Tyler felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, tilting his head in slight confusion. He didn't understand why Josh would call him, he hadn't tried to reach him, not even with a text since Tyler kicked him out a few days ago. Tyler shook it off and answered the call anyway, curiosity taking over him.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Tyler." The voice that came from the other line was not Josh's, it was deeper and darker. Worried, Tyler sat down at the edge of the stage, panting slightly.
"Josh? Who is this?"
Thomas looked over at Josh who was shaking his head, rage in his eyes and smiled. "Josh, huh?" He grinned at the new information and gave Tyler the address of the motel. "You've got an hour or Josh dies."
"How do I know he's even there?" Tyler wasn't confident, he was terrified but he had to remain strong and as if he weren't just a scared little boy on the inside.
Thomas rolled his eyes and pulled the gag out from Josh's mouth, "Speak." He demanded.
"Tyler, listen, buddy, I'm fine, don't worry about me, okay?" One of the bodybuilders clenched his fist and threw across Josh's face, the poor boy incapable of containing a groan followed by a small cry.
"Hear that? Don't try to be a hero." Thomas spat back at Josh and put the rag back in his bloody mouth before he spun around to end his call. "One hour."
As Tyler was about to protest, the line was hung. He stood there for a moment before a voice snapped him back to reality.
"What are you waiting for? Go!" Blurryface yelled and Tyler didn't bother questioning his other self as he typed the address in the GPS on his phone.
"NO!" He yelled out when he saw the distance, "An hour and a half away from here?! What am I suppose to do?"
Blurryface looked at him with a grin and Tyler sighed. He knew this couldn't be good. "Steal a car, then speed down the highway, duh. It's like you've never seen a damn movie."
"That's illeg-"
"Illegal, yes I know, but unless you wanna see Josh dead in an hour, I suggest you get moving."
Tyler wasn't left with many options but letting Josh die surely wasn't one of them. Without a second to waste he hurried down to the nearest parking lot, mostly empty and no security cameras. His eyes locked on a plain rusty red, vintage looking car as if it were from the late 70s or early 80s. Tyler ran towards it. It didn't have one of those fancy new alarm systems so the breaking in part was easy, the hot-wiring not so much.
It took Tyler a few shocks before the engine finally ignited and he could pull away speeding on the road. He was going 120 in 100 km/h zone, Blurryface encouraging him from the passenger seat along the way. The road was pretty quiet, that was until Blurryface began talking again, throwing words around like a boxer throws punches.
"Haven't you ever wondered about Josh, where he comes from or his family?"
Tyler didn't bother looking at him, his eyes remained focused on the road and he continued to drive. "I know he's from Canada."
"Right.."
"What could you possibly be talking about now?"
"Nothing.."
Tyler was too worried and stressed out to bother arguing with his own mind. He accelerated down the road, turning on the radio to cancel out the annoying voice. For the next little while, the random melodies filled the thick air and it was nice and quiet from Blurryface as if he weren't even there which was everything he needed right now. The next song was quite catchy and Tyler caught himself even singing along, thought he didn't remember this song, the lyrics seemed to have stuck to him.
"Heard you say, not today, tore the curtains down, window open now, make a sound..!"
"Who sings this?"
Tyler rolled his eyes and tried to ignore him but Blurryface only repeated his question, this time, louder.
"Who sings this?"
"I don't know! Now will you shut up?!"
"Maybe you should find out?"
Tyler groaned in arrogance as he turned the volume up on the stereo and drove, the next little bit was easier done. When he arrived at the motel, his time was nearly up and he rushed to the door labeled 21. He lifted his right knee and pushed it back down with a great amount of force, kicking down the door. What was revealed inside was about the farthest thing from what he'd expected.
Josh was sitting down on a chair, tied up, he wasn't moving, his head hanging low and blood dripped on his shirt and to be honest, Tyler wasn't even sure if he was alive or not. He approached him quietly but by the time he was a few feet away he heard footsteps causing the young man to turn around, his instincts guiding him to face his assailant. The moment his eyes caught sight and his brain process the current situation, Tyler was hit with a baseball bat, the force knocking him out onto the ground instantly.
Thomas smiled as he watched the body builders pick Tyler up and one threw him over his shoulder while the other went to grab Josh, untying him and dragging his unconscious body into a van parked outside. It was a soft ride, they took their time.
As soon as they arrived, the two bodybuilders dragged the boys inside an abandoned warehouse and tied them up to a metal pole which was centred in the vast open space. They left them there, locking them up and driving away in their van to get more supplies.
***
Tyler groaned as he opens his eyes, seeing a blurry image of what looked like a dark room. He didn't recognize it and his breath hitched as his vision became clearer. It took him a moment to regain full consciousness but as soon as he did, he wiggled his hands trying to get them loose but it was no use, it only burned his wrists. Tyler felt warm skin brushing against his hands and turned his hands to see Josh tied to the same poll on the opposite side of him.
"Josh?" No answer. "Josh!"
Josh still wasn't responding and Tyler began to worry. He could see Josh's shirt was stained in dark blood, clearly he wasn't okay. Tyler kept on wiggling his hands, desperate to get free so he could help Josh, but no matter how hard he tried, nothing seemed to work. He was gasping for air as he felt his throat begin to shut, his lungs were weakening and he was having an anxiety attack.
"Josh!!!" He couldn't breathe. "Josh, you'll be okay, I promise."
Tyler didn't give up, his wrists were burning, reviving old scars as they rubbed against the rope. Finally, he manages to free one of his hands and that was enough, he was able to free his other and he hopped up and on Josh faster than the speed of sound. Tyler untied him and looked at him. Josh looked so peaceful and silent, there wasn't much life left in him.
Tyler gasped, making it nearly impossible for him to breath now as he lifted up Josh's shirt, seeing two long and large surgical cuts on either side of him.
"It'll be okay, I got you."
Tyler picked him up and walked outside, hot wiring the car that was left there. He drove rapidly straight to the hospital, not caring about anything other than Josh, the Canadian boy he'd met just weeks ago, right?
When they finally arrived, only taking him 15 minutes, he poorly parked the car and grabbed Josh, running inside. The first doctor he laid eyes on, Tyler ran towards her and she immediately called over for a gurney and staff to help the poor boy.
The operation didn't take too long, at least the short period of time Tyler manage to stay conscious was short, rather I should say. Tyler's anxiety attack was so uncontrollable and he panicked so much, he passed out in one of the chairs of the waiting room. No one moved, no one did anything, he was left completely alone. Not even Blurryface bothered to show, though how could that possibly be a disappointment?
It was the hardest steps he'd ever made, from the waiting room to Josh's bedside, it was dangerously painful. Tyler didn't know what to expect and he was scared. After finally finding the courage to go, he made his way to Josh's side, sitting down as he listened to the doctor.
"Josh is in a critical state, both his kidneys were removed and he'll die within the next couple hours unless we find another one, stat. He's on dialysis right now, which is the only thing keeping him alive. The only problem, we don't have any available kidneys with his blood type."
Tyler didn't want to hear this, what ever happened to "he'll be just fine with a little bit of rest"? "What can I do? Can I give him one of mine?"
The doctor looked back at some previous records before nodding with a smile. "Says here you gave him blood a few years back, that means you're a match. Sign this and we'll prep you for surgery."
Tyler didn't hesitate and signed the form rapidly, it wasn't until he was lying down on an operating table with Josh's limp body close to him and the anaesthesia being injected through his vein, that it hit him, Josh only came to America this summer, how could he have given him blood years ago?
***
Thomas trashed everything in sight as he saw the missing boys, Gabriel, the biggest of the bodybuilders, trying to calm him down.
"What do you want us to do, sir?"
Thomas turned around and looked Gabriel deep in his eyes, he was filled with fury and anger as he spoke, words like venom on his tongue.
"Find Tyler Joseph."