Chapter Nine

He woke suddenly, his screams echoing off the four walls around him, and the sheets below him clung to his body from the puddles of sweat protruding from his flesh.  He had woken from the nightmare that had haunted him for years, but this time it was different, this time it was worse.  

His mother laid huddled in the corner, her body bruised and battered from the beatings his stepfather had given her.  He inched closer, watching as the man turned to look at him and realised it wasn't his stepfather, but his stepbrother who stood over his mother, his hand raised, ready to strike her again.  His legs felt like bricks as he lifted them, attempting to move closer to his stepbrother to pull him away, when suddenly the woman he thought was his mother lifted her face to look at him and it was then he saw the face of his girlfriend staring back at him.  He lifted his leg, struggling to save her from the blow that was aimed at her, but he couldn't move.  He ran, yet remained in the same spot, and as his stepbrother brought his hand down striking the love of his life once again his screams echoed, waking him from his fitful sleep.

He sat up on the edge of the bed calming his heavy breathing and went to the sink turning the cold water on full blast sticking his hands underneath, and splashing what he had caught to his face.  The nightmares were certainly nothing new to him, he had had them quite often over the past five years, but this was the first time her face had ever appeared in them, and he hiccuped, feeling the tears roll down his cheeks as the images of her remained in his head.

His heart ached at how much he missed her, and he couldn't help but think of where they would be today had it not been for his stepfather.  He was sure they would be married and maybe have a family by now.  Maybe a little boy he could play sports with, or a little girl with their blue eyes and her mothers rosy cheeks.  Which ever it was he would have loved them dearly, never raising a hand to any of them, and both his past and her past would never hurt the love they shared.  He laid back on the bed closing his eyes and wondered where she was at that very moment....wondered if she was ok, and if he ever crossed her mind as much as she did his.  

The door to his room opened, and he kept his eyes closed hoping whomever it was would take him for sleeping and go away, leaving him in peace.  Josh had been right about the injections.  Not long after they had spoken, a few members of the team came to his room giving him the shot and watched him as though he were some kind of wild animal, whispering to one another, before finally leaving him.  It hadn't taken long to become sleepy, just as Josh had said, and he drifted into a deep sleep feeling relaxed for the first time until the nightmares began.

He had learned over the years how to keep his breathing slow and shallow and just as he was sure his visitor was about to leave he heard other footsteps and knew another person had joined them.

"Keep your eye on him as much as possible tonight.  I don't think the damn medication is working the way it should.  Other than sleeping, he has showed no signs of any side affects except for the screams we heard moments ago.  He does that sometimes though with certain medications."

"Yes doctor.  I'll note all activity."

"And stay in here as much as you can, just keep the tranquilizer gun with you.  Sometimes it's easier to see changes first hand than it is watching him from the tv screens."

"Yes sir.  I will do.  You have a good night."

The door closed and he waited a moment before opening one eye to see Josh staring down at him, and opened the other, sitting up on the bed, folding his hands in his lap.

"Hello."

Josh smiled, keeping his back to the camera, and brought his finger to his lips, silencing him as he spoke in a low voice.

"I'm going to check, make sure they are gone, and then i'll be back.  I don't want to take any chances of them still being around."

He nodded his head once, watching as Josh left the room, locking it behind him, and slid further down on the bed getting comfortable, waiting for Joshs return.

He had felt his lids becoming heavy again and was just drifting back to sleep when he heard the jitter of the locks on the door and pushed himself back into a sitting position as Josh walked back into the room, leaving the door open behind him, and pulling the chair closer to the bed sitting down.

"How do you feel today?"

He shrugged, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, and licked his lips, feeling his mouth becoming dry.

"You were right...the shot made me extremely sleepy and I have cotton mouth."

Josh gave a small laugh pulling a can coke from the pocket of his white lab coat, and popped the top, handing it over to him.

"I thought about the cotton mouth this morning.  I forgot one of the medications I mixed in caused that.  At least you got some good rest."

He turned the coke up, taking a long drink, and pulled the can away from his mouth, smacking his lips, as he shook his head.

"I did, until the nightmares started, and I woke myself screaming."

Josh tilted his head as his brows creased, and pulled out a piece of paper and a pen from his pocket witting something down.

"OK....I want to talk to you about that, but first I have a few surprises.  One is I brought dinner, so you'll get to have a good meal....get some energy."

He smiled as the mans blue eyes lit up, and reached into his pocket pulling out an object, passing it to him.

"That electric razor is for you to shave off that horrible facial hair and ratted up hair you have, then I am going to take you down to the office where you can shower and get a better shave with a real razor.  After that we'll come back here to eat and talk, we've got to get the ball rolling on some plans."

The man nodded, standing from the bed, and pulled the small garbage can closer to him as he turned on the razor, placing it to his cheek, shaving away the itchy nuisance that bothered him so much.  Once done, he did the same to h is head and handed the razor back to Josh running his hands along the stubble of his head.

"What are you going to tell them when they see me like this?"

"You don't worry about it....I'll come up with something."

He stood from the chair shoving his pen and paper back to his pocket, and motioned for the man to follow him.

"Come on.  I'll let you shower before the food gets cold."

Walking out of the room he had been closed up in for so long seemed strange to him, something about it seemed not to be right.  He wanted to turn back and run to the only home he had known for the past five years, where he didn't feel so open and vulnerable for someone to strike at him from any direction.  

Josh looked over his shoulder, seeing the fear in the mans eyes, and continued down the hallway into the office, stopping at the bathroom door.

"I brought you fresh clothes and the soap, razor, and shaving cream have been laid out for you, as well as a towel and washcloth.  Take all the time you need.  I'll just be in here working."

The man hesitated for a moment, and Josh patted him on the shoulder, pulling his hand away the instant the man jumped back from him, and gave him a sympathetic smile as he stepped from the doorway.

"It's ok.   They're not coming back tonight.  Now go shower, I'm getting hungry."

The man stepped into the bathroom closing the door behind him, and Josh sighed, moving to sit down at the desk.  Two more weeks was all he had left to put everything into action and get the man out safely, he only prayed that things worked out the way as planned.  If not, he hated to see what happened to the poor man at the end of those two weeks.

@2004lancesharmony