“Why again, are we going to some place in the middle of nowhere?”

“Kevin picked the place, remember?”

“Did we even have a say in it? Cause I can’t see to remember I was okay with it.” A.J. smiled.

“Nope, no say whatsoever when Kevin is around. Just like the old days.”

“Shut it, Brian.” I said and then smiled.

That’s all I ever seemed to do. Smile. And so that day was no different. Ever since I heard Kevin was really coming back to join us for the next album, I was as giddy as a four-year-old around Christmas. I was so happy when he told me he was coming back. I mean, I thought our last album, Unbreakable, turned out great as well as the tour and everything. But it just was different, in a kind of sad way. Ofcourse I understood why Kevin took a break from it all, but it was like.. I dunno.. we weren’t complete or something. But back to my story.

Occassionally I glanced at the man behind the wheel and everytime I did, I couldn’t help but think that he looked so happy and at peace. Like he was home or something. Or well, not really home-home, because he was really home when he was with Kristin and Mason. But it is probably obvious what I’m trying to say here. And every few minutes, he looked at me or in the rearview window to smile at us.

In the backseat, A.J. was now complaining about our, or Kevins, choice of transportation.

“I haven’t felt this claustrophobic since we all shared one bus.”

“Oh come on, A.J. They don’t call this car spacious for nothing.”

“Spacious, my ass. Maybe you should shed some pounds, D.” A.J. laughed. “Ouch. No need to punch me, ‘sweet’ D. I swear, if the fans ever saw you like this, you’d lose you nickname in seconds.”

“Yeah right. Just move your ass a few inches. I’m almost on Brian’s lap for God’s sake.”

“I would move if I could. Blame Kevin. Why didn’t we take two cars?!”

“Because it’s bad for the environment.” Everyone except Kevin sing-songed simultaneously.

“Well, yeah. It is! And why using two cars when we can easily fit into one?”

“I kinda agree though, Kev.” Brian said while he tried to move to the right so Howie had a bit more room. “We are crammed here in the back.”

“Really? I’m quite comfy.” I teased while moving my seat up front so that I would no longer feel Brian’s knees in my back. Besides, I still had enough room for my beautiful long legs.

“Thanks Nick.”

“Kev, can’t you move your seat as well?”

“Sorry, no can do. And stop whining you three! At the next gass station we’ll stop for a potty break so you kids can stretch your legs. Not that there is much to stretch.” He laughed.

“Fuck you Kev. Fuck you.”

And that, ladies and gentlemen, was the end of that conversation.

After taking that so-called potty break, we talked about our plans for the next album. Which direction we should take, what kind of songs and so on. It was exciting to discuss these things while being in the same room, well, car. I mean, we aren’t exactly neighbours, so most of our plans are discussed by e-mail or conference calls. But this time, we could actually talk things through while hearing each others voices and seeing the facial expressions that went with them.

We all agreed on one thing. The new album should be all about harmonies. More ‘If I ever’-style, but with a modern touch. All of us, including Kevin, love ‘This is us’ and it has done well across the globe, but we decided we don’t want to make records like our previous ones, because they did well. If you’ve heard ‘This is us’ you’re probably scratching your head, thinking it is filled with harmonies. Well, yeah it is. But for the new album, we agreed on more harmonies, more real instruments and less computerized music. Except for maybe one or two tracks so everyone can dance their socks off.

Three hours later, Brian was asleep, as well as A.J. Howie and myself were just staring out of the front window and Kevin was still driving ofcourse. I had just asked Kevin if we were almost there, and he said it would take about another half an hour. I was feeling quite tired by then, so I rested my head against the window in attempt to doze off and take a power nap.

The view was both beautiful and boring, since we were driving through a forest and all I saw was one tree after another, with trees behind them and behind those even more trees.

“Those are a lot of trees.”

“Well, yeah, that’s what you usually see in a forest.” Howie laughed.

“Shut up, D.” I replied, only then realizing I had said that previous comment out loud.

And then, right before I closed my eyes, I thought I saw something on a rock beside the road.

“D. did you see that?!”

“Did I see what?”

“Never mind.” I replied, figuring I must have imagined it. And even if I hadn’t, Howie would no longer be able to see it. So I blamed it on being tired and closed my eyes. “Wake me when we get there.”

“Maybe.”

I laughed at Howies reply. Seriously, the guy is much more witty and funny than everyone gives him credit for. He’s not just ‘that sweet Latino guy’, he can be a real ass at times. Really. I know you don’t want to believe me, but it’s true.

About an hour later, Kevin waked me. I hadn’t seen pictures of the cabin we’d be staying for a month or so and I was expecting the absolute worst. I mean, I’m all for protecting the environment, but not having warm water or having to pee outside is just too much for me.

And even though Kevin had said it would be a comfortable cabin, none of us were going to take his word for it. So when I got out and turned around to look at the place, I was seriously surprised. On the outside it looked really, really nice.

It was obviously a wooden cabin, but it was big. Two stories. Well taken care of, like Kevin put it. He also reminded us that we wouldn’t have to share rooms.

“Yeah, baby!” A.J. yelled.

“Yeah, now you can invite all the lady squirrels over for a big orgy!” I said as I looped an arm around his shoulder.

‘No, now you and your snoring won’t keep me up every single fucking night.”

“And we don’t have to hear yours either, Jay.” Brian stated with a big grin on his face as he walked up the stairs to claim a room and unpack.

“Fuck you, Rok.” A.J. smiled as he too grabbed his bags and followed him.

Soon, we were all up in our rooms. I was just sitting on my bed, enjoying the moment of hearing the others walk around and unpack their stuff. Just like in the old days, but still a lot different.

I got up and walked towards the window on my left, the one that gave a direct view into the forest. We definitely were in the middle of nowhere. And you know what, I liked it. Right then and there, I decided to enjoy every single second of our stay in the woods.

When I woke up the next morning, the first thing that hit me was the smell of coffee and something else I couldn’t quite place. I jumped out of bed to find out what it was. In case you were wondering, yes, I literally jumped out of bed, put on a pair of jeans and a clean shirt and ran downstairs. As soon as I had set foot on the first floor, I knew what that smell was. Pancakes. Someone was making freaking pancakes.

The others were already sitting at the table, except for Brian, who was apparently our breakfast chef that morning.

“Smells great, Brian.” I complimented.

“Tastes great as well.” A.J. said with his mouth full and syrup dripping from his short-trimmed beard.

“You want some?” Brian asked as he turned around and pointed his spatula in my direction.

“Sure. Where did the groceries come from anyway?”

“Mr. Gable, the guy we rented the cabin from made sure we had the essential things for breakfast and such.” Kevin replied.

“Nice! These are great, Rok!”

“I know.” He calmly replied while he prepared another two for himself. “Baylee absolutely loves them. He’d have them every morning if we’d let him.”

“Same goes for me.” Kevin said from behind yesterdays paper. “Family recipe gets to everyone including Mason.”

“You give him pancakes for breakfast?! The kid’s four. Shouldn’t he eat a more healthy breakfast? Something wholegrain for example?”

“Yeah Bri. I’m a bad parent because I occassionally give my son one or two of our famous pancakes.” Kevin laughed as he lowered the newspaper to look at his cousin.

“Wait. YOU eat pancakes?! What happened to the healthy diet of porridge, eggwhites and wholemeat bread?”

Yes, I know I’m kinda slow, but I just realized that Kevin, the emperor of a healthy life-style, admitted he loves to have unhealthy pancakes for breakfast.

“You mean whole-grain. Only during weekends, Nick.” he laughed. “Only during weekends.”

“But still.. you and pancakes is a strange combo.” I replied before stuffing another piece of the delicious pancake in my mouth.

“Coffee, anyone?” Howie asked as he held up the pot.

“Java?” Brian and A.J. simultaneously asked.

When Howie nodded, they both held up a mug, as did Kevin.

“Nick?”

“No thanks, D. I’ll grab some milk.”

And so I did. When I sat down, I briefly looked at everyone. A.J. was reading some magazine, Brian was busy with his laptop and Kevin handed a part of the newspaper to Howie. Probably the economy part, but I couldn’t see if I was right. I don’t know.. it just felt like home. Not my own home, where I usually eat breakfast alone, since Lauren is on the road a lot as well, or with a friend or something. But like being at home with your family. The people you don’t mind seeing you at your worst, with a ‘just-out-of-bed-head’, bags under your eyes and a beard of two days. This was my ‘home’, my family.

“Anyone want to join me for a work out session? And with working out I mean running through the forest..” I asked as I was wiping my hands on my shirt.

“Nope, sorry. I’m planning on doing absolutely nothing this morning, but work on a song that’s been giving me headaches.” A.J. replied, while rubbing his forehead to emphasize his statement.

“And Howie and myself are gonna go get some groceries for the next couple of days. We gotta make sure there’s enough food in this cabin so you won’t go all whiny on us and start talking like ‘I am so hungryyyyyyyyyyy..’.” Kevin said as he wiggled his eyebrows. (Yes, he really does that occasionally.)

“And I’d love to, Nick. But I still gotta take things easy after spraining my ankle. Running on rough ground just 2 weeks after doesn’t seem like a good idea.”

“Yeah, I know Rok. Sprained ankles are a bitch.” I gave him a smile which hopefully said I understood and that I didn’t mind going out on my own.

Actually, I hoped everyone would decline. I really wanted to check out the surroundings like a little ‘Nick, the explorer’. This way I could go and work out for as long as I liked without A.J. complaining he was cold, tired and so on.

An hour later, I was all ready to go. I had taken a look at the local map and found out that we were pretty much secluded from everyone and everything. The nearest store was about six miles away and according to Kevin, we were at least 10 miles away from our ‘neighbours’, if there even was anyone renting the nearest cabin.

“Nice and quiet.” I said to myself. “Nice and quiet.”

“Howie, ready to go?”

“Yes. Does anyone want us to bring something back from the store?”

“All-Bran or something. Oh, and some fruit and vegetables.” (Yes, that was me!)

“Juice, please.” Brian said.

“Canned spaghetti.”

“Gross, Jay. You can forget about that.” Howie shook his head while making a face.

“Well, then don’t expect me to make dinner anytime soon.” A.J. laughed.

“We’re smart enough to know not to let you even near the kitchen around breakfast, luch or dinner time.” Brian smiled.

“Good, I was hoping you’d think that way.” He replied as he cleaned the table.

“Alright, we’re off.” Kevin said as he grabbed his carkeys.

“Yeah, so am I.” I said as I zipped my sweatshirt and checked my shoelaces. Last thing we’d need was for me to be alone out there, fall and break a leg or something.

“Be careful, Nick.” Kevin said as he squeezed my shoulder.

“Yes, dad. I’ll make sure I’ll stay far away from wolves, gnomes and woodworkers out there. I also won’t accept apples from old witches or cookies from a girl wearing a red hood.” I said, rolling my eyes at him.

“Not funny.” And yet he smiled. I sometimes don’t understand the old man.

“I beg to differ.” I said as I walked out and of COURSE I had to fall flat on my face because I forgot there was a small step.

Roaring laughter came out of the cabin and I guess I deserved it.

“Sure guys, I’m okay.” I grumbled as I got up and wiped dirt off of my hands. “Thanks for asking.”

“Good, cause we’ve got a lot of work to do, starting tomorrow.” Howie laughed as he walked out and softly slapped me on the back. “Do you have everything?”

“Depends on what you call everything. I’ve got my cell.” I said as I padded my left pocket in which it rested. Thinking of what just happened, I took it out and checked to see if it was still working. Thankfully, it appeared to be just fine.

Howie was still staring at me, obviously waiting for something more. In fact, he looked at me as if I was a three-year-old. “And?? Surely, if your head wasn’t screwed on tight, you’d even forget to take that with you.”

I probably had the must dumbfounded look on my face, because I had no idea what else I could possibly need out there.

A big grin appeared on his face as he said: “Where are your breadcrumbs in case you get lost out there in this big, dark forest?”

“Don’t need them, I’ll just look for your or Brians family and ask them for directions.” I shot back.

“My family?” Brian asked as he joined us out there.

“Yeah, any imps, pixies, gnomes, dwarves or creatures with very big noses.” I laughed as I sprinted off.

“Asshole.” Howie grumbled.

“Prick.” Came Brian’s response.

“Midgets.”

I swear, that joke never ever gets old. Seriously, if you have ever met them, you know they really are THAT short.

As I jogged through the forest, I hardly looked at the surroundings. I kept my eyes on the ground in front of me, avoiding rocks and slippery stacks of leaves along the way. After about 45 minutes, I decided it was time for some walking instead of running.

I then realized it was almost completely quiet. No cars, no talking and not even any dodgy ringtones. The one thing I did hear was the wind rushing through the trees, and even that sound was hardly above a whisper.

I slowly turned 360 degrees and saw nothing but trees and some rocks every here and there. Just green, red and brown leaves on the ground, along with some moss and mushrooms. A typical autumn view. I started walking again in hopes to find a lake or maybe even spot a squirrel or two.

And then I saw it. Some sparkle about fifteen feet away from where I was standing. The gleam was almost blinding me, and I had to know what was almost causing me to go lose my ability to see. The weird thing was, as I got closer to the shiny mysterious object, the sparkle decreased. And as I bent down to pick it up to see what it was, it was almost dull. I removed some of the dirt and then realized that I was holding a very, very small key.

By small, I mean tiny. Maybe a quarter of an inch wide and half an inch tall. Strange that something so small, sparkled like hell while covered by a thin layer of dirt. It didn’t have a opening on the top, so it couldn’t be part of a bracelet or necklace. But if it wasn’t a pendant, what could this small key possibly open then?

I debated whether to leave it there or take it with me.

“It can’t be that anyone has left it there with the intention to come and get it later, right?” I said to myself. “Yeah, I think I’m going to take this with me.”

I put it in my pocket so I could take a good look at it later that day. I could have sworn I heard giggles right then and there. I turned around to see where it was coming from, but saw nothing.

I shook my head, thinking I had imagined it, but then there it was again. It sounded like a group of maybe three of four women, all softly giggling and maybe even clapping their hands. I whirled around, trying to hear where the sound was coming from, but it seemed to come from all around me. Suddenly I felt eyes on me, from all directions as well. There were people, most likely women, watching me, but I didn’t see any of them.

The giggles slowly turned into laughter and the applause increased too. They both became so incredibly loud that I had to cover my ears. It kind of scared me at that point. I heard so much, but didn’t see a thing. Not even a glimpse out of the corner of my eye or a running shadow. Nothing. The ground started to slightly shake because of the noise and I just had the feeling I had to get out of there. I ran to the cabin as quickly as I could, as fast as I could, without looking back.

As I got closer to the cabin, the laughter died down into soft giggles again. But for some reason, that scared me even more.

The next morning I realized I must have been imagining things. It must have been dehydration because of the intensive running I had done that had made me hear and feel things. I nodded in an attempt to convince myself. Oh how wrong I was back then..

As I rubbed my eyes, the clock on the opposite wall suddenly caught my attention. 6 AM, why in the world was I awake at this hour? Maybe it was the clock’s fault, because of the loud ticking noise it made.

Strangely I hadn’t noticed that the night before. But then again, my mind was occupied with other things. No, nothing dirty in case you were wondering.

I was thinking how easy it is living with the guys. Without an argument, Kevin made dinner (tagliatelli with salmon and tomatoe sauce, which was jummy!), A.J. set the table and Howie and Brian did the dishes.

Me? I made coffee afterwards. I can make quite a nice cappuccino, thank you.
You didn’t think they’d let me do nothing, did ya? I mean, they might still see me as their little brother, but they don’t cut me that much slack anymore. I don’t mind though. As stupid as it may sound, I like to do something for my brothers, even if it is just getting them coffee.

Luckily none of them seemed to notice anything off about my behaviour. When I got back to the cabin, exhausted and out of breath, I just shouted a quick hello and ran up the stairs with the last bit of energy I had.

As soon as I saw my bed, I launched myself on it. Then I figured if any of the guys would walk by, they’d make fun of me being dead tired and I’d be hearing about this for a long long time. I mean, normally I wouldn’t care, but at that moment, I was too caught up in what had just happened.

So, I managed to get up, close the door and fall back on top of my bed again. I rolled on my back, folded my hands beneath my head and stared at the ceiling for a while, trying to make sense of it all.

Eventually I decided it just didn’t, so got up and took a long, hot shower. It took me about half an hour, but eventually the exhaustion seemed to go right down the drain along with the water.

When I got down, A.J. was still working on the song and Brian was doing some exercises to help strengthen the muscles in his ankle and Howie and Kevin had just returned from their ‘shopping spree’.

I handed the groceries that had to be in the fridge to Kevin, who organized everything. No, I’m not kidding. Kevin ORGANIZES the fridge. Soda goes with soda, cheese with cheese and other dairy products and so on. It’s kinda handy though. You can actually find stuff.

At home, I just throw things in, and end up looking for it for ten minutes, after which I realise it’s right in front of me. So, no complaints from me while Kevin neatly packed everything on the shelves.

We had dinner, coffee, talked for a few hours about past tours and how things have changed through the years. Then we just sat together in silence for a while. I don’t know what was going on in the other guys’heads, but I was thinking about what happened that afternoon.

Looking back, it seemed ridiculious. But what was even more weird, is that I got THAT scared. I considered the possibility of the other guys pulling a prank on me. But usually, they pull physical pranks, like the time A.J. shaved off my hair when I was so drunk I passed out on his couch. When I woke up the following morning, he was right there beside me to witness my reaction. And boy, did he think it was funny! I sure as hell didn’t, I looked like a fucking criminal!!

Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. In the media, I said I thought it was time for something new, blah blah blah. Well, now you know it wasn’t! I was so pissed I ignored him for a week. I mean, totally, completely ignored him. Sadly, he didn’t seem to mind that much. So what did that teach me? Instead of ignoring A.J. while pissed at him, annoy him by constantly texting him or asking stupid questions. It always works like a charm.

Besides, even if the events of this afternoon had been a prank, none of asked me how my work out had been or something that would hint they knew about it. Well, they.
It probably could’ve only been A.J.’s doing.

I mean, Kev would’ve thought of the risks involved. He’s anal like that, like you probably know! Seriously, I could have tripped and broken my ankle or something.

Speaking of ankles, Brian could’ve never gotten there before me. Howie and Kevin had the car, and he was very careful not to strain his ankle. Otherwise it could become a longterm injury. That left only A.J. and he’d make sure he got the glory that came with getting Nick scared like a little girl. So I was 95 percent sure it hadn’t been the guys’doing.

So, what was it then?
I had no idea. Maybe other people pulling a prank on me. I hadn’t seen anyone, but it probably could’ve been children.They’d fit behind a tree, or could hide up high in one of them. But why would they do that?

I remember that when I was a kid, I couldn’t hold my laughter. Or maybe they had laughed, but it had been drowned out in the other sounds. Still, I could never let the opportunity pass me by to tell everyone it was my brilliant mind that came up with the hysterical idea. Maybe kids in this area were different though.

Then there was the issue of the sound being all around me. I didn’t see any sound equipment, but then again, I wasn’t really paying that much attention. I was just trying to keep my calm (at which I failed) and spot a person, not searching for anything else.

And why would anyone pick that specific location? It wasn’t as if there was just one or two paths throughout the forest. I had checked that before I went running, to see which one would lead me into the forest, instead of up to the road.

Like I said. None of it made sense. I mean, if you have a better theory, tell me. My guess is, you’ll never come up with the one that turned out to be true. But back to the morning of our first day of work.

Well, work wouldn’t actually start until around 10 AM, so that left me with around 4 hours in which I planned to do a short workout, eat breakfast and take a shower. Plenty of time.

I got up, got dressed in work-out clothes and softly tiptoed down the stairs. I set the timer on the coffeemaker, so that it would go to work at 7.30. I put fresh water and coffee in, grabbed an apple and headed out into the forest again.

I didn’t want to go back to the spot I was the day before, not only because of what had happened, but also because it’d take too long. I unlocked my iPod, plugged the ear thingies in and off I went.

Things went smoothly until around twenty minutes later, I seemed to be in EXACTLY the same spot! Now if you paid attention, the day before, it took me more than 45 minutes to get there! I know music makes me run faster, but this was ridiculious.

At first, I wasn’t sure it was the same location. Forests just don’t really have a lot of different sceneries, except for maybe a lake in the middle or something. But when I looked more closely, I noticed small things.

Like for example the same family of rocks. Four big rocks, and six or seven smaller ones placed in a circle around them. Or the tree in which someone carved ‘John’ heart ‘Samantha’. I know those are popular names, but come on, you know as well as I do, that those things meant I HAD to be in the same spot.

‘Great,’ I muttered. “Just the one place I planned on avoiding today.”
I threw my hands up in the sky, and being the drama king I am, I yelled “Why?!”
I decided that wasn’t working either (I knew it wouldn't, but hey, it felt good), so I turned around and ran in the opposite direction.

I kept running like an idiot, not wanting to know if things would happen again if I stayed in that area. The surroundings changed a bit, which almost made me jump for joy. But five minutes later, I had absolutely NO reason to be happy about anything.

Why? Because I ended up in the exact same spot AGAIN! Crazy, right? You can’t do that unless you run in circles. Well, I can tell you, I did NOT run in circles!!
The path couldn’t be any more straight if it wanted to. I did NOT turn around or took a wrong turn, because I only ran straight forward!

I stood still for a moment, with my hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath. Then I lifted my head, kept my eyes closed and said to myself: “This is not happening. This is not happening. This is NOT real. THIS IS NOT REAL.”

When I opened my eyes, I could only admit it was really happening. I WAS in the same spot, with the same rocks and the same carved tree. This time I just screamed out of frustration and a hint of fear as well. I felt like I had gone crazy, no, I was certain that I had.
And there was nobody there to convince me I was not. I can tell you, I have never felt more lonely. But things were about to get even worse before they got better.

After a moment of feeling sorry for myself, I realized I had two options. One was to wallow in self-pity and stay put. The other was to try to get out of there. It didn’t feel like I had much of a choice, so off I ran. AGAIN.

I ran and I ran and I ran. Only to find myself in the goddamn same spot for another three times. By then, I was ready to dig myself a pity hole, crawl into it and wait for the unevitable, whatever that may be.

I was panicking too by the way. I just didn’t know what to do anymore. I was scared, confused, tired, thirsty and soaked with sweat. I actually started to cry at that point.

The feeling was just like the times I was a young kid and found myself in a dark room, when one of my parents turned off the light on my bedstand. I felt eyes on me from all around, staring, waiting for me to move, so they could get to me and hurt me.

I sat down on a large stone, hugged my knees and slowly rocked back and forth in an effort to calm myself down. It actually seemed to work and right after I got up and decided to try and get back to the guys one more time, an unfamiliair deep and growling voice right behind me yelled: “Nicky. Nicky, come play with me.”

I think that’s when I fainted.

I’m not sure how long I had been unconsciousness. What I did know, was that my head hurt like hell. I opened my eyes, only to immediately shut them again, because the sunlight seemed sharp as a knife.

My left temple seemed to hurt the most, so what did I do? Touch it of course. Not a good idea. Not only did it feel like my skull was split right open there, it was also sticky. When I slightly opened my eyes to look at my finger, I saw there was blood on it.

Okay, confession time. Nick and blood do not make a great combo. For as long as I can remember, the sight of blood makes me nauseous and dizzy.

Once, when I was younger, say six or something, three nurses had to hold me so the fourth could tab some blood from my vein for some routine exam. I fought and struggled to keep them away from me. Not that it worked of course. It probably would’ve been easier to just get the whole thing over with, but did I see it like that? Of course not.

I wish I could tell you I now act like an adult when it comes to giving or seeing blood.
Well, I don’t. I still get dizzy seeing it. The difference between then and now, is that I don’t scream and yell if a nurse sticks a needle in my arm. I close my eyes and try to think of something else.

That doesn’t work by the way. You don’t believe me? Well, try not to think about a pink kitten wearing orange boots and a blue hat for the next couple of minutes while I continue this story.

I closed my eyes again for a few seconds and sighed a couple of times so the nausea would go down. It was almost gone when I remembered what happened before I got hurt in the first place.

Fear immediately came back at full force, causing me to shoot up straight.

Again, bad idea. Not only did it hurt like hell to do so, but I couldn’t stop myself from throwing up at that point. Thankfully, there didn’t seem to be much in my stomach and most of what was, didn’t land on myself. I wiped my mouth and cursed because I didn’t bring any water with me, AGAIN.

I looked around me as fast as the dizziness would let me, but of course there was nothing to be seen. Obviously I was happy there was not a crazy axe killer behind me, but more questions, or should I say puzzles, would arise soon.

Slowly and with my eyes closed I got up and the first thing I noticed when I opened them, was that I was no longer in the spot I had been trying to get out of so desperately.

In front of me, there was a small creek. That certainly hadn’t been there before, just like the grass I was standing on. Told you there’d be more questions and indeed there were.

For example, how the hell did I do this, being unconsciousness and all? Or did someone else drag, carry, fly or zap me over to this area? (Hey, my mind was open for anything at that point!) If so, why? And where was this person? If not, then how did I get here?

By the way, how did the not thinking about the pink kitten go? You can’t do it, can you? It’s the same with me and trying not to think of blood.

But let me get back to the story.

Here I was, bleeding, hurt, without water and most of all, lost.

I felt a panic attack coming on when I finally remembered I had my phone with me. As I took it out of my pocket, it started to ring, causing me to drop it and scream like a girl. Again, not a good idea while your head hurts.

For once, I got lucky though, since the phone landed on the grass instead of in the water. Slowly, I reached for it and looked at the display, seeing it was Kevin. I took a deep sigh trying to calm myself and answered.

“Hello?” I said with a shaky voice.

“Nick? Is that you? Are you okay?!” Kevin responded, sounding both relieved and nervous.

“Yeah, it’s me.” I tried to steady my voice. “Kinda. I hurt my head a little.”

As I spoke, I reached for the wound and softly cursed as it hurt when I touched it.

Seriously, I wasn’t the poster boy for being smart in the woods when hurt and lost.

I heard muffled voices in the back and heard Kevin tell them it was me on the other end.

“You’re on speaker now, kid. Sorry, what did you say?” he asked.

“I’m okay, Kev. I just hurt my head a bit. Look, I’m sorry I’m late for our first work day, but I didn’t do it on purpose. I mean, I got lost and-”

“Where are you?” Kevin demanded as he cut me off.

“In the forest, I think.” I shrugged. “Kev, I think I’ve been unconsciousness. And, uhm, well.. and.. I..” I hesitated.

“What is it, Nick? And what?”

“I don’t remember how I got here.” I sighed.

“…”

“Kev? Hello?” I actually started to panick a little when he didn’t respond. “Kev? You there?”

“… don’t think I should tell him right now.” I heard Kevin whisper to whoever was with him.

“Kevin?” I repeated.

“Yeah Nick, sorry. Can you describe to me where you are?”

“Tell me what, Kev?” I asked, feeling a bit uneasy.

“Nothing important. Now, can you please look around you and tell me what you see?”

“Uhm, apart from trees and more trees, you mean?”

I got a bit agitated that he didn’t really answer my question, but decided I wanted to get out of there, so I slowly looked around trying to find anything that stood out.

“There’s a small creek right in front of me. Other than that, just a lot of trees and there doesn’t seem to be a path or anything.”

I closed my eyes for nothing more than a second, hoping the pounding would stop.

“Okay. Listen, here’s mister Gable, he knows the forest and its surroundings like the back of his hand. He’ll ask you some questions.”

“Okay.” I responded, unsure I’d be any help.

I mean, I didn’t even know how I got there in the first place.

Thankfully mister Gable really knows his way around the forest, cause it took him no more than a few minutes to figure out where I most likely was. He told me they’d probably find me within the hour and to stay put. I nodded as if he could see that and felt somewhat relieved.

But that changed when Kevin came back on the phone, still sounding very concerned.

“Nick, please stay put, okay? Don’t even move a muscle ‘til we get there.”

“I’ll try.” I shrugged. “Could you maybe bring me some water? I’m kinda thirsty.”
I continued as I slowly sat down.

“Of course. Be careful, Nick. We’re on our way.” He said as he got in the car.

I knew cause I heard him slam the door.

“We’d better hang up now, kid. I don’t know about yours, but my battery isn’t fully charged. Call me if you need to, okay?”

“Wait.” I rushed out, desperate to stay connected to him, in fact, to anyone. I didn’t want to be all alone again, even though my friends were coming to find me.

“What is it?” he asked. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” I hesitated. “Uhm.. what aren’t you telling me? I mean, I heard you earlier you know.”

“I’ll tell you later, Nick. We’ll be there soon.” He sounded anxious.

“You’re scaring me, Kevin. Just spit it out.” I grew more and more nervous as I waited for his response, which seemed to take him forever. He was definitely trying to avoid the question.

This time he didn’t sound too sure as he spoke. “It’s nothing, really.”

“If it’s nothing, then tell me.” I pressed.

The pounding in my head increased even more as I rubbed my forehead while waiting for an answer. I could hear him letting out a deep sigh before he responded.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Please, just tell me. I’m about to go crazy right now. I can’t wait til you get here! You know me, I can think of a thousand things worse than the truth!” I urged. “How bad can it be?”

It took him a moment to respond. “Okay, but promise me you’ll try not to freak out.”

That obviously didn’t help, but I tried to sound calm as I told him I’d do my best.

“Listen Nick, you didn’t exactly miss our first day of work.’ He slowly said.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

“That’s a good thing, right?” I responded.

Kevin sighed before he answered that question.

“Not really kiddo. You’ve been missing for 2 days.”

After the bombshell Kevin dropped, I freaked out so bad I let my phone slip. This time I wasn't lucky, since it landed on a rock and cracked the screen, which made the whole thing useless.

I got so frustrated with my own clumsiness that I kicked the nearest rock and of course, it hurt like hell, so I grabbed my foot and hopped around on the other, meanwhile cursing away. The one positive thing was that I forgot about my headache for a moment.

I know, dropping my phone was the stupidest thing I could've done, but hey, can you blame me? The guy just told me I'd been missing for over 48 hours and I had no clue what happened during that time!

A lot can happen in forty-eight hours, you know. People get married within that time and regret it. Just ask Britney, for example. Or maybe not, it might bring out the mean in her.

Not knowing what happened to me scared me shitless. I knew Kevin would have a million questions and me having zero answers wouldn't go over too well, even though none of it was my fault, or was it?

As I was trying to remember something, anything about the hours passed, I raked my hand through my hair, only to find myself wincing with pain as I touched my head wound AGAIN!

And some people wonder why the guys call me a dumb ass.

It made me realize something though. Maybe my head wasn't the only thing that got injured. Slowly, I moved my toes and breathed a sigh of relief when that no longer hurt. I checked the rest of my body and other than being dirty and discovering some scrapes and bruises, I seemed to be okay.

I found myself growing more anxious as time passed. I couldn't understand how it was possible to just ' lose' two whole days. I mean, doesn’t that shit normally happen to people who’ve been in a coma or something?

After I took a few slow deep breaths in an effort to regain my calm (which didn't really work, by the way), I figured it'd be best to take a closer look at my surroundings, just to make sure it was safe enough for me to wait there 'til the guys arrived.

And so I got up, trying not to give in to the dizziness as it hit me at full force, making it hard to keep my balance. So I staggered around a bit, probably looking like a fucking drunk. Yet I was sober and thirsty as hell. I didn’t dare drinking the water in front of me, knowing Kevin would be bringing some. And besides, I didn’t want to risk getting a stomach flu or something.

As my vision steadied a bit instead of being blurred like a few moments earlier, I realized there and then that my injury was probably worse than I thought.

When the sick feeling in my stomach subsided, I figured I'd slowly do a 360 degrees turn and look for anything suspicious.

In any other scenario, I would have said the view before my eyes was beautiful.

Obviously there were a ton of trees, their leaves all different colours, from dark green to a radiant red. A thick carpet of leaves at the bottom of them, only a few of them carried away by the wind, softly landing on the water where they continued their journey. I couldn’t see what their destination would be, since trees blocked my view of the water as it turned a corner.

On my side of the water, a huge collection of rocks hugged the shore while others rested on the grass I was standing on. Now that I actually paid attention, it looked to be a clearing or something. There were trees, about fifteen feet away from me, but I was out there in an open field. Small, but still. I was an easy target, for whatever was out there.

"Not good," I muttered.

I know I promised Kevin to stay put, but I wasn't going to stay out there and be a sitting duck for who- or whatever growled at me before.

I figured hiding behind some trees was the way to go, so slowly but surely I made my way over there.

When I felt I was safe, I carefully leaned back on to a big old tree and let out a breath I didn't know I was holding in. I looked at my watch. Only ten minutes had passed since I talked to Kevin and I was already about to lose my mind, not knowing how to cope with it all.

By that time I was about to give into the anxiety, my legs trembling as the knot in my stomach tightened and a sob escaped my lips.

"Get a grip, Carter." I reprimanded myself as I balled my hands into fists. "They're coming to get you, quit being such a cry baby.”

It actually helped somewhat, but right after the last word left my lips; I heard the sound of something stepping on fallen branches, causing them to break under the person’s weight.

My first thought was that it had to be Kevin and mister Gable, but if it was them, why weren;t they yelling my name? I mean, that would make sense, wouldn’t it? I know if it was me, I’d be bellow at the top of my lungs, hoping to get a response from whoever was lost. My second thought, was a smarter one. Mister Gable said it would take them about an hour to come get me. Knowing Kevin, he’d probably urge him to hurry, but still, we talked about twenty mintues ago. So, the chance it was them, was slim to none.

Whoever this was, tried to make as little sound as possible, because I barely heard a sound.
I could hear whatever it was, was getting closer and my intuition was telling me, this wasn't something to be thrilled about.

A shiver went down my spine and I got goosebumps all over as the sounds increased.

I shook my head, knowing what I had to do, make a run for it. I mean, I sure as hell wasn't going to wait and see what it was, because I didn't want to disappear for another 48 hours or worse!

And so I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and ran, only to trip over the first root sticking out of the ground. I fell to the earth with a big thud and hit my head on another one.

A soft laughter grew closer and closer as I struggled to stay conscious, feeling that was one fight I wasn't about to win.

“Kevin..’ was the last thing I managed to whisper before I fell into unconsciousness.

“We’re going to find your friend, Mr. Richardson.” Mr. Gable glanced at me, looking calm and confident as he was driving faster than I would have dared. But then again, he knew these surroundings.


I wasn’t calm and definitely not confident. I mean, I trusted the older man beside me, but I know Nick. That should speak for itself. Then again, maybe not. Maybe I should clarify and stop the rambling.


Nick isn’t the same kid he was when I left the group. He changed. Well, we all did, but I see the biggest change in him. He’s matured so much and it’s a wonderful thing to see.

He’s no longer the little brother that keeps me up all night because I worry about him and the path he’s chosen. He’s become a real man who knows what he wants in life, both work-related and in his personal life.



He’s become the kind of guy who actually feels comfortable in a long-term relationship with a woman he really loves and therefore he’s fully committed to her.

To be honest, I didn’t think he’d ever find love like that.


I’m by no means saying he doesn’t deserve it, I just thought he wouldn’t be able to appreciate and treasure it, simply because he never had a good example during his childhood. Or whatever you’d call the ‘childhood’ he had.

His home-life was a mess as you probably know. And even though I tried to be a constant factor during his younger years, the relationship I had back then with Kris, well, it was rocky, to say the least and therefore not the best example.


As he grew older, Howie and myself tried to teach him how to handle himself during a relationship, to stay true to himself and recognize the difference between someone who liked him for him or just the fact he’s a celebrity.

I’m not sure we did much good though, looking back on the women he dated. Do I even need to mention whom I’m referring to? Probably not.


But now, he’s a healthy guy, both physically and mentally and that’s why this whole situation had me worried even more.


When I got up two days ago, he wasn’t there, but I figured he’d went out for a jog.


When he hadn’t returned around noon, I started to worry. A.J. told me not to, saying our youngest was probably too busy following a squirrel to keep track of time.

I mean, he’s grown up a lot, but thankfully, he’s still a kid in many ways. I figured he was probably right, but couldn’t shake the unsettling feeling I had.

Being away from the guys hasn’t changed my ‘gift of knowing’, or whatever it is the others say when they mock my intuition. Although it never let me down, this time I didn’t act on it, trying to be a more relaxed kind of guy. A more laid-back, less uptight version of myself. That worked out great as we now know.


So as time passed, the others started to worry as well. We took turns calling his phone, but it went straight to voicemail most of the time. We left him messages until we no longer could.


We all grew restless, so as one of us tried to call him, others started pacing and I repeatedly found myself just outside the cabin, staring out into the woods hoping he’d show up as if nothing was wrong.


By the time it was almost dark, I called Mr. Gable. He told me he’d call a few of the other caretakers and do a search. I asked him if I should alert the authorities, knowing full well they’d probably wouldn’t do a thing until ‘the first 24 hours had passed’. Excuse my language, but that’s just bullshit.


But what can you do?

Since this was a business trip, our bodyguards didn’t come along. That seemed like a great idea, but now, not so much. For all we knew, Nick got kidnapped by some crazy ass axe killer. It was more likely he tripped and hurt himself, but that’s beside the point.


It wasn’t until the second day I realized nobody had informed Lauren. Honestly, I didn’t want to tell her. I mean, who wants to tell any woman her boyfriend is missing?


But of course it turned out to be me who had the ‘privilege’ of calling her. Much to my relief, she didn’t answer.
I remembered Nick telling me she’d be hard to reach because of her training schedule. She had a competition later that week. I decided not to leave her a message but call back later when there was news.

Mr. Gable came by after the search and told us they’d found absolutely nothing. Thankfully, it wasn’t a cold night, so we didn’t have to worry about Nick freezing to death. That only meant I had to worry about 99 other possible outcomes. And I’m sure the others were thinking the worst as well.

I had contemplated talking to the other guys and going out for a search ourselves, but decided against it, since we’d only be in the way of the people who actually knew these woods.

Instead, I headed out the back of the cabin and sat down on a wooden bench that fit right in the surroundings. I choose to have the forest as my view, hoping it’d take my mind of things for a little bit.

I wasn’t alone for long. It took no longer than five minutes for Brian to join me.

We didn’t say anything for a few minutes, both worn out and he was probably just as caught up in his own thoughts as I was.

“I hope so, Brian.”

“I didn’t say anything.” He looked at me all puzzled. “How did you know I was gonna-“

“Ask if I think he’s okay?” I looked at him. He looked as tired as I felt.

“Well yeah.” He grabbed an acorn and threw it as far as he could. “This-“

“Isn’t like him, I know.” I clasped my hands together and sighed.

“Could you please-“

“Let you finish your sentence? Sure.” I sent him a smile, which he returned. I couldn’t quite pass up on that opportunity even though we were in this messy situation.

“This whole reading-our-thoughts-thing has gotten even better, hasn’t it?” He softly chuckled as he looped an arm around my shoulder.

“I guess.” I shrugged. “Maybe I should’ve stayed away and instead try to make a living out of it.”

“Nah, you’d miss us too much.” He smiled, but it quickly fell away when we say Howie walk our way.

“Mr. Gable just came by.” Howie shook his head.

“Nothing?” I asked as he looked at him.

“Nothing.” Came his answer as he simply stood there. His hands shoved in his pockets, his shoulders down as he softly kicked a few acorns around.

“Dammit.” My cousin cursed as he got up and stormed off back into the cabin.

“I gotta say I agree with that.” I whispered as I ran my hands over my face, breathing out hard.

I felt Howie sat down next to me and put a hand on my shoulder.

“I’m sure he’s okay. Sort of..”

“Let’s hope so, D.” I looked at him, hoping he was right, but not so sure myself.


The next day, when I tried to call Nick for the hundredth time, he finally answered.

To be honest, I was no longer expecting him to. I hadn’t giving up hope just yet, I just figured he’d lost his phone, the battery died or he was hurt too bad to answer it.

So, even though I was very much relieved, I was also scared for what he was going to tell me happened.

When I got my phone back from Mr. Gable, whom had tried to figure out where Nick was by asking him a dozen questions, Howie, Mr. Gable and myself ran to the car, the first carrying a few blankets, the second grabbing a bottle of water held out by Brian and myself trying to keep my voice steady as I debated about whether or not to tell Nick he’d been missing for this long.


Well, much to my surprise, he couldn’t (or wouldn’t) tell me a damn thing. He sounded scared and tired, but seemed mostly okay, except for hurting his head. Oh and when I eventually did tell him, there’s the miniscule fact he didn’t seem to know he’d been missing for over two days!


All of a sudden, the car came to a halt. I looked at the surroundings and thought it didn’t look like anything Nick had described to me.

“Mr. Richardson, Mr. Dorough, we need to walk the rest of the way.” Mr. Gable clarified as he got out of the car.

We quickly followed him as he started walking into the woods, warning us to look out for rabbit holes here and there. Honestly, I have to say he was in way better shape than Howie or myself. He even had to stop a few times to let us catch up with him.


At one point, when we were way behind again, I saw him bending over and picking up something, though I couldn’t quite make out what it was yet.

He turned around and waited for us to join him, then he asked: “Do you have any idea what Mr. Carter was wearing the day he went missing?”

I shook my head and saw Howie do the same. “He went out while we were still asleep.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Because I just found this.” He replied as he reached out to us, holding out what looked to be a red sports jacket that looked awfully familiar.

“I think we need to hurry.” He continued, as he held it by the hood and turned it so we could see the back.


I couldn’t believe my eyes at what I saw. It was all dirty, but more importantly, it was completely ripped apart, only small strands of fabric kept the back of the jacket together.


“What the hell happened?” Howie softly said, mostly to himself.

I found myself frozen to the spot, staring at the jacket I knew he’d love to wear while going for a run. I guess I was still staring as I heard Howie call my name, but couldn’t bring myself to respond.


Howie grew impatient quickly, because he grabbed my arm as he said my name again.


“Kevin!”


He then squeezed my arm hard, causing me to look at him, only to see him stare at something else.

“Look up there!!” he urged as he pointed upwards.

I couldn’t quite believe what I was seeing and felt my jaw drop.


Apparently even Mr. Gable was shocked, because I could hear him softly swear.

“What the hell?”

My instincts kicked in just in time though.


As my hand covered Howie’s mouth, he shouted Nick’s name, but thankfully, it sounded smothered and was therefore hardly audible. He shot me a look that could be read as shocked, irritated and puzzled as he grabbed my arm.


Obviously I let go.


“Sorry.” I whispered. “But he might freak out if he hears you yell and fall out of the freaking tree.”


Relief washed over Howie’s face as he realized his mistake and what could’ve happened had I not shut him up.


“What the hell is he doing up there?” Howie said as we both watched our youngest brother.


I wasn’t sure he was even conscious as he sat there on a what appeared to be a big steady branch, one leg at each side, his back leaning on the trunk, his arms by his sides. He was covered in dirt and leaves. Not much blood, as far as I could tell.


“What do we do now?” I asked Mr. Gable who’d walked over next to us.


“I guess one of you has to climb up there.” He shrugged. “I’m not sure if it’s the right thing to do, but if we call him from down here, he might fall off. Though, he might do the same if you tap him on the leg or something. My guess is as good as yours. I’ve never ever seen something like this.”


“This is just great.” I muttered to myself, knowing it’d be me climbing up that tree. I wouldn’t want Mr. Gable to even try. Not only because of his age, but because he was our guide out of there.


Then there was Howie. Well, I don’t know if you’ve ever watched him closely, but he’s really short. He could never make it up into that tree. And don’t forget the fact he’s not much of a sporty kinda guy. I mean, he does exercise to keep himself healthy and makes sure he can keep up with all the dance moves before a tour, but, well.. let’s just say I knew it would be me and Nick up there in that tree.


As quietly as I possibly could, I made my way up, keeping a close eye on Nick, silently praying he was okay and wouldn’t freak out to an extent that we’d both fall. I reached the branch below the one he was on, thinking this was going to have to do. I didn’t want to risk getting closer, not sure if the branch was strong enough to support us both.


“Nick.” I whispered, but got no response whatsoever. I tried again, saying his name just a little bit louder.


This time, it sparked a reaction. He slowly opened his eyes and it looked as if he had trouble seeing for a few seconds.


“Hey Kev.” He softly said after he directed his gaze at me. “Whatcha doing here?”



“I came to get you, little man.” I responded, trying to hide my concern. “I think it’s time for you to come down.”



“Down?” he asked.



“Yeah.”



His response had me worried. It was as if he had no clue as to where he was. I had no idea how to bring it up without maybe scaring the crap out of him.



“Listen, Nick.” I put my hand on his knee. “I need you to stay calm and sit still, okay?”



He looked at me all puzzled, but nodded.



“I’m not sure if you realize this, but..” I stopped, feeling stupid for a second. How could he not know? Maybe he’d just forgotten for a second because of his head injury. That had to be the case.



“Of course you know, but, well, you’re up in this tree and we need to get you down.” I hurried out, tightening my grip on his knee, just in case.



Nick looked at me as if I’d turned green and spoke alien, but then he turned his head to take in the surroundings.



He wasn’t looking too good when I first saw him sitting there, but as the news hit home the blood drained from his face. It looked like he was about to pass out, something I surely didn’t want to see happen.



“Stay with me, kiddo.” I urged, squeezing his knee. “We need to get going, before it gets dark. Do you think you can get down with some help?”



“Gimme a few seconds.” He tried to smile, but I could see right through his façade. Clearly, he was scared.



Slowly but surely, we started to make our way back down. I made sure to stay close to Nick in case he’d slip or lose his balance, but we got down without any further incidents.



As soon as we were both safe, I hugged him close.



“I’m so glad we found you.”



“Me too, Kevin.” Nick hugged me back. “But I still need to breathe.”



I let out a small laugh and let go, giving Howie the opportunity to hug him.



“Don’t you ever do that to us again, man.”



“I’ll try not to.” Nick said in a small voice, suddenly looking tired and weakened. He was swaying on his feet.



Howie and myself both noticed, so I rushed to his side.



Immediately, he looped his arm around my neck and leaned into me. I grabbed his hand and put my other hand on his side, supporting his weight.



Howie put a blanket over his shoulders, trying to make sure it covered most of his back. Nick grabbed hold of it to keep it in place.



“Did you bring some water, Kev?” he asked as he gave me a smile that seemed forced.



I nodded.



Mr. Gable had heard his request and handed him the opened bottle. Nick let go of the blanket and took a few swigs of the liquid, emptying the bottle within seconds.



He gave the plastic bottle to Howie and grabbed the blanket again. I could feel his body shivering and he seemed to lean into me even more.



Howie came to walk beside me, probably knowing full well he couldn’t really help me getting our youngest back to the car. Again, because he’s just so freaking short. I let out a breath and knew my back would be killing me the day after.



“Do you think you can manage getting him to the car?” he softly asked.



“I’ll have to.” I whispered back, slowly putting one feet in front of the other.



Nothing could have prepared any of us for what happened next and I get chills thinking about it again now.