The Turners: The Rise Of Slenderman (Season 1) [COMPLETED]

episode 4 - home is where the heart is (1)

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After a successful solo hunt where he stopped a Hayena (half man half hyena creature) from eating a newly-wed, Joe woke up to loud banging in his room. Angrily, he rose up and saw men in yellow coveralls and helmets walking in and out of his room carrying construction tools.

The wall to his closet was destroyed and his clothes were thrown on the dusty floor. They hadn't noticed he was awake. "Hey!" Joe shouted and they all turned to him. "What do you think you're doing?" he asked. "And who allowed you to come into my room?"

"We're being paid to renovate this bedroom, kid," one of them replied.

"Into what?"

"A storage room."

Joe sighed. "Proceed." He knew his father was retaliating after their incident last night. He was expecting it. But not so soon.

He grabbed a yellow t-shirt with the words I LIKE PIZZA from the floor, along with grey pants, and put them on. Then he placed the rest of his clothes on his bed and left to meet his father at the front desk of the antique shop.

Clint was reading a magazine and sipping on his coffee when Joe stepped into the room and the two locked eyes. For a few seconds, both of them said nothing. The cold stare they gave each other was enough.

"No matter what you do, you'll never hurt me again," said Joe pointing a finger at him. He had proven it last night by giving the man a sample of a beating that had been coming for years. And Clint will be reminded for the mean time by the wounds on his face.

"I don't need to physically hurt you anymore. I'll take away what's important to you if that's what it takes for you to grow up." Clint put the cup and magazine down and gazed into his son's eyes. "I've closed all the bank accounts you're using under my name. If you'll depend on your Poppa and Nana for money, I don't care. But you won't be getting anything from me or your mother anymore."

"You think I need you? I can survive on my own."

"Against monsters? Yes. But against life? You're incapable. You have always depended on your sister, your grandparents and my money. I didn't send you to four years of college so you could come back and live in my shop's basement. You have a business degree, do something with it. Find a desk job. Start your own company - which will fail. But I don't care about you or anything anymore. From this moment on you're no longer my son. You're dead to me. Now please, get the fuck out of my basement and never come back here again."

Joe didn't reply. He returned to his room and sat on his bed. Reality sunk in. The little boy inside him. The one that hoped of reconciling with his father one day died with Clint's last harsh words.

A sharp pain cracked his heart and tears escaped his eyes and ran down his face. From a young age, the only thing he ever wanted to do was make his father proud. But no matter what he did, it only seemed to anger the man.

How could a father be so cruel to his own flesh and blood? Those who knew about the two wondered, but never dared said anything.

"I hate him so much." He rubbed his nose. "One day he'll be in his death bed, crying to see me. But I won't go. I'll be out celebrating his demise. I promise."

Joe reached under his bed, pulled out a suitcase and packed his clothes. His axes were the only things left unpacked, but he found it hard to do so. Instead, he gazed at his room. He had been sleeping in it for so many years after the friction between him and Clint forced him out of the main house.

Now it no longer going to be his? That hurt Joe, a lot.

He made many memories in there. It was the place he got his first kiss, and the mattress was the same one he was on when lost his virginity to Gloria Dane.

Joe stared at the posters of his favorite TV shows stuck on the wall. They ranged from zombie shows like iZombie and Z Nation to comedy ones like The Office and The Mick. He wanted to take them down and put them in his luggage, but he had no clue where his next destination would be.

He would have gone to Daisy, tell her what happened, and be offered a place to stay. But what his father said was right. It was time he stood on his own feet and depend on himself for once. It was time he grew up and acted like a man.

His phone rang. He took it from under his pillow and checked the caller ID. It was Mindy. "Yes?" he answered.

"Someone doesn't sound cheerful," Mindy noticed. "What happened?"

Joe wanted to tell her the truth, but decided against it. "I just woke up, that's all." He fake yawned. "What's up?"

"An informant of mine has gone dark. He's the one who's been telling me about Yoko and Uno's whereabouts. I need you to put on your kicking ass boots and come with me to find him."

There was a long pause. Joe didn't feel like going anywhere in his current mental state. But he needed a change in scenery to forget what happened to him that morning. And going on a hunt with Mindy was the right solution.

"Fine," he replied.

"Fine? Since when is it fine with you? Something is wrong, I can feel it."

Joe wasn't in the mood to put on a fake smile and act like he was happy, but he had no choice. He shook his body vigorously and exclaimed, "Woo!" He laughed. "I got you. I was pretending to see if you could notice my change in moods."

Mindy laughed on the other end. "There's the Joe I know and love. You had me worried for a second. Come to my apartment and we will go together after that son of a Leprechaun."

"Where is he at?"

"In Yonk."

"It's cold out there."

"I know. But this is the chance for us to have our own Bonny and Clyde moment."

"They died in the end."

"Not if you haven't watched the whole movie. Now dress up if haven't already. We don't want to miss the train."

"Give me fifteen minutes, I'll be there."

"I'm timing you."

"You always do." Joe hung up and finished packing. He stood and glanced around his room for the last time. "Good bye, old friend."