Lance writhed and kicked on the floor, clawing at the invisible hands that slapped and scratched him.
The Master doubled the fear and increased the torture. �I warned you that the price for trying to escape was costly��
Lance awkwardly rose to his feet and shoved the Master to the ground. When he lost control, Lance felt the scratching, biting, and slapping come to an end.
Still terrified, Lance ran towards the marble staircase. Suddenly the walls seemed to spin. Bright colors exploded before his eyes. He lost his footing, but managed to cling to the banister as his body bumped over a few steps.
The Master kicked him down the rest of the steps.
Lance curled into a ball. The temptation to stay in that position was so strong.
�What Lance? You giving up during the middle of the game? I haven�t finished playing.�
Come on Bass, his inner voice urged; Turn your fear into adrenaline.
Lance sprung up. �Why should I give up when I�m ahead of the game?�
Furious, the Master thrust out his arm. His hand curled and tensed, as if he were squeezing an invisible throat.
Lance�s own throat tightened. He gagged as his feet lifted off the ground. The Master�s arm shook. Lance�s head whipped from side to side.
Just when he began losing consciousness, a shadowy figure emerged behind his tormentor.
�Leave him alone!� a bass voice commanded. Lance stared at the young man. He resembles�he resembles�ME!
The Master freed his grip. Lance wasted no time in zooming down the right side of the hallway, turning, and banging into a sliding metal door. From beyond the door he could hear Chris�s tortured whimpers and screams.
Lance pounded against the metal. Open up you stupid door! Open up! OPEN!! OPEN!!!
He suddenly spotted the lock and bolt. Somebody carelessly forgotten to lock the Fear Chamber!
Without hesitating a single second, Lance barged inside.
Chris lay strapped to a rack. The fire billowed unnaturally, releasing an awful smell. Fear for his friend tore at Lance�s heart. Oh gosh, what do I do?!
Lance violently shook Chris�s shoulders.
�CHRIS! CHRIS! WAKE UP! PLEASE DON�T DIE! WE LOVE YOU! PLEASE DON�T DIE! COME BACK!� Over and over again, Lance chanted the phrase, praying it would succeed.
***
Chris had fallen only inches before the ground when his body suddenly stopped. Somewhere beyond, a familiar voice called out to him.
�Chris�Chris�Wake�up�Please�don�t�die�We�love�you�Please�don�t�die�Come�back��
Chris strained to hear. Finally, he recognized the voice. Lance!
New hope surged within him. I�m gonna survive!
Slowly, his fear faded away. A warm, bubbly feeling came over him�
***
Chris slowly awakened. Tears of joy streamed down Lance�s face. �You�re alive! You�re okay!�
Weak but alert, Chris tugged at the chains. �Oh man! Now what?�
�NOW YOU BOTH SURRENDER TO ME!�
Lance and Chris screamed. The Master, and another demonic looking man, blocked the doorway. The sinister one smiled, but the smile was without humor.
�Ah, Lance Bass,� he chuckled, �I�ve always wanted to meet the kin to my Keeper of Fear�s arch enemy. I am Kujaur, the Dark Lord. I suppose you could say I am the Master�s boss, so if you can�t stand up to him, you don�t want to mess with me.�
Lance trembled, but made sure he guarded Chris. �Let him go!�
�Ordering me around? Perhaps you don�t understand. Would you care for me to put you in your place?�
Lance paled. �Um, no, but, um, maybe we could work out some kind of agreement.�
Kujaur raised his eyebrows. �You mean an exchange? Hmm, this might be interesting. Alright, but on one condition: I set the stakes.�
�Deal.�
�I�ll let Chris, Justin, Joey, JC, and Michael go, if you surrender to me. I promised the Master he�d be rewarded with revenge against Kaden, and I always keep my promises.�
Lance sank to the ground. Oh gosh. No. I don�t wanna die. I don�t want the Master to have my body.
Kujaur seemed impatient. �Well?�
Chris shook his head. �Don�t do it Lance! Don�t say yes!�
He weighed the options. If I say no, then there�s a slim chance everybody�ll get out alive. But�if I surrender my soul, then at least I�ll die knowing my 4 brothers are alive and safe. I won�t let them die.
Lance expected himself to feel horrified, but utter exhaustion and defeat reduced him to a strange calmness. Standing up, his gaze fixed on the ground, he said, �I�ll do it.�
�NOOOO!� Chris yelled, �NOOO!�
Kujaur grabbed Lance�s throat. �Let thy breath be drawn from thyself.�
Lance gasped. His eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he slumped to the ground.
Chains snapped. Chris jumped off the table. �You�d better leave now,� Kujaur warned.
Chris knelt down beside Lance�s body. �I promise I�ll come back to save you,� he promised shakily, teary-eyed.
Kujaur shrugged. �He cannot be saved. We have an agreement.�
Chris fought the urge to argue, but knew that for Lance�s sake that would not be smart.
Kujaur watched Chris run out. Nalani, Gandor, Sparrow, and Devon appeared beside him. He whispered instructions to his generals. They smirked.
�My pleasure,� replied Nalani.
Kujaur laughed. �Poor Lance. See how love makes you gullible? I never had any intention of carrying out my side of the bargain.
Kill them all.�