"Plan?" asked Howie, his eyes looking over Kevin's face warily, "What do you mean by plan?"
Kevin ducked his head slightly, "Just what it means, a plan. A plan to take back our lives."
Silence filled the confines of their small group. After a few long minutes, AJ seemed to find his voice, "So... What I'm getting from this is... You have a plan to attack the cabin?"
Kevin nodded and looked at his incredulous friends, "That's exactly what I mean. What else are we supposed to do? Walk up there and surrender ourselves?" Kevin stared hard into each pair of eyes, "You know what will happen if we do that. Atleast this way we'll have a chance."
"Yeah!" yelled Brian, his eyes wide with fear, "A chance to get ourselves KILLED!"
Kevin looked at his cousin patiently, "And what do you think will happen if we jus' walk up there like that woman wants us to, Bri'? She'll pick us off one by one. This whole deal was for her to watch us go through hell to get here, that was her game. She wants to end it herself. I say WE end it."
Kevin watched each of his friends' faces, seeing their different thoughts play across them. AJ and Howie seemed to reluctantly agree with him, Brian looked as though he understood and knew it was their only option, though Kevin could still see the apprehension in his eyes, and Nick... Nick looked like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car. His eyes were fixed on the cabin, something akin to terror on his pale face.
Kevin continued, "We don't really have any choice."
Faces and eyes fell, acknowledging the fact. A fact they all knew as true. In a way, they didn't have anything to lose. Either way was dangerous, putting their lives at risk, but this way they had some semblance of control... not much, but some.
Howie sighed and brought his eyes up, "Okay Kev, what's the plan?"
Kevin smiled, "Well... its... uhhh..."
AJ stepped forward, "You just said you did have a plan..."
Kevin cleared his throat, "Well, yeah, I do. Its just... Well, there isn't all that much to it."
They waited, but Kevin didn't continue. Brian couldn't take it, "Well, tell us for God's sake!"
Kevin jumped, "All right! Jeez! Okay... I guess my plan is... uhhh, to scope out the cabin through the windows to see where they are and then to... to have a couple of us knock on the door for a diversion and the rest of us will go through the windows to catch them from behind."
They stared.
"That's IT?" asked AJ, incredulous.
"Do you have a better idea?" asked Kevin, stung.
"Hell yeah!" cried AJ, taking a few steps toward the cabin. "Why don't we just walk up and say: 'Insert bullet here'." AJ points a finger to middle of his forehead.
Kevin gave AJ a stern look, "Well, it's the only thing I can think of. So, unless someone has a better idea..." Silence. "I guess its settled then."
Nick's eyes danced from one friend to the next, shocked. We're going to the cabin and confront that... that... Nick couldn't continue the thought. This was just too much, this whole thing... way too much.
"All right, Kev," acquiesced Howie, "How and when do we do this?"
"I think now is as good a time as any," Kevin thought aloud, "We'll have some cover with the darkness and they hopefully won't be expecting us 'til tomorrow." Kevin looked his friends over, thinking, "AJ and Howie, you'll be the ones that'll create the distraction while Nick, Brian, and I will be at the windows."
Kevin watched to see if there were any objections, finding none he continued, "Okay, I guess we should start then."
They each darted nervous glances at the cabin in the distance before making any move to put their 'plan' in action. Being in no hurry, they carefully stepped through the forest bush, not wanting to make a sound that might alert those in the distance. Howie sidled up to Kevin.
"You think this'll work, Kev?" he asked, nervous.
Kevin stopped, then continued, ducking under a low branch. He looked into Howie's wide brown eyes, "I don't know, 'D... I just don't know."
Howie forced a chuckle, "Well, it can't get any worse, can it?"
They paused and looked from each other, to the cabin, then back to each other. Kevin closed his eyes, "Yes... yes it can."
AJ and Brian followed behind Kevin and Howie, blissfully unaware of their conversation. Both too caught up in their own fear and unsure thoughts to notice.
Nick lagged behind, alone. He stared at his friends' backs, noticing the reluctance of each step they took, the bowed heads and slumped shoulders. It was like watching a death march. Nick cringed. Okay, not one of the words I most wanna hear right now. We'll make it. AJ said we'll end this together. I say we'll end this together alive.
As they neared the cabin, their hearts began to race. The ones that took them away to this place, the ones that hurt them, the ones that scared the shit out of them... were within the walls of the cabin before them. Kevin stopped, now only a few feet away from one of the glowing windows. When the others had reached him and Howie, he motioned them forward. Together, they crept to the window, anxious to know where their captors were.
Kevin motioned them to stop, then he cautiously poked his head to the window, his body flat against the rough log wall. Half of Kevin's face now could be seen from within the cabin, if anyone took the chance to look. No one did. Kevin's one eye quickly took in the scene and then he darted his head back. Just that one act made Kevin's breath quicken in fear.
AJ, Brian, Nick, and Howie all looked at him questioningly. Kevin took a breath and whispered, "They're all in there. I saw Jake standin' by a couch next to a woman that was bent over that other guy, who's lying on the couch. She must be patching him up, he's the one that was attacked by that cat."
They all nodded, showing Kevin that they understood. Kevin ran a nervous hand through his hair, "Okay," he whispered, "I think now's when we gotta do it. They're distracted and one of them's down. We have to do it now."
They all again nodded. Howie rubbed the back of his neck, trying to get rid of the tension he suddenly felt. Brian kept running his shaking hand through his tousled hair and nervously tugging at the makeshift sling that held his injured arm, his eyes fixed to the window. Nick had his arms hugged around his frame, his eyes closed while he took deep, slow breaths.
AJ took Squeaker out of his pocket and set the squirrel on the ground, squatting to be closer to its level. He had a sad expression on his face as he whispered, the others able to hear every word, "Okay, Squeaks. You gotta get outta here, you hear? Go on, get!" AJ shoved the shocked squirrel away, trying to get his point across to the gray animal. Squeaker stayed. AJ sighed, looking up at the sky. He took a cookie out of his pocket, seeing Squeaker's eyes brighten at the sight of it. "You want this cookie?" he asked, waving it in front of the tempted squirrel, "Well, go get it!" AJ chucked the cookie out into the darkness, making sure Squeaker saw its flight path. He watched sadly as his squirrel bounded off after the tempting treat.
AJ stood and looked to his friends, seeing their sympathetic expressions. Kevin stepped up to him, reaching a hand out to squeeze AJ's shoulder, "You had to do it, buddy. Its better this way."
AJ just looked at the ground and nodded. "I'm gonna miss the little guy, though."
"Yeah," Kev smiled sadly, "We all will. C'mon, lets do this before we chicken out."
They whispered over their plan again before taking up their positions. AJ and Howie silently made their way to the door. Brian worked his way around to the other side of the cabin, stopping before a window and saying a silent prayer. Nick went to one of the back windows, feeling his chest tighten in fear and adrenaline. Kevin stayed at the window they were just gathered around, leaning heavily against the wall in waiting. They all now waited for AJ and Howie to make their move. None of them knowing what was about to happen, just praying that in the end it would all fall in their favor.
~/~/~/~/~()~~~~~
Jake stood with his arms crossed, staring down as his boss gave Cal a drink of water. Cal was all bandaged up, the boss had already cleaned and disinfected the slashes across his chest. Jake had watched her face as she had done that and could see the satisfaction she took in Cal's pain. He enjoyed it also, but the boss was a different matter. She didn't give a damn about them and would either leave them for dead or kill them if she didn't need them so much.
Jake was gonna be as useful as possible.
A movement flashed in the corner of Jake's eye, he whipped his head around, searching. He narrowed his eyes, he was sure he had seen something. Suspicious, Jake uncrossed his arms and moved away from the couch. He was drawn to the back room, he just reached the open doorway to the back room when a knock resounded from the front door. He spun around, even more alert. Something was up.
The boss had straightened and looked toward the door. The knock came again and she stood, facing the door. Cal sat up, forcing himself to stand. Jake watched tensely as the boss and Cal strode to the door.
~/~/~/~/~()~~~~~
AJ had knocked again when he heard no movement from inside. This time he and Howie heard loud footfalls coming toward the door and their hearts jumped to their throats as they flattened themselves against the cabin at either side of the door. They stared at each other as the footsteps stopped, this was it.
The door whipped open and a man stepped into the open doorway, unable to see AJ and Howie in the contrast of the lit up cabin to the darkness outside. AJ could see the woman just behind the man and then Howie and he sprung. AJ went after the unprepared woman as Howie lunged to tackle the man.
Howie caught the man about the middle and they crashed to the hard wood floor inside the cabin. Howie heard the man grunt in pain and saw his gun knocked from his hand and slide across the smooth floor. The man surprised Howie, though, with a hard left to his face. The force of it knocked Howie to the side and freed the man from his grasp.
AJ had more than he bargained for with the woman. She was kicking and clawing at him. This chick was strong. He had a good hold of her though as he laid on his back on the floor, his arms wrapped around her arms and middle as she kicked and struggled. She was screaming in rage and the sound made him cringe in annoyance, then a sharp pain lanced through his forearm, causing his grip to loosen and the woman pushed out of his hold. AJ grasped his arm, seeing the small about of blood. She bit me! The bitch bit me! AJ saw her crawling to the gun on the floor and he lunged after her.
"Oh, no you don't!" he yelled, the woman swearing loudly as he snatched her foot and dragged her back.
Cal climbed to his feet and turned to kick at the man he had just hit.
"Hey!"
Cal spun around at the yell, just in time for a fist to the face. He cried out and grasped his bleeding nose with both hands, knowing it was broken. He squinted through a red haze at a tall man with black hair and fierce green eyes, Cal took an involuntary step back.
Kevin glared at the man and then bent over to give Howie a hand up.
"Thanks," Howie gasped, his hand massaging his jaw.
"You bastard! Let me the fuck GO!" screamed a female voice.
Kevin and Howie turned to see AJ trying to hold onto a woman, a woman putting up one hell of a fight. Their attention was quickly brought back to themselves though, as Cal recovered somewhat and attacked.
Kevin bent over with a grunt as a force connected with his middle, feeling himself get pushed to the ground. He landed hard and felt his head crack against the hard wooden floor. Stars flashed across his vision as he struggled to his knees, not willing to take a hit lying down. Kevin saw the blur of Cal's legs before him and leaped forward and tackled him to the ground.
Howie had turned to help Kevin when he was first hit, but something broad sided him and he felt as if his head had exploded. Howie fell to the floor to look up at the intimidating form of Jake, his fists still clenched.
"Think you can take us, huh?" he growled.
Howie answered by springing to his feet and launching a fist around at Jake's sneering face. Howie's quickness had caught Jake unawares and he staggered back from the force of the blow. Jake straightened and wiped the blood from his face with the back of his hand, spitting more from his mouth. Then Jake paused. He reached in his mouth and pulled out a bloody tooth. He threw the tooth to the floor and glared at Howie before him.
"You're gonna pay for that, boy."
Jake pushed his sleeves up and attacked. Howie was overwhelmed by his fierce attack and soon fell to the floor. Blood ran from his nose and mouth as he clutched his middle, bringing his legs up in an effort to lessen the pain.
Jake moved in to add to his assault when a muffled thump came to his ears. He slowly turned, his eyes falling on the back room's doorway. With an evil smile, Jake left the form curled on the floor and walked to the back room.
~/~/~/~/~()~~~~~
Nick had heard the knock and the muffled sounds of a struggle, his heart hammering in his chest as he finally got the window open. He had some difficulty getting in as it was higher than the others. He managed to get his leg in, but when he tried to pull himself through his shoulder gave out. His support suddenly gone, Nick fell into the cabin. He landed on his injured side with a loud bang. Nick clenched his teeth as pain shot through his shoulder and side, noticing the pain in his side felt worse than before. Damn it! Must of cracked some ribs. God, Carter... you're just real graceful, aren't ya?
Eyes clenched shut, Nick pushed himself up into a sitting position. He could hear the fight in the other room and forced himself to his feet. He leaned against the wall to catch his breath before he charged into the other room to help his friends. He was about to do just that when a sound caused his eyes to snap open and his heart to stop dead.
"Well, if it isn't my old friend Nicky."
"Jake," Nick gasped, his breath suddenly leaving him.
Nick watched, frozen, as Jake came toward him. "Its nice of ya to join the party, boy. I was getting tired of beating the crap out of that other one." Jake smiled.
Nick's eyes widened, then narrowed dangerously. "You son of a bitch!" Nick pushed away from the wall and launched himself at Jake. Jake just smiled and waited for him. Then, at the last moment, Jake spun to the side and grabbed Nick's arm as he went past.
Nick couldn't move. Even if he wanted to. One moment he was just about to clobber Jake, the next he had his right arm wrenched behind his back and a knife at his throat.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk," scolded Jake from behind Nick, "Such manners, Nicky. Lets say we go and join your friends, eh? Put a stop to this whole mess."
Nick tried to pull his arm from Jake's grasp, attempting to twist away. Jake answered by yanking his arm further up and pressing the knife harder against Nick's throat. Nick gasped and arched his body out in pain and fear.
"None of that now, Nicky," growled Jake, "You jus' do what I want and you might live a few more minutes to see your friends."
Nick could only stumble along as Jake pushed him into the suddenly silent room ahead of them.
~/~/~/~/~()~~~~~
Meanwhile, Brian wasn't one for cursing often, but right now he was muttering every single swear word in the book. He struggled with the window, but was unable to open it. It was jammed and he had only one arm to try and bust it loose with.
"Damn it!" cried Brian in frustration, slamming his fist against the frame. He had only one other choice, he had to break the window. Brian spun around and scanned the ground. After a few anxious minutes of searching the darkness, he found a good sized rock and picked it up. He stopped before the window and threw it with all his might, hearing the glass shatter to the ground.
Brian quickly scrambled through the window, ignoring the pain as glass still in the frame cut his arm and leg, tearing through his clothes. He stumbled, but managed to get his other leg through the window to catch himself. Brian ran to the next room, past the monitors and chairs. He burst into the main room and stopped in shock of the chaos before him.
AJ fought with a woman, both of them rolling across the floor in their struggles. Kevin was beating the crap out of some blond guy with blood all over his face. Then Brian saw Howie, he was curled up on the floor and not moving. Brian's gut clenched. Brian went to Howie, falling to his knees. His eyes roved over Howie's form, taking in the damage. Brian hesitantly reached his hand out, afraid of what he might find.
"Howie?"
Brian's hand touched Howie's shoulder. Howie groaned. Brian released the breath he didn't know he was holding, "Howie? 'D? ... C'mon, man, speak to me."
Howie slowly rolled onto his back, cracking his eyes open to look at Brian's worried face above him. "Bri'?" he croaked.
"Yeah, 'D, its me. You gonna be okay? How bad are ya hurt?"
Howie gritted his teeth and was able to move into a sitting position with Brian's help. "I'll be... fine... in a minute," gasped Howie, clutching his middle.
Brian was about to say 'yeah, right' when a cry caught his attention. His head spun around and then he jumped to his feet. Brian ran as fast as he could toward AJ, who was holding a hand to his face and trying to grab the woman that was scrambling across the floor after... a gun.
Brian slid into a dive and snatched the gun away just when the woman grabbed at it, hearing her scream of protest. Brian slowly got to his feet, "All right," he said loudly and calmly, getting everyone's attention. "Nobody move, this stops now."
The woman glared up at Brian, but stopped. AJ gazed up at Brian as if he were an angel, then he fell back and tried to calm his breathing and racing heart. Kevin stopped in mid swing at hearing his cousin's voice, dropping the half conscious Cal to the ground when he saw Brian holding a gun on the woman. Howie sighed in relief and scooted back until he could lean his weight against the wall.
Brian stared at the woman, "Go and sit on the couch." Brian motioned to her with the gun, she reluctantly did as she was told, fuming at being ordered to do anything.
Brian chanced a glance at Kevin and the others, "You guys okay?"
AJ thrust an arm in the air, "Just peachy!"
Kevin smiled, "I'm all right."
Brian turned to Howie, "Howie?"
Howie shifted and grimaced, but smiled, "I'll be okay."
Brian smiled, then the color drained from his face and he looked frantically about, "Where's Nick?" he gasped.
"Right here."
Every gaze fell on Jake, who was holding a pale Nick with a knife at his throat. The woman smiled.
Brian's heart skipped a beat, "Nick?"
Nick opened his eyes and looked sadly at Brian, "Hey, Frick." Then Nick winced as Jake twisted his arm.
"All right," Jake's rough voice boomed out, "Nobody moves, or Nicky here is gonna have a new hole in 'im."
Kevin and Howie stayed frozen, staring in shock. AJ slowly sat up, his eyes burning in anger at seeing Nick being held by that beast. He knew from experience what it was like.
Jake moved further into the room, Nick closing his eyes as the movement jostled his arm twisted behind his back and caused the knife to move against his skin. Jake's steely stare settled on Brian, who still had the gun pointed at his boss. Jake smiled.
"All's well, son," he said, referring to Brian, "So, if you don't mind, hand the gun over." At Brian's hesitation, Jake jerked on Nick's arm, causing him to cry out and his eyes to snap open. Brian quickly handed Jake the gun, fear for his best friend too great of an incentive. Jake grinned while carefully wedging Nick's arm he held behind the youth's back against his body, releasing that hand to purchace the gun. He chucked the gun to the boss, who neatly snatched it out of the air, rising from the couch languidly and sauntering over to Brian. She leveled the gun at Brian's head, Brian closed his eyes and swallowed.
The lady sneered, "Not so confident now, are you?... What is there to stop me from just shooting you right now?" Brian's eyes shot open, the fear in their blue depths easily seen by his friends. The woman smiled, the evil in her eyes sending a chill up Brian's spine, "I'll tell you what, I'm gonna make each and every one of you suffer. You'll each watch as one of you goes through hell, but don't worry, you'll each get your own turn in time." Then she laughed, the pure sound of it causing each of them to involuntarily shiver. "But," she continued, "I'll leave you alone until tomorrow. After all," she smiled, turning to Kevin, "I gave you seven days, correct?"
Kevin didn't answer, the woman's eyes flashed in anger, "Correct?"
Kevin managed to nod, How did it turn out like this? We were so close...
"Good boy," she smiled, she then turned to Jake with appraising eyes, "You have redeemed yourself, Jakie." She walked up to Jake and Nick as Jake recaptured Nick's arm behind his back, placing the tip of the gun against Nick's temple. She smiled at the gasps behind her and stared into Nick's fear filled blue eyes. "Its just such a shame, Nicky," she said, her eyes watching as she traced the gun down his face, "you were by far the most interesting to watch. Such a display of conflict: fear, shame, guilt, pain, even the bravery..." she shook her head and took the gun away, frowning, "Such a shame."
Turning, her face brightened in a wide smile, "Well! Jake, tie them up and then meet me in the observation room." She paused, staring disgustedly at Cal's half conscious form, "And bring Cal's sorry ass with you." Then the woman handed Jake the gun, forcing him to release Nick's arm, but keep the knife in its position. The woman turned on her heels and walked from the room. She entered the observation room, closing the door behind her and leaning against it, a demonic smile turning her thin red lips as she planned the next day in her sick mind.
"All right!" declared Jake, taking the knife away from Nick's throat and spinning him away to fall on the floor. Nick managed to catch himself with his good arm and it broke his fall, he's now lying on his right side leaning on his elbow and staring up at Jake's sneering face, absently rubbing a hand against his throat. He barely acknowledges it when Brian appears at his side, placing a comforting hand on his back. Jake just smiled.
"Cal! Get yer lazy ass up and get the rope!" With a grunt, Cal managed to get up and he went to the other room for the rope, returning in a couple minutes with several coils.
"All right," spoke Jake, taking the rope as he handed Cal the gun, "Cal, you keep them covered while's I tie 'em up."
Cal nodded, leaning against the wall for support as he trained the gun on our five guys. Jake went to Kevin first, seeing him as the greatest threat, "Okay, macho man, come 'ere."
Jake motioned him to the couch, Kevin did as told with reluctance as his fists clenched with the urge to punch Jake's lights out. Jake chuckled, seeing this, "You jus' wait 'till tomorrow, macho. You'll get yer chance."
Soon Kevin, AJ, Howie, Brian, and Nick were all placed around the room with their hands tied behind their backs. Kevin and AJ were on the couch, Howie was where he was before on the floor leaning against the wall, Brian was sitting in a wooden chair without armrests, and Nick was on the floor against the wall facing Brian who was six feet in front of him. The couch sat against the wall to the left side of Nick and Brian, and Howie was beside the door on the opposite side of the room as Nick.
Jake surveyed them for a few minutes before smiling and heading to the observation room, hauling Cal by the arm. He tossed his head to the side and called, "You boys behave now, we don't wanna end the fun before it even begins." Jake's laughter was soon cut off by the closed door he and Cal disappeared into.
Kevin shifted, grimacing as he tried to get his hands out of the coarse rope. He sighed as the only result was rubbing his skin raw. Kevin's green gaze traveled the room, scanning over his friends.
AJ sat beside him, his brown eyes burning a hole into the door Jake had disappeared into. He was a bit pissed. AJ's fierce gaze only seemed to accent the three long scratches on his left cheek. The woman got a lick in it seemed.
Kevin's eyes switched to Howie. He was leaned up against the wall with his head back and eyes closed, one leg stretched before him and the other bent close to his chest. His face was beginning to show bruising and dried blood stained his skin. He didn't look too good.
Kev's eyes flicked to Brian, sitting in a wooden chair with his arms secured behind it. Brian sat stiffly, the position he was in was obviously uncomfortable, plus the fact that Jake had roughly released his injured arm from the sling and wrenched it behind his back. It had to be bothering him. Kevin noticed Brian's jeans were ripped at the side of his thigh, blood darkening the material. He noticed a similar rip on his upper arm. Kevin was about to ask Brian about this when he noticed Brian's face. Brian was staring at Nick, his features twisted in worry. Kevin followed his gaze, his eyes saddening in the state of the youngest member of their group.
Nick sat against the wall, his knees bent halfway to his chest with his head bowed low and resting on their support, he was slumped forward, his face hidden from view. They could both see his form shaking.
Brian looked helplessly at his best friend, feeling his shoulder throbbing and his cuts stinging. He didn't acknowledge that, only his friend before him. "Nick?" he strained out, "Nick, c'mon.... Say somethin', will ya?"
Nick heard Brian, but he didn't think his voice could work at the moment. Nick's eyes were squeezed shut as he tried to get the last few moments to stop replaying in his head. He couldn't get them to stop, the images, the feelings. Nick pressed his face into his knees further as the feeling of the cold barrel of the gun sliding down his face returned, Nick shook his head slightly as the cold steel of the knife could still be felt against his neck. Nick opened his eyes to stare at his legs, tears falling out of the corners of his blue eyes, "Oh, God..."
Brian heard Nick's hoarse groan, his voice sounding broken. "Nick?"
Nick finally lifted his head, he looked up at Brian, "Oh, God... Brian... I can't-... I jus' can't-"
"Its okay, Nick, its okay. We're all here with ya, remember?" Brian tried to soothe his friend, "Tell me, what's wrong?"
Nick blinked and more tears fell, "I can still feel it, Bri'."
Confusion clouded Brian's eyes, "Feel what, Frack?"
The use of his nickname caused Nick to smile slightly, "The knife, the gun..." Nick rubbed the side of his head against his shoulder at the cold sensation running across his face, just as the gun had felt. He shivered.
Brian threw his head at Kevin, seeing the look on his cousin's face that confirmed that he heard. AJ and Howie were also staring at him and Nick, having heard every word. Brian didn't know what to do, he looked back at Nick who was staring off into space.
"Nick? You jus' gotta believe that we'll get through this," Brian had gotten Nick's attention, two sets of blue eyes were locked. "We will get out of this, Nick. I know we will. Do you believe me, Nick? That we'll make it?"
Nick stared at Brian, the hope was almost tangible in his best friend's voice. "I- I don't know, Bri'. I don't think I have any hope left."
Brian dropped his head, hearing the defeat in Nick's words. He brought his head back up when AJ spoke.
"Nick, you gotta believe we'll make it," AJ declared, "Remember Mick?
Nick winced.
"He went out of his way to help us, even after we told him about the woman and everything," AJ shook his head in wonder, "He still offered to help, knowing it was dangerous and he ended up losing his life for us. Its gotta be worth somethin'. If we can only do one thing to repay him, then we shouldn't give up. Never give up."
Nick slowly nodded his head. "I haven't given up yet, 'J. But... its hard."
AJ smiled and shifted his seat, "Yeah, I know kid. We just gotta work at it. We can't give up."
Nick smiled and seemed to sit a little straighter. Howie spoke, "What are we gonna do?"
They all turned to look at him, "I mean, what can we do? We're all tied up, how are we gonna stop them tomorrow?"
Kevin narrowed his eyes as he turned to the observation room door, "We'll just have to wait until tomorrow and find out. We'll find a way."
They sat in silence, each lost in their whirling emotions and thoughts. Kevin shifted and grimaced when his shoulders stiffened, "I think we might as well sleep. It'll make the time go faster and we'll be more alert after some rest."
Each agreed with Kevin and tried to get comfortable. Kevin and AJ settled on the couch. Howie and Nick laid on their sides on the floor. Brian couldn't do much, he just leaned his head back and eventually they all fell into restless sleep.
~/~/~/~/~()~~~~~
The woman was truly happy. She now had the Backstreet Boys in her hands, to do with as she pleased. She was gonna just shoot them, but... since they formed a little rebellion... She decided she wouldn't give them the pleasure of a simple bullet. She wanted them to suffer.
She studied Jake's face, noticing the satisfaction in his features. "What's on your mind, Jake?"
His shifty eyes switched in her direction, "I have an idea."
///////Day7\\\
Brian came awake with a snap. Something had just hit him in the head... hard. When his sleep laden eyes focused, he remembered. It was kinda hard not to with Jake's ugly mug staring back at you. Brian glared up at him and then rolled his head, trying to get the kink out of it after having to sleep in the the chair. He couldn't even feel his arm anymore, it was completely numb. Jake seemed satisfied with his consciousness and stepped away from Brian. Brian watched as he kneeled beside Nick's sleeping form, he struggled against his ropes when he saw Jake take the knife out once again. Brian wasn't gonna let him do that to Nick again.
"Nick!" Brian shouted, desperately trying to wake his friend. "Nick! Wake up!"
AJ, Howie, and Kevin jerked awake at Brian's yells, joining him when they saw the situation.
"Nick! Wake UP!!"
Nick jumped, his eyes snapped open. All he saw was Jake and a knife. He gasped and scooted as best he could away, trying to put as much distance as possible between him and the deranged man.
Jake stayed where he was and just grinned, putting the knife away. "Time to wake up, Nicky."
Nick pushed himself into a sitting position, panting in fear. Talk about a rude awakening. Nick was getting tired of this. He was getting angry...
Jake stood and turned to the boss who was leaning against the door frame, smiling. Cal was pretty much out of it. That Kevin guy had beaten the crap out of him. He had a concussion, among other things. Cal just swayed back and forth and let his unfocused eyes roam the room. Jake didn't think he even knew where he was. Jake shrugged, they didn't need him anyway.
Jake walked up to his boss, receiving something from her. He smiled and then turned back to the guys, revealing what he had just been given. A colt conversion handgun.
"Well," Jake grinned, "I hope you all got a good night's sleep. It'll be your last, I assure you." Jake casually walked up to Brian, spinning the gun's chamber. "Now, I'm about to play a game... I'm wondering if you've heard of it?" Jake turned the gun up, letting the bullets fall to the floor, then he bent over and picked one up. He straightened, placing the lone bullet into the chamber and then spinning it before locking it into place. "I believe it is called..." Jake suddenly brought the gun around and touched the barrel to Brian's temple, then pulled the trigger. Brian's eyes widened in shock and he gasped as a hollow click sounded from the gun. "...Russian Roulette."
Brian closed his eyes, his breathing controlled and slow. He tried to stay calm, but... who was he kidding? Kevin, AJ, and Howie were still trying to register what just happened. Brian could of been dead, if the bullet had been in that shot...
Nick thought his best friend, his brother, was dead. Then the click reached his ears. First he felt shock, then pure fear, then... pure anger. Nick was NOT going to let them do this, he would NOT give up. He would end it.
Gritting his teeth, Nick worked furiously at his ropes, feeling the tender skin of his wrists tear. He continued, the blood giving him some movement... He had one hand out to his knuckles...
Jake laughed, cocked the gun, then pulled the trigger again.
click
Brian jerked.
...Nick felt his skin burn as he strained to release his hand... ...just about there...
The gun was cocked again, the trigger pulled...
click
...Got it!
Jake had no time to enjoy Brian's reaction as something slammed into him, knocking him to the floor.
Nick reached for the gun in Jake's hand, he had to get it before...
Jake realized what happened as he stared disbelievingly into Nick's determined face. How the hell did he get loose?! Jake knew he had only one bullet, but that was all he needed to finally take care of Nick. Finally, to have his revenge...
Nick grabbed Jake's hand as Jake brought the gun toward him, straining to keep it away from him. Jake and Nick rolled across the floor, fighting for their lives, the gun caught somewhere between them.
Brian, Kevin, Howie, and AJ could only watch as Nick struggled with Jake. They knew...
They knew that however this ended it would be the answer. The answer to whether they would live after this day or never see another...
They watched...
Then, each of them jerked at the loud report of a gunshot...
The two struggling forms of Jake and Nick abruptly... ...stopped...
Seven Days by Refuse
