Locked Away

Chapter 2

He was dragged into the darkness and opened his eyes to feel himself hurtling through nothing, pale hand with a tight grip on Laurence as he looked through the darkness, suddenly hit with what felt like a brick wall, body burning as he heard the clang of plastic against concrete. He looked around to see the man pull down his hood and curl up on the floor holding his arm. Laurence quickly grabbed the gun and pointed it at him with shaking hands.
"Go on then. Kill me. I am only a shadowborn after all. It's not like anyone will miss me." Laurence dropped the gun and curled up on the floor.
"What... what's your name?" He looked to the red haired man and spoke in a feeble voice. With blood dripping down his arm he sat up and raised an eyebrow to watch Laurence.
"The names kier. Why?" Laurence smiled softly and nodded.
"I... I have a friend who can help you if you-"
"Why are you being so nice to me? I just kidnapped you and you're offering to help me? Are you mad?"
Laurence shrugged and watched kier press his bloody hand against his bullet wound.
"Perhaps... I just don't want to see anyone else get hurt." Kier shook his head, laughing and stood up carefully.
"Okay fine let's go see your friend." Laurence smiled and looked to kier. "We need to get there quickly can you-"
"Yes I can teleport through the shadows. Where are we going?"
Laurence described the address to him and kier nodded as he took his hand with his bloody one and pulled him to Laurence's house. He carried kier to the top floor and knocked on the door.
"Hey it's me! Can you open up, my friend was shot outside the bank." He looked to kier who sighed and hastily stuffed his sunglasses back on, closing his eyes and tucking his head against Laurence's chest.

Drew opened the door, looking disheveled and exhausted. He saw Kier and Laurence and widened his eyes. "Laurence- what happened?!" Shane crept out from his room and lurked at a distance, watching them.
Laurence ignored the question and laid Kier down on the couch. Drew pulled up a chair and peeled back his sleeve to study his wound. "It's only a ricochet so it's fine but you should take him to the hospital. I can't give him proper medical treatment here-" Laurence cut him off and carefully pulled off Kier's sunglasses as he slept.
"They don't take his kind there.. He'll die if we don't help." Drew raised an eyebrow.
"His kind?" Laurence nodded and peeled back Kier's eyelid to show the black eyes. Drew muttered under his breath and went to his room where he emerged minutes later with a surgical kit, carefully pulling out the bullet and stitching him up. He sat back and they waited for kier to wake. As they did, Shane pulled up the latest news on his phone and showed Drew who looked to kier and jumped up. "There's no way I'm letting him stay! He kidnapped you Laurence! Are you mad?"
"It was just so he can survive! He can't get a job and he needed the money... he didn't hurt me so it's okay!"
"Hurt you?! What if that cop missed and YOU were shot?! What then Laurence!?" He snapped at him and stopped as Shane started to cry. Drew pulled him close and kissed his forehead. "Hey hey... don't cry. Come on, I wasn't yelling at you."
Shane sniffles and buried his head in his chest. "I don't like it when you  two fight.." With a smile Drew cuddled him close and Laurence sat beside Kier, watching him carefully and wrapping a bandage around his wound as Drew was preoccupied with comforting Shane.

Laurence held onto Kier's hand and stroked his fiery hair as he slept. He jumped up and grabbed Laurence's hand, bending it backwards, almost snapping it as Laurence cried out in pain. Kier instantly let go. "Oh.... I'm so sorry it's just a reflex I suppose." He smiles at him and looks away in shame. "I... are you okay?" He looks at Laurence rubbing his wrist. Laurence nods and looks up as Drew enters the room. Kier jumps and scrambles away from him. "Who-" He's silenced by Laurence who smiles and assures him it's okay.
"This is Drew. He's the surgeon who fixed you up." Drew smiles and sits down beside him.
"Can I take a look?" Kier nods and looks away from him as Drew peels back the bandage and looks over the stitches. He applies an antiseptic cream. He draws back his hand as Kier winces and flinches slightly.
"Sorry did I hurt you?" Kier shook his head in answer to Drew's question. Drew smiled and redid Laurence's sloppy bandage work whilst kier avoided making eye contact with anyone. Shane lurked at a distance and watched in silence. He looked away as Kier's black eyes met his. Kier sat up and pushed Drew away muttering about needing to leave. Laurence grabbed onto his hand.
"You can't leave! You've been shot... Let me help you." Kier recoiled his hand after he shook him off.
"Why would you want me around? I'm just a shadowborn. A shadowborn who kidnapped you and presumably had you fired. Why would you care about me?" Laurence smiled and shuffled close to him.
"I don't care about how you were born or who you are. You did what you must to survive and I acknowledge that. I can see your not a bad person."
Kier tilted his head as he watched him.
"What do you mean by that? You don't even know me."
Laurence sighed and shrugged his shoulders.
"What I mean is... If you were a bad person you would have killed someone at that bank. You would've killed me if you were. But you let me leave, let me come home, let me help you despite there being a large possibility that it could kill you." He smiled at kier who bit his lip and nodded stiffly. He sat back on the couch and pulled his knees to his chest as Laurence left him and walked to his room. Drew disappeared with Shane following at a distance.

Laurence found himself jolted awake by a sudden piercing scream and a crash from the kitchen. He dashed out and caught a glimpse of kier doing the same thing, both running to the kitchen to see Shane sobbing on the floor with a drawer smashed beside him. Drew stood over him with a knife as Shane continued to cry. Laurence ran forward and tried to grab his hand.
"Drew! What are you-" he was silenced by a backhand as the slap echoed across the tiles. Laurence stood there mouth agape, he was about to tackle him when Kier jumped in front with his hands up.
"No! He's been possessed! Shadowborn can turn to shadows and possess people but only we can see the black smoke behind their eyes."

The man who appeared to be Drew chuckled in a low deep voice, gruff and masculine, completely unlike Drew's.
"Oh well done. Nice working that one out Kier. That's your signature move isn't it?" He chuckled as Kier stepped away from him, grabbing a knife from the knife block and holding it at Drew.
"You know I only did it to save them! It wasn't-"
"Wasn't what? On purpose? Oh for fucks sake stop with your bullshit. I know you knew what was going to happen."
Kier backed away and shook his head.
"No! No no I didn't I promise William. I promise I never did it was an accident I swear. Just let him go he didn't do anything." Drew who apparently was inhabited by a man named William shook his head and ran the blade along his palm, causing it to bleed as Shane screamed for him to stop.
"You clearly care for this man. Certainly not as much as I cared for her but you certainly care. I'll make you feel what I felt!" Kier's face went white and he shook his head.
"No please Will don't. Don't do that he doesn't deserve it."
"NEITHER DID SHE!" He screamed and threw the knife at Kier, clattering on the ground behind him as he ducked. William wrapped a hand around Kier's neck and slammed his against the wall. Kier put out a hand to Laurence as Laurence had a knife in his hand.
"You hurt him and you'll only hurt drew. Just- William please you can't keep dwelling on this it was an accident that had nothing-"
"Bullshit!" He shrieked and tightened his grip on Kier's neck. "You will watch him burn. You will." He spat at him and let go as he disappeared in the night air, with only the sound of Shane's wracked sobs as he cried for Drew.

Shane stood up and punched Kier, aiming a few more at him before Laurence managed to pin him to the ground. "This is all his fault! It's all his! If he wasn't here then Drew would still be standing right here! It's your fault!" Shane screamed at Kier as he buried his head into Laurence's chest and sobbed loudly. Laurence rubbed his back and kissed the top of his head.
"Hey it's okay... none of this is his fault. If anything it's this Williams. We will find Drew and we will make sure he comes home safely okay?" Shane sniffled and nodded, watching Kier leave the kitchen and curl up on the couch. "We will find him. Tomorrow. But for now, you need to be as strong as you can." He carried the exhausted Shane to his room and curled up against him as he clung to Laurence, crying himself to sleep