Haunted (A Rhett and Link fanfiction)

Chapter Four

A cool wind blew as the early morning light shone on Rhett's back. His hands were in the pockets of his blue jeans. He hadn't even bothered fixing his hair that morning, it didn't seem important. So much was on his mind, but it all flowed around a central problem, where was Link? Rhett sighed and rubbed his tired eyes. He would love to just wake up and see that this was all a dream, that life was normal. Yet, as hard as he pinched himself, he never woke up, simply because, he was already awake. This was real life, and he hated it. Hated the idea that his brother was missing.

There was still so much mystery surrounding the whole thing. So many things that didn't add up. Rhett continued walking, cars driving by. Whole other lives that didn't have a care in the world. Silently, Rhett was jealous of them. They didn't have to worry about this. This situation wouldn't affect them at all, but in his life, it was a disaster. He'd have to contact the crew, tell them not to show up to work, explain that Link was missing. GMM was still on break for a few more days, but they had been filming and editing.

Rhett eventually came home and explained everything to the crew over a group message. He closed his eyes and rubbed them as he sat in his bedroom, on the edge of his bed. A soft knock pulled Rhett put of his thoughts. "Dad, can I come in?" The voice of his eight year old son, Shepherd was quiet. Rhett smiled a little. "Come on in, Shep." The door opened and the small boy with a mop of sandy blonde hair came in. He sat next to his dad on the bed. "Hey dad, why aren't you at work?" Rhett paused for a moment before thinking. "Well, Link wasn't feeling too great, so we took the day off." Rhett hated lying, especially to his family, but he didn't want to tell Shepherd that Link was missing.

Shepherd didn't seem too satisfied with this answer. "Well, are you gonna go visit him?" Rhett shook his head. "He asked me not to, doesn't want to get me sick." Shepherd nodded. "Christy called before, Mom  went over there. Christy was crying. Is Link really sick? Like, really, really sick?" Rhett sighed and rubbed his eyes again. "Shep, Link isn't sick. He's....  missing. We have no idea where he is." Shepherd's eyes wide. "Oh.. Are you scared, Dad?" Rhett slowly nodded. He didn't like admitting that to his son. When you are a kid, you think parents never get scared, and when they do, that scares you too.

"I-I just want to know where he is. What happened. So many things just don't add up, Shep. It's so hard. Imagine how you would feel if Lando went missing, and there was no sign of him anywhere. You'd be scared too, wouldn't you?" Shepherd nodded and wrapped him arms around his father. Rhett smiled a little and hugged Shepherd back, gently kissing the top of his head. "I love you, Shep." Rhett's voice was clear and strong. Shepherd smiled and closed his eyes. "I love you too, Dad."

The dim, flickering light of the candle filled the next room Link stepped into. He felt something warm and wet on the floor. The smell of metal filled his nostrils, iron to be specific. He screamed when he realized he was standing on a blood soaked rug. Link hated blood. It made him want to faint. He fought the urge to lie down and curl up, holding his spinning head.

He jumped away from the rug and onto the hard wood that made the floor. In the center of the room, there was a large shape. A figure, sitting cross-legged. Link immediately recognized the dark figure and a smile grew on his face. "Rhett!" As soon as Link uttered that one word, the figure stood and turned around. Indeed, it was Rhett, but he was a werewolf. Link screamed at the sight. 'Rhett' lunged for Link, growling and snarling. The beast landed on top of Link, knocking him to the ground and forcing the air out of his lungs. Link screamed and struggled to get away. "N-no!! Rhett! It's me! It's Link! Pl - please!! Don't you recognize me???!!?"

Link's heart beat fast in his chest, his arms were being pinned down by 'Rhett'. The werewolf leaned in close to Link's face and snarled. It licked it's teeth, ready to kill the cowering man below him. Link opened his tightly closed eyes and stared into the green ones above him. "Rh-Rhett. It's Link. D-d-don't!! Rhett, we've accomplished so much together. Remember in third grade, I think it was third, John Carson was picking on me, you punched him in the stomach. And, remember when we went swimming in the lake that one warm day in February. We almost died, it was so cold! But we didn't. And, how we went snowboarding and I got into an accident and broke my pelvis and lost months of memory for a little bit. Eventually it came back, but I don't remember that trip at all. You thought it was the funniest thing. Me repeating 'Hold on, I'm just coming to. Evidently, I've hurt my left hip,' every five minutes.

"We've been through so much, you and me. Everything. Under this, you're Rhett. And you would never hurt me, just like I would never hurt you. I'm scared, brother. I don't know how I got here, and I know that this, right here, you, this is mental. You're not really here, like the little girl. This part is happening in my mind. If I'm strong enough, I can change you back.  Because I need you, even if you're just my mind, I need you, Rhett." And with that, right before his eyes, the monster changed into Rhett. Well, a figment of Link's imagination, but he was Rhett. Link smiled and wrapped his arms around Rhett. "Oh Rhett, thank God you're here. I was so scared, brother. So scared."

Despite this not really being Rhett, it was a comfort to Link. He felt safer. Safer with his older brother at his side now.