Scars And Stories

Chapter 16

"So, how is he?" Joe asked when you returned from your visit at the prison.

You stepped into the main part of the headquarters with him and sat at the table. "Not good," You shook your head, a sad look on your face, "They injected him with the Novocaine. It was way worse for him than for Ryan." Joe looked at you and slowly sat down in a chair next to you. "He told me he almost killed three of the guards."

King ran a hand through his hair as he sighed. "We have to get them out of there as soon as we can."

You nodded in agreement. "What's the plan?"

The black haired man looked down at the ground and muttered, "That's the question of the day, isn't it?"

You heaved a sigh and rolled your eyes, looking away. Although he didn't say it directly, you knew he didn't have one.

"Hey, I'm trying, okay?" He glanced up at you. "It's not that easy."

"I know. I'm sorry," You apologized, gazing down at your hands, "I just want him back."

"I want my friends back too. As soon as we find a plan, we'll get them and end the Syndicate for good," He explained.

Later that day...

"Can I talk to you?" King asked as he stood in front of the small bed Ryan was lying on. The dirty blond nodded and sat up, leaving some space at the end of the bed for Joe to sit. "I need to know what triggers the Novocaine."

He raised an eyebrow. "Uh, music?" Ryan disclosed in a snarky manner, as if King should've already known that.

"So you think the new version's trigger is the same as the last one?" Joe asked, turning his head to face him.

"No, there wasn't any music," He replied, his eyebrows knitting together. He looked straight in front of him as he tried to find something. "I got angry, frustrated, and then my vision started getting purple."

"So then it's anger?"

"Well, I'm not sure," He said. Joe cocked his head a little bit to the side in confusion. "You see, I couldn't really control myself. And once Brendon was unconscious and I left the car, it subsided and stopped," The dirty blonde explained.

"Brendon being there made it worse?" Joe inquired.

Ryan shook his head up and down. "I think so."

King nodded his head as he began to stare into space. Shortly after, he glanced back at Ryan and asked, "Do you think you can control it?"

Ryan shrugged, "I can try."

In the prison, two days later...

"Hey, Stump," The guard called as he slid the door open, drawing Patrick's attention from where he was lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling. The guard nodded toward the corridor as the dirty blond sat up. "Time to go outside."

Patrick slowly stepped out and let the guard lead him outside where his friends were. He stood in front of the table his friends were sitting at and looked down at the ground.

"Oh my god," Joe murmured as he stood up and walked to Patrick, engulfing him in a tight hug, "They finally let you out."

Patrick nodded against his chest as he wrapped his arms around him.

Joe pulled away and stared into Patrick's eyes worriedly. "Are you okay?"

The dirty blond nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Joe placed a hand on the small of his back and let him sit down. Patrick rested his hand on the table and played with his fingers. "Y/N came the other day," He announced, "She gave me a letter."

All the guys around him looked at him confusedly until he reached in his sleeve and took the letter out. He placed it in front of him and pushed it toward the center of the table for the others to see.

"She explained that they injected me with a new version of the Novocaine, a stronger one. She also said that they found someone else they did this to - Ryan Tedder." The guys nodded and let him continue, "He's the same as me. He has visions, and he saw the prison in one of his dreams. They think he can help to get us out of here."

"So, is it the guy from your dream?" Isaac inquired, leaning closer.

Patrick shrugged. "I don't know, I never see his face."

"What about the Novocaine?" Joe spoke up, drawing Patrick's gaze to him, "It just left?"

"I haven't really felt anything since what happened the other day. But I can feel it still inside of me, deep down," The dirty blond answered, tilting his head down.

"Guess we just have to wait until they come here," Joe said as he placed a hand on Patrick's shoulder, squeezing it and making Patrick wince in pain as Joe's fingers pressed the scar.

"Dude," Patrick muttered through gritted teeth, turning his annoyed gaze to face his friend, "Stop touching my shoulder."

Joe's eyes locked on Patrick's and he quickly took his hand away, noticing his friend's eyes growing black. "I-I..."

Patrick turned his head the other way, realizing his sight was a light purple. "That's not good," He said under his breath as his vision reverted back to normalcy.