Chapter 4
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK. Justin watched as Julia slowly opened the door and a blonde-haired woman entered.
"Front page, huh?" Julia was saying. She came over to him and help up a newspaper. "Congratulations Creature, you just made front page! Not like that's anything new to you!" Justin read the title: NSYNC MEMBER HELD FOR $2 MILLION RANSOM. Justin began to open his mouth, but quickly closed it. "You may speak, Creature."
"Who is she?" Justin asked, nodded towards the blonde-haired girl who was still standing in the doorway.
"Her name is April," Julia informed him. "She's the one who will be bringing you all of your meals." She walked over to April and grabbed a sack. Opening, she exclaimed, "McDonald's Hotcakes?"
"Is there a problem?" April asked with a shaky voice.
"You forgot to pick up his breakfast!"
April looked at Julia. "That is his breakfast!"
"No," Julia said. "Creature here doesn't get this kind of food."
Staring down at the floor, April asked, "What would you like me to get him?"
"A piece of burnt toast with no butter, honey, or jam!" April sadly nodded and left the room. Julia turned around to face Justin, then sat down.
Justin watched as she pulled out the Styrofoam container and opened it. The sweet smell of pancakes was unleashed and made Justin's mouth water. "Would you like some, Creature?" she asked and he nodded his head. "Catch!" she said, throwing him a piece. He opened his mouth, trying to catch it, but the piece flew right by him and landed a few feet away from him, making Julia laugh.
Just then, the attic door opened and April reentered. "Here's his food," she said.
"Good," Julia said as she got to her feet. "I', going to go take a little nap, so you're going to feed him." She began to make her way downstairs when April stopped her.
"Can't I give Justin-"
"His name is now Creature," Julia corrected her. "NEVER call him any other name but Creature!"
"I'm sorry," she apologized. "Can't I give Creature some clothes, or at least a pair of boxers to put on?"
"No," she answered, sternly. With that, Julia turned around and walked out of the attic.
Sighing, April turned around to face "Creature," whose head was downwards. She walked over to him and stared at his messed up curls. "Are you hungry?" she asked and Justin lifted his head. "You know, you can talk!"
"Are you going to throw it at me?" She shook her head. "In that case, I'm starving!"
* * * * *
Chris watched as JC paced back and forth. "Would you quit it!?! You're making me dizzy!"
"What are we going to do, guys!?!" JC sighed, sitting down on the sofa.
"Let's just give her the money so we can get him back," Joey suggested.
"But what if they say they won't give him back and ask for more?" Lance asked.
"What if they don't have him at all?" The other guys looked at JC like he was crazy. "Think about it. Somehow thy hear that we can't find Justin, and so they figure, 'Why not make some money by pretending we're kidnapped Justin!?"
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK. Before any of the men could answer, the door swung open. The black-haired girl once again entered. "Is the money ready, boys?" she asked.
"We have a few questions for you," JC said.
"What's your name?" Chris asked.
"Confidential," she replied.
"Alright, what's the name of the person who kidnapped Justin?" Joey asked.
"Confidential," she repeated.
"Where is Justin!?!" JC demanded.
She looked up at him, smiling. "Confidential!" she said once again.
"Is there anything that's NOT confidential!?!" Chris wondered.
"How do we know that you really DO have him?" Lance asked.
"Are you saying you don't believe me?" she asked and they nodded their heads. "Well, if you call Justin's cell, my 'Boss'may let you speak to him."
* * * * *
Julia climbed the stairs to the attic and stepped inside. When she got there, she saw Justin with a blanket wrapped around him. "APRIL!" she shouted as she yanked the blanket off.
Just then, "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" began to play. Julia looked around. Justin opened his mouth, but shut it. "Speak, Creature."
"It's my cell," Justin said.
Kneeling down, Julia picked up a small cellular phone. On the Caller ID, it read: NSYNC. Clicking the green phone, she said, "Hello, How may I help you?"
* * * * *
"Let us talk to Justin," JC demanded.
"Password, please."
The men of Nsync looked at each other, then at the girl who was sitting on the couch with her hands tied. "Password?" the voice on the other line repeated.
"What's the password?" JC mouthed to her.
"Whiny," she said loud enough so that the person on the other line could hear her.
There was a pause on the other line. "Hello?" Chris asked.
"May I ask why you have the messenger tied up?"
"How did you know!?!" Joey asked.
"That wasn't the correct password," the gal on the other line explained. "She was supposed to say 'Whiny' only if she was tied up."
JC narrowed his eyes as he looked at the messenger. She shrugged. "We'll release her when we've talked to Justin," JC announced.
"And what if I don't let you talk to him?"
"Then we'll torture your messenger until she tells us where he is!" JC announced.
"I'll never tell," the messenger said.
Joey sat down beside her. "That's not what you'll be saying when you and I are in the same bed."
Her eyes grew wide. "Let them talk to him!" she pleaded.
"One moment, please!" They waited for what seemed like forever. Finally, someone on the other line spoke. "My boss has denied your request."
"Has he denied it, or is Justin not really there?" JC wondered.
"He is here. In fact, he's standing right here beside me!"
"You think we're actually going to trust you!?!" JC exclaimed.
There was silence from the other end. "I'll fax you a picture of him," she said.
* * * * *
Pushing the red phone, Julia hung up. She looked at Justin, then left the room for a few minutes. When she returned, she had a Polaroid camera in her hand. "Creature, look at me!"
Slowly, Justin lifted his head and blinked as the bright flash went off. Julia took the picture and taped it on a piece of paper. Taking a small, black marker, she wrote a little message.
After faxing it in, she returned to the attic and stared at April. "I told you not to do that!" she said.
"Let him go, please!" April pleaded.
"No," Julia answered through thin lips.
"What's stopping me from telling the police?" April wondered.
Julia pulled out a knife an held it to April's throat. "If you tell ANYONE, I'll slit your throat!"
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