Mason's POV
Colin's parents had not taken my call very well, in fact, they had hung up on me before I could fully introduce myself. Leaving me exactly where I had started, which suffice to say, was absolutely nowhere.
Sighing, I raised my hand to knock on Chase's door. My back ached, my neck was kinked, my fingers were cramped, I was very, very uncomfortable and very very annoyed by the time he answered. Hair ruffled, freshly shaved, looking like a newly printed hundred dollar bill. I shoved him aside. "Well, nice to see you too," he joked. "I'm guessing it didn't go well?"
"No. It did not."
"So..we're on to plan B then?" He said, flopping down on the living room couch.
"Yeah..." I replied, as I thrust the bundle of papers I had printed at him, "that's every catholic reform school within the Bible belt."
Chase whistled, "Wow....that's...a lot. Do you really think we'll find him? Are you even sure you want to?" It was an honest question, and one I had debated a long time over.
Running a hand through my hair; how long had it gotten? I began to reply, "It's not really about whether I want to find him or not, it's about what's right."
"...and he would do the same for you, is that it?"
I nodded. Whatever people may say about Colin, the fact is that somewhere inside of him is a good man. It takes a Hell of a lot to change from brutal monster, to someone deserving of the title "friend", but he had done it, and along the way, he had become much more than that. Who was he to me? I did not know. But I was going to bring him back home. That was a promise.
"Alright then it's settled. We'll go to each place, and see which one our friend Colin is at."
"We can't just ask to see him though..."
"No," Chase concurred smiling, "but we can....on visiting day."
"They have those?"
"Of course they do! They always do," he paused, "don't they?"
I couldn't help it, I laughed. Here was a guy who lived his life by movie scripts, who could quote every Die Hard movie, and reenact every scene from Rocky Horror, but who could not for the life of him, get his facts straight. One minute he'd be telling you all about this great new fruit they discovered in Indonesia, only to have it be a poisonous spider. He would hear one thing, take it, twist, and turn it into something entirely different. Among our friends this ability was known as "the power of assumption".
"So how do you propose we see them all though? Given the time frame and locations..."
"Ha! Do I have an answer for you," I quirked an eyebrow, "Our friends silly! They were all swept away by Colin's antics, so I'm sure they'll be eager to help." I stared at him, one eyebrow still raised, "Or...we can tell them that they are barbaric in their methods and that rescuing a reformed homophobic killer will make a great political platform."
"That's better, much better." I added smiling, knowing that our friend group would love to be involved with something that went against the Church, or at least the part of it that called us disgusting heathens sent from Lucifer to taint the Godly. I'm really not the type to complain about things, and I'm not all that into human rights and protesting. Yes, I think the Church is wrong, and yes it pisses me off but as long as they don't hurt me personally and keep to themselves I am fine. Let them believe what they want. But, the thing is, they did hurt me. They are the reasons why people like Colin will choose murder as the lesser of two sins, and the reason why people like him will continue to get "not guilty" verdicts. It's an unjust world, and while I don't fight to change it, I won't dismiss a golden opportunity like this one, or deprive my more fanatical friends of the right to stick it to the man, as one may say. "Okay, so how about we start calling them up, see what we can do, and I'll find out when their visitations days are."
"Sure sounds good. You should stay a while though, have something to eat...maybe go out for some drinks later?" I shook my head,
"I'm sorry...I'm just..."
"Preoccupied?" He interrupted, smiling, "don't worry, I get it. Go save the world or something, I'll be here if you need anything." I smiled, snatching back the keys I had lent him, much to his outrage. I kept ditching him...I always had ever since Matthew had died. They had been friends for a long time, and then we had become friends too, and the three of us would spend every day together, hanging out, drinking, dancing, we were inseparable which is why being alone with him is so hard, because when I am, I notice Matthew's absence that much more.
I jangled the keys to my car in my hand as I walked down the street. Chase had looked crestfallen when I had shut the door, as if he had hoped that I might stay for once, although I never did. I guess I really was an asshole. Oh well. It wasn't like I wanted people to get close to me anyway. I liked my solitude, I liked lying on my bed with a record of memories on repeat, I liked drowning in my nostalgia, put simply, I liked Matthew and the moments when I closed my eyes and he appeared. There had been a few times where it had been Colin's face instead of his, that confident boyish smirk replacing the blushing cheeks, that square jawline digging into my collarbone where delicate features should have rested. Some part of me, felt like Colin had willingly gone to the camp just to get away from me...because I had pushed him too hard with my anger and hate that I still kept tight to my chest. But holding on to all of that, was like holding a grenade in the palm of my hand. Eventually, it'd explode, and I felt like it was choosing now.
As I walked all the feelings I had been denying came rushing force, and the gravel crunching my feet sounded like gunshots to my ears. The war zone of the heart is the most dangerous battle ground to navigate. I had left far too many casualties in my wake.
Would Colin be another?
Closing my eyes, I shook my head. No. No. No. No. I will not let that happen. The question was: was it even in my power to stop it? This plan that Chase and I had concocted was so holey that it could stand in as a religious artifact. Everything could so easily go wrong, and knowing my luck, it probably would. But still I pushed and pushed for action, I was running and fast. No longer could I simply stand by and watch as others lived their lives while I was out busy chasing down a ghost. Matthew had told me to live, and instead I had died right alongside him. Take me away, I had shouted to God, take me to him. But God only takes those he needs, and no one needs someone like me.
Useless. Pathetic. When had I become so self-deprecating? Or maybe this is just what happens when everything falls apart, and you are finally able to see each individual thread that makes up the pattern of your being.
Sighing, I opened the door to my house, immediately crashing on the couch. I was exhausted from thinking, and too many sleepless nights. I needed to rest, but of course, my mind had ever plans.
As I fell quickly asleep, I began to dream. Clouds carpeted the floor while the cities took the place of the sky like stalagmites on the ceiling of a cave. I looked around, not understanding where I was, or why the world had turned itself upside down, and everything was so bright like the Earth had swallowed the sun itself. I squinted, trying to see, there was a figure in the distance that appeared like a mirage, all hazy and unclear. I tried to focus, tried to see if the figure was familiar, but it just stayed the same, even when I moved closer until I walked through it. Smoke and mirrors. Then a voice rang out, and turning, I saw Colin and Joey. They were enshrined in white ribbon, with glassy eyes and pale complexions. Shocked, at their doll-like appearance I backed up just as the voice whispered "help" the sound surrounding me, encompassing and consuming. It rang out loud and clear "help" over and over again "help"
"I don't know how!" I answered.
The voice did not reply, instead the cityscape crumbled around me, turning to glass as it did so that shattered at my feet, and reflected in all the fragments were a million little rainbows. I glanced up, confusion etched onto my face. Colin and Joey were still there, but the ribbon had begun to unwind, the loose ends flapping in the wind. I watched, as the fabric slowly disintegrated into numbers that looked like Bible Verses, noticing that the bodies of the boys themselves were clad in scripture that suddenly ignited into vibrant blue flame. "Burn" the voice whispered inside my head, "Burn." I reached out to douse the flames, crying out their names, realizing only too late that they were already gone, leaving only ash behind.
Amongst the ash were tiny bones arranged to form a hand that looked to be pointing right at me.
I woke up, my head felt dizzy, my eyes were dry and I blinked over and over again, unable to clear the images from my head.