When Tyler woke up, he had to blink a few times to adjust his vision. He was staring at a blank wall and didn't have any idea what was going on.

Feeling a throbbing in the back of his head, he reached back to touch it and winced as his finger came in contact with it. He pulled his hand back and noticed blood on his fingers, causing him to panic. It wasn't a lot but any amount would raise concern.

He then realized he was sitting in a chair, tied to it with rope that was cutting into his skin. It was staring to irritate him but he was more panicked about how the fuck he got there.

He tried to retrace what had happened before he passed out. Suddenly he remembered hearing about a break in at Josh's house and walking there before being hit in the head.

"Oh, good! You're awake!"

Upon hearing the tone of voice used, Tyler shivered. However, he froze when he realized who that voice belonged to.

He heard footsteps as the person approached him and the blood in Tyler's body ran cold when they walked in front of him and stopped, bending down so they were at Tyler's height. "How are ya feelin'?" They asked. Tyler was at a loss for words and didn't know how to respond. "What? Cat got your tongue? It's rude not ta reply ta a question ya know..."

Tyler just blinked. "How am I feeling?" He asked in disbelief. "What the fuck is this, Brendon?"

The brunette laughed but there was no humor in the gesture. Tyler then got a better look at him and his stomach churned when he saw the wicked smile that his mouth held, the mischievous look in his eyes, and the blood splattered on his face. "Oh, Tyler," he sighed. "You're so clueless. It's adorable."

Brendon picked up the chair and turned it (with ease, Tyler didn't weigh much) and Tyler's heart clenched at the sight in front of him.

Josh and his dad sat in chairs in front of him in the same state as Tyler— tied up and terrified. Except they each had rags taped in their mouths and Josh had a black eye and bruises forming all over his face. He looked worse than Tyler had ever seen him after an encounter with Frank. His dad looked unscathed which relieved him but it didn't take away his concern for his boyfriend.

The second thing he noticed, was that he looked to be in a basement. It was cold and dirty and he saw an unidentifiable but very big bug crawling across the cement. He looked over and saw a table with a plethora of different kinds of weapons, all that made him terrified.

"What's going on?" Tyler asked, his panic obvious. He struggled against the rope but all it did was rub against his skin more.

Brendon laughed once more. "It's cute how much ya care about him," he said, pointing to Josh who looked to be in so much internal pain it killed him. Tyler's eyes met his and he looked apologetic. "What the hell were ya supposed ta do if there really was a break in?" He asked patronizingly.

"How did you know about that?"

"Holy fuck for someone in honors classes ya sure are a dumbass. 'M the one who called it in, genius. My boyfriend Ryan sent the code ta your radio only. He heard your daddy here talkin' about givin' ya one at work 'nd I used him to lead ya here. He did a great job. He was good in bed too. Maybe it was a cop and authority thing, I don' know. Too bad I shot him in the head. His body was a great addition ta my collection. My parents too."

Tyler's eyes widened. He felt like he was going to throw up. "Oh my God," he whispered.

"'Nd 'm not stoppin' there!" Brendon smiled widely. "Ya see Ty-Guy, you're goin' help me decide which of the two people sittin' in front of ya are dying tonight. 'Nd you're goin' help me do the honors. Might as well have ya officially fit in."

"You sick fuck!" Tyler yelled, thrashing against the rope. "It's you? You killed all those people?"

"Ah ah," he shook his head, pacing back and forth in front of Tyler. "You're goin' learn real quick not ta talk ta me like that," he stopped and walked over to the table, picking up a large butcher knife before walking over to Tyler's dad next. His eyes were wide and panicked and Tyler didn't know what to do.

Brendon slowly brought the knife up and plunged it into each of Chris's thighs, wiggling the blade back and forth ever so slightly. His father screamed against the rag in his mouth and Tyler wanted to throw up even more than before. He felt hopeless. Utterly and completely hopeless. "Stop," Tyler pleaded. "Please."

Brendon looked up with a look of sympathy on his face. "Oh? Ya want me ta stop?" He asked but there was a smirk on his face.

"Brendon—"

"'Cause I can always use someone else ta get ya ta do what I want," he moved over to Josh.

"Don't you fucking touch him!" Tyler screamed.

Brendon chuckled and ran the blade completely up Josh's left thigh instead of just puncturing it. Josh closed his eyes tightly and Tyler could see how much now physical —pain he was in.

"Ya see Tyler, it wasn' only me who killed all those people. I couldn' do it all alone. Oh no," he chuckled once more but this time was more sinister. "J? Do ya wanna tell him?"

"Tell me what?" Tyler felt his heart start beating faster and he didn't want to believe what he started to think about. There was no way.

Brendon ripped the tape off his mouth and pulled the rag out. "Fuck," Josh sighed, looking down at his thigh. Blood was flowing out but Josh didn't seem too concerned and that scared Tyler. Actually, it horrified him.

"Josh what do you need to tell me?" Tyler looked at him. The mentioned didn't look up and remained silent. "Talk to me, asshole!" He yelled.

"It was me too. Me, Bren, Ash, 'nd Dal," he said quietly.

Tyler felt his heart shatter. This was far worse than any betrayal he could go through. He was in love with a psychopath and he didn't even know it. Tyler looked over and saw his dad's eyes widen. "You're lying," Tyler croaked out. "This is all one big joke, right?"

Josh just stayed silent once again while Brendon cackled. "Incredible isn' it? Revenge? My relationship was ruined 'nd damn is it satisfying ta see another crumble right in front of me," he sighed contently.

Tyler felt the vomit rise in his throat but he pushed it down. He couldn't be any more helpless than he already was.

"So, Tyler," Brendon walked back over to the table and picked up a different weapon. A gun. "Who will it be? Both betrayed me. Josh reported Dallon 'nd your daddy took 'im away."

"That's not fair," Tyler shook his head and tears gathered in his eyes. "I didn't do anything to you."

"Neither did the innocent people your boyfriend slaughtered," Brendon replied, looking Tyler directly in the eye.

Tyler looked at Josh in disbelief through blurry vision. It had been in front of him the whole time. All the people he'd ever talked to about this had been the cause of it.

"Think about it," Brendon hummed, pacing as he passed the gun back and forth between both hands. "Ya rant about how much ya hate Jenna 'nd how she ruined your life? Dead. Frank targets ya after school? Dead. Gerard punches ya in the stomach? Dead. So actually it did have a lot ta do with ya. You gave us our victims for months," he smiled sinisterly. "Thanks for that, Ty-Guy."

Tyler let out a terrified sob as Josh just sighed. "Brendon, stop," he said.

Brendon whirled around so fast Tyler thought he got whiplash and pressed the gun to Josh's forehead. "Since when were ya in charge?" He leaned down so he was looking Josh in the eye as he spoke. "Remember what ya said ta me? Ya told me you'd, and let me rephrase word for word, burn my fingers 'nd toes off with acid, slam my head against the wall until I couldn' see straight, 'nd pull my teeth out one by one. 'Nd then, you'd leave me ta starve 'nd sit in my own piss 'nd shit 'nd once I was dead you'd skin me ta make me inta a lamp," he pressed the gun closer into his forehead. "Do ya remember that?" He yelled.

Tyler couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe the guy who had made him feel so safe was capable of even saying that, let alone killing anyone. It all began to make since though. How everyone's death or disappearance correlated with something bad happening to either Josh or Tyler, mainly Tyler.

This was the guy who was always so gentle with him. The one who made waffles with him. The one that had gotten him outside his comfort zone. The one who had taken his fucking virginity. The one who had comforted him through everything...

Even Jenna's murder.

"You went to her funeral," Tyler whispered. "You went to her fucking funeral!" He yelled. "You sat there and listened to me talk about how terrified I was! The only reason I'm not dead lying in a ditch somewhere is because I let you fuck me!"

Brendon turned back around and he was grinning. "This is perfect. Take all that anger 'nd channel it," he got up and walked back over to Tyler.

"I did it all for ya," Josh looked at him. "I love ya, Tyler. I love ya so fuckin' much it hurts me."

Tyler hated how his heart reached for Josh. He knew it was wrong. He knew it was so fucking wrong but he still loved Josh. He couldn't just fall out of love that quickly. He didn't want to even look at Josh but his heart clenched painfully when he saw how much his boyfriend resembled a lost puppy. He didn't say anything back though. He just let angry tears stream down his face.

Brendon set the gun in his back pocket and began untying the rope around Tyler's wrists. It didn't do anything for his chest or legs so he was confused. "What are you doing?"

"Lettin' ya use your hands for better aim," he replied simply as he finished completely untying.

"No," Tyler's eyes widened when he realized Brendon was going to actually make him do it.

"Yes," he grabbed the gun back out and set it in Tyler's hands. "Ya gotta choice here. Either your old man here or your boyfriend. Both have pros and cons.

"I can' promise I won' kill your pops anyway since he already knows everything and trust me, if I do it, it won' he quick. Josh on the other hand, betrayed your trust. He lied ta ya 'nd kept secrets from ya but if ya do this ya can finally become one of us. You'll finally see how satisfying it is ta feel in power. How right it feels to be in control of others. Ya 'nd Josh can live this lifestyle happily ever after together."

Tyler's hands trembled as he refused to grip the gun. Suddenly, an idea struck him. If he could get away with what he planned to do he could save at least him and his dad. He couldn't actually go through with killing anyone. He'd die from the guilt even if Josh was a serial killer. Besides, he had too many questions he needed answers to.

Hesitantly, Tyler held the gun and his hands began shaking even harder as he lifted it up. Brendon walked over and stood by the two, a proud look on his face. He looked like he had just accomplished the greatest thing ever.

Tyler aimed the gun at his dad, his palms sweating tremendously. His finger rested on the trigger and he began to hold it down.

In the blink of an eye, he switched his aim to Brendon and fired, right at his head.

However, nothing happened.

Brendon began laughing. He actually began to cackle. "I knew that would happen. I knew ya would try ta save the day," he picked up a few bullets from the table and ripped the gun from Tyler's hand before loading it. He harshly brought the gun down on Tyler's shoulder causing the brunette to cry out in pain. "I told ya I ain't playin' games."

Brendon grabbed Tyler's hands and wrapped them around the gun before putting his own on top to hold them there. "Please," Tyler sobbed out. "I can't.

"Either ya pick or I kill them both," Brendon stated in a bored voice.

Tyler began to panic. If he picked his dad he'd be letting a serial killer off free and he'd have that burden on him for the rest of his life. However, if he picked Josh he would have the burden of killing someone he was in love with and Brendon would kill his dad anyway.

He thought for a few moments before making a decision. He hoped it was the right one.

Suddenly, there was a bang being emitted from a gun.

Except Tyler didn't fire it.