the paper in his teacher's hand. Mr. Bearer smiled but Shawn nodded his head and walked back towards the door.

"Aren't you excited? You got an A on the assignment."

"I always get A's." Shawn said, hoping Hunter was outside waiting for him. His heart pounded thinking about the dream of when they were kids.

"Yes, and you know I've got a lot of potential for you and your brother passing the exams this year."

"Thanks." Shawn whispered.

Mr. Bearer sighed and looked at Shawn, seeing the look in his eyes. "What is it, Shawn? You and your brother getting along?"

"Everything's fine, Mr. Bearer," Shawn looked at the ground. "I need to go."

With that, Shawn quickly opened the door and left the room. Mr. Bearer sighed and went back to grading papers while catching glimpses of photos on his desk of Mark and Glen.

Shawn walked down the hall past some students and managed to see Chyna talking to a few girls in the corner of the lockers. Shawn cleared his throat and Chyna smiled at him. The girls all walked away and Chyna gave them a look before speaking.

"Hey, Shawn," She said. "You and Hunter still coming over today?"

"I guess. Have you seen Hunter?"

"Not since this morning. Why? Is something wrong?" Chyna put her hand on Shawn's shoulder and noticed he was shaking. "Hey, what's-"

"Chyna!" A voice echoed down the hall.

"Hunter!" Chyna called, looking at Shawn, who seemed uneasy.

Shawn stepped away and Hunter walked up to his girlfriend and kissed her. Chyna looked at the two boys and said, "I was just asking Shawn if you two were still up to our plans tonight."

"Yeah, you know me." Hunter said, his hands slipping towards Chyna's hips.

"Shawn?" Chyna asked.

"I don't feel so good." Shawn mumbled under his breath.

Hunter and Chyna exchanged looks and Hunter smiled, gently grabbing his brother by the arm and walking with him towards the doorway of the school. They stopped walking when Shawn pulled out of Hunter's grasp and looked at the ground.

"Shawn-"

"I know I messed up, Hunter. Stop rubbing it in my face."

"I'm not. I just wanted to apologize for what I said earlier. I didn't mean any of that and I'm sorry." Hunter touched Shawn's arm, but Shawn shrugged his touch away. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's going to change, Hunter! It's my fault I did it! My fault!"

Hunter looked at Shawn, confused, seeing the tears run down his brother's face. Shawn tried to walk away, but Hunter grabbed him and held him in his arms, trying to calm him down. Hunter tensed when Shawn started punching his back.

"Let me go! Let me go!" Shawn sobbed. "Let go of me!"

"No, Shawn, I can't. You're my brother and I love you."

"I don't love you! Get away from me!"

Shawn struggled against Hunter's strong grasp and managed to slip a little, but was caught again by Hunter. This time the grip was tighter.

"Shawn, don't ever say that," Hunter whispered. "I know you're upset, but please forgive me."

"No! Get off of me!"

Shawn managed to push his hands against Hunter's chest and managed to escape the tight hold. He ran out the doors and across the schoolyard, tears streaking down his face and his breathing became hard and rough with sobs. He didn't care about the cars moving past as he got onto the street and soon found his ears hurting from the various noises that came out from the fast objects. Hunter ran after him and gasped hard when he saw Shawn running towards the other side of the road, almost hit by an oncoming car.

Hunter knew Shawn was headed for the forest. Hunter ran across the street, not caring for his safety either, managing to dodge another car swerving past him, and quickly followed in Shawn's path past the thick branches and leaves as he reached the forest edge.

He looked around, seeing Shawn was a few inches ahead of him, and quickly took deep breaths as he continued to run after Shawn. He panted hard and saw Shawn's body slowly disappearing before his eyes.

"Shawn! Come back!" Hunter yelled, almost tripping on his feet, but managing to keep steady as he raced across the woods.

Hunter saw the opportunity to grab Shawn as he saw that Shawn was slowing down inches ahead of him. Shawn turned around and tried to race towards the deeper parts of the woods. Hunter reached out for his brother and caught him by his shirt, Shawn screaming when Hunter tackled him and held him down on the ground. Shawn struggled against his brother as Hunter used all his strength to hold him on the floor. Shawn screamed and, quickly, reached up and grabbed Hunter's head, bringing his own against his brother's hard. Hunter yelled and grabbed his forehead as Shawn ran towards the deep woods with sobs on his lips.

Pressing his hand against his forehead, Hunter looked back at Shawn and sighed, punching the ground with his fist in frustration. Before Hunter could get up, a figure appeared over him. He looked up and saw Chyna with tears on her face. Chyna knelt next to Hunter and hugged him tightly.

"What the hell were you two thinking?! Don't ever scare me like that again! You could have been killed!" Chyna sobbed into Hunter's shirt.

Hunter wrapped an arm around Chyna and looked in the direction Shawn had run. He felt a warm feeling on his forehead, but didn't care about it. He just wanted his brother to calm down. Chyna looked at Hunter and Hunter nodded, standing up and walking in the direction Shawn went.

"Be careful." Chyna whispered.

Shawn slept peacefully against a tree as he breathed deep, his mind trying to find peace. He walked all night towards the camp as he attempted to calm down. He felt broken and lonely now that he had hurt his own brother and wanted to talk to him.

As he turned on to his side, Shawn began to hear crackling noises in the far distance. He smiled a little, knowing Hunter had found him and was tired. He heard the noises come closer until he saw a shadow in front of him, blocking the sun. He opened his eyes and looked up at the figure in front of him.

"Get up, son. Nice and easy."

Shawn's eyes widened as he saw the end of the shotgun pointing at his chest. He saw the person above it and breathed deeply. Letting the blanket come off his shoulders slowly, Shawn got up on his knees as the man clicked the gun in his hands.

"Get up."

Shawn rose to his feet and breathed deeper when the man let the gun down. Then, the man grinned and suddenly grabbed Shawn's arm and pulled him roughly in the same direction he was walking to.

"No, let go of me!"

"You're coming with me, son!"

"Let go!"

The man pulled on Shawn's arm so hard Shawn screamed and soon found himself facing the end of the forest and towards a shiny silver car. Another man stood beside the car with a grin. In his hands was a net. Shawn's breathing deepen as he continued his struggle on the tough grip on his arm. Every time he tried to pull away, the grip became tighter, causing him to grunt and scream. He looked around quickly, noticing the other man coming closer with the net, and noticed a small gun on the man's belt. Shawn grabbed the gun and pointed it towards the sky, a few blasts echoing in the air. The man tried to gain control of Shawn and the gun, but Shawn slipped free of his grasp, landing on the grass as the other man clutched the gun and grabbed the hood to balance his weight.

Shawn panted as he tried to stand up, but then felt the rough net around his body, along with a hand covering his mouth as he screamed and clawed to get away. The man chuckled in Shawn's ear and lifted the fighting boy towards the car.

To Be Continued.

Stay Tuned. More Will Be On The Way Soon.