Hi all! This chapter's kinda short, but we've still got plenty of chapters to go! Thanks as always to Nifty and David, and to my dear readers/friends, including Elly, Aph, Wen, Red, Stacia and Casey. You guys are the best!
DISCLAIMER: I own none of this, I imply nothing. This is fiction. :)
WARNING: Contains some dark content. Don't like it, don't read it. 'Nuff said.
~NO PAINLESS WAY~ Chapter 6
"When the world isn't the same as our minds believe, then we are in a nightmare. And nothing is worse than a nightmare, except one you can't wake up from."
- "Werewolf"
A frightened scream startled Chris out of his thoughts. He spun around and flew into the room the noise had come from.
Lance was sitting up in his bed, the tangled sheets still wound about him. His eyes, wide with panic, didn't seem to be focused on anything. His breathing was heavy, and there was almost no color to his fair skin. All in all, he looked scared to death.
Chris sat on the bed and placed his hands on Lance's shoulders.
"Scoop, you okay? A nightmare?"
Lance seemed confused, though he was awake now.
"I don't know," he whispered. "I guess it must have been. I saw Justin. He was crying...he needs us..."
Chris sighed and hugged the blond boy. "We'll find him, Lance. It's okay - this is normal, to dream of people you're worried about." //Or that you've lost...//
"It was so real...Am I awake, Chris? This whole thing seems sometimes like one long nightmare I can't wake up from..."
Chris gently ran a hand through Lance's mussed blond spikes. "It's real, kiddo. It's a nightmare, but it's real. But this will end, okay? We'll get through this together, and come out on top, like we always do." He spoke forcefully, trying to convince himself as well as his friend.
Lance's eyes seemed far away, still lost in that place between wakefulness and dreams. "We're not together, Chris."
The exquisite green orbs blurred with tears. "Not without Justin. N-not...without..."
Chris wanted to console his little brother, but how? It was true, they had always come out on top before, but that was a magic 'Nsync only seemed to have when they were complete. Joey often joked about five being their lucky number but Chris, the resident psychology expert, knew it was something more. He could never explain it, maybe no one could, but the happiness and luck the quintet had together was more than the bond of strong friendship, more than the value of a second family. Like...like they were meant to be together, like five pillars holding up a roof. Take one away, and the others are lost.
//And we all fall down. Lance is crumbling already. J.C. won't let himself be destroyed, not while there's hope of getting Justin back, but he won't stand so strong forever. He'll start to sink. God, what happened to the Invincible Five? I don't get it, probably I never will, but all together we simply couldn't break, whether it was loyalty, friendship, fate, whatever. Cheap magic, maybe, but it never let us down. Till now.//
Chris held himself up bravely. He would be the strong pillar until that magic returned, he resolved, taking Lance into his arms.
//It's still there, it's gotta be, just under the surface. Whether it was given to us or we made it, it'll keep till we get Justin back. Curly, wherever you are, I'll hold us together until you return. Just don't be away much longer.// ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Justin scowled at the large mirror as an angelically-beautiful seventeen-year-old looked back at him. Justin did not think this of course; he saw only himself. He was continually baffled by the way people treated him like a work of art. Flattered as he was by the comliments he was given daily, he could not see himself the way his admirers did.
And so Justin did not look at his reflection with rapture or awe, only frustration. He hurriedly combed his short blond curls, still damp from the shower. Slamming the comb down onto the dresser, the boy pulled at the unfamiliar clothes he was wearing. They fit perfectly, which caused Justin fear rather than gratitude. The clothing selected for him was all in the correct sizes, even his favorite labels and colors. It was very much like his own wardrobe at home, which somehow only made this place seem more forbidding.
//This guy Elwood redefines the term 'psycho-fan'. Bastard even knows what kind of hair gel I use.//
Dressed in loose-fitting jeans, a blue UNC shirt and white Nikes, Justin hesitantly entered what had been described as his 'living room'. It was done in much the same style as the bedroom, seemingly meant for a young person with good taste. There were two couches, a few comfortable-looking chairs, a large TV and VCR. On a small shelf next to the latter two there was a pile of video tapes. 'The Untouchables', 'The Breakfast Club', 'Raiders of the Lost Ark', 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off'...his favorite movies.
Justin recoiled from them as he would a rattlesnake.
Next to the sophisticated stereo was a case of cd's, most of which already had a place in Justin's own collection. Piled casually next to the Super Nintendo, Sega Dreamcast and Playstation were the video games he liked most. And he didn't even have to open the mini-fridge to know that it would be stocked with his favorite drinks. Elwood knew his captive as well as Justin himself, it seemed.
Despair crept over the boy like a fine mist, and he sank dejectedly onto one of the couches. He was about to close his eyes when he noticed something on the coffee table before him. A Bible.
//Is this a test of faith or something? God, what is going on?//
Justin's hand touched his wrist for reassurance before he remembered what he'd done with his 'WWJD?' bracelet. A tiny smile shaped his mouth as he applauded himself for his quick thinking.
//I just hope they find it. Josh will, or has already. He always knows when I'm in trouble.//
Justin wandered back to the bedroom to gaze at the 'Nsync poster. From the wall, J.C. looked down unknowingly on his love, flashing a grin that Justin had seen countless times. Justin giggled in spite of himself.
//He is hot. Wow.//
The laughter died abruptly. //And I may never see him again. What am I gonna do?//
Justin suddenly felt someone looking at him, and whirled around. Elwood smiled with interest, and glanced at the poster.
"Ah, your bandmates. All five of you are extremely talented, you know.
You in particular. As you certainly do not need to be told."
Justin said nothing.
"I had the poster put up because I thought it might make you feel more at home. It's a nice picture...it was taken in Germany, correct? That was where I first saw you."
Justin glared at him angrily, fists clenching.
"Oh, come now, little one. Speak. You have nothing to fear from me-"
It's impossible to determine what exactly it was that pushed Justin over the edge he was teetering precariously on - the sum of all that had happened, the 'little one', or his captor's eerily kind voice. It was one or all of these things that caused the boy to lunge angrily at Elwood, swinging at him with unbridled fury.
The taller, larger man smiled calmly, as if he expected this, picked Justin up and tossed him roughly onto the bed.
"I would recommend that you not attempt to challenge me physically, Justin. I am considerably stronger than you and I'd hate to accidentally hurt you."
The boy blinked furiously through his tears. "What do you want from me?!" he yelled.
"Right now I want you to wait there for a moment."
Elwood left as Justin buried his face into hands clammy with shock. Was it just yesterday that the happy sun had woken him, peeking shyly through the curtains as Justin slept smiling in his own bed? Just yesterday that his mother had hugged him, her perfume enveloping him in warm security?
Just two days ago that Justin had shared his first kiss with the person he loved?
//No. It's been an eternity, at least. I can't even clock the time between when I traced the rough bark of our tree and when I woke up here. How do you measure the distance between possiblity and despair, with little things like hours and minutes? I can't, no one can.//
Had Justin looked up, he would've recognized one of the large men he'd met earlier inching toward him. But he wasn't startled out of thought until he felt the weight of the brown-haired, white-uniformed giant sit on the bed. Justin's head snapped up as the man moved against the headboard, grabbed Justin's arms and pulled the boy up to him.
"What the hell?! Get your fuckin' hands off me!"
Justin thrashed wildly, but it was as if he were fighting a stone wall.
Thick arms wound around him, and he was trapped, his back pressed against the stranger's chest. Enormous hands gripped Justin's wrists and restrained his flailing arms.
Elwood sat calmly beside his screaming captive for a moment before straddling, and effectively pinning down, the teenager's legs.
"Ssh...it's all right, little one, I'm not going to hurt you."
Justin didn't seem to hear this; whether he did or not he continued screaming. It wasn't until he felt Elwood's cool hands under his shirt, caressing his warm skin, that Justin realized what his captor wanted with him.
His flushed face paled at the horrifying realization, and his body grew cold against the heat around him. No escape. No way out. No one to stop this. No control. No choice. No. No. No...
"No no no no no please don't please..." the boy stammered, tears falling on the arms that held him.
Elwood answered with a smile meant to be reassuring. His hands continued to explore the young body before him, his eyes roaming over it in fascination.
"Please don't..." the small voice continued to plead.
The sound of a zipper being opened echoed sadly between the thick walls.
~to be continued~ Questions, comments (no flames) to me, DaraLynn, at DaraLynn_writings@hotmail.com