They all stood frozen in their spots, simply staring as the lynx bounded toward them. Then, their stares turned confused. They watched as the lynx growled and ran past them. Kevin looked at Brian, What just happened here?
Brian seemed to know what he was thinking and just shrugged, he wasn't complaining. Then a bloodcurdling scream echoed through the night, causing each of them to cringe at the sound of it.
"Ahhhh! Get it off! Help me, dammit! Ahhhh!"
Crack! Crack!
The crack of two gunshots reverberated around them, an animal howl of pain soon answering the shots. When they turned around to the direction the lynx ran, they were met with a disturbing sight. Through the musky night, they could make out two forms. One was standing over the other that was lying on the ground, a dead lynx sprawled at their feet. They could see that the man on the ground was covered in blood and not moving.
Howie spoke, "Maybe we should see if they need some help."
"Yeah," agreed Kevin, "Lets go."
They walked to the men, the one standing heard their approach and whipped around in their direction, rifle at the ready. They saw his tense stance relax in recognition, but the rifle stayed aimed in their direction. The guys stopped at Nick's venom filled voice...
"Jake."
The man smiled, "Why Nick, my boy! How good of you to stop by!"
"What the hell are you doing here?" Nick hissed out, his piercing blue eyes shooting daggers at Jake. The guys stared at Nick, stunned. They've never seen him like this before, he was so... intimidating. It looked as if he could snap at any moment to attack the man before them. Kevin stepped closer to Nick and placed a calming hand on his shoulder. His brow furrowed, he could feel Nick shaking in rage.
"Jus' keepin' an eye on you boys. Boss' orders," Jake answered simply, seemingly oblivious to the rage filled twenty year old before him. Jake nudged the man beside him with his foot, the form eliciting a groan, "Until Cal here snapped a twig and got the attention of that beast. Now I gotta haul his ass back to get patched up," he sneered, once again kicking the form.
"Well," Nick growled, "don't let us keep you. Please, haul his sorry ass and your own the hell out of here. NOW."
Jake's eyes narrowed and he looked Nick up and down, "What do we have here? You finally developin' some backbone? I must say that this surprises me, you weren't all high and mighty the last time." Jake smiled. "What do ya say? You wanna have a go at it? Right here, right now. Just you and me, man to... whatever the hell you are."
Kevin swore he heard Nick snarl just before he saw Nick begin to walk toward Jake. Kevin quickly wrapped an arm around Nick, stopping him, "Whoa, Nick. Just what the hell do you think you're doin'?"
Nick winced at the dull pain Kevin's grip caused his scraped side, but pushed it away and continued to try and evade Kevin's hold. Nick turned to face Kevin behind him, saying in a frightening monotone, "The man just gave me an offer I can't refuse." Then Nick turned back and almost escaped Kevin's stunned grasp.
Kevin couldn't get Nick's face out of his mind. He was dead serious, Kevin saw it in his eyes. "No, Nick. You can and will refuse it. We're leavin', NOW."
Kevin began to drag Nick away, ignoring his protests. Brian, AJ, and Howie followed in stunned silence, leaving the smirking man behind.
Kevin dragged Nick a good mile away before even thinking of letting the infuriated blond go. He couldn't believe the things that were coming out of his young friend's mouth.
"Damn it, Kevin!... Let me GO! Let me the fuck GO! ... You bastard! I swear, if you don't let me go, I'll fuckin' rip you apart!... You son of a bitch! Let! Me! GO!... Brian! Get him the fuck offa me! ..." Brian ignored him, too stunned to respond. "Fine! You're just like him then! You don't give a flyin' fuck, do you?! ... AJ!... Howie!... You gonna do somethin'?! ... " Silence. "Bastards! Kevin, you asshole! ... Let me go, damn it!"
Kevin had had enough. He roughly flung Nick face first onto the ground, feeling only slight regret at Nick's grunt of pain as he whipped around to face him with a hand clamped to his shoulder. Nick's face was red in anger and hurt, he glared up at Kevin before he sprang to his feet and threw a hard right at Kevin's face. Kevin stumbled back, both from the force of impact as well as shock. He gritted his teeth and straightened, facing down Nick as he threw another punch. Kevin was prepared this time and grabbed Nick's wrist in mid swing. Nick growled and used his left arm, it also becoming caught in Kevin's fierce grip.
"Let me go!" Nick yelled, his voice still filled with anger. He pulled against Kevin's hold, ignoring his throbbing shoulder. Kevin's grip never lessened, if anything, it tightened. Nick squeezed his eyes shut, continuing to try and pull away from Kevin, although, his struggles were weakening.
"Let me go, Kevin!" Nick cried, his voice cracking as tears escaped his closed eyes. His struggles weakened more, "Let me go." Nick's voice now came across strained and laden with anguish.
Kevin's eyes softened as he watched Nick crumble before him. Nick's legs buckled and Kevin fell to his knees with him. Nick kneeled, sitting on one of his feet and his head bowed low as he hunched over. Sobs shook his form as he struggled to hold himself in check.
Kevin still held onto Nick's wrists, feeling Nick trembling as he broke down in tears. Kevin's own eyes misted as he looked to the others. Brian, Howie and AJ stood frozen. Brian finally snapped out of it and joined Kevin at Nick's side, resting a hand on Nick's back, feeling him flinch at the touch.
"Nick?" Brian choked out, seeing his friend like this was tearing him up. "Nick? Come on, what's wrong?"
Kevin and Brian exchanged glances at the chuckle that was emitted from Nick. Nick tore his wrists from Kevin's now loose hold and turned his tear streaked face toward them. Some of the previous anger still lingered in the bloodshot, blue orbs, "Wrong?... What's wrong?" Nick shook his head, looking at the ground before him, "What kind of a question is that, Bri'?... Everything's wrong!"
Kevin used his hand to turn Nick's face toward him, "Nick, what the hell just happened? You were out of control... you hit me."
Nick turned his head away from Kevin, lowering his eyes, "I'm sorry, Kev. I- I didn't mean to hit you... I- I jus-"
AJ and Howie moved in close, kneeling before Nick. Nick was now surrounded by his friends.
"Just what, Nick?" asked AJ softly. Seeing Nick freak out like that really shook him.
Clear liquid again filled Nick's eyes as he looked at his friends around him. Nick wasn't really sure. He was fine before they approached Jake, but when he saw him there... It all just came together for him, all at once everything he'd been feeling since this whole deal started came upon him in a rush. All he felt was hatred for Jake, he wanted to rip his heart out... If he even had one. Then Kevin dragged him away, he had all that anger and no one to release it on... but his friends. Nick couldn't stop himself as he called his friends every name in the book, even as he attacked Kevin, it was like he was detached from what his body was doing. He couldn't stop and he hated himself for losing control of his emotions. Nick finally answered AJ, "I- I just... I just lost it! Okay?!"
"But why, Nick?" asked Howie, "You were fine before. Then when the lynx attacked and we approached those men... You knew that guy. You even called him by his name. How'd you know, Nick?"
Nick ducked his head back down, the clear liquid spilling out of his eyes and falling down his face. He didn't answer. Brian had a nagging suspicion, "You met him before, didn't you." This was not a question, but a statement of fact. Nick barely moved his head in a nod. Brian sighed and closed his eyes, "When?" he breathed.
No answer.
Brian opened his eyes and caught Nick's gaze, "When, Nick."
"Wh- when I took off that first time... When you came looking for me," Nick managed to get out.
Memory flicked in Brian's sky blue eyes, "That's why you were so spaced out when I found you... What did he do, Nick?"
Again Nick failed to answer Brian.
Brian's voice became demanding, "What did he do to you?"
"He just waved a knife in my face. He was just tryin' to scare me," Nick said this quickly, not liking the questioning.
"Just tryin' to scare you?" asked Brian, doubt easily heard in his voice. "That why you have that cut? The one you didn't tell us about? You didn't get it when we fell down the hill, I know what I knife wound looks like. He was gonna do more than just scare you, Nick. What made him stop?"
Nick gave up trying to avoid the questions and answered Brian, "You."
Brian looked confused, "Me?"
"Yeah, you," nodded Nick, "He took off when you called out for me. God, Brian. If you hadn't of came... He was going to kill me, Bri'." Nick rubbed a hand against his throat, remembering.
"But he didn't, and he never will either. I can promise you that," assured Kevin, breaking into the conversation.
Nick looked up at him and winced, seeing the bruising already forming on Kevin's jaw, "God, Kev. I'm really sorry about that." Nick gestured to Kevin's jaw at his confused look.
Kevin brought a hand up to rub the tender area, "Aw, its not that bad. Don't worry about it, I know you didn't mean it. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time." Kevin smiled, trying to reassure Nick.
"No," stated Nick, "That's no excuse. I shouldn't of done it, I shouldn't have said the things I did either... I really hate myself for it. I never should of let myself lose control."
"Don't say that, Nick," Howie broke in, "You've been holding it all in for way too long. Its not good for you to keep it all in like that, this is what can happen if you do. From now on, don't take it all on yourself. We're all in this together, remember?"
Nick smiled, "Yeah, I know. I just didn't know what to do."
"Relax, buddy," smiled AJ, "Just remember what we've said, that's what counts. We're in this together, we started it together, we'll end it together." AJ glanced at Kevin and his eyes twinkled, "Just remind me to never get you mad at me."
This brought a laugh from Nick, "You've been warned."
Howie looked around and yawned, "Well, I guess we should turn in. We've had a long day, we need to get some sleep."
Kevin nodded, "Yeah, lets get some rest, guys." He turned back to Nick, "You okay now?"
Nick gave him a smile, but Kevin noticed that it didn't quite reach his eyes, "Yeah, Kev. I'm okay now."
"Just remember we're here if you want to talk, 'kay?" Kevin added, wanting Nick to know he could confide in them. Kevin didn't want a reoccurrence of what just happened.
Nick's eyes were half closed as he straightened his legs out and laid back, "Yeah, I know Kev. I'll remember."
"Good," stated Kevin, also lying back on the moist ground. The others followed suit and they were all on the brink of dreamland when Nick's whisper brought them fully awake again. They could tell that Nick was only half conscious from his tone.
"Kev?"
"Yeah?" breathed Kevin through a yawn.
"When can we go home?" Nick whispered, then was asleep.
Kevin sat up, looking down at Nick's sleeping form. He glanced at the others, they were worried about Nick. This was getting to be too much for him.
Kevin reached forward with his hand and gently brushed the blond hair away from Nick's forehead. He sighed, "Soon, Nick... Soon."
~/~/~/~/~()~~~~~
"Ow! Take it easy, will ya?!"
"Aw, shut up, Cal!" growled Jake, roughly dragging the man along and back to the cabin, "You know how much shit I'm gonna get for this?"
Cal managed a grin, "A lot."
Jake sneered. The boss wasn't gonna like this. He finally reached the cabin, Cal was only half conscious. Jake kicked the door open and dragged him inside, chucking him none too gently onto the couch. He grinned at Cal's grunt of pain, "Stay."
Jake then went to tell the boss the great news. He found her staring at the blank monitors, the oil lamps casting a foreboding mood on the room. Jake nervously cleared his throat, "Uhhh... Boss?"
She slowly turned around, her icy glare meeting Jake full on, "What are you doing back?"
Jake cringed, "Um, we sorta had some trouble. Cal got attacked by a lynx. He's pretty messed up, but alive."
The woman's face darkened and she slowly stood, "What?"
Jake felt himself begin to panic as he backed up against the wall as she slowly walked toward him, casually checking the chambers in her gun, "There was nothin' I could do boss! I killed the cat, but not before it cut him up some. Its not too bad, he should be able to get around once he's fixed up. Boss!"
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Three shots, three hits.
Jake stood with eyes shut tight and his breath coming in gasps. There was a neat bullet hole in the wall on the right side of his head, the left side of his head, and... right between his legs.
Then the woman simply tossed the gun on the ground and left the room to go fix Cal up. Jake stood, shaking. Then his legs buckled and he slid to the floor. He wiped his hand across his sweaty brow. Damn
///////Day6\\\
///////EarlyMorning\\\
A small shadow darts along the ground, leaping over small branches and dodging around trees. It comes across a familiar sight, a sight that is its goal. It quickly scans the red saturated ground, steering clear of the dead cat lying immobile a foot away.
Small whiskers quiver as it turns its nose up in the air, sniffing cautiously. Its jerky movements cover the ground, searching. It perks up at a glimmer in the gray night. A squeak of triumph comes from its small mouth as it scampers over to its prize.
Squeaker stops before a slender, smooth black object. A cell phone. He saw the man drop it in his struggle with the big cat, Squeaker had a feeling that it would help his new friends. He wanted to bring it to them, to help them. He could see that they were sad, even scared. Squeaker didn't want them sad or scared, he wanted them happy.
Squeaker's small clawed hands pawed at the black cell phone, which matched his body in length. A squeak of frustration was heard as he angrily jumped on the phone. It was too big for him to carry. Squeaker sat in thought, scanning the forest around him. He stiffened at movement not far off in the shadows. As it came closer, he relaxed.
A scruffy raccoon ambled toward him, turning a wide birth around the dead lynx. Its gentle brown eyes gazed at Squeaker questioningly, switching from the cell phone to the now excited squirrel. It watched as Squeaker made wild motions, trying to make him understand. From what he could decipher, the raccoon thought the squirrel wanted the cell phone carried somewhere. The raccoon gazed at the pleading black eyes, deciding to help the gray squirrel. He nodded his head and ambled to the black cell, picking it up in his long hands and looking toward the squirrel for direction.
Squeaker jumped up and motioned toward where the guys were a mile away, and quickly scampered back to his friends, the raccoon shuffling along with its small burden.
~/~/~/~/~()~~~~~
AJ's eyes cracked open, confused. Something was jumping on him. When his eyes focused, Squeaker's face stared right back at him.
"Squeaker?" AJ mumbled, "What do you want? I'm tired."
AJ's eyes drifted closed, but they popped back open when Squeaker squeaked loudly and jumped on his face. "What the-! Squeaker! What is it?!"
AJ forced himself to sit up and turned at the sound of laughter. Kevin, Nick, Howie, and Brian sat snickering at him. They obviously just witnessed his rude wake up call. AJ threw them an indignant glare and then turned his attention back to Squeaker, who was still jumping up and down.
AJ quirked an eyebrow, "What the hell is wrong with you, Squeaker?"
Squeaker answered by darting into the early morning shadows, obviously wanting AJ to follow him. With a sigh, AJ pushes himself to his feet and stumbles after the weird squirrel.
The guys laugh, watching AJ disappear after Squeaker. They wondered who was in charge, AJ or the squirrel. They get serious as AJ's yell fills the air.
"Guys!"
They glanced at each other and then quickly make their way to where AJ had disappeared. They stopped dead in their tracks at the sight that greeted them. AJ was crouched on the ground, facing a raccoon a few feet away. Squeaker was beside the raccoon, trying to persuade it to go to AJ. After a bit of coaxing, the raccoon cautiously ambled up to AJ. It dropped a black object and then quickly scampered away, disappearing into the forest.
AJ watched it go and then turned his attention to the black object. His eyes widened as he reached out to pick it up. He mutely stood and slowly walked over to the others. He stopped before Kevin, handing him the object.
Confused, Kevin stared at AJ before looking at the object. Kevin's eyes widened, "A cell phone?!"
Howie's jaw dropped, "A cell phone? ... Where the hell did they get a cell phone?!"
Kevin shook his head, "I don't know, but I don't care either. This could be the best thing that could of happened to us. We could get out of here if this thing works... Once we find out where in Alaska we are."
"Well," said Nick, his voice sounding cynical, "That shouldn't be too hard."
Their eyes flicked to Nick, concerned. Brian spoke, "We'll figure it out. We have to."
Kevin nodded, "We've been lucky so far, maybe luck will help us out again." Kevin opened the cell phone and clicked it on, hesitantly bringing it to his ear. A smile broke on his face, "It works."
The others let out a breath in relief, "Now what?" Asked AJ, scooping up Squeaker and giving him a cookie he had in his pocket.
Kevin looked to the Northwest, "We're almost at the cabin, I know we've covered enough distance to be just about there... And somethin's been bothering me."
They glance at each other, "What, Kev?" asked Howie.
"Back there, with those guys," Kevin noticed Nick flinch at the reminder, he continued quickly, "They were following us, we even heard them. They weren't so obvious before... Then, now, there is this cell phone..."
"Yeah, so?" urged Brian.
"That storm was pretty bad, a lot of lightning. I don't think that woman can see us anymore. Have you noticed that she hasn't called us on the radio? She should of called us after the cat incident, she always called us after we had a close call... I don't think they have the power to monitor us like before, and this cell phone... Squeaker must have gotten it from one of those guys. There's blood on it." Kevin finished by pointing out the dried blood on the cell phone.
"So," commented AJ, "We can do what we want, she won't know?"
Kevin shook his head, "Nope, and her goons are back at the cabin I assume. I think that's where her base is, why else would she want us to go there unless she was waiting there for us?"
Brian stepped forward, hope now present in his eyes, "So... what do we do Kev?"
Kevin looked at each of their faces, his eyes lingering on Nick's downcast face. I want this done, over, finished... NOW. He looked back to the Northwest, "We keep moving to the cabin, when we have it in sight..."
"What, Kev?" questioned Howie.
"I'll tell you when we get there."
The 'Boys walked... and walked. None of them said a word. They all wondered what Kevin had in mind. Nick didn't know what to think, even with the cell phone in their possession... Nick found himself losing hope.
Kevin put an arm out to stop them. The dusk of night had again fallen on the five, Kevin pointed. There, through the maze of trees on a slight incline, stood a small cabin. A soft yellow glow emanated from the sparse windows.
Brian stared, "That's it?"
Kevin nodded, "Has to be."
Howie stepped up beside Kevin and crossed his arms, "Okay, Kev. What were you going to tell us."
A sad smile turned Kevin's mouth, "I have a plan."
Seven Days by Refuse
