He could hear voices calling his name but whether they were real or not was beyond him. He needed to relax, he needed to get control of his emotions before he pushed forward to find out whether or not those voices were real. From what he could detect, it was Colby's voice, though his voice has been absent for a good few minutes, probably confirming hearing him at all was probably a mirage of some sort. He was squeezed into a tight space within a wardrobe he found; it reeked of mothballs and medicine but he didn't really care.

He was stupid. He felt ridiculous but at the same time he knew he had to come ere and face his demons because this is where the source of his craze originated from and he had to face them. It was silly of him to go by himself which is a problem he's had for a long time; proving things by himself when he knew it wasn't safe. He still felt his throat burning and his body felt weak but he still shook like a leaf. He was willing and ready to rush to the next hiding spot if he had to; he needed time to get over himself before going on bravely... He didn't feel very brave at that moment.

He almost immediately stopped shivering when he heard the door to the room he was in creek further open, his body tensing and his hand automatically raising to his lips to shush himself. Footsteps, slow and cautious. He prayed for them to just leave and have him sit there in his frightful peace but the voice that left the host shook him in his surprise.

"Sam?" Colby.

Instinctively he pushed on the wardrobe door and it swung open, the form of Colby turning around and looking over at Sam with a surprised expression before relief seemed to flush into his features and he immediately went over to Sam who started to cry again, overwhelmed with joy that it was actually Colby. Colby came over and kneeled in front of the wardrobe, taking Sam's outstretched hand and letting him shift out of his confinements and towards Colby.

"Colby! I-I'm so sorry I- "

"Hey hey, shhh, don't worry it's okay", he expressed as he held out his other hand towards Sam's cheek but didn't touch it, watching the blonde keel over a bit and lean into his wavering touch. "What's important is that I've found you", he expressed slowly and Sam gave a small nod, closing his eyes a bit as shame overwhelmed his senses. He was more ashamed of acting behind Colby's back than he was reeling in fear, now that Colby was in fact in front of him.

"I-I never should've done this alone. I should've told you but... I didn't think you'd allow me to come here if I told you... I feel so... I feel like shit for doing this to you I'm so sorry Colby", he tried to lean in and hug Colby but the other male stopped him by lightly grasping his shoulders and forcing him to look into his stern eyes.

"It's okay Sam really. This was... Clearly something you had to do for yourself right? There's no reason for you to just leave me so suddenly without much word right? I trust you had your reasons", he expressed but this made Sam frown more in dismay at how understanding Colby was appearing to be; he was half expecting him to be more frantic and pissed off but he was more so calm and compassionate; not that Sam would complain about his endearing attitude. "Do you think you've found what you've come for?"

"I... I'm not sure yet", Sam shook his head and Colby gave a soft smile.

"Then we should keep looking around until you find whatever it is you're searching for right?" This confused Sam. Why is he being so understanding? Colby's usually more overprotective than this wasn't he? And he should be able to tell Sam was attacked just by the red bruises forming on his neck and he hasn't even asked about those? Why was he being so strange?

"You... Really mean we should stick around here more?" Sam asked as Colby moved to stand, looking down at Sam with a gentle smile that would usually simmer any issues he had in an instant, but now it looked so foreign on his lips.

"If you haven't found what you're looking for to ease your concerns, we should get it done now right? And I feel more comfortable doing it as long as I have you in my sights right? We stick together always don't we Sam?" He held his hand down to Sam who stared up at him suspiciously, Colby taking not of this and he gave Sam a rather silly expression. "Why're you looking at me with such surprise Sam? Is me trying to support your somewhat sketchy ambitions that strange? I'm more relieved to have found you at all and that you're safe for the most part. Now I'm here to watch over you... I always will be Sam. Now take my hand, let me help you", he smiled while Sam blinked a bit in his doubt and looked at Colby's hand for a moment. No... He shouldn't doubt Colby; he never acted unnecessarily in these sorts of situations so he should just trust him...

He's never lead Sam astray right?

He took Colby's hand and allowed him to pull him to his feet, Colby grinning a bit more before a sound suddenly reached them both. The sound of Sam's name being called frantically bounced off the walls from not too far from where they stood. Sam looked in the direction of it with a frown. "What's..."

"Sam! Where the hell are you?!" Jake.

"You brought Jake?" Sam looked at Colby whose expression was unreadable, just looking at Sam and abstaining from saying anything.

"Sam! Baby! Please! It's Colby! We need to get out of here! Where are you Sam?" Colby's voice. Colby's voice? An illusion? No, that sounded exceptionally real. He could also detect Brennen's voice in the mix of the shouts and he slowly turned to look at the Colby he was with whose expression hadn't changed in the slightest.

They stared at one another.

___________

"For fuck sake!" Colby screamed as he kicked a chair off its feet and watched it smash into the floor a few feet from where he was. How could he have lost Sam so easily? He was just here now he was gone! It was so frustrating that he couldn't keep note of where his fucking boyfriend went at the times when it mattered most. "Where the fuck could he have gone!?" He yelled in annoyance and Jake came up to him and place his hand on Colby's shoulder.

"Dude, calm down, breaking stuff isn't gonna make him magically appear. You need to chill out", he said seriously and Colby let out an exhale of infuriation before he cupped his hands over his face and groaned.

"We'll find him man. We've just got to be calm", Brennen insisted and Colby nodded his head slowly as he looked up from his hands and glanced at his two friends with a relieved smile. He smiled at them even though he was a bundle of panic, fear and rage in that very instance. If the demons didn't kill Sam, Colby would. How could he be so stupid to go on his own? Of course shit like this would happen if he went by himself so why would he do it? Sure Colby would've been opposed to coming back here but he would've eventually given in to it as long as he went along with Sam.

"You're right... He's probably fine. And I'll be able to fucking kill him myself once we find him", he expressed as he continued walking on, looking around the creepy environment with his flashlight. He realised with his extreme concern of finding Sam, he wasn't as scared anymore, probably because the desire to kill him rushed through his system. He was first going to embrace him in his relief then scream at him for being so stupid.

"Sam!" He called out as he moved forward, Jake and Brennen calling out to him as well.

"Sam! Where the hell are you!"

"Sam! Baby! Please! It's Colby! We need to get out of here! Where are you Sam?"

"Sam! We're here to take you home! Come on man! This place is creepy, I wanna go home!" Brennen expressed and Colby glanced at him with a bemused expression before he brought his hands around his mouth to call again until a loud bang from down the hallway sounded which seemed to shake the entire floor. Panic sprung through Colby and he automatically picked up speed as he rushed over to where he heard the noise, crying out Sam's name as he went.

Upon reaching the room he saw Sam on the floor against the wall, his eyes closed and his body limp. Colby's heart automatically dropped and he rushed over to the form of his lover and slid to the ground next to him, grabbing his shoulder and frantically shaking his body. "Sam! Sammy! Hey are you okay!" He cried out and the blonde flinched a bit as his head rocked side to side, painful groans leaving his lips. "Sam? Can you hear me? It's me, it's Colby!" He begged for him to listen and Sam very slowly started to open his eyes, Colby grasping his chin and making him look up while Sam seemed to regain his senses. "Sam? Hey, it's me! Come back to me baby", he said in a softer voice as Sam's eyes cracked open and his gaze met Colby's, relief flushing into the brunettes blood. "Thank god, thank god you're alive", he sighed happily as he stared at Sam, the blonde staying silent and watching him.

Colby looked Sam over for any notable injuries, immediately acknowledging the bruises on his neck and a couple of scratches on his skin going from his neck and chest to his face. Nothing too major. "Are you feeling okay? Feel like anything's broken?" Sam still hadn't reacted to Colby and when he said nothing, Colby glared at him and shook his shoulders a bit. "Sam can you hear me?"

"Y...You..." He breathed in a rasp and Colby tilted his head a bit at him. "Get... The fuck away from me!" He shoved on Colby's chest and scattered back into the wall, fear seeming to absorb his being. "You monster! Don't fuck with me! You're not... He's not here!" Colby stared up at him in shock while Jake and Brennen approached him, trying to calm him down while Sam screamed a string of slurs at him. "I won't fall for it again!"

"What are you..."

"Monster! MONSTER!"

_______

Short but painful, no need to thank me.