"Oh fuck!" He cursed as he slammed his foot on the brake and spun the wheel to the opposite direction of the road. The wagon squealed and slid for about a hundred yards, then spun around before he frantically brought the wagon out of its spin.
He paused.
His hands were trembling, his nerves completely shattered as his eyes remained on the road. For once in his life, time seemed to freeze and for that precious few moment he seemed to have forgotten how to breathe. The first time had been frightfully terrifying with long intense silence filling the air, his grip on the wheel tightened.
"Jay? Jay? Are you alright there? AJ?" He heard a voice drifted in and out of his consciousness.
"Oh God! Get up! Can somebody please get up! Hey get up man!" Shouted someone screaming from behind.
"Hey watch it man! My leg! You are sitting on my leg damn it!" Groaned the other as he could hear more commotion coming from the back seat.
There was something on the road and he knew it. In fact he saw it and he was sure that Kevin had seen that thing barging towards them. Fearing that he might have knocked onto some stray animals escaping from any nearby farms, he was left with no choice but to step on the brake.
His breath was getting heavier as his mind began to function and the image of some dead animals lying in the middle of the road simply jerked him off of his daze.
"Yo bro! Are you alright?" This time round Kevin's voice got deeper into his sub-conscious mind.
"Yeah... I guess..." His voice faltered as he forced his saliva down his sudden sultry throat.
"What the hell was that about?" Nick asked sounding annoyed. To have someone sitting on his legs was annoying especially when he was at the last stage of finishing his game.
"I don't know... I... I thought I saw something..." AJ cleared his throat and turned to the others. "I... I really saw something..." Continued AJ seriously.
They knew how much AJ tried so hard to be funny all the time, and the fact that he tried so hard was the only funny thing about him.
"Yeah right bro! Indeed it was funny to wake me up in the middle of my dream!" Scoffed Howie as he tapped on AJ's shoulders.
"You think that's funny Jay? You almost killed us for God's sake!" Exclaimed Brian as he rubbed his bruised forehead.
"Look! I'm serious alright! I saw something and I saw that thing... that thing was running towards us!" Explained AJ and before he could explain further, the trio broke into laughters. A response he was accustomed to whenever he tried to be the joker in the group though he knew sometimes it simply doesn't make any sense. But this time it was different.
There was something on the road and he knew it. He saw it and he was sure that if Kevin had paid attention to the road, he would have seen it too.
"Look Jay... this is not funny alright. Need I remind you that you almost got all killed!" Said Kevin as he turned to AJ.
"Fuck! You think I would do that on purpose? I saw something and I'm serious alright! That thing... that fucking shit was running towards us... its... I don't know what the... what the fuck it was... but its huge... its damn huge guys!"
"Oh come on Jay! Its bullshit! Next you're gonna tell us that its in white with blood dripping down its white fangs, with fiery red eyes, barging straight at us right?" Howie said, reminding AJ of the strange nightmares that the tattooed guy had the night before. "I told you already, it's just a freaking nightmare dude."
"Look D! I'm telling you I'm fucking serious this time and I really saw that fucking shit running at us! It has nothing to do with my dreams-"
"Or maybe you are seeing-"
"Oh fuck you Nick! I'm not joking and stop saying that I'm seeing things cause I know what I saw alright!" AJ exclaimed, defending himself.
"This is so ridiculous guys! I think its better that we get the hell out of here!" Brian said as he tried to calm everyone down. "Jay?" Called Brian as he tapped on AJ's shoulders.
AJ was too furious to say a word. He was too angry to even start the car thinking how he hasn't had the chance to justify himself. Its definitely has nothing to do with his recurring nightmares or anything related to his wild imagination because he was sure he saw something and he knew they would have seen it too if only they had paid a little more attention on the road rather than sleep, playing games or chatting on the phone.
Without looking at them, AJ turned the key in the ignition, wanting to get out of the place as soon as possible. He thought of heading back to the main junction where they had made the detour earlier due to some road blocks but then again, he knew he couldn't afford to waste any more time so he dropped the idea and went ahead with the detour to reach home hoping that it wouldn't take them that long to reach his place.
At first, things started off smoothly with brief silence deluging the ten minutes journey. Everybody tended to their own worlds. Brian was seen pressing the obvious bump on his forehead gently with his palm. Howie who suffered a cut on his lips when he accidentally knocked onto Nick's head simply refused to go back to sleep and instead he kept looking out of his window. Nick, on the other hand didn't really care much about the slight bruises on his forehead as he veered his concentration to the game. Perhaps he's trying to ignore the fact that they were roaming around in the middle of the night in a secluded place where help seemed very much impossible. But what could he do? Talk to Kevin? Nah! That's even more impossible.
Even though AJ appeared to be calm as he navigated the steering wheel, Kevin couldn't help noticing the trembles on his hands. The blood was left dry and unattended on his upper left brow. It was funny seeing how frantic AJ could be sometimes especially when he tried to stand up for himself. He wanted very much to believe AJ but had his reservations when he recalled the prank AJ had played on them a week ago. AJ actually paid someone to play the role of a dead man with an axe lying around his bathroom and when they were on the verge of calling for help, AJ dropped down on his knees and started laughing all night thinking that it was amusing to see them panicked. He remembered hearing Brian swearing for the first time in his life because of the prank.
But this time it was different. Kevin wasn't sure why but his instinct told him so. Perhaps AJ sounded more convincing this time round without the need of any backup actor. Yeah, perhaps only.
Slowly Kevin leaned his head back to his seat, only to feel the pain in his chest each time he tried to move. He must have hit his chest against the board in front of him when AJ suddenly pressed on the brakes earlier on. Seeing how the others were panicking made him forgot about the pain and instead made sure that everyone was alright.
AJ caught a glimpse of Kevin's stares from the corner of his eyes. Just when he thought everything was nothing but merely a nightmare, it happened again. The car kept halting and gradually stopped in the middle of the road.
"What's wrong? What happen now? Why are we stopping? What?" Nick repeatedly asked as he leaned forward to look at the road.
"Oh great! Now what?" Asked Howie as he turned to the others.
"Not the fuel again I hope?" Chuckled Brian as he learned forward to look at AJ.
"Oh great! This is just great! The car refused to move and here we are... stuck in the middle of nowhere! How much more comforting can we get now?" Muttered Kevin in one long sentence as he unfastened his seat belt.
"So what are we going to do now?" AJ wished he had the answer to that. It couldn't be the engine since the car was only two weeks' old and it couldn't be the fuel since he has it refilled the first thing in the morning before he went to the studio.
"That's a very good question Nick!"
"Thank you D! So can somebody please tell me what are we going to do now?" Nick asked for the second time.
"Oh calm down will ya! I'm sure we'll think of something here!" Brian tried hard to remain calm despite the fact that Nick's squeaky voice irritated him as much as he tried to brush off the odd feelings that's been creeping inside him.
"Bri is right! Just calm down will ya! It could just be the engine or something." Said Kevin as he turned to Nick.
"What? This is bullshit you know that! This is full of crap! Didn't you check the engine just now?"
"Quiet Nick!" Uttered AJ as he clutched his fists.
"Quiet? We are stuck in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night and you expect me to be quiet?" Nick began to lose his cool.
"Oh calm down Nick!" Howie tried to be the peacemaker.
"Look Jay! You can have this sick joke of yours elsewhere and at any other time but not now. This is not funny alright... I would say that you start the car now and let's get the hell out of here!" Nick said.
"You think I make this fucking shit up? You think I purposely wanna stop the damn fucking car in the middle of nowhere? Is that what you're saying now Carter?" Shouted AJ from his seat.
"You should know the answer very well Mr. McLean! This could just be another sick joke of yours!" Nick shouted back.
"Hahaha! You think that's funny Carter? You think I am joking right now? You have no fucking idea what I saw just now so shut the hell up!" Yelled AJ waiting for a chance to prowl at Nick.
"Look, I don't give a fucking shit what you saw just now coz all I know is that this is your fault! If you didn't choose this road, I guess we would have been reached home safely-"
"So now you are telling me that its my fault? You are the one who agreed to use this road and you are the one who wants to get the hell out of the roadblocks and now you are putting the blame on me?"
"But you were the one who drive the damn fucking car Jay! Not me-"
"Alright... alright...-"
"Let go of my hands damn it!" AJ tried to break free from Kevin's strong grip but Kevin's grip was getting tighter as he tried to reach for Nick's neck.
"Alright! Shut up-"
"Let me go Bri-"
"Cut it out Nick! Jay! Stop it you two! I said stop it! Stop it!" Shouted Kevin as he pushed AJ back to his seat while Howie and Brian pulled Nick back to his seat to stop them from throwing the blames at each other. "We are in the middle of nowhere and instead of cracking your heads to find a way out of here and there you are fighting like small kids!" Continued Kevin as he let go of his grip.
"That's right! Fighting won't solve anything! We've got to sit and think of something!" Supported Howie.
"I can't believe that you guys wanna fight in a time like this and I can't believe this is happening... I'm not trying to blame anyone now, but we are lost in the middle of nowhere and how are we going to get help?" Brian's question invited an immense silent in the car. Nobody dare to answer that not after seeing how Nick and AJ got involved in a heated argument which almost lead to a big fight. They have seen how they both fought in the past and enough to say it had an ugly ending.
"Guys... are we really going to sit in here and wait?" Asked Howie.
"I'll go out and check on the engines." Said AJ softly as he stepped out followed by Kevin.
The moment AJ and Kevin left the three of them in the car, Brian took the opportunity to talk to Nick.
"You alright there bro?" Brian asked as he turned to the young boy sitting next to him.
"Yeah... I'm fine..." Brian tried to believe that but seeing his hands shaking and his lips trembling made him to believe otherwise. "I... I just wanna go home you know... I mean, this is just so stupid! We shouldn't even be here in the first place!" Nick continued as he covered his face.
"I know. We all do wanna go home Nick but now the thing is that... we have to go through this first before we can do anything else. Remember when we both got lost in the woods while shooting for that Backstreet's Back video... yeah we got lost for like what? 6 hours before they finally found us... and man! That was like... only the two of us and yeah, I know we wouldn't get that far from the scene if you had not been too choosy to release your crap!"
"Oh! So that is the reason why the two of you went missing that time? Finally, the truth is out!" Exclaimed Howie as he gave a loud pat on Brian's shoulders. "And we were like thinking if the aliens could have abducted you and we were so freaky worried about the two of you at that time and the reason, Nick wanna release his crap! It's a great one to add on to our blog!" Laughed Howie as he shook his head.
"Yeah I remember that! We were so scared that we practically hide behind the big trees but keep singing the verse over and over again until we fall asleep and next all I know, I saw Kevin's face smirking at me." Giggled Nick as he turned to Kevin and AJ who were busy checking on the engines.
"Even though only the two of us were missing at that time, we managed to survive amazingly... so now, there're five of us so I'm sure things weren't be that bad afterall... we can do this Nick, you can do this... at least for me... please?" Pleaded Brian softly as he placed his arms around Nick's shoulders, giving him the best assurance he could offer. Its been awhile since the last time he did that and he's glad that in a way its giving him a chance to be a brother once again.
"Man... I'm sorry... I was just... I was just pissed off with that guy... I mean, its just so difficult to trust him after that stupid and sickening joke he played on us the other time remember? I just hope this is one of it so that we can get over it once and for all and then we can all go home." Brian and Howie remembered that fateful incident very clearly in their minds and just like Nick, they too found it way too much for them to handle such a sickening joke. Seeing a dead man is totally not funny at all!
"But do you think he is serious this time? I mean... just look at him... could he be serious this time?" Brian and Nick left Howie's question hanging in the mist as they watched AJ from afar.
"This is fuck up! Everything is just fuck up! I just bought it barely two weeks ago and you can see it for yourself! This is the first time I'm having problems with my car and out of all the time, it has to happen right now!" Exclaimed AJ in disbelief when thick smoke began to fill up the air. He knew something has to be done fast so he reached for his cellphone from his pocket.
"I think we are screwed up now!" Said Kevin as he put both his hands behind his head and looked up in the dark sky. He knew it was not the right time to admire the glittering of stars in the bare chest of the dark sky but that night seemed to be more beautiful than any other nights.
"Oh fuck!" Kevin looked back at AJ who was busy pressing down the numbers on the keypad.
"What's wrong?" Asked Kevin and this time round Brian, Howie and Nick had already stepped out of the car. Brian and Howie walked up to them while Nick preferred to stay where he was and leaned his back against the car as he slid both his hands inside his baggy sweater.
"I don't know! Its just not working!"
"Low batt?"
"I don't think so D! I had it charged the entire day, no way the batt is low!" Protested AJ as he kept pressing for the numbers.
"Here, use mine!" Kevin said as he handed his cellphone over to AJ. Howie walked on and checked on the engine. Just as expected, the smoke proved him right, right from the beginning.
"What the fuck-"
"What?"
"Its not working dude! There's no network, what the hell is going on man!" Blasted AJ as he kicked the tyres. "What do mean there's no network? I just spoke to Kristin a while ago! You must be kidding me!" AJ handed the cellphone back to Kevin and Kevin snatched it hoping that it was a joke from AJ. When he took it back and tried to redial the last number he dialled earlier on, he couldn't believe his eyes. There was exactly no bars indicating the network.
Upon seeing this, Howie and Brian quickly took out their cellphones from their pockets and tried to dial a number but just like the others it ended with a dead line.
"Oh my God! This is so not happening to me... I can't believe this! Can somebody please tell me what the hell is going on here?" Asked Brian in a half sobbing voice.
"We are screwed man! We are damn screwed now!" Clamoured Howie as he shook his head in disbelief. It seemed like their only hope had been jeopardised. Seeing how frantic the others were at that time forced Nick to walk up to them.
"Guys? What's wrong? Kev?" No answer came from Kevin as he looked down. "D? Jay? Oh come on guys! Tell me what the hell is going on now! Bri?" Brian remained speechless. He wasn't sure what to say to Nick, afterall he had assured Nick that everything will be fine but now... could he still say the same thing to him even though he knew the chances of them surviving is very slim.
"We have a slight problem here kiddo. The engine is full of smoke and we-"
"That's the problem? Man! You're scaring me for nothing! So have you called for the mechanic guy?" Nick asked.
"That is the problem Nick! There's no telephone network here... we've tried to make phone calls but-" Before Kevin could finish his sentence, Nick ran back to the car and searched for his cellphone. He dialled every number he had on the contact list but none of his attempt was successful.
"Now it is very scary..." Cried Nick as he looked up at Kevin and then to Howie. "This is nuts! How the hell are we going to get out of this place?"
"We'll find a way out Nick, somehow." Assured Brian as he placed his hand on Nick's shoulders.
"A way out? Can we really find it Bri?" Nick chuckled as he shook his head.
There was a brief silence and Nick hated it with a passion. It gave his wild imagination to go on overdrive. The thought of seeing things flying around in the woods brought him back to the nightmare which AJ used to share with him. It happened somewhere in the woods and how they were stuck in there like forever while waiting for help. Then strange things began to happen which resulted in them running for their lives from being eaten up by some kind of ferocious monsters living in the woods. Tame your thoughts Nick, he thought as he swallowed his saliva.
"I'll go and get help." AJ's suggestion broke the silence. Surprisingly, he didn't know where did that come from but he knew he had to do something for the group and so far, that was the best solution he could think of.
"Are you nuts? Where you're gonna find help? There's nothing here but road Jay, and lets not forget that it's dark and heck! There's not even a single soul around here!" Protested Howie.
"D is right! I didn't even see a single house ever since we got onto this road and where do you want to get the help from?" Supported Brian.
"They're right Jay, don't be stupid! This is not the time to act hero!"
"Then what do you want to do Kev? Sit here and wait? Look... this is not about being a hero, you guys are totally missing the point!"
"The point is you're about to do something good but not rational at all." Snapped Brian.
"Furthermore there is no telephone booth or any gas station around here... there's no way you can get any help out there! I think its better that we stick together and think of something else-"
"For how long Kev? And that's provided that you can think of something better or else, I'll stick to my idea. This is the best that I can think of so far and I am going to take my chances-"
"But its too risky Jay!"
"But at least I am taking my chances D. Its better than just to sit here and wait. There can always be hope out there." AJ said before he turned to Nick.
Nick was shivering but AJ couldn't figure out if that was due to the cold night or simply because he was too scared. He was scared too but he had to grip on to the only hope for a miracle. Weird but he really hoped for one.
"You sure you wanna do this Jay?" Nick felt stupid to ask especially when AJ has made up his mind. He moved aside when AJ swung the door open to search for the flashlight.
"Yes dude and I think it's the best that I can think of so far." Replied AJ without looking at Nick.
"Then what about us? You are leaving us all here?"
"You don't have to worry about that bro... you still have the others here with you-"
"But this is insane and you know that!"
"Too bad... I'm already mad enough to do this. Look Nick...I'm going to get help alright, and nothing will happen to you-"
"Its not me but you-"
"Alright then, nothing will happen to me. Satisfied now?" Nick smirked as AJ tapped on his shoulders.
"Wait Jay! I'll go with you-"
"Kevin, listen-"
"No, you listen to me damn it, I'm going with you and that's my decision-"
"But-"
"No more buts Jay! What the fuck makes you think that I'll let you go and wander out there alone. If I have my way, I'll get all of us go together but I think somehow its better that some of us stay here just in case if... there's a car or any vehicle coming up, then at least we can get help." Persuaded Kevin seeing how determined Brian and Howie were at that time to accompany AJ for his short adventure of trying to get help.
"I think its better that I go with you guys."
"Yeah me too! You can't leave us here, not here!" Exclaimed Brian from behind.
"Oh come on guys-"
"You said it yourself Kev, its always better to stick together and there's no way you can ditch us like this. We're going no matter what you say." Said Howie as Brian nodded in agreement.
"Nick?" Called Kevin.
"What? Hell no! I am going to stay put here and wait for you guys! I am not going anywhere."
"Fine. Then you stay here alone and wait for us. We are all going to get help." Said AJ as he raised his eyebrows.
"What? You think I'm scared?" Jested Nick as he smirk.
"I know you are one brave young man so make sure you don't leave the car. But if you're in trouble, just shout for us. We will come back for you." Said Brian.
"Provided you can still hear me." Nick replied.
"Oh yes! I think you will need this. You know just in case... if anything comes up and try to grab you, at least you have this to protect yourself. I mean, you can hardly see things from the woods you know what I'm saying dude... but I'm sure you will be alright."
"Thanks D, its really comforting! Anything else?" Nick asked sarcastically as he turned to Kevin and AJ.
"Nothing except that... we might take long so... keep the doors locked and don't unwind the windows. Just remain silent alright." Advised Kevin.
"Great! With so much concern from you guys I think on second thought... maybe I should come along... you know two heads are better than one and five heads are definitely better than four."
"I see... change your mind so soon Carter?" Asked AJ sarcastically.
"Well... this has got nothing to do with me being scared to be here alone... but you know... at least I can be of any help along the way." Nick said innocently. His eyes flickered from one face to another as he considered his decision.
"Yeah right! I can see that!" Chuckled Howie as he exchanged glances with Brian and then back to AJ while Kevin simply shook his head with a smile. At least he has a reason to smile now knowing that he will not leave any one of them out of his sight especially in such circumstances.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Hope everyone like it and reviews are highly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
