Crash Course by Izzy by old_archive
Part I by old_archive

Crash Course

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Chapter 1

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"This is so boring!" Nick slammed the door that separated the bus from the driver's portion of the vehicle, making his way into where the others were.

"Don't slam the door," AJ whined. He turned up the volume on his headphones, frowning at him. Nick made a face back and Kevin looked up from a newspaper, eyes narrowing.

"What were you doing in there?"

Nick looked down. "Asking them to stop at the next amusement park we pass," he admitted. Brian grinned at his friend.

"And what'd they say?"

"No."

Brian sighed. "Too bad . . ."

AJ rolled his eyes. "What'd you think they were gonna say? We're in the middle of friggin' nowhere . . ." He trailed off.

"Relax guys," Howie told them. "This is your only free time. Enjoy it while it lasts."

"It's a waste! Stuck on a stupid bus!"

"Take a nap, Nick," Kevin suggested dryly.

"Now you sound like Donna . . ."

Kevin rolled his eyes. "Then stop whining."

"I'm not," Nick stated. He plopped down next to Brian on the couch and stared out the window. "It's raining?"

"Someone's swift," came a muttered reply from AJ.

"Not swift, AJ. Blonde," Brian said with a grin. He wrapped an arm around Nick shoulders so he'd know he was teasing.

"Not funny, Rok," Nick answered.

"Sorry. But it's true!" The man's blue eyes glittered with amusement.

Out of boredom, Howie flipped on the TV and found a movie. "Hey, guys! It's 'That Thing You Do'."

"Seen it," AJ answered.

Brian cleared his throat. "Guys . . . Chad fell down," he said in a whiny voice. Immediately he and Nick started cracking up. Kevin raised an eyebrow.

"I still don't see what you guys found so funny about that part."

"It was the best part of the movie!" Nick exclaimed, still laughing.

"Good enough to rewind a billion times?" Howie asked with a smile.

Brian and Nick nodded.

"Yep."

"Oh yeah."

"Definitely."

They started laughing again.

AJ rolled his eyes. "Anyway," he said loudly. "Find another movie, D. They're crazy."

"I like this movie," Howie replied, not moving.

AJ pulled his headphones back on. "Fine." There was a moment of silence while Howie, Nick, and Brian sat watching the movie. Then all of a sudden, Nick sat up abruptly.

"Did you hear that?"

"What now, Nick?" Kevin said dryly.

"I heard something- our tires squealed or something . . ."

AJ sighed. "That boy is way overtired."

"No, I heard it too." Brian frowned as they felt the bus swerve. "Damn."

"What the . . ." started Howie. AJ tried to brace himself on the wall but fell as the bus jerked forward, throwing them to the floor before it came to a sudden and complete stop. Kevin was the first to speak.

"Everyone okay?" They nodded silently.

"What the hell just happened?" Brian picked himself off the floor slowly, as did the others.

Kevin shook his head. "I don't know."

"I'll go ask," Nick said, jumping up. The other's didn't give it a second thought as their youngest member went to the front of the bus to check what was going on.

Brian was the first one up when Nick started to scream. He ran to the front of the bus, Kevin right behind him. "What's up, little buddy? Frack . . .?" He stopped short when he saw the scene before him. "Oh my God . . ."

Rick, their bus driver, was slouched over the wheel, head sticky with blood; his arm bent at his side in an unnatural position. Shards of glass were everywhere, the wide front window shattered. Through the cracked pane, nothing was visible except for billions of stars burning through the blanket of the sky. No land.

They were hanging off the side of a cliff.

The bus made a loud groaning noise as Kevin moved forward an inch. Brian reached a hand out to Nick, arm trembling. "Frack . . ." But Nick was frozen in fear, his wide blue eyes focussed entirely on Rick's unconscious, or dead, body.

"Brian." Kevin's firm voice caught his cousin's attention. "Take Nicky and go to the back of the back of the bus." Neither moved. "Now, guys!" He grabbed the back of Nick's shirt and gave a tug. "Come on." Kevin cringed at how insensitive he sounded; where in fact he was mad at himself that the younger guys had to see this.

"Come on, Nicky . . ." Brian urged, voice shaking.

But before any of them could move, the bus let out another groan and they plummeted into the stars.

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Chapter 2

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The first thing AJ felt when he woke up was an intense feeling of dizziness that countered the sharp pain vibrating in his skull. Reaching up, he felt a small bump on the side of his head; his hand came away with blood. He stared at it for a second in dumb shock before his eyes drifted across the bus.

Whoa. He had never thought of the guys being neat, but this was a disaster compared to their usual . . .

He immediately remembered what had happened. "Howie!?" he pleaded, hoping desperately for an answer. It came in a groan from across the room, and AJ jumped up quickly to get to his friend- too quickly, perhaps, for his spinning head which almost knocked him over. With a hand on the wall to steady himself, AJ moved slowly across the room, taking a deep breath to calm himself. "Howie?" he tried again.

"Here, Bone." Howie sat up slowly with another groan. "Man, what happened? I think I broke my wrist . . ."

"I dunno. One second we just stopped and then . . ." AJ trailed off, eyes wide. "Where are the other guys?"

Howie frowned. "I . . ."

AJ ignored him and raced to the front of the bus. Howie followed, at the same time noticing that the bus was tilted at a strange angle. They got to the others and stopped short, staring. Their initial shock was broken as Kevin stirred. The older man looked basically unharmed, minus a few cuts on his face from the glass. Howie knelt down next to him and shook his shoulder gently. "Kevin, wake up . . . Kev?" Howie tried to rouse him, voice shaking.

Kevin's eyes opened slowly. He stared at them a second before the situation dawned on him. "Shit." He sat up. "You guys okay?" Howie nodded, and Kevin looked toward AJ. "Jay, you okay? C'mere, buddy." AJ, still half crying, came closer, crouching down to their level. Kevin looked at his head critically, noticing the blood. "How's that hard head of yours?"

"I think I broke it," AJ offered.

Kevin smiled slightly. "Great . . ."

"Damn." They looked at Howie in surprise. "Look at Nick," he explained gravely. "His leg."

Eyes turned toward their youngest member and Kevin swore under his breath. The lower part of Nick's leg had a deep gash running up it and blood was seeping out, staining his baggy jeans. AJ turned away. "Is he dead?" he asked with a sob.

"No," Kevin answered firmly. He swatted at AJ's leg to get his attention. "I want you to relax a little. Breathe."

"Relax?! We-" AJ broke off as Kevin hit his leg again lightly.

"Sh . . ." Kevin stared at him a second as he calmed down. "Alright . . . ? "

Howie looked concerned. "Shouldn't we wrap his leg or something? Stop the bleeding?"

Kevin nodded. "AJ, go to the back of the bus and grab some sheets, will you?" AJ left quickly and Kevin turned to Howie, noticing his injury for the first time. "What's wrong with your wrist?"

"I think it's broken. I must've landed on it."

"Hurts?"

"Like hell," Howie said honestly. Kevin looked sympathetic.

They heard a soft moan and looked toward Brian, who was sitting up slowly. "Brian . . . ?" Kevin started.

Brian stared at them, deadpan. "Who are you?"

"What?" Howie stared at him, then exchanged a glance with Kevin. "Amnesia?" he mouthed.

Brian saw his cousin's concerned features and chuckled softly. "Just kidding."

Kevin's face immediately darkened. "If I wasn't afraid you were hurt right now, Brian, I would smack you so hard," he said without humour.

Brian had turned serious. "I'm sorry." He took a glance around them for the first time. "Oh my God." He caught sight of Nick and paled, speechless.

At that second AJ returned, carrying a pile of sheets. He grinned when he saw Brian awake. "Hey, Rok," he greeted softly, lowering to the ground and dropping the linens. He handed a bag to Kevin. "I got ice, too."

Kevin nodded. "Good thinking, bro. Thanks." He took a sheet and tore off a portion, then filled it with some ice. "Put this on your head," he directed. He looked at Howie. "You want some for your wrist?"

"Take care of Nicky first. Should we wake him up?"

Kevin shook his head. "He'll wake up soon enough with that pain. Let him rest," he said, tearing the sheet into more strips. He stared a minute at the younger boy's leg before shifting it slightly to a more comfortable position. The second he moved it, Nick let out a cry and tried to curl up, brow furrowing.

Brian frowned. "You're hurting him, Kevin. Stop . . ."

"Brian, he'll bleed to death."

Brian ignored him as Nick cried out again. "Frack?"

Nick opened his eyes, forehead creased. "Brian, stop it . . ." he pleaded. He stared at the other guys through fuzzy vision. "Make it stop . . ."

"Nick, I have to wrap your leg," Kevin told him gently. "Okay?"

Nick nodded absently. He tried to look at what they were doing, but didn't have the energy to move his head. "What's wrong with my leg?" he mumbled, shutting his eyes again. The other guys looked at each other but didn't answer. "What happened?" Nick asked again, voice rising.

"We were in a car crash, baby, remember?" Kevin said slowly.

"Is my leg okay?" the younger whimpered.

"It's okay," Howie returned. "Just don't think about it . . ."

Nick moaned. "It feels on fire," he choked out. He paused and opened his eyes a little. "AJ your head's messed up," he noticed groggily.

AJ frowned. "Thanks, buddy."

Kevin took a strip of cloth and wrapped it loosely under and around Nick's leg. He looked at the other guys and took a deep breath before tying a knot and pulling it closed. Nick let out a cry and grabbed on to the closest person's arm, which happened to be Brian.

"Stop . . ." Nick cried, tears running down his face.

"Nicky, I have to pull it tight to stop the bleeding," Kevin soothed.

Nick bit his lip to keep from crying out again, until a second later he blacked out.

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Chapter 3

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When Nick opened his eyes, he found himself in a small clearing in the woods, surrounded by trees. Panic at first set in until he was reminded of what had happened by the painful throb in his leg. He looked around but didn't see the bus, realizing one of the guys must have carried him here. He let out a groan.

"Nick!" Brian was immediately at his side. "How're you feeling?"

Nick shrugged. "Not so good . . . Where are we?"

Brian sat down next to him. "Honestly, buddy, I have no idea. I'm not even sure what road we were on before."

"Oh." Nick looked around tiredly. "Where's the rest of the guys, Bri?"

"Kevin wanted to see if there was anything around, like a place to stay. You know him. They'll be back soon though." Brian shrugged. "You've been out awhile, Frack."

Nick groaned again, shutting his eyes.

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"Kev, maybe we should turn back soon . . . We've been gone awhile." Howie looked at his older friend with concern. The man seemed determined to find something out in the woods. What it was, Howie did not know. AJ had been uncharacteristically quiet too.

Kevin stopped walking. "Yeah, I know. Just a minute more, okay? You holding up, AJ?"

"Yeah . . . I'm a little dizzy, though," the younger admitted.

Kevin frowned. "You might have a concussion . . ."

"I'll be okay."

Howie sighed. "Why don't we just look over the next clearing and then call it quits," he suggested. "We're not gonna help anyone if we collapse."

They silently agreed and walked to the edge of the clearing, looking across the tree covered slope.

"Do you see what I see?"

They followed Kevin's line of sight, eyes landing on a small sized cabin. Or rather, hut. It looked to be abandoned. Howie let out a breath. "Finally . . . Thank God."

Kevin looked satisfied. "Alright, now we just have to go back to Frick and Frack." Taking one look at their tired faces and accounting for Howie's wrapped wrist, the man immediately changed his mind. They would be less help than burden. "On second thought, why don't you two get to the shelter and I'll go back for them."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, D. Just help Bone; we'll see you in a few."

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There was a rustling in the leaves and Nick started in alarm, regretting the action as it jarred his leg. He hissed. Brian's hand rested on his arm. "Relax . . . It's only Kevin," Brian soothed.

Nick's eyes opened. "Kev?"

Kevin crouched down to their level. He rested a hand on Nick's forehead a second. "Hey, buddy. Awake finally. How's your leg?"

"Hurts."

Kevin looked at Brian. "Well, fellas, we found a little cabin to stay in for tonight." He glanced back at Nick. "Can you walk?"

"I . . ." Nick bit his lip. "Okay."

"Don't lie. You sure?" Kevin frowned.

"Yeah." Nick clenched his teeth as Kevin lifted him up under the arms to stand on his feet. He balanced on one foot.

"You okay?" Kevin asked, not releasing him. "I can carry you."

Nick just shook his head, trying to ignore the extra throbbing in his leg. "S'okay."

Brian looked unsure, but nodded. "Alright, let's go."

Almost to the clearing about twenty minutes later, due to their slower pace, Kevin could see the cabin from where they stood. It was down a small slope though, and he wasn't sure Nick could make it the way he was going. He looked at the two worriedly.

Brian saw his glance. "Nick, let Kev carry you," he decided. "You're gonna collapse."

Kevin didn't wait for an answer. He took one look at their youngest's pale face. "C'mere, Nick." With one arm under Nick's shoulders, the other under his knees, Kevin hoisted him up. "Let's go."

Not surprisingly, Nick didn't complain, and they arrived at the cabin less than a minute later.

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