Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Kristine with a dab of ice cream on her nose.  Kristine smiling up at him.  Kristine laughing at Brian and Nick.  Kristine comforting Alana.  Kristine standing strong in the face of death. 

Kristine in her dark blue bikini.  Kevin woke up sweating.  Howie breathed softly in the other bed.  Kevin lifted his arm and stared at his watch, 6:42.  He groaned and rolled over, smashing his face into the pillow.  Brian was right, she was too young for him.  He would call Nadia when they got back.  Their break-up had been civil enough, he knew she’d be alright going out to dinner with him as friends.  He just needed to be around women his own age again.  Everything he was feeling was just because he had been spending too much time around the girls. 

Young women, he reminded himself quickly.  They weren’t the prepubescent screamers that filled concert halls to listen and see the Backstreet Boys. 

He couldn’t figure out why the age gap between him and Kristine seemed so much smaller than what it actually was.  She wasn’t mature and sophisticated like the women he normally spent time with.  She still had some of the giggliness that came with being a younger female, she still looked like she was in high school. 

He felt like a pedophile, a pervert.  He shouldn’t be thinking about her, especially not her and that very small blue bikini. 

Breakfast.  He needed to think about what he was going to make for breakfast. 

“Kevin, either go back to sleep or tell me what’s up,” Howie muttered.  “Your bed squeaks every time you move.”

“Am I really too old for her?”  Kevin asked. 

“If I’m not, then you’re not,” Howie rolled over.  “If it makes you feel better, Kristine doesn’t see anything wrong with me going after Starr.  I don’t think she’d reject you just on the age thing.” 

“She’s about 6 months younger than Starr and I’ve still got two years on you,” Kevin pointed out. 

“It’s still not that much,” Howie said.  “She’ll be 20 in about two weeks.  You’ll be 29 in October, it’s only nine years Kev.  There would be seven between Starr and I if that ever happened.  Are you going to talk to her about any of this or are you just going to let it go?”

“Not sure yet,” Kevin replied.  “Are you going to say anything to Starr?” 

“It’s different with her.  She’s not interested.  Kristine might be.” 

“How do you figure?” 

“She’s comfortable around the two of us, not like she isn’t with the others, but she’s just more at ease talking with the two of us.” 

“So maybe she has a thing for you.”

“She treats me like she treats the rest of her girlfriends.  She’s different around you.” 

“How so?”  Kevin asked before the thundering started down the hallway. 

“Dammit Jedia, I’m getting in that shower first!”  Kristine shouted. 

“Not unless you can beat me to it,” Jedia shouted back, running up the stairs.  “Cassy’s in the one downstairs already and I need a shower!”

“I could be really mean and jump in there before both of them,” Howie said with a grin. 

“Nah, go babysit Starr and I’ll get breakfast started.  How she can sleep through this every morning is beyond me.  I swear she just sleeps through the times everyone else is fighting over the bathrooms just so she can get in and out without a problem.”
                       
“Whatever works, right?”  Howie picked up Fahrenheit 451 from the floor and whistled his way across the hall. 

Kevin made his way down the stairs to the kitchen.  Cassy was already sitting around the kitchen table, talking and watching Kristine pulling the eggs out of the refrigerator.  “I take it you lost the race to the shower?” 

“Fucking soccer player,” Kristine muttered.  “She pushed me into the wall and ran in ahead of me.  This never would have happened if you hadn’t tainted our pacifistic, intellectual Jedia.”  She pointed an accusing finger at Nick who was lounging in the doorway. 

“She’s hot when she’s aggressive,” Nick replied with a grin.  

“She swore she’d be out in 15 minutes and that if she went over I’d be able to shower first for the rest of the week,” Kristine pulled out a large mixing bowl.  “Brian, can you grab the pancake mix for me?” 

“Hey there little girl, you’re not touching anything that uses eggs,” Kevin grabbed the carton away from her.  “Food poisoning is the last thing we need up here.” 

Kristine stuck her tongue out at him, her hands planted on her hips.  If they were the only two people in the room, Kevin knew he would have kissed her.  He knew he would have dragged her back up to his room and done a lot more than kiss her.  They could save on shower time too and...

He needed to stop thinking about it, especially with her in the room. 

“Where are AJ and Alana?”  Brian walked into the room, rubbing his damp hair with a towel.  “Are they outside?  Shower’s free for the moment if you still want it, Nick.”

“I heard some footsteps last night going down the hall.  I think they moved into her parent’s room,” Kevin replied.  “At least I hope the footsteps were theirs.”

“Isn’t Alana a pretty early riser?”  Nick asked, heading down the hall. 

“I guess they tired themselves out last night,” Cassy grinned as Brian swatted at her with his towel. 

“You’re up early,” Kristine looked into the living room where Starr flopped onto the sofa. 

“How can anyone sleep through a touch football game outside their door?”  She muttered, pulling a pillow over her face.  “Has Alana let Maddy out yet?” 

Hearing his name, Maddy rushed to Starr’s side, trying to force his nose under the pillow with a whine.  “Come on,” Starr said with a sigh.  “Let’s go outside.” 

Howie opened the door for them, following her out onto the porch.  “He follows her around more than the dog does,” Cassy said. 

“Does everyone fucking know about it?”  Kristine asked in disbelief.  “He was trying to keep it a secret.”

“He sucks at them.  He’ll never say it and figure that if he doesn’t say anything no one knows but he completely forgets that he acts like his world revolves around taking care of her up here,” Brian said. 

“At least he can’t say I’m the big mouth,” Kristine shook her head and turned back to the stove.
   
~*~*~*~*~*~

What the fuck?  Alana slowly came to, unable to open her eyes.  There’s no way this is a bed, even that trundle had a blanket. 

I’m still naked, she realized.  If I’m naked, where’s AJ?  Where are my clothes?  Why is my head hurting so much?  Why the hell aren’t I in bed and why can’t I open my eyes.  Open dammit!

She slowly forced her eyelids halfway open.  She never thought that it would take so much energy to move such insignificant body parts. 

Well, there was a wooden floor.  It was scratched up and dusty but at least that explained her hard bed.  There were piles of junk, old tools, piles of papers, piles of rages, and clumps of dust and mud scattered around the room.  There was a couch, the upholstery was ripped and torn and the moldy pieces of foam were falling out, but it had to be better than a wooden floor.  There were a few lumps covered in gray sheets, they had probably been white at some point in time but they must have been there for ages. 

She didn’t have the slightest clue where she was. 

Think, Alana, just focus.  There had to be something that explains what happened. 

She concentrated again, trying to force her body into shifting into a more comfortable position only to have a fiery pain flash through her.  The foot she was able to move felt like ten miles.  Where her head had been, there was a dark stain on the dirty wood. 

Well, that explained her headache. 

So someone knocked her out and dragged her to wherever she was currently, without even bothering to throw clothes on her first.  Oh that thought was absolutely delightful.  She doubted that whoever it was had bothered to pack her an overnight bag. 

AJ, where is AJ?  She could remember him lying next to her, lying so sill. 

Dear God, was he dead too? 

She couldn’t cry, not now.  She had to think rationally, she had to get up and figure out where she was so she could find a way out.  She wished more than anything that she could see her parents again but not that way, not by dying herself. 

Okay, Alana, get up, get up, stand up dammit!

She got to her feet, slowly and shaking the way up, but she did get up.  The weight around her right ankle didn’t help.

Weight?

She looked down at her ankle and the thick metal band around it.  There was a padlock locking a heavy chain to the band.  It looks homemade, not nearly as sleek as the models in her favorite action movies.  Alana followed the chain back to where it was attached to a metal plate on the floor.  Bolts, screws, nails; that plate wasn’t going to move, not with the strength she had left. 

Five feet of chains rattled as she tested the boundaries.  The couch was about four feet too far away; she didn’t figure the asshole would give her access to more pleasant sleeping accommodations.  The door was on the other side of the room, there was no way she was going to reach that thing.  The windows were all boarded over, there were slivers of sunlight on the floor but the only bit of fresh air was coming from the gaps in the roof. 

Boarded windows and a leaky roof? 

Alana turned around, studying the rounded shape of the room, her cheeks paling as she took it all in.  Either the asshole was really fucking with her mind or he was holding her in her own home in the one place no one would be able to find her. 

Clothes, she needed her clothes.  She couldn’t stay naked around him.  If he could kill, who knew what else he was capable of.  Should she play unconscious just in case he came back?  Would he be sick enough to rape and murder someone who was unconscious?  He didn’t have any problem killing her parents while they were sleeping.  If he wanted to do that to her, why had he taken her up to this tower room instead of just killing her in bed? 

She picked up a rag and held it over her breast.  There was way to hold the rags together and no way to keep them on her.  She grasped the heavy chain and gave it a few tugs.  The metal plate didn’t move, she didn’t expect it to. 

She sat back down on the ground, images swimming in front of her as her body threatened to give out on her again.  So this is what it’s like to be helpless. 

A soft step outside the door made her jerk her head up.  The quiet rattle of a key in the lock pushed her into a panic, searching around for anything to cover herself with, anything to defend herself with.  The garden tools were out of reach, the broken boards were out of reach.  She had rags and paper. 

I’ll paper cut him to death.

She clamped her legs together and hugged them to her chest as the door opened with a soft squeak. 

“A-la-na.”  She cringed at his husky voice saying her name in such a sing-song tone.  What was he, 5?  No time to think about it.  His footsteps were slow, deliberate.  It matched the beat of her heart, both sounds echoing through her mind. 

“Are you awake A-la-na?” 

She trembled.  God dammit, he was making her tremble before she ever saw him.  Please God, let him be short, scrawny, and unarmed. 

“There you are.  It’s rude not to answer when someone is speaking to you.  A-la-na, why don’t you say hello?” 

“You killed my parents,” she replied staring down at the floor. 

“I thought you’d think me for it after how much you bitched about them before.  That’s the last time I try and do you a favor.” 

“Everyone does at some point.  You didn’t have to get them involved, not when you just wanted us.”

“I was bored and decided it was time for you to notice me.  Look at me dammit!”  Alana cried out as he pushed her over with his foot. 

She glared up at him, her fury quickly fading into shock.  Tall, muscular, with a garden spade tucked in his belt and a gun in his hand.  0 for 3, fuck you God.  She recognized him immediately, how couldn’t she after everything.  “Asshole,” she swore. 

“I didn’t know if you’d remember me or not,” he grinned.  “God, look at you, lying there like a whore.”  The toe of his boot connected with her hip, bringing tears to her eyes.  “Fucking that guy the night you met him.  You fucked him again last night in your dead parent’s bed.  What would they say if they knew A-la-na?  You’re such a slut, I can barely stand to look at you.” 

“Give me my clothes and maybe I’ll be less offensive.”  Alana gritted her teeth against the pain.  I can’t cry, I can’t let him see me cry. 

“You didn’t need them last night, you don’t need them now.  Besides, I like looking at you like this.  You should have been chained up years ago.  Even if you didn’t learn how to behave in front of a man, I’m sure you could have made a fortune in bondage porn, even if you didn’t agree to it.”  His smile grew colder as he reached out to caress her neck. 

Alana jerked away from him, forcing back the desire to spit in his face.  “Don’t fucking touch me!”

His mouth twisted into a sneer as he gave her a sharp slap across the face.  “Don’t forget who’s in charge here.  You’ve only got two more things I can take from you and you’re in no position to barter.” 

Hot pain, hot tears, Alana felt them both.  “Let me make s a few things very clear to you.  You are only alive because I don’t feel like killing you yet.  I can still use you alive but if you die, it doesn’t change anything.  Your status in all of this could change very easily so don’t bother with the tough girl shit unless you want to get yourself killed.  If you make any noise up here, I’ll slit your throat and let you bleed to death.  If you piss me off, I’ll shoot so many rounds into you that you’ll flop around on this floor like a little fish before I put a bullet through your brain.  Hell, if I feel like it, I’ll beat the life out of you with whatever I feel like.  You’re used to getting everything you want, well for once you’re going to learn to do what your father should have taught you and submit.  You’ll do what I say when I say it because you’re only alive until I say otherwise.”

Alana picked herself up on all fours, her hair masking her face from him.  “Look at me while I’m talking to you, you little whore.”His boot connected with her stomach, making her cry out in pain, rolling on her side.  “Let’s see how well you take orders.  You know that pride that always let you look down on me?  Let’s see what I can do about that now.” 

He disappeared behind the furniture ghosts.  Alana wrapped her arms around her stomach, crying freely now.  I’ll kill you, I’ll kill you the first chance I get. 

“Ah!  This should work nicely for a start.”  He came over, a rusty dish in his hand. 

Lovely, tetanus.  

“A-la-na, do you know what this is?”  He waved the object in front of her face.  She had to force herself to stay still, stay unobtrusive. 

“This is your new toilet!  You should thank me for giving you such a useful gift.” 

Alana clamped her mouth shut, color rising in her cheeks.  How dare you. 

“No thanks?  Well, at least you should do the polite thing and let me make sure the gift is going to be well used.  You wouldn’t accept a sweater from grandma without letting her see you wear it, now would you?” 

He can’t be serious.  How could anyone want to watch that? 

“Spread your legs,” He commanded, his voice softer, more intense.  Alana searched his face uncertainly.  He was smiling, the bastard was enjoying it.  He gave her bare thigh a hard slap.  She swallowed hard and obeyed him, letting him slide the bedpan between her legs.  “Go ahead.”  He sat back, staring down at her. 

She wanted to throw up, she thought she would but was a good hurl worth her life? 

“Don’t have to pee?”  He asked.  “Too bad you don’t get a choice,” he aimed the gun at her head.  “You’ve got three minutes.  Either you piss in that pot or you can die with that pride of yours.” 

Could she? 

Of all the times for my bladder to fail.  I can’t die like this.  If I can’t get out of here and let the other girls know what’s going on, they’re going to go through this too.  Fucking sicko...way to ruin any urge I had to use the bathroom by watching.  I can’t do this. 

I can’t do this. 

I have to do this. 

“One minute, A-la-na.”  He cocked the gun, keeping it steady and aimed at her temple. 

I can’t do this. 
               
I don’t have a choice. 

Alana stared up at the cracks in the ceiling.  Mom, forgive me for this. 

She let go. 

~*~*~*~*~*~

“That didn’t take long,” Kevin commented. 

Kristine looked up from the plates she was drying.  “What do you mean?” 

He gestured to the living room where Starr was curled up on the couch.  “She’ll never be able to sleep through Alana’s video games once she gets going.” 

“Aren’t they awake yet?”  Kristine asked. 

“I haven’t heard them.  They must have really tired themselves out last night.”

“Should we go check on them?” 

“They’ll be fine as long as they’re together.  AJ isn’t that heavy of a sleeper unless he’s been drinking.” 

“They should be up with the rest of us,” Kristine decided.  “Hey Jedia, do you want to go jump on Alana and get them out of bed?” 

“Yeah!”  Jedia hopped up.  “Come on Nick!”  The three of them bounded up the stairs, their footsteps thudding down the hallway. 

“If they were having sex last night, aren’t the girls going to see more than they want?”  Kevin turned to look at Brian and Cassy. 

“Notice how I didn’t say anything,” Brian grinned and got up to finish drying the dishes Kristine had abandoned. 

“I can’t believe they’re still sleeping,” Jedia said, her ear pressed against the closed door. 

“All the more fun for us,” Kristine replied cheerfully.  “On three, okay?  One, two, three!”

The two girls burst through the door.  Moments later, Jedia’s screams of terror reached the people still downstairs. 

“What’s that?”  Howie poked his head in the kitchen. 

“Stay down here with Cassy and Starr,” Kevin replied.  “Brian, come on.” 

They ran upstairs to the master bedroom and found Nick holding AJs limp body.  Jedia was curled up in a ball in the hallway, sobbing uncontrollably while Kristine stood in the doorway, her eyes wide and her mouth open as if she wanted to scream.  Nick continued wiping AJs head with his shirt, trying to clean away some of the blood so he could get a clear view of the wound. 

“Nick, is he?”  Kevin’s voice trailed off into a croak. 

“No man, he’s still breathing.  He took a fucking beating though, his head’s bleeding like crazy.” 
“Head wounds normally do,” Brian offered.  “Give me AJ and a pair of his shorts and I’ll get him into the bathroom and get his head cleaned off.  You need to take care of Jedia.” 

“Where’s Alana?”  Kristine asked softly. 

Nick handed AJ over and yanked back the covers of the bed.  Kevin knelt down, looking under it before opening the closet doors and looking inside.  “She’s not here,” he said grimly. 

“What do you mean she’s not here?”  Kristine demanded.  “She has to be here, where else would she be?” 

“Look at that.”  Nick picked up the second pillow.  A red stain stood out against the white linen.  He picked up a heavy silver picture frame from where it had fallen on the floor.  “There’s blood on this too.” 

“Do you think it’s AJ’s?”  Kevin asked. 

“Not on the pillow,” Kristine spoke up, her voice shaky.  “Alana’s a total pillow hog.  She’d never let him share with her.” 

“So where is she?”  Jedia asked from where Nick had embraced her tightly, brushing kisses on the top of her head. 

“I’m going to go check around the rest of the house.  You two might as well go downstairs with everyone else.  I’m sure Starr is awake by now and she’s going to be trying to figure out what’s going on.  We don’t want to jump to conclusion this quickly.” 

“I’m going to come with you.  It’s easier looking when there are two people,” Kristine offered. 

“Just don’t get out of my sight,” Kevin agreed. 

Kristine stayed close to his side as they started looking in the basement and moved slowly up through the floors.  In the living room Starr had relocated to the recliner so Brian could spread AJ out on the couch.  The blood was gone but there was an angry red gash on the side of his head.  Jedia was resting in Nick’s lap on the floor, speaking softy to Cassy and Brian on the love seat.  Howie stood over AJ, studying the head wound intensely, looking up at Kevin and Kristine as they passed through. 

“Kevin, was that spot there before?”  Kristine stopped and pointed down at a spot on the upstairs hallway carpet. 

“It could be from AJ.”  Kevin warned, kneeling down in front of the room Kristine shared with Starr. 

“He wasn’t bleeding anymore when Nick was trying to help him.  It had already started to dry up,” Kristine pointed out. 

“Okay, so let’s pretend this did come from Alana.  Why is it all the way over here?  The master bedroom is the closest to the stairs and if he took her somewhere else, why would he come back this way.  Even if he stumbled, he’d still have to walk back about three feet.  It doesn’t make any sense.  Is there an attic or something around here?” 

Kristine walked to the far end of the hall and tugged at the door that Kevin had assumed was just a closet.  “It’s locked.  It was locked when we stopped up here the first day and it was still locked when we came back up here.  The construction crew was doing some work in the attic and tower room and probably just locked it so no one would go up there and get hurt.” 

“Is there a key to it?”  Kevin asked. 

“Not that Alana mentioned.  The crew must have installed the locks because there aren’t any others like this.  The ones on the bathroom were installed later on, you can tell just by looking at them that Alana’s father must have done it afterwards.”

“So we can safely eliminate that as a possibility?” 

“I think so.  If Alana didn’t know about a key, I can’t imagine anyone outside of that construction crew could get their hands on one either.” 

“So the only other reason he could have come back this way would have either been to stop and use the bathroom or...” Kevin’s voice trailed off as he stared into the yellow bedroom. 

“He could have gone after Starr and I,”  Kristine whispered.  “It could have been us too.” 

Kevin stood up and hugged her quickly.  “She’s not dead, if she was dead we’d know it.  He likes leaving bodies around where we can find them and get upset.  I think it’s safe to say we’re not going to find her without finding him though.” 

“So we have to go hunt down the guy that’s trying to kill all of us?”  Kristine asked.  “Jesus, this is so fucked up.”

“Guys, AJ just woke up!”  Starr called up the stairs.  “Come on down!”

The 9 remaining stayed in the living room and kitchen for the remainder of the day.  No one felt like eating much and the only conversation was about Alana.  “Goodnight, guys,” Brian said, disappearing into the bedroom behind Cassy. 

“Night,” the others chorused.

“Brr,” Starr shivered, rubbing her arms.  “Why does it have to get so cold up here at night?”

“It’s supposed to be July,” Kristine said as Howie stood to throw another log in the fireplace.

“That’s not exactly what I meant,” Starr said.  “It’s creepy up here.  Especially at night.  Think about it, guys, we’ve got a psycho killer running around; murdering at will.  It gives me the chills.”

“Hey, it’ll be okay,” Howie said, moving next to Starr on the couch, draping a friendly arm over her shoulder.  Starr’s expression didn’t change; she still looked tense, worried, and frustrated.

“Nothing is going to happen to any of us,” Kevin said firmly, leaning forward.  “We’re going to find him eventually.  We’re going to find him and we’re going to get Alana back.”

“You said we’ll find Alana when we find him,” Kristine added, tucking her feet up on the chair.  “I think we should go out searching tomorrow.  This guy’s gotta be keeping her somewhere close, he followed us up here for Gods sake.”

“He has to have a hideout somewhere close,” Howie agreed thoughtfully.

“There’s no way I’m searching this guy out alone!” Starr protested.

“I wasn’t suggesting we go out alone, Starr,” Kristine said gently, yawing.  “That would just be stupid.  We’ll have to go in a group.”

“We should do several groups, that way we can cover more ground,” Howie added. 

“What about Cassy?” AJ asked after a long moment of silence.  “There’s no way she’ll be able to tramp around the woods tomorrow, not with her ankle that swollen.”

“It should have started getting better,” Kevin said, his brow furrowed.  “If it was just twisted she should be able to get some movement back soon.”

“Let’s hope it’s nothing worse than a twisted ankle,” Kristine said quietly.  Kevin glanced over, saw her worried expression, and reached out to give her an encouraging pat on the arm. 

“It’ll be okay.  She’ll be all right,” he said quietly.

“Somebody will have to stay here with Cassy tomorrow though,” Howie said.

“I’ll do it,” AJ volunteered quickly, “What if Alana escapes?  She’d come back here.  What if the killer is watching the house?  He left that note saying we shouldn’t leave.  We shouldn’t give him the wrong expression by all of us leaving the house.”  He wiped his palms nervously on
his jeans. 

“Good idea,” Starr murmured.  “I’ll stay with you and Cassy.  It would probably be better if everyone just went out in pairs.  It’s easier to keep track of each other that way.”

“I was thinking about heading out on one of the trails,” Kristine said, sinking further into the chair, letting her head lie on one of the arms with her feet dangling over the other side.

“I’ll go with you,” Kevin offered.  Kristine looked over at him and smiled slightly.

AJ stared into the fire, a part of him feeling separated from the rest of the group.  They had been doing so good.  He and Alana were finally getting over their initial mistakes and he thought there was a chance of an actual relationship.  He wasn’t quite sure how to describe the feelings he was experiencing, he’d never felt quite like this before.  It was definitely unpleasant, whatever it was, he though remorsefully.  He didn’t want to leave, he didn’t want to stay; he was lost and couldn’t
find any control.  He needed a cigarette.  He was down to two packs and didn’t have a clue when he’d be able to get his hands on more. 

“I hate this.”  Starr’s voice broke through his thoughts.  “I fucking hate being played with like this.  I’m not his god damned reality show.”  Her voice was becoming more strained, rising in volume and pitch.

“Starr, we’ll find her,” Howie said, his voice taking some of the tension from her shoulders. 

“We’ve gotta stay strong, we can’t let this creep play mind games with us!”  Kevin’s face was dark with anger, his green eyes narrowed in thought.  “We’re just going to have to out-think him, beat him at his own game.”

“And how are we supposed to do that?” Starr retorted.

“He’s got us trapped here, there’s nothing we can do.”  AJ turned back to face the group.  “Face it, we’re stuck here in the middle of the wilderness with the phone lines cut, a body count of of over twenty, and now one of the girls has been taken.”  He sighed in defeat.  “He’s got us running scared.”

“There’s got to be a way to fight back!” Howie said vehemently.  “We can’t just let him dominate us and break us down this way!  We’re nine, he’s only one person, there’s got to be something else we can do!”

The fire popped at that moment, sending sparks flying into the chimney and causing each person to jump nervously.  “Yeah,” Starr muttered under her breath.  “Fight back when we’re all jumping at the slightest noise.”  She began to scan the darkened corners of the living room for any hint of abnormality, stopping when her eyes fell on Kristine, curled up in the chair next to the fire, fast asleep.  “Somehow I think Kristine’s going to have to save that fighting for tomorrow,” she gave a short laugh and jerked her head in her friend’s direction. 

“That has to be uncomfortable,” Howie said curiously, puzzling over Kristine’s contorted body.  “Should we wake her up?”

“I’ll bring her upstairs,” Kevin volunteered.  “It would be cruel to wake her up now.”

“You’ll be back down then?” AJ asked as Kevin stood up and walked over to Kristine’s chair.  Kevin bent to slide his arms under Kristine’s knees and shoulders then brought her close to his chest.

“I don’t think so,” he said as he walked toward the stairs.  “We really can’t leave any of the girls alone from now on, now that we know this guy is able to get in and out of here without us knowing.”  He began walking up the stairs, holding Kristine almost protectively.  “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.  Night.”

“Goodnight,” the remaining three murmured as Kevin’s form disappeared up the stairs.  Starr watched with an inexplicable feeling of loss.

When Kevin reached the top of the stairs he paused for a long moment, glancing around.  Safety was now a constant priority.  There had been times in the past when he and the other guys had felt uneasy about their concert venues or feared their car would be rolled by thousands of eager fans, but this was different.  This was real fear and it was brought out even more over concerns for the girls he’d only recently met, especially the one he now held in his arms.  He wasn’t sure he was allowed to feel this way about Kristine, because it definitely wasn’t a fatherly or a brotherly feeling.

He exhaled slowly as he walked down the hall.  No, he definitely shouldn’t be feeling attracted to a girl, woman, he corrected himself firmly, eight years his junior.  She was just entering her twenties, the best years of her life.  He was nearly 30, tired of the party scene and ready to settle down and have children.  No, he shook his head as he entered the blue room where he and Howie slept, he wouldn’t let it go any further.  He couldn’t lead her on like this.  However hard it may be to stop his feelings, he’d do it because he couldn’t in good conscience ask a girl like Kristine to give up all she had before her just for him and his idealized dream of starting a family.

Kevin gently laid Kristine on the bed, straightening slowly.  It had felt so good, so right to hold her in his arms, feeling her body curl against his.  Kristine sighed softly in her sleep, rolling to one side.  Smiling and suppressing a chuckle, Kevin gently removed her flip flops, placing them on the floor next to the bed.  Looking around the room, he noticed a few extra fleece blankets lying folded in one corner next to the dresser.  Tiptoeing across the room, he picked two up. 

He covered Kristine with one, laying it across her sleeping form softly to ensure she didn’t wake.  Looking at her face, he gently brushed a strand of hair off her cheek and tucked it behind her ear. 
Sighing over what might have been, had she been older or he younger, Kevin lay on the other twin bed, covering himself with the second blanket.  He lay awake in the dark a long time, staring at the other bed where Kristine slept.  Finally, in the early hours of the morning he rolled
over and dropped off into slumber.

When Kristine woke the next morning, she yawned and stretched her entire body before freezing.  She was most definitely not in the yellow bedroom she shared with Starr.  The bed she felt beneath her was nowhere near as soft as the antique bed, nor as hard and uncomfortable as the trundle.  A sense of fear shot through her as she cautiously opened her eyes.

A light blue came into focus.  Blinking confusedly, Kristine raised herself onto one elbow, looking around.  She was definitely in the blue room, in Kira’s room, but Howie and Kevin had been sleeping there.  Kristine couldn’t remember getting to this room last night.  In fact, she couldn’t remember walking upstairs to go to bed.  Turning over, she threw the blanket covering her toward the other side of the bed and placed her feet on the floor. 

Sunlight was streaming through the windows on the left wall opposite the door.  It was about mid-morning, Kristine judged.  The room looked almost the same as it always had, minus the two bags Kevin and Howie had brought and placed under the windows.  The other twin bed was
occupied too, and by the size of the person Kristine could tell it wasn’t Howie. 

She sat back against the bed, chewing her lower lip in thought.  He must have carried her upstairs last night.  Why else would she be sleeping in an unfamiliar room?  The kindness of that action was curiously at odds with other innocuous comments he’d made over the past few days. 
Kristine couldn’t deny that she was very physically attracted to him, although that immediate attraction had caused her to back off initially.

Immediate physical attraction, ‘lust at first sight’, had gotten her into trouble before.  As a freshman in high school, what girl wouldn’t be swept away by a hunky upperclassman wanting to date her?  Tyler had been that.  Drop dead gorgeous by anyone’s standards, his blonde head could be picked out in any crowd.  And his dark brown eyes had melted Kristine’s reservations every time.  Who cared that he wanted her exclusively to himself at all times of the day?  Who cared that he’d possessively monitored her every move, growling under his breath if any other guy walked by?  It was just Tyler’s way of showing he cared.  The first time he’d slapped her though, she’d started running.

She ran so hard and so fast away from Tyler that even before she caught her breath she was in another serious relationship, this time with Brett, rising star on the varsity football team.  Another blonde, he was very different from Tyler.  His gentleness and kindness, as well as his
amazing body, had won Kristine over slowly.  In the end, she loved him so exclusively it was as if she’d never loved in her entire life.  Brett had definitely taken advantage of that.

When her friends raised concerns that she was spending a lot of time with her new boyfriend, Kristine explained that she wanted to, that there was no better feeling than being with him.  When her brothers cautioned her about dating an older guy and the differences in maturity levels, she blithely ignored them and began sneaking out of the house at night to meet Brett. 

It technically couldn’t be called rape.  Kristine winced as she remembered that horrible period.  Brett had fooled her, blinded her to his own ambitions and his developing alcoholism.  She’d given herself to him, but it was a horrible, horrible mistake.  Kristine knew she’d regret it for the rest of her life.

At the time, she’d been so deliriously happy that she hadn’t cared about her life falling apart around her.  She’d alienated her friends and teachers, who had once called her a bright student, were watching her grades steadily decline while Kristine sat in class, a dazed smile on her
face.  It had taken a pregnancy scare to bring her back to reality, and she ended their relationship abruptly, realizing that he wanted her pregnant, wanted a way to keep her connected to him permanently.  Her friends had been there for her though, helping her through that long summer when depression loomed and everything seemed dark and gray.  They had a mutual group of friends and remained cordial but when he hinted that he wanted to give their relationship a second try, that she had been stupid for letting him go and he had never loved anyone else.  The other girls had just been sex. 

She was stronger then.  She had been eating lunch with Starr, Jedia and Alana and was easily able to tell him no.  He took it easily, but they stopped speaking and cut off all communication.  At least that’s what she had thought until he called her before she left on the trip. 

There had only been one other since, and that could barely be called a relationship.  Kristine and Rick had been friends for a long time, decided to try the whole dating scene sophomore year and realized quickly that it would destroy their friendship.  He was hurt, angry that she hadn’t even given him a fair chance.  She had always thought his dark eyes were so deep, so understanding. She never wanted to see that kind of anger again.  Their relationship had ended their friendship and she had never been able to forgive herself for hurting him like that  Since then Kristine had sworn off men until she was at a more stable place in her life and she could find a guy who was able to let her live her own life and capture her dreams while loving her and having his own life too.

This was why her attraction to Kevin was so puzzling.  The age difference really didn’t bother her at all, it was the sense, deep down inside, that this was the guy she could share her heartbreak with, someone who would understand her old pains and stand beside her to face new obstacles.  How she felt this after only a few weeks of knowing him, Kristine had no idea.  She did know that her intuition was telling her not to let go and to follow this up no matter what.

A small smile touched Kristine’s lips as she gazed at his sleeping form.  She knew he thought he was too old for her.  He’d mentioned something about not wanting to tie a girl down a few nights ago.  It was definitely something to bring up in conversation later on, just to find out why he felt that way.  Kristine was suddenly very pleased Kevin had volunteered to help her search the trails for Alana that day.

Light knocking caught her attention and Kristine turned her head in time to see the door open slowly.  Howie cautiously stuck his head in, smiling when he saw Kristine sitting up and looking at him.  “Good morning,” he whispered, stepping into the room and closing the door quietly.

“Hey,” Kristine whispered back.  “Where did you sleep last night?”  She stood up and reached for the blanket to fold.

Howie smiled ruefully as he carefully tiptoed to his bag by the far wall.  “The trundle in the yellow room.”

“Oooh,” Kristine whispered in dismay.  “Are you all right?”

He chuckled.  “I don’t know how you girls deal with it.  That bed was probably the most uncomfortable I’ve ever slept in!”

Kristine carefully placed the blanket on the bed behind her as Howie straightened a pile of fresh clothing in his arms.  “Is Starr asleep still?” she asked, moving toward the door.

Howie shook his head.  “She’s in the shower.  I called it after her.  I need to get back out there though, There aren’t any windows but I’m sure the last thing she’d want is to get kidnapped out of a shower.  I’ll be listening for you too, just leave the door open a crack.”

“Well I’ll go grab some clothes and head downstairs.  See you in the kitchen.”  Kristine quietly opened the door and stole across the hall.  She heard the water running in the bathroom as she opened the door to the yellow room and flung open her suitcase.  Now, what should she wear?

Quickly stripping out of the previous day’s clothes, she grabbed a light green tee and some capris and slipped those on.  Running a brush through her hair halfheartedly, she sighed and pulled it back in a ponytail.  Grabbing sandals from the floor, she hurried down the stairs and
headed into the kitchen, noticing with some confusion the blankets thrown over the back of the couch.

“Hey, who slept down here?” she asked, walking into the kitchen.  Cassy was sitting at the end of the table, her leg propped on Brian’s lap.  AJ stood near the window, a cup of steaming coffee clenched in his hand.

“Me,” AJ said, looking over at Kristine.  “I felt somebody should stay out in the living room, just in case.”  He shrugged, looking back out the window.  The bleach white of the bandage on his head stood out.  Kristine wanted to kick herself for making him explain. 

“Good morning, Kristine,” Brian said.

“Morning,” Kristine said brightly as she picked a banana out of the fruit bowl next to the sink.  Starting to peel it, she picked a glass out of the cupboard and set it on the table.  She slid into the seat next to Brian, chewing on the banana as she poured some juice into her glass.

“Where is everybody?”  Cassy asked no one in particular.

“Right here!” Jedia announced as she and Nick walked into the kitchen.  Nick looked barely awake as he shuffled toward the coffee pot, yawning widely.

“It is way too early for me,” he complained, pouring himself a cup.

“So what are we doing today?” Jedia asked, seating herself on the opposite side of the table.  “Did you guys decide anything after we went to bed?”

“Starr and I are staying here with Cassy while everyone else searches for Alana in the woods,” AJ said, turning from the window and also taking a seat.  “So far as I know, Kev and Kristine are gonna hit one of the trails to check for a hideout.”

“We figured if we split into smaller groups we could cover more ground,” Kristine explained, taking a sip of her juice.

“Is that such a good thing to do?” Jedia asked nervously.  “Is it wise that we go searching this guy out?”

“As long as we’re not alone we should be all right, Jedia,” Kristine said.  “Starr wasn’t really comfortable with it either, so she decided to stay here.”

“I wish I could go,” Cassy said grumpily, shifting in her chair, her arms crossed over her chest.

“Don’t worry about it,” Brian said, patting her knee gently.  “You’ll be able to walk on it soon.”

“And we’ll find Alana and get the hell out of here!” AJ said vehemently.  The others paused their eating to look at him.  “Sorry,” he apologized, sounding embarrassed.  “I’m running out of cigs and I’m trying to stretch them out.  I guess I’m a little tense.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it,” Jedia said as Starr and Kevin walked into the kitchen.

“Good morning,” Kevin mumbled, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

“Hey,” Kristine replied as Starr helped herself to a bowl of cereal.  “What time did you want to head out?”

“I dunno,” Kevin said, moving along the counter-top to grab the cereal box when Starr was finished.  “After breakfast?”

“Okay,” Kristine said standing and draining the last of her juice.  “I’m gonna go brush my teeth and I’ll meet you down here.  We’ll head out when you’re ready.”

“Sounds good,” Kevin said taking Kristine’s vacated seat and sipping his coffee.

“See you guys,” Kristine said, ducking out of the kitchen.  She scampered up the stairs, heading for the yellow bedroom to get her toothbrush.  As she passed the bathroom, the door opened and Howie stepped out. 

“Hey,” he said.  “What are you doing up here alone?”

“Getting my toothbrush.  Everyone else is downstairs,” Kristine said, opening the door to the bedroom.

“Remember, you’re not supposed to be wandering around on your own.  It’s too risky,” Howie said with a note of worry in his voice.  “I’ll stay up here with you and we’ll walk downstairs together.”

Kristine flashed him a smile.  “Aww, that’s so nice.”  She had grabbed her toothbrush from the dresser and headed back for the bathroom.  “Although we can probably take care of ourselves.”

Howie shrugged.  “Better to keep the rest of you safe than be sorry.”

Kristine reached the door just as Kevin was tying his shoelaces.  “Ready?” he asked, straightening and opening the door.

Kristine took a deep breath and squared her shoulders.  “As ready as I’ll ever be,” she said, stepping out onto the porch.  “Which way did you want to head out?”  She shielded her eyes from the bright sunlight, placing her other hand on her hip.

“How about that trail to start with?”  Kevin stepped off the porch, pointing at a trail entrance on the other side of the field.

“Sounds good to me.”  Kristine hurried to catch up and they walked in silence to the trail entrance.  They both paused a moment, unsure or unwilling to go forward.  Finally, they looked at each other, took deep breaths, and set out.

The setting was immediately darker and cooler than the field, and they walked a few steps before Kristine paused.  “Just a question,” she asked, “but do we have a game plan for if we actually find this guy or find Alana?”

“We should,” Kevin admitted, pausing before moving on.  “Let’s figure it out.”

“So we’re just looking for a hideout or clues to find Alana, right?” Kristine asked, falling into step with Kevin.  “And if we find that, are we going to go barging in or are we going to head back to get everyone?”

“I think if we find something we should check it out before we run back to the guys,” Kevin said thoughtfully.  “You know, we may find an abandoned cabin or something up here and it would be a big waste of time to just run back and get the whole group for nothing.”

“So snoop around a little?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”  Kevin carefully stepped over a log blocking the trail, and then reached a hand back to help Kristine. 

“Thank you,” she flushed slightly.  “So what do we do if this guy does show up?”

“We hope he doesn’t have a gun,” Kevin said, his face turning serious.  “So far, most of the victims have had stab wounds, so we can hope that he just has a hunting knife or something.  And I think we should run like hell.”

“Back to the cabin?  But what if we get separated?”

“Don’t worry, we won’t get separated,” he said, smiling grimly.  “It wouldn’t be very smart.  And together we have a better chance at fighting him anyway.”

“Yeah,” Kristine said quietly, looking at the ground.  She flushed slightly.  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be so gloomy.  Of course nothing is going to go wrong today.”  She looked up and flashed a grin at Kevin.

He smiled back openly.  “Why don’t we talk about something else while we’re looking for Alana?” he suggested, stepping over a large puddle in the middle of the trail.

Kristine skirted the puddle.  “Sounds good to me,” she said.  “What did you want to talk about?”

Kevin chuckled.  “I dunno,” he said.  “I was hoping you had something.”

“Well, you know, you’re famous.  Everything worth knowing about you is already publicized,” Kristine said.

“True, true,” Kevin admitted, ducking his head at a particularly low branch.  “So what else can you tell me about you girls?”

“Well,” Kristine dragged out the word.  “We’ve all known each other for forever and this was the first year we’ve all been split apart.  Cassy went back to Albany for sports medicine- she’s got an athletic scholarship, Jedia went to SU for psych, Alana started working down at the mall.  She wasn’t much for school and being told what to do.  All she wanted to do was sing, act and be around other people, and then Starr, and I ended up at JCC, the local community college.”  She laughed ruefully.  “It was a tough year.”

“How’s that?” he asked.

“Well, my mom told all of us that once we got to 18 we were out on our own or we’d pay rent to live at home.”  Kristine shrugged.  “She’s big on getting us out on our own feet.  So I worked this past year as a waitress at Red Lobster and went to school and helped out as best I could at home.  It’s hard without a support group of friends.”

“And what are you studying?” Kevin asked gently.

“I’m doing science studies right now,” Kristine said, carefully placing her feet on slippery stones near a creek bed.  “Starr is a libby right now.  She just takes what she wants and gets through it.  I don’t even think she knows what she wants anymore.”

Kevin followed her across the stream, trying his hardest not to fall.  “And what do you want to do with your science degree?”  His last step was on a mossy rock and he felt himself slipping.  His arms flailed in the air as he tried to regain his balance.  Suddenly, one of his wrists was caught by a firm hand and he saw Kristine, bracing herself, holding onto his wrist.  She pulled him forward and he jumped onto the bank. 
“Thanks,” he said breathlessly.

“No problem,” she replied, releasing his wrist after a moment.  “So I plan on finishing my associates in science at JCC, then transferring to a four-year college for a bachelor’s degree, and then it’s onto graduate school.”

“For?” Kevin prompted, leading the way back onto the trail.

“I want to do cancer research eventually,” Kristine replied, following him.

Kevin stopped still, his mind racing from her last statement.  “Really?” he asked incredulously, turning to face her.

“Yeah,” Kristine said, ducking her head and smiling shyly.  “My dad died of lung cancer when I was younger, so I’ve really wanted to do this all my life.  I’m just glad that I’ve had the chance to follow my dream this far.”

“Your father died of cancer?”  Kevin almost spluttered he was so shocked.  “My father died of cancer in ’91.”

Kristine smiled.  “I know,” she said softly.  “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“I’m sorry for your loss also,” Kevin said.

“It’s okay,” Kristine said.  “I was only five; I really don’t remember him very well.”

“Oh.”  Kevin was taken aback.  He paused a moment.  “How do you know about my dad?”

She giggled.  “I’m not a fan for nothing, Kevin.  There are some things written about you guys on the internet that are really unbelievable.”

“Such as?”  Kevin grabbed a branch to help him up a particularly steep section of trail.  They now stood on a relatively flat section of rock in a large clearing, the trail veering off to their right. 

Kristine paused to catch her breath.  “Such as are you really a certified ballroom instructor?”

He laughed out loud.  “I certainly am!  It’s been a long time, but I’ll bet I still have some moves left.”

“Prove it,” Kristine challenged her hands on her hips.

“All right.”  Kevin straightened from his half crouch and stretched, swinging his arms and rotating his neck.  “Come here.”

“What?”

“Come over here.  I’ll need a partner.”

“All right,” Kristine said, walking closer.

“Ok, now stand straight.  No, straight,” he said, putting his hand on the small of her back and pulling her close. 

Kristine caught her breath as she was pulled forward.  Kevin’s hand was firmly on her back, his face only inches from hers.  “Now,” he was saying, “I need your right hand here,” and he gently held it in his left, “and your other hand on my shoulder.”

“So,” she said breathlessly, “what are you going to teach me?”

“How about we start with a waltz?”  Kevin smiled and winked.  “It’s a basic three-step, so here we go!”  He set off, whirling them around and around the plateau.  Kristine couldn’t help but laugh, she felt so light and graceful. 

“All right, all right, that was pretty easy,” she laughed as they whirled to a stop.  “How about something more challenging?”

Kevin smiled devilishly.  “How about a salsa?”  Before he was even finished with the sentence he was off again, whirling her around the clearing.  “Now turn!” he commanded, flinging her loose with one hand.  Startled, Kristine half-turned, then paused and looked back at Kevin for reassurance.  He chuckled.  “Let’s try that again,” he said, twirling her back in.

They began again, and this time Kristine spun out until they were only connected by their fingertips, then spun back in.  Unexpectedly, Kevin dipped her back and held her, his arm across her back and hers on his shoulder.  Neither spoke, looking instead only at each other, breathing
deeply.  Without warning, Kevin dropped his head and kissed Kristine deeply, melting her lips with his.  Although shocked initially, Kristine soon relaxed into the kiss, experiencing the intense emotions, passion, love, and desire Kevin was also feeling. 

After a long moment, they separated, although they remained in a half-bend, their faces only inches apart, gazing into the others’ eyes.

He knelt down in the bushes.  She was such a slut.  Her best friend was missing, he was killing people all over the place and she just wanted to get a piece of boyband ass.  He was too old for her, the boybander would love her and leave her, giving him time to come in and take back his place in her life. 

He knew that he was safe, concealed within the thick foliage.  They’d never see him up there, unless he wanted them to.  And it was too soon, too soon to for her to see him again.

How dare they?  They were supposed to be running scared, not dancing in the middle of the woods!  Oh they’d pay.  They would pay for everything that had ever gone wrong.  “Just wait and see,” he whispered into the leaves, settling back and crossing his arms across his chest.  “Just wait and see.”  For now, he was content to wait.  And to watch.