by different author

Disclaimer: I don't own anything involved in this story.

Chapter 10

Samuel let out a choked gasp as his eyes traveled to his shoulder. Blood from where the police had shot him was already soaking through his shirt, staining it crimson. He tried to shake off the intense pain as the law enforcement officers starting moving in on him again. "DON'T!" he screamed wildly, using his unharmed arm to point the gun at James, who was lying on the floor, afraid to move. "Everybody out!" he yelled, cocking the gun menacingly. The leading officer clenched his teeth but signaled for his men to exit the building. Kendall, Carlos, and Logan watched with wide eyes, horrified by the turn things had taken.

When the gun had gone off, their hearts had stopped beating. When James had fallen to the ground, their lungs had stopped taking in air. When they realized that James hadn't been shot, their legs nearly gave out, because the relief they felt at that moment had completely overwhelmed them. But Stenwell was still very much alive, and determined that James wouldn't be for much longer. The last policemen backed out the warehouse and closed the door, cutting off all sight of James.

Samuel pointed the gun at James shakily, hatred and pure rage making his body tremble. "You will not get away this time," he growled. "Get up!" James slowly got to his feet, feeling sick when he saw all the blood on Samuel's clothing. No matter how much he hated him, the sight of it disgusted him. And what disgusted him even more was the fact that Samuel was standing there, bleeding to death, but not dead. He was going to hold on until James could join him in death, and judging by the dangerous glint in his eyes, that would probably be in the near future.

"I should just shoot you right now, get it over with," Samuel said madly. James could see the insanity in his eyes, and part of him hoped that he would do that, because it would be simple, and painless. But clearly that's exactly what Samuel didn't want, because he said, "But that would be too easy. You've caused me way too much trouble to die that fast. Good thing I had a backup plan." James stared at him apprehensively. Backup plan?

Samuel pulled something out of his pocket and tossed it from hand to hand. "See, I was worried that you would escape again, and I guess my fears were sound, because look what happened? You almost got away. Now James, I'm not going to lie to you; this gunshot wound hurts like hell. It's bleeding like crazy, and I won't make it much longer. But I'll make sure I live just long enough to finish you off for good. And that, my friend, is a promise."

James watched Stenwell's every movement, his dread growing with every passing second. He paled as he realized what Samuel was holding. "You're crazy!" he cried, lunging for him. Samuel laughed and simply stepped back, watching in amusement as James slammed into the ground. "That may be, but as long as I get revenge nothing else matters. Good bye, James." He pressed the button on the detonator and James' world erupted, crashing around him in a flash of light.

Kendall, Carlos, and Logan gasped as the warehouse that they had been in moments earlier exploded. "JAMES!" they screamed. The firefighters who had come with the police jumped into action. "Let's go!" one of them shouted. Several of them ran towards the building while a few others worked to ready the hose. The boys dashed towards the building. "NO!" Logan screamed as police officers stepped in front of them, grabbing them. "Let us go!" Kendall yelled, struggling to get free. "We have to help him!" Carlos cried, thrashing as he stared in horror at the smoking building.

The officer holding Logan looked at them sadly. "Boys, there's nothing you can do. If your friend is alive in there, the firefighters will find him. You running in there won't help him, in fact it would make it a lot harder to find him if the men in there had to worry about you. Please, I know how hard this is, but-" All three boys glared at him with so much intensity that he almost took a step back. "You do not know how hard this is!" Carlos screamed. "Is that your best friend in the whole world in there?" he demanded. "Is that your teammate who's been kidnapped way too many times to count?" Kendall roared, breaking free of his officer's grip. "Is that your brother who's been hurt so bad in the past week that he's almost a completely different person?" Logan shouted, tears filling his eyes. All of the policemen looked taken aback by the boys' verbal attack.

"No," one of them said gently. "That's the boy that we're supposed to protect in there. That's the kid who everyone here wants to get out alive. That's the guy who we will find, so that he can be with his brothers and his family again. We're doing everything we can to save him, but you guys have to calm down and let us do our job, or we won't be able to. Okay?" The boys looked at him in surprise. They hadn't expected anyone to argue with them, let alone win. Reluctantly they nodded, turning their attention back to the burning warehouse in front of them. Despite what the officer had just said, it was taking all their will power not to run into the building. It was painful to sit back and watch helplessly as others rescued their best friend once again, and knowing that there was nothing they could do but wait.

Carlos looked at the building, trying to hold back the sobs that were threatening to burst out of him. That should have been me, he thought miserably to himself. I should be the one that they're looking for. James should be standing here, because at least I would know he was alive. That should have been me. Finally he broke down, bawling as Kendall pulled him into a hug. Logan put his hand on his shoulder comfortingly and watched sadly as his friend cried. "It'll be okay," he murmured, but even to himself it sounded like a lie.

James opened his eyes slowly, feeling dazed. Everything sounded muffled, like he was underwater. Dimly he could hear shouting, but he was too tired to listen to what they were saying. He took a deep breath and choked as smoke filled his lungs. The shouting got closer and closer and then he felt someone beside him. "I found him!" the man yelled, but James barely heard him. He was so tired…

"James, you have to stay awake for me, okay buddy?" the man said. James was only half listening to his faint pleas, but then he heard something that got his attention. "You have to stay awake so that you can see your friends." He forced his eyes open and looked up. A firefighter stood above him, looking down at him in concern, and behind him everything was hazy. At first James thought it was because he was so sleepy, but he quickly realized that it was smoke. He turned his head to look around more and let out a choked scream.

Samuel was laying a few feet away from him in a puddle of blood. His eyes were closed, but he was smiling right at James. The boy tried to move away, panic written across his face, but he couldn't move. Strong arms wrapped around him and someone lifted him, bridal style. "He's dead, James, he can't hurt you anymore." Dead. Tears of joy filled his eyes as he repeated the word to himself over and over again. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead.

Samuel was finally dead, and what was even better was that James was still alive. The fireman carried him through the smoke and he choked with every breath he took but he didn't care; Samuel was dead. He was gone, and he would never come back. James was finally free of him, forever. He sighed happily and instantly regretted it as smoke filled his lungs.

James jumped as something crashed a few feet away from him, and he saw a flaming piece of wood on the ground near him. The firefighter carrying him tensed and picked up his pace, carrying James toward the exit. James saw a foggy light in front of him and then suddenly he could breathe again. Sunlight attacked his eyes as he emerged from the smoldering building and he gasped for breath as fresh, cool air filled his lungs.

Someone put something over his mouth and breathing become easier. He gulped at the sweet oxygen and he felt himself being lifted again, and he felt as though he were floating as he was loaded onto a stretcher. Paramedics rushed him towards a waiting ambulance, but he was oblivious to everything as he focused on breathing and keeping his eyes open. One was proving more difficult than the other, and he felt himself slipping into unconsciousness. "James!"

He looked up drowsily as he heard his name being called, over and over again. Suddenly his friends were there, running alongside him as they screamed his name. "James! Come on, hang in there. It's okay, everything's okay, just stay awake! You're going to be fine, James, we're getting you help! Please, James, stay with us, hold on, James, hold on!" They were all yelling at him, begging for him not to leave, trying to get him to cling onto what little bit of life was left in him. Everything was getting darker, but he had to stay awake, he had to…

James' life flashed before his eyes. He saw himself as a baby, cradled in his mother's arms as his dad danced in front of them, trying to make him laugh. He saw himself as a toddler, running around with his new friend Logan in his front yard. Then there he was as a kindergartener, walking nervously with Logan into school for the first time. He was on the playground chasing Carlos in a game of tag, and then he was running next to Kendall as Carlos sprinted after them. Memories of his childhood flew across his mind and then he entered his teen years.

He saw himself playing hockey with Kendall, Carlos, and Logan. He saw himself singing at a million random times, blissful even when his friends threw whatever was handy at him. He asked out all the pretty girls on dates, sometimes dragging his friends along to double. He played countless pranks and caught tons of wild animals with his friends in the cold Minnesota winters. His friends were by his side with practically everything he did.

And then he was auditioning for Gustavo. Memories of everything that he had done in L.A. washed over him. He saw himself at singing/dancing boot camp, agreeing with everything Gustavo said. He saw himself and the guys running around the pool, pushing each other in. He saw Camille helping him with acting, himself fighting with his friends over Jo, and Stephanie scaring them all as she made her low budget horror movie. He saw Tyler hiding behind him as his mother ran by, and Katie throwing fish sticks at him for something he'd said at dinner. Every happy moment flew across his brain, and there was so much joy in them that when all the memories of what had happened in the past week came, he was hardly even daunted.

He saw Samuel leaning over him, smiling viciously as his accomplices, Jack and Aaron, watched in uncomfortable silence. He could almost feel all the bruises that Samuel had given him as he beat him repeatedly. He was rescued, and then he was doing insanely stupid things that he was convinced would save his friends and family. He was back at the Palm Woods, happy, then sick, then kidnapped again. More and more memories flooded his mind, and then suddenly it was over.

He looked up and saw that he was almost to the ambulance, and that Kendall, Carlos, and Logan were still by his side. He didn't want to die, and neither did they. He had to stay, he had to become famous with them, and grow up and have a life. He couldn't leave now, not after everything that he'd survived, after everything his friends had done for him. He had to stay, he had to live; dying was no longer an option. He raised his arm to grab Logan's sleeve and tell them that he was going to be okay, that he was going to live and everything was going to fine and happy again. He opened his mouth, his vision still dimming. "I…" he breathed, hardly able to hear himself because of the oxygen mask. "James?" Kendall asked, looking down at him in concern. "James? James!" James took a deep breath. I love you guys… he thought. Then his vision blurred and he was falling, falling, falling down… And then everything faded to black.