Kidnapped

Jake glanced at Luke, who was sleeping peacefully beside him, and smiled. That mass of dark little ringlets atop his head, those eyes the colour of autumn leaves… From day one, he thought he was beautiful.

Jake resisted the urge to touch him. He could not risk it. For the first time in his life, he had friends. From the start he knew that being trapped here was a blessing in disguise. These people didn't know him or anything about his past. He could go on pretending, and as long as he did that, he would still be part of this little group.

He knew from experience that being honest would only destroy everything he held dear. And right now, there was nothing more he cherished than these seven people here.

* * *

Natalie was sucking her thumb. Lauren tossed and turned every few minutes or so, but her eyes remained firmly shut. Adrianna’s shoulders were tense and her eyebrows were knitted together into a frown, but somehow even in her sleep she still managed to maintain the elegance of a queen. Brian’s well-toned body was sprawled across his bed, eagle-spread. Luke was snoring softly. Jake’s back was turned to him, but he could tell that he was asleep as well. Alexis was curled up into a little ball like a kitten.

Lance clapped his hands together softly. None of them even stirred. Slowly and silently, he crept towards the door and shut it behind him carefully. He did not know where the light switch was - it did not matter. He had already become a master of navigation in this dark hallway. He crawled back to his room - he felt sure that his legs would give way if he had tried to stand up. He opened his suitcase and found it, the familiar packages filled with the same powdery white substance. He counted them all - there were one, two, three…seven little bags left. He felt a sudden surge of panic. What was he going to do when they ran out?

For now, though, he would put this problem out of his mind. He picked one packet, held it to his chest and let out a sigh of relief. Within a few minutes, this horrible feeling would be over and he would be alright again.

He knew he could not go back until a couple of hours later, when the effects had worn off.

He glanced at the reflection of his pathetic self at the window. All the colour had been drained from his cheeks; his face was literally chalk white. There were deep bags under his eyes. He bit his bottom lip to stop it from trembling. It felt dry and flaky. After a while, the image started to distort before his eyes, and the corners of his mouth were suddenly curled up into a smile. He wrapped his hands around his face to stop the movement. Gradually, however, his face morphed into that of the person from The Scream…

He closed his eyes. His mind suddenly became flooded with dismembered images, memories which collided with one another and exploded into confusion.

* * *
“Dad, look! I got straight As!” A twelve-year old Lance ran towards his father, who had just come through the door.

“That’s great, son,” he commented distractedly. His phone went off, he picked it up on the first ring. “What did the client say? FUCK. I’m coming back in.”

He picked up his keys and headed back for the door. “Tell your mom I won’t be home for dinner,” he barked.

* * *

“You got Marie pregnant?” he echoed after him. “Jesus Christ, Lance, what the fuck is wrong with you?”

“You do realise now I’m going to have to give her a pay rise and a bonus to keep her mouth shut, don’t you?”

Lance nodded.

“I hope you’re fucking pleased with yourself.”

I am, dad, he thought. Believe me, I am.

* * *
“Thank you for everything,” she whispered and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

“No problem. And hey, I actually got the old man’s attention for once. That doesn’t happen much, I’m telling you.”

“I really mean it, Lance. After what I’ve done…you had every right to tell on me, to get me fired. And yet you still helped me.”

“I hope it’s enough to repay all his debts.”

“It’s more than enough. They won’t bother us ever again.”

“You’re a great guy, Lance. One day, you’ll find someone who loves you.” She turned to leave, but before she did, she gave him one last smile. Lance blinked; the person standing in front of him was no longer Marie, but Natalie…

* * *

Then there was a scream.

* * *
“What’s wrong? Is anyone hurt?” Brian demanded. He had somehow managed to get out of his bed in less than ten seconds and position himself for combat.

Adrianna’s first instinct was to deny it, but soon she realized that there was no way around it. It had clearly been a female voice, and there was no doubt that she was the most likely suspect out of the four girls. Alexis and Natalie were merely looking around the room, frowning, while Lauren only looked annoyed.

Adrianna, however, was breathing heavily, covered in cold sweat, her eyes almost frantic.

“N-nothing,” she said shakily, trying to regain her composure. “It was just a nightmare.”

Brian looked at her questioningly, almost as if he was waiting for her to tell everyone what her dream had been about. Luke and Jake were also staring at her curiously. She ignored the invitation. “Go back to sleep,” she snapped.

Natalie moved her sleeping bag over so that she was right next to Adrianna. To Adrianna’s surprise, Natalie took her hand and clasped it gently together with her own. “This is what my mom would do whenever I had a nightmare,” she said softly.

Adrianna knew that the same dream wasn’t going to come back until the next night, but she smiled and squeezed her hand. Within seconds, she was fast asleep again, and for the first time in a year, she dreamt of flowers, of blue skies, and of laughter.