Home Planet // Joshler

Part 7

I CAN'T BELIEVE PEOPLE ACTUALLY LIKE THIS WOW THANK YOU ILY GUYS SORRY ABOUT MY INCONSISTENCY

The next few weeks Josh struggled to get out of bed. He hadn't gotten much sleep since Tyler left. He felt his mind turning back to that void. He was scared. But he had to be strong for Tyler.

He eventually got up and sulked around the house, trying to distract himself. He cleaned, watched tv, and even played his drums for awhile.

God he hated this feeling. Why was he so dependent on Tyler? He shouldn't be. He just wanted to be free from his mind for a while.

Should he?

Josh thought about the last time he'd gone to the bar. When he was dropped at this location by the authorities, he had been stumbling down the street with tears streaming down his face when he found the building.

It was dark and loud which allowed him to evade questioning looks and whispers. So he entered the establishment and that was the first time he discovered alcohol.

He never knew why humans drank it, but he liked how it made him feel. He felt weightless and carefree. One sip of the foreign liquid was enough to put him into a euphoric state for hours.

But now Josh sat in his empty apartment contemplating wether or not he should find that establishment again. It made him do bad things but it made him feel so good. Maybe just one drink. That wouldn't hurt would it?

___

It was dark and the streets were wet with fresh rain water. Josh came to love that smell. It was oddly comforting and reminded him of the reservoirs on Aptos that he and Tyler would sneak away to at night all those years ago.

He walked down the street with his hands stuffed in his pockets. People passed by him, laughing at the conversation they were having or stumbling on their own feet, seemingly intoxicated far beyond a safe point.

He finally reached the brick building that was nestled in between two other buildings. Music and loud chatter could be heard from outside the big wooden doors.

Josh entered and sat at one of the stools.

This was a bad idea. Josh knew it was a bad idea, but he couldn't bring himself to care because all he could think about was how empty he felt on this lonely planet.

So he ordered whatever he could remember and began drowning himself with what would eventually turn out to be regret and disappointment.

___

Everything was glowing, outlined in different colors. Pinks, blues, and purples clouded his vision. Everything was heightened. He could hear everything, see everything, feel everything.

Josh stood from his seat abruptly, earning a few startled glances. He whipped his head around, scanning the whole place, feeling more alert than ever before.

He spotted a boy leaning up against the back wall and he could have sworn it was...no. No it couldn't have been. If he was in his right mind he would've left the place and hopefully found his way back to his apartment, but he wasn't so he pushed through the crowd until he was face to face with the boy he thought was Tyler.

"Hi there. What's your name?" The boy asked in a smug tone.

Josh was confused on why he was still standing there, but part of him knew why. This was as close to Tyler as he had gotten in weeks.

"J-Josh." He stuttered.

What are you doing Josh this is crazy.
He thought to himself.

"Well Josh, you wanna go somewhere quiet?"

Josh couldn't articulate a proper sentence before he was being pulled by the wrist through the crowd and to the bathroom.

He needed to leave. Go back to his apartment and sleep off this awful cloudy state of mind. It's like he was trapped in his own body and couldn't control it or get it to do what he wanted.

The boy dragged him into the bathroom and closed the door, locking it. He pushed Josh up against it and began roughly kissing his neck. It wasn't like when Tyler would do it. It wasn't sweet and gentle, but rather rushed and forceful.

"God you're so hot." The boy growled into his neck.

Josh winced at how the words sounded. It wasn't doing anything but scaring him.

The boy reached down in between them and put a hand over Josh through his jeans. That was a bad move however, because Josh suddenly clutched the boy's throat and turned, slamming him against the door instead.

"Don't. Touch. Me. There." He growled through gritted teeth. His crimson eyes were locked on the boy's terrified face. His grip became tighter and he saw whisps of what looked like blue smoke come from his mouth.

He shook his head violently and tried to blink the smoke away. He dropped the boy on the ground and watched the blue smoke snake back into his mouth as he tried to regain his breath.

Josh wasn't sure what had just happened, but he was freaked out enough to finally step over the boy and run out the door. He pushed through the people in the bar until the cool night air filled his lungs once again.

He looked around, scanning the street, and picked up a quick pace in the direction of his apartment.

He finally reached his home and went inside, slamming the door behind him.

He clutched the sides of his head and he felt the tears begin to fall. He paced back and forth in the kitchen.

What had he done? He almost killed someone. That blue smoke wasn't just smoke. It was a human life. He had almost taken a human life.

He clenched his jaw and sent a fist through one of the cabinets. Plates crashed to the floor and the sound was mixed with an ear shattering scream.

He collapsed on the tile and let the sobs coarse through his body. He knew what would happen now.

He committed an infraction. The authorities would come for him and it was his fault. He would be taken away from Tyler now for good.

He would have nothing left to live for.

Josh sat on the floor for what felt like hours until a faint knocking came from behind his front door.

Goodbye, Tyler.

He lifted himself up and moved to the door, slowly opening it.

Two men stood before him in black garments. He flinched. That was what they wore when they had orders to retrieve Anomalies. It's also what they wore in the Imprisonment Ward.

One of them spoke in a deep voice. "Joshua Dun?"

"Y-yes?" His voice cracked.

"You have been charged with the intent to harm or inflict bodily injury on an inhabitant of this location. You must come with us at once."

Josh didn't fight it. He had brought this on himself.

He put his wrists out in front of him and two black cuffs were placed around each wrist. He remembered these all too well. He still had burn scars from when he tried to escape them the first time.

The two men escorted him to a black vehicle that he also recognized. They pushed him into the back compartment leaving him in dead silence.

A gas began to fill the compartment and soon he was drifting off to sleep. The last words to escape his lips.

I'm sorry Tyler.