Hello readers :). Thank you for all of your comments so far, you have given me some constructive criticism which i will think about. I hope you are enjoying the story and will enjoy it more as it develops. I was new to writing when i started this so i appreciate that it may take a while for you to get into it. I have previously posted this story elsewhere on the internet and people seem to have enjoyed it :). To try and build some more interest, i have put parts 3 and 4 together. I hope you enjoy it and i appreciate any feedback 🙂

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Part 3.

***

Everything went quiet. Daniel had completely frozen. His eyes were open and he was looking around. He could see Jake’s parents looking at him worryingly. Their mouths were moving and yet Daniel heard no sound. The picture started to drain away as if the entire world was dissolving in front of him into a dull, gloomy, empty darkness. Jakes parents could only watch as their son’s best friend seemed to drift away into another realm…

***

“Danny”

…

“Danny wake up”

Daniels eyes crept slowly open. The world was a blur, as if the scenery was spinning around him.

“Wha-wha-what’s happening?” Daniel murmured.

“Danny, just stay calm ok, your alright but we need to get you up off of the ground” said Jake’s mum.

Daniel was confused; there was just too much going on in his mind. He was dizzy and everything seemed distant and strange. Eventually he came to his senses and was able to sit up. He felt ok now, not perfect but ok, however, his head was still pounding and he needed to be on his own so that he could try and make some sense of the events which were occurring.

“I need to think” he said to Jake’s parents who were now on their knees, leaning around him. With that he stood up and walked calmly and collectively away from Jake’s house.

He walked to wherever his feet would take him, all the while running over recent experiences in his head. Over and over again the memories rolled around and around whirling repetitively around his head. He remembered details which he had forgotten and tried his very best to piece everything together in the right order to develop his understanding of his life and the lives of those around him. There were so many thoughts, feelings, emotions and questions flying through his brain. “Why is this happening to me?”, “What have I done to deserve this?”, “Why has Jake ran off?”, “Where is Jake?”, “Is he ok?”, “God i hope he’s ok”, “I don’t know what I’d do without him”. The thoughts were endless. He was so deep in his own thoughts that he was completely unable to concentrate on where he was going or what he was doing. People stared quizzically at him as he charged blindly past them on the street but he didn’t notice, it was all happening so fast. He stopped. Suddenly and randomly out of nowhere a thought occurred to him.

“The abandoned farm, I bet he’s gone to the abandoned farm”.

Just outside of the town where Daniel and Jake lived, there was an old abandoned farm. The two boys used to sneak away sometimes after school or in the summer holidays to the farm and mess around like kids do. They had shared many great times there through childhood and through their early teenage years whether it be playing gun fights or chasing each other around, or as they got older just going and chatting about things. It was always looked upon by both of them as a place where they could escape to, where they could get away from the madness and the rush of the town. It was quiet, peaceful and tranquil. Every time either of them felt like they needed some time alone, or they wanted to spend time with each other, they would always got to this secret, hidden, out of the way place which seemed to hold some kind of mystical heeling power for them.

With that thought, Daniel spun instantly on his left foot to face the opposite direction. He couldn’t be sure that Jake would be there but it was his best bet, so he began to jog gently in the direction of the farm. He jogged back down the same street, retracing his footsteps. He was determined now that he had to find his best friend, had to know that he was safe and that no harm had come to him. The very thought of anything happening to Jake made his skin crawl. His jog turned into a slow run and the pace kept increasing as he got closer to the junction leading to the main exit road of town. He could see the road now; it wasn’t far to the edge of town. He reached the junction and ran straight around the corner onto the main road out of town. The farm was not far from where he was now and he could almost hear Jakes voice calling to him as he got ever nearer to his destination. He continued to sprint, he was tired and out of breath but he couldn’t stop now, he was nearly there. A familiar sight appeared around the long bend in the road. He saw the barn where he had spent so many hours of his short life. He was almost there now and so started to slow down a little to try and catch his breath a little. He reached the barn and collapsed against a wall. Slowly his breath came back and he could breath again. As soon as he could, he moved on in his quest without hesitation.

“Jake!” he yelled out at the top of his voice. “Jake buddy are you here?”

There was no reply. Daniel walked slowly towards the enormous, heavy, brown, wooden barn door and began to push it open. The door opened with a deafening squeak. Daniel entered the barn and the heavy door forced itself shut behind him. It was gloomy and musky in the big, empty, old abandoned barn. Daniel glanced around searching for any sign of life. There was none. The barn was definitely empty. He turned around to leave the barn and look elsewhere. He searched the door with his hands. To his horror, there was no handle of any kind on the inside of the heavy barn door. His heart began to race as he tried desperately to find a way of getting out. He pushed against the door with all his might but it wouldn’t budge. He was trapped.

“Help!” he cried out.

There was no response.

“Help, please I’m trapped in the barn! … Is there anybody there?”.

Nothing.

There was nothing he could do. He was stuck. He figured he would just have to wait and pray that somebody would come looking for him. The problem was, he was on an abandoned farm in the middle of nowhere. As far as Daniel knew, there was only one person other than himself who knew that the place existed. Jake. Daniels chances of escaping depended solely upon the very person who was the reason for Daniel being in the situation in the first place. It looked bleak.

***

Part 4.

***

The light started to fade as night fell over the abandoned farm. It was quiet and peaceful, and usually Daniel would have relished the peace. This time though, peace was the last thing he wanted. He was scared, he was cold and he was alone. He longed for someone to find him, someone to be with him, to hold him and to comfort him. He longed for Jake. He began to shake uncontrollably as the temperature dropped. He decided that he should get up and search the big empty barn for some way of keeping warm. He slowly struggled to his feet and began to glance around. The barn was empty apart from an old rusty tractor in the far left hand corner and some bales of straw behind it. He knew the straw would be itchy and uncomfortable but he didn’t care, he had to find some way of keeping warm. He walked over to the bales and began ripping them apart. He led down on top of one of the bales and grabbed hand full after hand full of the straw and pulled it over himself. After about 10 minutes of doing this, he was feeling much warmer due to the exercise and was sure that the straw would keep him warm enough to survive the night. All that was left to do for Daniel now was wait.

***

Morning.

Daniel woke up with sunlight pouring through the many cracks in the walls of the old run down barn, onto his cold, numb face. He was itchy all over from the straw and in places, his body bled from where particularly sharp, hard pieces of straw had been digging into his delicate white skin. His body ached all over and he was in pain. He struggled to his feet making bits of straw fly everywhere, tumbling like a waterfall off of his fragile body. He stumbled carelessly back across to the big wooden doors, hoping and praying that in the daylight, he would be able to find some way of escaping his prison. There was no handle on the huge wooden door, and no way of getting out. He tried everything he could, he pushed, pulled, rammed, tugged and battered but it was no good. He was definitely trapped. He felt completely hopeless. “Oh why do these things always happen to me” he thought as he fell to the floor and began to cry into his hands.

***

Meanwhile back at Jake’s house, Jake’s parents were worried sick. Jake was still missing and they hadn’t seen their son now for nearly two days. Not only that but they had just received the news that Daniel was missing now as well. They felt awful! They didn’t have a clue where they’re son or Daniel was and they knew that there was nothing they could do to help. They could only wait. They had no idea about the situation Daniel had gotten himself into and it was still a total mystery where Jake was.

In fact, Jake was staying at a just friend’s house just around the corner from his house. He just needed to get away from things for a while, he was confused and needed to think. He was feeling much better now and was thinking much more clearly. He had thought about nothing and no one other than Daniel for the past 2 nights and had calmed down by now. He had realised that he didn’t care that Daniel was gay, he was his best friend and he would stand by him and do everything he could to help him get through the torture which he knew that Daniel must be going through in his head. He was just shocked at first that was all and he was a little angry that Daniel, being his best friend, hadn’t told him sooner. On the other hand, there was also the fact that Daniel was “in love” with Jake, and it was that which he was still unsure about. He didn’t know what he was going to do, say, or how things were going to change between them in the future.

“Hey bro thanks for letting me stay over” Jake said appreciatively to his and Daniels friend Darren, who’s house he had stayed at, “It’s been a really big help to me and I’ll never forget it”.

“No problem mate, anytime” Darren replied, “You know I’d do anything for you, you’re a good friend”.

“Alright mate, I should probably get back home, who knows what my parents are thinking?” Jake explained looking back at Darren who was stood outside his front door.

“Yeah, I bet they’re worried out of their minds!” replied Darren thoughtfully.

They said goodbye and Jake began to make his way home. He started to run as he longed to speak to his parents and let them know he was ok, but more importantly, he longed more than anything else to talk to his best friend who he hadn’t seen since that night in the alley. He had to let Daniel know that he was still his friend, and that he was there for him and always would be.

He reached his house and slowly, carefully opened the door, not knowing what to expect. His parents leapt for the door as they heard it close and to their relief, there stood their son, safe and unharmed.

“Oh Jake hunny your ok!” his mother cried out with relief as she grabbed her precious son tightly and squeezed him into a loving hug.

“Where have you been Jake? Your mother and I have been worried out of our minds!” his dad exclaimed, placing his hand on Jake’s shoulder.

“I’m ok” Jake said, “I just needed to think that’s all. I was staying at Darren’s house”.

“Well we’re just relieved that your alright” his mother said as she released him from her hugging grip.

“Yeah, I’m sorry guys I should have told you where I was” Jake claimed with a contemplative face. “I’m gonna take a shower and then I need to go and talk to Danny”.

There was an awkward silence which filled the room as the atmosphere changed.

“What?” Jake questioned as his face dropped.

“You may want to sit down son” his dad said in a serious tone.

“Oh god, it’s Danny isn’t it” Jake asked panicking “what’s he done?”

“Well, to be honest, we… we don’t know. The truth is, well… nobody knows. He’s just disappeared.” Jakes dad answered sympathetically.

Without hesitation, Jake grabbed his coat and ran out of the door. He ran to Daniels house to see if maybe he was back and that maybe he just hadn’t told anyone yet. No luck! He sprinted around the town checking every place he could think of. He tried the park, the wishing well, the club, everywhere. He was exhausted by now and was trembling and worrying like mad. Daniel was nowhere to be seen! He stopped and sat on a bench near the library. He needed to catch his breath and it gave the young man an opportunity to think. Jake ran through a list of all the places he had checked. “That’s it, that’s just about everywhere in town” he thought helplessly to himself. Then it sunk in. There was one last place, one last place which wasn’t in town, one last place which gave him hope, this wasn’t over yet!

TO BE CONTINUED…

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