Katie arrived at the LA airport and got off to find her bags. She was forced to stay on the plane as people took their sweet time getting out. Katie was nervous that her luggage would be gone by the time she got to the claim area, no doubt fans would be waiting for her. She still hadn't figured out how it leaked out each time when and where Katie was about to arrive at an airport. Just as she guessed, her bags were gone; the carousel lay empty with no one around. She sighed in frustration but went to baggage claim anyway, just in case there was a small chance that her bags were safe. She waited in line and was next before a familiar voice called out to her.
"Katie!" she heard a guy's voice say. She turned to see Kendall running towards her and before she could respond he picked her up off the ground, scaring her for a moment as she screamed at her sudden flight. He apologized and put her down.
"Sorry, I'm just happy to see you; especially being mobile. Glad to see you're doing well. I already got your bags, they're in a taxi waiting to take you to your house!" he said, pulling her to the taxi. With a smile on her face, she ran behind him as he pulled her outside. The taxi pulled up to the house and broke up Kendall and Katie's conversation.
"Here you are…" he said confused. Katie turned to open the door with a smile on her face but it soon faded to a look of shock. Kendall soon followed and opened his side to get out and look at the sight. Katie's small house had been vandalized; the windows were shattered, siding gone, door kicked in, trash all over the yard, the fence flattened and broken on the ground and to top it off, the house had been tagged with the words 'Die Bitch', 'Stupid slut', and 'talent less hack job'. Katie could only stare in horror at the sight in front of her. Kendall consoled her as best he could, shocked at the sight as well but totally feeling for her. The cabby, unpacked the trunk and took off down the road to leave the stars with their mess.
They grabbed the bags and walked through the house cautiously to find it ransacked, nothing was left behind, even the carpets had been torn up. There were holes in the wall, floor boards missing, more spray paint inside and obvious fire and water damage from botched vandalism. The electric and water lines had been cut, leaving the house dirty, and dark. They duo walked outside to get some fresh air and sun to think the matter over. Kendall offered his house for her to stay in and then began to call for some ideas.
It was quiet on the street until a loud, souped up sports car was clearly heard in the distance, speeding down the street. They looked in the direction of the loud motor until it was in sight and followed it as it continued down the street and did a sharp u turn, drifting onto a neighbors yard. The car revved and without stopping, spun its tires and swerved all over before hitting its path; right at Katie's house, towards her and Kendall. They dodged the first strike which knocked out the front wall of her house and the car was thrown into reverse to try again. After missing a second time the passenger stood out of his window and flashed a gun.
Kendall pushed Katie down and used a garbage can as cover. The bullets ricocheted back at the car, cracking the windshield and giving a few dents at which the driver cussed out his partner. The driver maneuvered his car around the yard, trying to hit the duo but managed in only destroying the house. Katie grabbed Kendall's arm and dragged him away behind a cement wall that was still standing. The driver floored it into the cement wall which stayed standing due to it's steel reinforcement. The car was totaled and the driver and passenger were both sent flying and possibly killed. The car erupted into flames shortly afterwards, most likely killing them anyway.
Katie still had Kendall's arm and kept running forward without looking back. She eventually let go of him and took off faster. Kendall was surprised at how fast she could run as he fell behind but he picked up the pace after she turned around quickly and called out to him to keep up. They really hadn't gotten all that far though and could hear more gang members or whatever they were after them.
"Find those two network tv bastards! Don't let them get away!" a gruff voice said.
It was clear that this wasn't some random shootout, this was a personal score. Kendall was scared out of his mind, as was Katie but she kept running and Kendall followed her without question. She took all kinds of lefts and rights before sliding down a sudden drop to a river. Kendall hesitated at the cliff and watched as Katie slid down the 100ft's slight incline and landing safely at the bottom. With the goons hot on his heels he took the plunge and although not as graceful as Katie, tumbling down the last 10 ft and landing on his shoulder, he got down in the nick of time and followed Katie down the blind curve and hid under a stoney ledge, needing a breather.
The two of them stood silently as they caught their breath waiting and listening for any other movement or voices. After about a minute, Katie peeked out and when the coast was clear she grabbed Kendall and ran down the river bed to the water fall. She crossed the river and jumped off the ledge. Leaving Kendall to look in horror as he saw, or thought anyway, that his friend just jumped to her death. He peeked over to find her only about 8ft down on a ledge and she motioned to him to follow. His shoulder hurt so he was careful not to land too hard. Once on the ledge Katie led him to a dusty trail to a small cavern that she walked through that lead out to the bottom of the Hollywood Mountains.
They were well out of harms way now so she slowed the pace down to a leisurely walk to relax and take a breath. Kendall didn't ask any questions and just enjoyed the scenery and walk in itself. He had no idea what to make of what just happened and didn't really want to talk about what just happened, he didn't even know how to start something like that. His mind was a blur with other things and it kept him busy until he bumped into Katie who had finally stopped. He looked ahead to see a rock wall blocking their path.
"What now?" he asked.
Katie bent down and crawled on her hands and knees underneath the 2 large bushes at the base of the wall. She disappeared and Kendall followed curiously; he wiggled himself through a medium size hole as best he could without getting too much pain jolting up his arm. Once inside, Katie helped him up and he took in the view. It was breathtaking; like a scene out of a story book. There was a whole ecosystem surrounded by a rock wall; a paradise created by nature and Katie had set it up as her own.
The entire cavern was open at the top but there was plenty of foliage for cover from any helicopters, satellites and hikers that may be passing over the bridge above It was difficult to look down and see any of the cavern floor so even if Katie wasn't in the tent, she wouldn't be seen. There was a fresh water stream that ran through the center, fed from a split in the waterfall they jumped from on the other side of the mountain. The fish were plentiful in both the stream, where she set up a net to catch a few that swam by, and in the small lake at the end of a small drop of about 6 ft. This was a beautiful paradise, filled with all kinds of foods and natural shelters to cater to any animal. Surprisingly though, Katie was alone here, no other animals except for a few lone birds, passing through.
Kendall was stunned at the area he was in, surrounded by a peaceful paradise after nearly getting shot and chased by some gang members who wanted to kill them. He wanted to know who they were and why they were after them but he was more interested in how Katie found this place. As he took a closer look, he realized that she had been living here for a while, the area was well lived in, with her supplies and shopping all over the place. She had begun working on setting up some lunch and hadn't said anything since they had gotten out of harms way. She was still shaken up at the whole ordeal but she was more embarrassed to let out what her life had come too, there was no hiding that fact that someone wanted her dead. She didn't know how to begin to explain why this was happening, she didn't even know it herself.
"You know, we need to talk sooner or later…" Kendall finally said.
He was gentle but firm not sure how to begin. Katie remained silent, looking down at the fire she had started to cook some fresh filleted fish she caught this morning. She could feel him staring at him so she looked up at him, her eyes starting to tear, as they told him the guilt and suffering she was feeling.
"I'm sorry. I know its not enough to say but I don't know what else I can say. I never meant for any of this to happen."
"I don't even know what just happened. I was hoping I could get an explanation."
"I wish I had one to give you…"
"Someone just tried to kill us, you're living in a tent in the wilderness and you don't have a reason why?!" he said getting a tad louder out of shock and confusion. She shook her head in response as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "Why didn't you tell anyone?" he continued. She sat in silence with no answer. "I want to help you, I want to understand but you need to tell me so I know what to do."
"I- I cant. I've done nothing wrong and nothing illegal; there are just people on this earth that do not like me, even before my fame. Perhaps I was wrong to think things would change and I would be respected, proving to everyone that I wasn't the scum of the earth they pegged me to be.." She started. She didn't need to look at Kendall to feel his gaze; she could feel him judging her already and it hurt to think that the few friends she made here were now going to all disappear. She tried to hold in the tears and her emotions as best she could while she continued. "Its safe to leave, just follow the path back to the river bed and follow it to the base of the mountain. You'll be right at the entrance of the boulevard." she instructed softly. She turned her attention to the fish frying in the pan and stayed silent. Kendall just looked to her, no words to say and after a minute he got up and slowly walked to the exit. He looked back and sighed to himself before crawling out through the bushes.
Kendall wandered down the path aimlessly as his mind buzzed with thoughts, he soon realized it was getting dark and he was lost. He had yet to find the river bed but he was still on a path so he just assumed he went the wrong way. Not knowing how far back the turn was, he just kept going forward, hoping to reach some sort of crossroads or sign. He kept going, following the trail until the sun had completely set. He used what was left of his battery life on his phone to use it as a flashlight since he didn't have a signal anyway.
The path widened as it went up a hill and then went down somewhat steep but still easily walk-able. He reached a ledge and climbed down the boulders to the flat area where the trail ended. He was lost completely and didn't have enough battery to find his way back again. It was kind of chilly now, being just under 70 degrees, cold for south Californians. As he stood, holding himself in the chilly air, he realized that he heard a waterfall. He walked towards it and noticed a fire in the distance. He walked towards it to see a campsite, Katie's camp site actually.
"Katie?" he called.
There was no answer so he checked the tent to find it empty. He heard a splash that was fairly close and turned to the direction of it. There was another fire in the distance and a bunch of torches lit the way towards the lake bed. He walked down the path and stopped at a tree that held a towel; on a branch on the other side lay her clothes. Her dirty ones lay scattered on the path in front of him. Kendall quickly put the pieces together and didn't want to disturb her. He found Katie attractive to say the least, her slimmer figure catching his attention from the chunky girl he met 4 years ago. He was curious as well, he was shy and respectful but he was still a guy and temptation was dragging him in to take a peek. He thought better of himself and turned to walk away.
He bumped into something and was caught off guard, he couldn't see what it was but it was heavy and…furry? He didn't have much time to put in too much thought before whatever it was started growling.
"Uhh…nice…thing? Easy now…don't hurt me, its ok, I was just leaving!" He stuttered.
He tried walking around the animal but it stopped him and then cornered him. The growl got louder and more ferocious until it finally attacked. Kendall didn't have time to scream before it knocked him to the ground, drooling on his face. The animal was heavy and Kendall panicked giving him the strength to fight off the animal. He didn't want to hurt it, just to get away from it, even though it was trying to kill him. Kendall liked animals a lot, and although he and his band mates could tousle players around on the ice like bowling pins, he just couldn't hurt an animal. He managed to get the animal off him and he got up and ran down the path way.
The animal was right on his heels and he soon reached a dead end. The waterfall was almost deafening and he couldn't hear himself scream. He saw the dogs eyes, glowing in the moonlight and that gave him the edge to see the dark furred beast. He climbed the ledge and started scaling the wall but to his surprise the animal was right behind him, jumping from rock to rock with ease and grace. Kendall reached a flat area and kept going but in a few short strides he reached the edge of it and nearly fell off. The sky was opened in this area and the light of the full moon gave off enough of it's silver glow to outline all the objects in its reach.
The animal climbed the last part of the ledge and shook itself off as it walked to Kendall slowly, ears back and teeth showing. He looked down really quick behind him but couldn't see too much other than an occasional glow of the water's surface reflecting the moonlight. It was about a 15ft drop but he didn't know what waited for him down below, if anything. He might have seen water but that didn't mean that it was deep or full of rocks. The animal stared him down and Kendall took one last step backwards, putting him right on the edge of the ledge and watched in terror as the animal kept coming closer.