A Brother's Keeper

Chapter Two

Curly quickly shook those thoughts out of his head. He didn't know how they would react, but he knew they would regret kicking him out of the house. He felt a selfish sense of satisfaction at the thought of their anxiety, but that quickly faded as he thought of his sister.

He would do anything to protect her. He was glad that he had been taken instead of her. If Angela were in his place, he wouldn't know what to do. He hoped that she was worried about his disappearance, even though she could be self-centered and judgmental at times.

Despite her flaws, Curly felt a deep love for his sister. He missed her so much that it felt like he had been trapped for centuries.

As his mind raced, he knew he was being a bit dramatic. Heaven knows how long he'd been here for, he might have been here for a day or two. He might of been here for weeks. The only thing he knew was to fight and to defend himself. Though, he knew it wouldn't be easy.

Time seemed to stand still and dragged on, making the the room unforgivably quiet. The quiet was maddening to Curly. Which was absurd, he had never hated the quiet before. He used to love being alone; walking alone down the street, alone in his bedroom, alone anywhere. Curly didn't mind it at all, but now was different, he didn't want to experience this at all anymore.

The annoyance of the tiniest sounds came to haunt Curly once again. The insufferable noises wrapped against his ears, Curly couldn't do anything about it expect to shake his head violently as he yearned for his freedom he once took for granted.

Curly felt sick to his stomach as he tried to calm his own heart beat down. No matter what he tried to do or how positively he could think, his heart had a mind of its own and began to beat and pump as loudly as it could with each millisecond.

Soon, Curly would find himself seeing lights and hearing voices that weren't really there. Despite being blindfolded, Curly didn't question how he could see light through his closed eyelids.

The bright, colorful lights were beautiful to behold. As the colors shifted and changed, Curly felt a sense of calm wash over him.

The lights sparkled and danced in the darkness behind Curly's closed eyes.

Curly became so entranced by the sparkling light that he lost track of his surroundings and fears.

"Curly!" A woman's insistent and mysterious voice called out to him, "Curly!" Her gentle and soothing voice seemed to linger in his mind.

"What?" Curly snapped back, his voice the opposite of the woman's. "Who are you?"

"You're going to die!" The woman's voice changed from soft to a shriek that rang in Curly's ears. Overwhelmed, he began to sob. When would this all stop?

"No!" Curly cried out, his tears salty and lukewarm, as he struggled to breathe.

The once-peaceful lights were now too bright and overwhelming. The colors stung his eyes and he longed for his eyesight back.

The screech of the woman's voice grew louder and more powerful. The ringing in his ears was making him go insane, along with his headache. Curly wanted this to all stop. Would it ever stop? Was he going to die in here? Thoughts raced through his mind and he couldn't stop them.

When he heard a old door creak open, heavy footsteps approached him. As the lively noises grew louder, the screaming voice stopped, the ringing in his ears faded, and the lights dimmed. All that remained was the pounding headache.

Curly could hear heavy, pounding footsteps growing closer and louder, each one rattling his nerves. He took a deep breath, trying to steady his racing heart and keep his fear in check. He knew he had to stay strong, to keep his dignity intact no matter what was coming.