JC felt so small and helpless.
His heart beat faster. His palms were clammy. His rib cage tightened.
He floated mid-air in a circular, metallic room.
Sticking out from the walls, floor, and ceiling were millions of thin needles.
Long needles.
Sharp needles.
Terrifying needles.
JC trembled violently.
"PLEASE LET ME OUT! LET ME GO!"
"Why, JC?" The Master�s voice echoed, "Afraid of needles, are we? HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"
Suddenly the needles began closing in on its intended victim.
The seconds felt like hours, with an emphasis on every ounce of fear the needles inflicted into JC,
Using his eyes, JC frantically combed the area for an escape route.
None.
Sweat trickled down his brow. His heart raced. Dizziness. Shaking knees.
All these symptoms mix into one feeling, a feeling almost stronger than terror itself.
Sheer panic.
Raspy whispers filled his ears. Whispering souls. Whispers of the dead. Whispers of evil.
JC vaguely recalled an old Balinese proverb, which sent chills down his spine.
�GOODNESS SHOUTS.
EVIL WHISPERS.�
The whispers darkened the room.
Needles were centimeters away from stabbing his body. They continued moving.
By then JC�s heart was pounding so hard he couldn�t breathe.
The whispers drowned out his wheezing, sputtering, and gagging.
Actually, he was trying to scream.
Standing by the rack, the Master couldn�t help but snicker with pleasure at his unmistakable control.
Near the doorway, Chris sat tied to a chair.
Two Lost Souls restrained his shoulders to keep him from dashing to his best friend.
JC was unconscious, but the experience was nothing close to peaceful.
His face twisted in unspeakable agony. His body writhed and shook on the rack. His breathing seemed shallow and abnormal.
"STOP!" Chris wailed. "STOP IT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! YOU�RE GONNA KILL HIM!"
"That�s�the�idea�" a Lost Soul giggled.
Chris watched the demon gracefully sip a glass of champagne and calmly observe the torture before them.
"Chris, it�s very simple. His worst fears are playing inside his mind. They are hallucinations, I assure you, but he thinks they�re real. Frankly, he will relive his worst nightmares over and over again until he has a heart attack."
"In other words, my friend, I am going to quite literally scare him to death."
Needles pierced his body.
Sharp pain spread across his skin.
"NO!" JC sobbed, "NO!"
How do I save myself? He wondered desperately, There must be a way!
Tiny droplets of blood dotted his pale skin.
JC sickened at the sight of the bittersweet liquid.
More pain sent horrible convulsions through his arms, legs, and head.
A burning pain exploded inside his chest.
JC gasped for air. No easy task when you�re being bombarded with millions of needles and enormous amounts of pain.
I can�t breathe! I can�t breathe!
Suddenly JC knew what was happening to him.
HEART ATTACK.
He wasn�t able to control his fear, and it had risen to an unhealthy level.
The pain receded slightly. His fingers and toes grew numb while his vision and hearing dimmed.
JC hadn�t been driven completely mad, therefore contained enough common sense to realize this wasn�t a good sign.
And then�the light bulb lit inside his brain. For a brief second JC recalled a bible verse he�d memorized in church�
And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love�1st Corinthians 13:13.
Faith. Faith in what? Hope. He�d lost all hope.
But wait! There was love. He still remembered what it felt like to love and to be loved.
Maybe he could fight the evil with love.
Gotta think about people he loved.
The top group of people on his list was his family. He loved his mother very dearly. No other woman could�ve been better selected for his mom. Then of course he thought about his dad. Such a great respect and admiration for a wonderful husband and father. His brother and sister. Tyler and Heather were terrific companions in childhood and terrific confidants in adulthood.
Nsync. His four brothers. Okay, so they weren�t blood relatives. Genetics aren�t what draw people together. Friendship, trust, brotherly love, and happiness do. No four brothers could be closer.
JC refused to let them down. If he croaked, the band would be Nsyn. How ridiculous is that? Forget the humorous reasons. Singing was his passion, his life. It just wasn�t fair for the stage to be taken from him!
Slowly, breathing became easier. The needles started disappearing.
"WHAT?!" JC heard the Master yell, "YOU WON�T GET OUT OF THE FEAR CHAMBER ALIVE!"
JC felt more fear creeping up inside his stomach. The needles reappeared, accompanied by an extra dosage of pain.
JC tried concentrating on his girlfriend, Bobbie Thomas. Her sweet, soft kisses always full of sweetness and warmth. Her beautiful face. Silky voice.
For ten more minutes, JC struggled with his worst nightmare and the indescribable evil, using love.
JC grit his teeth and exercised the last bit of strength.
I WON�T DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Chris weeped unashamed.
JC suddenly stopped moving, twitching or moaning. His face looked so placid. Why, if you were to just enter the room, you�d believe he was asleep.
Chris knew better.
Meanwhile, the Lost Souls kept passing each other confused glances. Although they both witnessed the entire experience inside the Fear Chamber, they didn�t understand how JC fought back.
"What�is�love�"
"Don�t�ask�me�"
"Didn�t�we�ever�feel�that�way�about�people�"
"Quit�thinking�like�that�because�it�s�no�good�"
"Why�"
"It�s�too�painful�to�remember�emotions�which�no�longer�exist�"
"Stop jabbering nonsense!" The Master rebuked the Lost Souls.
They bent on one knee and bowed.
"Forgive�us�master�"
The Master looked at JC and laughed evilly.
"Looks as if I won, Chris. I WON! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"
"And you know what? You�re next!"