How to Help Howell?

Part 31

Dan

I ran out of the laser tag facility, barely remembering to take off the vest and throw it behind me, hopefully not crushing an innocent small child behind me.

I hopped in the car and sped off to my destination. A place that I was familiar with, but hadn't visited since I was a kid.

Phil's childhood home.

My instincts took over and drive me down the familiar roads through London and out of London. I drove and drove past the beautiful England scenery. It wasn't often that I got to just go out and take a drive around. And right now, when my boyfriend was in mortal danger, was a perfect time to observe the foliage.

It was so beautiful. I saw patch after patch of pure grasslands greener than those healthy salads that I used to eat. Pure, healthy, grass alive with the wildlife of thousands and thousands of different creatures all living with no concept of the human world. Just able to exist and be free. It must be nice to live like that.

I looked back at the road and remembered what I was even on it for. I floored the gas pedal as I made my way to Phil's dad's house.

I finally pulled into the asphalt driveway and barely made an attempt to put the car in park before I sprinted into the house.

Adrenaline coursing through my veins I burst through the door screaming at the top of my lungs.

"TRAVIS, YOU DELUSIONAL NUTJOB, WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY BOYFRIEND!!" I yelled with a rage and tone that I had never heard come out of my body before.

I ran through the house, knowing exactly where everything was. I checked the kitchen, the two bedrooms, the living room, even the bathrooms, until I finally decided that there was only one possible location for Phil and his captor.

I stormed down into the basement to find a crazed old man with a faded flannel shirt and ripped blue jeans with his signature old tan work boots. I swear, it's like he's been wearing the same outfit for the past twenty years. He looked like a typical farmer with his outfit and slight scruff of a beard that he could never manage to grow quite right. He just stood there, smiling like a madman at the slumped over body of an unconscious Phil, tied to a chair unmoving.

He turned around to look at me and his hysterical smile faded to a grimace as his old stormy blue eyes found mine. I could see how Phil's resembled his, but Travis Myers had eyes that were much colder and worn down from all the years of giving people death stares and that look of pure lividness that I had seen so many times throughout my childhood.

He started to walk towards me and his insides seemed to be boiling over. He raised his arm and took a sudden swing at my head, without saying a single word to me.

I easily ducked the punch as he hit the wall behind me, clutching his hand in pain. I took this as an advantage and kicked him as hard as I could as he was bent over to ease his aching hand. He stumbled and let out a quiet mutter of an 'ow.'

Still hurt, he hobbled over to me and tried to grab at me, I guess attempting to knock me over? Despite his sorry attempt to try to take me down, I dodged him with barely any effort. As the old man wandered around trying to find me by feel, I grabbed his back and used all my might to shove his heavy body into the nearby workshop table.

I also may or may not have aimed him straight for the table vice, letting the blunt metal stick into his side. Oops.

His impact made a satisfying crash as the tools laying innocently on the table flew everywhere. He let out a loud groan after all of the stress being put on his ancient body. But this sicko deserved every bit of it for all that he had put Phil through.

It must have been a nightmare to have to grow up with a terrible father like Travis. After thirty seconds or so of him just writhing around on the floor of the filthy basement, his movements came to a stop. I quickly rushed over to him to make sure I hadn't killed him, that would have been so much worse.

But thankfully, he was just unconscious. Making the most of my assumed limited time, I ran over to Phil and unattached him from the chair. I felt heartbroken as I carried his limp body up the stairs and out of the old house. I prayed to every divine being that neither me or Phil would have to encounter his father ever again.

I plopped him in the passenger seat and put on his seatbelt. I looked at my seemingly exhausted boyfriend covered in sweat and dirt from his father and from the ropes that were holding him bound to the chair. I placed a kiss on his cheek and closed the car door.

After I had buckled my seatbelt and put the key in the ignition, we were off. Heading back home where Travis Myers would hopefully never find us again, I sat in the driver's seat of our trusty small blue car that Phil and I shared. I felt the adrenaline start to fade away and I was no longer some insane crime-fighting, boyfriend-saving superhero. I was just Dan. And just Dan really wanted to go home and take a nice long nap after this excitement-filled day.

It was when we were about 10 minutes from the apartment that Phil had fallen over in his seat. He still hadn't woken up and we had taken an unexpectedly sharp turn, which sent Phil travelling forward a bit, but was stopped by his seatbelt. His head was down against his chest and it looked pretty funny.

His hair was all flopped downwards because of gravity. His hair was on the longer side, so I had never seen the back of his head before. I was fascinated by the pattern that his hair made when it was inverted. But then I started to notice something that wasn't so natural at the base of his hairline.

I pulled over the car to the side of the road and took a closer look at the nape of his neck. I was horrified to find a series of white lines forming scar tissue peeking up from the top of his shirt at the back of his neck.

I had never noticed it because Phil had always worn his hair longer and I had never seen him with his shirt off, now I know, to cover the scars near the back of his neck.

What were they from? When did that happen? Who did that to him? How did he survive that? How he could live with that secret for so many years was beyond me.

I was going to have a serious talk with Phil when he woke up.