AJ sat next to Nick who was lying on the ground facing the open river. He had covered him from the neck down with the blankets they had. AJ scolded himself for forgetting to get the first aid box. His fever was getting high again and he really needed the pills.

The snow had started to fall heavily and he had to keep brushing them off Nick's face. The icy cold river somehow managed to calm him down a bit. Nick had been singing a song he didn't recognize but at that moment in time, it sounded like the best music he had ever heard so far, just for the fact that hearing Nick sing meant he was still conscious and not dead. It made AJ feel complete, and not alone.

For me it's waking up beside you To watch the sun rise on your face To know that I can say I love you In any given time or place It's little things that only I know Those are the things that made you mine And its like flying without wings Cause you're my special thing I'm flying without wings

"I don't know what you're singing but I bet it sounds much better if the real singer sings it. You sound horrible. Thank God Mike isn't here to hear that." AJ joked, referring to their vocal coach.

"Hey, for someone in my condition, I sound great. Besides, what do you expect me to sing, Linkin Park? That would be like signing my own death certificate." Nick replied, letting out a soft chuckle. AJ could feel Nick's body tremble against his and wondered how much longer it would take until help came. If it ever did.

He knew that the reason why he was going along with Nick's plan was because some part of him had little hope for him to survive. He knew that Kevin and Howie would never leave them and Nick's plan seemed logical enough. He could have made it if he followed them but Nick definitely wouldn't. And he didn't want to leave Nick behind alone. He'd rather die next to him than do that.

"Oh please, if the singer heard you, they would have banned the Backstreet Boys from singing ever again." AJ joked.

"No way, they liked us; they said so in their interviews. I read it." Nick replied in between stammering. AJ was glad that the cough had not resurfaced, so far.

"Who are 'they' anyway?" AJ asked, wanting to keep him talking.

"Westlife. You know the boys from Ireland? They're huge in the UK and Asia. I checked the MTVAsia website and...They’re just huge." Nick replied, sounding tired.

"Bigger than Nsync?" AJ asked with a grin on his face.

"Yeah...I tell ya, if we don't get back to the UK and Asia, we're gonna loose our No. 1 spot." Nick replied with some difficulties. He heard the gurgling sounds when Nick breathed if you could call it that. He sounded more like gasping. AJ wondered if it was wise to make him talk or just to let him shut up.

"They're bigger than Nsync?" AJ asked, still amazed. "I thought they are like the biggest boy band now...whatever that means anyway."

"Don't be surprised bro...we're bigger in the UK than Nsync...at least that's what the Westlife boys said." Nick replied.

Nick knew that he shouldn't be talking but he was afraid. Afraid that if he stopped talking, stopped making contact with the real world, he would sleep and never wake up. At least he knew he had not gone delirious, all the things he had said to AJ was true.

But the constant growing pain he had been developing on his chest was true too. He had been trying to ignore it, thinking that if he refused to acknowledge its presence, it would go away, but it kept coming back. He had lost all feeling on both his hands and he had not told this to AJ. He just hoped that he wouldn't completely lose feeling to his legs too. Singing also helped him from trembling too much. It kept him from clenching his teeth and hurt his jaw even more.

"No shit. I think I like these Westlife boys already." AJ replied, still trying to swallow it all in. "Who am I kidding? I don't want to die! We don't want to die! We can't die, not right now! I love my life! Don't you Nick?" AJ asked, realization setting in. He got no response from Nick. He couldn't even see the rise and fall of his chest.

"Nick? Nick, you with me?" AJ asked, shaking Nick's shoulder a bit.

"I love scuba diving; we should do it again after all this are taken care of." Nick replied suddenly. He sounded too soft and distant; AJ thought he was hearing things at first.

"Kaos, you gave me a fright!"

"What do you say Bone? Want to come with me?" Nick asked.

"Sure Nick, after all this." AJ replied. He closed his eyes and felt the warm tears rush and trickle down his cold cheeks. He thanked God that Nick didn't have to see him like that.

"This river...reminds me so much of the beach. I misse sunny Florida. Never snows in December." Nick said.

Suddenly, something hit AJ. He didn't know where it came from or what triggered it but it was a brilliant thought. "Wait a sec, if there's a highway and a forest and a river next to each other, it means there must be sewers connecting the river to the highway from underground right? You know, rain water from the highway, it has to be drained right?"

"Yeah...thank you for the insight, get to the point AJ." Nick gasped.

"Think about it, if there's a sewer, there's a way up! We can get out of here by climbing up the sewer!" AJ cried in delight.

"Hey, it is a good idea, but I don't think I can climb all the way up. I don't know...I think it has got something to do with the ribs." Nick retorted.

"Come on Nick, we can't give up now that there might be a way out. Please, do this for me." AJ begged. Nick already knew his answer even before AJ begged him. Of course he would do it. If it meant having AJ alive, he would do it. Just because he can't climb the sewer since his hands can't hold on to anything doesn't mean AJ should die.

"OK Bone, help me up. Slowly."

As much as it hurt me, it had to be done. We discussed, weighed the pros and cons and came to a much reluctant decision. Now I finally realized what Kevin and Howie had to go through. Making an impossible decision like that, it seemed like either way, we were loosing the battle.

"From what I've gathered so far, we are actually pretty close to the highway than we thought. Another hour or two to the north and we might just get there." Howie said thoughtfully. I don't know what he had gathered exactly, he didn't tell, and I was afraid to ask. Afraid that it might not be as convincing as I had hoped it to be.

"Well, I think it's settled then. I think for the first time, we are gonna listen to the advice of our little brothers." Kevin claimed, although I know that he wished he didn't have to come to this.

I don't know if our decision was the right one but I don't think it really mattered cause Kevin and Howie had made the decision 2-1. I'd rather just go with the flow and hope for the best. Prayer never left me. Please God; take care of all of us. If it's not asking for too much, please don't let any of us die.

"So we're going north." I said, more of a statement than a question. Kevin and Howie nodded. I guess they couldn't bring themselves to say it out loud.

And so here we were an hour later and still I couldn't see any signs of a highway. I don't know, the woods had lots of tall trees and they kinda blocked my view. And thanks to my special effect double vision, I could hardly see anything beyond a meter in front of me.

Kevin was walking to my left and Howie to my right; none wanted to lead the way. It actually helped though, it made me feel safe. And should my head just refuse to totally function and in return switching off the energy my legs so desperately needed to keep moving, they would be there to catch me.

"It's been an hour, this is getting hopeless." Kevin exclaimed. It wasn't the walking that was slowing us down, although it did apply to Howie's right leg; it was the weather. Cold and dry, the snow was now turned on in full force. The woods had turned from green to white. We looked like walking zombies.

"My leg's getting cramped." Howie complained but didn't make an attempt to stop or slow down.

My terrific headache had now turned excellent. From the top of my skull right down to the neck and my shoulders, it ached beyond description. I wondered if it could spread to the rest of my body. Headache all over? That’s a new one.

Then it started; the ringing. Slow and weak at first, then it got louder and clearer, ringing in my head as if to encourage the throbbing to go faster. Now I was hearing things, I couldn't believe it.

"What was that?" Kevin asked, holding me back, cautioning me to stop.

"What Kev, my head is killing me." I asked, both hands already cupping my face, willing the ringing to stop.

"That sound, what is that?" Kevin asked again. I wish he would stop asking me stupid questions. I didn't hear any sounds other than the ringing that was bursting my eardrums. "Did you hear that D?"

"Yeah...what is that sound?" Howie asked. Urgh...if they can't even tell what they were hearing, would they expect someone with a case of serious head trauma like myself to know the answer?

"I can't hear anything guys, my head is killing me. I keep hearing this ringing sound and it's bursting my eardrums!" I finally said.

"That's what we've been hearing too! That's the sound!" Kevin replied excitedly.

"What do you mean you can hear that? It's in my head!" I burst out in exasperation. The guys are killing me. Softly.

"No way, I heard it too. It's not your head Rok!" Howie disagreed.

Ohh...so it wasn't my head? Well, my mistake then. Stop looking at me all funny.

"Yeah? Then what is it?" I asked out loud.

"I don't know...sounds like a...like..."

"Like a cell phone!" Howie cried, cutting Kevin halfway.

"Yeah, that's it! It's a cell phone! Damn! Where's it coming from?" Kevin asked anxiously.

I couldn't say anything after that; they had me at ‘cell phone’”.

"Brian," Kevin asked, looking at me straight in the eyes. His normally dull green eyes now filled with renewed enthusiasm. Now glistening, green and alive.

"What?" I asked, my heart beating a notch more than normal.

"It's coming from your bag."

"No way, I've got no cell phone in here, I've checked!" I cried as I took off the bag and started unzipping it. "See, there's nothing in here except for all this stuff."

"Listen, it's coming from your bag man!" Howie cried. But the thing was, I already emptied the whole damn bag. There's nothing and they could see it too but they kept telling me that it came from my bag. How could they be so sure? It could have come from their bags. I mean, we're tired and our hearing systems might be out of focus...oh shit! Shit Rok, you should have known! Great, now I'm screaming at myself.

I turned the bag around so that the back part was facing me. The reason why I had bought this bag in the first place was because of this thing and I totally forgot about it! There's a small pouch compartment at the back, hidden from everyone else. That's where I normally kept small stuff that I want hidden. But as far as I know, I never put my cell phone there. Too difficult to get, you know?

"It's this secret compartment but I'm still sure I didn't keep my cell phone there. I had it on the table in the bus after I talked to Leighanne." I unzipped it and there lying, among a few pictures of Leighanne and I, a cell phone that I've never seen before in my entire life. A black and blue ribbon pasted at a corner. And the good thing is, it was ringing.

I looked at Kevin and Howie with utter shock. I didn't know what to do. Yeah, it was silly of me but that's how I felt. Kevin looked at me all funny. Howie was just waiting, but I knew from their faces and it read somewhere between 'if you don't pick it up like right now I'm gonna grab it away from you, idiot' to 'what are you, a dumb ass?'

"You gonna answer that?" Kevin asked, pulling me back to reality.