I couldn't help but stare at her as she placed her seatbelt around her waist, looking up at me and smiling as she did it. She seemed so calm and collected. Prison aged her a bit, she looked pale and her once bright full head of hair had now started to turn a slight shade of gray.

"David sweetie, you might want to go now before anyone starts to miss me"

Now Dave on the other hand, was so nervous he could barely control the shaking of his hands. I decided to put my seatbelt back on since I had a feeling this was going to be one hell of a bumpy ride.

"If they ask you..."

"I know, I'm your sister"

"They won't ask though, but just in case" She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, "Dave, it's going to be okay, they won't even know I'm gone until it's way too late"

"How?" I asked, still straining to look back at her. It's weird, she was almost like Medusa to me. So evil but I was entranced. How was it that she was sitting in this car with me, when she was supposed to be in prison for the rest of her life? Was it that easy to escape a high security prison or was this all a really rotten dream?

"I'm in solitary, I got into a fist fight and they put me in solitary for three days. Just like we had planned"

"But won't they notice you're not there? I mean you just can't leave" That's when it finally dawned on me, I was aiding a fugitive. One that I had help put behind bars myself.

I knew what I needed to do, I needed to let those guards at the gate know. Not sure how exactly, but I would. I clenched the door handle with my hand as Trish answered my question.

"But I am in there Nicky my love. You see, they never fully open the door when you are in solitary, they give me my meals through a slot. They also peer in from time to time to make sure I'm still alive" She licked her lips and looked at herself in the rearview mirror, frowning she continued, "One of the cafeteria ladies agreed to switch places with me. A guard who follows my brother, helped make the switch. It all worked out fine"

"Follows your brother?" I was totally confused, this was all a bit much. There were so many questions I had. So many things I needed to know. Not that any of it mattered anymore, that much I figured out already.

"His Apostles sweet pea. Like Dave here" I looked over at Dave in disbelief, well not in total disbelief because I never knew who to trust anymore. But then she said..

"And Kevin and Brian" The names of my two friends hung in the air right over my head before piercing through my heart like a cold steel blade.

I looked back at her, eyes opened wide with shock, "What did you say?"

"You weren't supposed to tell him that"

Trish leaned in and placed both hands on the back of David's seat, "And why not? Doesn't he have the right to know?"

"Joe wanted to tell him"

I listened to the words they were saying but I just couldn't comprehend anymore. Tears just started to come down my face. "Howie and AJ too?" I managed to choke out.

"No kiddo, not them, besides they couldn't help it Nick they..." Dave abruptly stopped as they neared the gate, "Okay remember we are calm and cool!" He placed a forceful hand on my arm, "Right" I nodded.

"If you mess this up in any way Nick, my brother will kill your friends so I would just do what Dave asks okay honey muffin?"

How insane do you have to be to threaten the lives of four other people and then end the statement with honey muffin?

Dave slowed down and opened his window as we approached the gate, adrenaline rushing through my veins. Trish sat back and pulled the baseball cap that was sitting next to her on her head and lowered it down trying to cover her face as much as possible.

Dave waved to the guards as we passed them by but his smile quickly faded when he saw one of the guards motioning for him to stop. I felt my breath catching in my throat and think I actually may have started to hyperventilate. If these guys found Trish in this car, my friends were dead. That's what she said. "Calm down!" Dave hissed at me, "You look guilty a sin"

"Gun?" Trish whispered pretending to be asleep in the back.

"Yup right under my seat"

"Is there a problem officer?" Dave said, a relative calmness heard in his voice.

"The guard took his flashlight and shined it in the van. I held up my hands to avoid the sudden brightness. If this man recognized me, the jig was going to be up and fast. Dave's hand searched under his seat. I was just bracing myself for what might happen next.

"I wanted you to know that your back right tire is very low, you might want to go put some air in it before it blows" Immediately Dave moved his hand away from where his gun was and relaxed it at his side.

"Thanks man, will do" The guard gave him a salute and then walked away from the car.

Trish started laughing from the back. More like cackling actually. "See, My dear heart? It's all part of God's plan don't you think so David?"

Dave looked tired and drained, "Whatever you say, I just want my son back. I could give a damn what happens to you or your brother"

"Aw, poor Davey. I'm so sorry you had to go through all this. First losing your lovely wife and then your son being taken away"

I noticed Dave's grip tighten on the steering wheel. "I am on a mission from God Dave. It will all be over soon enough I promise. Nicky are you ready?" I refused to answer her. Why I wasn't arguing, kicking or screaming, I have no clue. I just sat in that van lost and silent. Probably like how people reacted hearing the drums beating outside their prison walls waiting to go before the guillotine. A quiet calm before the storm.

She paused a little while before continuing, "How does my brother look these days anyway?" She took off her baseball cap and tossed it back on the seat, grabbing a hair tie from her pocket she placed her hair up in a make shift bun.

"Same, but crazier" I actually laughed when Dave said that. How in the world did I manage that?

"Better not let him hear you say that David, my brother takes his sanity very seriously"

"What's going to happen next?" I unlocked my seatbelt and turned my body to see Trish. She smiled at me sympathetically, "I know it hasn't been easy for you Nick. I really do and I'm so sorry" For just a minute, there she was. The Trish that I had known for years and years, the Trish who's shoulder I cried on more then once. The Trish I loved like an older sister or Mother. Before honey muffin's or sweet pea's came into the picture.

"It's going to get harder isn't it? Please tell me, I deserve the right to know what I am walking into"

"Nick, believe me I hate this more than you do" Now Dave seemed to relax into his normal personality, well besides being a liar and fink.

"What do Kevin and Brian have to do with any of this?" I allowed myself to ask. I wanted to know, felt I deserved the right to know how it was that those two guys could have ANYTHING to do with it. I was hoping it wasn't willing.

"Joe has something that Kevin and Brian want sweet pea" Oh, God, that's when I knew. He had Kristin and Leighanne.

"Are they okay?"

"I hope so, but to be honest Nick, I think one of them might already be dead"

"Oh my God...who?" I asked already shedding tears at their betrayal.

"Leighanne"

I put my hand up to my mouth, Leigh was dead because of me? "How? I mean why?"

"God's will" Trish said from the back seat. I put my hands up to my face and cried for Leighanne. Cried for Brian and how bad he must have been feeling, and crying for myself at how horribly I had been betrayed by everyone. I was almost glad it would all be over soon. I found I no longer had a burning desire to live. Maybe Trish was right, maybe it was God's will. Why else would he put me through this hell?

"This world is an ugly ugly place Nicky. An ugly place" She said almost sing song like as we traveled up the highway and back towards my house.

The room was quiet. Time seemed to stand still as Brian placed the gun up to his temple and pulled the trigger. He had closed his eyes hoping to not see the shot that would soon end his life, while suddenly the room burst forth in noise. Kevin, AJ and Howie all yelling and struggling with so much aggression that they actually tumbled themselves over, lying splayed out on the ground. They looked like tied up dying fish Joe thought. Then the sound...

CLICK

CLICK

CLICK

CLICK

CLICK

All the boys looked up from their positions waiting to see their friend, cousin, and brother fall dead to the floor. The sight before them was almost as scary, Brian holding the gun at his head and firing shot after shot. Eyes now open but staring blankly.

CLICK

After the last click of the gun, Joe walked over and pried the gun out of Brian's hands, "Did you actually think I would give you a loaded gun?" He took the gun and held it to his own head pulling the trigger to nothing but a click.

"Tsk tsk tsk....Don't think so" Joe then pulled Brain over to where the rest of them were on the floor and sat him down on a chair, binding his arms and legs. "I just wanted to see what you would do, I have to admit Brian, you surprised me a little" Brian looked at him, with a blank stare. "I recognize that stare Brian" He went over and picked Kevin back up to a sitting position and did the same with the other two, "I had that very same look on MY face as I laid there dying in my burning house" He felt Kevin's death glare penetrate his head as he continued to calmly talk to Brian, "You know what I mean? you kind of get it in your head that you will die, you pray to whatever you think exists out there and beg for forgiveness to anyone that will listen"

Brian didn't seem to be listening to him at all, so Joe slapped him in the face, "Snap out of it boy!"

"Leave him alone! Haven't you done enough?" Howie cried out. It seemed that the other two had reached the stage of being beyond words.

"Brian, I really thought I was going to die, imagine how I felt knowing that I would burn to death and that it was your fault it was going to happen? Well you and your stupid cousin over there" He moved back to his original spot on the chair once again hiking his leg up onto the arm. "I was mad when he came and got me out of the fire at first. I was that set on dying"

"Who saved you?" Kevin finally found his voice again after watching Brian almost die.

"Some guy, I guess he saw the fire and tried to do a good deed"

Then for no reason he started to laugh. "Don't you see? You can't kill me, I'm indestructible!"

"No you aren't" AJ said keeping his head bowed down staring at his bound feet. Joe stood up and pretended to walk towards AJ, hoping to see that familiar wince. When he did he laughed and sat back down. Joe smiled at them all, this was working out rather nicely.

"Aw heck I can't keep this up anymore" All eyes turned to Joe.

"Leighanne is fine. No one was going to kill her or Kristin for that matter. They were never in danger at all"

"What?" Brian asked now pulling his head up and coming back from the faraway place he had been since hearing the news in the first place.

"You're lying, she's dead"

Joe walked over to Brian picking up his cell phone. He dialed Brian's home phone number and held it to his prisoner's ear as it rang. "As soon as she picks up I'm hanging up" He said as he watched for Brian's reaction.

The phone rang three times before she answered, "Hello?"

When Brian heard the voice of his wife on the other end of the line he instantly began to cry. Before she could identify his voice, Joe pulled the phone away and hung up.

"I lied" Joe said raising an eyebrow and glancing back and forth from Brian to Kevin, "I lied to you both to get you back for ruining my plans in the first place. If it weren't for the two of you, I would have never had to go to this extreme, I would never have had to watch as my sister went to jail and Nick would not have to go through what I am going to put him through now" Everyone was stunned. Wanting so much to be happy but yet knowing something horrible was soon to come.

"Don't you see? Now not only does Nick have to die in front of all of you, but he will die feeling like he has no friends in the world"

"You are a sick son of a bitch" Brian growled, Joe smiled at him, "What does that make you then?"

Joe turned towards the door as he heard the sound of an approaching car, and the headlights shining into the living room made his smile widen, "Ah...looks like the show is about to start" He moved towards the door and stood just waiting for it to open.

As we entered my driveway and passed by the police car that still seemed to have the guys who had been playing cards earlier in it, I knew they must have been dead. An overwhelming sense of dread overcame me and I found myself shaking. My knees were actually knocking against one another.

"Alright, let's get this over with shall we?" Dave said as he looked at me with such anguish. He opened his door and Trish slide herself out of the back. I understandably had no burning desire to go anywhere and waited until I was pretty much pulled out of the car by force. Why make this easy?

Dave grabbed my arm and pulled me to my front door. I heard my dogs ferociously barking in their pen behind the house. How I wished I had let them in earlier today. Trish and Dave looked at each other, I only stared ahead at the door knob. I knew he was on the other side of that door. I also knew my friends, or enemies, whatever you called them were there too.

"No matter what happens", I whispered to myself as I was pushed into the lead, "This is no ones fault but Joe and Trish"

Dave started for the door, ironically by instinct. Always the first person through to asses the area for danger or threats. I really believed by the look in his eyes, he wanted to go first. He didn't want to be doing this.

"I think you need to go first buddy" Dave said as he moved out of the way. I gave him a smile, why die angry right? Then I looked back at Trish who had a look of deep concentration on her face. I took a deep breath and opened the door.

I took two steps in before I saw his face. "Welcome back my little lamb" He said, before I felt a very hot burning sensation in my mid section. I felt weak as I heard shouts of NO!! in the background. I looked down at the bloody knife that Joe was holding, the same one that had just found it's way into my stomach.