A/N: Hello again! Welcome to the very final chapter! Well, really, last chapter was the final chapter... This is just an alternate ending that I wanted to do, because I thought I'd show what would've happened, if Kevin didn't find a pin on the floor... That was the plan before—to not find a pin on the floor, but I thought I'd be nice and let him go... for the time being... until he got murdered... Aaanywho, so this is all that this is... Though, it'll be, like, kind of dark... But, I think that ship's already pretty much sailed, so... yeah... Well, review positively please! Thank you (of course)! Well, let's go!...
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Sequel: Chapter 28: Alternate Ending (The Very Final Chapter)
Kevin's PoV:
I wake up in the back of a moving vehicle. I feel something wrapped around me. I look down, and I see a blanket wrapped around me. Good, because I'm freezing... I try to pull up the blanket more, but I notice that I can barely move my good arm... I try to move it more, and it feels like they're handcuffed together. "Hey! Quiet down back there!" That's Krista's voice! I want to say something in return, but I can't. I'm unable to move my mouth. Something's gagging me... I didn't realize it until now, and I can't lift up my arms any higher to remove it... I see that Krista looks in the mirror at me, and she says, "I don't want to hear any more backtalk from you... At least now I can get some peace and quiet..." I just glare at her. "Don't look at me like that. You're the one that told me to take you... I could've easily put you out of this misery, but I took you up on what you wanted... Now, for revenge for killing my boyfriend, I want your family to give me twelve-thousand dollars," Twelve-thousand dollars?! My eyes widen. "If I don't get it by Christmas Day at noon, you'll be the next ornament hung on the tree. Understand?" I nod. "Good. Now, just sit back and relax. We're almost there," I'm scared... I wanted her to take me, instead of being killed... I'm going to get beaten even more now! My family can't get that much money in time for Christmas! "Roll over and go to sleep. Stop staring at me. It makes me uncomfortable..." You make me uncomfortable... I used to trust you, and I loved being around you, but now, since you want to kill me... I roll over and try to think of a plan... I was stalling being killed... I have to formulate a plan, but what can I do?... I roll back over and look down at the floor. I can't see anything... Panic rises in me... I thought there'd for sure be something... I even try sitting up, but sooner than I can react, Krista's hand smacks my head, knocking me back down... "Stay down, you little shit!" I really want to say, "Why don't you make me?!" Of course, I can't, though... I only glare at her, but she says, warning, "Don't make me have to knock you out!" We glare at each other for what seems like a minute, but then she orders, frustrated, "Lay back down, would you?! Jeez!" I lay back down and fall asleep...
...
I'm woken up, when Krista starts shaking me. She says, "We're here," My blurred vision clears from me being asleep. I try sitting up to look around, but Krista pushes me back down. "No! No! Don't look!" Then, why'd you wake me up? "We can't have you knowing where you are, now, can we?" She pulls out a rag and a bottle. Oh no... More chloroform... She pours some of it onto the rag and places it over my nose, causing the affect of knocking me unconscious...
Kate's PoV:
We seem to have lost track of Krista's vehicle... That bitch... She has my baby, and we've lost track of the vehicle... Worry and panic form in me more... I'm so scared... What if we never find the vehicle?... My baby will be killed! I start crying, and Peter comforts me... "How could we have lost track of her car?" Peter asks.
"I don't know... But, we'll keep looking..." Officer Dickens answers.
"Please... for the love of God... Please... Find him..." I cry into Peter...
Kevin's PoV:
I wake up, and my vision soon clears... Though, everything surrounding me is dark... dark and creepy... I have a huge headache, and nobody's here to help me... I feel so alone, and it scares me... I slowly sit up to look around more clearly at my surroundings. I appear to be in a dark, creepy basement... Where the heck did Krista bring me, anyway?... I hear water dripping, which explains why the floor's wet... Now, I'm wet... again... Does Krista really hate me this much to keep me down in this cold, lonely, creepy basement?
I try to stand up, even though I'm very sore, but, even if I could stand up, with being sore, I can't, because something's keeping me down to the water-covered floor... There's a semi-long chain attached to the floor. My eyes widen, when I look down at it. Since my right arm is pretty much useless, I try to use my chained arm to try and undo it, but I can't seem to... "Oh, you're awake, are you?" I turn my head around to face the staircase and gasp. I back up against the wall, shaking... Not only from the cold, but from being afraid... She continues down the stairs... "Aww. Don't be scared... I won't hurt you..."
"Y-You're lying..." I say, stuttering, because I'm trembling...
"Hey. Don't call me a liar, because I will have to show you who's boss..."
"Please... Just... Just leave me alone... I'll... I'll behave..."
"You've said multiple things, little boy, but you've never complied to them..." I start coughing into my broken arm... I feel like I'm sick... I go into a coughing fit... "Hey, why are you coughing?"
"I don't know... Maybe it's because you and Harry tried to drown me!" I say, sarcastically. I then realize that I shouldn't have been sarcastic...
"Hey! Don't get sarcastic with me!"
"I... I'm sorry..." I say, through coughing.
"Well, you won't be down here long... You'll be out of here soon, one way or another..."
"Let me upstairs... Please..."
"Nope."
"Please..." I cough again. "I'll die down here..."
"Good. Then, I won't have to kill you myself..."
"That's not the first time I've heard that..." I cough again.
"Don't make me come over there!"
"I'm sorry, but I was just saying!"
"Look! I can shoot you right now, and get my money some other way! But, I'm giving you a chance to live, so you'd better behave, because I will shove my gun in your yap and pull the trigger! So, I'd behave, if I were you!"
"Look... I didn't wanna kill Harry, OK? It was an accident... Harry and Marv attacked MY house last year... They wouldn't like it, if I did that to their house..."
"Don't make me get out the duct tape, kid, because I will!"
"You're only saying that, because you know I'm right!"
"Shut up!" Instantly, Krista's over to me and she slaps me across the face... "I'm not saying it, because "I know you're right"... I'm saying it, because I'm tired of your fucking yap, already..." she shouts.
"You didn't have to kidnap me..." I say, plainly. She slaps me again, making me look down to the floor, hiding my tears...
"That's right... You'd better cry..."
"Why do you hate me so much?... I loved you..."
She leans down closer to me and says, "I hate you, because of all the misery you caused my partners and I..."
"Please... I didn't want to hurt them... Honest... You either..."
"I recall you telling me that you enjoyed it, because you're slightly sadistic. So, your word means nothing to me..."
"It wouldn't have happened, if..."
"I don't care!" She smacks the side of my head, forcing down to the wet floor... I curl up in a ball and cough and bawl. "I know what you're going to say! And I don't care! You had no right!"
"You have no right, hurting me!"
"Oh, yes, I do! Marv and Harry would've left you alone! They would've just robbed your house and left you alone!"
"Well, how was I supposed to know that?! When somebody's trying to break into my house, I think the worst, OK?! I was only eight... I thought the worst..." I continue bawling and coughing into the wet floor... I feel Krista's presence still above me, and part of me wishes she'd just go away... But, the other part of me wishes she'd stay, because I'm alone down here... Krista grabs onto my left foot, and I gasp. She seems to be thinking about something, but she eventually just lets it go... She walks away and goes back upstairs, leaving me here, on the wet floor, crying and coughing...
Kate's PoV:
"I'm sorry, ma'am... But, we just can't track down where Krista's vehicle is..."
"What kind of people are you?! My baby's out there, scared and alone! He could be killed!"
"I'm sorry, Mrs. McCallister, but we'll keep looking. We won't give up on your son. I promise. For now, go home and rest..."
"I can't not just do anything! He's my son! I have to find him!"
"Let us talk to Mr. Merchants at the hospital. Since he worked with Krista, he might have an idea of where she is..."
"He wouldn't know... He couldn't know... Could he?..."
"We won't know, until we try, ma'am..."
"I want to help you find him... Please..."
"..."
"Please..." I'm desperate... I need to find him...
Officer Dickens sighs and says, "Alright... We'll go to the hospital..." Officer Dickens turns the car around, and we head back into the city...
Krista's PoV:
I left the kid home alone. I need to go out for a drive, to the bar... I need a drink... Lots of drinks... He killed my love... I don't care about last year! We made our living by stealing, and he needed to learn not to mess with us! Now, it's just me... He needs to learn not to mess with me...
Kevin's PoV:
I'm down here in this basement, scared, cold, crying, and possibly sick... It's so wet down here, it's so uncomfortable... It seems like it's been an hour, since Krista's been down here... I'm starting to wonder where she is... I need to be let out of here... This coldness and wetness isn't going to help my illness... I try sitting up... My head's killing me, and I ache all over... I feel so grubby... Where the heck is this basement? How did Krista know about this place? I look down at my chained arm... I have to break free... I wish my right arm wasn't broken... This would be a whole lot easier... I try to pull free, but it seems to be permanently stuck to the floor... I try to stand up, to pull free... But, it's not doing anything... I slump back down to the water-covered floor and cry into my knees... While I'm sitting here, crying into my knees, I feel something crawl up my face. I jump and frantically try to get it off me! Dammit, I hate bugs... This basement's probably full of them! I could be eaten alive down here! I'm breathing quickly, because I'm scared. It better not come back...
My family, not even my extended family, can afford twelve-thousand dollars! Especially by Christmas Day! I'm going to die! I'm going to be killed! I'm going to die! I'm going to be killed!...
A Few Hours Later...
Buzz's PoV:
All of us kids are helping Uncle Rob, Aunt Georgette, Uncle Frank, and Aunt Leslie with chores around the house, to occupy our minds... We're all so worried about Kevin... I'm upstairs, when I hear something smash downstairs... I instantly rush downstairs to see what happened... My siblings and cousins follow. I see Uncle Rob, Aunt Georgette, Uncle Frank, and Aunt Leslie rushing over to the window. When we arrive downstairs, there's something smashed through the front window... Aunt Leslie picks it up. It's a brick... We suddenly hear shouted, "If you want that little brat back, give me twelve... twelve-thousand dollars..." This person sounds drunk... drunk and familiar... "Christmas Day! I mean it! I WILL kill him! I will kill him! And you will know what it's like to lose someone you love!" Krista... "Give me the money! And I will let him go!" Aunt Leslie breaks down crying...
Pure anger flows through me and I run out the door. "Buzz! Buzz, get back here!" Aunt Leslie calls for me, but I ignore her...
"Krista?! Krista?! Where the hell are you?!" I shout. No answer... "Look, give us back Kevin! We'll get you the help that you need!"
"Heheheh... I don't need any help, stupid kid... It's your bratty little brother that needs the help..."
"I know that you don't like him, because of what happened, but please... don't hurt him and come out from where you're hiding..."
"No... Give me that money, and I'll be waiting for you with him at Central Park... Christmas Day's the deadline... You might want your family to hurry... Your poor little baby brother doesn't have much time left, where he is..."
"Where is he? Don't..."
"Goodbye for now... Ha ha ha ha..." I collapse to the slightly powdered ground and cry... My family absolutely cannot afford twelve-thousand dollars, especially by Christmas Day...
Kevin's PoV:
It's been a few hours... I've been laying here, wanting to fall asleep... But, I can't, because I'm afraid if I fall asleep, I'll never wake up... I feel like I'm dying... I've been through so much... I'm only nine... I can only handle so much... But, I have to hang on... For my family, I have to hang on...
The next thing I know, Krista's in my face, shouting, "Wake up!" I didn't even realize I fell asleep... I guess I'm somewhat lucky that she woke me up, even though she scares the crap out of me... "Heheheh... I just told your family... about the ransom they have to give me... Your poor older brother... He's so worried about you... Though, what I hate about that kid is... he says I need help... I don't need help..." Oh, yes, you do! For kidnapping and hurting me! Threatening me! You definitely need help! "So, I told him that his little brother, you, sweetie, need the help..." What?... I'm not the one that's insane, here! My eyes widen, when she says that to me...
I work up the bravery to say, "I'm not the one that's kidnapped an innocent child..."
"Hey, I'm talking here!"
"I'm sorry. You stopped talking... So, I thought you were done..."
"Well, I wasn't, so just zip it!"
I breathe, heavily, and say, "My family... My family can't afford... twelve..."
"I don't care!" she interrupts me. "This is my chance to get even!"
"Is that all you care about?... Revenge and money?..."
"Watch it!"
"Why?..." I say, trying to talk through breaths, because I feel like I'm going to cough again... "I'm right, aren't I?... You don't care about anyone but yourself..."
She kicks me in the side, since I'm awkwardly laying on my stomach... "I could kill you right now... Huh? Is that what you want?" She bends down, so that she's closer to me... I shake my head "no"... She grabs onto my soaked hair and raises her voice, "I could kill you! Now, are you going to shut your mouth, or do I have to shut it for you?!"
"I'll... I'll... I'll be..."
"Quiet? You'll be quiet? Well then, say that, kid!"
"S-Sorry... I-I'm cold... I-I can't breathe..." I breathe, heavily, starting to cough again... It sounds like I'm dying, because I start having a coughing fit again...
"Quit lying! You're fine!" She lets go of my hair, finally.
"I-I'm serious... I can't... breathe..." I continue coughing... "I'm sick... I need... warmth..."
I start to sit up, as she backs away. I manage to hold my chest with my left hand and cough. My chest hurts... My head hurts... My whole body hurts... She looks at me, like I'm a pitiful sight, or something... "Fine... I guess I'll let you upstairs for a little while!" she says, obviously ticked that she has to bring me upstairs... She releases my arm from the chain and lifts me up by my underarms... I soon as I'm standing, I nearly fall over, because I'm so weak... "Stand up, would you?!" Krista says, still obviously ticked off... She holds me up, while leading me over to the basement staircase... I can't do stairs for the life of me, so Krista has to half-carry me up the stairs... As soon as I'm upstairs, I notice that, compared to the leaking basement, this is actually kind of a nice house... I see the front door, though, and it gives me an idea... As soon as we're closest to the main door, I manage to kick Krista away from me and bolt for the door. I don't care how sick and hurt I am... This is my chance... I manage to fly open the door and run into the nighttime Winter cold... "Kevin! Kevin, you little shit, get back here!" I ignore Krista and continue running... This snow is awfully deep, and these boots I'm wearing are huge on me, so I fall down easily... I keep crying and coughing, trying to call out for help, with my raspy voice... I'm starting to lose my voice, though, because of being sick... I try to get up, but I'm too weak... So, I just lay down in the snow... The ice cold snow... Of course, Krista catches up to me and lifts me up by my underarms... She wraps her arm around my neck and says, more ticked than before, "I gave you the chance to come out of that cold, wet basement, because you're sick! Now, I'm starting to think you should go back down there, since you seem to be healthy enough to run!"
"No... Please... Please..." I start to wheeze. I'm losing my voice... I can barely say anything...
"What?!"
"Please... No..." I try to say, a little more clearly...
"Well, I guess I'll have to keep my eye on you... At all times! And, there's no way I'm going down in that basement..." Krista pulls me inside. The good news is... I don't have to be down in that basement... The bad news is... Krista will be watching me, at all times... How can I expect to get away, with her watching me?... Well, I guess, maybe, this is better than being down in that terrible, dark, cold, wet, and lonely basement...
Kate's PoV:
We arrive at the hospital to see Marv. Once we arrive, we enter the hospital. Officer Dickens holds up his police badge, letting the receptionist know who he is. "What room is Marvin Merchants in?" he asks.
She looks it up on her computer and answers, "Room 132,"
"Thank you." We head to Room 132. We enter, seeing Marvin, laying in his bed, watching TV. "Marvin Merchants," He looks at us, surprised. He didn't hear us enter...
"Yes?"
"How are you?"
"Better now..."
"Good, good... We need to talk to you..."
"What? What's the matter?..."
Kevin's PoV:
Krista's sitting here, in the living room, watching TV. She's eating a TV dinner, which is making me hungry. "Krista?..."
"What? Be quiet, I'm watching my show!"
"I'm hungry..."
"Don't care..." she says, plainly.
"Can I have something to eat, too?"
"No. You don't deserve anything,"
I mutter, "Neither do you..."
She looks at me and asks, wanting to kill me, "What was that?!"
"Nothing..." She continues watching TV, not believing me, when I said "nothing"... "This chair is uncomfortable..."
"Would you rather be back in the basement?" she asks, still looking at the TV.
"No..."
"Well then, suck it up and shut up..."
I wait a few minutes, before saying, "Why... Why do you hate me?..."
She looks at me, then asks, "Why do you think?"
"You don't have to hate me..."
"You didn't have to kill my boyfriend,"
"I didn't mean it! Honest!"
She gets up from the couch and slowly walks over to me, saying, "Oh? You didn't mean it, did you?"
"No... I'm not a killer... It... It just happened..."
"'It just happened', did it? You "accidentally" killed him, did you?"
I nod and say, "Yes..."
"So, it'll be "just an accident" that I kill you Christmas Day?" She's right up to me, at this point...
"No... But..."
"But, nothing! You killed someone I love! If I killed someone you love, you'd hate me, too!"
"I already do hate you!" I don't realize, until now, what I said...
"What?" she asks, through gritted teeth.
"N-Nothing..."
She grabs onto my straggly hair and demands, "What was THAT?!"
"L-Let go..."
"No! Repeat what you said to me!"
"I hate you! You took me away from my family! Before, I trusted and loved you! Now, I hate you!"
She slaps me across the face, after she lets go of my hair. I look down at the floor, wanting to cry. "It's your fault! You wouldn't even know me, if you wouldn't have stirred up so much shit last year!"
"Like I said... I was eight... I didn't know... Please... Move on from it..." I say, starting to cry.
"No... All because of you, my boyfriend is dead..."
"No... It's your fault..." I work up the courage to say...
She grabs my hair again and says, viciously, "Don't you dare blame this on me... Don't you dare!" She pushes my head away. I want to fight back, but I can't, with my hands tied together. Krista's enraged face suddenly turns into an eery smirk. "Or, I can just forget about the damn money, and kill you and your whole family! Though, I'll kill you last, making sure you see it happen..."
"Stop it! Stop threatening me with my family!" I try to get up from the chair, but the chain around my arms, chest, and chair pulls me back.
"Heheheh... Idiot... You're tied down... You can't hurt me..."
I look down at my lap and beg, "Please... Please don't hurt my family... You have me... Don't hurt them..."
She leans down and says to me, "You know what, I think I might... I think I might just forget about the money..."
"No! Please! Just wait for the money! Hurt me! Do whatever you want with me! But please, don't hurt my family..." I'm shaking with fear. I'm afraid she'll hurt my family...
"Are you sure? I can end it all right now..."
"I'll wait... I'll wait for Christmas..." I have a fit coughing again.
"Quit your coughing! It's your own damn fault, anyway!"
"It is not!" I continue coughing. "I need something... to make it go away..."
"Too bad!"
"Please..." I beg, still coughing to the point where I feel like I'm going to throw up...
"Why should I care about your cough?!"
"You brought me out of the basement, so it wouldn't get worse..."
"Only because I didn't want you dying, before I got the money. You'll be fine, now that you're upstairs,"
"I won't be, when it's left untreated!" I cough again.
Krista places her hands on her waist and sighs. "Fine... I'll go see if I have anything..." She walks away into the kitchen. I look at her, when she does. She searches through the cupboards, grumbling. I'm thinking she doesn't have anything for me... "I never had to buy any of this stuff, because I never get sick! Oh my god..."
"Well, it's not my fault I got sick..."
Krista sighs, then says, frustrated, "Whatever..." She grabs her coat and says, "I could make you suffer, but I won't get my money with a dead kid..."
"I thought you wanted me dead?..."
"I can change my mind..." I shake my head "no". "Thought so," She zips up her coat, places her hands on her waist, and says, "I don't know whether to bring you with me or not... Either way, I know you'll attempt to get away..."
"I'm too sick to get away..." My voice turns raspy again...
"Oh, are you, now? I recall not long before, you attempted to get away, after you asked me to let you out of the basement, because you're so sick..."
"Please... I can barely breathe as it is..." I cough—my chest, feeling heavy.
Krista sighs, then says, "I can't bring you out in public the way you are... You're a mess... Even if you did shower, people would notice... And, unfortunately, I don't have a trunk to put you in... Well, I guess I'll have to park out back of the store, where no one can see you..." I start thinking about what I did the last time I was brought to a store... That was with Ben, who was nicer than this crazy bitch... "And, don't you dare get any ideas! I can see that you're thinking... If you try to do ANYTHING, I won't be so easy on you..." Really? You have to be one of the worst in the group... You've never been easy on me! She unchains me from the chair and pulls me off by my left arm. She has a hold of my arm, bringing me outside into the blistering cold...
Kate's PoV:
"Krista... still has Kevin?..." Marv asks, scared.
"Yes, and we need your help..." I say, worried about my little boy.
"I don't know what I can do..."
"Well, where do you think Krista would bring him?" I ask.
"In an isolated area, I suppose..."
"Around New York, or what?"
"I... I don't know..."
Suddenly, Officer Dickens' phone rings. He answers it, "Hello? Yeah? Really? OK, I'll tell them right now..." Officer Dickens hangs up and tells us, "That was a call from the station. They got a call from the Rob and Georgette McCallister residence. Apparently, Krista Hilda was there, demanding money... So, that says she can't be too far from the city..."
"Does Krista have anywhere isolated that she lives?" I ask Marv.
"I don't know... The house that they were keeping Kevin in is newer... I wasn't there, when they got it..."
"She wouldn't go back to that house, would she?" Peter asks.
"No, I'm sure she wouldn't... If she's on the run, she wouldn't stay in one place for long, especially that house..."
"We have to start looking right away. The call also said that Krista was demanding twelve-thousand dollars... She wants it at Central Park, Christmas Day, at noon..." Officer Dickens states.
"Christmas Day, at noon... Twelve-thousand dollars?! We can't afford that!"
"I know... That's why we have to find her..."
"Yeah, before she kills my baby..." I want to cry, but I'm trying to hold back my tears... We CANNOT afford twelve-thousand dollars! What if we never find Krista?! She'll kill Kevin, before we hand in the money, if we even manage to scrounge it up!
I start panicking, breathing faster, crying... "Honey, honey, it's OK..." Peter wraps an arm around me, trying to comfort me... "We'll find him... Don't worry..."
"Mrs. McCallister, Mr. McCallister, Officer Dickens, I want to help find Kevin..."
"Marv, you need to rest," Officer Dickens tells him.
"No... I can't help but take blame for all of this... I want to help you find your son..."
Kevin's PoV:
"We're almost there, honey," Krista says to me, from the front seat. Krista laid me down on the floor in the backseat. I can't reply, because Krista gagged me again... And, frankly, I don't care if we're almost there or not, because I'm too tired to care... I was starting to fall asleep, when she startled me awake. I want to escape so bad, yet I don't have the strength to do anything... I even try looking for something that could help me get free. Nothing. I try to get a little more comfortable, but this floor is just not comfort material... I just want to sleep... We seem to have made it to our destination. Krista takes a hold of my left arm and pulls me up closer to her. She then warns, "Attempt anything, and I will throw you back down in that basement..." Her face then turns into an eerily smile, when she says, "Understand?" I nod. I already know what it's like to be punished for trying to escape a car... I don't want to go through that again... Especially when it means that I'll go back down in that terrible basement, if I misbehaved... Krista then smiles normally and says, "Good." She gives me a quick kiss on the head and pushes me back down to the floor. She exits the car, saying, "Be right back," The driver's door closes, and now, I'm left here, wondering, 'What is wrong with this woman?!...'
...
Krista returns to the car, waking me up. Suddenly, before I can react, something's thrown down at my face, causing me to whimper... I face down to the floor. "Here. This is your freaking medicine. If it doesn't work, tough," Krista closes the door, starts up the vehicle, and leaves. "I'll give you some of that, when we get back. Though, I'm thinking that we can't stay there for long, because I'm sure the police will soon be after us..." So... no more basement?! "I don't want to leave New York, though, because of the money being handed in at Central Park on Christmas... But, I hope... wherever we go... we'll be safe from the police..."
Kate's PoV:
We all search, including Marv, the rural area of New York. "Do you think there'd be anything hinting or showing where Krista lives in the house, that Kevin was kept in?" I ask.
"I don't know... I don't think so..." Marv answers.
"Should we go check?" Peter asks.
"I think we can try..." Marv answers. Officer Dickens nods in agreement. We then, head to the house, where Kevin was kept, before he was taken by just Krista...
...
We arrive at the house, that Marv showed us the way to. We start to head inside. I suddenly become afraid, because I'm where my little boy was possibly beaten... But, I don't want to know... When we enter, the house appears to be a pretty nice house. "Do you think her wallet's here or something that holds information?"
"I don't know..." Marv answers.
"We'll keep searching," Officer Dickens says.
Peter searches the coats hanging up. He finds some money, receipts, and other small things in the pockets... "She must have her coat with her..."
"That's right... I remember now... She does!" Marv says.
"Where's her room?" I ask.
"She shared a room with Harry, but she also has her own room..." Marv answers. "I'll show you," Marv shows us where Krista's and Harry's rooms are. Peter and I search Krista's room, while Marv searches Harry's room.
It seems to be forever, before we find something actually helpful... "Peter, look," I show him something that has addresses on it. Some of the addresses are: 1826 Salisbury Rd., 2816 NY 258, and 1349 US 9. "I've never heard of these addresses, except for the 1826 Salisbury Rd., because that's right here, isn't it?" Peter nods. (I totally Googled rural New York road names and made up the addresses. XD)
"They're probably addresses of where Krista planned her future locations..." I nod in agreement.
"Mr. McCallister, Mrs. McCallister," Officer Dickens enters the room. "I found some blood on the pillow in one of the rooms..." I gasp, as I'm afraid that that blood belongs to my little baby...
"I found nothing in Harry's room..." Marv says, entering the room.
"Well, I found this slip of paper with addresses on it," I hand Officer Dickens the address paper, and he and Marv look at it.
"I know exactly where these last two roads are... I could find these addresses easily," Officer Dickens states.
"Do you think Krista's there with my baby?"
"I'm sure of it. Come on," We follow Officer Dickens out of the bitch Krista's room and out of this dreaded house, in general...
Kevin's PoV:
"Take this, if you want to get better," Krista slips the medicine bottle into my mouth and makes me drink some of it, since I can't, with my hands tied. After she removes it, I begin coughing again—it tastes so awful... "Quit your coughing..."
"Sorry... It just tastes terrible, that's all..."
"Well, suck it up, it's just medicine..." Krista says, rudely, closing the bottle cap and stuffing the bottle into a handbag. "We can't stay here forever, because the police might show up at any time..."
"Good!"
"Hey, watch it!"
"I'm sorry, but I don't wanna be here, anymore!"
"I don't care about what you want! This is about what I want, and I want twelve-thousand dollars from your parents! Now, if you're smart, you'll shut up and stop back-talking me!" I don't say anything more... She smiles with satisfaction. "Good. Let's go," She grabs a hold of me by my broken arm, pulling me off the chair, which makes me whimper in pain. She says, coldly, "Suck it up,"
"How would you like it, if you had a broken arm?!" I bite back.
"Shut. Up. You little shit..." she hisses, wrapping her hand around my mouth. "Now, come on," She forces me out the door, by hanging on to the upper part of the sleeves of the coat that I'm wearing...
...
Once again, I'm back in the car, laying down on the floor, in the back seat... "We don't have very far to go... I've picked out a few locations to move to... That last one was my house. Yes, I lived in two different houses..." You lived in two different houses, and you still need twelve-thousand dollars? Greedy... I wish I could say that, but, once again, I'm gagged... Suddenly, I start to have another coughing fit... "Quit your coughing, would you?!" I can't help it! Jeez! I face down to the car floor and continue to cough... "I thought that medicine was supposed to help you! I gave it to you an hour ago! What's wrong with you?!" I just shake my head, continuing to cough, making me want to be sick... She pulls over and reaches for me—once again, grabbing on to my broken arm, making me whimper... She pulls me up again and asks, seeming impatient, "What's wrong with you?!" How can I possibly answer you? She finally pulls down the handkerchief and asks again, "What's wrong with you?!"
"I... I don't know..." I say, coughing again. "Hypothermia?... I don't know..."
"Oh, so in this case, that medicine was a waste of money, huh?"
"Probably..." I say, wanting to cough again...
"Well, what are we going to do with you?"
"I need a doctor..."
"Hell, no! If I took you to a doctor, they'd notice that you've been kidnapped, just by looking at you! And, two, you'd blab your mouth!"
"I... I wouldn't... Please... I need a doctor..."
I can tell Krista's thinking... "I'm gonna have to clean you up... Really, the doctor will ask questions..." She's thinking again. "Hold on," She pushes me back down and starts driving again...
...
We pull into what seems like another driveway. Krista exits the front door and opens the back door, by my head. She pulls me out and half-carries me to this new place... It looks very rundown... How did she find this place?
When we enter, it looks rundown, too... Though, not as bad as the outside... "Now, I know there's working plumbing in here... Go take a shower. You have TEN minutes. If you're not out by then, I'm forcing you out! Understand?" I nod. The good part about this is... I get to finally take a shower... "Now, go!"
Krista pushes me away, but I tell her, "I can't..."
"Why not?!"
"My hands are tied together..."
"Oh, for God sakes..." She pulls me back and unties my hands. "Now, get out of here!" She pushes me away again.
"Does the ten minutes include taking off my clothes?"
"Yes!"
"It'll take ten minutes for me to take them off! My arm... Hello?!"
She sighs, then says, "Fine... Twenty minutes... Now, beat it! Before I change my mind..." she orders, pointing to the direction of where I'm guessing the bathroom is...
"Fine..." I mutter, before heading off to the bathroom...
Kate's PoV:
We're driving over to 2816 NY 258... Hopefully, Krista's still there with my baby... If not, we have one more location to check... This whole time, I'm shaking... Peter takes my hand and says, "Don't worry, honey, we're close... We'll find him..."
"What if he's in neither one of these places? How are we going to get the money?"
"We'll worry about that, once the time comes. IF the time comes..."
"You think we'll save him beforehand?" I ask, looking at Peter now.
"I can count on it," He kisses the side of my head, then says, "Everything will be OK, honey... He'll be found..."
...
We finally make it to 2816 NY 258... We exit the car and head inside... Once we enter, I see that it's a quaint little house. It's OK, but it's not as nice as the last one we were in... "Kevin?!" I holler.
"Shh," Officer Dickens whispers. "They might still be here... Don't call attention on us..." I nod. I don't want to lose my son, all because of a stupid mistake I made...
We continue through the house, searching. Though, there's nothing we can see that even hints that Krista and Kevin were here... "I'll go take a look downstairs," Marv says. He heads downstairs, and not long later, we hear, "I found something!" He rushes upstairs and says, panting from running upstairs, "I found something... A chain on the floor..." He points downstairs with his thumb...
"A chain?!" I ask, scared.
"Yeah... For someone to be chained to the floor..." I hold up my hand to my mouth. What if my baby was chained down there?... "And there's also about a half an inch of water down there..."
I'm so scared, I just say, "We have to go now... We have to go to that next address... We have to leave now... We have to find him..." I leave the house, while the others follow...
Kevin's PoV:
At my own pace, I change out of my clothes, so that I can shower... I don't really want to shower here, because this bathroom scares me... This whole house scares me! It looks like something from a scary movie... I pull the worn shower curtain across, and I see a spider in the bathtub! I gasp, turn around to the drawers under the bathroom sink, and pull out a towel. I wrap it around me and exit the bathroom, sprinting down the hall. As soon as I enter the main room, I see Krista, sitting down on the worn couch, reading a magazine. She looks up at me and asks, "What?"
"T-There's a bug..." I stutter, pointing to the bathroom.
"So?" she asks, looking back down at her magazine.
"So?! It's in the bathtub! I don't wanna go in there!"
"If it's in the bathtub, just spray it down the drain with the shower! It's not gonna hurt you!"
"But..."
"Go!" Krista orders, pointing to the bathroom. I run off back to the bathroom...
...
I'm finished in the bathroom and I'm changed back into my clothes. I stroll back out to where Krista is and mutter, "I'm done..."
"Good. That wasn't as long as I thought it was going to be..."
"Well, I didn't wanna be dragged out of the bathroom..."
"Well, we don't have to worry about that, so let's go," Krista slips her magazine back in her handbag, gets up from the worn couch, grabs my arm, and pulls me out the door. "Let's get you to the doctor..."
...
"I'll be taking you to one of those private doctors, where no one can see you..." Once again, Krista laid me down in the backseat floor of the vehicle and tied me up and gagged me... I'm kind of tired of this... "And, if you even hint to the doctor that I kidnapped you, I'll make sure I break a leg to go along with your broken arm. Understand?" She looks down at me on the floor, making sure I nod. "Let me do the talking. Alright?" Once again, she looks down at me on the floor, making sure I nod.
We seem to be driving forever. We're heading back into the city, but this private doctor will probably be somewhere creepy... We seem to finally stop, and Krista gets out of the car, heads back to where I am, and pulls me out...
Kate's PoV:
We're now heading over to 1349 US 9. My gut feeling tells me this is where Krista brought my little boy... "We're going to find him, Peter... I know we will... We're almost there... We've almost found him..."
"Now, you're talking right," Peter says, taking a hold of my hand.
"He must be so scared... Krista must have hurt him so bad..."
"Don't think about that, OK, honey?"
"How can I not? She hates him... She must have hurt him..."
"Think about seeing him, saving him, holding him... Don't think about what Krista might have been doing... Just think about seeing him again,"
"You're right... Officer Dickens is with us... You're right... He'll be fine... We'll catch Krista and save Kevin. Everything will be fine..."
...
We make it to 1349 US 9. This house is even more rundown than the last one... We exit the car and start to head for the house. We open the door to the house, because it's surprisingly unlocked... We look around, but we see no one in here... "I... I don't understand... He should be here..."
"Maybe they went out somewhere? Maybe that's what happened in the last place?" Peter suggests.
"No, this door's unlocked... I'm pretty sure somebody's been here in the past while..." Officer Dickens states.
"I think we should wait here for them to come back..." I say.
"Good idea, but I'd have to hide my car..." Officer Dickens says. Peter and I both nod, and Officer Dickens heads back outside to hide the police cruiser...
Kevin's PoV:
After untying me, Krista brings me inside, by hanging on to the upper sleeves of my coat again. It's scary back here... It's a back alley... A back alley with a... doctor?... Krista knocks on the door, and a middle-aged man answers. He doesn't look very professional... What if he doesn't know what he's talking about, and kills me, by doing something wrong?! "Hello. May I help you?" he asks, in an accent.
"Yes. Hello. My son here seems to have come down with this terrible illness... I don't know, but it seems to be worse than your average cold... I can't afford the hospital... We're already in debt... Please, help him?" She's a good actor, that's for sure...
"Alright. Come on in," This so-called "doctor" lets us in and closes the door behind us. Once we're inside, it looks very ghetto... You can tell we're in a back alley... How the heck did Krista know about this place? It's the guy's house, I believe... This kind of freaks me out...
I see someone else over on the loveseat, watching TV in black and white... "Who is it, honey?" I hear them ask. It's a woman. She doesn't have an accent, though...
"Just a couple of customers, dear..." he answers. He leads us to a back room, where it appears to be a doctor's office... It's more tidy than the house itself, but it's still ghetto... I wouldn't want to come back here again... I know what Krista said, but I have to somehow let the doctor know what's really going on... Krista lifts me up onto the table. "What kind of symptoms has he been having?" the doctor asks.
Krista answers, "He's been having these coughing fits. I got him some medicine, but it's not helping..."
"Alright. Has his chest been hurting?" I nod.
"It's like I'm gonna be sick every time I cough..." I say, raspy.
"Well, I'm going to have to check your breathing with a stethoscope,"
"Oh, no, is that really necessary?" Krista asks, seeming panicked.
"Well, yes, ma'am," the doctor says.
"He's... He's kind of uncomfortable about his shirt being removed..."
"You only say that, because..." I start to say, but Krista interrupts me...
"Aaalright, honey..." Krista chuckles, gives me a glare, then turns to the doctor and says, "Just to know a treatment for hypothermia will be great!"
"Well, I don't know if it's hypothermia, pneumonia, or what..." I look at the doctor, pleadingly, then I start coughing again. "Just keep him warm... Make sure he eats lightly. Keep giving him cough medicine. That'll help..."
"OK. Thank you, doctor..." Krista says, then lifts me off the table. "Come along, sweetheart..." Krista takes a hold of my hand and leads me out of the doctor's office. I pull the stunt that I did, back when Harry had me... I look behind me and mouth the word "help" to him. He looks at me weird, but I mouth it again. This time, with more seriousness... His face goes from weird to worried... Krista finally pulls me out the door to the cold December outside...
...
Once we're over to the vehicle, Krista opens the backdoor and pushes me inside on the floor. I back up, scared. "You almost got me caught, you little shit!"
"You could've made up a story on how your husband beats me, which is why I was beaten! Which, actually, isn't a total lie!"
"Oh? And get the authorities called? I don't think so..."
"I already have two black eyes and a swollen face! If that isn't a dead giveaway, I don't know what is!"
Krista and I stare at each other, for what seems like a minute, until she eventually climbs in where I am. She forces my hands together and ties them again. "Now, sit there and shut up..." She climbs out and slams the backdoor. She climbs into the driver's side, starts up the car, and leaves the back alley area...
...
We seem to be driving for awhile, yet again, until we feel like we're about to pull into a driveway. I think it's that scary, crappy, rundown house that Krista had me shower in... "Shit..." I hear Krista say.
"What?" I ask.
"Nothing. Just shut up..." She pulls out of the driveway and slowly drives further down the road.
"Where are we going?"
"Nowhere. Just shut up!" I suddenly see flashing blue and red lights reflecting in the back window. She speeds up a little more. "Fucking police..." I hear. My eyes widen and my hope grows. "I saw the car... They need to learn how to hide it better..." She seems to be talking to herself...
"Ha ha. The police will get you, and you'll be thrown in jail!" I laugh.
"Shut. Up... For Christ sakes!" she says, seeming ready to blow a fuse. Krista turns down a side road, trying to lose the police officer. "If they were smart, they would've kept their lights off..." At this time, Krista decides to press on the gas.
The lights are sort of fading, but not entirely... The ride seems to be getting bumpier and bumpier... The car suddenly comes to a halt, making me slam into Krista's seat, which is beside me. Sooner than I can react, she grabs a hold of me by my left arm and pulls me to the front. I can see the police car catching up to us, when Krista opens the door, exiting the car as fast she can, hanging on to me. I see that we've stopped at a dead end. She takes my tied hands and we run into the woods... The woods... No... Not the woods again...
...
"Krista, no... I don't wanna be in the woods again..."
"Shut it, would you?!" Krista hisses at me. "I don't wanna get caught!"
"Well, I do!"
She quickly places her hand over my mouth and whispers, "Zip it!" She hides behind a tree. I hear footsteps moving closer and closer... She's right up against the tree, hanging on to me, tightly. I look up at her, when she mouths "shh" to me. I try to break free, to let the officer know that I'm here, but the more I struggle, the tighter Krista's grip becomes, which is starting to actually hurt... "Please..." she begs, whispering.
Suddenly, we hear, "Krista Hilda! This is the New York Police! Show yourself and the boy!"
I want to call out for "help", and I attempt to, but Krista begs again, whispering, "Please... Shut it..."
The officer calls out again, "Krista Hilda! This is the New York Police! Show yourself and the boy!"
Suddenly, someone appears around the corner, where we are, pointing a gun at us. Krista finally lets me breathe, but pulls out a gun of her own, pointing it at the officer...
"Krista Hilda, drop the gun and let go of the boy," the officer warns.
"No!"
"Krista, you'll only make things more difficult for yourself, if you don't,"
"He killed Harry! He deserves nothing but the same back!"
"I didn't mean it!" I shout out.
"Shut up!" she yells down at me.
"Krista, killing the boy won't get Harry back. That's just taking an innocent life..."
"He's not so innocent..."
I hear another set of footprints and I hear, "Officer Dickens! Did you find Kevin?!" That's Mom!
"Mom!" I call out.
"Kevin?!" Mom calls out.
"I said, shut it!" Krista shouts down at me again.
I see Mom, Dad, and even Marv come into view! "Mom! Dad Marv!"
"Kevin?!" Mom calls to me again.
"For the last time, shut it! Or else, I'll shoot your Mother, instead!" Krista then, points the gun at my Mother! "Don't move!" Krista warns her. "Or else, I will shoot!"
Mom hangs onto Dad, tightly, and Marv hangs onto her. "Krista! No! Don't shoot my Mommy!" I cry out to Krista.
I try to pull away from her, but Krista hangs onto me so tightly, I feel like she'll break my ribs! "I'll shoot her! I'm going to shoot her! If she, your fucking Father, Marv, and this damn police officer don't leave, I'll fucking shoot her!"
"No!" I scream out, crying.
"Please... Krista... In any way we can, we'll get the money..." Mom says, trembling. I think she's not only scared for herself, but she's scared for me, too...
"You've spent all this time trying to find us... How the hell are you going to get the money on time?!"
"I can... Really, I can... But, you have to let go of Kevin first..."
"I'm not letting him go! You either all die, or I get to keep him until Christmas, when I finally get the money! If not, he's dead!" Krista then points the gun to my head. "I'll shoot any one of you! Right now!" I'm so scared, I'm trembling, too... I have no idea how this is going to turn out...
"Let him go, Krista..." the officer warns, aiming the gun at Krista, with both hands.
"Please..." I hear Mom beg. Krista presses the gun right up against my head. I've never been in a tighter grip in my life...
"Last chance, Krista..." the officer warns.
Krista clicks the gun, about ready to pull the trigger, which makes Mom scream out, "No!" But, before Krista can shoot me, the cop pulls the trigger, shooting Krista...
She collapses to the snowy ground, giving me this chance to run away over to Mom, Dad, and even Marv. I run into Mom and Dad, and they hug me, tighter than they ever did before... I cry into them. I'm still trembling and shocked... "She almost killed you... She almost killed you..." I keep repeating. I even feel Marv's arms wrap around me.
All's I can hear is Mom and Dad trying to comfort me, by saying, "It's OK... Everything's all right now, baby..." The officer that saved my life calls for backup on his pager. Suddenly, my whole body becomes weak, as I become dizzy, also. The next thing I know, I fall down in the snow, passed out...
A Little While Later...
I wake up, and I appear to be in a white room... Am I in Heaven?... When my vision clears, I look to the left of me, and I see Mom, sitting in a chair, sleeping. I then look at the end of the bed, and I see Dad, laying his head down in his arms, sleeping. I try to sit up, but my body aches all over...
Dad, I guess, feels the bed moving, because he wakes up. When he looks at me, he turns to Mom, saying, excited, yet exhausted, "Katie, he's awake," She wakes up, and when she looks at me, she's over to me in an instant. Both Mom and Dad hug me. Mom starts bawling. "Mom... Mom, I'm OK... Don't cry..." I say, weakly.
"I know... I was just... so worried... You suddenly just... passed out on us..."
"What... What happened to Krista?..." I ask, scared. I'm even scared of mentioning that bitch's name... Even thinking about her makes me tremble and shiver...
"She's gone..." Mom answers, looking up from me. "Officer Dickens, the one that was with us, shot her..."
"Is she dead?..."
Mom nods. "Yes, I made sure she was dead..." I sigh with relief and start crying with relief, as I realize that my other worst nightmare is gone...
The door to my hospital room opens, and I see a nurse enter the room. She says, surprised, "Oh! He's awake! Would you like me to bring in your family now?"
"My family?!" I suddenly perk up.
"Yes," Mom looks at me and smiles, brushing my hair out of my face. Mom then turns and tells the nurse, "Bring them on in..."
The nurse nods, smiles, and then leaves the room. A few minutes later, my entire family enters: my brothers and sisters, my Aunts and Uncles, and my cousins. Even Marv's with them! They're all over to me in an instant, hugging me. I'm so crowded... After a few moments, they all let go of me—all except Buzz... He doesn't seem to want to let go... "Buzz... I'm OK, really..." I try to reassure him. Though, I'm glad he—and even the rest of my family—hugged me, because I thought I'd never be able to hug them again... "It's OK..."
He cries and says, "I was so scared..."
"I know... It's OK..." Right now, I feel like the older brother, here...
He eventually lets go of me, but then he says, feeling slightly embarrassed, "I feel like a wuss now, doing that..."
"There's no need to feel that way, Buzz. It shows that you love and care about Kevin—that you were worried about him," Mom says.
"I know, but..."
"But, nothing..." She places a hand on his shoulder and says, smiling, "I'm proud of you," Buzz, instead, decides to tussle my hair, which makes me smirk.
"When can we go back to Uncle Rob and Aunt Georgette's, so that we can celebrate Christmas?"
"Well, I'm afraid, sweetie, that Christmas will be celebrated here this year..." Mom says, seeming disappointed.
"But, why?" I ask, also disappointed.
"Well, honey, you're just too sick to leave the hospital before Christmas..."
"What am I sick with?"
"You're sick with pneumonia," (Yes, he's sick with pneumonia, not hypothermia, this time...)
"I'll be fine, Mom... Really, I will be..." Just then, my body decides that I should cough, not proving that I'm all right...
"See? You're sick. You're going home, when the doctors say you can go home,"
"Oh, man..." I shrink down in the hospital bed, pouting.
"But, that doesn't mean we can't enjoy Christmas here..." Buzz says.
"It's better, when we're at home, Mom..."
"It doesn't matter where we celebrate Christmas... As long as we're together, that's all that matters... But, this year, what really matters is that you're OK and finally home with us, Kev..." Buzz says, which I've never heard him say anything like that before...
"Buzz is right," Mom says.
"I guess you're right..." I sit up in bed and say, "Though, I just have one question..."
"Certainly, sweetheart. What is it?"
"Where are we going to put the Christmas Tree and presents, Mom?..."
THE
(ALTERATE)
END
...
A/N: Thanks for reading this alternate ending/final chapter! I really appreciate all of the support that I got through all of this! Even when we're how many months away from Christmas? Five? Anyway, I'd like to thank (sorry if I forget anyone): MiHighLover, CoverGirl (where are those stories of yours?!), Horror Fan, Phoenix Universe, Caroline, Giovannigo, SleepyBella, and especially S Lila! Especially because her amazing story, Blood for Poinsettias, is what inspired me to write this! ^_^ Also, any other people that I didn't mention, thank you, too!
I can't believe this story went on as long as it did! It was supposed to end on chapter 13 (Lincoln Park)... ;_; Anyway, I will write another Home Alone story next year, and I hope to see you all then! And, if you haven't already, I recommend following me, so you don't forget and/or miss it! Caroline, I recommend you get an account, so you don't miss it! Trust me, you really don't want to miss it! Well, thank you, thank you, thank you again, friends! I'll see you all next year (unless we still talk throughout the year)! Have fun! Don't die (especially like how Kevin did last chapter)! And see you at Christmas! ;) Bye-bye for now!
- Termina's Hero1234