Safe?.... Hardly! (Re-edited for easier reading)

Noise! Deafening!

Stench! Copper?... Blood!

Cold! So cold!

Pain! Pain everywhere!

Everything fading! Noise, quietening! Stench, somehow receding! Pain... the last to go, but, finally, gone!

Darkness!

Peace!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gerards head hurt!... Come to think about it, his whole body pretty much felt like he'd been set on fire, then had an elephant try to stamp the flames out. What the hell had he done last night? Had he got so drunk he couldn't even recall going out, then fallen down the stairs, or something? No! Something didn't add up with that theory! If he was as badly hurt as it felt like he was, he would be in a hospital bed, laying down... warm! comfy! Well, as comfy as a hospital bed could be anyway! But he wasn't! He was sat, upright, but slouched, on what felt like a hard backed wooden chair.

As Gerards senses slowly returned, he tried to work out what was happening. He quickly realised that there was a blindfold tightly covering his eyes, hence the darkness! He also quickly noted that he appeared to be tied to the chair, not just sitting on it. So, unless this was some horrible, drunken prank gone wrong, perpetrated by fuck knows who, Gerard seemed to be in real trouble!
Fuck! Why couldn't he remember what happened? Shivering, he realised something else... he was naked! Shit! This was so far away from good, he could barely even imagine feeling safe again! Think... think! What was the last thing he could remember? Fuck...nothing! It was all a big black hole!

"Gerard!"

A voice whispered in the darkness.

Gerard! ...I know you're awake Gerard!"

The voice sing-songed, a little closer now. Shit! He knew that voice! But who's voice was it? Though closer, it still whispered, making it harder to identify! Gerard turned his head towards the sound, hoping it would help him to figure out the owner of the quiet, sing-song voice.

"I've missed you Gerard! Why did you run from me Gerard?"

The mystery man breathed, right next to Gerard's left ear, causing him to jerk violently to his right in surprise, which, in turn, caused his chair to tip over, crashing to the floor, him along with it.

"Well, that was stupid!"

The voice spat! Harsher, no longer whispered, or singing.... Recognisable!!

Oh fuck! Nononononono! It CAN'T be! Fuck, fuck, fuck!.... Bert!

With realisation, came the memories! Bert had found him! He'd come to the house, knocked on the door! Gerard had answered it without thinking, after all, it had been a year, he'd felt safe, Frankie made him feel safe!
It wasn't Frankie! It wasn't Ray, or Mikey, or even Bob... it was Bert!
Eyes bugging in shock, fear forced him to move. Gerard slammed the door in that evil, grinning face, then turned and bolted for the stairs. His phone was by his bed, he had to get to it before that monster got to him!
Running up the stairs and along the short landing, he swung himself left through his bedroom door, slamming it closed behind him. Gerard rushed to his bedside, he could hear banging coming from below, Bert trying to break the door in. Grabbing his cell, he speed dialled Frank with shaking fingers, before backing into the corner, gasping as his back hit the wall, then sliding down to the floor.
Gerard had his knees pulled up to his chest, left arm wrapped tight around them, as he held the cellphone to his ear with his right. By this point, he wasn't sure what was louder, the banging and cursing coming from down stairs, or the banging of his heart, as it tried to beat its way from his chest!

"Frank... pick up, pick up, PICK UP!"

Gerard begged the ringing phone in his hand.
Finally he did! Gerard's mind was fuzzy on the conversation, but he remembered hearing his front door finally give way, footsteps, swearing, he remembered telling Frank that he loved him, then, Bert was in the room, the phone snatched from his fingers and dashed against the far wall, hands grabbing at him, trying to fight back, kicking, screaming, crying... pain... blood... Darkness!

Gerard was gasping for air, shaking, sobbing, praying to a God that, at this point, he was pretty sure didn't exist, as Bert hauled him, and the chair upright, then removed his blindfold. He squeezed his eyes tight shut against the brightness of the room, tears slipping out to roll down his pale cheeks.

"Open your eyes!"

Bert ordered. Gerard shook his head, no. Bert grabbed Gerard's chin roughly, his fingers smelt of cigarettes, and something else, what was it? copper? no, blood!!

"OPEN YOUR FUCKIN' EYES!!"

Bert screamed in his face. Gerard, literally pissed himself! Shaking so hard he thought his teeth might fall out, he opened his eyes!

Bert wasn't particularly tall, he was a couple of inches shorter than Gerard even, though not as short as Frankie of course, but he was strong! Not weight training strong, more... street fighting strong, and fast too.
Limp black hair hung to his shoulders around a thin, stubbly face, sunken eyes and pallid skin, visible clues to the years of alcohol and drug use. Shit! He looked a mess!

"You really shouldn't have run Gerard!"

Bert's face twisted into that sadistic grin Gerard had learned to fear, the one he always wore before things got so much worse.

Bert leaned towards Gerard, who in turn, tried to turn his face away. Bert pulled his face back around, before moving in and licking a stripe up from Gerard's collarbone to his left ear. Gerard gagged.

"Hahaha!"

Bert chuckled.

"I'm gonna have so much fun breakin' you baby! When I'm done with you, it won't be a case of you not being able to walk for a week.. No! When I'm done? you'll never walk again!"

Bert raised the blindfold towards Gerard's bloodshot, terror filled eyes.

"So you don't see what's coming!"

Bert hissed in his ear, securing the cloth tight at the back of Gerard's head.

Gerard whimpered in fear! He knew what Bert was capable of! How vicious and sadistic he could be! He knew, from personal fucking experience, and he really didn't want that experience again!
Last time, just over a year ago, before all the running, before changing his name, before night after night, waking up screaming and shaking, nightmares still fresh in his mind... Before all that, Bert nearly killed him! Gerard still wasn't sure how he'd survived that night, and sometimes, he wished he hadn't!

Sitting there, naked, cold, hurting all over, terrified... Gerard remembered that night like it was yesterday! And just like this nightmare, it began with a knock at the door...

Notes