Second Chances

Second Chances
By Hero541
Chapter 24: I’m Home

Josh felt himself moving at an unimaginable speed. His entire body was being pulled along through some sort of light portal, headed back to earth. Just as he thought he could take no more, he was thrown out of the portal, landing hard on his back in a large field. He groaned in pain as he hit the ground, rolling over onto his stomach to take the pressure off his aching back. All around him, the world was spinning crazily, causing him to feel incredibly nauseous as he lay there.

“What the hell was that?”

He jumped hard at the sound of a voice nearby. Standing up, he began to hear the sound of someone running towards him.

“What’re ya doin on my farm?” he heard the voice call out.

“I… I just… woke up here. I’m not a threat, I swear. I’m not armed or anything.”

Josh turned to see a large man in blue overalls running up to him, shotgun in his hands and ready to go. Josh raised his hands in the air upon seeing the gun. As the man reached Josh, he lowered the gun and looked him up and down.

“How’d ya get here, son?” he asked, not taking his eyes off Josh.

“I think that even if I were to explain it to you, you wouldn’t believe me.” Josh said, lowering his arms.

“Well, okay then.” said the man, one eyebrow raised, “What’s your name?”

“I’m Josh. Josh Daniels. And yours?”

“Name’s Otis.”

“Well, Otis, it’s very nice to meet you.”

“Pleasure’s all mine, I suppose.” said Otis, reaching out his hand and shaking Josh’s.

The two just stood there for a few more minutes, an awkward silence falling between them.

“Do you have a phone I can borrow?” asked Josh finally, breaking the silence, “I have someone I need to call for a ride.”

“Sure. It’s right inside the kitchen to the left of the stove.”

“Thanks, Otis.”

With that, Josh made his way for the small farmhouse nearby. He stopped next to Otis for a second.

“If you don’t mind my asking, where am I exactly?”

“Just outside of Manhattan, Kansas.”

“Really? That’s interesting.” said Josh, continuing his walk to the farmhouse.

*****

Liam Kensington sat in his office, a frown on his face. Josh had been gone for two months now, and it seemed like he may as well just give up hope of finding the guy. All he’d heard was that Josh had been taken to the hospital, then that he’d just mysteriously disappeared without a trace. As expected, Liam had to postpone the tour till Josh could be found, but eventually it had to be cancelled after a week. That had frustrated him to no end, and he was still fuming about it.

He’d lost his superstar, the best dubstep producer in the world. If only there was some clue as to where Josh had gone or what had happened to him. Search parties had looked all around for him, but hadn’t found a trace of the guy. Liam breathed a sigh of relief for one thing however: they hadn’t found his body floating down a river at least.

Liam jumped as he heard his cell phone go off. He pulled out the device and looked at the number. It was from out of state, but he didn’t recognize it right away. Letting out a sigh, he answered.

“I think you’ve got a wrong number, man.”

“Liam. It’s me. Josh.”

Liam froze as he heard those words and that voice. Unable to believe his ears, he almost dropped the phone in shock.

“J-Josh? Is that really you man?”

“Yeah, it is. I kinda need a ride. Think you can get one for me?”

“S-sure. I’ll head out as soon as I can. Just stay there, alright?”

“No problem. See you soon.”

“That I will.”

Liam hung up and simply sat there for awhile. He couldn’t believe it. Xploshun was back. He was truly back. Liam would get on a plane as soon as he could, but first, he had a few calls to make.

*****

Josh set the phone back down and walked into the small living room, sitting down on a nearby couch. As he did so, Otis’s wife, Martha, walked in carrying a tray with some food and drinks on it.

“Would you like some coffee, sug?” she asked, setting the tray down on the coffee table in front of Josh.

“That’s okay. I can’t drink coffee. Caffeine doesn’t like me very much.” he replied, picking up a piece of toast and
spreading some jam on it.

“Okay then. You need anything though, don’t be afraid to ask me, alright?”

“Thanks. Will do.”

Martha smiled at him before sitting down in a chair next to Otis.

“So, Josh,” said Otis as Josh began to eat, “Where’re you from exactly?”

Josh chewed and swallowed before answering, “Los Angeles. Before that, Oregon.”

“Oregon?” asked Otis, smiling and looking at Martha, “Martha here’s from Oregon.”

“Where’d you live there?” asked Martha.

“Albany. I was born in Oregon City though. What about you? Where in Oregon did you come from?”

“I’m from Sheridan myself.” she replied.

“Really?” asked Josh, setting down his toast, “I dated a girl from there once.”

“That’s great! Who was she? I may just know her.”

“Her name was Jessica. Jessica Adams.”

“Hmm… that name does sound a little familiar…”

Josh, Otis, and Martha talked for at least another two hours, mostly about what Josh did for a living and what it was like in Los Angeles.

“So, you just sit down at a computer and make music with some kind of software?” asked Otis, almost stunned that someone could do that.

“Pretty much.” replied Josh, “I was on tour for a little while.”

“You’re not anymore?”

“No. I kinda… haven’t been around the area for a little while.” said Josh, images of Equestria flashing through his mind.

“Where’ve you been then?” asked Otis as Martha got up and went into the kitchen.

“I’m not exactly sure.” said Josh, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, “But I do know that it was awesome.”

A dreamy smile shot across Josh’s face, causing Otis to laugh a little at his expression.

“I’d know that look anywhere.” said Otis, winking at Josh, “You met a girl, didn’t you?”

Josh felt a lump form in his throat. The night he and Vinyl had first kissed flashed across his mind, and he felt a warm sensation flood his body. He remembered holding the beautiful unicorn all night, stroking her soft blue mane, seeing that calm loving smile on her lips as they met his own…

“I did.” he said simply, fighting back his tears once more.

“What happened then?” asked Otis softly, reading the change in expression on Josh’s face.

“I… I fell in love with her. She’s my world, the very thing that I awoke for every day. She means everything to me. But…”

Josh trailed off, feeling the tears trying to force their way out.

“But what?” asked Otis.

“But, she can do much better than me. I don’t deserve to be with someone that special.”

“I can tell that you’re a guilty man, Josh.” said Otis, standing and walking over to Josh, “You’ve got a lot of ghosts that haunt you. But, I can also tell that you’re sorry for those ghosts.”

Josh looked up to Otis, who smiled down at him.

“Did this girl love you Josh?” he asked, placing a hand on Josh’s shoulder.

“Y-yes. She loved me.”

“She loved you unconditionally?”

“Yes.”

“Then those ghosts don’t matter. Your guilt don’t matter. If you didn’t deserve to be with her, then why’d she fall in love with you?”

Josh said nothing to that, instead choosing to stare at the floor. He thought about Otis’s words. Vinyl truly did love him, he knew it. And obviously she thought he was worthy of her love, because she stuck with him no matter what. Otis patted Josh on the shoulder, then left the room, allowing Josh to think about what he’d said.