You had no idea where they would be coming from, but each door seemed suspicious as you tugged Josh with you to find an exit. All the lights had been turned off on purpose, but you wondered if that would be of any help if they already knew where you and Josh were hiding.
You were pretty sure Josh wasn't exactly aware of what was going on, but by the way he let you guide him it was clear he knew something bad was gonna happen. He had already been told that whatever happened, he shouldn't attack anyone, not even if your life depended on it. Because if Josh would lash out like previously done, you were sure they were gonna lock him up again, or worse; take him down.
Josh was heavy, and every step he took forced the wooden floor to loudly creak under his weight. It was impossible to move without any sound, which made escaping the house more speed based instead of silently getting out. You needed to move quickly or not at all, staying was not an option.
"Josh, which way is the forest... you know, the one you and Chris always went fishing..." You tried, but unfortunately he pointed towards the front door, which was definitely off limits. You cursed under your breath, desperately trying to think of a plan. But as the adrenaline rushed through your veins, and the ticks on the clock seemed to sync with your increasing heartbeat, it became impossible to think clearly. This couldn't be the end of it, this shouldn't be the end of it.
You couldn't let go of him like this, giving him up to the police or whatever was searching for him was something you'd have to avoid at all costs. Because if they would treat him like an animal again, you were afraid he would never return to his old self again. It had been a real task to get him to this point already, and all the effort of trying to turn him back would get lost as they locked him up.
"Josh... I can't promise you we'll get out of this." You didn't dare to look at him, feeling as if you betrayed him by telling him your thoughts. "If anything happens to me, just go. Escape on your own, I promise I'll find a way back to you." You confirmed your statement by letting go of his hand, which didn't go unnoticed. A growl came in response, one that sounded like he disagreed. He tried to grab yours again, but you refused to give into your urges of keeping him to yourself. Instead you were going to make sure he would escape this situation alive.
Noises came from the front door, and quickly after the handle of the door to the garden began to rattle as well. The both of you were surrounded, and with each second the noises increased just as rapidly as your decreasing amount of hope, and just as they bursted in you felt the last piece fade from your mind.
They had guns, which immediately aimed at Josh' presence once noticed. Armor was layered upon their arms, stomach, and legs, prepared for the situation in which Josh did have to attack them. They moved in quickly, towards you, towards Josh.
You couldn't react in the small amount of time you were given. They yelled at their crew mates to part you from him, to bring you to safety and split you from the person they thought of as nothing but a monster. It was overwhelming and fast, but your instincts reacted even quicker.
You jumped in front of Josh, who screeched in their direction, hoping this method would keep them away from the both of you. His voice was intimidating and mighty, and the soldiers failed in trying to mask their fear. They were shaking, with cold sweat running down their necks. Josh noticed, he could smell them. He could hear how their heartbeats quickened, and the scent of fright filled his nostrils. A scent that wasn't unknown to him.
"Stay away! He won't hurt you!" You tried, keeping him behind your back even though it wouldn't matter much. You lost, and Josh was going to be taken away from you.
They ignored your pleas as they moved forwards. You were roughly tugged away from Josh. Struggling wasn't helping, because before you knew it you were pushed to the ground, a groan escaping your parted lips as they placed handcuffs around your wrists. You moaned at the way they twisted your arm, but with 3 men holding you down, there was nothing you could do.
At the back of your mind, you wanted Josh to attack them. To save you and escape this horrid scenario. But you knew what Josh promised you. He would behave, and try to keep calm as they captured him, because if he was gonna act up and attack them, they would shoot him without hesitation.
You watched as he surrendered. Sinking to his knees and holding his hands up for the soldiers to cuff, but instead he was shot. Not with a bullet, because within seconds he fell unconscious to the ground. The last thing he saw being you with tear tracks on your cheeks, yelling his name as you attempted to escape from the knee placed on your back.
*10 Minutes later*
"Where are you taking him?! He's not what you think he is!"
In front of you stood a tall dark man. Several badges pinned to the shoulder of his army green jacket. A very structured face with sharp cheekbones made him look younger than he actually was. He was extremely tall, you guessed him to be around 6'3, his shoulders were broad and in any other situation you would have guessed him to be a bodybuilder. His sharp green eyes, which matched beautifully with his skin tone, were focused on you, and he seemed like he was contemplating about something. As if he was still thinking about what he actually wanted from you.
Behind stood three familiar faces which you had began to despise after what they did. Their eyes seemed to be focused on you, but all you could give them in return was a glare. Even your step brother didn't feel like family anymore. He had become selfish, scared by his own imagination and unable to think properly as he still seemed fazed by the monsters he had seen back on mount Washington.
You had told him not to fear Josh, but he couldn't hear you over the voices of his own mind. He ignored your pleas, and instead chose to suffer under his growing terrors.
"What are they doing here?" You spoke, knowing that he wouldn't answer your previous questions, and nodded towards the three so called friends of Josh. They seemed to be very uncomfortable in the current situation, and you wouldn't blame them for it if they hadn't betrayed their friend. The officer turned his head towards them, then began to explain in a very deep voice, which added to his already intimidating looks.
"They helped us find the two of you, and brought us here." This man didn't actually seem too sure of his actions. There was hesitancy laced in the tone of his voice, and while he spoke he refused to meet your eyes. "It wasn't hard to locate. You could have thought of a better hiding spot." He mocked, still not looking back at you.
There was an aching in your chest that you didn't know how to respond to. Why could no one listen to what happened? Why couldn't anybody actually see Josh as a victim instead of the danger, and try to reason with him instead of making his conditions worse and worse by treating him like something inhumane?
"Nobody listens to us. Nobody actually knows how much progress Josh is making." You tried to move your hands, but your wrists were still restrained by the handcuffs. "He can talk. He knows who we are... he just wants to get better. He didn't want to become like this."
The officer nodded, but kept his ground. As usual he listened to your words but refused to hear your reasoning. He glanced back to look at Josh, who was tied up and sedated while they pulled his body into the back of a truck.
"We finally managed to contact his parents. They are currently talking to one of the detectives, and going through Josh' mental background with his psychiatrist Dr. Hill." He said, and you just eyed him. "You are aware of his mental state and the medications he was on right?"
"Of course. But do you really think his mental state is the cause of his sudden change in appearance?"
"No, but it can be the reason why he is not getting better."
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Josh felt numb. He couldn't remember what exactly had happened, but his main concern was focused on your whereabouts. You were taken from him, and even though you told him not to fight, his body did have the urge to lunge at whatever person took you. But before he could react to anything that was happening, his body felt to the ground and he was forced unconscious by the darts in his back.
The next time he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a look of fear. It was blurry, but he could smell the cold sweat running down their complexion, and he could hear the pace of their heartbeat. It was fast, going even faster once they met his gaze.
He tried to lift his hand, but it was chained to the side of the vehicle, and secured with two more chains to really keep him from escaping. It was impossible to rip these, and the tightness on his wrist was making his fingers numb from lack of blood circulation.
"P-Please don't tell me that's him..." He could hear them say. His vision was still blurry, but he could recognize her voice anywhere. And even if he hadn't seen her once in the past few weeks, he didn't feel like meeting her again. Not like this. Not in this body.
"Ma'am, please... we are just as concerned as you are." One of the doctors explained, unable to calm the nerves that were raging through her body once seeing what had happened to Josh.
"We can't explain exactly what happened... but he seems to be cursed in some kind of way."
Josh was finally able to blink his vision back into focus, but he didn't like what he saw. Right in front of him, on a decent distance away from him stood the two persons he definitely didn't want that they saw him like this. But it was too late. They realized, and they were terrified.
"That thing is not my son. I-It can't be..."