Everything Clicks - An AJR Music Video Fic

III - Burn The House Down (Adam)

I'm writing all of this down while it's still fresh in my mind. I didn't expect that it would get to this point, I can't say any of us did. You can never really predict when disaster is going to strike. If I would've known that anything like this was going to happen, I wouldn't have agreed to any of it. I just want to be done with it.

I only vaguely remember that night before we got in the cab, despite it not being that long ago. Jack and I were both exhausted from something, most likely a long night at the house party. Ryan had vowed to stay awake and make sure we all got home safe and sound. He had been a bit anxious throughout the night, he was convinced that the drinks we had had were spiked or had some kind of substance in them. I understood his concern, there was no way to make sure that they were safe. I let him go along with his plan to stay up, and I fell asleep.

When I woke up, I wasn't in a cab. Or anywhere I recognized.

I was awoken to the lights around me abruptly flickering on, as bright as daylight. I squinted my eyes groggily at the vividness. The first thought through my head was, "What were the guys doing?" They were never up this early. At least, not on off days. Something wasn't right. That, then, was when I began to remember the events of the previous night. I was supposed to stay overnight with Jack and Ryan, then head home to my own apartment in the morning. Ryan never woke me up in the cab. What had happened between then and now?

I fully opened my eyes and was greeted with a dual set of fluorescent lights nearly blinding me. I squinted them shut again and sat up in whatever "bed" I was in. I rubbed my watering eyes with the side of my hand and got myself back on my guard and in the moment to deal with whatever this was. I was able to see my surroundings now. I sat, and slept, it seemed, on what looked to be a rather barren and uncomfortable hospital bed. There were no sheets or blankets, and the mattress itself sat only on a thin metal bed frame. The atmosphere was deathly quiet, the only sound being the buzzing of the fluorescent lights. The room itself had dark stone walls and floors. There were a few dark stains scattered across the floor. That didn't make me feel well.

The room was empty other than the bed and a white jumpsuit hung on a hook on the far wall next to a heavy door. A tag was attached to the sleeve of the jumpsuit. I felt as though I needed to investigate everything in here further, but I wasn't sure if I should, or if I was even allowed. I didn't even have any kind of semblance of where I was, or if Jack and Ryan were safe. By God, I hoped they were.

Against any kind of reservations I had, I got up off the bed and slowly approached the opposing wall with the jumpsuit. My stomach knotted itself more and more with each step. What had I gotten myself into? What had we? I brought the sleeve of the jumpsuit up and looked at the tag. A message was written in red pen and rushed handwriting:

Put this on & come outside.

It seemed I didn't really have a choice. By the looks of my accommodations and this garb, I felt like I was in somebody's custody. Like I was somebody's prisoner. What anyone would want to do with me, I didn't know. But I had a feeling I wasn't going to like whatever came next. I changed into the white jumpsuit and went over to the door. Come outside? The door was just unlocked in a place like this? I pulled on the handle and the door clicked and swung open to reveal a dimly lit hallway. I guessed I shouldn't have questioned it.

I stepped out of my space and into the hallway. The ambience out here wasn't much different than in the other room. I was surrounded by more stone in every direction, and the electrical hum of the lights was still prevalent. It was at least a lot more open, that was a plus. But I wasn't really sure where to go from here, the note on the jumpsuit hadn't given me any instruction past this point. I started to walk in one direction, hoping there'd be some kind of answer somewhere along the line.