Saving Link

Chapter Eleven

Rhett teared up at these words and he hugged Link closer and tighter. "Oh Link, thank you. Thank you so much. Same to you. And I love you too. You mean so much to me, buddy. More than I mean to myself. I wish I could take all of this away from you. Give it to James who actually deserves the pain and suffering you're going through. I am so sorry, Link. Just you relax. Everything will be alright." Rhett smiled calmly down at Link. Link looked up at Rhett and returned the smile. He closed his eyes and soon, fell into a peaceful sleep.

      Link's rest was interrupted by the heavy footsteps of his brother coming down the creaky wooden stairs. Rhett held Link closer to himself protectively, hatred burned in his eyes as he stared up at James. James smirked and walked over to the two men. Link's eyes were closed, his heart racing in fear. "Don't you touch him, James," Rhett's voice was steady and serious. James chuckled.

"Oh Rhett, trying to protect Link. You two also end up escaping from the tape. Hmm.. I'm going to have to separate you."

"No! You're not separating us!" Rhett stared up at James, holding Link close to himself. Link's head was against Rhett's chest, his knees draw up to his own with his arms wrapped around them. Link whimpered in fear and let go of his knees. He wrapped his arms around Rhett tightly.

"Like you can stop me. You can't. Go ahead and cry, Link. Cry all you want, you baby. Nothing's going to help. You're being separated from this idiot. You should be happy, but you're not, because you're just as stupid." Link lifted his head at this, tears pooled in his eyes. He spoke slowly and deliberately, pure fury laced into his voice.

"Don't you ever call Rhett an idiot. Don't you ever touch him! Don't even talk to him! You are a worthless human being, James! Mom and Dad didn't keep you and boy am I happy about that!" James eyes lit up with anger. He grabbed Link and pulled him away from Rhett. He held him by the throat tightly and then kicked Rhett in the stomach, hard. Rhett fell forward, clutching his stomach, tears in his eyes. James had his arm around Link's throat and began to drag him away. Link screamed. "RHETT!! RHETT, NO!! DON'T TAKE ME FROM HIM!! RHETT!!!!"

Rhett heard the sound of James slamming the basement door closed and then locking it. He dragged Link up the stairs to his attic and threw him in there. James returned to the basement with rope and tied Rhett up. Then put tape over his mouth. Rhett tried to kick and fight, but this time, he couldn't get free. James rolled him over onto his stomach, exposing Rhett's bad back. He began to work his hands into Rhett's back painfully. He forced Rhett's back to go under bad strain and then, a disc slipped. Rhett couldn't move. He screamed in pain, tears flowing out of his green eyes. 

James laughed and then left Rhett. About two minutes later, Rhett could hear Link screaming, screaming in pain as James repeatedly hurt him somehow. He heard James screaming at Link, swearing at him. Rhett's tears of physical pain soon turned to emotional pain. Every time Link screamed, his heart felt like it was being destroyed in every painful way possible. He couldn't move at all. He wanted to get up and run. Run to save Link, but he couldn't. He just couldn't. 

About an hour later, Link was literally thrown down the stairs to the basement. He was bleeding badly. Link wasn't at all tied up, but he was unconscious as he lay on the floor of the basement, his body contorted in ways a human body doesn't bend. He was shirtless once more, to show off the horrible scars and gashes that had been inflicted upon him just now. Rhett cried all the harder. As much pain as it caused him, Rhett dragged himself over to Link. It was incredibly hard with being tied up and having a herniated disc in his back. He wiggled his arms at his sides and prayed that he could escape their bonds. 

He prayed for Link, for his back to heal so he could help Link, he prayed for help. Rhett felt something happen in his back. The pain went away. Rhett pulled and pulled at the ropes. Eventually, the knots loosened. Tears of both joy and horrible emotional pain continued to fall. Rhett pulled himself out of the ropes and wrapped Link up in a tight hug, he was still unconscious. Rhett got up and grabbed the old blanket. He tore it up and used it to wrap up all of Link's bleeding wounds and then cradled Link in his lap.

Tears fell from his closed eyes and slowly rolled down his cheeks, creating stains on his skin. He held Link close to himself, such worry and care rushing through his veins. Rhett gently smoothed down Link's greasy and knotted hair. He looked around the old basement for something, anything that could be of use to them. He saw a razor and an old bottle of dirty water. The razor was probably  used by James to inflict some of the cuts that littered Link's body. Link didn't like growing beards anymore. Little gray hairs would pepper it and he hated to see them. Link had a beard right now, and Rhett decided to shave it off. For his friend, his best friend, his brother.

He gently lied Link down on the floor and grabbed the old razor. He used the water like shaving cream and carefully shaved the beard off. Link looked more like his normal self. He looked better. After about an hour and a half, Link's cerulean eyes fluttered open. He looked up at Rhett, cradled in his lap once more and then carefully felt his jaw. There was no hair there. For the first time in weeks, Link laughed. He laughed through the pain and suffering. His voice, still weak and dry, was heard by Rhett's ears once more through the laughs. "You shaved my beard?"

Rhett chuckled and nodded. "Yeah."

"Why?"

"You don't like having beards anymore." Link laughed harder, he smiled for the first time in weeks. Both men's hearts were lifted from some of their sufferings. Such a simple thing as laughter and smiles did so much. They were happy. Truly and genuinely happy.