Chapter 35 : Goodbye

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Harlan stared down at the box that had been delivered to his office by some of his men. It was made of a sturdy wood, about 6 foot long and 1.5 feet wide. 

A natural gnawing curiosity waged inside him, but he was uncertain on wether to open it now. He had clearly seen the trepidation that rose on the face's of the men that bought it in when they spied Riley at the table, even more so at James curled up on the sofa. 

"What is it?" James asked, his natural childish curiosity shining through in that last moment of purity. His brothers had gathered around, wanting to understand too what was inside and if it would help find their brother and sister. 

Harlan didn't answer, instead nudging it will the toe of his show, it was heavy. 

He reached over it, undoing the clasp on the side and flipped the lid up. 

James didn't see anything before his head was shoved into Thomas' rock solid chest. He tried to wiggle away but Thomas kept a hard grip on him, his knuckles digging into his head and  almost pulling his hair out. 

The room was deadly silent, no one was even moving. Not even blinking. 

The first noise was Riley, who shivered, throwing up the contents of his stomach into his brother's trash can. 

They had all seen dead people before, well maybe not James, but this was a whole other world. Something unexplored, something all of them wanted to go back from. 

His body was almost devoid of any skin and his blue eyes where glossed over with a milky white cloud. Dried blood and dirt covered his entire body, the skin crisp and taught, the smell of flesh in the air. 

His mouth opened but no sound came out, he just desperately waited for Joe's eyes to move, even an inch, anything to show he was alive, but everyone knew he wasn't. 

His arms and remaining leg were crammed in the box at grotesque angles, as though her had been dropped like an abandoned marionette. 

In one of his first signs of weakness Harlan shut his eyes and turned around. He couldn't look anymore. But Elijah was transfixed, almost creepily, like he couldn't bear to look away. 

"Oh god. Oh god" Elijah whispered. 

Suddenly the office felt tiny and stuffy, Thomas throwing open the window to get some air in. The second he did James pulled his head out his grasp, spinning around.

He froze on the spot, suddenly realising why is brothers where so silent and why Thomas stopped him looking.  

"Joe?" James asked, staring down at the figure. He took a step forward. "Joe?" 

It was like he was so desperate for him to move that he completely overlooked his perilous state. 

"Joe?" He asked for the third time, almost expecting him to answer back.James dropped to his knees, a hesitant hand reached out to touch the marked skin, checking for life. 

"James" A voice softly said behind him. "He's gone" 

James' hand brushed his hand over Joe's, feeling the skin to skin contact. He so desperately wanted him to open his eyes and tickle him in surprise, like he had done for years. 

"No" He told whomever it was. "He's just sleeping" 

With the other hand he moved the remains of his hair back. 

"Wake up" He said firmly, gripping his hand. 

"James" A hand rested on his shoulder, trying to pull him back. 

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