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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 

The Navigator - 15. Chapter 15

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Check out my Patreon for early access to chapters(note:everything started at GA will be released in full at a regular pace. This is early access only, not exclusive access) and exclusive content! https://www.patreon.com/Cynus

They would be performing in less than thirty minutes, and his blood was beginning to pump with excitement. Tim Franco had managed to score them this gig in Twin Falls that was better than anything they had ever imagined. They weren’t opening for this one; they were the main event.

Brady would have never imagined that the past few weeks would have turned out the way that they had. Navigator had gone viral, and already had over a million hits on YouTube, and nearly everyone that heard it seemed to like it. Brady attributed that to the way that Jack sang the lyrics more than anything else, though the entire band was behind the song one hundred percent whenever they played it.

The thing that troubled him was that the comments often centered on a question that he didn’t know how to answer, and the rest of the band had told him that it was up to him if he wanted to address it. Everyone wanted to know who Silas Drake was. Everybody wanted to know the inspiration behind their hit song, but Brady didn’t think that they deserved to know.

“Demons,” Tim said, addressing the group as he walked into the green room, followed immediately by a dark-haired twenty-something with a beautiful face and intelligent eyes. Theo immediately honed in on her, but there was something about her which gave Brady pause. She looked confused and completely out of her element, as if she had never been backstage at a rock concert before. “As you know, we offered a number of backstage passes for this event. This is Emma Riggs, and she bought one this morning.”

“Sup, Emma,” Theo said as he jumped to his feet. He walked over to her and stuck out his hand. “Name’s Theo.”

“Umm, hi,” Emma replied, shaking his hand and blushing. “It’s good to meet you, Theo.”

“Likewise,” Theo said with a wink. Brady rose to his feet and stepped up to Theo’s side as Jack and Stacey untangled themselves from each other.

Brady put his hand on Theo’s shoulder and whispered in his ear, “I don’t think she’s here for you, Theodore.” When Theo shot him a dirty look, Brady ignored him and turned to Emma, “You look like you’re a bit out of your depth. Why don’t you have a seat?” He gestured to the couch where he had been sitting and started walking toward it. “Is this your first time backstage?”

“Yeah,” Emma said, nodding. “It’s my first time at a concert, actually.”

“Usually people don’t go right for a backstage pass as their first experience with a concert,” Stacey observed. “What brought you to us? Do you really like our music that much?”

“To be honest I’ve only heard one song,” Emma said with a shrug. Jack and Brady shared a look before turning their attention back to her. “I’m here because of Navigator.”

Brady took a second look at Emma and quickly realized that he had been missing something familiar about her. "Oh. My. God," Brady said as he took a step back from her. "You're Silas' sister, aren't you?"

"So you do actually know Silas, and it's not just a coincidence." Emma paled and Brady guided her down to the couch as her knees gave out beneath her. Her eyes began to fill with tears as she shook her head violently. "I can't believe it, I just can't believe it!"

"No way, this is Drake's sister?" Jack asked as he leaned forward. Nothing was going to distract him from this interesting piece of news, though it didn't look like Stacey had any inclination to do any more distracting either. "I have to admit that I'm a bit surprised to see you here. Pleasantly, but still surprised."

Emma repressed her tears with a sob and looked up at Jack. "You're surprised to see me? Why would you say that?"

Brady and Jack shared a look but Theo jumped in before either of them could say anything. "We didn't think anyone in his family cared much about him, considering the way he avoided talking about them."

"That was a great bit of tact you used there, Theodore," Jack growled. "You might try being a little patient with our fans." Theo looked appropriately admonished as he hung his head and looked away from Jack, staring at something on the wall.

"Where is Silas now?" Emma asked, drawing every eye in the room back to her. She looked between all of them until finally settling her eyes on Brady. "Why would you dedicate a song to him and how do you know him? I have so many questions."

"I don't know for certain," Brady replied, "But I do know that we dropped him off in Colorado a little over three weeks ago. I'm not certain I should tell you the exact name of the town we left him in though. He didn't seem too keen on reconnecting with his old life."

"Braids has a point," Stacey said as she drew Emma's eyes to hers. "But I can also see where Emma is coming from. Being an older sister is sometimes difficult. You always have to weigh what your parents expect of you against whether or not you support your siblings. We don't know the full story, and perhaps we need to hear it from Emma if we're going to be able to make the decision about sharing what we know with her."

"Please, you have to tell me," Emma begged, locking eyes with Stacey, but when Stacey remained silent she turned toward Jack and said, "I have to know that he's all right."

"That, I can assure you is true," Jack said with a disarming grin. "That boy can take care of himself better than anyone that I've ever seen. Besides, he has Addy to look out for him, and that's more than enough to keep anyone safe."

"So Adelaide is still with him," Emma replied as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "That's a relief. At least one thing worked out for him the way that it should have."

Theo gave her a hard look. "Should have?" He echoed. "He should have had the right to a family that loved and protected him. He should have had people looking out for him; that cared about him; that wanted him to be happy. He should have had an older sister who defended him instead of coming years after the fact to settle her guilty consc . . ."

"Theo! That's enough!" Stacey interrupted, rising to her feet and raising her hand threateningly. "I swear, if you say one more word I'm going to slap you so hard that you'll think we're still dating! You don't know what she went through. You don't know her story. Maybe she did stand up for Silas, huh? Maybe she just couldn't do enough. It's hard to be the older sister. It's always hard."

"No," Emma whispered, "He's right. I wasn't there when I should have been, and by the time I realized that it was too late. He was gone, and I couldn't search for him the way that I wanted to. When I told my parents that we should look for him, they told me that he ran away. When I said that we should go to the police, they told me that he was better off gone. I went to the police anyway, and they came to my parents and asked them what had happened. When my parents told them that Silas had run away because he was gay . . ." she shook her head and fought back a sob. "The sheriff agreed with my parents that it was better he was gone than be part of our community. No one would listen to me. No one."

"And so you just stopped?" Theo asked, and Stacey raised her hand to slap him when Jack stepped between them.

"Yes, I did," Emma admitted. "I felt completely helpless, but I never gave up hope that he'd walk back through the door. I searched for him in silence, on Facebook, made posts on Reddit, I called homeless shelters for a while until I realized he'd never check into one. But he had just disappeared, until . . ."

"Until you heard our song on the radio and came to find us, hoping that we knew your brother," Brady surmised. "I get it now. You took the first chance you got to find out more. Theo, I think you need to lay off. It seems like she's doing everything she can, now."

"Whatever," Theo said as he stepped away. "I'm going to go on stage and make sure everything is set up. I'll see you guys there." He disappeared through the side door to the room and the metal door slammed shut behind him.

"You have to understand, Emma," Jack said after recovering from the sound of the door slamming, "Theo never told Silas this, but your brother reminded Theo a lot of his cousin. His cousin came out to his parents and they rejected him, and then he tried to kill himself. Theo confronted his aunt and uncle and made them see reason, but he doesn't respond well when he finds out that someone is in a similar situation. You struck a nerve."

"He never told me that," Stacey whispered. "I had no idea. Why did he tell you that but not me?"

"It happened right after the two of you broke up, and before you and I were together. He wasn't all that great of friends with Brady yet, so I was the one he confided in," Jack explained. "I figured it was his business and I'd never betray that, unless I had a good reason. Like now."

"You guys are different than I had expected," Emma said. "My parents never liked rock culture, though they never exactly prevented us from listening to rock music. Silas was always the one that listened to it the most, thought I think that was because of the fact that Ian left him all of his music."

"Ian sounds like a great guy," Jack said with a chuckle. "What happened to him?"

Emma paled and looked away, "He was kicked out of our house eight years ago. I haven't spoken to him in years."

"That's too bad, it sounds like Silas could have used an ally like that," Brady said, and then when Stacey raised her hand threateningly at him he continued quickly, "I mean, I'm sure you did the best that you could with the hand that you were dealt. Clearly you're coming after him now."

"Thanks, but I really would like to see him," Emma replied. "Will you help me reach him? You said that you know where he is."

Brady and Jack shared a look before turning back toward her, each waiting for the other to speak up when Stacey jumped in. "I'm afraid we don't have any way of contacting him, but we do know which town he was in. He has Jack's number, and he can call us if he needs anything, but there really isn't much that we can do. Maybe someday he'll hear the song and decide to check in. We could always tell you if that happens."

"That would be great," Emma said enthusiastically. "Let me leave you my number." She pulled out her cell phone and looked at Stacey expectantly.

"Are you in a hurry?" Jack asked after Stacey took down her digits. "You seem like you're ready to go. I thought you came to enjoy the show."

"I do want to hear all about what happened with Silas, but I'm afraid my husband doesn't know I'm here," Emma replied with a sigh. "I didn't tell him any of this, and I kind of left quickly once I found out you were here. I need to get back to him so that he doesn't worry. Could I call you sometime and get the full story?"

Stacey nodded enthusiastically. "Of course you can. I'd be happy to tell you what I can without infringing on Silas' privacy. I can tell that you're concerned. Next time we come this way I'll make sure that you get a chance to come see the show and bring your husband as well."

"Thanks," Emma said with a blush. "Thank you, for everything."

"Don't mention it," Brady said. "All we want is the best for Silas, and we can only hope that he'll find his way home someday. Maybe you'll be part of bringing him peace of mind. It was a pleasure meeting you, Emma."

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Check out my Patreon for early access to chapters(note:everything started at GA will be released in full at a regular pace. This is early access only, not exclusive access) and exclusive content(stories posted only at Patreon as of this posting)! https://www.patreon.com/Cynus

Special thanks to my patrons for their support: Michael, Charlie, Bill, Paul, Matt, James, Shadow, Joe, Bart, John, Mark, Sam, Pete, Richmond, Scott, Frank, Amr, Haldon, Jay, Mark, Joel, Steve, Don, Jos, Peter, Chris, Heiko, Jeff, Raymond, Ganymedes, Jerod, Mike, Craig, Jack, Pooven, Caleb, Joey, and YOUR NAME HERE. You're all awesome!

Updated: 5/24/2018

Copyright © 2015 Cynus; All Rights Reserved.
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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 
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That was a short, but informative chapter with the band. We now know what happened after Silas left.Silas' parents are as bad or perhaps even worse than we thought. They deserve zero respect. The sheriff's no better. It's good to know that Emma still loves Silas and kept looking for him. Navigator and the band may serve to reunite the siblings. We got some more insight into Theo as well. Great chapter.

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Wow! This was a twist I didn't expect, at least not before about chapter 22 or so. At least Emma is another sibling who cared about Silas.

 

I will be interested to see if Stacey and Emma end up developing a phone friendship which could lead to more info being shared relative to Silas--from both sides. Surely by now Silas has heard the dedication of the song, and knows it is about him. And has Adam heard the song as well? Tara? Ian?

 

Cynus, this is probably a coincidence, but the names "Silas" and "Cynus" somewhat sound a bit similar. That was not deliberate, was it?
Every Tuesday night and Friday night late I look forward to reading the next installment. Thanks for this great story!

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I'm pleased to see that some of the consequences I predicted from the Navigator dedication have come to pass. I'm glad Brady refuses to say anything about Silas, his instincts are good. While Silas may be OK with the dedication, particularly if it means he and Ian will reconnect with Emma, I'm certain Silas wouldn't want his story blasted all over the internet unless it was his own decision in order to expose his old church and their stupid ways and raise awareness on this matter. (sort of what you're doing here too)
Good plot twist on Theo and very believable reactions from all involved. I guess Emma must have told Tim why she wanted to see the Demons and that she couldn't wait. Probably why he decided to take her to them before the concert, which is unusual, right ?

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I'm glad to know that is another sibling concerned about Silas.
I know this may ruffle some feathers because none of us like Silas' parents. However, is it possible that knowing he would never be happy or accepted within the Mormon community they believed that Silas running away was the best thing for him. That searching for him and dragging him back home would only cause him more pain. Is it possible they recognized within him the ability to survive without them and simply left him go as they did Ian. I know either way it seems a callous way to treat your child but just maybe ...

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Did not see that coming. Nice how the band kind of protected Silas from Emma, by not giving too much away. Theo's reaction surprised me but then I absolutely understood it. I think it's great Emma did what she could and obviously cares about her brothers. She's keeping her search for Silas a secret for now, which I guess I understand, but the fallout of that could be interesting..

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On 06/13/2015 03:52 PM, drpaladin said:

That was a short, but informative chapter with the band. We now know what happened after Silas left.Silas' parents are as bad or perhaps even worse than we thought. They deserve zero respect. The sheriff's no better. It's good to know that Emma still loves Silas and kept looking for him. Navigator and the band may serve to reunite the siblings. We got some more insight into Theo as well. Great chapter.

I like Emma. She's based off of someone in my life that I'm fairly close to, even though we don't speak as often as I'd like.

 

Probably because I have too much Theo in me. I adore Theo . . .

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On 06/13/2015 04:13 PM, ReaderPaul said:

Wow! This was a twist I didn't expect, at least not before about chapter 22 or so. At least Emma is another sibling who cared about Silas.

 

I will be interested to see if Stacey and Emma end up developing a phone friendship which could lead to more info being shared relative to Silas--from both sides. Surely by now Silas has heard the dedication of the song, and knows it is about him. And has Adam heard the song as well? Tara? Ian?

 

Cynus, this is probably a coincidence, but the names "Silas" and "Cynus" somewhat sound a bit similar. That was not deliberate, was it?

Every Tuesday night and Friday night late I look forward to reading the next installment. Thanks for this great story!

The similarities in names was not deliberate, though I suppose it could be Freudian. I honestly chose the name "Drake" first, and then paired a list of names I've wanted to use for a while against that last name. Silas and Ian were the ones that jumped out to me, and then I had to decide which sibling got which first name. I decided I liked Silas more and so I paired it with the protagonist.

 

Adam will probably be the last person to hear the song, considering he loathes rock, but I won't confirm who the first person to show it to Silas is. :) Going to remain a mystery until it happens.

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On 06/13/2015 05:15 PM, Timothy M. said:

I'm pleased to see that some of the consequences I predicted from the Navigator dedication have come to pass. I'm glad Brady refuses to say anything about Silas, his instincts are good. While Silas may be OK with the dedication, particularly if it means he and Ian will reconnect with Emma, I'm certain Silas wouldn't want his story blasted all over the internet unless it was his own decision in order to expose his old church and their stupid ways and raise awareness on this matter. (sort of what you're doing here too)

Good plot twist on Theo and very believable reactions from all involved. I guess Emma must have told Tim why she wanted to see the Demons and that she couldn't wait. Probably why he decided to take her to them before the concert, which is unusual, right ?

I don't actually know if it's unusual or not. Perhaps another thing I should admit to knowing nothing about? Haha!

 

At least I know a little bit more about rock concerts than I do about either cars or dogs.

 

Theo might get his own short story or novella sometime in the future, because he really grew on me through writing this story. He's painfully straight though, so I guess he might have to have a gay son if I'm writing it for the present audience? Maybe a daughter instead?

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On 06/13/2015 10:33 PM, dughlas said:

I'm glad to know that is another sibling concerned about Silas.

I know this may ruffle some feathers because none of us like Silas' parents. However, is it possible that knowing he would never be happy or accepted within the Mormon community they believed that Silas running away was the best thing for him. That searching for him and dragging him back home would only cause him more pain. Is it possible they recognized within him the ability to survive without them and simply left him go as they did Ian. I know either way it seems a callous way to treat your child but just maybe ...

As much as I wish that mentality was the one they acted from, I'm going to have to say that the reasons for their actions was the "tough love" approach I described in the forum. They didn't want to risk their standing in the church or the community, so even if they did want to support their child they knew that he had to straighten out or be kicked out for being out.

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On 06/14/2015 04:50 AM, Defiance19 said:

Did not see that coming. Nice how the band kind of protected Silas from Emma, by not giving too much away. Theo's reaction surprised me but then I absolutely understood it. I think it's great Emma did what she could and obviously cares about her brothers. She's keeping her search for Silas a secret for now, which I guess I understand, but the fallout of that could be interesting..

Seems like I've been extolling the virtues of Theo all day today so I'll just . . . Do it again! I mentioned somewhere earlier, either on the forum or in response to a review, that Theo serves as the protector of the band. That includes Silas as far as he's concerned. The others follow his lead to some extent when it comes to such matters, which is one of the reasons why none of them were willing to tell Emma where Silas was.

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I finally had time to catch up and I'm glad I did! I can totally understand Theo's anger, even without his back story. I would have a hard time bring nice to someone who let not one but two brothers just disappear. It makes me mad. Emma is a grown woman now. She should take a stand for her brothers. I just can't understand people acting like that, but then again I haven't been part of a community like that so perhaps I shouldn't say anything.

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I had a feeling Emma was a relative of Silas'. I'm so glad that another family member has been trying to track him down.

 

I loved Theo's protectiveness over Silas. He spoke with such passion, and now we know why. It's so wonderful that the band is protecting Silas, and not fully trusting Emma. She seems truthful to me, and I hope that she can reconnect with Silas and Ian soon.

 

Terrific chapter, Cynus! :)

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On 06/15/2015 07:07 PM, Puppilull said:

I finally had time to catch up and I'm glad I did! I can totally understand Theo's anger, even without his back story. I would have a hard time bring nice to someone who let not one but two brothers just disappear. It makes me mad. Emma is a grown woman now. She should take a stand for her brothers. I just can't understand people acting like that, but then again I haven't been part of a community like that so perhaps I shouldn't say anything.

It can be incredibly difficult to stand up for your siblings, especially as a girl raised in a Mormon household. I say it that way, because Mormon culture places the woman beneath the man. Not to the point that she's property or something as backwater as that, but to the point where in a contest of authority in the household, the wife is always expected to bow to the husband's perspective.

 

It's a terrible, horrendous, system, but it also explains why Emma would have a hard time standing up and decrying her parents' actions publicly, but would seek to love Ian and Silas in secret.

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On 06/16/2015 11:25 AM, Lisa said:

I had a feeling Emma was a relative of Silas'. I'm so glad that another family member has been trying to track him down.

 

I loved Theo's protectiveness over Silas. He spoke with such passion, and now we know why. It's so wonderful that the band is protecting Silas, and not fully trusting Emma. She seems truthful to me, and I hope that she can reconnect with Silas and Ian soon.

 

Terrific chapter, Cynus! :)

Emma's a product of her upbringing as much as everyone else is, just instead of running from it like Ian and Silas did, she was cowed into submission when her siblings needed her most.

 

But she's back on track, now. :) And Theo's words will stick with her, I promise you that.

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I was surprised that Emma turned up, but realised I shouldn´t have been. If anyone from the family wanted to know how Silas was, it´d be Emma. It´ll be nice for Emma to meet both her brothers.

 

I love that band. They are very protective of Silas, even they only knew him for few weeks.

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On 09/06/2015 04:37 PM, Suvitar said:

I was surprised that Emma turned up, but realised I shouldn´t have been. If anyone from the family wanted to know how Silas was, it´d be Emma. It´ll be nice for Emma to meet both her brothers.

 

I love that band. They are very protective of Silas, even they only knew him for few weeks.

The sequel is going to have a lot to do with Emma, once I get a chance to work on it. I'm hoping to release it sometime next year, though I have other stories that are far nearer in completion, and I try to not release more than one serial at once.

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Hey Bro, I finally started on this story and I must say I love it. Started this morning before work and read during all of my breaks and on the way home. I just had to stop for a review with this chapter. Just... wow, that was emotional. You almost made me cry. Really great chapter!
As with most stories, some things (plot-wise) are easy to guess for me, but some others, such as Emma suddenly appearing... well I totally didn't see that coming. I really love it. Looking forward to reading the rest! :3

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On 09/15/2015 05:41 AM, Sammy Blue said:

Hey Bro, I finally started on this story and I must say I love it. Started this morning before work and read during all of my breaks and on the way home. I just had to stop for a review with this chapter. Just... wow, that was emotional. You almost made me cry. Really great chapter!

As with most stories, some things (plot-wise) are easy to guess for me, but some others, such as Emma suddenly appearing... well I totally didn't see that coming. I really love it. Looking forward to reading the rest! :3

Thanks! Have I mentioned before that I really appreciate you, Sammy? :) I hope you enjoy the rest of it and that I get a chance to catch you off guard again.

 

Peace, brother.

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