Start the song. It's Your Bones by Of Monsters and Men.

The girls were gone when Josh woke up. He was still wrapped up in the blankets of their makeshift bed on the floor. Jim's snout was wet when it nudged Josh's cheek, so at least he knew Jim had gotten up to get water while he'd been asleep. Tyler was perched in his arm chair, curled up as he read a paperback book and chewed thoughtlessly at his thumbnail. He turned the page with the thumb of the hand holding the book since his other hand was busy.

His eyes left the book for only a moment when Josh sat up before darting back down to the pages of his book. He'd clearly been starved for entertainment for a while given how hard he was focusing on this book.

"What are you reading?" Josh asked curiously, scratching Jim behind the ears before climbing out from under the blankets and moving over to sit on the chair he'd been tied to originally.

Tyler smirked, but didn't look up from his book. He tilted it so Josh could see his parents' names on the cover. Tyler's smirk widened when Josh groaned and covered his face. He peeked through the gaps in his fingers after a moment to tentatively inquire, "Is it good?"

Tyler snorted, which was a weird sound coming from him. He shook his head, turning another page as he did so.

"Is it horrifying?" Josh asked, resignation dripping from every word.

Tyler nodded amusedly, not lifting his eyes from the book. He pulled a face as he read, and Josh laughed when he realized Tyler hadn't done it on purpose. That was his genuine reaction. It disappeared for a moment, but as soon as Tyler turned to the next page, it came back stronger than ever. The book came flying past Josh, smacking against the dirt wall as Tyler shook his head like he was trying to make whatever he'd just read fall out of it.

"The worst part is that whatever you just read probably happened, and I was probably in the house when it did," Josh informed Tyler, who rubbed harshly at his eyes before giving Josh a sympathetic look. "Also they probably talked about whatever that was over breakfast because they think that's a normal thing to discuss in front of their child."

Tyler made a little sound before climbing out of his chair. Josh laughed when the other boy climbed into his lap and hugged him tightly. The quiet smack and pop of Tyler mouthing words slipped into Josh's ears, but he couldn't hear the words being mouthed.

"What do your parents do?" Josh asked.

Tyler shifted to look at Josh, starting to sign a response before he realized Josh wouldn't understand. He looked around for his notebook, but since it wasn't in reach, he just looked at Josh again, sighing in resignation.

"Is it easier if I do one at a time?" Josh asked. When Tyler nodded, he asked, "What does your dad do?"

Tyler opened his mouth but kept his teeth together, tapping them with his finger.

"He's a dentist?" Josh guessed.

Tyler smiled and nodded.

"And your mom?" Josh continued.

Tyler seemed to think for a second about how to answer that one. He looked around the basement for his notebook again before looking back at Josh. He shrugged.

"Does she have a job?" Josh tried.

Tyler nodded.

"Is she in the medical field too?"

Tyler shook his head no.

"Does she work inside of the house or outside of the house?" Josh prompted.

"Out," Tyler mouthed.

Josh hummed as he thought of another question. "Is she a lawyer?"

No.

"Teacher?"

No.

"Does she work in like...a grocery store?"

No.

"Does she have a job that exists outside of Applecrest?" Josh asked finally.

Tyler paused before shaking his head.

That stopped Josh in his tracks for a minute. "Does it have to do with the blind bitch?"

Once again, a pause. Tyler nodded slowly. He put his arms up like the scarecrow's.

"She takes care of the scarecrow?" Josh guessed.

Tyler nodded, dropping his arms.

"Well she's doing a terrible job. I saw that thing up close, and it's terrifying," Josh told Tyler seriously, making Tyler choke out a laugh.

Tyler shrugged, nodding slightly. He seemed to realize then that he was still in Josh's lap, which even Josh had forgotten in such a short space of time. He climbed off, walking around the cellar until he found his notebook. After a moment, he picked up the discarded book as well and tossed it to Josh. He smirked as he fished the Gameboy out of the box of activities and plopped back down in his chair. Josh tossed the book aside, leaning over to dig through the box as well. He uncovered a paperback copy of The Hobbit, so he cracked that open and started reading.

"Are the girls at school?" Josh asked Tyler after a minute, looking up to catch Tyler's nod. "Are they coming back soon?"

Tyler shrugged.

"How many are you going to have to sleep with today?" Josh asked curiously.

Tyler paused his game, reaching for his notebook and scribbling into it. He held it up for Josh to read. "I slept with Jenna this morning. Bea at lunch. Probably Hayley after school. Ashley at dinner time unless her pregnancy test is positive. If it is, I can go home."

"One, that's an obnoxious amount of sex for one day. Your dick is going to fall off. Two, don't we have to wait for the baby to actually be born? What if something happens during the pregnancy and the baby doesn't make it?" Josh asked curiously.

Tyler wrote in his notebook again before holding it up for Josh. "1. My dick has survived much much worse. 2. The baby is going to be stillborn either way. Gefjon doesn't need the baby to be alive. She just needs a fertilized egg or whatever. It's all the same to her."

"You realize this is the creepiest shit in the whole world, right?" Josh checked, making Tyler roll his eyes and nod. "I'm serious. You're a sperm donor for some creepy goddess who stole your ability to speak. That's actually happening. Right now. To us. In Ohio."

The other boy just smiled, unpausing his game and continuing to play. They didn't speak again for about twenty minutes, and unsurprisingly, it was Josh who broke the silence.

"So you were a virgin when they brought you down here?" He asked curiously, earning another eye roll from Tyler. "They said in that freaky dream place that Jenna was your first."

Tyler shrugged, not looking up from his game.

"Were you her first, or has she done this before?" Josh asked curiously.

Tyler's muscles tensed slightly at the question. He paused his game after a moment, picking up his notebook and writing a bit too hard with his pen, "I don't know. She lies."

"She lies?" Josh repeated curiously. "And that's not a red flag to you?"

Tyler didn't met Josh's concerned gaze. He just kept staring at his notebook. After a moment he provided Josh with a note that said, "What alternative do I have?"

He flinched when Josh laughed. "You're kidding, right?" Josh demanded of Tyler, who seemed smaller now. "Because of your voice? You think girls won't want to date you because you don't talk anymore? Dude. You're funny, you're a badass, you're good-looking, and you can handle sleeping with five different girls in one day. You could definitely find a girl better than Jenna."

Tyler smiled slightly, albeit with a bit of denial visible beneath the surface. He closed his eyes for a second before writing quickly, crumpling the note up into a ball and tossing it at Josh as if he needed for it to be as far away from him as possible before he could take it back.

Josh unfolded the words carefully before looking them over. "If she was willing to fuck you right in front of me, I doubt I mean even half as much to her as she means to me. I doubt I was her first, but I don't want to know for sure. I don't know if I could survive down here if I knew."

Josh read the note a few times before looking up at Tyler, who wasn't playing his game although he was staring at the tiny screen. Guilt immediately washed over Josh.

"I'm sorry, Tyler," Josh said quietly.

The other boy nodded, but it was too slight to mean he felt okay. Before Josh could say anything else, Tyler wrote out another note, handed it to Josh as well.

All it said was, "Hayley is gay."

Josh read the three words a few times before looking back up at Tyler, who held his hand out for the note. Josh handed it back to him. "I thought you said you were sleeping with her at lunch."

Pen scratched against paper again before the same paper was handed back to him. "I am. She does whatever Gefjon asks her too. She loves Gefjon. The girls don't know yet. I think I'm the only person who knows, but since you're going to have to be down here when I sleep with her, you should probably know that."

"Isn't that kind of traumatic for her?" Josh asked quietly, hoping Tyler understood that he wasn't accusing Tyler of actively trying to traumatize her.

The same note was passed back, and Tyler scribbled on it again before giving it back to Josh. "Yes but Gefjon would have no choice but to think Hayley was a pregnant virgin. She would never think Hayley had slept with a guy before. She's our best bet."

Josh was quiet as he handed the paper back. "So you're telling me this beforehand because...."

The note was in his hand in seconds. "Because she's going to be really uncomfortable, and I want her to know that no one is going to judge her down here. I also know she's going to be too afraid to tell you, so she's going to feel like she has to pretend she likes it, which will make it even worse for her."

"Can't you just jerk off into a cup and use a turkey baster or whatever? Give her the sperm without making her have a dude inside of her?" Josh suggested.

Tyler blinked in obvious shock, clearly never having considered that possibility. After a moment, he tapped his temple with his index finger and pointed to Josh, mouthing the word, "Smart."

Josh smiled. "It'll probably be a gross process, but I'd imagine it's better than having to have sex with someone you aren't attracted to multiple times a week."

Tyler's expression silently pointed out that Josh had just described the life of the boy sitting across the cellar from him quite perfectly. Tyler was hardly anything more than an on-call sperm donor for these girls. Sure, Jenna was his girlfriend, but that didn't really mean her motives were innocent either.

They were quiet for a while then. Tyler played his Gameboy, and Josh used his parents' book to play fetch with Jim. Tyler didn't seem to mind the sound of Jim skittering across concrete or the thud of the book against the hard ground. He just gave Josh some space of his own, and didn't complain about the noise. Josh tried to return the favour when Bea came down into the cellar. He ate the sandwich she brought him without looking up from the battered copy of The Hobbit while Tyler fucked her behind the shelving unit.

The two boys didn't discuss it when Bea disappeared back up through the cellar door and sealed them away from the rest of the world once again. Tyler filled a bucket with water from the tap in the corner that they stole sips out of occasionally. He brought the bucket of what had to be freezing cold water behind the same shelving unit to clean himself up. Then he sat back down in his chair, his eyes a bit hollow as they finished their meal in silence.

His eyes remained hollow when he changed his mind and climbed back into the remains of their bed on the floor. Josh tried really hard to focus on the book and give Tyler space when the other boy buried his face in a pillow and let out a shaky breath. It wasn't until Tyler's body began to shake as well, letting Josh know that he was crying, that Josh hurried off of his chair. He grabbed Tyler's notebook and pen, giving Jim time to beat him over to Tyler.

Jim snuggled his little body against Tyler's, licking Tyler's hair and ear since his face was hidden from view. Josh climbed into the bed on the other side of Tyler, wrapping his arms around the other boy and drawing him in close. Tyler's sobs were quiet choking sounds, sounding more like there was something lodged in his throat than something making him emotionally vulnerable. Still, he buried his face against Josh's chest and cried ceaselessly.

"I'm so sorry, Tyler. I'm so sorry this is happening," Josh whispered sincerely, feeling tears burn at his own eyes too. "If you need to cry, that's okay. You can. I just want you to know that I brought your notebook over here too, if you need to talk."

Tyler apparently didn't want to talk though. He cried against Josh's chest until he fell asleep, his muscles relaxing in Josh's arms and his body sinking into the blankets. Although Josh knew he didn't have to, he kept holding Tyler while the other boy slept. He twisted Tyler's hair around his fingers and watched his dewy eyelashes flutter against his cheeks as he slept.

When Tyler shivered in his sleep, Josh shifted the blankets to cover him better. Tyler had been taking care of him since he'd gotten here. It wasn't any trouble for Josh to return the favour. After all, Tyler only had a few hours to rest and recover before there would be girls pouring into the basement again, expecting him to do this all over again. Josh had a feeling that no matter how exhausted and overwhelmed Tyler got down here, he wouldn't turn them away. He would do whatever was asked of him, especially if Jenna was the one asking.