Chapter Twelve

His hand was tangled in her hair, pressing her face against the carpeted floor, while his other hand held her wrist behind her, his knee pressed into her back, restraining her from moving.

"That was not a smart move. I have in my pocket a tranquilizer gun, and I don't want to have to use it, but I will if you force me too."

"Do you know her?"

Josh shook his head, silently answering the other mans question, and moved his knee from her back, standing from the floor, pulling her with him, keeping her wrist gripped tightly in his hands.

"I've never seen her. Don't know how the hell she got in here either."

Her breath hitched and she closed her eyes, turning her head away from the man she had broken free from as he stepped in front of her. She had gone too far, made a stupid mistake trying to get away, and she feared her punishment was yet to come.

"I'm sorry."

Her voice was weak, fragile, and Josh watched the shocked expression register across the mans face as he stood gazing down at her.

"How did.....how did you get here?"

His voice cracked and Josh was surprised to see a lone tear run down the mans cheek.

"I told you already. I was hired by Lance. Please...let me go."

He met Joshs eyes and nodded his head, gently grabbing Emily by her arms as Josh released her. His heart beat so rapid he could barely breath, and he bent at the knees, becoming level with her, and tilted his face getting a better view of her.

"Look at me."

It was a soft request, and slowly her eyes fluttered, opening fully to stare into the calm crystal blue orbs that stared back at her.

"It can't be."

Josh stepped around Emily to stand next to the man, and glanced between the two of them in confusion.

"Who is she? What's going on?"

"Emily?"

She stood, dazed, reaching her hand up, gently running her fingers across his fresh shaven face, a face she had only been allowed to see in her dreams the last few years.

"Justin?"

He pulled her to him, wrapping his arms tightly around her, not knowing whether to cry with happiness, or cry because now she was trapped....trapped within Lances walls, and he feared for what Lance had already done to her.

Josh touched Justin on the shoulder getting his attention, and moved, sitting down in the chair, as the reunited couple moved apart.

"Look, I don't know what the hell is going on, but we've got to talk, and fast."

Justin nodded, and moved sitting down in the chair next to Josh, reaching up and lacing his fingers with Emilys, pulling her down into his lap as the two of them watched Josh, waiting patiently for him to begin.

"First, Justin, now that I know your name, I want you to begin. Tell me everything."

He slid his arms around Emilys waist, holding onto her tightly with the thrill of having her in his arms again after so long. Holding her made everything seem surreal to him at that moment, but looking at Josh brought back the painful memory of where he was, and how much danger they were really in.

"There was an accident.....I don't even know how long ago. My stepfather....he was cruel, beat me, and it got out of control."

He was quiet for a moment, thinking back to that night, wishing things had happened differently and wishing more than anything that he could turn back the hands of time and change the horror that one night had led him into.

"I was late coming home one night, and he came after me. My mother tried to defend me, but he turned on her and....."

His voice cracked again, and he closed his eyes, fighting back the painful images as Emily turned, wrapping her arms around his neck, whispering softly into his ear.

"Justin, you don't have to...."

"YES I DO!"

His eyes sprung open and his voice was so fierce that it startled her and caused her to shrink away from him, afraid of the anger he held inside him.

"I've had nightmare after nightmare, and I can't take it anymore. And now...now they're changing...now they're involving you."

"What types of nightmares?" Josh asked, moving to the edge of his seat.

"My stepfather beating my mother. Each time they get worse, but the lat one was....it was Lance, not my stepfather....and in my mothers place was Emily."

Josh watched as confusion set in on Emilys face, and stood from his chair, folding his arms across his chest, bringing his hand up to rub at his chin.

"How do the two of you know each other?"

Justin smiled up at Emily, touching her cheek softly, trailing the tips of his fingers across her cheek and along her jaw, running a finger across her bottom lip as he reached it.

"Emily is the love of my life. She's what kept me going, helped me keep my sanity being locked up in here. We met in high school and I fell in love with her the minute I saw her. The night my stepfather died was the last night I saw her, but I always held on to those memories of us together and how wonderful she always made me feel."

"Tell me about that night Justin....tell me what took place."

Josh began to pace a small path back and forth in front of the couple keeping his eye on Justin as he sighed, and shifted in his seat, causing Emily to move from his lap to the chair that Josh had vacated.

"Um...I was with Emily, we had gone to a party after one of my games and I lost track of time. I tried to sneak in, but he caught me, and was going to beat me again. My mother tried to stop him, but he turned on her..."

He closed his eyes, rubbing his hands up and down the soft material of his sweatpants, breathing harder as the images vividly flashed through his mind.

"I lost it...grabbed......I killed him...I killed him. I wasn't going to let him hurt her. They took me to jail and I went to court where they declared me mentally unstable and sent me to a mental ward. I wasn't there long, a few days maybe, and they came and took me away promising to help me."

He opened his eyes meeting Joshs as he stopped his pacing to stand in front of him, and slowly shook his head.

"They lied."

Josh lowered himself, squatting in front of him, and placed his hands on top Justins, stopping his motions as they became rougher.

"Who took you Justin."

"They did......the doctors.....here."

"What have they done to you?"

Emily covered her mouth with her hand, tears sliding down her cheeks, as Justins own tears sprang into his eyes.

"They....I was connected to wires....shocked, over and over repeatedly. There were lots of needles....the medicine burned...made me sick. I had to lie in my own filth, and ......."

Emily jumped from her chair, her tears coming quicker, and she gasped, shaking her head furiously.

"No...stop it....I don't want to hear any more."

Justin stood, knocking Josh backwards, and grabbed her, pulling her tight against his chest, stroking her hair in comfort.

"It's ok baby....I'm ok."

Josh stood, glancing down to his watch, and grabbed the two of them by their arms, pulling them from the room as he unlocked the door, and drug them down the hallway to Justins room.

"We're running out of time. Emily, how long has it been since that night?"

"Five years."

She stood frozen in the doorway, looking around the room that held Justin prisoner, and shuddered at the coldness that surrounded them as Justin sat down on the bed, disbelief registering on his face, and ran his hand across his shaven head sighing.

"Five years? Oh God."

The room feel silent as a loud bang echoed down the hallway, and Josh grabbed Emily by the arm, pushing her from the room. He had to hide her, and fast. It was bad enough he was going to have to get Justin out of there sooner than expected, but now she had been added to the equation, making their escape tougher.

"I'll be back Justin. Just hang tight."

He closed the door, pushing the locks into place, and opened the door across the hall, shoving Emily into the darkness.

"Hide, and don't come out till you hear my voice."

She nodded, confused at to what was going on, and watched as the door closed in her face, turning then to look for a place to hide.

Josh casually strolled the hallway, stopping at the bottom of the stairs, glancing up for any sign that someone was coming down. Once he was certain the coast was clear he turned back in the direction he had come, stopping in his tracks as the door at the end of the hall opened.

"Doctor, what brings you back here so late?"

The man continued walking down the hall toward him, pulling his keys from his pocket, and stopped in front of Justins door, sticking his key into the first lock.

"I left my cell phone in the lab. I stopped back by to pick it up and I thought I would check on the patient while I was here."

"NO.....HE'S FINE!"

Slowly the doctor pulled his key free from the lock and turned to Josh, a smirk growing large across his face, as he noticed the jumpiness in Joshs voice. The team had brought to his attention that on the nights Josh was left with the experiment alone,

very few notes were taken and the videos seemed to have been tampered with. They didn't like leaving Josh there alone...didn't trust him, and he had simply passed it off as Josh being new, but decided tonight to surprise him and check on things himself. Judging by Joshs reactions he knew the team was right, Josh was up to something and he was about to take matters into his own hands.