Caught
I was unsure of what to do when it hit me full force what was happening. Here was the star of my nightmares over the last few weeks standing in my personal space. At first I was sure I was hallucinating again, this couldn’t be real. Nope I would shake myself awake from yet another dream. That thought went away when I felt his hand on my shoulder.
He bent down so that he was eye level to me but I couldn’t look at him. I refused. “Are you feeling alright?” He asked. He had some nerve asking that. I turned to him then and growled, “Get away from me” He let go of my shoulder, “The nurses desk said you wanted a doctor”
“You’re no doctor” That’s when I started to panic, I moved to get out of his grasp, knocking him to the floor, “Call security!” I screamed as he grabbed for my leg.
“Please you need to calm down”
I looked over to the desk where a woman was on the phone. A few people in the lobby were staring at me now which was good, as long as I was drawing attention he couldn’t pull me away and do unspeakable things to me.
I kicked my feet at him and he let go, I quickly made it to my feet and started racing towards the elevator doors only to be stopped by two security guards, “Not me him!!” I yelled pointing at Derek Jones.
My captor, the man who had tortured me and made me taste death just stood staring at me dumbfounded. The thing is, while I was being held in the security guard’s grasp I was also staring right back at him.
How was it that someone could feel so familiar but yet look so unrecognizable?
“Calm down son, we’ll sort this all out in a minute”
“Please you have to go get him before he gets away!”
I pointed over to him again but there was already another guard over talking to him, “That’s Derek Jones!” I insisted, “The man who did this to me”
“Did what to you?”
“He’s the man who attacked me and my friend”
The guard and Derek walked towards me and my first instinct was to run away, break free of the guard’s grasp and run like hell. I had gotten away from the maniac once and survived. I don’t think I would have been allowed to a second time. I should’ve been dead by now.
“I was just checking on him, the nurse’s desk said he needed a doctor. I didn’t mean to agitate him”
“Why did you do that to us?”
He looked at me confused, “Do what to you?”
“He said he was here visiting someone” I vaguely heard the receptionist say in the background but I wasn’t focusing on her, I was focusing on him. “Why did you want to kill us?” He took a step back at the accusation as I started to break up, “I mean why? Everything was going on as normal as normal could be. It was actually a good day, we were having fun and you came along and changed all that. Why?”
“I don’t know what to say to him”
“Don’t talk to them talk to me” Derek looked at me and that scary face with the gold teeth disappeared. This man looked nothing like my Derek Jones.
Nothing.
“I’m sorry but I don’t know what to say to you”
“It’s not me you have to talk to it’s the police”
“Who were you here visiting?”
“Nick Carter”
“Nick Carter…I know that name” I took a step towards Derek and was held back by the guards, as if I was the criminal. “Don’t you say his name! Don’t you EVER say his name again!” The lady who had mentioned I was visiting someone went back to the desk which I could only guess was to look up Nick’s name. I thought I’d save them the trouble, “Just page Kevin Richardson, he’ll know what I’m talking about”
“Kevin Richardson” Derek muttered under his breath then looked back over at me, “I know you…I worked on you when you were brought in here”
“No…you were the reason I was brought in here!”
“What’s your name?” He had the nerve to ask me.
“You should know you said it enough”
“Brian…Brian…Brian…I like your name Brian it has a nice ring to it” I lifted my shirt over my head and dumped it into the plastic garbage bag like he commanded me too. I can’t even begin to explain how defeated I felt.
I kept listening for Nick’s voice; he was the only thing linking me to sanity. “I always said if I had a kid I’d name him Brian”
I looked around the room. It was a mess, to think that only a few hours earlier we were sitting right on the floor playing Nintendo together. Just earlier today, in fact the game console was still on pause. Funny how I just noticed that. I was winning as usual, we paused it to go play basketball. Nick was too lazy to save the game so he paused it.
“Seems like we need to go into your room to get you a new shirt” I looked away from the game almost tempted to ask if maybe he’d let us finish playing before he killed us.
“You’re going to need some new pants too”
He pushed me back into my room and I paused to look at the bathroom, I didn’t hear Nick anymore. In my mind he was dead. “I’ll look for you Nick” I said to the door as I passed.
“Come on I don’t have all day” He pulled me and partway closed our adjoining room doors.
“Pants” Now he was growing impatient so I pulled my pants down and handed them to him. He threw then into the bag and sealed it up.
“Okay get a new outfit out and hurry, we have been taking too long”
What did I want to die in? Again it’s funny what your brain thinks about when you are sure this is it. What I wore would forever be etched in people’s minds when they looked at the article in the newspapers. Or when the guys finally came in and found me lying dead on the floor.
I looked for something nice to wear, more for my mother than anything else. I didn’t want people to say her poor soon died looking like a pig.
Irrational thoughts.
I just ended up picking out a sweatshirt and sweatpants. I guess they would have to do. I slowly dressed probably just to annoy this guy but I don’t think I could have moved any faster if I tried.
“Brian…it’s been a fun ride but now it’s time to say goodbye” I turned towards him, I had been looking away the whole time partly because I knew he was probably delighting in me being undressed, but mostly because I couldn’t bare to see his face anymore.
When I did turn around though, I was surprised to see a gun pointing at me.
By the time Kevin came down we were brought into a small room. It looked like someone’s office. Derek Jones sat across from me and I just couldn’t look at him. I was swirling in a barrel of confusion by this point. The guy sounded like Derek but didn’t look a thing at all like the monster I kept remembering in my head. I know I had seen in more than one movie, evil guys like him moving to another city and changing his look to go unrecognized, but he didn’t move to another city. He stayed at the hospital in full view of security guards and passersby.
“Brian what is going on?”
“That’s him” I said pointing over at the doctor who was rubbing his temples. Kevin turned towards Derek and grabbed him up by the collar, quickly being pulled away by security. “You son of a bitch!”
“Calm down” Another guard intercepted by standing between the doctor and my cousin who looked like if he was let lose he’d rip the guy’s heart out.
“There was a misunderstanding” The guard holding Kevin said when he finally stopped struggling in his grip.
“What kind of misunderstanding? If my cousin said this was the guy than this is the guy!”
“Now calm down Mr. Richardson, the police are on their way and soon everything will be sorted out”
When the guard let go of Kevin he walked over to me and squatted down beside me, “Are you okay?” I nodded.
“Are you sure it’s him?” He whispered; I’m sure he didn’t want his doubt to go noticed by the police who had just entered the room.
I looked at him for a second as the police began taking his statement, “It’s him Kev, it’s gotta be”
“So that means you’re not sure?”
“It sounds like him but it doesn’t look like him”
A detective on my case, the same unfriendly one that always seemed to show up for me walked over towards us. “Brian are you sure this is the man?”
“His name is Derek Jones”
“Brian that is a very common name”
“He sounds like my Derek Jones” two of the police officers who were talking to Derek were now escorting him out of the room, “Where is he going? You aren’t letting him go are you?”
“No, he agreed to come down to the station for questioning”
“It’s him”
“Well I hope so Brian” He said as he pat my shoulder, “We’ll be in touch” I nodded at him while still in deep thought. What if I was wrong?
“I’ll need a statement from him when he’s ready” A policeman said to my cousin as I sat quietly trying to remember.
“Kevin…did he look familiar to you?”
“The Derek guy?” I nodded.
I could tell he didn’t want to answer that question, which was a bad sign, “Yeah maybe a little”
“Because he said he worked on me…you know when I came into the hospital”
“Brian…if it was him….you’re safe now. We got the son of a bitch”
But as he said that I began to realize that most likely that wasn’t him and that I would never be safe.
“Is Nick okay? Kevin I need to go see Nick” I suddenly remembered why I was getting ready to go back up to his room now.
“He keeps asking for you”
“I need to go find him” I stood up.
“What?”
“Never mind just let’s go up there”
After giving the cops my statement which was pretty vague, we made our way back into Nick’s room where AJ sat holding his hand as he slept.
“Everything alright?” He asked as we walked into the room.
Kevin started to explain to AJ what had happened but I didn’t even answer, all my attention was focused on my friend. Now that I remembered everything it was a small miracle that we even survived. We were both as good as dead.
I walked to the other side of Nick and grabbed his hand, “Nicky…wake up it’s me…Brian”
“Let him sleep Rok” Kevin scolded as he and AJ turned to look my way.
“He’s slept long enough, time for him to wake up” I moved closer to him and whispered in his ear, “Nicky I found you… now open your eyes”
And he did.
“Brian”
“Hi buddy”
“You found me?”
“Yes, but guess what?”
He swallowed hard, “What?”
“I never lost you” I bent down and kissed the top of his head, “We made it Nicky…we are alive”
Now Kevin and AJ stopped talking and were watching the two of us, probably amazed to hear Nick say more then my name.
“We’re alive?” He sounded so surprised. I nodded at him, “Yes”
His chest moved up and down as he began to sob, I could tell it hurt him to do it but it had to be done I suppose. “Its okay” I consoled him, “We made it”
I pat his head just like I did as he laid there dying on my lap in the bathroom. Now AJ and Kevin were also around the bed crying as well. “Everything will be okay Nicky” My cousin said smiling down on our youngest band brother as he placed his hand to his eyes and continued to cry.
“I think we caught him Nick”
“Caught who?” He said after some time and several tears, his eyes starting to close again, “Derek Jones”
“Who is…that?” He gulped once more and winced at the pain.
“The bad guy Nicky…the bad guy” Kevin said cutting in.
“Oh…” He closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep.
The three of us all looked at each other, tears streaming down all of our faces, even AJ’s. “He’s going to be okay” Kevin said again with more conviction.
“We’re all going to be okay” He walked over to me and grabbed me in a hug with AJ walking behind us and wrapping his arms around the two of us. My hand never left Nick’s.
Now that Derek was soon to be behind bars and Nick was more alert we would have a happy ending after all.
I'll be back on Wednesday with 16. Happy Halloween!
