Chapter 3 No Matter What
The first one to wake up is Logan. He groans as he slowly opens his eyes and sits up.
"What the…" He says as he sees the room they're in. He moves back and jumps as he suddenly bumps into something.
"Ugh… What's going on?" Kendall's voice comes from behind him. Logan turns around to face him and slowly helps him sit upright. "Where are we?" he asks as he too looks around.
"I think we're in some kind of cell."
"Oh, I feel nauseous… " James's voice sounds from their left side. They look at him with sympathy. "What happened?"
"Not sure. Either those guys sedated us or they ran us over with a truck." Logan replies with a groan.
"I'll go with the second one…" James agrees as he moves to sit against the wall behind them. He shrieks when he bumps into something. The others scream with him as he startles them.
James looks behind him, but the object is hidden from view in the dark. He moves closer and holds out his hand. He inches it closer and closer, until he feels something. He pokes it and shrieks, falling backwards as a loud moan is heard.
Logan sits up with wide eyes as he hears the moan elicited from the object in the dark.
"Carlos?" The other guys look at each other with wide eyes. Logan moves closer and holds out his hand much like James did before. But he is gentler. The moment the touches something, he feels around and the notices the dark blanket covering the figure and hiding him from their view. He pulls on it.
The guys gasp as they recognize their friend. They stare in worry at his ripped jeans and his clothes covered in dirt. Numerous dark bruises stand out against his caramel skin as the glow from the light bulb in the hallway shines a faint light on his face. His face is buried in his arms that are around his pulled up knees.
"Carlos?" Logan asks again in a gentle voice. He edges closer and puts a hand on his back. Another moan is elicited from their friend, but this time he slowly moves around. He pulls up his head, like it's the heaviest thing in the world and looks at them through half lidded eyes.
More bruises are evident on his face. His left cheek is blue and swollen, he has a split lip and there is dried blood on the side of his head.
"Guys? You came.." He smiles lazily. "You came to get me out.."
The guys share looks with one and other. Kendall smiles, but his eyes look like he's about to cry at the sight of their youngest brother so hurt.
"We're here, Carlos. We're here."
The smallest member of their group suddenly frowns. "But wait.. If you came to get me out, why are we all behind the bars? Is this part of the plan, Kendall?"
Kendall doesn't know where to look or what to tell his friend. There is so much hope in his eyes, he doesn't have the heart to tell him the truth. He tries to open his mouth to reply to his friend, but James beats him to it.
"Don't worry, Carlos. We're all here now, we'll get out soon. Right, Kendall?" Kendall flashes him a look of gratitude.
"But you're not supposed to be in here… You'll get hurt too…" His voice sounds so small, it reminds them of a young child. All three friends feel the desperate need to protect their friend from the bad things in life. But none of them know what to say right now. So, they do the next best thing.
Soon, Carlos finds himself engulfed into a hug by three pairs of arms, gently trying to reassure him that everything will be fine.
"Aww, that is so sweet." The three spring apart as they hear the strange man's voice again behind them. They see him standing in front of the bars with that same evil smile on his face. "Your friendship is so touching to me. To all of us really. It makes me feel almost guilty for separating you."
The guys share looks of anxiety.
"What do you mean?" The man smirks.
"Well, I can't keep you all together like this. It would never work. No, I have special projects set up for each of you. If I let you stay together, we'd never get done. You'd all try to fight me and my friends and it would just take too long."
Carlos pulls his knees closer to his chest. Logan pulls him close to him and feels the boy's form trembling. He shares a look with James.
"What do you want from us anyway? Why are we here?"
"Kendall, you ask so many questions… The boss didn't inform me that you would. But I suppose you have a right to know. Hm, too bad I don't make the decisions around here. I can tell you one thing. I mean, I know all of you, some better than others…" He winks at Carlos, who tries to crawl inside the wall. Logan just hugs him closer, ignoring the wincing of his young friend as he touches his bruises. Kendall and James take stand in front of their smaller friends. "And so it is only fair that you get to know me as well. My name is Shane. I am 38 and very much single."
The guys look disgusted at the smile he gives them.
"Look, we don't care about any of that. Just tell us what you want and when you're going to let us go."
Shane steps closer to the bars. "Let you go?" He chuckles. "My dear James. I may not be able to tell you why you're here and what will happen to you. But I can promise you, I am not letting you go. Ever." He starts to laugh again, louder, harder.
He calms down after a short while. "Oh, wow, you almost had me there. Let you go, and I thought Carlos was the funny one. Ha! Good one…" He wipes tears from his cheeks. "No, but seriously. I suggest you relax a little. Because in an hour or so it's time to put up the first project. Should I tell you who gets to go first?"
He looks around at Kendall and James, who just glare and still hold protective stances. He moves his eyes towards Logan, who glares as well, while holding Carlos close. Carlos himself has his head down and is trying to avoid his gaze.
"Maybe I should start with Carlos. He's always been my favorite, and I feel like I need to make amends here. I mean, he's so upset with me, he won't even look me in the eye." James and Kendall step closer.
"You leave Carlos alone. You can take me, I don't care what you do, but you've hurt Carlos enough. You're not going anywhere near him."
"I love your protectiveness, Kendall. But you need to realize that you're all going to get your turns, whether you like it or not. And you're right, Carlos did get hurt. So, I will leave him to rest some more. For now. But you can't protect each other in here. You'll figure that out soon enough. Rest up now, I'll be back later to pick up one of you." He walks away midsentence, leaving the guys to stare after him.
"We have to get out of here.." James tells his friends, looking at Logan who nods, while still holding a shaking Carlos in his arms.
"Kendall? Do you have a plan?" When he doesn't receive an answer, James walks closer to his friend.
Kendall's hands are balling into fists, he's gritting his teeth as he keeps staring in the direction the guy went in. He wants to punch him. For taking them, for the creepy smile he keeps giving them, for hurting Carlos.. He needs to punch something…
"Kendall?" James asks quietly. He puts a hand on Kendall's back and jumps back in shock as Kendall whips around angrily.
"What?" His look immediately turns to guilt when he sees James' shocked face. "Oh, I'm sorry James.. That guy.. He just makes me so angry!" he balls his fists again and then kicks the bars.
"I know, man, I know. Let's just go sit down, alright? Come on." He gently pulls Kendall with him to their smaller friends and they slowly sit down. Carlos has his head in his arms again, gently rocking back and forth.
"How is he?" Logan sighs.
"Carlos?" Carlos doesn't look up. "Carlos?" He calls a little louder now.
The guys hear a mumbled "no" from their friend as he shakes his head. Then he suddenly lifts his head, his eyes big and frightened, like a small child.
"We have to get out of here… I don't want to do any projects…"
"It's okay, Carlos. You won't have to do any. I promise." Kendall pats his arm with a smile.
"But your heard him, all of us are getting a turn. I-I don't want a turn, Kendall. He freaks me out.. He winked at me!" Kendall bites his lip.
"It'll be alright, buddy. We'll get out. We're all together now, and we'll stick together. No matter what, remember?" Carlos looks down. "Hey. Look at me." James puts a hand under his chin, making him look him in the eye. "No matter what."
Carlos slowly nods.
"Alright. So next time he comes in here, we all stick together. We're not letting anyone go out by himself. And we're not letting him get to us, we're staying strong. No matter what, okay?" Kendall suggests and he holds his hand out.
A second hand is placed on top of his. He looks up to see Logan smile at him.
"No matter what." Kendall nods and smiles. Then they both look at the other two.
"No matter what." James ads, putting a third hand on the pile.
"Carlos?" He looks scared, but then holds out his shaking hand and puts it on the pile.
"No matter what." He whispers, trying a small smile, but not really getting there.
An hour later…
The boys are still sitting on the floor. Kendall and Logan are watching with amused grins as James is trying to play 21 questions with a very reluctant Carlos.
"Okay, next question."
"Are you handsome?"
"Yes."
"Is it you?"
"Nope, try again."
"Is it Bandanaman?" James gasps.
"How did you guess?" Carlos groans.
"Everytime we play this game, you either pick yourself or 'bandanaman'." James pouts a little.
"I don't do that all the time."
"Yes, you do."
"Alright fine, you play."
"I don't want to."
"Come on, Carlos…"
"No!"
"Okay, I'll play. Again." Carlos shakes his head.
"Is it you?"
"I just… Okay fine, I just can't think of anyone else, alright?"
"yeah, there's a shocker." Carlos says under his breath.
"What was that?"
"Nothing." He recovers quickly. He sits up, wincing when he moves his knee too fast.
"You know, I still think you should let me take a look. You don't want to develop an infection."
"You won't be able to do anything anyway after you looked at it, Logan. So why bother?"
The guys share worried glances at the careless attitude their youngest friend seems to have taken on.
"carlos, are you okay?" He raises his eyebrows at Kendall.
"Am I okay? Uh, let's see. I am locked up in a cell, my whole body hurts, I feel nauseous, there is a guy holding us who keeps giving us creepy smiles and who seems to have a thing for me in particular and there is no way we're getting out, because we don't know where we are. No, I don't think I am okay, Kendall."
"At least we're together?" James offers. Carlos turns towards him and chuckles, shaking his head. James shoots a questioning look at the others, who shrug. "Carlos?"
He stops laughing and looks down at his hands. "No, you're right. We are here together. I guess I should be happy about that… When I first woke up here alone, I was so scared.. I wasn't sure I'd ever see you guys again. So yeah, maybe you being here is a good thing."
"So, you feel better now?" Logan asks, looking uncertain.
"Yeah, Logie. I guess I do. But I'd feel a lot better if we had a plan to get out of here.." They all look at Kendall. He looks at them in surprise. He's about to say something, when a door creaks in the hallway. They turn their hands towards the sound. Kendall and James immediately share a look and stand up. Logan and Carlos sit close together again.
Shane comes to stand in front of the bars with his big friends standing behind him, all wearing a smile.
"It's time." Shane says in a singsong voice. He jingles a set of keys in front of the bars before moving his hands to the lock. He opens the door with a clang and steps inside. James and Kendall both ball their fists, keeping a look on their younger friends on the ground.
"Hm, who would like to go first?" He moves his eyes over all four guys again, smiling wider when Carlos starts to shake again. He points his finger and moves it over all of them. "How about you." He says as he points a finger at James.
James eyes widen. "Me?" But then, he remembers his friends on the ground and he changes his face to stand strong again. "Yeah, alright. Bring it on."
"No. Take me." Kendall steps forward and in between Shane and James. "If you need to take any of us, take me."
"That is so noble of you, Kendall. But you see, you;" One of the big guys walks over and knees him in the gut, making him double over in pain. "don't get to make th decisions around here." Shane tells him, getting close to his face and even patting it with his hand. He then turns around, his back to the boys. "Grab the pretty one. We'll be back later for the next one." Two of the guys walk up to James and grab him, while Kendall sits on his knees. He tries to get up and reach out for his friend, but the last big guy left grabs him around his middle with one hand, while the other pulls on his hair hard. He winces.
"Kendall!" Carlos and Logan cry out. The big guy pretends to jump towards the two and they back up against the wall. He smiles evilly, before turning his attention back to Kendall.
"James!" He cries out, but he can only watch as James struggles in the two pairs of strong arms as they lead him down the hall. His big, scared eyes meet Kendall's worried ones. The guy lets go of Kendall and shuts the door with a clang. Kendall runs to the bars and clings to them. "James!" He leans his head on the bars and kicks them. "Damn it…"
"Kendall?" Carlos' small voice brings him out of his daze and he turns around. He heads for his friends and slides down the wall on Carlos' right side. He puts an arm around his friend as well. Carlos leans his head against him and he exchanges a look with Logan. They need to do something, fast…
And all up to date again! I actually need to go to sleep now, have an early morning tomorrow again. Don't feel like it, I just want to keep on writing now. But maybe this is enough for today ;)
Let me know what you think, I'll try to update again soon!
Love, Baxxie