Fire in the Firehouse 18 : (From Mikey)

The young man went to lift his right leg over, in the blink of an eye he slipped, falling back, banging his chin. He was out cold. This was very unexpected. Mitch and Cory reacted instantly. They grabbed the rope and held on tight. Their muscles begged them to release the rope but their minds told them otherwise. Their bodies silently screamed out in pain, pleading they let go. Colby was out cold, pure dead weight. They were backed against a wall tighter than before.

Mitch cried out, still realizing they had to be quiet to not raise the attention of those that worked on the bridge. "This is absurd! Does it EVER end for us?" Cory looked back and shot him an agreeing glance. They dug deep, deeper than they had before. Deeper than they ever had in their lives. They may as well have been pulling the shark that killed Marie out of the water with their bare hands. 

Cory grunted and groaned and said, "God, this fuckin sucks. And who knew he weighed so damn much? What's he got? Bricks in his ass?" Mitch shot him a look as if to say not to make me laugh.

Mitch called for Cory, "Step back, anchor your strongest foot into the drain and help me pull harder. I think we can get him in reaching distance that way." Cory did as Mitch suggested, it hurt, but saving his brother's life was well worth it. They bore down harder than before, gravity pulling back with a vengeance. 

The forces of nature would not win this battle tonight. It was Mitch and Cory's fight to win. They pulled and fought so hard. The old adage about the Mother seeing her child trapped under a car and getting a surge of adrenaline came to pass. Both men saw their lover and brother slipping away and the sight of that brought them a surge of energy they didn't know they had in them. They struggled at first, then came their burst of strength. Unfortunately though the fog was splitting here and there. The cover they had was at risk of revealing them.

Cory allowed Mitch to hold the entire weight as soon as his twin came within reach; Mitch only had Colby under his control for a few brief seconds. He leaned into pull him tight to his chest. He felt a heart beat, that was a positive sign. He saw some blood on his mouth, he'd bitten his lip. No lasting damage. As Cory looked his brother over upon welcoming him into his arms, he saw what caused Colby to stumble back. He'd put his hand in wet bird shit, therefore he lost his grip. The young man thought, its official, I now hate birds. Almost lost my brother. Stupid winged fucks.

Once Cory had his brother in his care fully, Mitch collapsed to the pavement. He was spent, totally and indescribably spent. His body ached in places he'd forgot he had. He'd gotten a full body workout in just a matter of minutes. He fought to catch his breath and take it all in. He whispered to himself, "Its official. We need a vacation. Then again, our luck, is that a good idea?" 

Colby was still out cold. Mitch and his lover's twin now had to face the task of gathering Colby up and getting off the bridge before they were seen. They moved steadily and swift, uncertain what the fog might do suddenly. They carried Colby over their shoulders. It was all they could come up with so spur-of-the-moment. It wasn't easy, but they had no other options before them.

The three men made it back to the vehicles without incident. Mitch drove his truck with Cory driving his brother's. Naturally Colby rode with Mitch. The darker haired man had the ride home to think long and hard on things. It was the first time in ages he could be alone with his own thoughts. As he drove, he stole glances at the man he'd fallen in love with. So many thoughts crossed his mind as he drove. He thought deep, barely able to concentrate on the traffic lights, luckily because of the weather, traffic was rather light. Colby is an amazing man, he thought. He's been there all along for me since we met. Always making sure I'm happy and my needs and desires are met. Our bond is so tight, like nothing either of us has known before. He means the world to me and I know I do to him as well. Thing is, is this the man I want to wake up to everyday to for the rest of my life? I mean neither of us are well versed in gay relationships. Are we moving too fast? It hasn't even been a full year that we first met. Maybe we should think about seeing other people. And look, its no secret how long many gay relationships last. You hear of more men breaking up than you do of them staying together for the long haul. He even wondered if he were speaking to himself through exhaustion. That made a lot of sense with everything that had gone on over the last several months. Most people don't go through half of what they had in ten year's time.

The time in the truck seemed to stand still but at the same time it seemed to fly by. Mitch was making himself feel guilty. He knew if Colby knew how he felt, the kind of man he was, he'd back away and give Mitch what he needed. He'd not rush to judge, even look for another lover. He wasn't sure he could cause that much pain in the other's life. There was a deep, lasting, yet unique attachment. It meant the world to him and there was nothing he'd do to jeopardize what they had.

Mitch was immersed in guilt now for allowing his thoughts to get away from himself. He convinced himself he was exhausted from all the recent events, the shark, the bridge, everything. They arrived home pretty quickly, both trucks simultaneously. Cory parked the truck and went to help Mitch get his brother inside. 

Mitch propped himself on their bed next to Colby, still mulling over his thoughts. He decided he'd been through enough over night and didn't need to keep stressing himself out. His heart would lead him the right way. He had that and his faith in God.

A few hours passed and morning was cracking the eastern horizon. Another night lost, another day trying to make up the sleep. Cory had gone into his room after helping Mitch get Colby situated in bed. Cory sat down on his bed, noticed his room was stuffy and opened his window. The bedroom door locked behind him. He moved over to his desk and got online. He checked his email and visited his favorite sites. He began to allow his thoughts to run free. What a circus. Ever since I got here its been one thing after another. He paused before going on. Though, I guess I'd never trade it for the world. At least I have family now, as sorted and unique as we are. Just wonder when we'll get a sense of normalcy. Although, he was one to talk about such things.

Young Cory harbored a secret. Years prior he'd been out with his first gay lover. They'd been on a dark road in the country and their car had gotten a flat. Neither man had a cell phone at the time. His lover, Bret had gone down the road, borrowed the phone to call for a tow truck and on his way back three men in their late teens saw Bret and began taunting him. The man was a bit flamboyant, but played it off well, long before the term metrosexual became a word. The men in the truck saw this in the truck's headlights and circled back for a better look and began their games. They got out and began taunting, then beating him as he fought back to protect himself. Cory saw this, being in martial arts was able to fend them off, but not before they could inflict enough punishment on the young man. Incidentally the men left Bret brain dead. He went into a coma, where, as far as he knew remained to this very day.

Cory had no clue at the time of his lover's future, but when he saw the three young men attack his lover he instinctively went after them, a rage washing over him. In his haste he wound up killing all three. He dragged their bodies down to a pond and threw them in. It was a small southern town and he knew how he'd fare in the court of such a town. He tucked Bret into the trunk, hating he had to do so. But he couldn't risk the tow truck driver getting suspicious and asking too many questions. 

The handsome young man flew into town as soon as the tire was fixed; made up a story that his lover was attacked on the streets down a dark alley and he didn't get a good luck at their faces, he was inside the local Starbucks, saw what was happening, came out and fended them off. He made sure to include the fact they saw him and basically took off with no incident. He was trying to not give them cause to be suspicious in case the bodies of the three young men were discovered. The pond was covered by heavy grasses and reeds, it seemed no one ever bothered to use it for anything as it was so concealed. His story was a stretch, but they bought into it. 

Cory's biggest fear was that someday the puzzle would be pieced together and it would lead back to him. That was part of his reason for escaping to his brother so suddenly. He longed to distance himself away from that whole incident. He feared being gay and going to jail. And what bothered him most, he had no witnesses and it'd be his word against the fact they were dead. Many nights he'd wake up in a cold sweat from haunting night terrors. He kept his secret past well hidden.

The young man knew it might be ages before he could actually settle down and put it behind him. He'd read in the paper that eventually the bodies of the three men had been discovered, but no one knew anything. There'd been a massive manhunt for them after they were reported missing. The tow truck driver had suffered a massive heart attack a week later and the police never got to question him due to his sudden death. That part was comforting, sad for the man, but a burden off Cory's shoulders. The chances of his secret being discovered and any possible clues died with the man. The cops tried to place an approximate time frame of death of the men. Cory had been tracked down and questioned when they learned of the driver's log of his calls. There had been some reason for doubt, Bret being attacked and all. But, per Cory's lies and the fact it took some time to get into town and there was a logical time frame for the story, he was cleared. That, and they had very little to go on.

In the larger bedroom Mitch sat on his bed, he'd fallen asleep sitting up, back against the wall. The cool, pleasing damp air felt so invigorating in his lungs, he couldn't help but be lulled to sleep. Colby had still not fully come to. He was fine, just knocked silly though he'd moved and stirred some. 

Some time passed when Colby awoke to see himself home in bed. He whispered, "Did I dream all that?" He sat up and looked across the room into the mirror attached to their dresser and saw the dried blood from banging his chin on the bridge, that and a little knot on his face from impact. Colby went to the window and stared out and thought long and hard. The ominous structure he'd been on hours earlier shown brightly in the dawn of the new day. The fog, once so heavy had pulled back. The sun was climbing higher and higher as the minutes ticked by. He allowed his mind to soar. He thought back over the last few months and it was making more sense than ever. He knew what he had to do. And he even knew what would come next. 

Colby had decided he needed some changes and the time was right to begin them. As the morning light broke through their bedroom window and the day grew a bit older, things began falling into place in his mind and what was needed. He made his way out to the kitchen, made some coffee and went right back to where he'd been, back to his thoughts.

Some time later his partner woke to see the other had gotten out of bed and recovered. He sat there deep in his own thoughts. He was taken back to where he'd been the night before. Seeing the man he'd grown so close to, his other thoughts washed from his mind. How could he be so shallow? He decided to accept the fact it was because of many recent events and chose to forget about those thoughts, at least for the time being.

Colby turned to look at his lover and saw he was fully awake, in more ways than one and opted to make light of the situation to ease things up some. "I see Mitch, Jr. is awake already." They both laughed. There was an uncomfortable pause. "Babe, I've got something to tell you. Something I've been standing here thinking about all morning and I need your support in all this." Mitch swallowed hard. He was somewhat frightened at what he might hear. The acids in his stomach begun to churn. Was his lover having second thoughts? What concerned him most, it seemed his lover was acting like he'd never been to the cold, dark place. But seeing his lover alive, he pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind-if only for now.

He acknowledged what was asked of him, "Sure baby. Anything you want or have to say. Always best to communicate." He'd hoped his voice didn't sound shaky or worried. He watched his lover's face and saw no indication of concern.

He started off, "I've been thinking all morning. My life has been an amusement park of rides-up and down emotions for months now. And, to be honest I'm exhausted. I need a break and to be honest, I know one place to start." He paused, looked at Mitch who was now hanging on to his every word. "I'm going to take an undisclosed leave of absence from the fire department. I can't deal with these hours anymore. There's been too much shit happening. Everything Marie caused and things we've gotten into. Its too much. I damn near killed myself last night. I thought I was going crazy. Hell, I might be. I need to see a doctor and see if I'm mentally stable. With the shit Marie put me through in the 20+ years she was in my life, I wouldn't doubt I am coo coo."

Mitch listened and remained silent and attentive. He managed to think to himself, this is sure one hell of a way to start the day. He was stunned, but pleased to hear it wasn't something needed to be said directly about him. He was definitely enthused to see where this was all going.

"I've also decided where I want to go in my life for a while. When we did that benefit calendar, I realized I've got what it takes to move things. People get paid good money for modeling. I need a break and I'm going to dabble in it. Dad should be coming into a lot of money once affairs with Marie's estate is resolved and he mentioned giving you and I a wedding gift of a good size and he's gunna give Cory some, too. So, financially speaking, its not an imposition."

It was clearly apparent Colby had worked it all out. It made sense. Mitch was wrapping his head around the whole idea. It did bother him to a slight degree so many others would be lusting for his lover. But, truth be told, he, too had thought of doing it. Time would tell if that path was one for him, too.