Living Nightmare

Hurry up....come on, let's dump him before he croaks...

The two men quickly parked their van outside the entrance to the hospital and dragged out what it held, a thin blonde who had clearly been starved and tortured, among other things. The half-dead man moaned when he hit the hard asphalt but the two men didn't care, to them he was already dead.

Let's get out of here one of the men whispered nervously But he isn't dead yet the other muttered He will be soon, come on they quickly jumped into the van and drove away, leaving the blonde shivering and shaking on the empty street.

Bleary blue eyes struggled to focus on the lighted entrance that was a mere twenty feet away and a weak croak emerged from his throat Help....me.... he whispered in vain, for there was no one to hear him. How long had he waited for a moment like this, to be so close to help? But now he was so weak he couldn't move twenty feet and get help, he was going to die out here, alone, without having ever seen the man he loved again, his beloved Adam.

Addy... Jay's eyes filled with tears as he thought of the man he hadn't seen in what felt like an eternity. How long had it been since he'd been snatched from the arena the night after Adam had won the title from that upstart Swagger? Was Adam still looking for him? Jay wished he knew, he wished Adam were there even now, but he wouldn't last the night....

"A-Addy...." he whispered to the night sky as his body began to shut down at last "I...I l-love...you....." finally broken, he fell into unconsciousness and lay limp on the pavement. Half an hour later, he was discovered and rushed inside, more dead than alive. He had no ID on him, but one nurse recognized him from television and his contact info was located.

Across town.....

Adam was still struggling to sleep in the large, all too empty bed when the phone began to ring.

"Hello?" he whispered groggily, bolting upright at the words he heard next "Mr. Copeland, this is Mercy Hospital, we've found your boyfriend Jay...but he's not expected to last the night."

After the weeks he'd spent searching for Jay, just the news that he was alive was enough for Adam, he could get Jay through the rest. Jumping up he got dressed and headed to the hospital.

Back at the hospital....

Jay was struggling for life in the ICU, that he was still alive at all was a miracle in and of itself. Besides a number of physical injuries: broken ribs, a cracked wrist, not to mention the plethora of bruises that were practically turning his body purple, the poor blonde had been sexually violated again and again, so many times in fact that the entire area was infected, yet another threat to the tenuous hold Jay held on life. The second worst injuries could be found on Jay's back, fortunately hidden by thick white bandages. When the doctors had removed what remained of Jay's clothes, they discovered that the young man had been whipped, brutally and mercilessly whipped until his entire back, from neck down to the hips, all of it had been a shredded bloody mess (one of the nurses had gotten sick at the sight). All of the injuries combined to form a massive infection that ravaged Jay's weakened body with a moderate fever. The doctors were trying everything, but most secretly admitted to each other that, unless a major miracle occurred, it was only a matter of time until his body gave out.

Jay himself wasn't aware of much, he knew he was in the hospital, and the nightmare of pain had been dulled by medication, but he felt so tired, so very very tired, and the urge to slip into the eternal darkness was getting stronger as the minutes slipped by.

After locating the room Jay had been taken to, Adam paced back and for, bile rising in his throat and anger boiling in his blood every time he saw the state his beloved little one was in.He growled as he ran a stressful hand over his blond hair. "I'm gonna kill them," Adam muttered. "Whenever I find out who did this to you I'm gonna hunt them down and I'm gonna kill them!"

Addy? Barely lucid, Jay couldn't believe what he was hearing, was that his Addy, his golden one? Was he really here after so long? Despite his pain, he had to know, it took every last ounce of strength he possessed to force his glazed eyes open before they promptly filled with tears. There, pacing next to the bed was his beloved Adam, frantically running his hands through his gorgeous blonde hair.

"A...Addy...." Jay's voice was a dim whisper "A-Addy...b-b-baby....." tears of happiness were streaming down his bruised cheeks "Addy......"

Adam looked up almost instantly. "Jay?" Adam said softly, sitting down gently on the edge of the bed. "Hey baby," Adam whispered.

Jay's glazed eyes were wide with child-like wonder "Is it....is it really you?" he whispered, not quite daring to believe what he saw "Am I really here, with you now?"

"It's really me little one, I'm right here," Adam gently took Jay's hand in his. "I've got you now, you're safe."

Feeling Adam take his hand was like a lifeline out of hell for Jay, who still couldn't quite comprehend that the torture was finally over "H-how long...." he managed to croak out "How long....have I been gone?"

"A long time," Adam said. "It doesn't matter how long anymore."

Jay's lower lip began to tremble and he squeezed Adam's hand as tightly as he could "I...I'm sorry Addy...." his voice was extremely weak "I tried...to get away...."

"It's not your fault baby," Adam murmured. "It's not."

"They...they hurt me" Jay whimpered, memories of torture flickering through his mind "I begged, I screamed, but they wouldn't stop...."

"Shhhhhhh," Adam whispered, rubbing Jay's hand gently with his thumb. "Who Jay, who did this to you?" Adam asked.

"It....it....." Jay swallowed as the tears began to flow once again "It was AJ....and Storm and Roode....it was all three of them....."

Adam's eyes filled with pure hatred as he suppressed a growl rising from the back of his throat. He stood up and started pacing again. Running a hand through his hair he began to speak. "They're dead," Adam said angrily. "They're dead men walking, how dare they put a hand on you!"

Jay began to whimper at the pure venom he heard in Adam's voice, it reminded him so much of another voice, one that had haunted him day and night for he didn't know how long

"P-please stop...." he moaned, the glaze in his eyes thickening with exhaustion "You're s-scaring me...."

Adam stopped instantly, walking back over to Jay, he stroked the younger man's cheek gently. "I'm sorry little one," Adam said, keeping his voice gentle. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"I...I know..." Jay whispered, getting incredibly tired "Addy, it's been so long....could you hold me for a while? I'm sleepy...."

Adam was unsure a first, not wanting to risk hurting Jay. "Alright," Adam said finally, sliding into the bed next to Jay and gently pulling him close.

Hearing Adam's heartbeat sent Jay to sleep almost instantly, in fact, Adam's presence acted as the miracle the doctors had hoped for. Jay's vitals remained stable and when the sun rose, he was still very much alive, sleeping peacefully in Adam's arms.

"That's it baby," Adam smiled, slowly beginning to drift off himself. " Just rest now I've got you."

Jay slept for almost the entire day until that evening, when he began to experience severe nightmares, which were more like flashbacks into the hell he'd been put through. Only this time, Adam was with him, and they were doing all sorts of horrible things to the older man while Jay could only watch in horror.

"Stop it!" he shouted, trying in vain to help the man he loved "Don't hurt him, Adam, Addy!!!!"

Adam sat up a bit, shaking the younger man gently. "Jay, Jay baby....baby wake up, wake up baby," Adam said softly. "I'm right here."

Jay woke up with tears streaming down his face "They were hurting you" he whimpered "And I couldn't stop them...I'll die if they hurt you Addy...."