Chapter 11: Phantom of the Opera
Title: Haunted
Genre: Angst / Suspense
Rating: M
Summary: Two years after breaking up, Big Time Rush reestablish their friendship in the time of a danger that could possibly destroy everything for each of the boys... WARNING: Rated for Slash, Rape, Drug Use, Self-Harm.
Written: July 2011
Word Count: 2,600 words
Authors Note: First of all, thanks SO MUCH to Zana De Dorinte, Lovin' Big Time Rush, squoctobird, A.R Brooks, gleechild, and especially to BTRandKO, whose kind words have really made me feel so special! Honestly, it's really you guys; the amazing readers who make this story as amazing as you guys say it is. Without the live and vitality you guys breath into this story, it's just a bunch of words. All my readers deserve all the credit for whatever accolades I may receive!
In sleep he sang to me - In dreams he came
That voice which calls to me - And speaks my name
And do I dream again - For now I find
The Phantom of the opera is here - Inside my mind
After a heart-warming renouncement of separation, the boys found themselves in a group once more. Instead of fighting off crazed fans, they were fighting off a psychotic stalker. Instead of writing songs for mass consumption, they were writing plans to take down the woman who had been behind their current misery.
Katie and Geraldo stayed the night at a hotel James had booked. While Carlos and Geraldo stayed in one room, Kendall and James stayed in another, and Katie stayed in a room by herself. They had decided to meet in Carlos's room, so Carlos would not be worried about Geraldo, and discuss their plans.
"Shouldn't we wait until Logan returns?" Carlos goaded, slightly antsy. He felt as if any plan without the four boys together would ultimately fail, like their previous plan had failed. Moreover, Carlos was afraid of almost losing any other of his family or friends. He was in that state of euphoria he was in several years ago, when the boys were at the top of the world, well on their way to transforming from national pop-stars to international heartthrobs.
"I don't want to worry him," Kendall said, his eyes darting from left to right. He was anxious, as he had wondered as to how Reaper had overheard the plan from the quintet who had thoroughly planned out their attempt to capture Reaper. Somehow, Kendall felt more vulnerable, but oddly safer with Katie around. Moreover, with Geraldo's blissful ignorance, Kendall felt less vile and ruthless. He was still upset over the violation, and the fact that Jo had completely ruined his life. However, he knew now was not the time for petty thoughts. Something was nagging on Kendall's mind, as if he forgot something, but he couldn't remember exactly what he had forgotten.
Maybe I left a sink on? Bitters will be mad about that... Kendall smirked in his thoughts, before he realized something odd.
"Hey, guys, when was the last time you saw Bitters?" Kendall asked inquisitively, as silence adopted the room. Carlos immediately shifted from watching Geraldo fall asleep to looking at Kendall.
"Maybe when we first came in for Gustavo's funeral? I'm not sure. Mr. Reyson, the new concierge, was really nice though!" Carlos spoke excitedly. Carlos and Bitters were never close, due to the whole Fruit Smackers saga, as well as other countless pranks the boy had pulled during his adolescent years.
"We need to focus what's at hand here people!" Katie spoke, scooting toward the warmth radiating from James's body. James smiled, until he saw a flicker of grudge within Kendall's eyes. Nonetheless, James kept his position, and continued to focus on Katie's plan.
"Right. So anyways, can you run through the plan again baby sister?" Kendall smiled, recycling the name he used to address Katie with whenever shenanigans were pulled.
"We are positive that Reaper is none other than Jo Taylor, who is staying here in the UCLA area," Katie began, ignoring Kendall as he scrunched his face. Thoughts were nagging on his head, but he could not remember what he needed to say. Something about Reaper, but Kendall could not remember. All he remembered was Logan's scars...
"So we need to somehow tempt her to get one of us, and when she does, we get her except we fail and die." Katie finished flatly. The three boys looked at her with wild looks. The hope and vigor Katie once had was gone. James was the first to notice tears glittering her eyes.
"Katie, don't cry! Please! We'll try our best!" James cupped Katie's face, giving a slight kiss to forehead, much to the chagrin of Kendall.
"James, Carlos, Kendall. You don't realize it. Jo is always one step ahead of us! In fact, I'm sure she knows about our meetings! I don't know how, but she does!" Katie sobbed, as James instantly felt guilty for exposing Katie to this mess. However, he felt more confident and powerful with his maiden by his side.
"Logan was the one who was able to get to her the most," Carlos added wistfully, as Kendall felt a frantic worm dig into his brain. He knew he had to say something, but suddenly he forgot it. He cursed himself for forgetting the information that was continuously nagging at his brain.
"Maybe we should call it quits," Kendall suddenly spoke up, noticing the incredulous looks given to him by James, Katie, and Carlos, "for now. We should think with a clear head." Kendall yawned, indicating his fatigue. Katie sighed, as she scooted closer to James. After a moment of silent, the four friends parted ways for the night, Carlos carrying the slumbering Geraldo to his proper bed.
When Carlos woke up, he knew something was wrong. Like usual, he could feel a slight moistness, but the bundle of warmth he usually woke up with was suddenly absent. Yawning, Carlos exited his bed, and looked around in the suite.
"Geraldo?" Carlos called, rubbing his eyes. He stretched, his short height failing to even tickle the top of the room. He sighed, and walked over to the bathroom, only to find it locked.
"Geraldo, are you in there?" Carlos asked, still in a morning daze. However, he was beginning to feel uneasy. Geraldo was never this silent. Carlos immediately knocked on the door again, and there was still no answer. Pursing his lips, Carlos began to fumble with the door, concerned with what was occurring with Geraldo.
"Geraldo, open the door! Please!" Carlos pleaded. He was surprised by a knock on the door. Muttering under his breath, Carlos cast one more longing look at the bathroom door and to his surprise, Kendall was outside his door, bags beginning to form under his green eyes.
"Carlos, I can hear you banging on a door from my room. Is everything okay?" Kendally yawned, as he was tired from a restless sleep. Carlos began to mumble, before bawling into the shoulder of a surprised Kendall.
"I-I-I'm asking G-G-Geraldo to open the door...and he won't!" Carlos sobbed, as Kendall soothingly patted the boy on the back. It was almost like they were sixteen again. Kendall walked into the room, and locked the door. He grabbed Carlos's hand and walked to the bathroom, knocking on the door gently.
"Geraldo? It's me, Uncle Kendall. Can you open up please?" Kendall said, as his mind was still fuzzy. Oddly enough, there was silence. Kendall and Carlos met each other's eyes and nodded. They would try and bust the door, hoping to catch Geraldo in whatever shenanigan he was doing.
On the count of three, Kendall and Carlos rammed into bathroom door, fortunately causing the lock to break, but not the door. However, before Kendall could make a sheepish remark, Carlos screamed. Geraldo was not in the bathroom, and there was a simple CD case lying on the floor. Kendall hesitated, memories of his drunken night at Jo's apartment flashing through his head, before picking up the CD.
"Carlos, it's a DVD." Kendall whispered, as the color drained from Carlos's face. The blonde boy immediately rushed and jammed in the disc into the complementary DVD player the hotel provided. Both boys held their breath as suddenly the screen revealed the frightening Ghost-face of Reaper.
"Hello Carlos," Reaper whispered in its androgynous voice. Carlos sobbed harder, as tears plummeted to the ground. "I bet you're wondering why your son has not cleaned up your urine lately." Reaper spat calmly, as Kendall felt his blood boil. How dare Reaper bring innocent people into this mess?
"You might recognize him here," Reaper whispered again, as it shifted from the camera screen to reveal a slumbering Geraldo, sleeping calmly. Carlos felt his heart break as he saw his son in a peaceful trance surrounded by a psychotic Jo Taylor.
"I bet you're wondering how I kidnapped him. You should never tell your child that walking to the bathroom alone at night is safe. Especially when there are monsters in the closet." Reaper finished, cutting the video camera short. Kendall and Carlos both felt numb. Kendall was slightly grateful that he had sent everyone to sleep the previous night before finishing the plan. Carlos felt as if his sanctuary was violated; Reaper had been in his closet the entire time at this hotel!
"Go change, and we'll awake James and Katie!" Kendall hushed, as he ran out of the room, practically slamming the door. Carlos, despite the world falling around him, could hear Kendall screaming for James and Katie to awaken.
James came out of his room first, his hair disheveled and unkempt. Kendall, taking the serious matter at hand, refused to smirk. He quickly informed James of the situation, who practically yelped. The boys were almost paranoid now as to how far Jo would go to destroy their lives.
"Katie, come on!" Kendall pounded the hotel door, not caring if anyone else was disturbed. James held up a finger to silence Kendall as he conjured a card. Answering Kendall's raised eyebrow, James confessed.
"Katie was afraid, and gave me a copy of her room key in case...anything happened." James admitted, as Kendall simply nodded, accepting the answer.
However, neither boy was prepared to see what was inside Katie Knight's room. There was nothing. Everything had been cleared out, as if Katie had left the hotel. However, Kendall knew there was more to it. He quickly stomped in, ignoring James's falling tears and croaks, and located a DVD labeled for James on the bed.
Plugging in the DVD player, Kendall angrily jammed in the disc, his eyes full of flame and fury. Carlos had joined the duo, tears still fresh on his face.
Reaper was smirking on the TV screen behind her Ghost-face. Carlos shivered again, although his heart could not believe Katie Knight...was gone.
"James, and by now, Kendall and Carlos, I hope you're having a good morning. Katie decided to get...nosy and unfortunately, Geraldo was too loud. Poor Katie never expected that I would be right behind her." Reaper shook her head, as she moved to reveal an unconscious Katie Knight slumbering, next to Geraldo. Carlos was shocked. Katie had not been in the previous DVD, and this had meant that Reaper had actually taken the two somewhere. James, despite the distress, was beginning to worry.
"Kendall," James whispered, "we need to check on Logan." James had figured out Reaper's sick and twisted game. She took what was both literally and figuratively the closest to each boy, and unfortunately, James had a horrible flash of intuition that Logan was no longer in the hospital.
Kendall nodded, the color finally leaving his face. While he trembled to dial the hospital's number, Carlos and James engaged in a silent conversation of sympathy and sadness. When they heard Kendall curse out the nurse and angrily hang up the phone, they only feared the worst. A blood-shot Kendall glanced at both boys, whispering: "She took Logie too."
The three boys were at the hospital before they blinked. While the doctors refused to let them go into Logan's room, as the police were investigating, the three boys knew better than to trust the police. Coming up with a quick plan, Carlos immediately screamed and tripped, diverting the attention of the police force. He began to scream that he saw someone run down the hallway, and the police immediately followed Carlos's command. In the meanwhile, both James and Logan walked calmly into Logan's room, searching for the mysterious disc that Reaper would leave behind for them.
While James searched everywhere, Kendall immediately noticed one of the draws to the supply cabinet was open. He knew Logan hated messes like that, and walked over there tentatively. To his surprise, he found the DVD, and immediately notified James.
Fortunately, the boys had left the room in time. The police were interrogating Carlos, who claimed he must have been hallucinating. After several minutes, the boys all left, with promises to return to the police station for further questions.
Upon reaching their hotel, they caved into James's and Kendall's room, which was the nearest. Plugging in the DVD player, they trembled to put in the disc.
Reaper smiled, sitting cross legged on a chair, while Logan, Katie, and Geraldo were all unconscious. Reaper began to play with her fingers, and from the direction at which she faced the camera, the men felt as if Reaper was smiling.
"Don't you want to catch me? I'll even give you a head start. Once you watch this video, I will be outside the hotel. Come and find me assholes." Reaper whispered, in a much more feminine voice. The boys were shocked as the video camera was once more abruptly shut. They all nodded, as they agreed silently to get ready for the encounter of their life.
They saw the Ghostface, standing outside the hotel. The moment Kendall roared, everything seemed to slow down. Before they knew it, the boys were chasing after the surprisingly agile Reaper. Kendall felt as if this was reminiscent to the run the four boys had done years ago, when they soaked the field hockey team. Back when they were not popstars in Hollywood.
The boys ran as fast as they could, ignoring bystanders. Reaper was extremely fast, and the heels she wore somehow made her even dangerously faster. Upon seeing Reaper, Kendall was reminded on the nagging feeling on his head, but continued to suppress it.
Carlos was at the front of his trio, running for his family. James was in the middle of his trio, running for his love. Kendall was lagging behind, although not by much, running for his best friend and lover. The three boys were running to reclaim their lives from the psychotic Reaper, or better known as Jo Taylor.
"Come back here you bitch!" Carlos swore, earning looks from the bystanders as Reaper practically led them on a wild goose chase. James shivered. Whenever Carlos swore, he was truly angry and upset. The three boys continued to chase Reaper, not noticing that people were no longer littering the streets and the surroundings had become dodgier.
Finally, Reaper stopped in front of a shady building, presumably catching her breath. The three boys continued to run, albeit much slower. Reaper eventually caught her breath and ran inside, leading the boys in as well. Surprisingly, the building was simply composed of stairs, which Reaper was currently racing through, appearing to already be halfway to the top. The boys took one deep breath altogether, as they braced themselves for more physical endurance.
They raced and raced, keeping the same order. Reaper had reached the roof, and graciously left the door open for them. The boys took about another minute or so to reach the roof, and to their surprise, they saw Reaper standing in front of them, the wind blowing at her cloak.
However, to their horror, they noticed two rotting corpses. Upon closer inspection, Carlos recognized the portly body of Reginald Bitters and the oddly shaped body of Buddha Bob! He felt like retching, as suddenly the abrupt disappearances made sense.
"Fuck you Reaper! You're fucking dying tonight you motherfucker! You're going straight to hell!" Kendall roared, as James stood loyally behind Kendall. The three boys slowly advanced toward Reaper, who simply stood there.
To their shock, they heard more footsteps behind them. Everything that had occurred would not prepare them to hear, and see what they saw.
"Dogs." A very caustic and rough voice sounded, as the three boys turned to see none other than Gustavo Rocque, holding a shotgun.