Hello, everyone! I'm back with another chapter of JOTN! Where we last left off, all the boys are outta the hospital now and hanging out in the junkyard. But it looks like the kidnappers found them again. We'll see what happens with that today. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OC's.

Chapter 14: Not Again!

"Hey, hey, hey! Put the bird in play!" Albert said when they finally had everything set up.

"Hold up, we gotta wait for Russell to come back with the bird..." Bill replied, looking around for his brother.

So they waited... and waited... and waited... until they noticed that the little boy was nowhere to be seen. Bill started to get increasingly worried, "Russell? Where are ya, Rus?"

That's when the boys heard an engine starting up, and looked towards the entrance of the junkyard. There they saw a van... a black van. Officer Jackson mentioned the kidnappers having...

The boys suddenly paled. Could it be?

Bill began to look more closely, and saw two people in the front, "No... Russell... they got Russell!" Before any of the others could reply, the teen dashed for the van as it started to drive away. The rest of the gang followed.

Unfortunately, no matter how fast he ran, Bill could not keep up with the van, as it soon drove out of view. The boy then crouched down panting and holding his pounding head. Albert was the first to catch up to him, "You gotta be careful. You remember what the doctor said about moving quickly..." He said.

"Russell... they got him..." Bill replied.

"Hold on. We don't know for sure if they got him. He might still be in the Junkyard. Let's go check."

With that, the boys went back to search for the youngest member of their group, praying and hoping that he was safe and sound. Immediately, they split up and looked throughout the entire junkyard, calling for Russell and everything. But no matter how hard they looked, the small child was nowhere to be seen...

After about ten minutes of searching, the boys pretty much had their fears confirmed...

"Any luck...?" Albert asked when they all grouped together.

The others shook their heads. Bill felt tears building up as he sat down, "I can't believe it... they got him... they got my little brother..." He moaned, burying his face in his hands.

Albert put a hand on his friend's shoulder, "Don't worry. We'll get him back. Let's go back to your place and tell your folks. Then we can report it to the police..."

However, the other boys were starting to feel scared again. The kidnappers were still on the loose, and now they had Russell again. Who knows how long it would be before the rest of them were captured again too?

"I'm scared..." Bucky whimpered.

"What if they get us all again?" Donald asked.

"I can't go back... I won't go back to that damn basement again! NOT AGAIN!" Rudy cried, holding his head and breathing heavily.

"I can't bear to even think of it..." Harold shook his head.

"Meb neitherb..." Mush added.

Again, Albert tried to calm everyone down, "It's gonna be okay, dudes. Those criminals are NOT gonna get you again. Not while I'm around. I failed to protect you guys the first time. But this time, I'll do better. Now let's go report this!"

The boys agreed, and soon, they found themselves at the Cosby residence, explaining the incident to Bill's parents. Of course, his mother was reduced to tears again, while his father took charge and called the police.

"We want you boys to stay here for your safety." He told them, "I'll call your parents and let them know your here..."

That was fine by the gang, as they all sat in the room Bill shared with Russell, waiting for some news on the younger Cosby brother. It had been at least two hours at this point. All they knew was that the police were all on the lookout, searching throughout all of Philadelphia for the kidnappers and Russell.

"This is all my fault..." Bill sighed as he looked out the window, "I should've gone with him to search for the bird. If he wasn't alone... none of this would've happened... I'm a terrible older brother..."

The teen sniffed as he wiped away falling tears.

Albert frowned, "It's not your fault, Bill. None of us predicted this. We didn't think they would find us at the junkyard. But I'm sure the police will find Russell and bring him back home..."

"I sure hope so... I'd never forgive myself if anything happened to him..."

"You know... I feel like just sitting here isn't going to help..." Bucky spoke up, "Maybe we should help..."

"Yeah..." Harold agreed, "We saw where the van went... just barely. We might have better luck at finding it."

Albert looked conflicted, "I'd love to help too, but we don't know all the details. Besides, Bill's parents said to stay put for our safety. The last thing we need if any of us getting kidnapped too."

"For once, I agree with Fat Albert..." Rudy spoke, "I'd rather sit here and be bored than go out and risk getting taken again..."

"The best we can do is wait on any news. If it doesn't look good, then maybe we can try and help..."

That seemed to be an okay proposal. So the boys continued to spend time in the room, playing board games to pass the time, with Mrs. Cosby coming in time to time checking on them and even bringing snacks at one point.

Another hour passed, and still no updates. The sun was starting to set at this point. A few of the boys wanted to go home by now... until they heard a phone ring. They listened carefully as Mr. Cosby picked it up.

"Hello... yes... yes... oh... I see... well... I trust you'll keep the search going... okay... thank you... goodbye..."

"Dad? Is everything okay? Did they find Russell?" Bill asked as he walked out of the room.

His father turned to him and shook his head, "Not yet, son. But they appeared to have found his scarf, all bloody and such near the waterfront. There's keeping an eye out and still looking."

"Oh... okay..."

He then turned back to his friends, "They found Russell's scarf... but no Russell..." He then glared, "That's it... I can't just sit here and wait for him to die! We have to go find him! Now!"

"But we don't even know where to look..." Donald pointed out.

"I don't care! Look, they found his scarf by the water. Maybe we can find some clues."

The others were still a bit unsure about this, but perhaps sitting and waiting wouldn't help. So, they all agreed, and ran out the door, much to the shock of Bill's parents. They had overheard the boys discussing wanting to help, but didn't want them to get hurt, especially since it was getting dark outside.

"Boys! Boys! Wait! It's not safe!" Mrs. Cosby called.

"We'll be back soon, Mom! With Russell!" Bill called back.

Mr. Cosby put a hand on his wife's shoulder, "Those are some determined kids. I trust they won't do anything stupid."

"But the kidnappers..."

"The police are still looking. Chances they'll catch them before they have a chance of catching the boys..."

Back with the boys, they ran as fast as they could to the waterfront, hoping that there would be something to help find and save little Russell. They had to hurry before it was too late. Once they reached the familiar location, they began to search for clues. This time, they stayed together, not wanting another one of them to go missing.

But much like back at the junkyard, they had little to no luck. No matter how hard they tried, no matter how many times they called for Russell... they couldn't find anything.

"It's been almost three hours at this point..." Rudy said, "They're probably out of the country by now with Russell..."

"We can't give up!" Bill said with a glare, "I made a promise to Russell to always be there for him. I can't fail him now!"

"You already failed when he was taken..."

Something about that sentence set Bill off, as he then approached Rudy and grabbed him by the collar, "You take that back!" He growled.

Rudy glared back, "You know it's true, Bill! If you couldn't protect him at the junkyard earlier, what makes you think you'll find him anywhere near here. It's been three fucking hours, those people are probably long gone! We might as well go back while we can!"

"No! Hell no! I won't go back until we find my little brother! If he dies, I'll never forgive myself! I knew what I was doing when I shoved him out of the way that day! I was protecting him! I made that vow after the woman beat him! And especially after the crap, YOU put him through last summer!"

Rudy cringed when reminded of that, "Why did you have to bring that up? That was last year! And I've gotten better!"

"You think Russell's forgotten about it! Well, he hasn't! And neither have I for that matter! And now, he's in worse danger, and you'd rather be a coward and not help!"

"I'm telling you that we're fighting a losing battle! Russell isn't here! He's most likely DEAD! Or being RAPED!"

Before Albert could step in, Rudy was sent to the ground with a hard punch. Bill growled at him with his fist clench. The force of the punch was enough to bust his knuckles, but he didn't care. As far as he was concerned, Rudy crossed a line.

The rich boy looked up, sneering, "Dude, what the FUCK?!"

"You take that back, you son of the bitch!" Bill seethed, "How DARE you assume that?! Because it happened to you?!"

Rudy was about to reply back, but being reminded of... that brought tears to his eyes. But he quickly blinked them back as he got up and tackled Bill to the ground. Now Albert decided to step in to pull the fighting boys apart.

"Cool it!" He said, "Look, fighting isn't going to help us find Russell!"

"We're not gonna find him!" Rudy shot back.

"Yes, we will!" We will!" Bill cried, crouching down, burying his face in his hands as he sobbed loudly.

Seeing their usually laidback friend so... vulnerable was a surprising sight for the rest of the gang. All they could do was watch, before Albert stepped in to rub his shoulders, "It's gonna be okay, Bill..."

"I-I-I j-just w-want my little brother back, man..." Bill sobbed, "Is that so wrong...?"

"No... it isn't..."

Now feeling guilty, Rudy crouched down in front of his friend, "Hey... I'm sorry for what I said. I just think... we're hopeless at this point. We have no idea where the kidnappers took Russell. And... I don't want the rest of us to get taken again."

Bill looked up at him, "... I guess it's okay, Rudy... I'm sorry for lashing out at ya like that... I just don't wanna give up on my brother..."

"I know... and, we can keep looking if you want..."

"Actually, it's getting late. We better head back..." Albert pointed out, as the sky was beginning to get dark.

The other boys agreed, including Bill (though he was more reluctant). But as they started to walk back, they caught something by the entrance of the waterfront... the headlights of a black van.

Suddenly... the van began to move... and it started to come straight at the boys!

Uh oh. So the boys try to find Russell, but can't... but it looks like the kidnappers may have found them first. Next chapter after this, will have a reference that if you watched the 1982 version of Annie, you'll get it. Until then, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll see you guys later, and don't forget to review, please. Thank you!