[ - ]
Table of Contents [Report This]
Printer Chapter or Story Microsoft Word Chapter or Story
- Text Size +
*Just a warning: This is unbeta-read, so there may be some errors that I didn't catch. There also may be some minor changes made when the next chapter is posted...*

Chapter Two: Two Characters in Search of an Exit

I pulled feebly at the handcuff on my wrist for about the billionth time in what seemed like a year since Ed left us there to die. For my luck it had probably only been about five minutes or something. Except it had to be longer than that. Hours maybe. Enough time that I'd gone through all the television show plots and movies and songs I could think of trying to keep myself calm. Given, I was panicked enough that I hadn’t really been able to think of many. I was definitely going to go crazy if he didn't come back for us soon. Except if he came back it was probably going to be either to kill us or to mess with me again. I didn't want to think about the last time I'd been held at his mercy. I didn't want to think of the way he'd assaulted me then. And I definitely didn't want to give him another chance to take that assault that one step further. So I had to keep trying to pull my wrist free.

I yanked harder.

Once again, the cuff failed to magically burst open and release my wrist from captivity.

Damn.

There had to be some way out of this mess. I mean bad guys never win. That's like the rule. I'm all for bending rules and everything, but damn it you can't just break them like that. Not those big rules anyway. Not when they work in my favor. Not when the alternative is...too horrible to even think about.

I heard Kevin moving around and looked back over in his direction. I wished I could speak to him. More, I wished he could talk to me. At least then it wouldn't be quite so nerve-wracking. Lying here waiting to die.

I tried to take a deep breath to calm myself after that last thought, but the damned gag in my mouth was really making it hard to breathe. I needed to get that off. If only I could reach it, but I couldn't bring my hands down close enough to my face.

I blinked.

Well duh. I couldn't lower my hands, but I could probably move the rest of my body closer to them.

Okay I'm slow sometimes, I get that now, you can stop shaking your head and goin' "Nicky, Nicky, Nicky" in that 'you're an idiot' tone of voice. And stop calling me Nicky, you know I don't like that name.

Of course, I couldn't use my left leg at all which made it all that much harder to move. Except for the thing where I resolved not to continue talking to my body parts (and the fact that I had a gag still stuck in my mouth) I would have really given it a good cussing out. It wouldn't have gotten me anywhere anyway, other than to make Kevin think I'd gone completely off the deep end. Again.

I tried to slide my body by pushing my right leg against the ground. Not only did my left leg scream obscenities in my general direction (hey I said I wasn't gonna talk to my body parts, I didn't say they wouldn't talk back) with every little movement, but I only managed to slide about an inch. I couldn't give up, though. Only another 10 inches or so to go.

Fuck that's a long way.

I slid another inch, ignoring the protests my leg was making.

It was slow going and I swear it must have taken me an hour to move enough that my bound hands could reach the knot of my gag. I was stuck in such an awkward position that it took me several tries to even start loosening the knot. Once it got started, though, I was able to get it undone rather fast. Turning my head into my shoulder, I quickly managed to work the gag out of my mouth and breathe in full large gulps of air at last.

"Kevin?" I called out, my voice hoarse from lack of use. I licked my lips and tried clearing my throat but it was so dry. "Kev?" I tried again when he didn't answer. I wondered if he was gagged, too. He probably was. It wouldn't make sense just to gag me--despite what the other guys might tell you about that. I needed to get to him. He was probably going just as nuts as me. Besides, hearing his voice would probably calm me down a lot. Never thought I'd ever say that.

I rolled over on my stomach, ignoring the burst of pain that raced up my left side. I bit my lip as I pushed myself up, putting all my weight on my right knee. Now that I was in a bit better position, I pulled at the tent stake that was nailing my cuffed wrists to the ground. After a few tries, the stake got looser and I was able to pull it out of the ground and toss it aside. I was free. Well...sort of. I still had to figure out how to get the cuffs off, and Kev and I still had to get out of this tomb.

I fell back to my stomach and began to use my bound hands to pull myself along the ground toward Kevin. The agony was almost too much to bear, but my will to survive outweighed the pain, and I knew that if we didn't get out of there we would die for sure. Either from starvation or from Ed coming back to finish off the job. Much as I hate the thought of starving, I think I'd rather go that way.

It seemed like it took me an hour just to make it the few feet to where Kevin lay. "Kev?" I reached out and shook him very gently.

He flinched very hard but calmed quickly. "Nicky?" he whispered, his voice shaky.

Who else? And what did I say about the callin me Nicky thing? Oh yeah, I didn't really say that out loud. Besides, Kev's one of the exceptions, he can get away with it. Whaaaat? You try telling your 'big brother' to stop callin you some chintzy-ass nickname and see how much more he calls you by that name.

"Yeah. You okay?"

He sniffled a little bit but his voice was much stronger and back to sounding like authoritative Kevin. "I'm fine," he replied. How come he didn't have a damn gag like I had? And why hadn't he been talking to me if he didn't have a gag? I shook off those questions as he asked me one. "You?"

"Fanfuckingtastic."

"Watch your language," he admonished automatically, like it was built into his reflexes or something. As many times as he's said it to me over the years, it wouldn't be surprising. "How's your leg?"

Aside from the fact that it feels like it's been covered in honey and dipped into a giant container of fire ants? "Hurts like a bitch."

"Language!" Old habits die hard.

"English," I replied cheekily. See what I mean about old habits? Besides, humor is my defense mechethingie.

Kevin chuckled a little, despite our situation.

"We need to get out of here," I informed him, as if he didn't already know that tiny little fact. I've always been the master at stating the obvious. Why stop now? "Can you get your arms free?"

I heard Kevin make a little snorting noise. "I'm not sure."

He hadn't even tried?! Come on, Kev! What was going on with him? This was so not like him. He was usually the one taking charge of everything. Whether I liked it or not. Usually that annoys me a little bit, but right now I really wanted him to take charge. I didn't know what to do. "Well...how about trying now?" I suggested, trying to be helpful.

"Yeah, right," he answered stiffly, sounding offended. Oops.

Kevin slowly rolled over and moved so that he could get better leverage. He began pulling, but the stake held tight. Damn. I slid myself closer to the stake that was pinning his cuffs. After a few moments, he stopped trying and sank back down again. Giving up.

Okay, since I was apparently in charge, I had to figure this one out. With both of us working it should come out with no sweat. "Let me help. Count of three?" I suggested, looking over at him for confirmation before reaching out to grab the stake.

"Yeah," he grumbled, sounding frustrated. He didn't wait for me to count though as he got up and started pulling again. It was obvious that his refusal to let me help had given him an adrenaline rush. The stake not only pulled free, but flew up and struck me in the chin. Ow. Damn it, Kev. I winced dramatically to make him feel guilty. He didn't respond other than to stand up and shuffle a few steps away. And *I'm* supposedly the moody one?

After letting him sulk (not that he ever lets me) for a few minutes I tried once again to get his attention. "We need to get out of here," I repeated my earlier news flash. Kevin turned toward me. I couldn't see his expression but could picture it in my mind anyway. Pure annoyance. Well, he sure didn't seem to be doing anything about it. Then again, neither was I. But I couldn't walk. What was his excuse? "If you um...can help me up, I think maybe we can try to dig our way out."

"They put a board over the entrance." Now who was stating the obvious?

Okay so I didn't know that, but it made sense. "So...do you think we can push our way out? I don't think they covered it with too much dirt." Actually I think they did, but I was hoping that Kevin agreed with my earlier assessment.

"Probably not," he agreed. See? I know what I'm talkin' about. Sometimes. "I don't think they expected us to be able to get up, so they probably just covered it in case someone happened to come by."

So we were somewhere people could show up. I grinned. "Someone could be out there? We should start yelling or something!"

Kevin let out an annoyed snort. "Oh dear god, you would, wouldn't you," he responded with a groan as if I had just caused him the biggest headache ever. What? I scowled. I guess I must have made a discontented sound because Kevin quickly apologized. "Sorry. I don't think anyone is going to find us out here."

I swallowed hard. "Out here?" I had no idea where exactly we were but the term 'out here' didn't sound too promising to me. You don’t say ‘out here’ if you’re close to anything. "Where, um, exactly is 'out here'?"

Kevin sighed. "I really don't know. But we're in some sort of mine, I think. And we were in the car an awful long time. Away from any other traffic. I couldn't hear any other cars."

Peachy.

Wait. Hear other cars?

"Hear other cars?"

Kevin was silent for a few moments then replied, "I was in the trunk, I couldn't see out."

Oh. That musta sucked.

"Oh. That musta sucked."

Echo...echo...

Kevin didn't answer but instead started shuffling toward where I thought the exit might have been. He reached out his hands and slowly crept forward, looking kind of like he was a zombie or like a sleepwalker or something. I barely stifled a snicker at the image. He paused for a moment, his shoulders slumping slightly before he started moving again, pretending to ignore me. I felt slightly guilty and made a mental note not to even think about snickering at him again.

Finally he reached the wall and started feeling along it. His eyes must not have adjusted to the dark quite as well as mine had because I could see where there was a big dent in the upper wall where the hole was covered. He slid slowly along the wall, trying to find it.

"Getting warmer," I called as he moved toward it.

He stopped again and I could hear him taking a deep breath. Probably counting to 10, too. "You could help, you know," he spoke after a few moments. His voice was tense. He should have counted to 10 a second time. Besides, I was helping. Didn't I tell him he was getting warmer? I felt guilty that I couldn't really help more than that, though. Damn leg.

I watched as Kevin finally found the entrance and began pushing at the boards that covered it. After watching him a few moments I realized that he didn't seem to be getting anywhere with his efforts. We were so fucked. A sentiment Kevin vocalized a few moments after I thought it. Except he didn't use the word 'fucked'.

Maybe if we both pushed at it? If we were going to get out, leg be damned, I was going to have to help push. That was easier thought than done, though. I nearly collapsed as I tried to limp over to where Kevin was. My knee couldn't even handle my weight long enough to take a step, and the result of trying was that my whole body began to shake uncontrollably and try to shut down. Fortunately (?), that pesky survival instinct kept kicking me in the ass to keep me moving. I hopped as best I could over to Kevin.

"On three we both push," I said, steadying myself on my one good leg and leaning my shoulder to the board. Kevin let out a small hissing breath and started to push. He couldn't even wait for "three"? Probably not, since it was my idea instead of his. I started to push, too, but it was really hard to balance on one leg while pushing, so I wasn't very effective.

"Nick..." I could hear the quiet defeated tone of his voice and it spurred me on to try harder. We had to get out. We weren't going to die here. We weren't going to just sit here and wait for Ed to come back. But Kevin stepped back, not even trying anymore.

No. We weren't giving up. Maybe Kevin could, but I couldn't. The thought of what would happen to us when Ed came back...

I could fuck you if I wanted to.

We had to get out. No matter what. Even if it meant causing more damage to my leg. I stopped trying to balance on one leg and squared off against the board. I closed my eyes and grit my teeth with determination as I braced to take another run at it. I didn't even bother to try and stifle the cry of pain as I dug my feet in and pushed with my full strength.

There was a loud cracking sound and I thought at first it was my leg as I fell, my leg completely giving way. Dirt rained down on me, followed momentarily by a wooden slat and a lot more dirt. I was in so much agony, that I couldn't enjoy the fact that I had broken through. We were free, but I couldn't get away. I couldn't even sit up without aggravating the injury to the point where I was about to pass out.

"Nick?" Kevin asked softly. I heard him moving toward me. And then he was stepping on my hand. It actually helped. It took my mind off my leg. Kevin realized that he'd stepped on me, though, and he moved back quickly. Or tried to, but ended up tripping and falling. "Nick?!" he called again, sounding really worried.

"I'm okay," I tried to assure him, though I figure that the strained sound of my voice didn't really convey okayness. I pushed the board off me and started brushing off the dirt. The pain was starting to lessen a little again, but it was still far worse than it was before. Why couldn't it still be numb, but not bendy? I could deal with that. Pain was a different story.

I managed to sit up so that I could get a look at my leg.

Fuck.

Shit.

Insert other cuss words of choice here.

I wasn't going anywhere on that. It didn't look remotely like a leg should look anymore. My knee was now about twice the size it should be, and there was a large lump (oh god, tell me that’s not my kneecap) on my thigh. Just looking at it made it hurt worse. So I looked at Kevin.

Now that I'd broken through the board, there was a little more light filtering in and I could see him a little better. He looked about as good as I felt. Maybe a little worse, even. His whole face was kind of puffy. And his eyes were wildly red. And I thought I'd had a nasty crying spell? Daaaang! Apparently his had been worse. But of course, I wasn't going to mention it. Not when I'd been practically in tears every minute of the past few days. And not like there wasn’t good reason.

"Did you hurt your leg again?" he asked quietly.

Duh? Hello? Can't you see that my kneecap is on my thigh? Naaah, doesn't hurt. "Yeah," I answered tersely. Kevin let out a small hissing breath. As if I liked the situation any better than he did? "I...my knee's out of place."

Kevin stared blankly at me.

"I don't think I'm going to be able to walk," I informed him, so ashamed that my voice was barely above a whisper. I can’t believed I fucked it up this bad. And there was no way I was going to ask him to carry me.

Kevin nodded slowly. "Okay...can you walk if you lean on me?" he asked.

I licked my lips. Well...quite frankly, no, I didn't think that was going to be an option. But, the only other choice was to send him for help while I sat here. And waited for Ed to come get me. "Yeah," I answered quickly.

"Okay. Hang on a second. I think Ed said something about there being water." He turned and slowly began walking away from the exit. "I think it's over here somewhere."

I looked to where he was headed. It was still pretty dark back in that corner, but with the little bit of light that was coming in, I was able to see that there was a small cupboard in the corner.

"Try in the cupboard," I suggested.

Kevin grumbled something, and continued moving slowly back that direction. He stumbled as he walked right into the bag that was on the ground. He reached down and picked up the bag, spilling more stuff out. Tent stakes and stuff.

"We should take the tent maybe?" I suggested, though I hated the idea of being out here long enough to need it. But if what he'd said earlier was true--that we were out in the middle of nowhere--then maybe it would come in handy.

"Tent? Oh...yeah. Sure. I'm getting the water, think you can get it back in the bag?" he asked as he dropped the bag again and started shuffling back to the corner.

I sighed. I wasn't looking forward to moving at all, but I also didn't want to make Kevin do all the work. So...I started inching my way over to the tent bag.

As I crawled through the dirt collecting tent stakes and stuffing everything into the tent bag, I heard Kevin rummaging around in the cupboards. About the time I finished shoving everything into the bag, Kevin appeared at the corner of my sight. He had two gallon jugs of water.

Oh yeah, thank you, God. I reached out to take one from him. He seemed somewhat reluctant to let me have it, though. I was about to cuss him out (what, I was in a pretty lousy mood by then) when he finally let go of the jug. I opened it quickly and began drinking it down. Gulp after glorious gulp.

“Don’t drink too much of it,” Kevin nagged. I snorted. Yeah, like I hadn’t ever figured out to stop drinking when I’m not thirsty anymore. “It might be all we have. I don’t know how long it’ll be before we find more water.”

Oh. True. Good point. I stopped drinking and replaced the cap. Kevin held out the other jug. “Trade me.”

I reached up to hand him the other jug, but he didn’t take it. I signed and leaned forward a bit more so that I could put it into his hand, then reached to take the other one. I watched as Kevin opened the jug and took a few sips.

Maybe I shouldn’t have drank quite as much as I had if he was only going to drink that little bit.

Stupid selfish brat.

Despite all the water I drank, my mouth went completely dry. And I felt suddenly nauseous. Can’t face the truth, can you, spoiled little shit?

I felt a little better as I saw Kevin splash some water into his face. Apparently that wasn’t enough because a few moments later, he tipped the bottle back and dumped a lot more water on himself. So...maybe I hadn’t been too out of line with drinking so much if he was going to spill it like that. But I wouldn’t waste any more again. I’d let Kevin have the water. I would use it only when absolutely necessary.

I’m not selfish; I swear I’m not.

Kevin capped the water jug, looking decisively upset about something. Probably realized that he’d just dumped a lot of our precious water out. It was okay, though. With me anyway. But obviously not to him. He scowled as he turned away from me. I wanted to tell him that it was okay, but figured he’d only berate himself more knowing that I knew he was upset about it. So I kept silent.

He stayed turned away from me for what seemed like eternity. I wasn’t sure whether I should just wait him out or if I should try to assure him or what. That was his sort of department, not mine. I’m good at it with fans and stuff, but...not with Kevin. He never needed it. Like ever.

While I waited for him, I started getting nervous again. Ed could be coming back at any minute. What if we were still here when he came? We really needed to get moving.

“Kev?” I called quietly, wanting to get his attention, but not upset him further.

“I’m fine,” he snapped, though when he turned toward me a moment later, it was obvious that he was not. His eyes were swollen as ever. I looked away from him, knowing that I hate it when people see me cry and I was sure I was probably the last person he wanted to see him do so.

“Okay...good,” I replied, keeping my voice soft and trying not to sound hurt by the way he’d snapped at me.

He looked slightly guilty as he inched toward me. “We should go.”

I nodded. I wasn’t sure how the hell I was going to walk out of there, but I was as ready to go as I could be. I held out my hand, hoping for help up.

“Need help getting up?” Kevin asked as he stepped toward me.

“Um...yeah. That would be why I’m reaching out,” I mumbled. He looked rather frustrated as he stepped a little closer to me and held out his hand. Great. Thanks a lot. Maybe I should just try hopping out of here on my own if he was going to be like that.

But I knew that was unrealistic, so I slid forward a bit and grabbed his hand. He hauled me to my feet and I ‘thanked’ him by stumbling right into him and nearly knocking us both over. I nearly blacked out again from the pain searing through my body. Fortunately, Kevin got a good hold on me and managed to keep us both on our feet. “Sorry,” I apologized, feeling horrible that I was going to be such a huge burden on him. Then again, when wasn’t I?

“It’s okay,” he assured me.

Okay, now to figure out how to situate. I was going to have to lean on him to get out of here, but...my hand were still chained together. I couldn’t just put an arm around his shoulders. Crap. This wasn’t going to work at all.

“Kev...I don’t think I can do this,” I tried to tell him, my voice coming out so small that even I could barely hear it. “I...”

Kevin swore under his breath a little.

Stupid spoiled brat. Think everyone should cater to you. Selfishselfishselfish

“I’m sorry,” I tried to apologize again, feeling way more pathetic than I’d ever felt before in my life.

“No. It’s okay, Nicky,” Kevin’s voice finally took on the tone I was used to. Authoritative. Protective. “It’s okay. Just...can you put your arm around my shoulders?”

“The cuffs...I can’t.”

“And you can’t walk at all?”

Humiliated I shook my head.

“Not at all?” he asked again, sounding really tired. I hadn’t tried. I’ll give him that, but it was obvious that I couldn’t. I wasn’t sure whether to be more upset that I couldn’t do it, or pissed that he had to beat the point into me. Didn’t I feel bad enough already?

“I’m sorry, all right?” I apologized again, feeling the tension rising.

“Nick...”

Damn it, Kevin! “Like you could walk like this? My kneecap is on my fucking thigh. What do you expect?” My pissed off side had broken past the humbled side. I immediately felt horrible that I’d snapped. The last thing we needed was to be pissed off at each other. And...I needed his help. Now was not a time to be an asshole. “Sorry. I’m sorry. Just...I’m in a bit of pain here. I’m sorry I can’t walk.”

Kevin’s eyes had closed while I fumbled through my apology. “No. Nick...it’s okay. We’ll deal. Can you...put your arms around my neck?” He ducked down so that I could put my arms over his head without the chain getting in the way. Oh no, this wasn’t going to be awkward at all.

I accidentally hit him a bit with the jug of water and tent bag as I settled my arms around his neck. My stomach felt a little queasy. Too close. I didn’t want to be this close to anyone. I felt gross. Unclean. I didn’t want anyone to touch me.

Think you’re so much better than everyone else?

No. I don’t. I just--

I could fuck you if I wanted to.

I stared fearfully into the steel grey eyes as he pinned me down. “No...don’t...” I tried to pull back, away from the body invading my personal space. “Don’t touch me...”

“Shhh. Nicky, it’s okay. It’s just me. It’s Kevin.”

I stopped struggling immediately, forcing myself to relax. I’d done it again. “Sorry. For a moment...” I shook my head. I didn’t want to talk about it.

“For a moment?” he prompted, ignoring the head shake.

“I just...thought I was somewhere else,” I answered carefully. “Sorry.”

“Oh.” I could just feel the pity in his voice. “Sorry.” Why was he apologizing? “Okay, you can lean on me?”

“Yeah,” I answered dryly. Like I had any choice? I was pretty much literally hanging off him now since my chained arms were wrapped around his neck. I couldn’t move away. And noooo, it wasn’t awkward in the slightest. (Oh yeah, that was sarcasm, by the way.) “But I don’t know how we’re going to walk like this.”

Kevin took a step forward and I cried out as my leg was jarred. I didn’t mean to, but I couldn’t help it. He stopped. Oh yeah, this was going to suck. And I was pretty sure it just wasn’t going to work. The queasiness got a ton worse as reality really sank in. I wasn’t going to be able to go with him. He was going to have to go for help. And I was just going to have to hope he got back in time. I could feel the panic starting to rise again.

“I can’t do it,” I tried to keep my voice steady as I admitted defeat. “You’re going to have to go for help.”

Kevin let out a really big sigh and I felt about two inches tall.

Think everyone should cater to you? Spoiled selfish brat spoiled spoiled spoiled

“Nick...”

“I’m sorry!”

“I can’t go without you,” he protested gently.

“No. It’s okay. I’ll...maybe crawl farther into the cave or something so if he comes back, he won’t be able to find me. Don’t worry.”

“It’s not that,” Kevin admitted, his voice sounding as humiliated as I’m sure mine sounded.

I suddenly had a really bad feeling. I looked at him worriedly. He was staring at me with an odd expression. Oddly...blank.

“I can’t go without you because...I can’t see.” What? “I’m...blind.”