𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝'𝚜 𝚠𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚖𝚎? {𝙾𝚖𝚎𝚐𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚎}

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟗 - 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐛𝐲?!

Ｔ．Ｈ．Ｉ．Ｒ．Ｄ

Slowly, Sam's eyes opened as they fluttered, the moon shining in his face as he groaned. Sam's throat felt dry, and his head and back were both pounding with agony and pain. Where was he? Sam's fingertips traced over the concrete, trying to see with his fingers as his vision stayed blurry and uneven. Sam's mind was clouded, the short amount of memories slowly flooding in as Colby's petrifying screams reminded him of past actions.

Sam's head shot up, groaning in pain as he clutched his head. "Colby?.." Sam mumbled, his eyes slowly opening fully as the blurriness sub-sided. Colby's pleas for Sam's name replayed in his mind, his heart clenching in agony as he craved to protect the younger. Sam shot up, his body screaming in pain as he moved, his bones cracking as he stayed in the same position for a while. "Colby!" Sam shouted, mental and physical pain evident in his voice. His legs pushed fast, running in the direction of the house as he hoped Colby would've gone back home.

Sam ran up to the door, slamming his palm against it rapidly before barging into the house. "Colby!!" Sam shouted, panic in his voice as he hoped Colby was home. "Colby, please!!" Sam cried, feeling tears brim his eyes as he ran up the stairs and toward Colby's room. "Colby!!" Sam cried, falling to his knees and stuffing his face in his hands, the reality dawning on him as Colby was nowhere to be seen. 

"Sam?" A voice called out, a hand being placed on his back gently. "Sam, dude, what's going on?" Jake asked, watching his blonde friend break down in front of him. Sam sobbed, shaking his head as he screamed. Emotions were boiling over as he blamed himself for everything. Colby was gone, he was gone and it was all his fault. Sam should've kept him protected from the cruel world and should've sacrificed his life. "Hey, hey, calm down, dude..." Jake whispered soothingly, trying to calm his friend down.

"Jake, Sam?" Corey asked, his head peeking through the doorway and seeing the commotion. "Yo, Sam, you okay, bro?" Corey asked, crouching down beside Sam, who was balling his eyes out as he screamed at the top of his lungs. Anger, sadness, guilt, denial, and realization rushed through him rapidly, his voice broken as he spoke,

"I couldn't save him!.." 

Both Corey and Jake could've sworn that their heart plummeted from their chest and to their abdomens upon hearing those words. Jake gulped, an endless amount of possibilities racing through his mind as it could've gone multiple ways. What did Sam mean? Where's Colby? What happened? "Okay, okay, dude... I need you to calm down and relax, okay? We're going to help Colby, okay? But I need you to calm down first and tell me what's going on." Jake said calmly, trying to contain his panic as overprotectiveness threatened to burst out of his chest. 

Sam let out a few more sobs, trying to contain his breathing as he tried his hardest to calm down. "O-Okay, I... I'll explain..." Sam mumbled, standing up slowly as his knees threatened to buckle. Sam sat on Colby's couch, watching as Corey and Jake sat down beside him. 

"Alright, bro, we're listening," Corey said gently, battling himself mentally as he tried to calm down. He was fighting his thoughts, the possibility of Colby being dead lingering in his mind.

"Alright, s-so, me and Colby were going out for a walk, right? I-" Sam gulped, trying to contain the sob that threatened to break out of his chest. Sam continued with his voice cracking, "He wanted to go alone at first which concerned me. In the end, we both walked together this afternoon..." Mental flashes tortured Sam, the howling of Colby's screams and whimpers flooding his mind. "I was attacked and... C-" Sam choked on his name, a small hiccup escaping.

"C-Colby was taken!!" Sam cried, the sobs he held in escaping as he mourned the kidnapping of Colby loudly, receiving distraught glances from Corey and Jake. Their brave faces crumbled down as their faces lost color, the feeling of loneliness and guilt corrupting their mental health. 

"W-What? Taken?! Sam-" Jake tried, tumbling over his words as everything went through him. Colby was taken, Colby was in danger, Colby was hurting. "How?! How did you-" Jake stopped the growls from escaping, seeing how heartbroken his friend was. Sam was already tearing himself apart, the guiltiness too much to handle as he felt an immense weight on his shoulders. Corey didn't speak, the shock was all he felt, denial creeping up behind him.

"There's... there's no way!.. Colby never..." Corey trailed off, lost in thought as it took control. He tried to contain his anger, the feeling of his Alpha snarling against his chest as he wanted to rip Sam apart. At no cost, it wasn't Sam's fault. Sam did what he could, and Corey knew that. "How could you lose him?!" Corey shouted, anger filling his lungs as he imagined how helpless Colby was.

"Corey! Calm down, dude!" Jake snarled, watching as Sam rubbed his eyes in a frustrated demeanor. 

"I'm sorry, okay?! I just couldn't protect him!! H-Hes... Ever since his secondary gender revealed..." Sam mumbled the last few words, his frustration going back to guilt as tears escaped. Corey sighed, his anger calming down into a dull feeling as all he felt was guilt and sadness. Corey rubbed Sam's back gently, comforting his friend the best he could. 

Jake looked at Sam genuinely, knowing how Sam felt. He had a small hunch about Sam, knowing that he and Colby were always more than friends. Jake placed a hand on Sam's shoulder gently, grasping it in his hand comfortably before speaking calmly and reassuringly, 

"Hey, dude... We're going to find him, okay? He's going to be okay."