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Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
Disclaimer: see part one
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The Past Always Catches Up Part 10
Nowhere Fast
The journey through the Centre’s air vents had taken barely three quarters of the time he had calculated. He had needed about three hours to get down to SL-27.
Jarod was panting slightly and looked at Angelo who was still crawling in front of him.
This time Jarod had guessed that he had been dependant on the empath to turn up.
He had a general idea where he would have had to search for Jay but “somewhere in the west wing of SL-27” didn’t really narrow it down. The place was still large enough to have him searching for hours for the young man.
Angelo had met up with him and Jarod was grateful for that. He hadn’t been sure he would be able to find Jay alone but with the empath at his side, he stood good chances. Angelo seemed to have a definite destination, further supported his hopes.
Still, he knew he needed to get to Jay quickly. He was running out of time.
Suddenly he could hear a distant scream echoing through the vent. Jarod’s head snapped up.
He pushed forward, crawling faster in apprehension and making Angelo crawl faster as well.
Screams were echoing through the vents at intervals, getting louder the closer they came to their destination. Jarod’s heart started beating faster.
Angelo slowed down and looked at Jarod over his shoulder. Then he stopped. Jarod frowned and tried to push past Angelo but the empath effectively blocked his way.
“Angelo, what is it? I need to get to him,” Jarod whispered urgently.
Angelo shook his head and he crawled over to the vents gate that was nearby. Jarod followed him, knowing there must be a reason for his old friend’s actions.
The vent opened in the dimly lit hallway just outside Jay's room. Jarod looked over Angelo’s shoulder. A guard sat in front of the door to what he suspected was Jay’s cell.
“Need door closed. No come in then,” Angelo mumbled and Jarod understood.
Another scream of pain echoed through the hallway, making both men wince.
“Wait till bad man gone,” Angelo went on.
Jarod swallowed when another scream erupted. “How long will that take?” he asked, his voice rough with tension.
“No long,” Angelo said firmly, putting a hand on Jarod’s shoulder.
The next minutes were spent in restless waiting, hearing Jay’s screams but not being able to do anything about them. Jarod had tried to push past Angelo several times to get closer to where Jay was and maybe to get a glimpse of him, but Angelo had always prevented it.
Suddenly the steel door that was leading into Jay’s cell opened and Lyle walked out, followed by four sweepers. Lyle massaged the back of his hand, grinning darkly. “Leave him alone for ten minutes and then get him up again. I don’t want him to rest for long. Cox will be here in about fifteen minutes,” Lyle told the guard and when he nodded, Lyle turned and walked down the corridor, the sweepers leaving with him.
Angelo started crawling away but he turned when he felt Jarod following him. “No, you wait… do door.”
Jarod nodded. “Where are you going, Angelo?”
“Distract guard,” Angelo answered and crawled away.
Jarod waited a few minutes and suddenly there was a loud crashing sound and the guard looked up. The man waited a few seconds and looked around then he trotted off to where the sound had come from, quickening his pace when more crashes echoed towards him.
Jarod quickly climbed out of the vent and rushed towards the control panel on the door to Jay’s cell. He swiftly tempered with the electronic so that no one would be able to open the door from the outside. When he heard heavy footsteps coming closer, he retreated into the vent and brought the cover up just when the guard rounded the corner.
Angelo was already there, waiting for Jarod.
“Call friends now,” Angelo urged.
Jarod nodded, not even beginning to wonder how Angelo knew about the FBI raid. The odd little man had always had a stunning and sometimes frightening insight in what was going on. Plus Jarod was too emotionally worn to argue or ask how his friend knew about it.
When he had given the start signal through the microphone the FBI had given him, Jarod looked up at Angelo expectantly who nodded and then turned around and started crawling again with Jarod following him closely.
It didn’t take them long to reach the air vent gate that led to Jay’s cell. Jarod peered through the gate over Angelo’s back and he gasped loudly at the sight that presented itself. He was out of the air vent in a flash and rushed over to where Jay was. The boy was lying motionless, face down on the floor.
Jarod crouched down in front of him and took in the young man’s sight, not touching him before he could get a first superficial view of the injuries in fear to inflict further damage. Then he carefully rolled the boy onto his back, swallowing when he saw the boy’s bloody face.
”Jay,” he said urgently, his voice trembling. He gently touched he young man’s cheek, his palm instantly covered in blood. “Jay.”
The boy’s eyelids started fluttering and he moaned in pain.
“That’s it, come on, Jay. Wake up,” Jarod pleaded.
Jay’s eyes fluttered open and he tried to lift his head but the pain the motion inflicted and Jarod’s hand keeping his head down was preventing him from doing so.
“No, no, no,” he mumbled and tried to get away from Jarod. The words got louder with each syllable.
Jarod quickly drew the boy back to him and covered his mouth to keep him from screaming. He didn’t want the guard to become suspicious and try to get into the room before he had been told to come in.
Jay weakly tried to struggle against the hands that were holding him.
“Jay, hush. It’s me, Jarod,” Jarod whispered urgently.
It took some time for the words to break through the fog of pain and despair and register in Jay’s mind. He suddenly stopped struggling and blinked his eyes, trying to get them to focus.
Jarod stroked the back of the boy’s head and slowly took the hand that was covering the Jay’s mouth away.
“Dad?” Jay asked, his voice cracking with pain and fear.
“Hush. Yes it’s me. I’m here, Jay. I’ve got you now. I won’t let anyone hurt you,” Jarod whispered, his head close to the boy’s.
Pain and fatigue made Jay’s eyes droop shut again.
Jarod gently laid the boy back down and straightened. He drew in a trembling breath and took a step back to get his emotions under control. He then shrugged off his backpack and opened it, glad that he had decided to take some medical supplies with him.
Before he could start tending Jay again there was a loud banging sound at the door.
Jarod’s head shot up and he looked at his watch. Ten minutes were over. The guard was scheduled to come in.
Another loud bang raised Jay from unconsciousness. “No,” he whispered, fear colouring his voice. His eyes were scanning the room unseeingly, pupils like pin-pricks, his face contorted in a grimace of fear and pain.
Jarod turned back to the boy. “It’s ok, Jay. I’m here. He can’t get to you,” he said and put a hand on the boy’s shoulder. The contact made Jay wince and his eyes shot up at the figure that was hovering over him.
The world was out of focus and the figure blurred. Suddenly it turned into a dark shadow advancing on him. He shook his head weakly and tried to scoot away, looking around for help.
The walls started moving and closing in on him, trying to crush him. Other demons were appearing, grasping his arms and legs, biting bits and pieces out of his body and laughing at him for not being able to protect himself.
Jarod balled his fists at the defensive reaction, watching as Jay fought invisible creatures. He followed to where the boy had managed to drag himself and crouched down in front of him. Grabbing an arm of the fighting young man and bending it to see if his suspicions were correct proved to be more difficult than he had thought. Despite the awful state Jay was in, he gathered all his strength to fight against the demons.
Seeing the needle marks - when he was able to bend one arm long enough to look - confirmed Jarod’s worries. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to help the boy now.
Jarod roughly held his son’s body down to prevent him from getting up and hurting himself further. All the time, Jarod was trying to avoid looking into the eyes that were wide open with fear and yet unseeing to the real world.
The loud banging on the door made his task only harder because each noise startled the boy further, preventing him from coming out of his visions.
Jarod tried to soothe his younger self by whispering soft words of comfort while tears were streaming down his face.
Angelo was huddled in the far corner of the room, his hands covering his ears, rocking back and forth.
To be continued…
~~~~~~~
Nowhere Fast
The journey through the Centre’s air vents had taken barely three quarters of the time he had calculated. He had needed about three hours to get down to SL-27.
Jarod was panting slightly and looked at Angelo who was still crawling in front of him.
This time Jarod had guessed that he had been dependant on the empath to turn up.
He had a general idea where he would have had to search for Jay but “somewhere in the west wing of SL-27” didn’t really narrow it down. The place was still large enough to have him searching for hours for the young man.
Angelo had met up with him and Jarod was grateful for that. He hadn’t been sure he would be able to find Jay alone but with the empath at his side, he stood good chances. Angelo seemed to have a definite destination, further supported his hopes.
Still, he knew he needed to get to Jay quickly. He was running out of time.
Suddenly he could hear a distant scream echoing through the vent. Jarod’s head snapped up.
He pushed forward, crawling faster in apprehension and making Angelo crawl faster as well.
Screams were echoing through the vents at intervals, getting louder the closer they came to their destination. Jarod’s heart started beating faster.
Angelo slowed down and looked at Jarod over his shoulder. Then he stopped. Jarod frowned and tried to push past Angelo but the empath effectively blocked his way.
“Angelo, what is it? I need to get to him,” Jarod whispered urgently.
Angelo shook his head and he crawled over to the vents gate that was nearby. Jarod followed him, knowing there must be a reason for his old friend’s actions.
The vent opened in the dimly lit hallway just outside Jay's room. Jarod looked over Angelo’s shoulder. A guard sat in front of the door to what he suspected was Jay’s cell.
“Need door closed. No come in then,” Angelo mumbled and Jarod understood.
Another scream of pain echoed through the hallway, making both men wince.
“Wait till bad man gone,” Angelo went on.
Jarod swallowed when another scream erupted. “How long will that take?” he asked, his voice rough with tension.
“No long,” Angelo said firmly, putting a hand on Jarod’s shoulder.
The next minutes were spent in restless waiting, hearing Jay’s screams but not being able to do anything about them. Jarod had tried to push past Angelo several times to get closer to where Jay was and maybe to get a glimpse of him, but Angelo had always prevented it.
Suddenly the steel door that was leading into Jay’s cell opened and Lyle walked out, followed by four sweepers. Lyle massaged the back of his hand, grinning darkly. “Leave him alone for ten minutes and then get him up again. I don’t want him to rest for long. Cox will be here in about fifteen minutes,” Lyle told the guard and when he nodded, Lyle turned and walked down the corridor, the sweepers leaving with him.
Angelo started crawling away but he turned when he felt Jarod following him. “No, you wait… do door.”
Jarod nodded. “Where are you going, Angelo?”
“Distract guard,” Angelo answered and crawled away.
Jarod waited a few minutes and suddenly there was a loud crashing sound and the guard looked up. The man waited a few seconds and looked around then he trotted off to where the sound had come from, quickening his pace when more crashes echoed towards him.
Jarod quickly climbed out of the vent and rushed towards the control panel on the door to Jay’s cell. He swiftly tempered with the electronic so that no one would be able to open the door from the outside. When he heard heavy footsteps coming closer, he retreated into the vent and brought the cover up just when the guard rounded the corner.
Angelo was already there, waiting for Jarod.
“Call friends now,” Angelo urged.
Jarod nodded, not even beginning to wonder how Angelo knew about the FBI raid. The odd little man had always had a stunning and sometimes frightening insight in what was going on. Plus Jarod was too emotionally worn to argue or ask how his friend knew about it.
When he had given the start signal through the microphone the FBI had given him, Jarod looked up at Angelo expectantly who nodded and then turned around and started crawling again with Jarod following him closely.
It didn’t take them long to reach the air vent gate that led to Jay’s cell. Jarod peered through the gate over Angelo’s back and he gasped loudly at the sight that presented itself. He was out of the air vent in a flash and rushed over to where Jay was. The boy was lying motionless, face down on the floor.
Jarod crouched down in front of him and took in the young man’s sight, not touching him before he could get a first superficial view of the injuries in fear to inflict further damage. Then he carefully rolled the boy onto his back, swallowing when he saw the boy’s bloody face.
”Jay,” he said urgently, his voice trembling. He gently touched he young man’s cheek, his palm instantly covered in blood. “Jay.”
The boy’s eyelids started fluttering and he moaned in pain.
“That’s it, come on, Jay. Wake up,” Jarod pleaded.
Jay’s eyes fluttered open and he tried to lift his head but the pain the motion inflicted and Jarod’s hand keeping his head down was preventing him from doing so.
“No, no, no,” he mumbled and tried to get away from Jarod. The words got louder with each syllable.
Jarod quickly drew the boy back to him and covered his mouth to keep him from screaming. He didn’t want the guard to become suspicious and try to get into the room before he had been told to come in.
Jay weakly tried to struggle against the hands that were holding him.
“Jay, hush. It’s me, Jarod,” Jarod whispered urgently.
It took some time for the words to break through the fog of pain and despair and register in Jay’s mind. He suddenly stopped struggling and blinked his eyes, trying to get them to focus.
Jarod stroked the back of the boy’s head and slowly took the hand that was covering the Jay’s mouth away.
“Dad?” Jay asked, his voice cracking with pain and fear.
“Hush. Yes it’s me. I’m here, Jay. I’ve got you now. I won’t let anyone hurt you,” Jarod whispered, his head close to the boy’s.
Pain and fatigue made Jay’s eyes droop shut again.
Jarod gently laid the boy back down and straightened. He drew in a trembling breath and took a step back to get his emotions under control. He then shrugged off his backpack and opened it, glad that he had decided to take some medical supplies with him.
Before he could start tending Jay again there was a loud banging sound at the door.
Jarod’s head shot up and he looked at his watch. Ten minutes were over. The guard was scheduled to come in.
Another loud bang raised Jay from unconsciousness. “No,” he whispered, fear colouring his voice. His eyes were scanning the room unseeingly, pupils like pin-pricks, his face contorted in a grimace of fear and pain.
Jarod turned back to the boy. “It’s ok, Jay. I’m here. He can’t get to you,” he said and put a hand on the boy’s shoulder. The contact made Jay wince and his eyes shot up at the figure that was hovering over him.
The world was out of focus and the figure blurred. Suddenly it turned into a dark shadow advancing on him. He shook his head weakly and tried to scoot away, looking around for help.
The walls started moving and closing in on him, trying to crush him. Other demons were appearing, grasping his arms and legs, biting bits and pieces out of his body and laughing at him for not being able to protect himself.
Jarod balled his fists at the defensive reaction, watching as Jay fought invisible creatures. He followed to where the boy had managed to drag himself and crouched down in front of him. Grabbing an arm of the fighting young man and bending it to see if his suspicions were correct proved to be more difficult than he had thought. Despite the awful state Jay was in, he gathered all his strength to fight against the demons.
Seeing the needle marks - when he was able to bend one arm long enough to look - confirmed Jarod’s worries. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to help the boy now.
Jarod roughly held his son’s body down to prevent him from getting up and hurting himself further. All the time, Jarod was trying to avoid looking into the eyes that were wide open with fear and yet unseeing to the real world.
The loud banging on the door made his task only harder because each noise startled the boy further, preventing him from coming out of his visions.
Jarod tried to soothe his younger self by whispering soft words of comfort while tears were streaming down his face.
Angelo was huddled in the far corner of the room, his hands covering his ears, rocking back and forth.
To be continued…
