Depths

12. Stronger

This chapter has been edited.

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The air was cold, and the rain fell down hard as Danny walked up to a gift shop near the beach parking lot. The whole place was deserted probably due to the weather and there was no chance of anyone seeing him. He grabbed a big rock and busted the window without a care in the world and crawled his way inside. It was full of basic beach necessities and many of the luxury items Danny had loved as a kid, like floaties, beach balls, surfboards, and fake fishing poles. He went straight for the rack that held a crap load of ugly swim trunks, grabbed a random pair that looked like would fit, and a beach towel and made his way back outside.

Danny was still very wet, and the idea of being dry was so far away from him at this point. The unforgiving rain pelted down on him, so he covered himself with a towel and started walking. He knew the walk to his house would be a long one, and he also knew the chances of making it there without being bothered by anyone was between slim to none, but he still traveled through the shortest route he knew.

He didn't stop. Not even when people called to him. Not even when people tried to stop him. He just kept walking, avoiding eye contact and staying away from other people.

Eventually, the rain stopped, allowing his raw and bleeding feet a chance to dry and stop rubbing painfully against wet concrete. He wished he had taken some wet shoes from the shop, but he didn't see them and he was too determined to make it home as fast as possible. The thought of a hot bath and a hot bowl of soup was an exhilarating thought that kept his feet from stopping.

His knees ached and his meatless thighs hurt, but he wasn't going to give up until he was safe in his home.

Danny shivered, clutching the damp towel around him tighter. He would probably be warmer if he lost the towel, but he wasn't ready for strangers to walk up to him in concern of his anorexic and naked appearance. He probably looked like he just escaped from a concentration camp.

He just wanted to be home, he couldn't believe that after all that pain and suffering he went through he was finally back on land, finally walking the path back to his normal life.

He was worried about his mom's reaction, how was she going to react when he waltzed right up to her door months after being taken. She probably thought he was dead. Hell, he probably even looked dead.

How long had he been gone anyways? He knew it had to be longer than just a few months but what year was it?

He stopped just long enough to look through one of those boxes that held the daily news and looked at the date, the street lamp is his only light source.

February 25, 2018.

He had been missing for almost 7 months. Danny nearly blacked out from the shock. He needed water and soon.

The first garbage can he saw he dove head first into, grabbing a tossed water bottle and downing the rest of its contents, immediately choking on it. He grabbed another one and drank it slowly this time, water had never tasted so good before.

Climbing out of the dumpster, he started walking again. He had already been walking for hours, and he was growing more and more tired, but he refused to stop and rest. He needed to be with his mother as soon as possible, show her he was alive, hug her tight and tell her that he loved her.

He couldn't stop, now that the prospect of being able to see his mother, his sister, and his friends again was so close he couldn't possibly waste another minute. He needed to be in someone's arms as soon as possible, someone who loved him.

When he finally made it onto his street, his pace picked up despite the pain and his exhaustion. He tripped on the stairs that lead up to his house, but he got up quickly, dropping the towel from around his shoulders and knocking frantically on the door. He winced as he banged his boney knuckles against the hardwood of the front door.