Chapter 1: Haunted
Title: Scream
Genre: Drama / Suspense
Rating: M
Summary: Sequel to Haunted. James, Kendall, and Carlos must find ReaperToo while racing against time to save their loved ones from an imminent nightmare. WARNING: Slash, Death, Cannibalism
Written: August 2011
Word Count: 2,263 words
Authors Note: So guys! This is the first chapter the darker, and possibly haunting, sequel of Haunted. While you necessarily do not have to read the first story to exactly understand everything, it would help A LOT. However, before I continue, I would like to thank everyone who had reviewed the last story of Haunted: A.R Brooks, BitchinBabyy, LookAwaySeeTheLights, Squoctobird. Moreover, I would like to give a special shout-out to saywhatt and Fetish! I hope you guys enjoy this, and please leave any comments. I want to also say that in between the time between Haunted and Scream, I think I have improved as a writer, so this story may be written in a different style.
The boys were forever haunted; they were doomed to suffer through waves of mental anguish and torment. Their closest friends and comrades were gone, slowly people around them were dying, and instead of taking the queen of the battlefield, they had only taken a pawn. A simple pawn. They had invited the ghosts of the past to come and terrorize them to no end. They had opened the door for their own destruction by breaking apart. They had caused the imminent ruin of their own lives, and for the people around them. They were doomed to be forevermore haunted.
James bitterly buttoned up his chocolate brown suit. It was his favorite suit; he had worn it on the first date on which Katie Knight and James Diamond had gone, and it matched her beautiful hair. Preventing the tears from falling, James continued to dress himself, although his mind was rampant with thoughts. He had sent Camille a text, asking her to explain himself, but he received no response. Upon calling her, he realized she had changed her cell-phone number. It was a terrible ordeal, and James was terrified. He and Camille had a past fling, obviously, when they were younger. It was a scene between a prince and a princess, or something along those lines, and it was during Camille and Logan's 'dating' time. It had been a rough day for James, as he had felt something for Camille, which he denied, and he had hurt his brother and best friend, Logan.
Just thinking about Logan hurt James a lot as well. He missed all three of them: Katie, Logan, and Geraldo. James never realized how truly powerful those three were, and how vulnerable the three remaining members of the family were. Sure, James and Kendall could team up and probably trash any man that even dared to harm their family, but they were too full of testosterone. They had trouble expressing how they felt, and their egos were something to be matched. It was a terrible flaw in them, that had cost them a lot of things in life. Moreover, while Carlos was surely the glue that could stick the family together, without all the parts of the family, Carlos would quickly dry, and become useless. Although James could never think of Carlos as useless, he knew Carlos was slowly falling into a depression as he saw the world falling apart around him.
While James had been summoned to court to fight off rape claims by Camille Roberts (to his displeasure, a few feminist groups had left interesting messages on his talent agencies voice-mail), and Kendall had also been summoned because of Jo's accusation of harassment, trespassing, and stalking, Carlos perhaps had to deal with the worst punishment. Mr. and Mrs. Pena had been deported the following morning, and ReaperToo had sent their first bomb on the family. James could still recall the message.
"While James has committed a crime, and Kendall has been reduced to nothing but a dime, Carlos will pay on his own time. I hope Sr and Sra Pena enjoy being deported off in grime!"
It was a horrible text that was sent to all three boys. James discovered that somehow, the papers establishing Mr. Pena and Mrs. Pena's legal status in the United States were pilfered, and an anonymous tip suddenly robbed Carlos of his real birth parents. It was terribly grueling for the boy, who had felt as if he lost everything of his own. His own son, and his own parents. While James knew Carlos loved Kendall, James, Gustavo, Kelly, and Mrs. Knight as his own family, it was a terrible ordeal for the man to undergo separation from something he had so graciously acquired. James finally understood why Reaper's primary version had given Carlos his parents and son-so the second Reaper could rob Carlos of his own birthright and happiness.
The hardest part was knowing that the boys had inadvertently caused everything, and although he did his best to hide it, James felt guilty. Had he wished never to be famous, then the boys would have never gone for the audition with Gustavo. Had they never gone to audition for Gustavo, then Kendall would not have lost his temper and began singing 'The Giant Turd Song'. Had Kendall never sang the 'Giant Turd Song', then the boys would have never been inside the Palm Woods. James was beginning to feel as if it was all his fault, and he was the one who estranged Kendall and Logan, Carlos and his family, and himself and Katie.
It did not help that James was suddenly sick. Lately, he had been coughing at the most inopportune moments, and his shortness of breath was suddenly catching up to him. James was in fear that perhaps it was his smoking that had done this to him, and once he began coughing up blood, he was instantly stricken with fear. However, he was afraid to even step out in public after Camille's vile accusation.
Moreover, ReaperToo enjoyed applying corrosive salt on James's wound of guilt. They had sent this terrible message to James, which immediately made the man cry and sob in his bathroom at three o'clock in the morning.
"If only James had no say, then the boys would have never come to LA. If only the boys never came to LA, then they would have never had to see this day."
James valued his friendship with the guys, an it hurt him to even begin to think that they were blaming this on him, although he was slowly beginning to blame everything on himself. It was clearly his fault; he must have done something wrong every day to have his close friend Camille accuse him of rape; have his best friend gone missing; have his nephew gone missing; have his hotel concierge missing; have his beloved missing. It just all seemed wrong, and suddenly, James saw that by pursuing Reaper, they had walked into ReaperToo's plan.
James Diamond, the face of Big Time Rush, felt guilty. He felt remorseful, doomed, and regretful. Suddenly, he had a huge gaping weakness: His own guilt. The boy, whose once exterior was as impenetrable as his surname, now had his own weakness drilled into where it hurt most: the heart.
Kendall sat in his room, silently. He had not said a word to anyone after he had returned from his court trial. It had been a horrible experience and a terrible ordeal. He could not believe the sweet and beautiful girl from North Carolina he had once braved his curfew for, was now against him in court, accusing him of vile things.
The worst part was that these vile things were true. Kendall had harassed Jo; Kendall had trespassed into her house; Kendall had basically stalked Jo. It was sadly true, and it frustrated Kendall that he had walked into Reaper's trap. Had Kendall been less brawn, and more brains, he would have noticed the obvious signs. How would have Jo sent him a text during sex? How would Jo have known everything?
Well, the second question did not hold that much water. Kendall was still at a loss for even thinking how Mercedes, or better yet known as Reaper, knew everything about the boys. She knew what made them tick, what frightened them, and what their secrets were. It was as if the boys had escaped from hell, only to find themselves at the start. Except this time, Logan, Katie, and Geraldo were gone. James, although hiding it, was broken and Carlos was dry. The army was destroyed, and Kendall had foolishly thought that Reaper was the main enemy. Instead, it was ReaperToo. Or, for all Knew knew, it could have been ReaperThree, ReaperFour...the pain would never stop.
There were only a few things keeping Kendall from opening the bottle of sleeping pills he had acquired from a famous Hollywood dealer. There was James Diamond. There was Carlos Garcia. There was Mrs. Jennifer Knight. There was Gustavo Rocque. There was Kelly Wainwright. There was Katie Knight. There was Geraldo Garcia. And above all, there was Logan Mitchell. However, the latter three were missing, and the adults were as helpless, if not more, than the boys. The obvious survivors of the first war with Reaper were dealing with the negative feelings haunting them. Kendall could feel James cracking for some reason, and he could see Carlos becoming less and less spirited. Kendall himself could feel his own life draining away.
He remembered talking to the adults, especially after Mr. Pena and Mrs. Pena had been deported. Mrs. Knight sobbed, cursing herself as a mother. Kendall had never heard Mrs. Knight ever say words such as those before, and it hurt Kendall to know he had let everyone down. Kelly was emotional as well. She admitted that she had been intentionally avoiding the boys, for the pain of the past decade had made her weak and vulnerable. She confessed that every time she saw the boys, she saw their golden years, and was unable to even process all the tragedy that had occurred. Gustavo, despite already explaining himself, did murmur a note of sympathy upon not being able to help the boys sooner. He had seen Logan get stabbed by Reaper, but he felt that if he revealed himself now, he would be unable to help the boys in the future. It made sense, but none of it consoled Kendall.
Kendall felt guilty and selfish for wanting to feel better. He was the one who had let everyone down, and he was the one who had caused all of this pain. He was the one who accepted to go on the record deal with Gustavo, despite his initial concerns. Yet...he still could not feel guilty. If anything, he felt frustrated and angry at himself.
Kendall was also beginning to feel sicker, and it was not due to the displacement between he and Logan. He was nauseous, and suddenly had a lack of appetite. His muscles and aches seemed to ache for some reason, and for a few days, Kendall had felt feverish. However, he had let down everyone enough, and could no longer let everyone down. He was the reason Big Time Rush had broken up in the first place. Had Kendall managed his emotions better and not been so conflicted with his sexuality, then that argument would have never occurred.
The proud Kendall Knight, suddenly had a chink in his armor. The armor he so proudly adorned as a 'knight' suddenly was dented and weakened. He was experiencing extreme frustration and depression, in the fear that he had let everyone down. He had not been strong enough as the leader of the group, and he had let Logan, Katie, and Geraldo be taken away. He was the reason for all of their woes, and he could do nothing about it.
ReaperToo's text had been sickening and haunting:
"Kendall Knight may have the defense of a knight, but how can he sit so proudly knowing he let everyone down that night?"
ReaperToo had surely caught Kendall, and Kendall knew it. ReaperToo was far more dangerous than Reaper, for Reaper only had their secrets as weapons. ReaperToo developed a weapon far more potent and powerful than secrets-ReaperToo had infected each of the boys with their own sense of fault.
Kendall Knight heard sobbing, and had assumed that it was his fault Carlos was sobbing down the hallway. It was his fault for being so weak, and a failure to live up to his name. It was Kendall's fault for being a failed hero.
My eyes suddenly awakened, through a crust of dried tears. I was unaware as to where I was, but from the metallic floor, and the high sounds from the exterior of this compartment, I surmised that I was either on a train or a plain. Yet, suddenly, to my horror, I felt a calm and positive presence that eerily reminded me of one of my best friends. It was as if the ten-year old rendition of my friend sat beside me, sleeping peacefully. Then, to my left, I saw a symbol that reminded me of my other two best friends: her determination evident on her slumbering face reminded me of him, and her chocolate brown hair reminded me of the other him.
Where in the world was I? I was so lost and confused, and I just felt so anguished. I did not know what was happening, and I do not remember anything. I remember that I was in the hospital...and suddenly, I have just awakened. Where were we? Why were Geraldo and Katie with me? Where was I going? Where were James, Carlos, and Kendall? Where was everyone? Why was it so dark? What was going on?
These questions never left me as I began to feel a sinking feeling. It was not the feeling of doom, but it was the feeling of a plane slowly landing. I then had a feeling that we were no longer where our home was.
"Guys, I have a feeling we're not in America anymore..." I slowly whispered, trying to awaken my two companions. I could not believe, I, the weakest of my friends, was in charge of Katie and Geraldo. Logan Mitchell could never be strong enough to do anything. He was the weakest. He was the one who had been haunted, and he was the one who had been hurt. He was too weak. I was took weak.