Saving Link

Chapter Five

Link lie on the cold stone floor of James' basement. He was given a little bit of bread with butter that day and a shot glass full of milk. That was the best thing he had eaten  and drank in three weeks. He was so happy to have something other than dirty water and stale bread. James had been giving him food every other day and water everyday. He was starving Link, but not really. He was giving his younger twin just enough food and water to survive, but his body was still growing thinner and thinner everyday. 

Link lie on the ground shivering and coughing. He wheezed for breath and watched as his brother came down the stairs again. He had a washcloth and a bucket of dish soap and water. "You smell so awful. Time to wash you up a bit." James vigorously scrubbed Link's exposed skin, leaving his legs and feet alone. He just dumped the remaining soapy water on Link and then threw a dirty and ripped up rag at Link to dry off with. He did so and began to shiver more. The cold air on his wet skin had made him even colder. Link closed his eyes and fell asleep. He just wanted to get home. He wanted his family to be alright, and that included Rhett. 

Rhett was out looking for Link already. He wouldn't give up, but he had no idea where Link could be. He was searching for days, but he had no luck. Link had been gone for four weeks now and Rhett was more exhausted than he had been ever before. He was about to give up, when he turned onto a certain street. The street James lived on. He drove around and came to the specific house Link was in. He could just feel there was something about this place. He wondered if he had found Link. He came to the house and got out. The air was cold and wet. It had just stopped storming. The house looked vacant, no sign of life anywhere. 

He walked to the porch, the old wood creaking beneath his feet. His heart froze up when he heard and slam of a car door and the familiar voice behind him. "Freeze, McLaughlin, don't take one more step." James approached Rhett, the sound of a gun being cocked made Rhett know this was serious. "Inside. Now. Don't make a sound or you are dead." Rhett did as James said and went inside. He had his hand up in surrender, his back to James. He felt a something hit him over the head and Rhett fell unconscious. He woke up, in a basement. His mouth and eyes were duct taped over. His wrists and ankles were bound as well.  Link's eyes and mouth had also been covered, so even though they were in feet of each other, neither man knew the other was there.

Link, so terrified and emotionally shot, started to cry again. The pain in his feet and ankles was dull, but it was still there and Link feared he would never be able to walk again. His bones had healed incorrectly, they had literally mended back with his feet pointing the wrong way. The pain was returning slowly, and his feet were still purple from the lack of blood in them. 

The tears slowly fell and Link heard movement close by. Thinking it was James, he cried a little harder. Rhett could hear someone crying close by. The sound was muffled and Rhett moved a little. He tried with all his might to break free from the tape around his wrists. He wriggled his hands, tried to loosen the tape and slip a hand out, tried to rip it, but nothing worked. He wanted to find out who was crying. In his heart, he had a feeling it might be Link. He started to move again, dragging himself across the floor to the sound of the crying person. 

Link's tears got the tape wet and it started to peel off ever so slightly. As Rhett dragged himself across the floor, he felt something sharp scrape his arm. He smiled under the tape and found the jagged object. A large broken piece of glass from a beer bottle that was smashed over Link's head was sticking out of a crack in the floor. Rhett lined the tape up to the glass as best as he could and began to cut it off his wrists. After several attempts and fails, he finally got it. Rhett rubbed his sore wrists after taking the rest of the tape off. He peeled away the rest, leaving his eyes for last. He slowly peeled it away, trying not to lose much eyebrow hair. 

He blinked as his eyes adjusted to the light. His heart froze in his chest when he saw Link. He was bound just like Rhett had been, his shirt was off. Link's spine and ribs stuck out sharply. His stomach appeared to be sunken in. His body was covered in dried blood, cuts, scars, and more. Rhett ran over to Link and wrapped him in the tightest hug. "Link, Link, it's me, Rhett. Oh my gosh, what did he do to you?!" Rhett quickly took off all the tape and then wrapped Link up in his arms again. Link sobbed into Rhett's chest, he was too weak to hug him back. 

"R-Rhett. I-I thought you'd never find me. You need to get out of here. Please, before he hurts you."

"Too late for that. Trapped now, McLaughlin." James smirked at the two men as he stood in front of them.