Chapter 18
By Susan
Nick tried to
speak,..tried to move,..tried to scream out for help from the hell his mind and
body were spiraling into but he found that he was frozen as his wide blue eyes
darted around the room, searching the darkness, the mans words playing over and
over in his head,
"Yes
thatīs a good idea Brian! Thanks!"
"Brian
said Iīll have to stab you again, and this time, Iīll go for your heart. Isnīt
Brian smart?"
Nicks chin
began trembling as tears pooled in his eyes. What had he done that would make
Brian send someone to hurt him?
Gary stepped
in and out of the shadows keeping a careful eye on Nick as he scanned the house
for the other man who had come calling. Could he be so lucky that the voice
would belong to another member of the band? Making his way down the darkened
hallway he could see the outline of another figure at the end of the hall.
Backing up against the wall Gary smiled to himself as the voices raged inside.
"Youīre
doing the right thing Gary. The world will be so proud of you when you are
finished." Kevins smile gleamed from the dark caverns of Garys mind.
"You know what itīs like to kill now, it only gets easier from here on
out."
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"Nick are
you here?" A.J. hissed moving cautiously through the house, still
clutching the cell phone in his hand, wondering what Brian was doing right now,
if he was calling the police on his other line or if he was waiting for word
from A.J. on what to do next.
In horror
movies the people being attacked were always so freaking stupid. It would take
a mound of bloody bodies a mile high for any of the stupid kids to even consider
getting out of the house. Making his way down the hall now AJ wondered when he
had crossed the line from sane Backstreet Boy to stupid horror movie teen? He
should be smart and get the hell out of the house. He should be smart and go
for help. He should be smart and think of his own safety over the safety of
others.
Turning the
corner he made his way slowly down the hall suddenly aware of the sound of
breathing,deep quick breaths that seemed to be drawing nearer to him with each
step he took. Reaching out a hand into the darkness A.J. paused and then
whispered,"Nick is that you?" Just as the cold steel tip of a knife
was pressed to his throat.
************************************************************************************************************
"Who is
on the phone A.J.?" The voice asked soft and slow in his left ear.
"Itīs
Brian." A.J. answered his voice just as soft as the mans holding the knife
to his throat.
Gary smiled.
How perfect that A.J. would come calling just as he was about to get rid of
Nick. Gary had wonderful visions of slaughtering A.J. and Nick as Brian
listened in on the other line but Chaucer stopped his visions, reminding Gary
of who was in control.
"Tell him
to hang up the phone."
"But I
have other plans." Gary whispered pressing the knife a little harder into
AJīs flesh.
"Since
when did you start doing the thinking." Chaucers voice was angry.
"Listen
to Chaucer Gary," Brian broke into Garys thoughts. "Itīs the only way
to get things done the way we want them done. Chaucer holds the key."
A.J. could
feel the knife lightly puncture the flesh in his neck as the man carried on
with the one way conversation in his head. He considered making a run for it
but the mans grip on his arm was fierce, one tug would surely result in the
knife being plunged into his adams apple so he decided for now to stay put at
least until the time was right.
"Tell
Brian it has all been a mistake." Gary spoke into AJīs ear.
"Are you
talking to me or the freaks in your head?" A.J. shot back wincing as Garys
fingernails dug into his arm.
"Did you
hear what I said AJ?" AJ nodded in the darkness raising the phone to his
ear.
"Bri?"
AJ`s voice caught as he blurted out Brians name into the mouthpiece.
"A.J.?
Goddamn man I was this close to calling the police. What the hell is going on
did you find Nick?" Gary could hear Brians voice echoing through the
receiver matching the beautiful sound of the voice in his head, and it made him
smile.
"Bri it
was all a joke."
"What?"
Brianīs voice broke with obvious irritation.
"It was
all a joke..Nicks fine. Heīs...heīs fine."
"You said
there were noises and blood A.J., you said to call 911." A.J. wished that
Brian were nearby so he could slap him upside of the head for not calling 911
when he had first instructed him to. He guessed years of pranks and jokes
played on one another in hotel rooms, tour buses and venues all over the world
had turned each one of them into the boy who cried wolf.
"It was
all a joke." A.J. just kept repeating the same phrase. "It was all a
joke Brian. Nick set it up for me...he thought it would be...funny."
"Whereīs
Nick? I want to talk to Nick." Gary heard Brian asking for Nick and he
decided that now was where things were really going to start getting
interesting. Tugging A.J. along down the hall he half dragged him half walked
him into the livingroom hissing the words "keep talking to him A.J."
through his teeth..
"Uh
Nick?" A.J. played dumb and Brian could feel impatience creeping up his
spine, threatening to explode all over A.J. for making him almost piss his
pants with this so called joke that he and Nick were playing.
Stumbling over
what he thought was a coffee table A.J. let the guy drag him into Nicks
livingroom his eyes taking a moment to adjust to the darkness before he was able
to barely make out Nicks figure in the corner of the room.
He was pressed
up against the wall, shirtless and trembling, his blue eyes almost electric in
the darkness. He and A.J. locked eyes, Nick well aware of the glint of steel at
A.Jīs throat and the phone in his hand. The man dragged A.J. closer to Nick
signaling A.J. to hand Nick the phone. Reaching out a hand he pulled the phone
from A.Jīs grip and put it to his ear.
"Helloooooooooo."
Brians impatient voice boomed out over the receiver.
"Bri?"
Nicks voice trembled ever so slightly as he remembered the words the man had
spoken earlier.
"Brian
said Iīll have to stab you again, and this time, Iīll go for your heart.."
"Okay you
little shit, obviously you are fine and A.J. is fine so Iīm outta here."
Brian began to rant. "You know I have a kid now and a whole other life
outside of you two little shits and your pranks and jokes. I donīt have time to
just sit on the phone for hours." At some point Nick tuned out Brians
annoyed voice wondering to himself was this all just an act? Was Brian really
the one who had sent this guy to kill him or was he losing his mind?
"..So you
two go ahead and do whatever it was you were doing, watch your porno movies or
play football or just keep being big stupid dicks and Iīll talk to you
tomorrow."
Slamming down
the phone Brian flinched, turning to make sure he hadnīt awakened Baylee before
taking the phone off of the hook so that he and the baby could finally get some
sleep and not worry about the two jokers that he called friends bugging him
anymore tonight.
"Give me
the phone." Gary reached out to Nick taking the phone from his hand.
Looking at the man now face to face in the pale darkness of the livingroom Nick
felt a memory rush over him like a wave, the memory of a man attacking him
years ago. He had not seen the mans face, even then but he remembered a small
picture in the paper of the guy and he more then remembered the papers he had
signed for the restraining order.
"Gary?"
Nick sat as the man ripped the phone from his hand with a smile.
"Hi
Nick." Gary said tossing the phone to he couch as he raised the knife up
and over his head...
***
