A/n
Just want to clarify that this is taking place at the same time as the last chapter.
All of the excitement from the previous night and morning had completely faded away, replaced the intense feelings of anxiety and fear. Travis was absent the entire morning, the only thing he could think about as he sat at the lunch table was how he shouldn't've let him go.
"Sally face, I'm sure he's going to be okay. Travis is a tough dude, you know that firsthand." Larry said, trying to calm him down.
"Larry is correct, Sal. Do you think it's possible that he may have fallen ill?" Todd asked, raising an eyebrow.
Sal sighed in annoyance, "no, of course not, Todd. I was with him almost all day yesterday, not a single thing was wrong. Something bad must've happened to him, I know it."
"There's no need to be snappy with us, Sal." Ash jutted in, "we're only trying to help you."
He stood up, slamming his hands on the table, "okay, well you're not! None of you are! You guys aren't listening to me, I know that he's in danger!"
The lunchroom's loud environment quieted, the shouts reduced to hushed whispers. People stared at the table, attention grabbed by Sal's yelling.
"Sal, let's just take a deep breath, people are staring, little dude." Larry cooed, trying to calm down his stepbrother. Sal turned around, noticing the unblinking eyes on him. Embarrassed, he sat back down, the cafeteria resumed to it's deafening volume.
"Do you have any real reason to believe that he is at risk?" The ginger asked softly. Sal wasn't the angry type, so his outburst was a shock to everyone.
"Yes," Sal sighed, irritated by their lack of urgency. "Before we were going to bed, we were talking about some, "He paused, not wanting to expose Travis' harmful habits, "stuff. He remembered that he left his journal out instead of hiding it. Apparently, he wrote about me and some other gay stuff, so he didn't want his dad to see it. Travis said it was okay if he didn't fix it until the next morning, because his dad wouldn't be back until later that day anyways, but now he's gone. I think Kenneth found it?"
A hum of concern was shared by all members of the group.
"Yeah, that does actually seem like a problem, now." Ash said, biting one of her nails.
"Sal, how about we go check on him. You're clearly worked up about it, so it's not like you'll be able to focus on your school work anyways." Larry proposed, offering a comforting grin.
The blue-haired boy merely nodded, following Larry to their lockers. They walked in heavy silence, Sal's mind was already brimmed with the possible tragedies that could've occurred to Travis. The loud slamming of Sal's locker door made Larry jump backwards, "Sal, are you alright?"
"I will be once we find Travis." His mind was only focused on the task at hand. The two walked to Larry's car, the silence deafening, yet again. Sal tossed his bag, which he'd retrieved from his locker, into the back seat of the dingy car.
"Where are we going?" Larry asked, as he started the car.
The bluenette pulled out his phone, "let's check his house first, I have his address here, 3072 21st Ave NE." He read off the small screen.
The vehicle screeched to a halt a few blocks down from the Phelps household as a safety precaution. Sal jumped out of the car, running towards the porch of the estate. He fiddled with the handle violently, but the door wouldn't budge.
"Ugh, fuck!" He exclaimed, turning away from the door in frustration.
"You okay there, man?" Larry walked to stand beside him, noticing the issue, "why don't we just knock?"
Sal looked at him, appalled, "are you serious, man? If that whack job priest did something, do you really want him knowing that we're here to save his victim?"
Larry shrugged, "if the problem is the lock, I can easily pick it." he stepped forwards, hands outstretched.
Sal put his arm out to stop his brother, "wait, do you know how to relock it after?"
"Well, kind of." he admitted, "it's hit and miss, really. Sometimes I can, sometimes I can't."
"It's not worth the risk, we can't have anyone knowing we've been here. Let's find another way inside." The shorter boy walked away, surveying the perimeter of the building. His eyes caught on every window, each of them out of reach. Larry wasn't far behind, skeptically looking at what Sal considered to be an entrance. Sal stopped in front of a drainage pipe in the back of the house, that ran up the wall, leading next to a window, which wasn't too high off the ground. The glass sheet was slightly ajar, giving enough space for a very small person to squeeze through.
"Oh, c'mon, Sal! Don't make me be the reasonable one." The brunette groaned, as he watched Sal gently tugging on the plastic tube.
"You think this'll hold my weight?"
"No!" Larry yelled, "of course it won't! What are you even thinking, dude!" he sighed, exasperated.
Sal glared at him reproachfully, "well, I don't see you suggesting anything!"
Larry looked back, sympathetically, "listen, buddy, I know you're worried about your boyfriend, but rushing through this isn't going to help with anything." he stepped back further from the house, analyzing the possible break-in point. "I bet that you could get up there if I gave you a little boost."
"Great, let's do it!" Sal replied, enthusiastically. It was the only time he'd shown any form of excitement or happiness throughout the entire escapade. The taller boy stood next to Sal, once again. He was incredibly doubtful of the plan, but it was the only somewhat reasonable opportunity they had.
He crouched down, his back turned to Sal, "hop on my shoulders, I'm gonna stand up, and you're gonna get through the window, got it?" Larry asked.
"Yep! I'm gonna count down, ready?" Larry nodded, giving Sal the go-ahead. "Alright. Three, two, one." He swiftly jumped on his brother's back, his legs draped over Larry's chest. Sal gripped Larry's hair for balance, not wanting to fall off. Cautiously, Larry straightened his posture, standing up. Sal desperately reached out for the ledge, his arm extended to it's maximum length, but it wasn't enough.
"Shit, Larry, I can't reach." His voice was panicked, losing hope for finding his missing lover.
"It's fine, there's got to be another way in. I'm going to put you down now-"
"No! I'm going to make this work, just stay very still." Sal interjected, slipping his legs closer to his own chest.
Larry staggered sideways slightly, due to the unexpected movement. "Woah, wait! What are you doing? Be careful!"
Sal held onto Larry's head with both of his hands, stabilizing himself. Slowly, he shifted his feet onto the brunette's shoulder, and carefully started to stand up. He placed his hand along the wall for extra support, fully extending his legs, until he was completely upright. Sal grabbed onto the window ledge with both of his hands, pushing himself up with all of his very limited upper body strength.
"You doing okay?"
"Yep" Sal voice was incredibly strained, as he finally got his knees onto the window sill. It was a precarious balance, but he was able to safely sit on the slight overhang. Larry watched anxiously, as Sal shimmied around the window, dropping into the room.
"If nobody's home, I'll let you in through the front. We can look for clues as to where Travis went." Sal stage whispered to Larry, still safely on the ground. Before his stepbrother could respond, Sal turned away from the window and looked around the room. A large, wooden wardrobe with a keypad lock was pushed up against the far wall. A king-sized mattress was neatly made, with burgundy blankets; a nightstand was placed directly next to it, holding a couple different objects, a half-filled glass of water, a framed picture, reading glasses, and the Bible. Sal ventured further into the room, three doors were in the room, two that were conjoined, and one single door, all on the same wall of the room.
"This could be Kenneth's room, I doubt Travis would decorate his space like this." He mumbled, speaking to no one in particular.
Sal investigated the various items on the desk, carefully picking each one up, and thoroughly inspecting it.
"Hm, nothing about these things stick out to me." He murmured as he put the book back on the desk, turning his attention to the last item, the picture. It was an older looking photo of Kenneth Phelps, and a heavily pregnant woman, whom Sal didn't recognize. His arms were lovingly wrapped around her chest, his smile was warm, and inviting; his face showed true, pure affection, as they gazed into each other's eyes. Judging by her darker skin, deep brown eyes and overall facial structure, Sal assumed her to be Travis' mother, Tala Phelps. They were standing in an open field, brightly coloured flowers speckled across the vibrant, green grass. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, everything looked so perfect, how could this happy couple turn into the hell that was Travis' life? He flipped the frame over to the back to further examine it.
"There's a few screws loose here, looks like it might be intentional." Sal muttered to himself, "I can't pry it open with my hands, but I might be able to if I have a tool of some kind."
He set the object back down, and continued with his search. The wardrobe was sealed tight, unmoving when Sal tried to jerk the doors open. After tinkering with the lock, he realized the passcode only had room for four digits.
"I can't do much with this right now, I'll have to come back later." The blue-haired boy moved on, making his way to the double doors. Upon opening them, he discovered it was a regular closet. An assortment of formal clothing was hung up, mostly dress shirts and blazers. A steel cross was hung up to the wall in the back of the closet, hidden behind the clothing.
"Nothing off about this, just seems to be church clothes." Sal said, as he flicked through each item. After scrutinizing the entire room, Sal silently slipped through the final door, and into the hallway. None of the lights were on, and the windows were covered with blinds, casting an eerie darkness inside the house. Nothing in the upstairs showed any trace of any residents occupying the house, so Sal proceeded down the stairs, in an attempt to find the front door. The moment his feet his the hardwood of the main floor, he knew something was wrong. Warily, he peered around the corner, into the living room, his heart dropped. Travis' journal was completely mutilated, and spread out across the room. The front door was just in sight, Sal pushed himself towards it, forcing himself to ignore the mess momentarily. Larry's concerned face was the first thing he saw when he thrust open the door.
"Dude, what took you so long? I thought that crazy preacher found you!" He pulled Sal into a tight hug, having to bend down due to the height difference.
"Sorry, man, I was investigating a bit." Sal apologized, before remembering the pages scattered across the couch and floor, "I was right! His dad did find the journal, come in!" Sal stepped out of the way, making room for Larry to enter the door.
"Woah, this isn't good."
"Yeah, no shit, Larry." He snapped back, closing the front door.
Larry grimaced at his harsh tone, "so, what do we do now? You're in charge here, Sally."
He rubbed his plastic forehead, thinking, "let's check out the area, see if we can find any evidence," he paused for a moment, "see if we can find Trav."
His brother walked past him into the living area, stooping down to look at the pages.
"Sal, I love you. Everything about you is so perfect, I love the way your eyes shimmer when you laugh, the way you spin your pencil on your finger when you're bored in class, I'm in love with you. I never thought it would be okay to actually love someone, but you've changed that. I want to feel your lips against mine, I want to embrace you in my arms and your scent to overwhelm my mind. You're everything I want.' Man, he's really into you." Larry read, laughing at the end.
Sal's cheeks flushed a bright red, thankfully hidden by his prosthetic. "I mean, I'd sure hope so." He trailed off.
Larry pulled another page from the mess. "'There's no way this is real. No chance in hell, this has to be a joke. I just can't believe that you feel the same way, it feels too perfect. Even if I did, it still isn't allowed. God will never forgive me, I have to resist the temptations. You're beautiful in every way, but I could never give you what you want. What would God think? What would Father think? There's far too much at stake here, I'm sorry.' I guess it shouldn't be surprising that Travis was having second thoughts, he is Travis, after all."
The shorter one nodded, walking forwards. Travis had seemed so eager, so excited when he'd confessed, was Travis still having second thoughts? Sal pushed away the negative notion, he'd have to ask Travis when they found him.
"Holy shit, there are so many love letters in here!" Larry exclaimed, shuffling through some of the papers, holding a few up in his clenched fist while still looking down.
"How about we don't look through his personal stuff? You know he'd never want you, of all people, going through his things."
Larry scoffed, "what if he's sending us a coded message, telling us where to find him? In my humble opinion, he'd be more upset if Ash was doing this."
"Lar, I don't think he would send us a message in his secret love notes." Sal insisted, sternly. Larry sighed, but still stood up. As Sal walked by the notes, he snuck a couple glances, hoping to catch a few of the words dedicated to himself. Suddenly, his eyes flashed to the backpack sitting on the floor. With no hesitation, he ran forwards, and opened it.
"Nothing's missing, Travis didn't even get to unpack." Sal picked up the phone nestled against the pajamas that Travis had worn the previous night, the screen displayed all the texts and missed calls Sal sent him in desperation, hoping for a response to know he was alright.
"I'm gonna try to find Travis' bedroom, can you look for a screwdriver, or drill somewhere? There's something I want to check out."
"You got it, Sally face." He gave a thumbs up, before walking off. Sal wandered back up the stairs, moving towards a door down the hallway from the first bedroom. It was fairly barren, only containing a double bed, crucifix, fixed to the wall; a nightstand, chair and wardrobe, lacking the same security as the first one. His original belief that Travis' room would be more lively, couldn't be further from the truth. The blank, beige walls reminded him of a mental institution. Nothing that automatically met the eye seemed out of place, but when looked further, it was a whole different story. The inside of his nightstand drawer was a complete mess, loose papers and writing utensils were randomly thrown in there, multiple razor blades glistened against the light peering through the window, a colourful sticky note sat at the very bottom. It was old, dirtied, and slightly torn around the corners.
Have a great first day at school, sweetie! I miss you already.
Love,
Mommy xoxo
A pang of sadness wavered in his heart, he didn't even want to imagine how much her death effected him, not to mention her deterioration. What could hurt more than watch someone you hold dear, fall apart, become a hollow version of the person they once were?
"Sal, I found a screw thingy!"
Sal quickly shook the sorrow from his mind, trying to remain hopeful, for Travis' sake.
"Thanks, Larry! This should do the trick." Larry handed him the screw driver to undo the lingering screws. The frame popped open after loosening it, the glass almost falling from his hands. Sal flipped over the picture, on the back, a date was written, 1976.
"Hey, can you go over to that wardrobe and type in the code that I tell you?" He carefully placed the photo back into it's casing, retightening the screws.
Larry narrowed his eyes, confused, "Wardrobe? Do you mean the outward closet?"
"What the hell are you talking about, it's a wardrobe?" Sal stifled back a laugh, trying not to make fun of his idiocy.
"Meh, potato, potato." Larry shrugged, "the code?"
"1976." A small metallic chirp signaled that it worked.
"Let's go, Einstein!" The brunette laughed, opening the door, "what the fuck? Is this guy a furry, or something?"
Sal raised an eyebrow, inquisitively, "why, what's in there?"
"There's like, a weird, silver dog mask thingy, and a cloak? This shit is weird, man." Sal almost felt his heart stop beating, a dog mask?
"Let me see." His tone shifter drastically, this couldn't be what he thought it was, right? The hollow, dark eyes of the mask stared back at him, it was exactly what he thought it was. There was no mistaking it, this was the same mask he saw almost ten years before, the last thing he saw before he lost his face.
"No, no, no, no. This can't be- no!" He wrapped his fingers around his pigtails, something he did for comfort.
"Shit, we need to get out of here." Larry grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards the window.
"Wait, I have to-"
"No, we don't have time! I hear a car in the driveway, Sal. There's nothing left to see here."
"At least let me close the wardrobe!" Sal pushed his hand away, rushing back towards the cabinet, shoving the doors shut. Larry forced the window open more so he could fit, then dove out the gap, landing on his knees. He yelped in pain, but recover quickly, and turned to face the window again.
"C'mon, I'll catch you!" Sal didn't need to be told twice, he leapt from the window, falling directly into Larry's arms.
"Let's leave before he notices us." Larry stood, but Sal quickly stopped him.
"Wait, I want to stay here for a second." He protested, pushing his back against the outer wall of the building.
"What are we waiting f-"
"Shh!" Sal interjected, holding a finger to his artificial lips. The two sat in dense silence, listening for the quiet movements of the man inside the house. There was the same small, metallic chirp as before, Kenneth must've opened the wardrobe. His footsteps left the room just as quickly as they came, and his car pulled away from the house.
"What do we do now, Sal?"
"We go to the Ministry." He replied, "that's where Kenneth's going, so that's where we're going."
The brothers wasted almost half an hour arguing about safety concerns, and the dangers of going to the church while knowing Kenneth was inside and at large. Eventually, Sal convinced Larry to go, though he feared it was already too late.
"There's a door at the back by the dumpsters, we can get in through there if you'd pick the lock." Sal explained, his mindset was straightforward, and unshakable.
"Sure, if that's the best way."
Sal nodded, "it is."
Larry made quick work of the door, allowing the two to sneak in. It was uncomfortably quiet, which wouldn't have been a shock to most people, as it was a weekday, but Sal and Larry knew the truth about this innocent looking holy sanctuary. Sal recalled Travis mentioning a staff room at some point, perhaps that would have answers? The staff room wasn't too far from their entrance point, making it a quick journey.
"What exactly are we looking for, again?" Larry questioned, scratching his head.
"I don't know," Sal admitted, frantically searching the room, "anything that could lead us to Travis."
"Sal, I think you and I both know where he is." The taller boy looked to Sal, his face dejected.
"Let's think about the best case scenario." The quietness returned, as Sal shuffled through papers again.
"You know," Larry started, "I'd really rather not become lunch meat."
"Me too, Lar, but we have to do this."
A small creak of floorboards sounded behind them, Larry and Sal turned around in sync.
"If you're looking for Travis, he's unable to see anyone right now." The tall, blonde man stood just inside the doorway, his eyes tearing Sal apart.
Sal swallowed, "why?" His mouth was dry, voice shaking. He couldn't believe they'd been caught, but needed to muster up a response.
"I'm afraid he's fallen ill, he will be back at school tomorrow." His voice was sharp, and cold.
"Yeah, see? That's what Todd said, too." Larry laughed, trying to ease the tension.
"I must admit, it was a clever trick to sneak in through the back, however, we have security cameras." Kenneth smiled, but it obviously wasn't genuine. Sal's blood ran cold, he tensed his muscles, there was no getting past him. Neither of the boys responded, both too nervous to say something.
"It's a pleasure to meet you again, Sal." Sal's eyes grew wide as realization hit him like a truck. Travis' mentioned his name in the notes, Kenneth knew him, "but I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave. We have much work to be done here and-"
"No." Larry interrupted, crossing his arms.
Kenneth looked at him, dismayed, "I beg your pardon?"
"Oh, please don't beg, Minister." Larry regained his voice, straightening his posture. "I said no, we aren't leaving." Sal turned to him, aghast, Kenneth had a similar look on his face.
"As I've already told you, Travis is feeling unwell, so-"
"Cut the shit, man. We know that's a lie, and we aren't leaving until we get what we came for." Larry wasn't going to step down.
The minister's expression stiffened, "I don't believe that's the case. I have video footage of you breaking and entering, and with your criminal record, that won't look so good."
Larry and Sal exchanged concerned glances, how did he know that?
"Well, we have evidence of your-"
"Larry, stop!" Sal interjected before Larry could finish, fearing him spoiling all their knowledge of the cult, "we should just cut our loses and leave."
"What? Sal, we didn't do all of this for nothing!" Larry argued, looking annoyed.
"No, we didn't." Sal started to whisper, out of earshot from Kenneth, "we need to live to fight another day. We'll get Travis, I know we will, but this isn't going to work."
Larry paused, looking at him, "fine, whatever."
The priest moved out of the way, escorting them through the front door.
"I hope to see you again soon, Mr.Fisher."
"Yes, I'll be looking forwards to it."
A/n (again)
I'm not sure if the timing of this all makes sense, so if it doesn't someone please let me know and I can explain it. The series of events in this one should line up with the last chapter.
Word count: 3824