| Chapter 49 Kevin glanced at Nick. The younger man was being very quiet. "The talks getting any better?" he asked. "Huh?" Nick said, looking over at him. Kevin smiled, "The talks. Are they what has you so preoccupied?" Nick nodded, "Yeah, I was just thinking. Anthony found something last night that kinda raises my suspicions." "Ohh? What's that?" Kevin asked. Nick shook his head, "It's kinda sensitive. Probably better if you don't know." Kevin looked up the trail, "OK, but if I can do anything, you let me know." "I will," Nick said, following Kevin's gaze. He could hear something, a pounding. He realized he was hearing the sound of a unicorn running. He pulled back on Thomas's reins, stopping him. Kevin stopped too, "What is it?" "Listen," Nick said. The two sat and listened as the sound came closer. Suddenly a riderless unicorn came tarring around the bend. Nick quickly turned Thomas to block the trail and held his hands up, "Whoa! Whoa there!" The frightened creature slid to a stop, breathing hard, fear still in it eyes. Nick reached over and took hold of its reins, "Easy," he said in a soothing voice, then looked over at Kevin, "This is the unicorn Devon was riding." "Devon? He was here this morning?" Kevin asked. Nick nodded, "He and Brian went ....oh shit," he said, turning Thomas up the trail, "Come on!" Kevin kicked his unicorn, hurrying after Nick. He was going as fast as Thomas could run up the trail. They passed through the narrow opening, and Nick jumped down before Thomas even got stopped. He ran over to Devon, turning the unconscious man onto his back, "Devon? Devon, wake up," he urged as Kevin knelt beside him. Nick looked around, seeing Kena laying in the middle of the trail, blood covering her legs and chest. "Oh God, .....Brian!!" he yelled, scanning the rocks, "Brian, where are you!!" Kevin stayed with Devon, as Nick hurried to the injured unicorn. Kena lifted her head and let out a small sad neigh. Nick bent down and held her face, "It's Ok girl. Shhh, can you show me what happened? Where's Bri?" he asked. Kena stared at him, and suddenly Nick's vision faded, replaced by what Kena had witnessed. Nick watched in horror as Brian was bitten, then knocked unconscious. He saw the men arrive and carry him to the transport, then stun Devon and leave. Nick blinked his eyes a few times, looking back at the unicorn. Kena had tears in her eyes, and Nick knew she felt responsible for not protecting Brian. He stroked the side of her face, "It's alright. You did your best." "Nick, what'd she say? Where's Bri?" Kevin asked. Nick stood up and pressed a button on the bracelet he was wearing, then walked back over to Kevin, "Bri's gone. Two men took him." "Took him? What do you mean took him?!" Kevin asked, confused and upset. Nick sighed, looking up the trail, "He's been kidnaped." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LaDonna and Ana entered the control room. "What happened?" LaDonna asked. "The kings alarm has gone off," one of the techs answered, "We are dispatching a team now." Ana watched the screens nervously, fearing the worse. She had seen Nick leave with Kevin. What if he had taken a nasty fall? She stepped closer, wanting to see what was going on. LaDonna glanced at her. The two women held their breath, waiting for the team to call back. "Base, this is rescue one," a voice said. "Go ahead rescue one," the tech answered. "We have an all clear on the target. Request medical on standby. Oh, and we also need a lift and a vet, over," the man said. The tech looked confused, "Rescue one, affirmative on medical, can you repeat the last, over?" "We need a vet and a lift. We have a unicorn down," the man clarified. "Roger that, rescue one. It's on its way," the tech said. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Marie waited outside the palace for the transports to come in. She was nervous, not knowing who was hurt. She prayed it wasn't Brian. She looked up, seeing the first transport come into the courtyard and up to where she was standing. She could see Nick and Kevin sitting in the transport. Once it landed, a couple of guards slid the stretcher out. Marie gasped, seeing her brother. She looked at Nick, "Where's Brian?" She notice the look Nick gave Kevin, and she didn't like it one bit. Nick walked over to her, pulling her over to the side as Devon was carried into the palace. Marie's lip was trembling, and tears were already trailing down her cheeks. "Honey, Brian was kidnaped," Nick said, watching as the color drained from Marie's face. "What?" she asked, in shock. "They were ambushed by war dogs, and Brian was taken by the men that chased the dogs away," Nick explained, trying his best not to cry with her. Marie shook her head. This couldn't be happening. She looked at Nick, "War dogs? Was he bitten?" Nick nodded. Marie covered her face with her hands, "No! Please no!" Nick pulled her close trying to comfort her. He wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her back, "It's gonna be OK. We'll find him." Marie shook her head and stepped back, "You don't understand." Nick looked at her confused, "Understand what?" "A war dogs bite is poisonous. If it's not properly treated, he could die," she cried. Nick felt his heart sink into his stomach, but he had to stay strong, for Marie, and for himself. He pulled her close again, "We'll find him. There's a reason he was taken. Whoever has him wants something, and I'm sure they wouldn't hurt him." Marie cried on his shoulder, hoping beyond hope that he was right. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian slowly opened his eyes, blinking them. The first thing that registered was the pounding of his headache, closely followed by the throbbing of his ankle. He groaned, bringing his hands to his face. Closing his eyes for a moment, then trying to make them focus. He realized he was laying on something hard and cold. Slowly he sat up, wincing as he did. He looked at his ankle. His jeans were in shreds where the dog had bit him. He carefully pulled his jeans up, seeing his wound had been wrapped, but the dressing was already soiled with blood. He looked up, taking in his surroundings. The room he was in was very small, and drab. Stone floors gave way to stone walls and ceiling. There was a metal door on the opposite wall. It had a small bar covered window at the top and what looked like a small opening at the bottom. Brian looked down, seeing he was sitting on a stone slab that jutted out of the wall. He looked over, seeing a small sink and toilet. He didn't know where he was, but he knew he was in trouble. He glanced above the bed, seeing a small window near the ceiling. He carefully got to his feet and stood on the bed. He could just barely see out, but what he saw scared him. None of the scenery looked familiar. He grabbed the bars and pressed his face as close to them as he could get, trying to see down each side of the building. He made out the stables and just past that sat several transports. He looked up, seeing the suns just disappearing behind the mountains. Brian let himself back down, and sat on the cold bed. He shivered as a chill ran down his spine. He leaned against the wall and weighed his situation. He didn't know where he was or how he got there. He was hurt, and locked in some sort of jail. He bit his lip, knowing that where ever he was, he was in trouble. He was the king's friend, that alone would warrant a hefty ransom. He lay back down, his head pounding to hard to let him remain sitting upright. He shivered again, the cold stone pressing against his back. He closed his eyes, praying this was just a dream, hoping that when he woke up it would be in his own bed with Marie next to him. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick paced in the control room, listening to the search teams as they called in. He had every available man out looking for Brian, but so far, no one had seen anything. He glanced over, seeing Ana sitting with Marie. Ana looked up at him as she held her friend, trying to tell her that things would be alright, but not entirely convinced herself. Nick sighed, glancing over at Kevin. He was pacing, his face stricken with worry. A.J. and Howie were seated with Marie and Ana, alternating between looking at Kevin, then to Marie. LaDonna walked over to Nick and took his hand in hers, "Come, I need to talk with you." Nick nodded, and followed her to a corner of the room. "What has happened is very serious," she began, "Whoever took Brian has to know who he is. They may think that they can get something from you, for his safe return." Nick nodded, "I thought of that. But what would they want?" "I don't know, but Nickolas, you must be careful," she warned, "If you give in to their demands, it opens the door for more acts of this nature. If a demand is made, you must disconnect yourself. You can't be Brian's best friend, you must be the king. You cannot do anything that will put this planet or its people at risk." Nick bit his lip, knowing that would be hard to do. He was worried sick and would give everything he had to get Brian back. LaDonna could see the struggle her son was having. She herself wasn't sure if she could do what she had just told Nick. She squeezed his hand, "I know this is hard." Nick nodded, a tear leaving his eye and trailing down his cheek. He quickly wiped it away, not wanting anyone to see him cry. "Your highness, we are receiving a transmission," one of the techs announced. Nick quickly walked over to the console, "Bring it up." The tech punched a few buttons and suddenly a hologram appeared in the middle of the room. "Brian!" Marie cried, seeing her husband laying in some kind of cell. "Where's it coming from?" Nick asked. The techs worked furiously, trying pin point where the signal was coming from. "It's bouncing," one said. Ana looked over, "Bouncing?" "Yes, it's randomly bouncing from one satellite to another. It's impossible to tell where it originated," the man answered, frustrated. The group watched in fear as the door to Brian's cell opened and two men entered the room. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian woke to the sound of the door opening. He turned his head, seeing two men come in. Both had masks on and had their marks wrapped, so as not to be identified. Brian sat up, looking from one to the other, not knowing what to expect. "Stand up," one of the men instructed. Brian stared at him, wondering if he could get away with acting dumb. The man grabbed him by the front of the shirt and yanked him up, "Do as I tell you! And don't look at me like that, I know you can understand me!" Ok, playing dumb was out of the question. Brian glared at the man, trying to ignore the piercing pain in his leg. The second man in the room laughed, moving closer to Brian. Brian looked over at him, wondering what he was doing. "Hurts doesn't it?" the man asked, gesturing to Brian's ankle. Brian stared at him, determined not to let the pain he was in show through. The two men glanced at one another, then the one kicked Brian right where he'd been bitten. Brian screamed and fell to the ground. He felt like he was gonna pass out or throw up one. The pain shot through him, making his muscles cringe. He looked up, seeing two sets of hands coming towards him. The next thing he knew, he had been pulled back up to his feet, and was enduring blow after blow to his face, sides, stomach and back. He tried to shield himself with his hands, only to be punched in a new place. Brian fell to his knees, now enduring the kicks to his legs. Once again one of the men managed to kick his wound, sending waves of unbearable pain through him. Brian fell to his side, holding his leg to his chest, trying to shield it between the floor and the rest of his body. The men proceeded to kick him in the back and side until Brian cried out. "Stop! Please!" he begged. The men stopped and stepped back, satisfied. They left the room, laughing. Brian lay in the floor for several minutes, trying to muster the energy to move. He slowly sat up, trembling from the beating he'd just received. His head was swimming as he crawled over to the bed and pulled himself up. No longer could he put any weight at all on his injured leg. He moaned as he made it onto the bed, trying to find a position that offered him some relief. He coughed, holding his side. He trembled as he closed his eyes and gave in to the searing pain, welcoming the darkness that overtook him. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Not a sound could be heard in the control room. Everyone was in shock. They were staring at Brian as he passed out, then the hologram ended. Nick stared at the place in the floor where Brian's figure had been just moments before, stunned. He wanted to cry, to scream, do anything that would relieve the horrible emotions running through him. Slowly the rest of the room made itself known. He looked up, seeing Howie and Ana holding Marie as she cried uncontrollably. Then he heard Kevin scream, and looked over, just in time to see his older brother slam his fist into the wall. Nick winced, hearing a loud crunching sound. "Fuck!" Kevin spat, holding his hand to his chest. A.J. calmly walked over and inspected Kevin's hand, "I think you broke it." "No shit," Kevin said, annoyed and frustrated. Nick walked over, looking at the older man, "Kev, come on, let's go down to med and get that checked out." "I don't wanna go to med!" Kevin screamed, "Brian isn't getting any medical attention! Who the fuck do these assholes think they are! I swear if I get my fucking hands on them I'll kill them! You hear me, fucking kill em!" LaDonna walked over, taking Kevin by the elbow, "Come. We'll get that looked at." Kevin looked embarrassed for a moment. He didn't mean to lose it, but he couldn't help it. LaDonna gave him a comforting smile, "I know you're angry, but refusing treatment isn't going to get Brian back any sooner. Come." Kevin sighed, and reluctantly followed the queen out of the room. Nick looked over as Ana and Howie helped Marie up. She was still sobbing uncontrollably. "We're gonna take her to her room and see if we can't get her calmed down," Ana said. Nick nodded, turning to A.J. as they left. He was surprised the man hadn't cussed up a storm or destroyed something by now. A.J. stared at him and shook his head, "I-I can't believe it. It has to be a dream." Nick sighed, "I wish it was bro." A.J. bit his lip and sighed heavily, "I'll go make sure Kev is Ok." Nick grabbed his arm, "Are you alright?" A.J. shook his head, "No, but like the queen said, getting upset isn't going to help anything. But I promise you, if I ever get my hand's on who did this, I'll kill em," he said through gritted teeth, "I'll mess them up so bad not even their momma's will recognize them." Nick nodded, feeling the exact same way. Chapter 50 |