“NICK!!! NICK!!!”

The voice seemed so far away, distorted and low, echoing in my pounding head. How I wanted to open my eyes and see what the fuss was all about, but it was such a daunting task. My eyes and head felt extremely heavy, while my body felt numb. I could feel myself succumbing to the darkness again, until that same voice roused me once more.

“NICK!!! C’mon buddy, I need you to get up, please!”

The voice was slowly becoming clear to me, and I noticed it had a rasped tone to it. At that point, I couldn’t figure out if the rasp was natural or if their voice had became that way from the constant yelling. I really didn’t care either, I just wanted to go back to sleep.

“Please, get up!”

Now the voice pleaded, but why? Deciding to put the person that was calling out to me at ease, I tried my hardest to give some movement, to let them know that I heard them. I would have used words, but it seemed as if I were still trying to catch my bearings, allow everything inside me to wake.

“That’s it… c’mon Nick, I need you to get up now!”

Why are they urging me to get up? Did we have an interview that I’ve managed to sleep through? Howie’s gonna kill me! “Aaajaaayy?” I drawled out in a slurred voice. He was the first person that came to mind, that I could put a face with the raspy voice.

“I’m right here buddy, can you get up?”

Okay, so that was AJ. I’m just glad that it wasn’t Howie to chew my ass out for running late; he’s managed to adopt so many of Kevin’s work ethic ways throughout the years, that that was the LAST thing he needed right now. Please cover for me Jay, don’t tell them I overslept! I’ll think of a reason why I’m running late for the interview. That’s what my mind had said to tell AJ, but all that I heard come out from me was, “Interview… late…”

I heard him sigh, “I wish I could say we were going to an interview bud.” he sounded sad, but why? “Can you just get up for me? I need to know that you’re okay!”

Why wouldn’t I be? I had managed to force my eyes open, but the world was dark yet blurry. Disregarding that alarming fact, I rolled myself to the side, realizing for the first time that I was laying on bare, cold hard concrete… I don’t remember that being the flooring of our hotel, or bus for that manner! Using all my strength, I pushed myself up on my hands and knees and ended up immediately crying out in pain.

“Wha-what’s the matter? What hurts?”

“Heeeaaaaad!” I cried out through clenched teeth. The pain I felt in my head felt beyond that of a migraine, and the pain radiated down my neck and into my shoulders. The muscles in my neck and back felt extremely taut, and the arms that supported me felt like Jell-O, ready to give out under my weight at any given moment. I figured it must have been from the way I had slept last night, sleeping on the cold, hard ground, and this bitch of a migraine I was left to deal with, definitely must have been from a night of drinking… but what the fuck did I drink?

“HEEEEEEEELPPPPPPPPP!! SOMEBODY HELP MEEE!!!!!!”

My eyes immediately widened upon hearing that voice, for it didn’t belong to AJ. It was… a female. Oh holy fucking shit, what did we do last night?! Who the fuck did we bring back to our hotel? And why was she calling out for help?

“Shut the FUCK UP!!” I heard another voice that didn’t belong to AJ, or anyone I knew for that matter, shout back at the screaming woman. “Having you scream like a fucking lunatic won’t get us out of here.”

That was a voice of another man, but what the fuck were those two people doing in our hotel room? Were AJ and I living out a scene from The Hangover, where we got so fucked up and woke up in an unknown place with strangers? Yeah, this must be what’s happening… but who roofied our drinks?!

“Shit!” I seethed out, my hand immediately flying up to the side of my neck where I felt an immediate stinging sensation. My fingers came in contact with a fairly sized bump, and what felt to be a puncture wound right in the middle of it. I quickly ripped my hand away, realizing it brought me more pain when I touched it. Though it was dark, I brought my hand in front of me and could clearly see a darker substance painted on my fingertips.

“Hey, are you okay?”

That was AJ again. I looked off to the side where I heard his voice come from and could only see dark silhouettes, but I couldn’t make out what anything was. For whatever reason, I crawled blindly towards the sound of his voice until I felt my head hit something hard.

“Whaat the fuck?!” I gasped out, reaching out to touch whatever it was I had just crawled into. “Whaaat the fuuck is gooing oon?” I exclaimed as I felt my hands encircle what my head had hit… metal bars. In was in that moment that I had also realized that my speech was slowly trying to come to me as well. Oh god… I didn’t like this feeling… didn’t like this feel at all.

“Hey, you’re gonna be okay. We’re gonna get out of here, okay?”

Where the fuck were we? I tried to drown myself in AJ’s low, raspy voice as he reassured me, but his voice wasn’t that of Kevin’s, or even Howie and Brian’s. Hearing those three voices could calm me down in stressful situations, but AJ, being the most expressive of us all, I could clearly hear the uncertainty and fear that wavered in his shaky voice. He was fighting to keep it together for my sake, but he definitely couldn’t hide and fool me from what he was really feeling.

“Where are we AJ?”

“Here, just grab my hand buddy… we’re gonna be okay, we’re gonna get out of here.”

Hearing him talk like that, it was like he was repeating those words not just to try and comfort me, but reassure himself as well. Doing as he said, I reached my hand out blindly through the bars, flailing around like a fish out of water, desperately seeking AJ’s hand. I sighed when I felt my finger come in contact with flesh, and immediately I felt his hand clasp around mines.

I could feel him shaking, which only caused him to tighten his grip around my hand that much more. Despite the situation we were in, I felt myself smile at the fact that he was trying so hard to be brave and strong for the both of us.

“Are you wondering you’ve got that nice, single bite mark on your neck?” a deep voice, deeper than Kevin’s, suddenly asked.

I tightened my grip on AJ’s hand as I looked off in the direction of where the voice had come from. Off in a distance, a burst of faint light came on, causing me to wince and turn away from the sudden dull golden rays that finally illuminated this dark place. I watched as the source of light swung back and forth, and seemed to have floated closer to where we were. As it neared us, I realized that it was a lantern that was being carried by, I assume, the man that just spoke.

AJ and I quickly released each other’s hands as I felt myself reel back away from the stranger who was coming up towards us. The lantern had revealed to me that I was locked in a small barred cell, as was AJ, who’s cell was directly across mines. I looked around and noticed we, along with other people, were locked up in what looked to be individual dog kennels… all perfectly lined up in rows.

“You struggled against me as I tried to give you the sedative.” the man spoke out once again, walking up to my cell. “Not only did you cause the needle to further widen the puncture wound, but you not being relaxed caused the needle to hit the muscles in your neck, which is probably why you’re sore at the moment.” he paused for a moment. “Don’t worry, it’ll go away.”

I glanced down at my fingers that had touched my neck earlier… in the dull light, I could see dried up blood on my fingertips.

“Come here, little boy.” the man said.

“Le-leave him alone!” I heard AJ try to say in warning voice. He was ignored.

I watched as the man bent down in front of my cell, the lantern casting some light on his features. He was a heavyset, burly man, his head completely bald except for sparse salt and pepper colored hair that remained long along the sides of his head. He wore a brown apron over a long sleeved shirt, along with long black gloves and black rubber boots. My eyes widened… this man was a butcher!

“I said, come here little boy.” he repeated.

I shook my head as I continued to back away from him. I felt my back hit the bars of the cell, but I continued to scoot myself back, as if I would disappear right through the bars. “No.” I finally whispered out.

The man gave a crooked, eerie smile in the faint light, “So unwise.”

All of a sudden, I seen a pair of arms shoot out between the bars from either sides of me. Before I could move away, the arms had wrapped around my chest and had pulled my frame up against the back of the cell again. I gasped out as I felt the arms tighten around me, pushing my already sore back further into the bars.

“Let him go!” I heard AJ scream out.

I struggled against whatever it was that held me against the bars from behind. Finally, the arms loosened and had shoved me forward. I quickly backed away, turning around to see a tall figure disappear into the dark. I remained standing there, trying to ease my racing heart and ignore the blinding pain that now coursed up my back, until I remember the man that was at the front of my cell.

Just as I turned to face him and move away, I was greeted by his arms that was reaching in through the bars and his hand snaked around my neck. I quickly tried to move away, but he already had a death grip, constricting my throat and airway, causing me to choke and wheeze for air I couldn’t get in nor get out.

“DON’T FUCKING TOUCH HIM!!” AJ bellowed out as I seen him desperately reaching out through the bars of his cell, trying to grab at the man that was choking me.

In a flash, the same tall figure that had grabbed me from the back of my cell swiftly ran up and grabbed AJ’s outstretched arm, encircling his hand around his wrist. AJ tried to pull away, but it was too late, the man held tightly to his wrist and bent it a bit into an uncomfortable position to cause AJ to stop fighting against him.

“Such nice tattoos!!” the tall one said as he began to pet the permanent ink that decorated AJ’s hand and forearm.

I focused my attention back on the man who never let up his vice grip around my throat. He squeezed even tighter, and I could literally feel my face flush and my eyes bulge a bit. “Never tell me no… you got that?” he seethed out in a dark, sinister tone.

I could only try my best to nod. Accepting that as an answer, he loosened his grip around my throat but his hand remained. He drew me closer to the bars as he rose the lantern up towards my face. He leaned his face in close as well, as his eyes squinted a bit, as if inspecting something.

“You have beautiful eyes.” he said as he continued to look my face over. “Your lips are a bit on the thinner side, and your complexion is too fair. But your eyes…”

“What about this one’s eyes Pa?” the tall one asked as he pulled on AJ’s arm, pulling him forward and causing his face to smash into the bars. I winced upon hearing the soft crack of AJ’s head impacting the bars. I heard him grunt out in pain, but he remained still, allowing the tall man to inspect his eyes. “It’s brown and he has long lashes!”

“I’ll look him over later.” the man I now knew to be the other one’s father said. “Once I get the others, these boys will make a fine addition to my collection.” and with that, he finally removed his hand from my throat, shoving me back as he did.

What did he mean get the others? “Don’t you fucking hurt them.” I started out in a low warning tone as he began to walk away. “DON’T YOU DARE FUCKING TOUCH THEM, I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU!!”

The man immediately turned back around to face me and ran up to the cell, grabbing the bars, “DON’T YOU TELL ME WHAT TO DO, YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF SHIT!” the man screamed back. I stumbled away and fell back, scrambling backwards away from him. “And I don’t want to hear that vulgar language when my daughter comes in here, do you understand me?”

I didn’t answer. I simply glared up at him as he walked away to get something, or someone. When he came back, my eyes widened upon seeing who he was wheeling in and who walked in with him.

“You!” I stated in an accusing tone. “You guys are behind this?!”

“We want for our daughter what she can’t have!” the man simply said. “We want what God didn’t give her and what he eventually took away from her! I don’t expect you to understand.”

“You’re sick!” I spat in a scornful tone. “YOU’RE ALL SICK!”

“Pa, look at this one’s tattoos, I’m sure she’ll love this!” the son said as he continued to pull and tug on AJ’s arm. He eventually pulled on his arm long and hard enough that we suddenly heard a sickening pop. He immediately let go and AJ fell back as he rolled around on the ground, crying and screaming in pain.

“YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!!” I screamed out as I tried to launch myself at the boy that pulled and dislocated AJ’s arm. “I swear, I’m gonna kill you!!!”

The boy immediately hid behind his father away from me, to which his father shoved him back away from him. “You fool, watch what you’re doing!” the man exclaimed at his son.

“I’m sorry Pa, it was on accident!” he immediately apologized as he and his family began to walk out.

They walked slowly, leisurely, as the girl seemed to inspect the rest that were locked up in these cages like animals. She motioned them to stop wheeling her, and they found themselves standing outside the cell of a female. Weakly, the girl lifted her hand and pointed towards the woman. With a nod, the father placed the lantern down on the ground as the girl and mother continued to make their way out.

“Don’t touch me.” the woman warned as she backed away from the man who was now opening her cell door. “LEAVE ME ALONE!!”

Hearing the woman scream, I now realized that she was the one screaming for help earlier. The clothes she wore made he appear as if she was an exotic dancer. The man simply stood in the cell, looking down at the woman who now cowered from him. “Nice, ample breast.” was all he said before he shot out for the young woman, grabbing her and hoisting her up on his shoulders.

“NOOOOOOOO!!!” she screamed out, her voice growing hoarse as she tried desperately to fight against the man who now was carrying her off.

“Grab the lantern.” the man directed his son as he struggled with carrying the thrashing woman.

Obediently, the boy grabbed the lantern and followed his father close behind, “Such a pretty, pretty girl!” he said.

I watched in horror as they stalked away, until the man came to a stop. He turned to grab something and my eyes widened upon seeing what he had grabbed… a machete.

“OH GOD, NOOOOOOOO!!” the woman cried as they disappeared into another room, the man’s son drawing the large sliding door closed behind them.

After a moment of silence and getting over the initial shock, I focused my attention back to AJ, and in the dark I could see his silhouette; still crying and writhing on the ground in pain. I crawled towards the bars and stuck my hand out towards him. “Alex, we’re gonna be okay, right? We’re gonna get out of here.” though I didn’t believe those words myself, I knew he needed to hear those same comforting words he tried to reassure me with.

He didn’t reply. He simply nodded rather quickly, trying to swallow his cries and ignore the excruciating pain he was in. I have no idea where we are, and I honestly couldn’t bring myself to believe the words I had just told AJ. No… I don’t think we are going to be okay, I don’t think we are going to get out of here.

I closed my eyes, trying to drown out the woman’s desperate pleads and screams of agonizing pain. I heard the sound of the machete coming down, hitting something hard. I opened my eyes. Silence.