“Hey, hey, keep still.” Nick admonished softly. “You’re pretty hurt.”

I watched him warily, afraid that he would lash out at me again.

“I’m not going to hurt you. God, I’m so sorry Lizz.” He looked at me, his eyes full of remorse and sorrow.

I didn’t say anything, but I couldn’t stop my eyes from filling with tears.

“Oh god, don’t cry either. You’re going to make me feel even worse. I don’t know what the hell is wrong with me and why I don’t remember everything. I know that it was Terri and her family that kidnapped us. But...” He paused, his eyes downcast. “...I don’t remember you or your friend. I’m sorry.”

I still didn’t say anything. Silent tears continued to slip down my face.

“Is what she said true? That I tried to kill myself and you tried to stop me? But we both ended up in the hospital? And a newspaper printed the story and now your life is totally changed?” He asked me.

“Our lives Nick, our lives. Everyone new what had happened. I lost a semester of school, some friends, and my privacy. You had it harder than I did though, being in the public eye. But we stuck it out. We helped each other when a new article was printed or someone else cut us down.” I choked out.

His eyes were wide as I tried to get this out. “But how is this your fault like Terri said?”

“Because I should have been able to stop you before it was too late. And I didn’t. I failed you Nick. As a friend.” I looked down.

He tipped my chin with his finger until our eyes met. “That doesn’t sound right to me. If I tried to kill myself, then that is my own fault. Not yours.”

I shook my head. “Nick, it doesn’t matter what you say. I will always blame myself.”

“What did I do?” He whispered.

“What do you mean?” I replied.

“I mean, how did I make it worse for you? She said I...I broke...made it worse for you.” He could barely get the words out.

Damn it! How could I answer that? That would only make him feel worse. Cause you didn’t know me. After seven months and everything we have gone through. And you didn’t know me. Not only that, but you loathed me. You wanted to tear me apart because you thought I hurt Brian. I would die before I would ever do anything to hurt either one of you. I let you get closer to my heart than most people ever have and you left me. And you still don’t know me. Right! Like I could say that to him. It would kill him and it wasn’t even fair. It wasn’t like he made a choice to have amnesia. Sure, tell my heart that. It was the look of hate in his eyes when he shoved me away from Brian. Of course he didn’t know any better. He was looking out for his best friend. Trying to defend him from a psycho kidnapper, which he thought I was. Hell, I would have done the same thing. Man, I have some serious issues.

“Lizz?” He waited, worried by my silence.

I shook my head. “Nick, you didn’t do anything wrong.” I whispered.

He didn’t look convinced, but my harsh coughing fit distracted him. By the time I was done, I was breathing in short, shallow gasps again.

“Shit, this isn’t good. I’m going to go over that hill to see about how far the next town is from here. I thought I saw one in the distance.” Nick pointed off in the direction away from us and the tents.

I shook my head weakly. “Please don’t leave.”

“We don’t have a choice here. You and Bri aren’t looking so hot and we need to get you some help fast.” He argued. “I’ll be back soon okay? I’m taking the gun. I don’t think anyone will mess with you, but if they do, scream as loud as you can and I will be back asap.” He assured me.

I watched his retreating figure. I glanced at Kyung asleep next to me and Brian on the other side of me. I shut my own eyes and tried to concentrate on breathing. I didn’t even notice Marcus slip out of his tent and go after Nick. I had no idea that Marcus surprise attacked him and that a struggle ensued for the possession of the gun. The air was still and calm until a gunshot echoed through the night. A bolt of fire exploded in my chest. On the right side, just under my collarbone. I screamed out in agony, my hand over my chest.

Kyung bolted upright, her eyes wide with terror. She had heard the gunshot and saw me with my hand over my chest, crying out in excruciating pain. Brian was immediately awake too and focused his eyes on me.

Terri’s mom and dad scrambled out of the tent. “WHAT THE HELL?”

I continued to moan and I could barely hear Kyung.

“Lizzie! LIZZIE!! Let me see!” She cried, prying my hand of my chest. We both looked at my hand, then chest, shock. There was no blood. What the- ?! NICK!!

“Oh god, oh god!! It’s Nick. He’s...he’s...” I gasped, panic setting in.

Suddenly a voice traveled through the air, from the other side of the hill. “Dad?” It was Marcus and he sounded stunned. He appeared a moment later, carrying Nick in his arms. “I...I shot...him.” He stammered. “I didn’t...m- mean...to.”

“NO!” Brian cried, his face crumpling.

Terri’s parents immediately rushed over to their son and they laid Nick in the snow. His eyes were open and darting around fearfully, not sure what had just happened. I painfully stumbled to my feet, but only made it two steps before my knees buckled and I collapsed. I sat on my knees in the snow, my chest burning with this new pain. Kyung flew past me over to him. I watched in utter horror as a dark red stain spread on his right side, just under his collarbone.

I sat there in the snow, watching as Kyung tried to stop the bleeding. I was scarcely aware of my own sudden difficulty in breathing. I wanted to go over to them, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get up. I had no strength so all I could do was pray. Marcus was flipping out and I heard Kyung scream. That scared me and I felt the panic rising. I couldn’t lose him. Not after all this. We had gone through so much and had made it. He couldn’t die now. Then I heard her swear and yell something about not being able to stop the bleeding. I think that’s when I started to hyperventilate. The shorter and faster my breaths became, the harder it got to take in any air at all. My entire chest felt like it was on fire. It got steadily worse and I knew my lung had collapsed again. Unable to keep myself upright, I toppled over into the snow. Everything seemed to be spinning. I heard someone call my name, but I couldn’t tell who it was. The last thought I had before I became unconscious was a prayer that Nick would be okay. If he wasn’t, I didn’t want to either.

Kyung whirled around when she heard Lizz start to lose it. “Damn it! Not now. Lizz! Lizz, don’t do this to me!” She watched, horrified, as she crumpled over. “LIZZ!” Kyung was torn. She heard Lizz struggling to breathe and her sudden collapse was a very bad sign. On the other hand she couldn’t leave Nick as he lay there bleeding to death. Brian was in no condition to move with that gaping hole in his stomach, not to mention his already precarious situation. His eyes darted back and forth between Lizz and Nick, crying out of the sheer helplessness of his position.

“Get over here and hold this on him as tight as you can!” Kyung barked at Terri’s mother. Terri’s mom quickly took Kyung’s spot and Kyung dashed to Lizz’s side. Her breathes were growing weaker and her pulse was thready.

“I can’t stop it! It’s coming out too fast!” Terri’s mom screamed, frantically. Kyung jumped up from Lizz and started to go back to Nick. Meanwhile, Marcus was pacing all around, in near hysterics about not wanting to get the gas chamber. Terri was still in the tent, screaming to know what was going on. Dale was wasn’t doing anything, but staring at the whole scene like he couldn’t believe what was happening.

Somehow, through all the racket and chaos that was going on, a much louder noise was suddenly heard. Two bright circles of light swept over their little campsite. It was two helicopters.

“Thank God!” Kyung exclaimed, finally breaking down into tears of relief. She looked up as the two helicopters circled around, trying to find a place to land. She felt a rush of relief, believing that this would finally be on its way to being over.

“Shit. Shit!! I can’t go to jail!” Marcus cried frantically. “I won’t got o jail!”

Terri’s mom looked at her son and the helicopters nervously. Then she looked at her husband. “We can’t let it end this way. They haven’t paid enough!”

Kyung’s eyes nearly fell out of her head. “What the hell are you talking about?! You have no idea how much they have suffered. They might die!”

“It isn’t enough! My Terri will never be the same.” Came the angry mother’s cry.

“You don’t know that. It may be temporary!” Kyung snapped.

Terri’s mom ignored her and turned to her husband. “We are not going to let it end this way.” She pulled him close and began whispering urgently. Dale started to protest, but his wife cut him off. “It has to be this way. It’ll work out, we still will have the upper hand.”

Dale finally nodded. Kyung had no idea until they were talking about until Dale approached her. Marcus had already started off into the woods. The choppers were still circling. Kyung started to scream as Dale grabbed her and pulled her away from Nick and Lizz.

Terri still cried from inside her tent and her mother abandoned Nick and Lizz to see to her. “It’s okay baby. Mommy’s not going to leave you.”

“Lizz? Can you hear me? Lizz? Please open your eyes for me honey?” A faraway voice kept calling me. I felt warmer and there was a loud beating noise all around me. I don’t know how it was possible, but it felt like I was moving. I couldn’t feel anything at all and that seemed wrong. Why did nothing hurt?

“Shit! We’re losing her!”

A sensation of warmth washed over me. I felt really peaceful and I wanted to be closer to the source of it all. I started to drift towards it, but something held me back. As wonderful as this felt, it wasn’t right. Somehow I knew that going towards this wonderful, bright, peace would mean leaving people behind that I couldn’t leave. There were still things I needed to do and see and accomplish before I could go this way.

“Get the paddles...charging...300...clear!”

I tried to turn around, but it was hard. A lot harder than I thought it would be. It hurt, but for some reason that made me more determined. The further away I went from that wonderful peace, the more painful it got. It was almost too much, but then faces flashed through my mind. I had to get back to these people. Help them. That gave me strength.

“We’ve got a rhythm!!”

Terri’s mother stood outside Lizz’s room in ICU. Terri was having tests run so her mother had used this opportunity to find out what was going on. Lizz had just come out of surgery to repair her lung. Her chart, hanging in a slot outside the door, said “kidney rejection” in bold letters on the outside. Terri’s mother smiled. Lizz’s right arm was in a cast and then in a sling. Her other arm was treated for the bullet wound and wrapped up. The gash above her eye was deep and had to be stitched up. Thick gauze covered that and more was wrapped around her head to keep it in place. There wasn’t much they could do for the broken ribs or the dark bruises that seemingly covered every inch of her body. Terri’s mom had also heard that Nick and Brian were in the ICU somewhere. They had both undergone surgery as well and were also in critical condition. Dale and Marcus had managed to disappear into the woods with Kyung so all was not lost. They were long gone and Terri’s mom grinned again. The hell was far from over and she was pleased that these three would continue to suffer as much as possible. More than anything, at that moment she wanted to wake Lizz up and tell her that her best friend was still being held captive.

“Excuse me? What the hell do you think you are doing?!” A vaguely familiar voice appeared behind her. She whirled around to confront him, but her jaw dropped when she saw who it was.

Terri’s mom came face to face with AJ McLean. She knew it was one of Nick and Brian’s bandmates, Terri had shown her tons of pictures of them. She had heard his voice the other day when the news showed a public plea for any information on finding Nick and Brian. “Nothing, I’m just checking on her to make sure she is okay,” she stated in a calm, cool voice. “Why do you have so much interest in her?” “She’s a good friend of mine,” Agnes lied, smiling. “I have a hard time believing you on that,” AJ replied. “Why? Whatever do you mean by that?” This old woman was coming off a little too smug for my satisfaction. AJ shrugged his shoulders. “I dunno, just skip it.” He brushed past her to walk down to the ICU rooms where Brian and Nick laid. Agnes followed AJ, desperately wanting to know what room they held the two men in. AJ, hearing footsteps behind him, turned around. “Why are you following me? I thought your interest was with that girl,” he asked. “Why goodness no, my daughter is a patient here and I was going down to see her,” Agnes replied. AJ still had difficulty in trusting the old woman. “Oh, what did you say her name was again?” Agnes smiled sweetly. “I didn’t.” With that said, Agnes turned down the corridor to the left and walked away from AJ. “I’ll just have to find out where they have those two later,” she said quietly to herself. As AJ neared the elevators, he looked at the slip of paper the receptionist had given him. It instructed him to take the staff elevators off of ICU to the 8th floor. From there he was to turn left and walk down the hall until he came to a room with a uniformed state trooper seated outside the room. He absently played with the bright blue laminated pass that hung around his neck. Getting off the elevator, AJ took a deep breath in as he neared the room. They had placed Nick and Brian in a room together because of security reasons. They were both technically in ICU, but this was a better set up to keep them safe from fans or from those individuals that had kidnapped them. The police had told the group that the kidnappers were still at large and Brian, Nick and Lizz were still unable to give them an interview so they were uncertain of how many were involved. The trooper stood up as AJ neared the room. AJ wordlessly held up the pass and the officer nodded him in. He slowly entered the dimly lit room. The only lights that were on were around both Nick and Brian’s headboards on their beds. Monitors were surrounding both of them towards the top and each had their own beats which weren’t in sync. One would beep and then the next. AJ had never seen so many IV’s in his life. He finally brought himself to look at each of them. Brian’s face was a ghostly white, a tube going into his mouth and the steady hiss of the machine it was attached to caused his chest to rise and fall with every mechanical inflation of his lungs. He had a few minor scratches, AJ assumed it was from the plane crash. The doctors told him that Brian had to have major surgery to stop the internal bleeding and to close the wound from the crash. The other main and difficult part of the surgery was to drain the excess fluid that had built up in the sac surrounding his heart. They were confident that once his medications were back to normal levels in his bloodstream that he should be out of the woods from complications for his heart. Their main concern now was infection, that and the replacement of the blood he had lost. AJ shuddered as he saw a bag of blood hanging from the IV pole. Nick was looking in as bad of shape as Brian. He also had a tube in his mouth helping him to breathe. His face was bruised and scraped. The doctors told him that Nick had taken a bullet to the shoulder and it caused signifcant internal bleeding. He had suffered two seizures since he had been admitted to the hospital and so the doctors decided it was best to keep him in a drug induced coma until the anti seizure medications were leveled off in his bloodstream. Finding a chair in the corner, AJ dragged it over and positioned himself between the beds. He rested his elbows on his knees and put his head in his hands.

Terri continued to cry, then suddenly burst out. “And my boyfriend! She killed my boyfriend!”

Dr. Johan and even Terri’s mom looked at Terri in question.

“Whoa whoa. Who killed your boyfriend?” Dr. Johan asked her.

“Lizz. After the crash. Kurt was hurt and Lizz used that opportunity to kill him. She strangled him!” Terri’s cries grew more intense.

“Oh boy...” Dr. Johan looked mildly overwhelmed. “Well, ah, we’ll have the Troopers check into that too. I need to go write some orders. Call me if you need anything at all.” He could help thinking that the accusation had come out of nowhere as he left the room.

As soon as the doctor had shut the door behind him, Agnes focused an angry glare on her daughter. “What the hell was that?! She didn’t kill him. There is no credibility to that at all, Terri! What the hell did you just get us into?”

Terri stared defiantly back at her mother. “She needs to pay too. Her and Carter belong in jail.”

“Strangled? Terri...”

“No mommy, it’s works perfectly. You didn’t see Kurt up close. His seat belt was wrapped around his neck. That’s how he died. I’m sure his body is frozen or decayed pretty bad by now. All they will be able to tell is that he died by strangulation.” Terri replied smugly.

Agnes stared at her daughter in shock. The way she talked so callously about her deceased boyfriend amazed her. But, she had to admit that Terri’s plan was brilliant. Nick and Lizz would get what they deserved.

Shelia adjusted her patient’s IVs and couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness. She didn’t know much about the situation, but it didn’t matter. No one did and it seemed like everyone was waiting impatiently for this girl, Nick, or Brian to wake up. There were a lot of questions floating around, but no one knew the answers. There were police, reporters, and hoards of people milling around. Of course tight security kept the majority of the people out of the hospital, but people were crafty. Some of them had managed to get a little too close. Sheila almost dreaded Lizz waking up. She remembered what had happened the past spring. She knew that the four involved had formed a pretty tight bond. The news seemed to know everything, even that Lizz and Nick had continued to talk nearly every day. Now she was going to have to wake up and not only were both Nick and Brian in critical condition, but the fourth one involved was still missing. Sheila knew that this girl, Kyung, was Lizz’s best friend.

Her thoughts drifted to the other two patients up on 8. She wanted to call up and see how they were. Just as she started to leave the room, Lizz moaned. The sound was almost missed as it was muffled by the ventilator. Sheila immediately went to her side. Lizz’s eyes were darting around the room and she looked very scared and very alone. Sheila didn’t know how to relay the news that would only worsen those feelings.

Kyung woke up, unable to move. She started to panic, but then realized it was because she was tied down. The room she was in was dark, but not pitch black. After giving herself a few minutes to let her eyes adjust, she was able to determine that she was in a hole in the wall motel. And she was alone. She was in one of those recliner chairs with handcuffs and even torn sheets to tie her down. She was mildly disoriented, but she forced herself to clear her mind as much as possible. Then everything came flooding back to her. Dale dragging her away from Nick and Lizz. The last thing she remembered was being shoved through the snow as Lizz lie there not breathing, Nick bleeding to death, and Brian watching the whole thing, but unable to do anything to stop it. Kyung’s eyes filled with tears as she imagined that there was a good chance that any one of them might not have made it. It was likely that the helicopters didn’t make it in time.

“Ah, it’s nice to see you finally awake.” Marcus grinned at her as he stepped into the room.

“Where are we? What the hell is going on?” Kung whispered.

“Oh, not a whole lot. Let’s see, unfortunately none of them are dead yet. They are hovering though. All three of them could kick off at any time.” He smirked.

Kyung’s mild relief of hearing that they were alive changed to dismay when Marcus mentioned their condition. She was shocked at the change in his demeanor. It wasn’t too long ago that he was freaking out about them dying, but now he was back to being flippant about it.

“What else? Oh, Terri is paralyzed.” His expression suddenly turned bitter.

“Good.” Kyung snapped.

Marcus slapped her across the face without thinking twice. “Well I wouldn’t be too pleased. Carter is having charges pressed against him for it.”

“What?! That is ridiculous. He was defending Lizz!” Kyung cried, her cheek burning from the slap.

“Oh it gets better. Lizz is going to go down for Kurt’s death. See, he had the belt wrapped around his neck and it is being said that she strangled him. Isn’t that a hoot?!” Marcus laughed.

Kyung shook her head slowly. “That isn’t possible. They can’t prove that.”

“Oh yeah? My uncle is one of the best lawyers around and he is already on the case.” Marcus retorted smugly. “His colleague, with almost a perfect record also, is on Carter’s case.”

Kyung wanted to scream at him that he was lying, but the look in Marcus’ eyes told her it was the truth.

“Oh it get’s better. We’ve got the families involved now too. We have gotten in to contact with all of them and they have been instructed not to go anywhere near the hosptial that your friends are in. If they do, you die. They don’t really have a choice in the matter. This is really going to be hard for your friends ya know? They are practically dying and they can’t even have their families there to comfort them. They are all alone and it is all your fault. Don’t you feel like shit now?” Marcus gloated at her.

Kyung didn’t respond, only closed her eyes and let the endless river of tears flow.

AJ hurried down the hallway of the 8th floor of the hospital. The guys had gotten a phone call an hour earlier advising them that the doctor would be taking Nick out of the drug induced coma he had been placed in a week ago. Knowing that the police officers were anxious to talk to Nick as well, AJ wanted to make sure he was there to protect Nick’s interests. Upon entering the hospital room, AJ’s heart sank. Nick was awake and his bed was surrounded by an assortment of policemen, FBI agents and crash investivgative agents. Nick had a bewildered look on his face.

“Hey look she’s waking up.”

“God, it almost hurts me to look at her.”

I know it couldn’t have been, but it sounded like one of them was snickering. I forced myself to open my eyes. At the foot of my bed stood two men in business suits. The one on the left side was tall. Way over six feet. He might have been good looking if he didn’t look so cold. The one next to him was just a just barely shorter and had jet black hair. Unbelievably, he was smirking. His eyes scanned over me and the smirk seemed to grow wider.

“Looks like Carter got to you too, huh?” He snickered softly.

What the hell did he mean by that?! I wanted to ask him, but the vent was still down my throat. Who the hell were these people? They were very intimidating and I know I should feel safe in a hospital, but these creeps were making me very nervous.

“Nice to see you are awake, Miss Hulford. Lizz right? So, Lizz, I see that you are unable to communicate verbally.” The black-haired, smirking guy started, not wasting any time.

Duh! Dumbass. I wanted them out of my room, but the call button was out of my reach. I know for a fact it wasn’t over on my bedside table earlier.

“How about you answer me by blinking twice for yes and once for no.” He continued.

I was starting to shake. Where was everyone?! Why didn’t someone get these guys out of here? The taller guy followed my gaze to the call button.

“After you answer some questions...”

“Now, does the name Kurtis Sloan ring a bell with you?” Second guy asked.

My eyes darted around the room helplessly. I wanted them to leave.

“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN HERE?!”

All eyes were focused on the guy standing in my doorway. He had a white lab coat on and had a stethoscope around his neck.

“Who are you?” The tall guy snapped.

“I’m her doctor, Doug McMasters. Who are you?” He shot back.

“I’m David Bord and this is my colleague, Jason Whise. We represent Terri Miller. We need to ask Miss Hulford some questions regarding her involvement in the death of Kurtis Sloan.” The tall guy, David, replied hotly.

My involvement?! What did he mean by that?

The doctor looked at his visibly shaken patient. “Well she isn’t in any condition to be answering any questions.” Dr. McMasters barked. “I suggest you leave before I call security.”

“Fine, we’ll talk again Miss Hulford.” Jason gave me that smug smile again as they exited the room.

“Asses.” Dr. McMasters stared out the door after them. After a moment he turned back to me. “Well.”

I studied him carefully. He was young, but he carried himself with confidence. He sort of reminded me of George Clooney on “ER.” I liked him already and was grateful to him for kicking those men out of my room.

“Yeah, yeah, I know what you are thinking. Just call me Dr. Ross.” He stopped and laughed. “I get it all the time. ‘Ohmigosh you look like that guy on ER’ Well we have the same first name anyway. I’ll be Doug Ross instead of Doug McMasters.”

I had to smile at that. He had a good bedside manner. It helped set me at ease. After he listened to me with the stethoscope and basically checked me over, I made motions towards the vent. I wanted it out.

“I knew that was coming. Let me set up the oxygen here and we’ll take that out for ya.” He fiddled with the oxygen that came out of the fixture on the wall and came back over to my side. “This is going to be tough because your lungs are pretty weak. One of your broken ribs punctured it more than once. I’m sure you know the routine. Blow out your candles nice and easy.” He instructed.

He swiftly, but gently pulled it out and I coughed and gagged on it. For a very frightening moment I couldn’t get any air, but then Dr. McMasters put an oxygen mask over my face and nose. It helped. After a few moments I was breathing a little more evenly so I tried to use my voice. It came out scratchy, raw and barely audible.

“What...did they...mean?”

“I don’t know sweetheart, but I wouldn’t let them corner you into a room by yourself like they just did.” He advised.

I nodded. The pain was starting to catch up with me again, but I had one last request. “Can you find out if my friends are okay?” It was a lot to get out all at once and I was proud that I did. He had to lean in to hear my pathetic voice though.

He glanced at me, then the clock, then back at me again, then he puffed out his cheeks and blew his hair off his face. “Okay, tell ya what. I’ve got one more patient to check, then I will go check on them. They are on 8 right?”

I shrugged. No one had told me anything.

“Okay, I’ll figure it out. Either me or someone else will get right back to ya okay?” He promised.

I really liked this guy. I’ve met my share of doctors and I have seen some real idiots. This guy was awesome. There wasn’t many doctors who would take the tie out of their busy schedule to do something like this. Dr. McMasters left and I was alone with my thoughts. That is something I did not like right about now. I didn’t want to have to think about what had just happened. As much as I was concerned about Nick and Brian, I wouldn’t be able to face them. This entire thing was my fault and I didn’t want to look at them hurting like this when it was my fault. And I don’t know if I could have handled seeing Nick after all that had happened. Cause he didn’t remember me, but I know he blamed me. I know that he didn’t mean them. He couldn’t have. But those words he flung at me about Brian.

“You kidnapped me??”

“I swear to you, you’re going to pay.”

“This is your fault and you had better stay far far away from him.”

I couldn’t face him. My eyes filled with tears and I felt really alone. Where was my family? Then it dawned on me. Where was Kyung? Miraculously she had escaped most of everything without serious injury so she shouldn’t be in here too. Not as a patient. Where was she?! My sudden change in mood seemed to amplify my pain and I hit the call button.

True to his word, Dr. McMasters went to find out how Lizz’s friends were. He didn’t know much about the situation until he had found Lizz’s nurse, Sheila. She told him all that she knew, including that two of the kidnappers were still at large and one of the victims was still missing. The eighth floor was absolutely full of people. People in business suits and police officers. Then there were more people trying to get those people out of there. Dr. McMasters shoved his way through them, ignoring the question that they fired at him.

He pushed open the door to 802. He vaguely recognized the two patients and also the other three guys that were in there. Both patients were asleep and the other three looked exhausted, worried, and slightly pissed off.

“Ahem.” He cleared his throat.

Terri and her mother were finally alone now. Terri was grinning a mile wide. After her marvelous performance of twisting the events that led to her paralysis, she had fabricated another story of how Lizz brutally killed her boyfriend. Her two attorneys assured them both that they had an excellent case going.

“Sweetie, you did so great. I almost believed you myself. They are going to suffer just like you did.” Agnes reassured Terri.

“Good.” Terri had even forgotten that she was paralyzed for a few moments, she was so happy about making her enemies go down too.

Suddenly the door burst open and David Bord marched in the room. He had a piece of paper and he was waving it around. “What the hell is this?! You never mentioned this! As your attorney, I need to know everything. Damnit!” David exclaimed.

Agnes held her hand out for the paper and sucked in a breath when she saw what it was.

"Do not worry, Brian and Nick are fine. Their friends Kyung and Lizz are with them as well. I got screwed over once and it won't happen again. This is not a demand for money, this is just a letter to let you know that they will be staying with me until the paper meets my demands."

It was Terri’s letter that was sent to the National Enquiror.

Kyung was exhausted, but she refused to let herself sleep. Dale had left about twenty minutes ago to call his wife back from a pay phone. Marcus was asleep on one of the beds and was snoring loudly. Kyung wanted to scream at him to shut up, but didn’t dare.

“MARCUS! GET UP!” Dale burst in the room, his face red with anger.

Marcus jumped and sat up, glaring at his father with sleep-filled eyes. “What the hell, pa?”

“We just got screwed over bad by your mother and darling little sister!” Dale hollered.

Kyung watched with interest, but also in fear. Dale was a loose cannon waiting to go off.

“What the hell are you talking about?!” Marcus demanded.

“They found Terri’s ransom letter and they put two and two together that we were the kidnappers. That Terri and your mom were involved. Well get this! They are telling everyone that we kidnapped these four idiots plus them too. You and I kidnapped Terri and your mother! So then, all events continue the way it was, only they were victimized also. ‘It was the perfect plan. My husband said everyone would suspect it was Terri because of what happened last spring. So of course Nick and his friends were bitter at my Terri and that is why Nick paralyzed her and Lizz killed her boyfriend.’ BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT!” Dale screamed.

Marcus stared at his father in shock. “Terri is going along with this too?”

“Oh yeah.” Dale laughed bitterly. “Ag convinced her that ‘her daddy and big brother left her there to die.’ You know how easily manipulated she is by her mother. We need to get out of here before the cops get here.”

“What about her?” Marcus jerked his head towards Kyung.

“She comes too. She can be our safety. Who’s gonna touch us when we’ve got a hostage?”