Chapter 6

 

I was awakened by someone calling my name.  “Julie?  Julie?”  I slowly opened my eyes.  My vision blurred at first, but finally, I focused on Heidi’s face, which had a look of concern on it.  Immediately, relief washed over it when she realized I was awake. 

 

“What happened?” I mumbled groggily, feeling dizzy. 

 

“That guy hit you, Julie,” Heidi said.  “You’ve been unconscious for about half an hour.”

 

“Oh,” I moaned.  “My head hurts.”  Heidi helped me sit up and leaned me back against a wall.  I looked around.  We were in a dark room, probably a basement.  There were small windows very high up on the walls, but they let little light in.  It smelled musty in the room, and it was cold too.  Brian sat a few feet away from me, his back up against the wall, his knees pulled up to his chest.

 

“Are you ok, Julie?” he asked, looking at me. 

 

I nodded.  “Yeah, I guess so,” I replied.  “Where are those guys now?”

 

“They’re upstairs,” Heidi replied.

 

“Where are we?” I asked.

 

“In a swamp,” Brian replied flatly. 

 

“Seriously, they made us walk way into this swamp place to this big old house.  That’s where we are now,” Heidi explained.

 

“Do you have any idea what state?” I asked.

 

“I don’t think we’re in Kentucky anymore,” Heidi replied.

 

“No, Dorothy, I don’t think so either,” Brian replied, grinning, and I smiled for the first time in hours.  Heidi managed a smile too.  “No, seriously, I would say somewhere further down south.  Like Florida or Mississippi or something,” Brian said. 

 

I sighed unhappily. 

 

“I wonder how Nick’s doing,” Heidi said softly.

 

Brian sighed.  “I don’t know,” he said sadly.  “Nicky’s strong.  I’m just praying he’s strong enough to pull through this.”

 

I smiled sadly at Brian, not sure what to say.   “I’m praying for him too,” I whispered.

 

“Me too,” Heidi added softly. 

 

“Thanks, guys,” Brian replied, offering us reassuring smiles.  “We just have to keep the faith, and everything will turn out for the best.”

 

I nodded, hoping his words were true.

 

“So, girls, where are you two from?  I just realized I know almost nothing about you,” Brian said.

 

“Well, I’m from Blacksburg, Virginia,” Heidi replied.  “I share an apartment with my boyfriend, Sonny.” 

 

“Yeah, and I live in an apartment with Josh just outside of Springfield, Illinois,” I said. 

 

“Cool,” Brian replied.  “So, how old are you guys?”

 

“I’m 23,” I replied.

 

“And I’m 27,” Heidi replied. 

 

“Do you guys work?” Brian asked.

 

“Yeah, I’m a secretary at a local elementary school,” Heidi said.

 

“I’m in med school right now, so I don’t have a job,” I said.

 

“Oh yeah, that’s right,” Brian replied.  “So, what kind of doctor are you going to be?”

 

“A pediatrician,” I replied.

 

“Oh,” Brian said, smiling. 

 

“Yeah,” I replied.  “I love kids, and I’ve always wanted to be a doctor.”

 

“That’s cool.  I wish I would have gone to college,” Brian said wistfully. 

 

I shrugged.  “I don’t know, it’s a lot of work,” I said.

 

Brian shrugged.  “Oh well,” he said, sighing.  “I love what I do anyway.  Singing’s always been important to me.”

 

I nodded.  “I know,” I replied.  “I think you have one of the most beautiful voices I’ve ever heard.”

 

“I agree,” Heidi said. 

 

“Wow, thanks,” Brian said, blushing.  Heidi and I smiled.

 

“You’re welcome,” we replied in unison. 

 

“So, how long have you guys been with your boyfriends?” Brian asked.

 

“Sonny and I knew each other in high school, but we didn’t start dating until college,” Heidi replied.

 

“Yeah, I’ve been in love with Josh since I was in about seventh grade, but we didn’t start dating until I was a junior in high school,” I said.  “We want to get married after we both finish med school.”

 

“Oh, he’s going to be a doctor too?” Brian asked.

 

“Yup,” I replied.  “We go to the same school.”

 

“That’s cool that you guys want to get married.  Do you want to have kids?” Brian asked.

 

“Oh, definitely.  Starting a family is the most important thing to me,” I replied, smiling. 

 

“Yeah,” Brian said.

 

“Are you and Leighanne going to have kids someday?” I asked him.

 

He sighed.  “We want to, but we’ve been trying for years, and she still hasn’t gotten pregnant,” he said sadly.

 

“Oh,” I said.  “I’m sorry.”

 

He shrugged.  “Oh well.  If we don’t have kids soon, we’ll probably adopt,” he said. 

 

“Adoption’s nice,” Heidi said.  “I mean, it wouldn’t be your own child by genes, but you could still love it just like it was born yours.”

 

“Yeah,” Brian agreed. 

 

I sighed and yawned, leaning back against the wall.  It seemed like our situation couldn’t get much worse than it was, but at least I was with Brian and Heidi.  I knew they were the only things that were going to keep me going.

 

***

 

“What time is it?” I asked later that evening.  I could tell it was getting to be night, for the light that had been shining through the small windows earlier was slowly fading.  Luckily, we had found a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling, and it worked.  The basement was still dim, but it was better than total darkness.  We had realized early on that we were trapped in this room when Brian had tested the doorknob of the door to the room we were in.  Sure enough, it was locked from the outside.  

 

At least there was a tiny bathroom leading off the room we were in that we could get to.  It was small and dirty looking, but it was better than nothing.  Other than that, our conditions were bad.  They had thrown one old ratty blanket on the cement floor for us, and that was it.  The air conditioning was way too high, and it was freezing cold in the basement, especially as night fell. 

 

Brian glanced at his watch, squinting to make out the time.  “It’s 8:00,” he replied finally.

 

I nodded and sighed, shivering. 

 

“8:00?” Heidi asked, her eyes widening.  “Shit!”

 

“What’s wrong?” I asked, alarmed.

 

“I… uh… nothing,” Heidi stammered, looking worried.

 

“Heidi, what is it?” I asked again.

 

“I don’t have my meds,” she whispered, looking panicked.

 

“What meds?” I asked, my heart skipping a beat.  Brian stared at Heidi, waiting for her reply, his blue eyes full of concern.

 

“Well, uh, Julie… I never told you this, but I have a medical condition,” Heidi said softly.

 

“What?” I asked.

 

“Epilepsy,” she replied.  I gasped in shock.  Brian’s eyes widened in fear.

 

“And you don’t have your medication?” he asked.

 

She shook her head, looking ready to cry.  “I’m supposed to take it twice a day, in the morning and at night.  I have my pill bottle in my purse, back at the hospital.”

 

“Oh, my God,” I whispered, near tears myself.  “What are you going to do?”

 

“I… I don’t know,” Heidi cried, her voice shaking. 

 

“We have to get out of here,” Brian said, his voice low, yet firm. 

 

“How are we going to do that?” I asked, my voice rising shrilly. 

 

“I don’t know,” Brian admitted sadly.  “I don’t know.”

 

***

 

Back in the waiting room, AJ and Kevin were in Nick’s room, when Heidi’s cell phone rang again.  Josh sighed and picked it up.  He pressed ‘talk’ and put the phone to his ear.

 

“Hello?” he said.

 

“Uh, hi, this is Sonny, Heidi’s boyfriend.  Is she around?” a voice asked.

 

“Oh, hi Sonny.  This is Josh, Julie’s boyfriend,” Josh replied.  “I’ve got to tell you something, man.”

 

“What is it?” Sonny asked.  Josh could tell he knew something was wrong. 

 

“Ok, well, you knew Heidi was going to Lexington for the Backstreet Boys concert, right?” Josh asked.

 

“Yes,” Sonny replied.  “Has something happened to her?”

 

“Well, it’s a long story.  I’m sitting here at St. Joseph’s hospital in Lexington. Hei-“

 

“Oh my God, did she have a seizure?!?!” Sonny cried.

 

“A seizure?  No,” Josh said, confused. 

 

“Oh,” Sonny said, sighing with relief.  Then his voice filled with panic again.  “But what happened?  Is she okay?”

 

“Just listen, man.  I told you, it’s a long story.  Anyway, she and Julie went to the concert, right?  Well, at the concert, Nick, one of the Backstreet Boys, fell off of his harness or something when they were hanging over the crowd and got hurt really bad.  My girlfriend, Julie, who happens to be a med student, was right there near where he fell, and she gave him CPR and got his heart beating again.  Then, when the ambulance came to take him away, the other Backstreet Boys came up to her and asked if she wanted to come with them to the hospital because they were so grateful that she had saved his life, so she and Heidi went with them.  Anyway, the police think now that someone intentionally cut the cord on Nick’s harness to kill him.  Then, this morning, Heidi went down to get some aspirin for Kevin at the gift shop, and she didn’t come back for awhile.  So then Julie and Brian, another one of the Bsb, went down to look for Heidi, and they never came back.  AJ and I went to look for them and all we found was Brian’s sunglasses and Heidi’s necklace with your class ring on it,” Josh explained sadly, nearly becoming choked up with tears as he thought about his girlfriend.

 

“And you haven’t found them yet?!” Sonny asked, his voice rising with panic.

 

“No,” Josh said.  “The police are on it now, and they think it might be connected with Nick’s fall.”

 

“Oh, no, Heidi,” Sonny said, sounding as if he might cry.

 

“I know what you’re going through, man, believe me,” Josh said sympathetically.  “My girlfriend’s gone too.”

 

“I can’t believe it,” Sonny moaned.  “Where did you say you were again?”

 

“St. Joseph’s in Lexington, Kentucky,” Josh replied.

 

“I can be there in four hours,” Sonny replied.

 

“Look, Sonny, it’s not going to do Heidi any good for you to come tearing down here,” Josh reasoned, although he knew that if he were Sonny, he would be doing the same thing.

 

“I’m coming,” Sonny insisted. 

 

“Ok, fine, man.  I’ll see you when you get here, ok?  Drive safe, now,” Josh said.

 

“Ok, I’ll see you in a few hours.  Bye,” Sonny said and hung up.  Feeling Sonny’s pain as well as his own, Josh hung up. 

 

Howie offered him a sympathetic smile.  “Was he really upset?” he asked.

 

Josh nodded.  “Yeah, he’s coming down here.   He said it should take about four hours.”  Howie nodded wordlessly. 

 

Just then, Kevin and AJ walked back in.  “How’s Nicky?” Howie asked them.

 

“No change,” Kevin muttered sadly.  He sank down on a couch and sighed.  AJ sat down next to Howie on the other couch. 

 

“Heidi’s boyfriend just called, and Josh told him what happened,” Howie said.  “He’s driving down here.”

 

“Poor guy,” Kevin said.

 

“Yeah,” AJ agreed.  “I’d be frantic if Amanda was missing like this.”

 

“Tell me about it,” Josh remarked bitterly.  “I just hope they’re all okay.”

 

“Don’t you worry about Julie, Josh.  If Brian’s with her, he’ll protect her and Heidi.  Always the gentlemen, that guy is,” AJ said. 

 

Josh managed a tiny smile, although AJ’s comment didn’t comfort him much.  He wished it were him in that situation, instead of Brian.  He would have given anything to be with Julie now, even if it meant risking his life for her.   He loved her, and he hoped she knew that.  He wondered where was right then, and wherever she was, if she was thinking of him too.

 

***

 

I lay on the cold, hard floor, tears slowly running down my cheeks, thinking of Josh.  I missed him so much, and the worst part was, I didn’t know if I would ever see him again.  I was cold, hungry, and completely miserable. 

 

“Julie, come here,” Heidi called.  I slowly turned over to see her sitting against the wall, the blanket wrapped around her. 

 

“What?” I asked softly.

 

“Come here,” she repeated, motioning to me.  I sighed and crawled over to her.  I noticed Brian curled up in a little ball on the other side of the room, sleeping.  I couldn’t help but smile.  He looked so cute when he was sleeping.   “Here, take some of the blanket,” Heidi offered as I sat beside her.  “You must be freezing.”

 

“Yeah, I am,” I admitted.  I wrapped part of the blanket around me, and we huddled together for warmth.   Then I looked again at Brian across the room.  I stood up and walked over to him.  I gently rubbed his hand to wake him up.  It was freezing.  Brian jerked awake.   “Brian, you’re freezing cold!” I exclaimed.  “Come get under the blanket with me and Heidi.”

 

Brian glanced over at Heidi.  “No, that’s okay, you two take it.  I’m fine,” he said.

 

“No, you’re not,” I insisted.  “Look, there’s goosebumps all over your arms.”  Brian glanced down at his arm and grinned sheepishly.  “Come on, there’s plenty of room.”

 

“We need to find something to lie on,” Brian said.  “This floor isn’t the most comfortable place.”

 

“I know,” I said.  I looked around the room.  It was pretty much empty.   I wandered into the bathroom.  Then I noticed a cupboard in there.  I opened it and grinned at what I saw.  It was filled with sheets and blankets.  I pulled them all out, and found three bath towels too. The cupboard was small, and so there weren’t very many, but it was enough.  I carried the small stack of folded blankets back into the room.  “Look at what I found!” I declared happily.  Brian’s eyes lit up.  So did Heidi’s.  There were two sets of sheets, and two big blankets.   They were all old and tattered looking, but they would at least make us a little more comfortable. 

 

“Hey, what if we put these two blankets down on top of each other on the floor, and then we could all lie on it.  That would give us some more padding than if we each made our own beds,” Brian suggested. 

 

“Yeah, good idea,” I said.  Together, the three of us spread the two blankets on top of each other.   We folded up the towels and used them for pillows.  Brian immediately lay down in the middle of our bed.  Heidi and I grinned widely at each other and lay down beside him.  There was just barely enough room for the three of us on the blanket, but for me and her, that was perfect.  We used the sheets and the big blanket that was remaining as covers and pulled them over us.  According to Brian’s watch, it was only about 9:00, but we were all exhausted and cold, and there wasn’t much else for us to do but sleep.  I got up and turned off the light bulb that was hanging from the ceiling.  Now the moonlight shining through the small windows was the only light we had.  As I lay down beside Brian, I felt much better.  Brian surely wasn’t Josh, but still, I had to admit I was enjoying lying there next to him.  In fact, I was loving it.  I knew Heidi was too. 

 

“’Night, girls,” Brian said, his voice cutting through the darkness.

 

“Goodnight, Brian,” Heidi replied.  “’Night, Julie.”

 

“Yeah, goodnight, Brian and Heidi,” I replied, yawning.  It was only a matter of minutes before I was sound asleep.

 

***

 

 

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