The Wild Boys

Chapter 2

Joe charged for the back of the bus to join his buddies Chucky and Jake. It didn’t take the three of them long to start causing nonsense. It started off with pea shooting and two hours later it culminated in a wind-letting and burping competition. When the bus neared the halfway stop at a gas station both the coach and the driver felt relieved, and not just because of the constant buzzing noise level. They hoped the bunch of boisterous boys would either get rid of some excess energy during the break, or that they’d eat so much they’d fall asleep in the bus on the way to camp. The boys stormed the diner, which was devoid of customers the one minute and overly noisy a second later. Hamburgers and sodas got ordered and for a while things got quiet because they were eating. That changed as the faster eaters finished their junk-food lunch. The noise level rose, and the boys began making plans to cause more nonsense.

Joe was halfway through his second burger when he decided to take a leak. He remembered the coach’s instructions that they would all pay a visit to the toilets before going back to the bus, and that they had to wait for everyone to get finished and not go off on their own. Joe, however, had never been one for following instructions. He followed his own head, to his mother’s dismay and his brother’s irritation. William understood Joe better than Beth and Eric. He used to drive his own parents up the wall in the same way at Joe’s age.

Joe saw that the coach had his back turned, so he winked at Chucky and slipped away. The toilets were deserted when he walked in. He went to relieve himself. He didn’t hear the door of a cubicle behind him opening. He was too busy giggling because he heard Chucky yelling at Jake to stop throwing fries at him. He knew what was going to happen next. A major food fight was in the making. Joe began making plans to empty the ketchup over Chucky’s carrot-red hair.

He pulled up his tracksuit pants and turned around to wash his hands. When he looked up, all thoughts of dirty hands and ketchup fled from his mind. A stranger stood in the corner, a man dressed in a long brown overcoat with a baseball cap pulled low over his eyes. For a few moments Joe was too stunned to react. He couldn’t believe his eyes.

‘Him? No... it can’t be... it’s someone else it has to be someone else...’

“Hello Joe... glad to see you’re having fun.”

The hauntingly deep voice shocked Joe into action. He sprinted for the door. He never reached it. A hand grabbed him by the hair. He got pulled back forcefully and then the stranger shoved him face first into the wall. He hit the wall with blinding force.

For a few seconds the world blacked out and Joe dropped to the ground. Whiteness rushed him along with an intensely sore head and bleeding nose. His hands flew to his nose. He let out a loud, “Ughn...” but before he could do anything else the stranger grabbed him round the waist. He got lifted off his feet. Joe’s stubborn streak took over. He began squirming and opened his mouth to scream. It stopped dead in his throat; the stranger clamped a hand over his mouth. Joe would not give up without a fight. The finger was invitingly close to his teeth. He chomped down and bit hard. The stranger yelped and let go.

Joe dropped to the floor and began scrambling away on all fours. He was too slow.

The stranger yanked Joe up by the collar and as he spun Joe round he launched a fist. It connected with Joe’s mouth, blinding him and sending star-filled fireworks shooting off in his head. The force of the punch snapped Joe’s head back so violently he felt sure it had broken clean off his shoulders. The blow sent a jarring shock through his body from his neck down to his toes.

Joe made his first mistake right then. He snapped his head back, still angry, and looked straight into the stranger’s cold blue-gray eyes. The insanity glinting behind them scared Joe out of his wits. Out the corner of his eye he saw a sparkle of light catching metal. The man had a gun in his hand, and it was pointing at his head. Joe’s stomach knotted into a tiny ball. He threw up in terror over the man’s shoes. The only reaction he got out of it was a fit of laughter.

Joe fought his breath back and his tears away. He didn’t want to see the stranger who had been haunting his dreams for more than three weeks. He stammered out a thin threat, trying to sound braver than he felt.

“M... mmmy... d... daddy will... g... get... get you...”

“No. I’ll get him. When he comes to find you.”

The stranger grabbed both Joe’s wrists in one strong hand as he hissed the words. With the other hand he shoved a cloth into Joe’s mouth. Joe clamped his eyes shut in a grimace. The man’s grip was deadening. Joe felt rope being tied around his wrists and tightened, felt himself being dragged towards the back entrance of the toilets. He kicked in his heels. He got yanked forward. He began struggling. He got rewarded with a blow through the mouth from the butt of the gun. Blood filled his mouth. He swallowed it down and almost choked. His struggles intensified. He got yanked forward with force, heard the hiss, “Stop struggling. I don’t want to hurt you.”

He yanked back but the world exploded in agony because the stranger kneed him between the legs. He went down like a rock. He felt the man lifting him up and yanking him forward. He pulled back again and this time three hard punches, one in his stomach and two in his ribs, knocked his wind out.

He gasped and doubled up but a strong tug propelled him forward.

He stumbled over his feet, almost falling flat on his face.

He tried to spit out the cloth to scream but it was firmly lodged.

Urine split down his legs and he wondered stupidly why he was weeing.

He kicked in his heels. A vicious punch through the face and another one through the mouth caused his ears to ring. He pulled back harder.

A fist connected with his eye and he gasped. The skin on his forehead had been torn open.

He thought, for an instant, that his eye exploded out of its socket.

He launched a kick, a fist connected with his other eye. He staggered back and dropped to his knees.

Tears began flowing. He had no more fight left. The stranger was too strong.

Fresh blood from his nose coursed down his chin onto his t-shirt. Blood filled his mouth. He swallowed it down. Tears wet his t-shirt and mixed with the blood dripping into his eyes, down his face.

‘No... no don’t let him win don’t let him fight back...’

Joe forced himself to be strong and kicked in his heels when he felt the man yanking him to his feet. Once again the man lifted a knee. It connected with Joe’s groin.

 Joe began going down but got yanked up viciously, almost lifted off his feet.

Everything hurt. He gave up.

Helpless tears began streaming like rivers under flood.

‘That’s what... that’s what it feels like when I dream what it’s like for him... no... no lemme go please...’

Joe felt his legs buckling but got tugged forward. He knew, right then, there was no escape.

His head began spinning, his knees sagged under him, he felt the man yanking him up.

Once more his legs got wet with urine.

 The fear he felt inside numbed his mind. He was too scared to even think.

“Get your hands off my son!! I’ll f*****g murder you!!”

Hard, furious words lashed the air, and Joe snapped his eyes open.

‘Daddy?! Dad’s here? Gotta be dreaming I’m dreaming...’

Through a shimmering red haze Joe saw William, at the entrance that led into the diner, with his gun trained on the stranger.

‘Dad! Daddy help!!’

Joe began screaming through the gag and tried to pull forward. His body blocked that of the stranger and the man knew it. He yanked Joe back and threw an arm around Joe’s neck.

Joe’s eyes widened. They fixed in on William. He knew, right then, that he was safe. Courage overcame fear. His father made a promise and he kept it, like Joe knew he would.

William’s gun kept its steady aim on the stranger. William’s madly hammering heart would not get in the way of his aim but the man was using Joe as a shield. William did not want to take the chance of his son getting in the way of a bullet.

The gun in the stranger’s hand began going to Joe’s head as if in slow motion. William’s heart nearly stopped. He had a split second decision to make but Joe made it for him. He blinked fast, twice, praying that William would catch onto what he was trying to tell him. He kicked the man hard in the shin and the man’s grip faltered. Joe sagged in his arm.

That gave William the chance he needed. He fired. The bullet tore through the man’s shoulder he flew back, away from Joe. The gun dropped out of his hand as he hit the wall.

William’s first aim was to disarm the would-be kidnapper. He rushed over and kicked the gun out of the man’s reach. Two agents ran past him and William spun round to tend to Joe.

Joe dropped to his knees when the stranger let go. He flipped round on his backside to see what happened and that’s when he made his second mistake. The stranger’s cap had fallen off. He looked right at Joe while William’s men cuffed him and his eyes said it all.

‘I’ll be back’.

Joe’s hands were still tied up in front of him but terror got the better of him. He yanked the cloth out of his mouth, shut his eyes in a grimace and yelled, “DAAADYYY!”

William’s only concern was for Joe’s safety. He wanted to get Joe away from there as quickly as possible. He untied Joe’s wrists then he scooped Joe up in his arms and ran out with him.

The moment he felt William’s strong arms lifting him the floodgates opened. Joe burst out in hysterical sobs. William put him down on the grass outside the diner. Joe’s teammates had been herded out of the diner by William’s men. They were gathered nearby watching everything with big eyes but William wasn’t aware of it. Joe’s face was covered in blood, both eyes were swelling up rapidly, and an ugly bruise was forming on his cheek. William’s gaze travelled down and he began panicking. Joe’s white t-shirt was stained crimson. William’s first thought was that Joe had been stabbed or shot. He tore Joe’s t-shirt off and nearly burst out in relieved tears when he spotted no wounds. He tore off his own shirt and gently wiped Joe’s face clean.

Joe stopped crying when he felt his father’s tender touch. He sniffed away a sob and opened his eyes. “Daddy?” he whispered and William pulled him into a tight hug.

“I’m right here champ. You’re safe. He’ll never come near you again I promise.”

Joe looked past William to where the two agents were leading the injured stranger to their car. What Joe did next shocked William so much he didn’t know how to react.

Joe wrenched himself out of William’s arms and leapt up. His sky blue eyes abruptly changed to a fiercely angry aqua. He whispered, “f**k you. I’m not scared of you.”

It seemed as if the man heard him. He turned his head, smiled sweetly at Joe, and mouthed the words, “See you soon...”

Paralyzing fear hit Joe but that quickly got replaced by anger. Joe wasn’t angry with the stranger, he felt angry with himself for being so absolutely terrified. He yelled, “You don’t scare me do you hear me?!! Eat s**t and die!!” and then the car door slammed shut and the stranger was gone.

Joe trembled with rage but when the car pulled away that feeling fled. His pounding head began protesting and the pain in his groin hit him. Everything in front of him doubled up and began spinning. The world lost focus and nausea got the better of him. His hands flew down and his knees began wobbling. Before he hit the ground William caught him. While William lowered him to the ground Joe heard the sound of an approaching helicopter. He pulled up his knees, gripped his groin tighter, and began vomiting.

William’s worry switched to fear. He turned Joe on his side so that he wouldn’t choke and spoke up quickly, trying his best to hide his worry from Joe.  

“Joey?! Joey look at me... where did he hurt you? Did he do something to you? Joey...”

Joe gasped through his retching, “Kicked me in the... nuts... hurts... so much... gun... hit me with his gun... my mouth hurts... I’m scared... daddy please I’m so scared...”

He burst out in terrified sobs with the stranger’s cold gray eyes in front of him.

The helicopter touched down nearby and the paramedics rushed up to them. William’s relief fought for the upper hand over his worry. “I know Joey it’s alright son help is here and it’ll be okay... daddy’s here my boy you don’t have to be scared I’m right here.”

Joe  frowned up at William but William’s face began losing focus. He reached out for his father’s hand and whispered, “Daddy... you kept your promise...” and then he slipped into unconsciousness.

Eric had been restless since he got home after dropping Joe off. He tried taking his mind off things by watching TV but that didn’t help. He immersed himself in a school project that wasn’t due for another month, but nothing seemed to work. The worried feeling began eating at his gut until he had to set his mind at ease. He yanked up his cellphone and dialed Joe’s number. The day after Joe told her about the stalker Beth bought Joe a cellphone. She insisted on doing it so that he would be able to get in touch with them at any time. Eric’s gut feeling nearly chewed his insides apart when William answered the phone instead of Joe. He sucked in a fast breath and began ranting.  “Dad?! What are you doing with Joe’s phone?! He had it on him when he left this morning I checked I made sure it was turned on and charged now you’re answering it!? Where’s Joe what happened what’s go...”

“Eric... whoa.... easy son. Your brother is with me but he’s fine.”

Eric’s power of observation had always been sharper than most. William felt so worried about Joe he’d forgotten about that part.

“Don’t lie to me dad he’s not you’re in a chopper I can hear it why are you in a chopper Joe got hurt didn’t he?! He got hurt am I right?! Tell me I’m right dad?!”

William ran a hand through his hair with his eyes fixed on his unconscious younger son.

“Alright Eric but I need you to stay calm it’s not as bad as you think. Yes, Joe got hurt. We’re in a chopper and on the way to LA Memorial. Get your mother, meet me there, and I will explain everything. Just do me a favor and calm down. Joe will be okay, I’m telling you the truth Eric. You need to stay calm so that you can keep your mother calm. Can you do that?”

Eric sat down on the floor of his bedroom, shocked stupid for just a second, then he stumbled out, “Y... yes... ca... calm... I’ll stay calm. Hospital... meet you there...”

He forced himself to his feet.

“Dad? Are you sure he’s alright? Sure?”

“Sure. Now go.”

William hung up and put Joe’s cellphone in his pocket. At first, when he heard it ringing and saw that it was Eric calling, he didn’t want to answer. He did however, because he had to let Eric and Beth know what was going on.

“We’re about to land sir...”

William looked up at the paramedic and nodded then he looked down at Joe again. Since the chopper lifted off he hadn’t let go of Joe’s limp hand. He didn’t want to take his eyes off his youngest. Just the thought of how close he came to losing Joe almost drove him crazy.

Eric and Beth ran into the emergency room twenty minutes later to find William sitting in the passage with his head in his hands. Eric was faster than his mother. He picked up speed, slid to a halt in front of William, and yelled out the question. “Where’s my brother?!”

William looked up, startled. It took him a few moments to respond but when he saw Beth’s tear-streaked face he forced himself up. Eric took in his father’s shirtless torso and the spots of blood on his chest and took a few steps back. William saw his reaction, but his immediate concern was for Beth, who looked close to breaking down. He pulled her into his arms and spoke up quickly. “He’s okay. They’ve taken him in for a CT scan and x-rays but...”

“CT Scan?!! Why?!!”

“Eric... sit down son... take it easy and I’ll explain everything. Joe is a little banged up but he’ll be alright. Have I ever lied to you?”

Eric sat down on the nearest chair and stared up at William with big eyes. William sat down next to him, pulling Beth down as well. “The stalker is under arrest. He’s been taken away. It’s over. He’ll never come near any of you again. He’s going to get locked up for a very long time.”

Beth’s hands still trembled but relief washed over her like a flood. “William... who is he? What’s going on? He got his hands on Joe didn’t he? What happened?”

“Honey, do you remember I asked you if there was anyone in your past that ever worried you?”

“Sure... that night when you first heard about the man... I told you that...”

Her eyes widened and her hands flew to her mouth. “It was Carl?! Tell me I’m wrong William it can’t be!”

“I’m afraid you’re right sweetheart. It was Carl Friedrich.”

“Okay dad, whoa up a bit, I’m confused. Who is this Carl guy and what’s he gotta do with mom and where does Joe fit into all of this?!”

William turned to Eric and decided to come out with the whole story. Eric was very mature and would understand better than most kids his age. “Carl Friedrich was in school with your mother. He was two years older than her and from the start he had an unhealthy obsession with her. She told me he came to live with his aunt when he was six years old, apparently because his father passed away and he had no other family. He was always very secretive according to your mother... she told me she took pity on him because no one wanted to mix with him they avoided him like the plague... he latched onto her like a tick to a dog.”

“Oh back then I didn’t think it was unhealthy, I thought it was sweet but I couldn’t return his feelings. From grade school to high school he followed me around but he always kept his distance. He left little messages, chocolates, or flowers, always bought me presents for Christmas and my birthday. I tried to be nice. As we got older it got worse. He scared me, he was strange... he never made any friends. Rumors went around that he was crazy... I just felt sorry for him. I left school to go to college, and that’s where I met your father. Carl was in the same college as us... his obsession carried on, even though I had other boyfriends in-between. When I met your father I knew I met the man I wanted to have children and grow old with. Carl began getting nasty and I complained about him to the dean of the college. He got suspended. I never saw him again I didn’t think he’d...”

Beth’s voice trailed off and William took over. “Well, it looks like he never forgot your mother and his obsession got worse as time wore on. It took some doing but we traced the registration number of that car to his name. I obtained a search warrant through a friend that owed me a favor and searched his flat this morning. The walls of his bedroom are covered in photos... mostly of your mother... and quite a lot of Joe as well. It was during that search that I realized he was planning to get his hands on Joe today. On his bedside table was a map... the route the bus was taking to camp was marked off along with the times. He circled the halfway stop in red. He was waiting for Joe in the toilets. Apparently he knows your brother almost as well as we do. He knew Joe would go in there alone just because he got told he wasn’t supposed to. He tried to drag Joe out the back entrance but Joe put up a fight. I rushed in on it with some of my men. I shot him down. He’s under arrest and I’m leaving later to interrogate him. As soon as I hear from the doctor that Joe is alright I’ll get back to that bastard but I promise you both... he’s out of the picture for good. I’m going to make damned sure of that.”

“Okay dad... I get that he has this thing for mom... but why Joe?”

William shook his head, echoing Eric’s perplexed frown. “All I can think is that it’s because Joe is the spitting image of your mother... a male version of the woman I love... the women he’s obsessed with. Joe is the baby in the house, your mom’s miracle baby. Maybe he wanted to hurt her through your brother. I’m not sure.”

“William?”

William jumped up when he heard their family doctor speaking up. Old doctor Marlowe had been their personal physician since Beth had been a child. He was nearing retirement but there was no one else William would entrust the lives of his family to. “Ben... is Joe alright?”

Ben Marlowe walked forward with a relieved smile. “He’s been taken up to a ward, he’s under sedation, but he’ll be just fine.”

He sat down next to Beth after giving her a hug and a kiss on the cheek and shaking Eric’s hand.

“I was concerned about damage to the brain because he had quite a hard knock and he has a concussion. Thankfully everything is fine. The bruising on his body is just that... bad bruising... there is no internal damage, nothing to worry about there. My only worry is the bruising on his face, especially his eyes. They are both swollen shut. I’m keeping him overnight for observation. Tomorrow morning the eye specialist will be running a few more tests and I’ll be following up with some as well, just to make certain that everything is in order. Once he has the all clear you can take him home. All in all, young Joe is a very lucky boy.”

He sat forward with an angry frown. He had personally seen both Joe and Eric into the world and regarded them as his own sons. “Joe is very fortunate that none of his teeth are missing. I’m taking an educated guess that he’d been hit around the mouth with a weapon, plus the poor lad suffered a broken nose which I had the ENT look at. He’ll show no future sign of that... I made sure of it. It’s a disgrace, the way Joe was beaten up. I hope the bastard who did this is behind bars where he belongs.”

“Oh he is Ben... but can I see him now? Can we go up to see Joe? Beth and Eric both need reassurance and to be quite honest, so do I.”

Marlowe got up and nodded. “Of course. He’s in a private room in the children’s ward. Go right up and you are welcome to stay the night. But before you go, there’s one more thing. I suggest you have a talk to the children’s counselor. This kind of experience can be traumatic for adult victims, even more so for a child... Joe could suffer from PTSD and in that case you will need some advice on how to get him through it.”

“PTSD? What the heck is that?”

Ben Marlowe gave Eric a fatherly smile. “Post-traumatic stress disorder my boy... and no... not only soldiers at war suffer from it, any person who has been through major trauma may go through it and for a child it can be especially hard. They haven’t got the coping mechanisms that adults acquired through experience.”

William shook Ben’s hand gratefully. “Thank you Ben. Thank you so much. For your advice as well as everything else.”

“You’re welcome... now go see to your boy lieutenant Farrell.”

Eric walked into Joe’s room ahead of his parents. Since he’d gotten the news about Joe, his mind had been whirling. His thoughts had gone mostly round the fact that he almost lost his younger brother, as well as the fact that they had been fighting like cat and dog. He couldn’t help thinking how he would’ve felt if he never got a chance to make up for their recent fights, a chance to say that he was sorry and to play with Joe, like he used to do in the past when he was younger, before he discovered girls. He sat down on the side of the bed and grew a frown. Joe had a plaster on his forehead, covering the gash where Friedrich’s ring sliced him open. His face was swollen. He had a big plaster over his nose and a few ugly bruises on his cheeks and his jaw.

Eric pulled the blanket down and bit back on a swearword when he saw the bruises on Joe’s torso. Joe let off a deep sigh in his sleep and Eric looked up at his face again. Joe looked so terribly young, now even more so because of his bruised and swollen face. Eric felt like giving himself a beating just for having fought with Joe so often in the past. He took Joe’s limp  hand in his and gave it a soft squeeze while he made him a silent promise. ‘Never again bro... never again will I let anyone hurt you. Damnit if you didn’t come home, if something happened to you today and you were gone forever, I don’t think I’d have ever forgiven myself. We’re brothers, we’re bound to fight now and then but I’ll be damned if I’ll ever forget this. That’s a promise. I’ll never forget the lessons learnt today. You’re a loose cannon who takes too many chances and you’re way too big a risk taker you always get yourself into deep s**t but you’re my brother. I love you. Never again Joey. My promise to you. Never again you little hothead. I love you too much to lose you.’