Chapter 5 - Break Up
“You feel any better?” Brian asked Nick after they ate dinner.
Nick shook his head, lying back down. “I feel worse. My throat hurts.”
Brian sighed, looking up at the others. “Whoever goes tomorrow should ask for some medicine for Nick.”
The others nodded.
AJ had eaten only at Howie’s insistence. Once he had finished, he retreated to a corner of the room, knees drawn up to his chest.
“What if they don’t want any ransom?” Kevin asked. His question hung in the air unanswered for several minutes.
“What the hell else are they getting out of this?” Howie countered.
“Pleasure,” Nick spat out. “They enjoy watching us suffer.”
“Why would they go to the trouble of kidnapping us just for that?” Brian queried.
“Our families must be going out of their minds,” Howie said softly.
“Yeah, thanks for the reminder,” Nick snapped.
“Hey, take it easy,” Brian murmured.
“Someone’s bound to find us,” Kevin stated. “They’ve got to be looking for us.”
“How can anyone find us when we don’t even know where we are?” Howie asked.
“They’ll find us,” Brian said, trying to assure himself at the same time. “They’ll find us.”
~~~
The next morning, the man in black returned punctually at nine.
“I don’t suppose it’s my turn, is it,” AJ stated, hovering near the door.
“Nope,” the man replied. “It’s Kev’s. Start back at the top.”
“How long are you going to keep us?” Howie asked as Kevin struggled to his feet.
“I told you, I’ll answer no more questions. Kevin, let’s go.”
Kevin slowly made his way towards the door and the man standing in front of it.
AJ swung out his fist, catching the man in the jaw and knocking him to the floor. The Backstreet Boy ran out the open door. AJ found himself in large dark hallway, with the same concrete gray walls as his cell. He sprinted down it, searching for the exit.
“STOP HIM!” a voice roared behind him.
AJ reached the end of the hallway and dodged a few confused people as he raced up the staircase.
As reached the door at the top, a gun hit him across the stomach. He gasped for air and clung to the doorframe to keep from tumbling down the stairs.
“You can’t leave yet,” a voice above him said. “We’re not done with you.”
“Fuck,” AJ swore as his arms were yanked behind his back and he was forced down the stairs. He looked down the stairs as he heard more shouting. He saw the remaining four BSB being forced down the hall by some of the people AJ had run past on his escape attempt. “What the hell’s going on?!” AJ demanded. As usual, his question went unanswered. How many people are in this house?! he wondered as he was brought to the bottom of the stairs. “Who the hell ARE you people?!”
The BSB began to be dragged off in different directions.
“No,” Brian said once he realized what was happening. “No, you can’t separate us! DON’T!”
His shout only caused the other Boys to put up more of a fight.
“You can’t!” Kevin shouted. “Just let us stay together!”
The Boys’ cries went unheeded as they were dragged to different rooms.
~~~