The Shadow Boys

Zacky let himself be led by Brian, he figured that he might as well play along if he still had any hope of escaping this. Sure, Brian was a magnificent creature but Zacky didn't believe that he could trust the older boy. He knew nothing about him, other than the fact that his name was Brian Haner Jr. and his father owned the hotel. Zacky didn't understand how he was involved in any of this but he had a feeling he would soon find out. The younger boy just wasn't sure if he wanted to know.

"We're almost there, I promise."

Zacky nodded in the direction of the voice, "how do I know that I can trust you?"

"Well, you don't."

Zacky groaned, "now that's reassuring."

Brian's grip on Zacky's arm momentarily tightened, "you need to know that I'm the only one who actually wants to make sure that you stay in one piece."

Zacky swallowed hard, "oh."

Zacky felt himself being led through a doorway. He heard the door shut behind him and instantly froze on the spot. Brian let go of his hand and whispered into his ear, "if you trust me the odds that you'll stay alive are going to be heightened." The older boy stepped away from Zacky.

"I'm going to remove the blindfold now. Promise me you won't scream."

Zacky heard a maniacal laugh, it originated somewhere to his left. "Syn! Introduce us to your friend. My compliments from me to you on this most delightful bo-"

A deep gravelly voice silenced the aforementioned ranting, "shut up Jimmy."

"Aw, Shads. Come on man. I was just havin' a little fun."

Brian chuckled, "as I was saying, I'm taking your blindfold off. Don't scream."

"Scream. Scream. Scream. The way you would if I-"

Zacky heard the shuffling of footsteps and then the sound of skin meeting skin. "God dammit! That hurt, fucker." The man called Jimmy moaned.

"I told you to shut up."

Zacky sighed, "could someone untie this fucking blindfold already?"

"Touchay, touchay!"

"Jimmy..." Shadows interjected in a warning tone.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry."

Zacky felt a pair of hands on either side of his waist. They slowly trailed upward until they reached the back of his head. Someone slowly untied the blindfold and let it drop to the floor. Zacky hastily blinked his eyes, trying to adjust to the harsh light that had interrupted the constant blackness. He took a quick double-take of the room. The younger boy noted that the two men whose voices he hadn't heard before were at least 5 years older than him. His eyes then snapped toward Brian. The older boy was sitting in a computer chair, his feet resting on the desk and his arms cradling his head behind him.

"Zacky, I'm glad you could make it. I trust that Brian took care of you?" The man whom Zacky thought to be Shadows inquired.

Zacky shrugged, "um, yeah I guess so... Are you Shadows?"

The man grinned wolfishly, revealing two silver-toned fangs on his front incisor teeth. "The one and only."

"So, what do you guys want from me?"

"You will find out Zachary, all in good time."

The tall, lanky one who had to be Jimmy grinned, "you belong to us now!"

"Jimmy! Shut the fuck up already."

Jimmy pouted, "but Shads, he's so funny."

Shadows chuckled, "you're a dumb ass Jimmy."

Shadows looked Zacky in the eyes. "You're here because of your father."

Zacky's eyes darkened, "how do you know my father?"

Brian stood, "we don't. But my father does."

Zacky could feel the blood rushing in his veins. He shut his eyes tightly as he felt his breaths quicken. His head began to feel light and he knew what was coming next; the sudden turning of his stomach told him that he was going to be sick. You see, ever since Zacky turned 10, he'd fallen victim to panic attacks. He never knew when was going to hit, only that once it had it was almost impossible to stop. The three men in the room watched Zacky, not quite sure what to do about his sudden reaction; no one had threatened his life, they hadn't even gotten to the root of the matter yet.

Brian walked up to the younger boy and crouched down in front of him so that they were eye-level. Brian placed a hand on the boys shoulder and Zacky slowly opened his eyes. Zacky's chest was heaving with every intake of air. Brian gently rubbed small circles onto Zacky's back. Zacky buried his face into the crook of Brian's neck. Brian could feel Zacky's breaths return to normal and sighed in relief. Zacky pulled away from the older boy and smiled weakly. "Thanks."

"No problem, man."

Jimmy began to jump up and down, "whaaat the fuck was that shit?"

Brian glared at Jimmy, "fucking sit down, would you?"

Jimmy pouted but flopped back into his seat anyway. "You guys are no fucking fun. I'm going to find Seward."

Brian rolled his eyes, "whatever."

Shadows looked at his watch and sighed, "I've gotta go pick up Val. Bring the boy back to your place, would you?"

Brian nodded and Shadows slapped him in the back a couple of times before leaving.

Zacky glanced over at Brian, "I guess it's just you and me again."

Brian grinned, "I think you might be right."