Shoebox

Unfamiliar Places

The first thing to come to Josh Logan’s senses as conscious returned to him was the acrid pungent smell of urine mixed with the rank odor of ripe feces, a hint of something else lingering in the background. The second was the sensation that he was actually being physically shaken.

Cracking bleary eyes, he looked out into the dimly lit gloom, diffuse light visible from three erratically spaced spots on the ceiling high above.

“Hey man!” greeted a gruff male voice from a large silhouette hovering almost directly over top of him.

Confused and startled, Josh instinctively pushed himself backwards over the semi smooth surface of the floor under him, away from the speaker, stopping abruptly after bumping into the solid surface of a similarly textured wall. Blinking a couple of times, trying to focus in the fuliginous darkness on the man who had jostled him out of his slumber. The other man was big, early thirties, built like a weightlifter, thick muscles moving as he stood upright.

“Rise and shine,” said the man, broad smile on his bearded face as he walked over, but more startling to Josh, the man was completely naked.

Josh shook his head, he felt fuzzy, foggy, “What’s going on?” he asked, suddenly realizing he too was nude. What was going on? Why the hell am I naked? Where am I?

“What’s your name boy?” asked the big man, tone friendly and non-threatening.

“Josh,” he mumbled, eyes darting around in the weak light, spying a mass of something huge and dark lying near his hand toward the corner on his left.

“Ham,” said the big man, reaching down toward Josh with a huge paw.

“Ham?” Josh asked, frowning. What was that in the corner? Squinting, he couldn’t make it out, like a pile of linens or bedsheets or something.

“Short for Hamilton,” he replied, “Come on, take my hand, I’ll introduce you to the others,” he explained.

“Others?” Josh asked, looking back up at the man.

“Including you, there are five of us here now. You’re the new guy,” Ham said.

Taking the hand, Josh was pulled up onto his feet. At 6’3”, he was still a few inches shorter than Ham. “I don’t know what’s going on,” he babbled, looking to Ham for some explanation.

“It’s okay, it’s was like that for all of us,” Ham said, clapping Josh strongly on the shoulder. “Come on,” he urged, turning and walking away from Josh.

“What is this place? What’s going on?” Josh asked, falling in step behind Ham. Wherever here was appeared to be a featureless room rectangular room, the light so poor you could barely see from one end to the other, the ceiling above perhaps three times his own body height.

Another figure seemed to materialize out from the darkness, light brownish hair, maybe dirty blond, short, 5’8”, a little pudgy around the middle with pale white skin. Also naked.

“That’s Carver,” Ham said.

The man smiled and extended a hand, “Good to meet you,” he said, expression warm.

Shaking the hand, Josh nodded. “What’s that smell?” he asked, scrunching up his face at the foul smell lingering in the air.

Ham nodded, “Latrine. Piss in that corner, shit in that corner,” he said, identifying each by pointing.

“What?” Josh queried, shaking his head, eyes searching in the indicated directions.

“Piss in that corner, shit in that one, no exceptions,” Ham repeated sternly.

“Where the fuck are we?” Josh demanded, getting mad. This was like some bad dream and it just seemed to be getting worse as the moments ticked by.

“I told you he was going to flake,” said another male voice as the speaker stepped into sight. Tall, not quite like Ham, but taller than Josh, and thin, sporting a wealth of body art all over his nude frame. Dark hair long, framing an angular face, hard to guess his age.

“Julian,” Ham said, nodding to the other man.

Josh could feel panic rising inside of him. This was all so very confusing. Another man appeared.

“Henry,” said the new comer. He was older, 50ish, slim build, thinning hair, lines etched deeply into his face.

“Josh,” he said, nodding. “Now, can somebody please tell me what’s going on?” he asked, looking from face to face of the other men.

Julian laughed, a derisive scornful sound.

“Enough,” reprimanded Ham, scowling at the slender man. “What I’m about to tell you isn’t going to make any sense at all, but first you need to relax,” he said, large hands in front of him and making a calming gesture.

“He’s going to flake,” Julian said, still chortling.

“Julian, come on,” implored Carver shaking his head disdainfully.

“Fuck you round boy,” snorted Julian, waving a dismissive hand at the much shorter heavy set man.

Henry shook his head. “He’s just upset because he’s going to be next,” he said, pursing his thin lips.

“Next? Who knows?” asked Julian, turning to the gathering and spreading his arms wide, “It was supposed to be me the last time, but she took Colton. So it could be me, but it could just as easily be you or it could be our new little friend Josh here,” he said, tone snide. “Nobody knows.” He laughed sardonically, a cruel bitter sound.

“What?” Josh asked, none of this made any rational sense. Who were these people? What did the man named Julian mean about being next?

Josh’s head hurt. Putting a hand to the side of his skull, “I don’t…” he said, voice trailing off. The sound of rushing filling his ears, chest constricted.

Ham fired a dark glance at Julian.

“Go on, tell him,” urged Julian, shaking his head, “Tell him what he’s in for,” he added bitterly. “Fuck I wish I had a smoke,” he muttered as he turned away and faded toward the corner Ham had said was for peeing.

“What’s going on here and what does he mean she took him? Who are all of you? I am so bloody confused right now,” Josh said, pushing away, mind reeling, the world spinning.

“Here it comes,” taunted Julian, looking over his shoulder at Josh and waiting for the youth to pass out.

“It is okay,” Ham said, stepping in, “Remember, I said you need to relax,” he reminded, reaching out and placing a big steadying hand on Josh’s shoulder, “What’s the last thing you remember?” he asked.

Letting out a long breath, Josh nodded, “I don’t know, it was late afternoon, I was at the library, pulling research documents to support my paper, then I woke up here,” he answered, looking at Ham.

“Do you remember seeing anyone else in the library?” Henry asked, expression curious.

Josh frowned, “No,” then his face brightened, “There was a girl there, really hot, like smoking hot. Maybe a student at the university, but young, teenager, eighteen, nineteen, freshman maybe, I don’t know, I didn’t recognize her,” he said, shaking his head. “It’s all so vague, like dissipating dream fragments.”

“It was her,” Henry said, nodding his head, lips pulled together as he looked to the others.

Carver and Ham exchanged a glance also nodded in agreement.

“Who is her?” Josh asked, hand still against the side of his head, trying to recall the image of the girl he had seen in the library.