| Chapter 5 It had taken about an hour to reach the lodge. Brian had fallen asleep about 20 minutes into the trip, and was still fast asleep when they pulled through the gate and up the driveway. Leighanne got out and went to open the door as Kevin opened the back door and gently picked Brian up so as not to wake him. He carried him into the lodge and headed for the bedroom that Leighanne had ready for him. Howie and A.J. had come downstairs to welcome Brian. Leighanne saw them and gave them the shhhhh sign, "He's asleep." she whispered. "Ohh, OK." A.J. whispered, as he and Howie went out to help carry the bags in. Kevin put Brian on the bed and was taking his shoes off when Leighanne entered the room. "He's still so weak." she whispered. Kevin looked at Leighanne and saw the concern in her eyes. "Lee, he's getting better everyday, it's just going to take a while. He almost died, it's gonna take a long time for him to get his strength back." "I know, but I can't stand to see him like this." she said with tears threatening to come. Kevin reached out and pulled Leighanne close. "It's gonna be OK Lee." he said trying to comfort her. "Let's let him sleep and go get a bite to eat OK." Kevin said as he put Brian's shoes on the floor and turned toward the door. Leighanne picked up an afghan and gently placed it over Brian. She turned and walked out of the room, quietly pulling the door closed behind her. "Brian.. Brian.." Brian turned around to see who was calling his name. He was in the middle of a golden wheat field. There in the distance he could see someone. He made his way toward her as she called his name again. "Brian, I need to talk to you." she said as he came closer. As Brian got closer he could see who was calling him, it was a girl he had never seen before. She had long auburn hair and haunting green eyes. She was dressed in a long flowing gown. "Who are you?" Brian asked. "That doesn't matter right now, I need to tell you something." she said with urgency in her voice. "Brian, no matter what, don't trust anyone but yourself. Your life is still in danger." "What do you mean?" Brian asked, confused as to where he was and who this girl was. "Brian, you can't trust anyone, not your friends or your family." she said. Brian felt a wave of panic come over him, "Are you saying that the person trying to kill me is someone in my family?!" The girl just stared at him with those haunting eyes. "No!" Brian yelled. Leighanne and the guys had just sat down to some dinner when they heard Brian screaming. They rushed to his room, Leighanne leading the way. Brian was writhing in the bed screaming at the top of his lungs. Leighanne ran to the side of the bed and grabbed Brian's arm, "Brian!! Brian, wake up!" Brian sat straight up in bed, completely out of breath and drenched with sweat. He looked around the room, confused as to where he was. Then he saw Leighanne and broke down in tears. "Brian, what's wrong?" she asked. Brian didn't say anything, how could he tell her? "Brian it's OK," Kevin said, "it was just a bad dream." Brian composed himself and looked up, all the guys were there looking at him. "Umm, yeah I guess it was." he said, trying not to sound so upset. Nick walked around to the side of the bed, "Come on man, lets get you something to eat, that'll make you feel better." Brian accepted Nick's help in getting out of bed; Nick could tell that Brian was still shaking from his dream. As the others filed out of the bedroom and headed toward the kitchen, Nick whispered to Brian, "Man, whatever it is I'm gonna make sure nothing happens to you." Brian nodded his head, he couldn't help but be skeptical of his friend's sincerity. Don't trust anyone, he thought as they made their way to the kitchen. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Over the next week, Brian continued to have the same dream. Every time he fell asleep he was back in that wheat field. Every time the same warning. Brian had kept the dream to himself, who could he tell? He was trying to act normal around the guys, but the paranoia was always there. What if it was one of the guys? What if it was Lee? Leighanne had went back to the movie set a few days ago, but she called Brian everyday to see how he was. Brian felt awful having these doubts about her, he loved her so much, there's no way she could do this. Brian was deep in thought when Nick sat down next to him on the couch. "Bri?" Nick said, "you all right?" Brian jumped, not realizing Nick was there. "Sorry man, I didn't mean to scare you, you just look like you're a million miles away." "I've just got a lot on my mind." Brian said. "Can I help?" Nick asked, truly worried about his friend. "Naw, I think I'll go for a drive." Brian said getting up and heading to the door. "Uh, Bri. Your not suppose to be driving yet." Nick reminded him. "I'm not gonna go far, I just need to get out of here so I can think." Brian said still heading toward the door. "Brian, you can't leave without security." Nick said as he put himself between Brian and the door. Brian looked Nick straight in the eyes, "Nick, please. I can't deal with things here, just let me go, I'll be back before anyone misses me I promise." Nick could see the pain and confusion in Brian's eyes, he let out a deep sigh as Brian walked passed him and out the door. "Who's leaving?" Kevin asked as he walked into the living room. He could hear the car pull out of the driveway. Nick looked up with a panicked look on his face. "Nick?" Kevin said, knowing that Nick knew who it was. "I tried to stop him, he just wouldn't listen!" Nick pleaded. Realizing who Nick was talking about, Kevin ran outside to try and stop Brian, with Nick close on his heals. It was to late, the car was already gone. Kevin ran to the nearest car and jumped in, "Nick, tell security what's going on, I'm gonna try to catch him." Nick ran back into the house, while Kevin sped out of the driveway. Brian had driven about 20 miles when he saw a scenic lookout on the side of the highway. He decided to stop there. He got out of the car, and walked over to the railing. It was dusk now, and the sunset in the distance was beautiful. Brian glanced down, it had to have been a 200 foot drop to the valley below. Brian sat down next to the railing and began trying to sort out his feelings. He just needed a place where none of the guys were around so he could figure out what was real and what wasn't. He began to pray and talk things out in his head. Brian hadn't been there long, maybe ten minuets when he heard another car pull up, and someone get out. He stood up and turned around to see who was there. It was completely dark now and all Brian could see was the silhouette of someone walking toward him. Brian felt a surge of fear, and started to head toward his car. "Brian wait," the man said. Brian, recognizing who it was turned to face him, "listen I know what your going to say. It was stupid to leave, but I just needed some time alone, that's all." Brian explained, hoping a lecture wasn't about to follow. The man said nothing, but pulled out what Brian thought was a gun from his jacket and gestured for Brian to move back toward the railing. Brian was completely consumed by fear and disbelief, "Why are you doing this?" he asked as he put his hands up and walked backward to the railing. The man still said nothing, but moved closer to Brian. Brian could see his eyes now, they were full of rage. Brian backed into the railing and stopped. "Who's gonna save you now?" the man asked as he pulled the trigger. Brian felt the pain of the bullet hitting him, he lost his balance and went over the rail, then everything went black. Chapter 6 |