Start the song. It's Polly by Nirvana.
***This one has 3 mentions of vomiting including one description of the vomit. Be safe, little cubs.***

The social worker had left a long note, detailing things the Duns needed to do to keep their children inside of the community. At the top of the list was to stop allowing them to miss school. That led Josh to where he was now, sitting in a desk trying to figure out how he'd explain it to these people if he vomited blood in this classroom.

He knew he looked awful right now. His skin was pale and clammy, there were bags under his eyes, and he was shivering. Never in Josh's life had he wanted to be home so badly.

On top of feeling like he was dying, Josh was terrified for Tyler and Ashley. His wife still had yet to return from the sanctuary, meaning her bleeding had either started or they were keeping her without it. His husband had practically been recruited to be his mother's shadow, meaning Josh couldn't just lock him up and protect him. He was walking free within the community with only Josh's mother for protection.

There was also the added layer of anxiety that came from knowing that someone within the community had actively tried to kill him, as well as the elders. His stomach ached from the mistletoe and anxiety whenever he thought about it. It made his need to protect his spouses so much stronger. Who knew if they'd be targeted too?

In spite of everything Josh needed to deal with, he was sitting in honours English, listening to his teacher telling them about The Crucible. Tyler's desk was painfully empty, and Josh knew they all blamed him. Glares and nervous glances kept being sent his way. As expected, the teacher said nothing. After all, Josh wasn't exactly a priority student. Yeah, he was decently smart, but this school wasn't prepping him for any real future. He wouldn't go to college or enter the workforce. The only community he'd contribute to after high school lived within a fenced off area in the woods and contained someone who was actively trying to kill him.

"Joshua?"

Josh looked up slowly, his mind reeling as a metallic taste slithered its way up his throat. He said nothing, meeting the teacher's worried eyes as he gripped the edges of his desk a little too hard to keep himself steady. The whole world seemed to be spinning around him as he tried to focus.

"Joshua, is everything okay? You don't look well," the teacher said nervously.

All eyes were on Josh. Everyone looked scared, and Josh didn't blame them. He himself was terrified. His vision was getting spotty and his body felt numb. He tried to nod, but everything went black.

-----

The whole classroom was in chaos when Josh regained consciousness. People were either screaming and crying or laughing. The teacher was talking quickly into the phone, but Josh couldn't focus on her words. He sat up slowly, realizing he was on the ground. His stomach lurched, and before he could come up with an exit strategy, he vomited a puddle of watered-down blood onto the carpet.

Everyone was screaming now. The teacher was sobbing into the phone. If Josh could stand, he'd leave right now, but his body wasn't cooperating. He wanted his mom or Tyler or Ashley or someone who would help him without panicking like this. The teacher hung up the phone before going over to Josh, crouching down in front of him.

"Are you okay?" She asked, looking so far out of her depth.

Josh swallowed hard, not really sure how to respond to that. He'd just passed out and vomited blood, so probably not. He looked up when the door opened. His sister peeked in, looking anxious. That went away as soon as she saw him though. She walked over and shoved his stuff into his backpack one-handedly. His teacher must have called hers.

"Can you walk?" Ash asked him quietly.

Josh stood up shakily, having to physically restrain himself from flinching away when the teacher helped him. Ash put his backpack on before taking his hand in hers and leading him out of the room. She didn't speak until they were in the hall.

"I'm supposed to take you to the nurse," she told him.

"She can't help me. Even if she can, I'm not allowed to accept modern medicine," Josh replied tiredly.

Ash nodded. "I know. When you get in there, just lay down and wait. I'll go get mom."

Josh looked down at his little sister. Even after he'd taken three of her fingers, she was still easily willing to help him. That was his favourite thing about her. She loved her family more than anything, even if she didn't always know the best way to protect them. He wondered if the guilt of hurting her would ever go away.

"I'm sorry, Ashley," he told her. They rarely used her full name anymore, but he needed her to know that he meant it.

She shrugged, not looking at him. "It's not your fault."

While that was technically true, he still hated knowing he'd played a part in his sister's torture. "You know I love you, right?" He asked her.

Those three words were rarely spoken except between mothers and their children or between spouses, but Josh did love his sister. Not like he loved his mom or his spouses. She'd been his best friend when they were kids. For most of their childhood, she'd tried desperately to be just like him. She was his little sister. Of course he loved her.

To his relief, she nodded. "I know. I love you too."

The words took a weight off his shoulders that he hadn't even realised he was carrying. He would never want something to hurt his little sister, and he was so relieved that she knew that. Regardless of what she'd done to result in the loss of her fingers, she was his sister. He'd always love her.

The nurse's office only contained one other student, who was laying on one of the cots playing on his phone. He watched Josh suspiciously when they passed him. The nurse's eyes widened when she saw Josh.

"Sweet Jesus. What happened to you?" She asked as she shot out of her desk and hurried over to him.

"He passed out and was throwing up blood. You can't really help him because of our religion, but can he lay down in here until I can find one of our parents?" Ash asked, already setting his backpack down.

The nurse nodded. "Absolutely." She watched Ash leave, looking baffled. Once Josh laid down, she began speaking again. "Are you sure there's nothing I can do?"

"We can't use modern medicine," Josh explained to her weakly, feeling the boy from the other cot watching him. "My mom can fix this when I get home."

She nodded. "Well, if you need anything, I'll just be in the other room through that door."

"Thanks," he replied quietly.

He watched her go before squeezing his eyes shut and rubbing them with the palms of his hands. It was aggravating that he'd had to come here at all. That social worker knew he was extremely ill, yet she'd still forced him to come. It was bullshit.

Josh was surprised when the boy from the other cot came over and stood by his. He looked scared, but determined. "You know where they are, don't you?"

Josh sighed, wishing more than anything that he could just sleep. "Where what are?"

"Not what. Who. You know what Tyler and Ashley are, don't you?" The boy asked, his dark eyes blazing.

"Who?" Josh asked despite the anxiety growing in his already sensitive stomach.

"Ashley Frangipane and Tyler Joseph. They both went missing after they were nice to you. Your cult took them, didn't they?" The boy asked, his voice quivering slightly.

"No," Josh replied, closing his eyes just to block out the way the world felt like it was spinning.

"I don't believe you," the boy told him.

"I don't really care," Josh replied. "Unless you're going to hand me that trash can to throw up blood in, you should probably go away."

The boy floundered for a second before handing him the trash can. Josh was both surprised and impressed by the action, but both emotions were blocked out as he threw up.

"Holy shit. That is blood," the boy whispered, stumbling backwards until he was sitting on his own cot. He watched Josh with wide eyes as he set the trash can back onto the floor and covered his face with his arm.

"Is that, like, normal for you?" The boy asked curiously.

"Why are you still talking to me?" Josh grumbled.

The boy hesitated. "Because I think you know where my best friend is, and Tyler too."

That caught Josh off guard. If this was Ashley's best friend, he had to be Brendon. That also meant he was the one who had told Tyler about their family. This kid was pretty prevalent in Josh's life despite having never met him.

"Even if you can't outright tell me, can you just at least give me a sign that they're okay?" The boy asked quietly.

Josh considered it for a moment. "You're Brendon?"

The boy's eyes widened. "Yeah, but, how did you...." He trailed off, looking at Josh sadly. "She told you?"

"No," Josh replied, closing his eyes. "Not until he did."

The room was quiet for a second. Josh sighed when Brendon came and sat on his cot with him. "They're alive?"

"I can't talk to you about this," Josh reminded him, opening his eyes to look at the other boy. "I've already told you too much."

"Please, just yes or no. Are they alive?" His eyes were filling with tears.

"Yes."

"Are they safe?" Brendon continued.

Josh thought about that. At the moment, he had no idea. When he was home though, nothing could ever hurt them. "Yes."

"When was the last time you saw them?" Brendon whispered.

"That's not a yes or no question," Josh pointed out tiredly.

"Right. Um, have you seen them within the last twenty-four hours?" Brendon asked.

"Which one?" Josh asked, watching Brendon deflate slightly.

"Ashley?"

"No."

"Tyler?"

"Yes."

"Can you tell me where Ashley is?" Brendon asked.

"No."

"But is she safe?"

"Yes."

Brendon nodded, looking down at his hands. He was shaking slightly. "You've known where they are all this time, and you didn't tell anyone. Do you have any idea what their families are going through? Tyler has an eight year old brother who doesn't have a clue where he is. Ashley's little brother told me he hopes she's dead because it's better than living inside of that fence. Tyler has a brother that goes to this school, dude. He hasn't been back since Tyler disappeared."

Josh's throat felt dry and his heart ached. He knew they had families, but he didn't know that many specifics. All he really knew were names and occupations. Even if it was the most dangerous thing he could tell an outsider, Josh couldn't help himself. "I'm going to get them back to their families. I promise. We're already working on it."

That took Brendon by surprise. "You-What?"

"Getting Ashley out should be easier than Tyler, but I think I can do it. I have to. They can't stay there. It's just a matter of doing it before it's too late," Josh whispered.

"Too late? Are they going to kill them?" Brendon whispered back, looking terrified.

Josh shook his head. "No, but they'll wish they were dead if it happens. We all will. I think Tyler's safer than Ashley because everyone is already protective of him, but they also forget about Ashley a lot. Getting her out shouldn't be too hard. I've already gotten her out of the community once. I just have to figure out how I can leave her out of it without being killed before I can help Tyler."

Brendon's jaw dropped. "So you could die if you helped them?"

"Yeah, but I don't care. It's better than living there anyways."

The admission was a surprise to both of them. Josh had never said something like that out loud before. Maybe to Tyler or Ashley, but never a stranger. Brendon looked completely taken aback, not saying a word for a few beats.

"Can you leave with them?" He asked quietly.

Josh shook his head. "No. There's nothing for me out here. I'm not made for living outside of that fence."

"If you ever need help getting them out and getting yourself out, let me know, okay?" Brendon said quietly. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Josh asked, genuinely baffled.

"For judging you before I met you. You aren't evil. This shit isn't your fault either," Brendon told him before going back over to his own cot. "If I gave you something to give to Ashley, would you do it?"

"I won't see her for a week, but I'll find a way to get it to her, yes." Josh tried to sit up, but pain shot through his stomach. He gasped in pain as he laid back down.

Brendon looked uncertain as he pulled a small chain out of the front pocket of his backpack. Attached to it was a charm in the shape of an A. Brendon brought it over to Josh and handed it to him.

"She left it at my house the night before she disappeared," Brendon explained.

Josh nodded, carefully putting it into his pocket. "I'll get it to her. I promise."

Brendon nodded back. "Thank you."

They were quiet as they both laid on their separate cots. Surprisingly, Josh broke the silence. "Are you even sick?"

"No, I just didn't study for my math test so I faked a migraine." Brendon replied with a smirk.

Josh smiled before closing his eyes. "I can see why you and Ashley would've been friends."

Brendon chuckled. "She's pretty awesome, isn't she?"

"Yeah," Josh replied.

He missed her. He missed how desperate she always was for human attention whenever he got home. He missed telling her about school. He missed how tiny she looked in his clothes. He missed her laugh and her advice and her reassurances that he was a good person. Even if he wasn't in love with her like she seemed to be with him, he did love her. She was his best friend.

Josh hadn't realised he'd fallen asleep until he was being shaken awake. His eyelids were heavy as he opened them. His father was crouched in front of him, looking worried. Ash stood in the doorway, looking apologetically at Josh. He knew in an instant that it was because she hadn't been able to bring their mother and had to bring the one person who would scare people most at their school.

The twisted silver cross hanging around their father's neck was completely visible, advertising their religion to anyone who saw it. If that wasn't enough of a spectacle, he was wearing all black, including a long dark coat that was even strange to Josh.

"Still throwing up?" He asked Josh.

"Yes, sir," Josh replied.

"He passed out in class too, sir," Ash added.

Their father nodded. "Let's get you home. Your mother thinks she's found a cure."

Relief flooded Josh. Of course she had. Their mother could cure anything. Besides, going home meant being with Tyler, who was the only person he wanted right now. Even if this marriage was just to save Tyler's life, Josh really did love him. He loved Tyler in the way Ashley loved him, which seemed unfair to her, but he could do nothing about. All he ever wanted was to see Tyler, talk to Tyler, touch Tyler, listen to Tyler, or even just be with Tyler. His very presence made Josh feel safer.

"Okay," he replied.

He slid off of the cot and picked up his backpack, glancing back over at Brendon. The other boy was watching Josh's dad fearfully. Bill Dun wasn't watching though. He was already leading Ash out of the room, taking the hand that wasn't bandaged and holding it as he walked her out. Josh followed. He'd get this necklace to Ashley for Brendon, and then they could figure out how to set her free.