| Chapter 12 "Brian, wake up." Tara said. Brian opened his eyes and saw Tara standing over him. "Hey, is it time to go?" he asked. "Yes, let's see how comfy the sled is." she said as she offered Brian her hand. Brian took her hand and sat up, he immediately started coughing. Tara was right there with the canteen. Brian reached for it, and noticed a funny taste in his mouth. He reached up and touched the inside of his lips, it was blood. Tara looked at him with worry in her eyes, "Brian, please tell me you just bit your lip." Brian shook his head no. Tara looked even more worried now. "OK, let's get you on the sled and get outta here," she said with urgency in her voice. Tara helped Brian onto the sled, got him comfortable, and covered him with the blanket. "Brian, if you need me to stop tell me, otherwise I'm walking straight through. We've got to get you to a hospital and soon." she said as she put the harness on. "OK." Brian said in a weak voice. Tara turned and put all her weight into the first step. This is gonna be harder than I thought. She slowly made her way down the trail. As she walked, she would glance back at Brian every so often, he was asleep now. God please help me. Brian is so weak, and now he's coughing up blood. Please help me get him to the hospital. Please don't let him die out here. I know that I haven't talked to you in a long time, and you have every right not to listen to me. I'm sorry for being angry at you, please forgive me. I know I have a lot of lost time to make up for, please just give me the chance to. God, please be with Brian's family and friends, I know they are worried about him. Please help us find who did this to him. God, please give me strength. Tara had a hard time seeing the trail through her tears. But as she walked it seemed like it was becoming easier. Tara picked up her speed a little, and started humming a song, before long she was singing. Tara felt a joy inside that had been missing for a long time. She was making good time now, she should reach the ranger station by late afternoon if she didn't have to stop to many times. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick was laying in his bed staring at the ceiling. He hadn't slept since his encounter with Kevin. He was wondering if he should tell Howie and A.J. about it when A.J. stuck his head in the door. "Nick, you up?" he asked. "Yeah, I never went to sleep." Nick answered. A.J. walked in and sat down on the foot of the bed. "Man, something weird is going on." A.J. said looking back at Nick. "Tell me bout it!" Nick said as he sat up. "A.J., there is something seriously wrong with Kevin." A.J. looked at Nick with curiosity, "Like what?" "Well, last night I couldn't sleep so I went to the kitchen to see if I could find something to eat, anyway, Kevin was sitting at the table in the dark." "And?" A.J. asked. "It wasn't Kevin!" Nick said trying not to shout. "What do you mean it wasn't Kevin? You just said that Kevin was sitting there." A.J. said wondering what the heck Nick was talking about. "A.J., it was Kevin's body, but the person in it wasn't Kevin. His eyes were so........so evil looking. His whole personality was just dark. He scared the hell outta me, and I think he was happy about it!" Nick said as the chills came back. A.J. could see that Nick was really freaked out about this. "Nick, I'm sure you were just tired, and it wasn't really like that," he said. Nick shot A.J. a look that could kill. "A.J., I'm telling you that wasn't Kevin! I thought that's what you came in here to talk about." A.J. stood up, "Oh about things in the house being weird?" "Yeah, weren't you talking about Kevin?" Nick asked. "No man, I was talking about the fact that there aren't any pop tarts left, and I know we had some last night." A.J. said with a stupid grin on his face. Nick grabbed a pillow and launched it in A.J.'s direction. A.J. ducked and the pillow went sailing right into Howie's face. "What the hell?" he said as he walked in the room. Nick and A.J. both started laughing. Howie sat down at the desk, "So what are we talking about?" he asked, feeling like something was going on. "Kevin, or the lack thereof of Kevin." Nick said. Howie shot him a confused look. "OK, I'll start at the beginning again," Nick said. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tara had been walking for about four hours now. She had entertained herself by singing every song she could think of. She was just on the last chorus of "I Want It That Way" when she heard Brian cough. Tara looked back at Brian, "You need me to stop?" Brian nodded his head yes, and Tara obliged. She walked around and sat down next to Brian. He was so pale, he was almost gray, it shocked her. Brian could see the shock on her face, he managed a smile, "I'll be OK." he said softly. Tara felt Brian's forehead, he was still burning up. She poured some water from the canteen onto a rag and held it to his forehead. "Brian, we need to get going." Tara said as she started to get up. Brian grabbed Tara's hand and held her there, "Tara I want to talk to you about something." "Brian, we can talk later, we need to go." Tara insisted. "No, now." Brian said. Tara sat back down, "All right, what is so important?" "When we get to the ranger station, don't let them call my family," Brian said. Tara looked confused. "Brian, why don't you want your family to know you've been found?" Brian coughed again. Tara handed him the canteen, and he took a drink. "I want to be more alert when they come," Brian said. "Brian, what do you mean? Do you remember something?" Tara asked. "No, that's why I want to be alert. I know they will probably have to operate on my shoulder, I don't want them called until I'm awake from the surgery," Brian said with determination. "Brian, are you sure? Not even Leighanne?" Tara asked, knowing that she must be beside herself with worry. A tear made it's way down Brian's cheek, "No, not even Leighanne." "Brian, do you think it was Leighanne?" Tara asked, not wanting to, but needing to know. "No, it wasn't her, but it was someone very close. I know that." he said. "Brian, how much do you want me to tell her?" Tara asked. Brian looked at Tara, "Tell her everything, but only her, and swear her to secrecy." Tara nodded her head, "Brian, can we get going now?" "Yeah." he said. Tara turned to get up, when Brian grabbed her again. "What now?" she asked. "What's that?" he asked pointing to Tara's shoulder. Tara looked in the direction Brian was pointing. "Oh that, it's a tattoo. Now can we leave?" she said. "I never noticed it before now, what kind of symbol is it?" he asked. "Brian, I'll tell you later, but right now I'm trying to get you to a hospital before you die on me, so can we leave now?!" she said sternly. Brian let her go and nodded his head. Tara returned to the harness, and started down the trail. She laughed under her breath, The boy is dying, and he want's to know what my tatt means? God give me strength! ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kevin walked up behind Leighanne, he reached around and pulled her hair back from her face. They were in the kitchen, Leighanne was trying to occupy herself by making lunch for everyone. She looked up at Kevin and gave him a smile. "You wanna help?" she asked. Kevin stood there for a moment, "Yeah, what do you want me to do?" he asked. Leighanne handed him some green peppers, "Chop these up," she said. Kevin took them and grabbed a knife from the drawer. He started chopping the peppers, then stopped. Leighanne looked over at him, "Is that one dull?" she asked. Kevin looked up at Leighanne, and a chill ran down her back. She backed away from the counter, "Kevin, why are you looking at me like that?" Kevin took a step toward her, the knife still in his hand, "Like what Lee?" he asked. Leighanne took another step back, "Kev, why don't you put the knife down? Your starting to scare me." Kevin laid the knife on the counter and stared at Leighanne, "What about me scares you?" he asked. "Your eyes, Kevin, they are so evil." she answered. Kevin laughed as he took a step toward her. "Hey, what's going on?" Nick asked as he and Howie walked into the kitchen. Kevin stopped in his tracks, and Leighanne pushed pass him and ran out of the room. "Kev, what the hell is going on?!" Nick asked as he walked toward Kevin. "Huh, nothing." Kevin said, looking a bit confused. "Kev, what did you do to make Leighanne upset?" Howie asked. A look of shock crossed Kevin's face, "I dunno, I just asked her if I could help." That was the last thing he could remember. Nick glared at Kevin, "I'm gonna see if Lee is OK." Nick ran upstairs, and found Leighanne in her room. "Lee, are you OK?" he asked as he walked into the room. Leighanne was sitting on the bed shaking. "I don't know what just happened." she said, "It was almost like he wanted to hurt me." Nick sat down next to Leighanne and put his arm around her, "Lee, tell me what happened." "Well, he came into the kitchen and asked me if he could help, so I gave him some peppers to chop. All of a sudden he stopped, and turned toward me with the knife. Nick, he had this look on his face.......it was just evil." Leighanne shuddered, and Nick pulled her close. "It'll be OK, Lee. I wont let anything happen to you, I promise." Nick said. Kevin walked through the door, "Lee, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to scare you, that's the last thing I would ever do." Leighanne looked at Kevin, still shaken up, "Kev, are you feeling OK? It was almost like you were a totally different person in there." she said. Kevin looked at the floor, "No, I'm not." Nick and Leighanne exchanged glances, "What do you mean Kevin?" Nick asked. "I'm having a hard time remembering things, I've been seeing a doctor since we've been here." Kevin said, not wanting to say what kind of doctor. Leighanne and Nick both stood up and faced Kevin, "Why didn't you tell us?" they said in unison. "Compared to the situation with Brian, I didn't think it was important," Kevin said. "Kev, what is the doctor doing for you?" Nick asked. Kevin really didn't want to get into the details, "He is running tests and stuff, I go back tomorrow." Suddenly Nick realized that that is where Kevin had been sneaking off to. "Kev, you could've told us that was where you were going." he said. "I know, I just didn't want you guys to be worried about me too." Kevin said. "Kev, is there anything we can do for you?" Leighanne asked. "Yeah, let's finish lunch, I'm starving." Kevin said with a smile. Nick and Leighanne looked at Kevin with concern. "I'm OK," Kevin said as he walked into the hall, "you coming?" "Yeah, I guess" Nick said as he gave Leighanne a reassuring glance. Together they walked back to the kitchen. Chapter 13 |