welcome to the game // joshler [✓]

realize that it's gone

[HOW ARE WE AT 1K ALREADY??? I LOVE YOU ALL SM YOU HAVE NO IDEA -frisky]

i gave him an awkward smile while introducing myself, "oh okay... i'm josh..." he then grinned, and noticed my current situation.

so he let out a small laugh, "so, why're you shirtless?" i cracked a genuine smile for a second, lightly laughing too, "honestly, i wish i knew."

and after that, the conversation died again until jon went over to a few drawers, opening a few in search of something. once he found what he was looking for, which was a bandaid, he walked over to where my iv machine was.

he was about to do take out the needle in my arm, before he noticed my uneasiness, so he stepped back a bit and held his hands up to his chest as a sign of surrender in a way, still holding the bandaid between his thumb and pointer finger.

jon then gave me a look of empathy, "h-hey i'm not gonna do anything," he explained, "i'm just gonna take the iv out and stop the blood. nothing more, alright?"

i sighed and shaky breath and nodded, watching as he carefully took the thin needle out, a little bit of blood escaping the wound before he placed a bandaid over it to cease it.

he then backed away as to not raise my suspicions, standing by the door and waited until i got up. i slowly but surely shifted my body, so my legs were now touching the floor on the right side of the bed.

i finally convinced myself to get up, and immediately i felt lightheaded, but was able to contain myself and still walk forward towards the door a few feet away from me.

we finally walked out of the room, and now we were passing through a grey, concrete-like, corridor. the sound of clanging metal and the screams of people could be heard in the distance somewhere. this place alone looked and sounded like a prison, i couldn't help but want to run farther away from it.

jon didn't seem fazed by it, he was casually walking ahead of me until we reached an open area that had a bunch of doors, leading to multiple different rooms. we had walked to the far end of this area, finally making it to what i assumed was jons room.

we walked in and jon shut the door behind us, and i examined the room for whatever it was. the walls were made of grey bricks, there was nothing more but a bunk-bed, a poorly made wooden dresser, and a mini fridge.

jon noticed my strange reaction and chuckled, "yeah it's no 5-star hotel room, but hell, it works." i turned to face him, and smiled with him. he then walked over to the dresser, opening one of the loose drawers and taking out a white t-shirt.

he tossed it to me and followed up with, "not sure we're the same size, but it's better than having you bare-skinned in a place like this." i nodded, appreciating his concern, and put on the loose-fitting shirt, despite it being on the tighter side for jon.

he smiled again, "hey we're matching now."

i noticed we were both wearing white shirts and grey sweatpants, making the weird situation a lot less tense for the both of us. i shared the lighthearted moment with jon before i went back to business.

"so uhh, what exactly are you teaching me around here?" i wondered, jon shrugged and sat on the bottom bunk of the bunk bed, "not sure, i guess i just gotta make sure you don't die... so maybe i can teach you how to shoot a gun?"

i scoffed cockily, "i already know how to shoot and gun."

jon rolled his eyes, "god, you're such a noob, i already know it." i hoped he was joking, but i'm pretty sure he wasn't.

before we went on with that topic, the conversation died, and i decided to bring up something else, "so jon," i started off, "how'd you end up here?"

he went silent, hanging his head low as stared at the ground for a moment, until he finally responded, picking his head up again, "i was involved in a lot of bad shit back in brooklyn... gangs, drugs-- hell, you name it..." he trailed off for a minute, his face dropping a bit,

"new york ain't what it's all cracked up to be."

i frowned, "i'm... i'm sorry to hear..." he shrugged and shook his head, "it isn't your fault, these people here... not all of 'em, but hell, they saved my life, and i owe it to them."

"well... that's good to hear..." i was unsure of what to say, knowing just how bad the deep web really is, and how weird the people in it are. but jon seemed like a good guy, and i hoped it stayed that way.

"how could you just... how'd you leave your past life behind? don't you have family? girlfriend? boyfriend?" i wondered, he let out a breathful chuckle, "hell, i don't think about that often, i guess i just got used to that kind of shit being long gone."

i felt bad for him, considering he never thought about family, or anything else besides his current situation around him. my mind was about to go down a strange path, before jon spoke up again.

"before we get all comfy-cozy here, we should go on the roof," he said standing up, so i was quick to question him, "the roof? what for?"

jon went over the dresser and took out what looked to be two handguns, and tossed one over to he briskly, "target practice," he replied,

"and you can tell me your life story too, we can cry about it together." he joked, i laughed along with him.