Date: Thu, 4 Mar 2010 20:40:19 -0500
From: Ronyx <ronyx@woh.rr.com>
Subject: Down the Darkened Path   Chapter 5

The following is a work of fiction. Any similarities to anyone are purely
coincidental. The story is intended for a mature audience. It may contain
profanity and references to gay sex. If this offends you, please leave and
find something more suitable to read. The author maintains all rights to
the story. Do not copy or use without written permission. Write
ron@themustardjar.com with your comments. Ronyx is a prolific Nifty
author. Visit www.themustardjar.com for more stories by Ronyx.



Down the Darkened Path             Chapter 5



Jayden was lying on his bed doing homework. He looked at the clock. It was
after midnight. He would have to get up and go to school in seven hours,
but he was waiting for his cousins to come home. He knew it could be
several more hours before they would come staggering into the house.

He fell asleep, but his dreams haunted him. Every time he'd close his eyes,
he would see the battered face of Troy. His blooded face would forever be
etched into his memory. He could still feel him trembling in his arms as he
waited for the ambulance to arrive.

"I'm scared!" Troy cried as he clutched his arm, unable to see anything
around him.

"It's going to be alright," Jayden responded as he brushed his hand gently
across Troy's blood-stained hair. Troy tried to move, but Jayden held him
tightly. He knew that there was the possibility that he could have neck
injuries, and he wanted him to remain still. It was already possible that
he had done harm to himself when he stumbled down the sidewalk.

"They beat me!" Troy had cried. "They took my wallet and cell phone."

"Who?" Troy asked, although he was afraid to hear the answer. He knew his
cousins may have been returning home at that time. He knew the reputation
they had. They considered anything within a five block area of their home
their territory. He had heard them on several occasions bragging about
hurting others who encroached upon what they considered their turf.

"Two black guys in a blue van," Troy muttered weakly. Jayden looked down as
Troy's body slumped to the side. He felt for a pulse, but it was very
weak. Jayden peered down the street, cursing for the ambulance to
arrive. He wasn't sure if the boy in his arms could survive much longer
without medical attention.

He pulled his head back into his lap and gently rocked him. He thanked God
when he heard a siren in the distance. He looked up and saw Anthony's blue
van turn the corner. It stopped and turned around when the ambulance came
careening down the street.

It stopped in front of them and several medics jumped from the ambulance.

"We'll take it from here, Son," said a kind medic as he carefully removed
Troy from his lap. It was the last time he saw him. A police officer came
over and had Jayden sit in the back of a cruiser while he questioned him.

Even though Jayden didn't live in the street, he knew the code of the
street- you never tell on a family member. So he denied knowing anything,
even though he was sure that Anthony and Tyrone had been the ones who had
hurt Troy.

He awoke when he heard the van pull up. Minutes later, he heard the kitchen
door downstairs open, followed by loud talking. He waited until he heard
Anthony walking up the stairs. He didn't trudge up the steps like Tyrone.

He got up out of bed and waited until Anthony walked past his bedroom
door. He then followed him into his bedroom.

"What the fuck do you want?" Anthony snarled as he turned and saw Jayden at
the door.

"We got to talk."

"Fuck it, Jay. It`s late." Anthony hissed as he removed his shirt over his
head. A gun was tucked inside his waistband. He took it out and tossed it
on the bed.

Jayden approached Anthony and stood defiantly before him. "Did you beat
that boy the other night?"

Anthony's eyes narrowed. His thin face hardened as he stared into the eyes
of Jayden. "What the fuck is it to you?"

"Did you?" Jayden screamed. He grabbed Anthony's shoulders and lifted him
off the ground.

"You Mother Fucker!" Anthony pulled away and grabbed the gun off the
bed. He walked over and pointed it at Jayden's temple.

"Go ahead!" Jayden dared him. Just then Tyrone came barging into the
room. He grabbed Anthony's hand and pulled the gun away from Jayden's face.

"What the fuck is going on?"

"He's asking about the other night," Anthony turned and stared angrily at
Jayden. Tyrone removed the gun from Anthony's hand and faced Jayden.

"This ain't none of your business, Cuz," he said. "There's some things
better left unknown." He pointed the gun playfully at Jayden. Then he stood
before Jayden, looking angrily into his eyes. "Understand?"

Jayden walked away and looked out the window. The image of him holding a
bleeding Troy on the sidewalk formed in his head. He turned and cried, "No,
I don't understand." He wiped tears away with his sleeve. "You didn't have
to hurt him. He wasn't causing you any trouble. His fucking car ran out of
gas. Why did you have to hurt him?"

Anthony walked over and stood before Jayden. "You fucking fag," he
shouted. "Crying like some baby over someone you didn't even know."

"You didn't have to hurt him!" Jayden screamed. He walked over, sat on the
bed and buried his head in his hands. "You didn't have to fucking hurt
him."

Anthony looked over at Tyrone. "White boy was where he shouldn't have
been. He disrespected us by coming onto our street."

"You Fucker!" Jayden jumped off the bed and choked Anthony. They fell to
the ground. "These aren't your fucking streets." He started to hit Anthony
when he heard the click of a gun. He turned and saw Tyrone pointing the gun
at the back of his head.

"Get up, Cuz." He said softly and calmly. "I don't have a problem pulling
this trigger if you don't get up off my brother."

When he got off Anthony, Anthony hit him in the stomach. He bent over from
the intense pain. "Kin or not," he threatened, "if you ever put your
fucking hands on me again," he warned as he grabbed the gun from Tyrone's
hand and pointed it in Jayden`s face, "I'll fucking kill you."

"Go to bed," ordered Tyrone. He walked to the door and waited for
Jayden. As Jayden passed him he grabbed his arm. "If you say a word to
anyone about this," he said angrily, "what we did to that white boy will be
child's play to what we'll do to you. Understand?"

Jayden pushed past Anthony. He went to his room and slammed the door. He
climbed into bed and curled himself into a ball. He only hoped that Troy
would live to identify his cousins as his attackers.

When he went downstairs in the morning, he stopped by the kitchen to get a
bowl of cereal before heading off to school. Tyrone was at the table
drinking a cup of coffee and thumbing through a magazine. He looked up and
scowled at Jayden when he entered.

Jayden grabbed some cookies and headed out the door. Before leaving Tyrone
called out, "Just remember what we told you last night, Cuz." Without
responding, Jayden headed out the door.

The weather was a typical February morning, damp and cold. Jayden pulled
the collar to his jacket tightly around his neck and tucked his book bag
under his arm to keep it from getting wet. When he was about two blocks
from school, he could hear a car approach and slow down. He looked over as
the window slowly lowered.

"Want a ride?" He recognized the boy who he had talked to in the hospital
the previous morning. He thought he remembered introducing himself as
Will. When he hesitated, Will smiled. "I don't bite. Come on, get in."
Reluctantly, Jayden approached the car and got into the passenger's side of
the car.

They drove in silence for a block until Jayden finally spoke. "How is he?"
He looked over and saw a pained look on Will's face.

"We don't really know yet," he said. "Troy's parents have been in to see
him, but no one is really saying much."

"Is he going to live?" Jayden watched as tears filled Will's eyes. He shook
his head sadly.

"Don't know." His voice was thick with emotion. "Whoever did this really
beat him bad." Jayden felt a sickness in his stomach. He silently cursed
Anthony and Tyrone.

Will continued as Jayden listened to his voice crack several times. "His
parents say there's a lot of swelling in his brain. He could die." Jayden
grabbed the wheel to the car when Will started crying.

"Pull over!" He shouted. Will pulled the car to the side of the road and
broke down in tears.

"I thought I could do this," he cried. "I thought I could go to school and
maybe get through the day. All I was doing was sitting around the
hospital." His shoulders started shaking as he cried. Jayden reached out
and touched his arm, but quickly pulled his hand back.

"Maybe you should be with your friend," Jayden suggested. He reached out
and grabbed Will's arm and squeezed it. "You should go to the
hospital. Maybe it would make you feel better to just be there."

Will wiped the tears from his eyes. "You're probably right. I should be
there." He started the car and pulled away. "I'll drop you off at school
first." Jayden nodded and sat back. Occasionally, he'd look over at the
distraught Will. Whatever friendship existed between him and Troy must have
been strong. Will pulled up at school and Jayden jumped out. He turned to
say goodbye, but Will had already driven away.

Jayden was sitting in his first period trigonometry class when a student
walked in and gave his teacher a note. The teacher looked up and motioned
for him to come to his desk.

"The principal wants to see you in his office," he informed him. Jayden got
his book bag and walked down the hall wondering why he was being summoned.

The secretary looked up and smiled when he appeared. She told him that
Mr. Fallingsworth, the school principal, was waiting in his office for him.

When Jayden knocked on the door, Mr. Fallingsworth appeared at the door. He
ushered Jayden into his office. Jayden stopped suddenly when he saw two
detectives sitting in chairs.

"What's this about?" He asked nervously.

Mr. Fallingsworth told him to take a seat and then informed him that the
detectives were investigating Troy's assault. They had gone to his home to
question him, but they were told by his aunt that he was at school.

The detectives offered their hands to him. The larger officer, a burly man
with a thick neck spoke. "I'm Detective Wallace. This is Detective
Reynolds."

Mr. Fallingsworth sat at his desk and folded his hands as the detectives
began to speak. "First, Mr. Henderson," said Wallace. "You are not a
suspect. That Neal boy was alert in the ambulance on the way to the
hospital. He told the medics in the ambulance that you weren't involved."

Jayden let out a slight sigh. His first thought when he saw the police was
that they might have been there to arrest him.

Detective Reynolds leaned forward and faced Jayden. "Before he lost
consciousness, he told them two black males had attacked him." He studied
Jayden carefully. "He said they were driving an old blue van." Jayden tried
to hold his gaze, but soon looked away.

"You live with your aunt and cousins over on Elm, don't you?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Doesn't Anthony, your cousin, drive an old blue van?"

Jayden jumped up from his chair and looked down at the detective. "I don't
know anything!"

Wallace stood and faced Jayden. "Didn't that Neal boy collapse outside your
house?"

"Look," said Jayden. "I was at home and I was getting ready to go to bed. I
looked out the window and saw that boy staggering down the street and
fall. I called 911 and then went out to see if I could help him."

"Weren't you holding him when the medics arrived?"

"Yes," replied Jayden somberly. He sat down as he remembered Troy's
bloodied face in his lap.

Wallace walked around behind Jayden. "So you weren't there when your
cousins beat the shit out of that boy?"

"No!" Jayden turned and yelled. He grew nervous when he saw Wallace smile.

"So they did beat him? You just didn't witness it."

"I don't know," Jayden started to get up, but Wallace held him
down. "You're getting me confused."

"Why don't you tell us what you know, Son?" He spoke softly as he squeezed
Jayden's shoulders.

"I told you," insisted Jayden. "I don't know anything." Images of Tyrone
holding a gun and threatening to shoot him flooded his mind. He knew that
neither of his cousins would hesitate a moment to carry out their threat.

Reynolds leaned forward and stared into Jayden's face. "I've been a
detective twenty three years. I can smell it when someone's holding back
the truth. There's a young man lying in a hospital with a battered
body. The people responsible for this need to be in jail. Now tell us,
Jayden, what you know."

Jayden jumped up and looked pleadingly at Mr. Fallingsworth. "Do I have to
stay here?" He turned to head to the door, but Wallace stepped in front of
him.

"That's enough, Officer." Mr. Fallingsworth rose from his desk and stood
beside Jayden. "I won't have you badgering this boy. He said he doesn't
want to answer any more questions. Unless you want to continue this
downtown with a lawyer present to protect this boy's rights, then I suggest
you let him leave."

Wallace reached into his coat pocket and took out a business card and
placed it in Jayden's hand. "Here's my number. If you happen to remember
anything, call me."

Jayden scurried from the room. After walking out of the office, he entered
a men's room located down the hall. Once inside, he collapsed against the
wall and cried.

*******

Will had just nodded off when he felt someone sit down beside him on the
sofa in the waiting room. When he had arrived earlier, no one was
around. Most of the people who had been keeping vigil the day before were
now in school. He assumed that Troy's parents and Claire had gone to the
ICU to be with Troy.

He didn't move when Claire curled up and put her head in his lap. "How is
he today?" He asked hesitantly. He was always afraid that she would say his
condition had worsened.

She stirred slightly as she wrapped her hand around his arm. "The doctors
say he's making a little progress. They say the swelling seems to be going
down." He let out a deep sigh.

"Good." He gently stroked her hair.

"That feels good," she murmured.

"Troy always liked me doing that." She sat up when she felt Will's body
begin to tremble.

"He's going to be alright," she said as she pulled a tissue from her pocket
and handed it to him.

"I'm just worried," he replied sadly. "What if.." He stopped speaking and
stared across the waiting room.

Claire took his head and turned it toward hers. "What if, what?"

"What if he's not the same after this?"

"What if he's not?"

Tears filled his eyes as he looked at Claire. "You said there could be
permanent damage." He started to become emotional. "You said he could be
blind."

Claire put his head on her shoulder and held him. "We'll just have to deal
with it then." She waited for Will to respond, but he remained silent.

She got up and extended her hand to Will. "Let's take a walk." She pulled
him up and led him from the waiting room.

"Where are Mr. and Mrs. Neal?" Will asked as he looked around.

"They went home for a little while. Mrs. Neal said she needed to take a
shower and clean up. They also need to check if Penny has arrived yet."

Penny was Troy's older sister. She was three years older than him and
attended the state university about 200 miles away. She had left early in
the morning, so she should have arrived.

They'll be back in time for the next visiting hour." She stopped and faced
Will. "Why don't you go back with them the next time?"

The hospital had strict visitation rules. The ICU only allowed family
members to visit for ten minutes every two hours. Since her initial visit,
Claire was getting accustomed to seeing Troy lying motionless in the
hospital bed with his head wrapped in gauze. She was told by a nurse that
even though patients seemed to be unconscious, they often were aware of
what was happening around them. She always tried to comfort Troy on her
visits. The last time she visited she even held his hands and talked to him
about the play he had performed in days earlier. It wasn't until she left
the room that she broke down in tears.

Will looked sadly at her. "I don't think I can," he replied
emotionally. "It would be too hard on me to see him that way."

"What!" Claire looked around to see if anyone had heard her shout. She gave
Will an angry look. "Troy's lying injured in a hospital bed and YOU think
it would be hard for YOU to see him. What kind of a selfish bastard are
you?"

She turned and started to walk quickly away. Will ran up beside her and
grabbed her arm. "I didn't mean it like it sounded," he said
apologetically.

"Troy needs our love right now," she said tearfully. "He needs to know we
are there for him."

Will grabbed her hands and squeezed them. "Alright," he said
nervously. "I'll go and see him."

"Good," she smiled. She looked at her watch. "We still have over an hour
before visiting hours." She held his hand and started walking away. "I
still need that walk."

They exited the hospital and were walking across the parking lot when they
saw Jayden heading their way. He had his head down and didn't notice them.

"Isn't that Jayden?" Claire asked.

"Yeah," Will responded. He put his arm around Claire and headed towards
Jayden. He looked up and suddenly stopped.

"Hi, Will," he said shyly. "I didn't expect to see you." His eyes darted to
Claire. He remembered seeing her before, but he couldn't recall her name.

"What are you doing here?" Will asked.

Jayden looked around nervously. "I..um..," he stammered. He took a deep
breath before speaking. "I wanted to find out how Troy was. I was going to
ask the person at the information desk."

Claire extended her hand to Jayden. He reached out and shook it. "I'm
Claire," she said. "We've had a couple of classes together."

"Yeah, right," Jayden responded. "I'm not very good at names. Sorry." He
dropped his head and looked nervously at the ground. Claire walked up and
wrapped her arm around his.

"Will and I were going for a little walk," she said. "Why don't you join
us?"

Jayden stepped away from Claire. "I really should go home," he replied
nervously.

Claire smiled and wrapped her arm around his, locking it more firmly so he
couldn't pull away. "I thought you wanted to know how Troy was?"

"Yeah, right," he said. Claire reached out, grabbed Will's arm as they
started walking.

They strolled down the sidewalk as Claire filled Jayden in on Troy's
condition. He didn't seem disturbed when she told him about the brain
damage and loss of his eye.

"I kind of figured that," he said.

Claire suddenly stopped and faced him. "That's right," she said. "You were
there with Troy Saturday night, weren't you?"

"Yeah." Jayden turned away as tears formed in his eyes. "It's something
I'll live with the rest of my life." He started to move away, but Claire
grabbed his arm.

"It's alright, Jayden," she said softly. "We're all grieving right now."
She looked into his brown eyes filled with tears. She pulled him into a
hug.

"Thank you for being there," she whispered into his chest. He cautiously
put his arms around her and returned her hug.

On their return to the hospital, Jayden wanted to go home, but Claire
insisted that he go with them to meet Troy's parents. The police had told
them that when they arrived at the scene how another boy had been holding
Troy in his arms. She was sure they would want to meet the boy who had
comforted their son.

"I don't know," he replied as he tried to pull away.

"Please?" Claire begged. "This means a lot to me. I know Troy's parents
would love to meet you. Besides, you can keep me company while Will goes
with his parents to visit Troy." She looked over and saw an anguished look
on Will's face. She was still puzzled why the boy who loved her best friend
was hesitant to see him when he needed him the most. She knew that if
something had happened to Allison, it would have taken the National Guard
to keep her away.

Claire reached down and took Jayden's hand and pulled him towards the
entrance. He tried to release his hand from Claire's grip, but she squeezed
his hand tighter. Finally, he gave in. He looked back and saw Will trailing
behind them.

When they entered the waiting room, Mr. and Mrs. Neal were sitting on a
sofa reading the newspaper. They looked up and smiled when they saw
Claire. Mr. Neal stood and walked over and hugged her. He then shook Will's
hand.

"How are you kids doing?" He asked. He looked at Jayden. He couldn't recall
having seen him before.

"I'm Mr. Neal, Troy's father," he said as he extended his hand to Jayden.

"This is Jayden Henderson, Mr. Neal," informed Claire. "He's the guy who
called 911 and stayed with Troy until the ambulance arrived."

Troy's mother laid down the paper and walked over to Jayden. His body
stiffened when she reached out and pulled him into a tight hug. "I was
hoping I could meet you," she said tearfully. "One of the detectives told
us how you had comforted Troy until the medics got there."

"It alright," Mrs. Neal," Jayden replied. "I'm just glad I was able to
help."

"You did more than help, Young Man," said Mr. Neal. "A stranger would have
called for help, but you went and held our son in your lap until help
arrived." He started to choke back tears. "I'm glad someone was with him."
He walked over and hugged Jayden, who seemed embarrassed by the
attention. Will stood back and watched. He felt guilty that he had been
hesitant to see Troy. If a stranger could give him comfort, then he should
be able to as well.

Mrs. Neal led Jayden to the sofa and had him sit down beside her. He
thought she'd want to know about what had happened Saturday night, but she
didn't ask him any questions about Troy's beating. Instead, she seemed
curious about Jayden's life. She found it strange that someone so young
would come to the aid of a total stranger, even risking his own safety by
not knowing if Troy's attackers might have still been in the area.

Jayden felt uncomfortable. He felt he was being interrogated by the police,
but he knew that Mrs. Neal was attempting to be friendly. He was relieved
when a door opened and a nurse walked out and motioned for Troy's parents
to enter. He watched as Will let out a nervous sigh. Claire went over and
hugged him.

"It's going to be alright," she whispered softly. She kissed his cheek as
he walked over to Mr. Neal. Troy's father put his arm around his waist and
they disappeared through the door.

Claire smiled as she took a seat beside Jayden. "Sorry about the
inquisition," she grinned. "His mother is like that with every one of
Troy's friends."



"I'm not a friend," Jayden replied.

Claire laughed and took his hand. "You are now. Mrs. Neal likes you, I can
tell." Jayden gave her a puzzled look. He didn't know how to respond. He
had only come to the hospital to see how Troy was. He had no intention of
becoming involved in their lives.

He looked back over to the door. He wanted to leave, but he was also
curious to see how Troy was doing. Since he had arrived, no one had said
anything about his condition.

He looked over at Claire. "How is Troy doing?" A sad expression appeared on
her face.

"Not very well," she replied. "The doctor's are a little more hopeful that
he'll recover, but his injuries are going to take a long time to heal."

Jayden knew when he was holding him the other night that he was going to
have permanent injuries if he survived. He gave Claire a quizzical
look. She stared at him and smiled.

"What?" She asked. "She could tell by the look on his face he was afraid to
ask her something.

"Nothing," he said as he looked around the room. "It's none of my
business."

"What?" She took his hand.

"What's with that Will guy?" He asked after a moment's pause. "He seemed
kind of nervous going back to see Troy. Is he a cousin or something?"

Claire smiled. "More like a something." Jayden gave her a puzzled look. She
squeezed Jayden's hand tighter. "I guess for what you did for Troy, you
deserve a straight answer." She started giggling. "Well, I guess it's not a
straight answer." She laughed again when Jayden stared at her with another
puzzled look.

"How can I say this?" She looked at Jayden, wondering how he would react to
the fact that Troy and Will were gay. "They are, um, seeing each other."

"You mean they're boyfriends?" Claire smiled when Jayden didn't react
negatively. In fact, it didn't seem to surprise him at all.

"Yes," she replied. "They've been dating about three months." She looked
worriedly at the door leading to the ICU. "Today's Will's first time seeing
Troy since his accident."

"It wasn't an accident," responded Jayden.

"No, it wasn't," replied Claire. Just then the door was flung open and Will
came rushing out. His face was taut and tears were streaming down his
face. He looked quickly at Claire and then rushed from the waiting room.

"Oh, Dear." Claire stood. "I'd better see if I can catch him. It doesn't
look like he took it too well." She rushed from the room, leaving Jayden
alone.

************

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