Chapter 14 - Torn
The group sat around the campfire, saying nothing. They were determined to be as uninteresting as possible so their kidnappers wouldn’t have anything worth watching.
Inside, they were all thinking the same thing: They’re coming. They’re coming to get us. When are they coming? How long has it been? Have they noticed yet? When are they coming? When will this be over?
It wasn’t easy on anyone and they couldn’t even console each other except through physical contact.
After about ten minutes, Kevin motioned for everyone to join hands, so at least they could support each other that way.
It was at least another fifteen minutes before they heard the footsteps, followed by growling.
Ellie and Brian tried not to move, though they recognized the wolf from before.
Logan came in first. He had stopped growling. He slowly walked around the circle, sniffing each person.
"Just don’t move," Kevin whispered.
Silvanus watched in amusement as his pet sniffed out each prisoner.
Nolan videotaped the whole thing.
Logan returned to his master’s side as the two humans strode into camp.
Silvanus and Nolan both carried guns and leveled them at the prisoners.
"If you would all be so kind as to accompany us back to our home. We’ll be happy to give you good food and warmth," Silvanus said cordially.
Ellie nearly opened her mouth to say something when Maggie’s nails dug into her arm.
Very slowly, the group stood.
Nolan threw down a canvas stretcher for Brian. AJ and Kevin wordlessly picked up and helped Brian into it. Nick and Becky walked beside the stretcher, hand in hand, in case Brian needed anything along the way.
Maggie and Ellie were also holding hands. Karen and Sierra walked closely huddled together. No one said a word for the entire walk.
~~~
"Welcome to our humble home," Nolan said, holding the door for his captives and waving them in with his gun. Logan was close by, making sure no one made a break for it.
Silvanus gestured to Kevin and AJ. "Bring him in here."
The two BSB brought him into another room and laid him down on a table as the rest of the group was herded into the basement.
"Kev, don’t leave me alone with them," Brian whispered.
Kevin looked at AJ, then back to Brian. "I won’t."
"Downstairs," Silvanus ordered, waving at AJ and Kevin with his gun.
"I’m staying with him," Kevin said firmly.
"No you’re not," Silvanus told him, grabbing his arm.
"Kev, don’t leave!" Brian cried, getting close to hysterical.
Kevin looked between the barrel of the gun and his cousin’s terrified face. "I . . ."
"You want him to live or die?" Silvanus asked.
"What?!"
"If you want to stay with him, he goes downstairs with you and you can try to save him. If he stays up here, we’ll take care of him. It’s your choice."
Kevin froze, knowing that his cousin needed medical attention.
"Kev, don’t LEAVE!" Brian shouted.
Kevin tried not to look at his cousin as he let Silvanus push him and AJ into the basement.
"KEVIN!" Brian screamed. He looked up nervously at his captors looming over him. "G-Get away from me . . . LEAVE ME ALONE!"
~~~
"Hazel!" Ellie squealed, running down the stairs and embracing her friend. "You’re okay!"
"Howie!" Nick shouted, running downstairs.
"TOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Maggie immediately glomped onto her boyfriend, with no intention of letting go for a few hours.
Everyone looked up as Brian screamed.
"BRIAN!" Nick yelled, running up the stairs.
Nolan slammed the door in his face and locked it securely.
Nick punched it. "What the fuck are you doing to him YOU BASTARDS?!?!"
Kevin took him by the shoulders and led back downstairs. "He’ll be all right."
"He doesn’t sound fucking all right!" Ellie shouted.
"There’s nothing we can do about it," Kevin told everyone. "They said they won’t take care of him if he stays with us."
AJ slowly went over to Hazel, focusing on the floor. "Are you all right?"
"Well, first I mean, I was by myself and I didn’t know if they were gonna kill me or not. And all I thought of was that guy beating you up and everyone else lost in the woods and I . . . no, I really wasn’t okay. And I’m not now either." She suddenly burst into tears, releasing the tension and fear she had been holding in.
AJ hugged her tightly. "No, don’t do that. Don’t cry. I promise I won’t let anything else happen to you! I won’t screw up like I did last time!"
A little startled at first, Hazel hugged him back tightly. "No, no don’t say that." Her words were lost as she buried her face in his shoulder.
For a moment, there was silence.
"LEAVE ME ALONE! SOMEBODY HELP MEEEE!" Brian screamed from upstairs.
Once again, Nick sprinted back up the stairs, slamming his shoulder into the door, trying to break it down. "LEAVE HIM THE FUCK ALONE!!!"
Ellie burst into tears. "Why are they doing this?!"
Maggie and Tom both hugged her. Howie ran up the stairs and pulled Nick forcefully back down. He pulled down to the ground, holding him around the waist from behind.
"Let GO!" Nick shouted at him. Everyone watched as he fought against his friend until he collapsed into tears.
Howie continued to hold him, murmuring in his ear.
Becky knelt in front of them and hugged Nick, crying herself.
Kevin sat down in the corner by himself, trying to hide his tears by burying his face in his arms. Sierra saw him and sat beside him, hugging him. Kevin accepted the comfort gratefully.
Howie looked over and saw Karen by herself. He let Nick go and went over to her. Neither of them spoke as she clung onto him, crying.
"We’ll get out of this," Howie whispered. "It’s all right. We’re all together."
For a moment, all that could be heard was the sound of soft crying.
Then Brian started screaming again.
At that, Kevin completely broke down, sobbing helplessly.
"We have to DO something!" Ellie shouted.
"Those fucking bastards," Maggie muttered.
"What can we do?" Kevin gasped, choking over his words. "They could kill him!"
"It sounds like that’s what they are doing!" AJ cried.
No one said anything. The crying was silent, until it was broken by Brian again.
Very softly, as if it took his whole being to make the words come out, Nick started to sing. For a minute, no one could even recognize the shaky notes.
Kevin looked up, torn between joining in and crying again. Very carefully, he joined in to the now recognizable rendition of "Amazing Grace."
"It’s one of Brian’s favorites," Howie explained to the others. "Let’s make him hear us, so he knows he’s not alone. None of us are."
With that, everyone joined in the next verse, singing loudly and growing stronger and steadier with each word.
You can’t take this away from us, Becky thought. Take our freedom, but not our souls.
"What the hell are they doing?" Nolan asked, annoyed as he bent over Brian’s shivering form.
Silvanus shrugged. "Let them."
Brian listened. "Grace will lead me home . . ." I-I hear you guys . . . He closed his eyes, taking himself back to the church where he’d first learned the song. You can’t hurt me, you can’t hurt me, you can’t hurt me . . .
Alejandro watched amazed through the lens of the camera as a slow smile spread across Brian’s face.
~~~
After they had eaten, Nolan opened the door and shouted down. "Your baby friend up here needs some rest. One of you get the hell up here."
Everyone looked at each other, then at Kevin.
Kevin nodded and slowly climbed the stairs.
Nolan led him back to Brian, who was tied down to a table, shivering violently.
"What did you do to him?!" Kevin cried.
"We fixed him," Nolan answered indignantly. "He freaked out for no good reason."
Kevin leaned over his cousin. "Brian . . . .Bri, can you hear me?"
Brian’s eyes were fixed to the ceiling.
"B-Rok. Brian, listen to me!"
The fair-haired BSB didn’t respond, though salty tears trickled down from his eyes and tracked down his temple to his ear.
Kevin tried to swallow his own tears, brushing away Brian’s. "Shh, it’s okay Bri. I’m right here. They won’t hurt you anymore. I promise."
Silvanus stopped Alejandro before he ran into the room with a camcorder. "Don’t."
"But --"
"You want one of them dead? If you go in there right now, someone will end up dead and it might even be you. Don’t tempt fate, my friend."
"Cus, please listen to me. Please," the oldest BSB begged.
At last Brian’s eyes regained their focus and found his cousin’s. "K-Kev?"
"I’m here," Kevin told him gently. "You’ll be all right, Bri."
Brian shivered. "They . . ."
"Don’t think about it. It’s over now," Kevin said soothingly.
Brian struggled a little against the ropes, looking up at his cousin pleadingly.
Kevin looked at Silvanus, who was looming in the doorway.
Silvanus nodded at Nolan.
Nolan sighed, releasing the ropes.
Kevin bent down so he could hug Brian awkwardly. He held his sobbing cousin until he cried himself to sleep. He gently replaced the limp form on the table and let himself be led back downstairs.
They can’t get away with this.
~~~
Later that night . . .
Howie looked around the room carefully. Tom and Maggie were asleep against each other. Ellie was nearby, also asleep. Hazel was sleep with AJ snoring lightly behind her, with his arm protectively about her waist. Everyone else was still fairly upset and still awake.
Sierra was in the corner with Kevin, hugging him. Becky was comforting Nick.
Howie looked down at Karen, who was still holding onto him tightly. He kissed the top of her head lightly. "You better get some sleep. I’ll see to the others."
"Are you sure?" she asked.
He smiled. "I can handle ‘em."
Karen nodded and laid down on the floor.
Howie went over to Kevin and Sierra. He quietly told Sierra to lie down, that he would take care of Kevin. Sierra nodded and laid down, exhausted.
Howie hugged his friend, telling him that Brian would be all right. It took a few minutes, but Kevin finally drifted off to sleep. Howie gently laid him down and went over to Nick and Becky.
Both of them were still crying. Howie sighed and just hugged both of them.
"Ya gotta get some sleep, guys," he told them.
"I can’t," Nick managed. "What if he’s dead?!"
"Shh, don’t think like that," Becky told him.
"She’s right, Nicky. He’s all right," Howie said.
"You don’t know that!" Nick sobbed.
"Becky, go ahead and lie down, all right?" Howie told her. "You need some rest."
Becky was too tired to argue. She kissed Nick’s cheek and then stretched out on the floor.
Howie hugged his friend. "Shh, he’s okay Nicky. He’ll be okay . . ."
~~~