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The fine line between the light and the dark…






AJ’s pulse raced when Tyler walked into his room and closed the door. He wasn’t sure what to expect, it seemed as though he was about to get into trouble for something. Sitting up straight with a small grimace he looked over at the agent and smiled, “Is there something else I can do for you?”



Tyler walked over, close to the teenager’s bed and sat on the chair right beside him, “Actually there is.”



“Okay, what is it?” Suddenly he felt unsure of himself, anxious because the door was closed.



“I need you to tell me something that might seem like a hard thing to answer AJ, but if you want your little brother found, I need to know this.”



“I would do anything to get Nicky back.”



“Even if it meant getting another family member in trouble?”



“I’m not sure I’m following you.” And he wasn’t. Tyler had managed to completely confuse AJ who felt a huge headache coming on.



“I need to know if you are hiding anything from us AJ, if maybe you haven’t told us the entire story because you don’t want to get someone in trouble.”



AJ felt his blood boiling, and he wanted nothing but to curse this idiot out. “I’m not hiding anything.”



“See, I think you remember more than what you are letting on Mr. Richardson. I think you actually know who it was that shot you and took your brother.”



“That is bullshit; I’m not talking to you anymore.”



“You saw him didn’t you AJ?”



AJ turned his head away from Tyler as he spoke, now placing his hands defensively in front of him as tears began to spill. He didn’t want this to happen; he wanted it to be his own little secret. No one would even believe him anyway, not in a million years.



“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”



“Then why are you crying? You know exactly what I’m talking about. Be honest AJ, Nicky might not have any time left. You saw him at the house didn’t you? There was no salesman; there was someone you let into the house because you couldn’t believe you saw him again. He came in and shot you didn’t he? And then he took your brother. It was your father wasn’t it? Your dad alive and well and now a kidnapper!”



“NO! That’s not what happened at all!” AJ was now near hysterics to which Tyler quickly made a move to calm the boy down before anyone entered the room and stopped the line of questioning.



“Then what did happen?”



“Exactly what I said, the guy came in and shot me.”



“But he’s not the one who stole your little brother was he?”



“I don’t remember, I was bleeding and had just gotten shot…” He was stuttering as he shook in his bed, trying his best to block out that day. The memory of seeing his father in the house with him was still too vivid in his mind, A memory that he had kept all to himself for fear of sounding like a fool. He thought he was dead when he saw his dad staring down at him. He thought for sure he had come to bring him home to heaven; he was even able to smell the man he looked up to, as his father calmly took his hand and placed it on his son’s forehead. The rest was a blur though, he watched as his father walked up the stairs but he was so weak he couldn’t say anything. The panic that had set in at that point was the worst feeling in the world. He felt like his father was leaving him alone again; just like how he did the day he died.



“I tried calling out to him…” That made Tyler stand up.



“Who?”



But AJ was too consumed in his own memories to answer the question. He was so afraid at that point, so afraid that his dad had come all that way to bring him up to heaven only to leave him on the floor. “I was ready to die, I thought I was going to die or might have already been dead. I thought he was leaving me.” A tear trickled down his cheek. How he wished his mother was there right by his side. He wanted to tell her about that the second his eyes opened, but he was afraid to hurt her feelings.



“You did see your dad didn’t you son?” Tyler grabbed AJ’s hand now as if to console him. “It’s okay you can tell me, I’ll believe you.”



AJ looked over at the agent and slowly nodded, “Yes I saw my father.”



“Is he the one that took your brother AJ?”



AJ closed his eyes trying his hardest to remember. He saw his father go up the stairs, he tried to call after him, beg him to not leave him there alone. Was that before or after he saw Nicky leave?



“I don’t remember.”



Tyler now sat back down, “Okay then…next hard question, what about Kevin? You think he knows about your dad?”



“My father is dead.”



“If he’s dead how did you see him AJ?”



“I was hallucinating.”



“Come on you know that’s not true.”



Did he know that wasn’t true? All this man had managed to do since walking into his room and closing the door was completely confuse him and now he found himself growing angry about it, “I’d like you to leave. I’m really tired.”



“Do you think Kevin knows your father is alive?” Tyler asked again ignoring AJ’s pleas for sleep.



“If my father is alive, I highly doubt Kevin would know about it.”



“But what if he does and he’s in on it too?”



“Get out now!” That made AJ lose it, he was crying and highly agitated, so Tyler thought it best to stop the questioning as he once again opened the door.



“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you, but I want you to really start thinking about what I said. Kevin might be a part of this AJ and if he is, I’m going to get him for it.”



“He would never hurt Nicky.” He whispered just as Tyler was walking out the door.



“Let’s hope not.”



And with that being said the agent left AJ alone with his thoughts.



~*~*~*~*~*~*~




Brian took the ride over to Patty’s house to clear his mind, he felt like he was on a non stop rollercoaster ride from hell and he kind of was happy for the break. He needed to get away from the hospital for a minute and all that had been happening. He knew once he would have some free time to really stop and think about how close he came to losing his life, he would need years and years of therapy for it. His hands were still a bit shaky from the shock of almost being discovered by the killer, and then there was the body. He had never seen a real dead body before. Now, however, he couldn’t close his eyes without seeing the body of the serial killer greeting him in the dark.



As he was turning into the driveway another car was pulling away. He thought nothing of it as he climbed out of the car and made his way to the front door which was opened a crack.



“Hello?” He said, but when nobody answered, he let himself all the way in.



The lights were all off, it looked as if everyone was asleep but he knew since his mother was there that wasn’t the case. “Hello?” He said once again, his voice a little louder this time.



He moved for the nearest light switch and turned it on, baffled as to where his mom might be. “Mom? Mrs. Nicosia?” Brian called now walking from room to room, hoping that maybe they were too engrossed in chatting to notice his arrival. Somehow he knew he was wrong, but it felt better to think that way.



“Hello? Anyone here?” He found himself standing at the bottom of the stairs.



“Hello?” he asked one more time ready to leave just as he heard a door close above.



Instinct told him to run the hell out of there without ever looking back, but for some reason he just had to know why no one was answering him. His mother was expecting him to pick her up; she should have been downstairs waiting for him. “Maybe they all went somewhere?” He said to himself, remembering the car that was driving away.



There was a little more movement upstairs which finally brought him to the first step, he didn’t want to make the climb but what if his mother was up there and hurt? Maybe she couldn’t answer him. It made no sense he knew this, but then again so much had happened over the last few days that nothing would have surprised him anymore. So he slowly climbed to the top of the stairs, occasionally stopping and yelling out a hello hoping that someone would answer.



No one did.



When he reached the top step he looked for a light switch, not enjoying the fact that everything was pitch black. Luckily within a few steps he found what he was looking for and put on the light.





“Hello?” He said once more as he walked towards one of the closed doors which had a light on.



Standing outside he knocked a few times before opening it up, “I hope it’s okay that I’m coming in.” He said as he slowly opened the door.



What he saw made his heart stop as he managed to get out one heart wrenching scream.



~*~*~*~*~*~*~




“Howie I don’t think I can take anymore of this, it’s all getting to be a bit much.” Kevin confessed to his friend as they once again drove towards the cabin. He was beyond hiding his feelings now and found himself feeling afraid and vulnerable.



“Kevin, I know how you feel, this has been hell but it’ll all be over soon.”



“But what if it’s not for the good? You know D, I can’t even allow myself any time to think because when I do, all I picture is Nicky alone and scared. The way he screamed just before the phone was hung up on him…I can’t get it out of my mind.”



“I wish I knew what to say to make it easier on you.”



“Just tell me he’s alive. Even if you are lying to me, I guess I need someone to tell me that.”



“Fine…Kevin, Nick is alive and I’m not lying to you.” Howie said staring at his friend intently as they were stopped at a light.



“I hope my dad has some leads. Maybe he’s figured out who this other guy is.”



“Let’s hope so.” Kevin’s cell phone cut the conversation short.



“Hello?”



“Kevin its AJ.” He didn’t like how nervous his brother sounded.



“What’s wrong J?”



“Tyler was just here.” When he heard the agent’s name he balled his fist up.



“Is everything all right?”



“Kevin…he was asking me some questions…”



“Like what?”



There was a long hesitation on the other end of the line, Kevin could tell that whatever AJ was about to say, he was regretting. Finally he spoke, “He seems to think that maybe you…well maybe you have something to do with Nick’s kidnapping.”



“What?” Kevin sat up straight and felt his blood pressure rise.



“Don’t worry, I know you have nothing to do with anything but I thought I should let you know.”



“That son of a bitch, how DARE he do that to you! I’m sorry AJ.”



“It’s okay but Kevin there is something else you should know, I kind of avoided telling you this because…well I thought you’d think I was crazy but…” again AJ stopped long enough to cough and groan.



“Are you okay kiddo?”



“Yeah, sorry I think I have been over doing it.”



“Well try to rest then, soon mom will be there.”



“Kevin…when I was shot and at the house…I thought I saw…well I’m pretty sure I saw dad.”



Kevin’s jaw dropped, he wasn’t expecting to hear that but now that he had he wasn’t exactly sure how to handle it. “Kevin did you hear what I just said to you? I thought I saw our dead father at the house.” AJ sounded agitated.



“I heard you…”



“And? Are you going to call me crazy? Tell me I’m on drugs?”



“None of the above.”



“So…you knew?” He sounded scared when he said that and once again Kevin had no idea how to go about answering that question.



“I wish I could answer that for you, but there will be time later.” He figured that was the most indirect way to answer the question that he could come up with.



“Tyler was asking about him too.” Now that peaked Kevin’s curiosity



“He did?”



“Yes, he knew I was hiding that info from him. He thought that maybe dad took Nick. He asked me if I saw dad take Nicky out of the house.”



“And what did you tell him? Did you tell him for sure you saw dad?” At that question Howie glanced over to his friend with an anxious look on his face.



“Yes.”



“Okay, thanks AJ.”



“So, he’s really alive then? It wasn’t a dream?”



“It wasn’t a dream and I promise I’ll explain it all to you later okay?”



“Because Tyler thought you did know about dad and that you were both involved in the kidnapping.”



“AJ, I’m not and I am pretty sure dad isn’t either, but I’m going to ask him in a few minutes.”



“A few minutes?”



“Yes, I’m on my way to see him now. He’s trying his best to help us find Nicky.”



“How can you know and keep this from us?” He sounded close to tears which wasn’t helping Kevin’s feelings of hopelessness.



“I’m sorry AJ, but now I have to go…everything will be okay. Do me a favor and if Tyler even walks back into your room, call me immediately! Got it?”



“Yeah, I got it.” The teenager sounded annoyed but other than that okay. Kevin was sure that once the news set in, he would feel a mixture of shock and betrayal just as he had felt when he first laid eyes on his ‘dead’ father, but for now there was nothing more anyone could do so he hung up on his brother and turned back towards his best friend.



“Tyler knows about my father. Why don’t I like that?”



“Because your instincts are telling you not to and your instincts are never wrong.” Howie said just as they made it up the driveway to the cabin where they saw the door opened and no car in sight.



Both men looked at each other and drew their guns as they cautiously stepped inside.





~*~*~*~*~*~*~*






This was always his favorite part of the day, late evening when he would drive from one life right into the next. Sometimes it was hard for him to tell the difference between the two men, the one he wanted to be and the one he hated to become. It seemed like his whole life was nothing but one big struggle between the two, never knowing which one would ultimately win. His mother used to joke that it was like a game show. Was it his mother or just some random lady he made up in his head? It was getting harder and harder to tell these days.



To make out the fine line between the light and the dark as he liked to put it. Two people living in one body with such conflicting ideas of how to live life. He looked at the small child asleep next to him and placed a loving hand on the kid’s head.



“Daddy doesn’t mean to do such bad things baby.”



At the sound of his voice, the child opened its eyes and sat up rubbing the sleep away. “Where are we going daddy? It’s late.”



“I thought you might like to see somebody.”



“Who?”



“Nicky.”



“YAY, Nicky’s brother was very sad because he was lost, but you found him didn’t you daddy?” Patty clapped excited, not noticing the body of a female lying in the backseat with her eyes closed.



He tried to smile, even though it grew ever harder with each passing day. How he loved this little girl with all of his heart. She was the only thing in the world that mattered to him, well her and his wife. If it weren’t for them, he would have given up long ago. Even as he would meet up with random call girls as he changed personalities from light to dark, they were never far from his mind. He would even show the hookers pictures of his daughter and talk proudly of her as they half listened.



It was the ones that mocked him for it, which he killed. It wasn’t his fault, only theirs. They had no right to question his judgment, why he was cheating on such a beautiful family when they were out selling their bodies to the highest bidders.



But he couldn’t just go home and have sex with his wonderful wife after he had strangled and killed someone could he? How badly he wanted to just come home after a night of prowling and killing and just give up, admit that he was a horrible person and beg Anita to turn him in, but he was too afraid.



He was growing tired of the games his friend Scott was playing. The good old bait and lure. John would try to coax the kids out in the open for him and then watch and smile when his friend finally grabbed them and pulled them away. All he asked as his reward was a Precious Moments figurine. He knew how much Anita loved them, so he started to collect them for her.



His way of making amends for all his sins.



John growing tired with the games rested his sights on Nick Richardson at that point, after Patty had brought him home from school one day. There were so many things appealing about the boy, the most being how inaccessible he seemed to be. Anita sat during dinner and told him the story about what had happened to the boy’s father and that his oldest brother was a top notch detective at the FBI. In that story, John found his out and the chance to start maybe his best and most dangerous game.



It all worked like a charm, a bit too easy sometimes. Seemed that he knew all the right people to help him get what he wanted. Everything was going super smoothly and just like that he managed to claim his prize. The kid went with him without even the smallest struggle because he was told he was going to go play with Patty.



It was perfect in its simplicity, he had the bait and all he wanted to do was lure out the older brother, the FBI agent who was going to be his true prize in all of this. Life got complicated thought when Scott decided he wanted to have Nick for his own pleasure. Add him to the list of children he had killed thus far. Yup that’s when John’s plans had to change. He hated to kill the people who had helped him, especially his best friend but there was no way he was going to let Scott kill something he worked so hard to get.



No way!



He looked down and nodded, “Yes baby I found him and I know he’s going to be very happy to see you again.”



“I love you daddy.” She said placing her tiny hand in between his arm and resting her head on his chest.



“I love you too baby doll.” He admitted as he drove on, hoping he could keep from making that dark turn until he got his daughter to safety.



“It’ll all be over soon.” He promised her, trying his hardest to resist the urge he felt growing inside of him, the urge to kill.

Okay can I just say how proud I am of myself for getting this chapter out on time? I deserve a gold star or a cookie or something lol *pats self of back* I'll be back next Wednesday with another chapter (hopefully lol) :O)