| Chapter 8 Kevin threw the front door to Brian's house open and ran in, "Nick!" He frantically searched the rooms until he got to the living room, finding Nick on the couch. Kevin ran over and dropped to his knees in front of the couch, "Nick, wake up," he said, slapping him. Nick didn't respond. Kevin lifted up Nick's eyelid and looked at his eyes, they were rolled back in his head. "Damn it Brian, whatever possessed you to do this?" Kevin said, grabbing Nick's wrist and feeling for a pulse. He had one, but it was slower than what Kevin thought it should be. "Kevin?" Howie called. "In here!" Kevin yelled. Howie walked into the room and over to where Kevin was kneeling. "What happened?" Howie asked, "All Kris said was that you needed me to get here as fast as I could." "Brian called. He said that he'd gotten Nick drunk then gave him some sleeping pills," Kevin said. "What?! Why the hell would he do that?" Howie asked, shocked. "I don't know, but he was in his car when he called, and he wouldn't tell me where he was going," Kevin said. Howie looked down at Nick, "Is he OK?" "I'm not sure. I'm gonna call Dr. Spencer and see what we should do," Kevin said, picking up the phone. Howie sat in the floor next to Nick, watching him sleep. Kevin talked with the doctor for several minutes, then hung up. "What'd he say?" Howie asked. "He said to watch him. If his breathing slows down, or he starts vomiting we'll have to take him to the hospital," Kevin answered. Howie got up and grabbed as many of the empty beer bottles as he could, "I'll go make some coffee." "OK," Kevin said, moving one of the chairs to a better position to watch Nick. Howie walked into the kitchen and put the bottles in the trash. He walked over to the counter and pulled the coffee maker out, there was a note attached to it. Howie pulled it off and read it, then walked back into the living room. "Kev, I found this on the coffee maker," he said. Kevin took the note from him. Guys, I can't stay here anymore. I'm going back to where this started to try and figure some things out. I don't know when or even if I'll be back. Please tell mom and dad that I love them, and tell Nick I'm sorry for what I did to him. I know he was just trying to help, but I've got to do this on my own, alone. If I get things figured out, I'll call. If not, then I just want you all to know that I love you. Brian Kevin looked up at Howie, fear on his face, "Am I reading this right? Does this sound like he isn't coming back?" Howie nodded his head, not wanting to say the words. Kevin handed the letter back to Howie and rubbed his face for a second, "D, I don't know how this could get any worse." "I know," Howie said, laying the letter on the coffee table and walking back to the kitchen to make the coffee. Kevin looked at Nick, in blissful sleep, "I hope you find what your looking for Brian." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian drove the rest of the night and into the morning. He had stopped at several stores on the way, buying supplies. He didn't want to get everything at once, for fear of drawing attention to himself. He used cash, so he couldn't be tracked by his credit card. He hoped that Nick would be OK. When he first thought of the plan, he didn't think about the sleeping pills being to much with all the alcohol that Nick had already consumed. He was feeling guilty for doing that to him, but it was the only way for him to leave. Nick would've never let him go anywhere by himself, he was to good of a friend. That was Nick's downfall, he believed everything Brian told him. Nick had never noticed that Brian didn't drink his beer. All Brian had to do was tip it up every now and then, and act like he was drinking. Brian shook his head and laughed a little, "Well, if he makes it through this, maybe he'll be a wiser person, not so trusting of his friends." He rubbed his eyes and continued down the road. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "I got em," Kevin said, holding the security tapes in his hand. He walked over to the VCR and put one in, "This one is from in here." Howie, Kira and Kristin watched as he rewound it, then hit the play button. They watched as Nick and Brian watched movies and Brian kept replenishing Nick's beer. Kevin watched Brian's actions closely, "He's not drinking." "No he's not, he's just acting like it," Howie said. "Yeah, and Nick's to drunk to tell," Kira said. Kristin looked at Nick, "How long has he been out?" "That's what I'm trying to figure out,"Kevin said, fast forwarding the tape until he saw Nick pass out. He rewound it and played that part, pausing it when Nick fell into Brian's arms. "1:45 am," Howie said, looking at the time on the tape. Kira looked up at the clock, "It's 12:30 now. He's been out for over eleven hours." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian drove all day. He was starting to get tired, but he was so close he kept going. Soon, he found the road that lead to the start of the trail. He drove down the gravel road for several miles until he came to a parking area. There were no other cars there. He pulled in next to the trail head and parked the car. The sun was starting to set, and he thought about what he should do. If he started out now, he wouldn't get very far before he had to make camp. He decided to sleep in the car, and start out in the morning. Brian reached over and pulled a snack bar from one of the bags and tore it open. He looked out the windows as he ate, enjoying the peaceful surroundings. Something caught his eye, and he strained to see what it was. In the edge of the woods, something was moving. The sun was setting fast, and he kept losing site of it. Then it crossed the trail, and he got a good look at it. He thought it was a dog at first, but then it looked over in his direction, it was a white wolf. "I didn't know there were wolves out here," he said to himself. He watched as the wolf seemed to stare at him for a moment, then it disappeared into the darkness of the woods. Brian finished his food, and laid the seat back, closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick slowly opened his eyes and looked around. He couldn't remember where he was, and his head was pounding. He groaned and reached up, holding his head. "Nick," Kevin said. Nick jumped, "God Kev, don't yell." Kevin smiled, "I'm not yelling. You've got a bad hangover." "How long have I been asleep?" Nick asked. "Almost twenty hours now," Howie answered. Nick groaned again, rolling over on his side, and then wishing he hadn't done that. The room was spinning. He closed his eyes, hoping that would make it stop, it didn't. "I think I'm gonna be sick," he said. Howie handed Kevin a trash can that was nearby. "If your gonna puke, do it in this," Kevin said, putting the can in front of Nick. "Thanks," Nick said, holding on to the can for dear life. Everyone watched as Nick vomited several times. Kira went to the kitchen and came back with a wash cloth, handing it to Nick so he could wash his face. Kristin took the can into the bathroom, bringing it back in after a few minutes. Nick was laying on his back now, his eyes closed against the light in the room. "Where's Brian?" he asked. Howie and Kevin looked at each other. "He's not here," Kevin said. Nick opened his eyes and looked at Kevin, "Where is he?" "We don't know. He called me last night to come and check on you, but he wouldn't say where he was going," Kevin said. "Come check on me, why?" Nick asked. "Nick, Brian got you drunk then drugged you," Kristin said. "No, we were drinking and watching movies. I just had to much to drink. Brian would never do that," Nick said. "Nick, he did. He told me so on the phone, and you can see him put the pills in your drink on the security tapes," Kevin said. Nick was devastated that his best friend would do something like that to him. "Why," he asked. "So he could leave," Howie said, handing Nick the note. "What's this?" Nick asked. "Brian left that for us," Kevin said. Nick tried to read it, but his head was still spinning and he couldn't focus his eyes. "Someone read it," he said. Kevin took it and read it to Nick. Nick looked over at Kevin, "I know where he's going." Chapter 9 |