"We get to visit him! We get to see him! Chester gets visitors! He spoke!" Mike yelled throughout the house until he reached his friends who began bursting into questions.

"What did he say?!" Brad asked quickly, much before anyone could respond.

"How is he?" Phoenix asked in turn.

"When are we going?" Rob questioned and Joe said something along the same lines.

"I don't know what he said and I think that means he's good and we're going immediately!" Mike cheered as he answered everyone's questions. The guys all smiled, except Brad, who frowned. "What's wrong, Brad?"

"I had a thing to go to today, but I think I can take a raincheck. I'd rather see Chaz anyway," Brad flipped his features into a bright grin and Mike smiled. "I'll be right back, I've gotta make a couple calls."

"Where were you going to go?" Phoenix asked him and Brad smiled softly.

"I was going to interview a couple people to hire someone to clean my house for me. I didn't want to do it myself because I don't think I'd feel up for it with everything going on," Brad sighed, but was still smiling slightly.

"Okay," Phoenix said and turned back to Joe to talk about how excited he was to see Chester again. It hadn't been too long since they'd seen him last, but being so used to seeing him everyday, it felt like forever.

"Hey, Rob, do you want to come with me to pick up a couple things for Chaz?" Mike asked, turning to Rob, who nodded silently. Mike announced to the others, "We'll be back."

"Alright!" Phoenix cheered, still ecstatic over the fact that they get to reunite with their friend.

Mike and Rob went to grab a light jacket before heading out the door. It was a cloudy day, quite gloomy compared to their happiness in that moment. Everything had a grey feel to it and Mike found it matching his mood. He was excited to see Chester again, but he couldn't shake the nagging feeling that something wasn't right.

Mike decided they'd take his car and he went to the driver's side, starting it up as Rob ducked his head to get into the passenger's side. He immediately began adjusting his seat down to make himself more comfortable. He was too tall to take on Chester's preferred seat adjustments.

"Chester's going to flip when he gets back in this car and sees his seat isn't the way he left it," Mike chuckled playfully, making Rob laugh.

"He'll think you're cheating on him," Rob joked and Mike grinned before the two began to grow more seriously, as they both began thinking about what must've happened to Chester that caused him to be absent. "What do you think happened to him?"

"I don't know, Rob, and that's what scares me. It could literally be anything. I've ran through many scenarios and I just can't pinpoint one," He sighed and took a hand off the wheel to run a nervous hand through his hair. "What do you think?"

"The other guys think he... They think he was raped," Rob said softly, afraid it would scare Mike to a point where he couldn't handle him. Mike simply nodded. "You think so too?"

"I don't know, maybe. I was listening in on your conversation last night and the more I think about it, the more sense it makes," Mike frowned profoundly and Rob shook his head.

"That's so terrifying. I don't even want to think about it, but it's hard not to," The drummer said and Mike bit his lip before looking at Rob questionably, who was smiling softly. "You must've picked up biting your lip from him, he does that all the time when he's thinking."

"You've noticed that too?" Mike smiled as Rob nodded. "You're probably right about that."

They pulled into their local store's parking lot and found a nice spot close to the front. Mike parked the car and stopped the engine. He stared down into his lap, seemingly more depressed than he was a moment ago. Rob picked up on it before he could get out of the car and looked to him with worried eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"I miss him, Rob, and I'm freaked out. How could someone do that to him? He didn't do anything wrong, he didn't deserve this. At first, I thought maybe he was just going through something internally that was making him depressed, but he did so much shit to himself that I doubt it's just a spurt of random depression. I know something happened to him and I feel so awfully sure that it was rape, I can just feel it in the pit of my stomach and I don't know what to do," Mike said all in one breath. He inhaled deeply and sighed when he exhaled. "I don't know what to do."

"You're right, Mike. He didn't deserve this and I don't think it's just a phase either. Something must've happened," Rob replied, unsure what else to say. "We'll get through this, Mike."

"I sure hope so."

~

The band entered the facility, immediately taken aback by all the people who seemed to be dead - as most were simply expressionless. A woman came up to them, who had black hair and brown eyes. She was wearing a name tag that Mike made out to say, 'Talinda.'

"Oh, hello! You boys are here to see Chester, right? Well, I'm Talinda and I'm one of the nurses that cares for him. Which one of you is Mike?" She asked sweetly and Mike smiled, hoping all of Chester's caretakers were as kind as she was. He needed to know he was in good hands.

"I'm Mike," He spoke up and her eyes fell onto him. He thought for a brief moment that her smile faltered slightly, but he shook it off and thought nothing of it.

"Alright, it's good to meet you, Mike! Chester hasn't spoken much, but you were one of the prime things he talks about. It's not visiting hours yet, but this is a special case, so please remember this is not the usual time you can visit him. It's currently recess - meaning that the patients can roam wherever they please, making it difficult for me to exactly pinpoint where Chester is right now. I'll have someone search for him. I'll be right back," Talinda flashed another smile, before going to find Mark. She ratted him out for not obeying the facility's policies, but nothing was done. She decided to get some use out of him and thought it best if he went to find Chester, while she took care of the visitors.

"Excuse me, but it's not visiting hours yet. You'll have to come back in a couple of hours," A lady behind a large desk asked.

"The nurse, Talinda, said it was for a special case," Phoenix spoke up, not wanting to be pushed out of the hospital and prevented from seeing his friend because of a misunderstanding.

"Ah, Miss Bentley, yes. Is that bag meant for one of the patients?" She asked, noticing the bag in Mike's hands. He nodded and she gestured for the group to go to her. "Which patient is this for?"

"Chester Bennington," Mike said and she typed the name into her computer.

"Oh, now I see! Mr. Bennington has not been responding to any type of personal until just this morning. May I verify the items you've brought for him? I have to place it within a special bag and place this sticker on it, as well as stapling it shut to be sure nothing else gets placed in there. I apologize for that, this facility is just a little more weary. Only one of the nurses can open the bag, so Miss Bentley will have to remove the staples once you've reached his room," She explained and Mike set the bag on the counter, just as Talinda approached the group once again.

"Alright, guys, I've sent one of Chester's other nurses to find him and bring him back to his room. I see you're already checking the bag out, one step ahead of me!" She chuckled playfully and smiled at the group. Once the lady checking out the bag was finished, she handed Talinda the new bag full of the supplies Mike bought for Chester.

"Here you go, Miss Bentley, everything checks out. Have a nice day, everyone," She smiled and returned to some paperwork. Talinda pulled a pager out of her pocket before sliding it back in.

"I haven't been notified yet that Chester's been located and brought back to his room, so would you boys like a quick tour to kill some time?" She asked kindly and they all shrugged and nodded. Their first stop was the main hall, which was full of patients who were staring into walls or looking at scarred wrists. "So, this is the main corridors, where most of the patients spend their time, but Chester is one of the rare few who refuse to step foot in here. We specialize in cases of those who are thinking of doing something terrible, but we don't just watch over them - we encourage them to talk to other patients and a therapist. We allow some patients to stay long-term, making us not just a watch, but also a mental facility."

"Where does Chester spend his time if not in here?" Mike asked, curious as to what Chester's been up to since admitted.

"He never does the same thing twice, something quite uncommon amongst our patients considering most fall into a routine. He tends to explore places he isn't meant to be in, but never says a word once he's caught. He roams the halls usually and avoids the other patients. Otherwise, he's just quite bored and sits in his room," She explained and Mike nodded with a small smile. Even depressed, Chester would still cause at least a little trouble.

After they left that area, they passed some rooms and other areas as Talinda explained Chester's usual opinions or actions towards such. The guys realized more and more how interested they actually were about what their friend did with his time and how he reacted towards any little thing. After a while, Talinda's pager pinged.

"Alright, guys, that will conclude our tour," She smiled, though they had only explored just a fraction of the place. "Chester is ready to see you now."

"Really?!" Mike gasped excitedly and she chuckled and nodded with a bright smile.

"Yes! Now, before we go in, there are a few things you should know. Chester hasn't showed any sign of hostility and is relatively calm, but he is prone to anxiety attacks. Because of this, I encourage you to watch what you say and be careful. He doesn't talk much - if at all usually - so please don't pressure him to speak. I hope you enjoy your visit and please tell me if he says or does anything alarming. If there happens to be an emergency, yell and someone will come immediately, probably myself. I'll be on stand-by your entire visit."

"Thank you, you've been a ton of help," Mike smiled and he emotionally prepared himself to reunite with Chester. He wasn't sure what Chester would even look like, if he'd gotten any skinnier or added more scars to his body, but he was more overjoyed by the fact that he'd get to see him than anything.

The other guys were preparing themselves as well and were excited. They weren't sure what to expect, but didn't care. They were ready to see Chester again and weren't going to let anything get in their way. It had been too long since the last time they've seen each other and they hoped Chester would talk to them - unlike his nurses.

As they approached Chester's room, they felt themselves growing nervous. Talinda seemed to be feeling the same way, as she started to lose the hop in her step. Mike was trying to rush to the room, but eventually, they made it and faced his door.