Disclaimer: Nope. I still don't own anything.

Doppelganger

A part of Logan was fearful for his life. The other part of Logan held onto the tiniest hope that Trevor wouldn't put him in mortal peril because he sincerely believed that he was his brother, Lucas. All of Logan was terrified of Trevor right about now though.

"I'll ask you one more time; what did you say to her?" Trevor demanded.

"I promise I didn't say anything to her!" Logan wailed.

Trevor kept shaking his head over and over again like he had some sort of twitch or something. He could feel his blood pressure rising. He didn't like being lied to, especially by his kid brother.

"You had to have said something! She knew who I was! Did you tell her who I was?" Trevor inquired.

"All I told her was that my name's Lucas, and that you're my brother, and your name is Trevor," Logan finally admitted.

Alas, Trevor got the confirmation he had been seeking. He suspected Lucas had said something. It was way too convenient for the nurse to have figured it all out on her own! Now Trevor felt like putting his fist through a wall…or Lucas' face.

"Lucas, Lucas, Lucas. Why did you say that? You really shouldn't have said that! Now I'm going to have to punish you. From now on, you don't say anything, and I mean anything, to anybody. Do I make myself clear?" Trevor warned as he drew nearer to a cowering Logan.

Logan lowered his head, and averted his gaze. His breath hitched in his throat at the mere mentioning of punishment. What could Trevor possibly do to him that he hasn't already? Or maybe he didn't care if he's already done one type of punishment; it won't stop him from using it again.

"Understood," Logan said meekly.

"You know what happened to that nurse you told? I killed her. She's dead because of you; because she knew too much," Trevor said before chuckling.

Logan's face turned as white as a sheet. He felt bile slowly start to worm its way up his esophagus. He couldn't wrap his head around the fact that he was responsible for Jolyn's death. It was like Trevor said; if Logan hadn't told Jolyn anything, she probably would still be alive. But the worst part was that if Trevor could kill a nurse for knowing too much, anybody was fair game. He really had to be careful what he told people now. Logan was starting to give serious thought to not talking at all. If he didn't talk, then no one would find out anything, and they wouldn't have to die unnecessarily.

"We can't stay here any longer. We have to find some place else to go," Trevor said before he proceeded to rip the IV and various wires out of Logan as he whimpered in pain.

XXXXX

"Go! Go! Go!" Trevor exclaimed.

Trevor and Logan were fleeing from the hospital. What really brought attention to the fact that this was an escape was that Logan was still in his hospital gown. This was a spur of the moment decision, so Trevor hadn't even brought a change of clothes for his "brother."

"Hey, what are you two doing? Get back here!" one of the hospital security guards said.

But Trevor had other ideas. Usually, he had all his bases covered when he planned something out. Usually, even his backup plans had backup plans. This wasn't one of those instances. He hadn't planned on killing anyone today, but now that he has, it was only a matter of time until the nurse's dead body was discovered. It was no longer safe for him to stay here.

For the first time since Logan had been kidnapped, he realized where he was at. He saw he was at the Austin Hospital. The two of them ran out to the parking lot where Logan noticed that all of the parked vehicles had Texas license plates. Now, if only there was some way to relay this information to Kendall, James, and Carlos. Even if they didn't stay in Austin, it would give them some place close to start. It was better than nothing. It was better than trying to find a needle in a haystack. It was more like trying to find one particular pin in a pin cushion.

As luck would have it, there was a vehicle just about to pull out of the parking lot. Trevor ran up to the silver Ford Windstar and elbowed the driver's side window, effectively shattering it. The driver, a thirty-something black woman, screamed. Her heart pounded in her chest.

"Get out of the car!" Trevor ordered.

The poor woman fumbled with the door handle as she tried to move as fast as her terrified self would allow. Shards of glass had sliced her in several locations: her face, neck, and arms receiving the brunt of it.

"What are you waiting for? Get in the car!" Trevor screamed at Logan.

Logan mouthed, "I'm sorry" to the frightened woman as he ducked his head inside the passenger side door.

The woman didn't have to be a genius to know that the bigger guy had broken the smaller guy out of the hospital. Based on the way the bigger one was screaming at the other, he was calling the shots. The teenager looked to be almost as scared as she felt at that moment.

Tires screeched as Trevor peeled out of the hospital parking lot just as the security guards had made it outside.

XXXXX

Logan took some comfort in the fact that Trevor was starting to get sloppy. Even if they got far away from Austin, Texas, all it would take was a little bit of investigating to catch their trail. All Logan had to do was point them in the right direction. Otherwise, it would seem that all these events that had created a commotion were unrelated to Logan's kidnapping.

Logan counted on the fingers of one hand the number of slip ups Trevor has had in a span of what, a few hours at the most? Murdering a nurse. Breaking a patient out of the hospital. Carjacking.

While Trevor was planning his next move, Logan was planning his next move. He didn't have a very big window of opportunity because he highly doubted that Trevor would let him out of his sight for too long. However, Logan figured that eventually the stolen vehicle would run out of gas. When that happened, they would need to pull into a gas station to fill up. Hopefully, Trevor would go in the gas station. Logan's plan depended entirely on this. If Trevor did go into the gas station, all Logan had to do was find a payphone, and call one of his friends.

This is where Logan had a very difficult decision to make. Which of his friends should he call? He didn't doubt that the conversation wasn't going to last very long. He would probably have only enough time to tell whoever he decided to call where he was, so they knew where to start looking.

Logan's initial thought was to call Kendall. Though Carlos and James obviously missed him too, Logan suspected that Kendall missed him the most. Logan had a sobering thought. What if the friendship between the others was in shambles? What if choosing one of three of his friends took on a whole new meaning? Maybe the three of them weren't even living together anymore.

The more Logan contemplated calling Kendall, the more he wondered if Kendall had lost his cool already. When he lost his cool, Kendall was downright scary to be around. When this happened, Kendall tended to say some pretty hurtful things. If what Logan feared happened actually happened, then Kendall probably wouldn't even tell Carlos and James were he to call him. Logan couldn't risk that. He didn't want just one person to know. He wanted whoever he told to spread the word.

Logan's thoughts then drifted to Carlos. That practically made Carlos the ideal candidate. Carlos couldn't keep a secret to save his life. If Logan were to call Carlos, it would only be a matter of time before everyone found out about it. That is precisely what Logan wanted to happen too!

As discreet as he could be, Logan did a quick scan of the interior of the vehicle. He spotted what he had been searching for; some loose change in the cup holder. That would be enough for Logan to use a payphone. Now, Logan could do nothing else but sit and wait for his opportunity to hopefully come.

XXXXX

Trevor inwardly cursed when he saw the gauge on the fuel meter was hovering over "E." He pulled into the next available gas station to fill up. While Trevor hated this turn of events, this was exactly what Logan had been waiting for.

Trevor could just use a credit card to pay for the gasoline, except there were two huge problems with that: one, it would leave a trail. All someone would have to do is have a credit check done, and they would be able to pinpoint Trevor and also Logan. Two, Trevor didn't have a credit card, so even if he wanted to, he couldn't use a credit card.

Of course there was one glaring problem with Trevor going inside the gas station to pay with cash; it would give "Lucas" an opportunity to pull something. He couldn't ask for a better opportunity. Trevor didn't exactly trust his little brother right now. The whole road trip so far, Lucas hadn't made the slightest bit of fuss. In Trevor's experience, when something seemed too good to be true, it probably wasn't.

He still had one card he could play though: the intimidation card.

"I have to go inside to pay for the gas, little bro. You stay here, and don't try anything. I don't want to hurt you, but if you try to pull something, you will leave me with no other choice," Trevor warned.

Logan nodded his head in understanding. He was fully aware of what misfortune no doubt awaited him should something go wrong with his plan. It involved physical harm…to him.

Logan waited until Trevor had completely disappeared into the gas station before undoing his seat belt. His heart raced, and his hands shook as he fumbled with the door handle after grabbing the necessary change. He nearly fell flat on his face as he scrambled for a payphone he had seen a couple hundred yards back. It was weird in this day and age that payphones even still existed, but Logan was ever so thankful. He didn't have his cell phone. He had no other way of communicating.

XXXXX

Carlos' cell phone rang once. Twice. Three times. Pick up, Carlos! Pick up! Logan figured it would be just his luck that Carlos wouldn't answer. He was starting to think that he had blown his opportunity when someone did answer.

"Hello?" said a very confused-sounding Carlos.

Logan's eyes welled up with tears at the mere sound of Carlos' voice. He hadn't heard it in so long that it truly was like music to his ears. A sob seemed to resonate from deep within Logan's throat.

"Carlos, it's me. It's Logan," Logan said, trying to speak as clearly as possible, all things considered.

Now it was Carlos' eyes that were getting moist. As great as it was for Logan to hear Carlos' voice, it was just as good, if not better, for Carlos to hear Logan's voice. It was a good thing Logan chose to call Carlos too. Had it been James or Kendall, they probably wouldn't believe that it was Logan they were talking to. Carlos, on the other hand, didn't doubt it for one second. If the person on the other end says it's Logan, then it's Logan. Besides, it sounds like Logan, and that's good enough for Carlos.

"Where are you? Are you okay? Everyone's been worried sick about you!" Carlos said, spouting out one thing after another in a seemingly endless stream. "We all miss you! I miss you!"

Logan knew coming into this that this would be an extremely emotional experience, but Carlos was really making it difficult for him to speak coherently. Forget that. Carlos was making it extremely difficult for Logan to think coherently. Logan shook himself from his muddled thoughts.

"Carlos, I don't have much time to talk. Do you remember what we used to take on road trips when we were kids?" Logan asked.

"A cooler?" Carlos replied.

Logan slapped his forehead with his hand. While true, that wasn't where Logan was going at all.

"Snacks, Carlos! Snacks!" Logan exclaimed, frustration imminent in the tone of his voice.

To say that Carlos was confused would be a vast understatement. Here Logan said that he didn't have much time to talk, and now he was asking him about the snacks they took on road trips when they were kids? What did that have to do with anything? And how was that important?

Though their menu of road trip snacks had changed drastically over the years, there was one staple food item that remained. Logan knew this. Carlos knew this as well.

"Cheese and peanut butter crackers," Carlos answered.

"Right, but they weren't any ordinary cheese and peanut butter crackers. Were they, Carlos?" Logan asked.

"I don't understand."

Logan nervously glanced back in the direction of the gas station. He didn't see any sign of Trevor…yet. That could very well change at the drop of a dime though.

"They were Austin cheese and peanut butter crackers, Carlos! Austin!" Logan said, somewhat exasperated.

That was the one downside to involving Carlos in his plan. Sometimes he was a little…slow…on the uptake. Logan could spell something out in black and white, and Carlos still wouldn't understand. This was one of those occasions.

"Oh yeah! Austin cheese and peanut butter crackers! That was the brand name! I remember now!" Carlos said proudly.

Carlos still didn't get what Austin cheese and peanut butter crackers had to do with anything. It was like red plus blue equals llama. Carlos couldn't make any sense of it, but when he told Kendall and James, maybe they could. Two heads were better than one, and three heads were better than two.

Logan's heart dropped when he saw Trevor start to emerge from the gas station. No! He needed more time! He had a feeling Carlos didn't get what he was hinting at yet! He needed to make sure Carlos understood! He might not get another chance like this again!

"I have to go, but remember, Carlos: Austin cheese and peanut butter crackers. Austin. Don't forget it's Austin!" Logan said before abruptly hanging up on Carlos though it pained him to do so.

"Logan, wait! Don't hang up! Logan? Logan!" Carlos shouted into his phone.

The world spun around at a dizzying pace. Fresh tears cascaded down Carlos' tan cheeks. Why did Logan have to go all of a sudden? Who was Carlos kidding? Logan was probably in trouble. He risked getting himself into trouble to call him. It was a lot of pressure on Carlos' shoulders. Carlos didn't know if he could handle it. But that wasn't even the worst part; the worst part was that Carlos never got to tell Logan that he loved him. And even worse than that, Carlos didn't know if he would get another chance ever again.

To Be Continued…

A/N: Okay, so the ending was admittedly kind of ambiguous. Does Carlos mean that he loves Logan as a friend? Or was it meant in a slashy way? But you all know me. I love ambiguity. Probably too much. Looking ahead, how will Kendall and James react when they find out that Logan called Carlos instead of them? Find out in the next chapter.