Episode 27

                                    

                                          
"Shane strangled Ben."
Carlos clenched his fist under the table, his eyes widened at Aiden's words. Taylor's hand flew up to her mouth and she gasped in disbelief.
"... Not with the intent to kill him, but just enough to damage Ben's voice box. Because he knew that singing was something precious to Ben."
That didn't help Carlos's anger at all. He bit the bottom of his lip, but stopped himself from looking at Ben, not wanting to cause him any discomfort.
"Afterwards, Ben started spiraling into depression. And then depression turned into rage. When Ben finally went back to school, he confronted the group. But even after he beat the one who hurt him, he didn't feel any better..."
Taylor squeezed Carlos's hand gently under the table, sensing his growing rage.
"He didn't know what to do... to make the anger go away. So, he kept picking fights. Even picked up street fighting. He stopped going to school. And he'd always come home late. His parents didn't know what to do. Ben refused to go to therapy and would sneak out of the house."
At this point, the self-control Carlos has to not start running his mouth is astounding.
"At some point, a kid he fought turned out to have an older brother who had connections with a gang. The gang found out where he lived, and, well- they ended up having to move."
Carlos lowered his head, noticing the gaze that Tyler and Taylor were giving him. He didn't look back at them though. They knew exactly what was going through his head and the last thing he needed to be reminded of was him.
"Ben was ashamed of what happened and realized his temper was far out of his control. That was when his parents suggested he come stay with us for a while. Since we were always traveling, doing new things, and exploring new places, they thought it would help him find a new meaning in life."
"Or did they just not want to deal with him anymore?"
"... Something he loved just as much as singing. He agreed and started going to therapy."
Aiden took a deep breath, "And so that's how he ended up living with me. His therapist also suggested taking up calming hobbies like gardening and drawing in that notebook he always carries with him. He's calmed down quite a bit, but there are times where something can trigger his anger."
He then looked over at nodded at Carlos, "Similar to what happened between you and the other guy in the hallway."
Carlos just mumbled something while taking a deep sigh.
Tyler finally looked away from him and asked, "Wait, so he can still talk, right? Just not sing."
Aiden shrugged his shoulders, "I mean- he can, but he doesn't like hearing his damaged voice. So he chooses to be silent."
He patted his cousin's shoulder, "Ight, bud. Ya can turn the music off."
Ben took off his earbuds and the entire table fell silent.
Ashlyn cleared her throat, "Alright, let's move on then-"
Carlos sighed again while rubbing circles on Ben's hand, he didn't want to just change the subject like the story didn't mean a thing, "I can't say I know what it's like to lose your voice, but I know how it feels to be beaten, be hopeless, be silenced."
He nodded slowly, mustering smile as he wraps his hand around his.
Taylore nodded from beside him, "Thanks, Ben. For letting Aiden share that with us, I mean. You don't even know us that well, but felt like we should know as a team. I'm sure it wasn't easy... so I just wanted to let you know that it was appreciated."
The tension in Ben's shoulders disappeared after hearing Taylor's kind words. He becomes relaxed and nodded.
Taylore gasped and raised her hands apologetically, "Ah- sorry, Ashlyn! I didn't mean to interrupt you..."
"Huh? No, it's alright. I also agree that it was considerate of Ben to let us know."
"M-Me too..." Logan added, though he seemed a bit spooked from Ben's backstory.
"Yeah." Tyler nodded.
"Um..." Logan said softly, "It's a little off topic- but I think I have a theory of what happened in Savannah."
He suddenly panicked when the spotlight shined down on him, everyone turned their heads to give him their full attention.
"Well- er, not exactly what happened, but how we went from Savannah, Georgia, all the way to Alto, Georgia on the second night."
"Right," Ashlyn said defeatedly, "That's something we've been stuck on for a while."
"Okay, so what's your theory?" Tyler pressed impatiently.
"After we left Savannah, instead of us returning to the motels on the second night, we woke up in our beds back home. Which didn't make sense once we figured out that we always return to where we were previously in the phantom dimension." Logan continued "We all ended up having to hide ourselves as best as possible until things were safe again. This whole situation has been a disaster, but the first few nights were particularly brutal..."
"Mhm. And?" Carlos asked.
"We all ended up having to hide ourselves as best as possible until things were safe again. This who situation has been a disaster, but the first few nights were particularly brutal..."
Carlos remembered his experience clearly, a phantom almost caught him when he went to get a glass of water. The thing was inside his house, he was lucky enough the survive.
"Then when we realized that whatever was happening at night wasn't a fluke and it wasn't going to stop." Logan said.
"So what's the theory?" Tyler asked.
"Well... because of how our injuries work in relation to each dimension, I think our bodies we use here and use in the Phantom Dimension are separate but also... connected. So if they are connected in some way..." Logan continued, "What if there's a distance limit?"