Headspace // Joshler

sᴇᴡɪɴɢ ᴛʜʀᴇᴀᴅ

Josh curls up in the cold, dust-filled corner of the dull room. His loud sobs don't make it past the thick walls that were built to ensure unwanted sound doesn't make it through. His face stings from the tears, eye barely staying open. It hurts. Everything hurts. Josh is unsure what part of his body aches, the unpleasant sensation surges through his veins like a bullet train.

Josh's head is crammed between his folded knees, arm tightly wrapped around himself as he sobs. He rocks back and forth, needing some kind of warmth to comfort him. He's sitting shirtless, skirt and socks shredded and soaked. Rain from his curly hair drips down his neck, making him shiver when it reaches his chest. The darkness of the four walls consumes him, pulling him farther in the longer he's sat there wondering when he'll be saved. He's never liked the dark. Josh's scared eyes deceive him for what's real and what's not.

The room is so deadly silent apart from the boy's sobs that Josh swears he can hear his own heart pounding. The boy feels a certain uneasiness in the air, the feeling of being watched. The crying boy is sure that he's alone in this dark and cold space. There is no light to help him prove his theory, The only source of light is a small, rectangular window at the very top of the wall. Josh cannot see well through it, it's too high up; The thick glass is stained with years worth of dust and muck.

Joshua reaches around him blindly, afraid to touch something that might make him regret his decision. The ground is cold, the material is not smooth but not too rough. He guesses it's an old carpet since a new material starts at a harsh line. Josh's hands come back under the backs of his legs. He continues to shake, the feeling of being watched doesn't leave his mind. Someone is burning a hole right through his scalp and Josh can't even see who is it. After minutes of sitting in complete darkness, the brown-haired boy finally realizes that he's certainly not alone. The quiet clinking of chains proves his point.

"H-" Josh swallows thickly, hoping that the stranger is not hostile "Hello?"

Josh jumps slightly at the sound of a chain hitting the floor. It bounces off the walls, echoing in the confined space.

"Who's there?" Josh gets on his knees, timidly crawling toward where he assumes the sound is coming from. He doesn't know if its safe, but his whole situation right now isn't safe so it doesn't seem like much harm could be done.

Josh falters for a second when he hears a very faint strangled noise come from a few feet in front of him as if it's pleading for help.

As the clouds move in the sky outside, the light shifts slightly, throwing a thin stripe of light right in front of him. A gasp of horror leaves Josh's throat, his hands already covering his mouth. The boy cannot process a sound, a weak squeak leaves his throat as he stares in front of him terrified. The image of what Tyler had threatened to do to the boy if he hadn't quieted down flashes through his mind.

Josh feels the heat of someone else's skin radiating toward his own as his hand brushes along what he assumes is their bare upper arm. He jumps away in fear, the person in front of him sighs heavily, dull eyes stare at him with a silent plead. The boy doesn't quite believe his eyes. He reaches out fearfully, like a stag in the fog.

Josh's hand jolts away when he traces his fingers down toward their mouth, a rough texture beneath his fingertips. His dry mouth opens to say something but a small squeak escapes his lips as he fails to produce any words. Tears fall from his eyes as he slowly backs away, sliding on his knees while he violently shakes.

The figure in front of him slouches, head falling back to give Josh the full view of their mutilated mouth. A thick black thread, that wasn't made for surgery at all, joined their lips together as if it was just a gaping wound. The thread, thick and messy, pierced above and under the person's lips with no real pattern. It was a sloppy job but it was done.