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Chapter 10
Kevin
"Brian your girl just pulled a knife on me." I growled as I walked into the kitchen of our bus.
"Why?" Was all he asked.
What kind of question is 'why'? "I don't know. She's nuts. How's that?"
"There has to be a reason. Did you bother her or something?" Brian bent over, putting a food bowl on the floor for Bruno.
"No, I heard her crying or something. It sounded like she was so I opened her bunk curtain and she pulled out this dagger thing. She was really slow so she couldn't have hurt me, but still. She shouldn't' have pulled-"
I was cut off by Brian and the others running past me.
When I got there Brian was kneeling beside Cameron who still had the dagger pointed upward where I had been standing.
"Cameron." Brian murmured. "It's me, Brian." Brian spoke softly. A hint of a smile formed as he spoke smoothly and seemingly effortlessly to the girl who seemed so out of it she was in outer space. "I think you scared the crap out of Kevin. I bet your proud of yourself."
He took the knife from her easily and instead of giving it to one of the other guys he put it back under her mattress where she had put it earlier.
"Why don't you go, Hun?" Brian asked, taking her hand and brushing a few hairs out of her face.
She was shaking, but just a little. Her eyes were at half mass but all you could see was white. Her lips here partially open and you could see the shine of her white teeth.
"I'm having Frank take us to the hospital." Nick said, trying to take charge.
"No!" Brian grabbed Nick's leg as he started to walk by. "No body calls 911 or tells Frank to go to the hospital. Understand?"
"No, why not? There's something wrong with her! Look at her!" Nick shouted, pointing at Cameron's body. She'd been reduced to whimpering.
"I know what's wrong with her!" Brian shouted, standing. "She told me specifically never ever to take her to the hospital! If you're going to start something go away and we'll finish it later." Brian turned back to Cameron and kneeled at her side again.
"Brian you've lost it. I want to talk to you when you're finished playing God." Nick walked away, pushing everyone out of his way. Howie and AJ slowly but surly followed after Nick, trying to calm him down.
"Brian I hope you know what you're doing." I told him, patting his shoulder. I told Bruno to come on and surprisingly, he listened.
Brian
I hoped I knew what I was doing too. I'd only seen her do this once and she wasn't shaking nearly as much as she was then.
"Cameron, what are you doing?" I whispered. "You're scaring me too." I tried to joke. "I know you wanted to get back at me for scaring you, but this is a bit much don't you think?"
"Carrie." Cameron whimpered. "B-Br..."
Brian shook his head. He took Cameron's hand in his and whispered into her ear. "I'm right here Cameron, go talk to him."
She closed her eyes totally and started to convulse. All I could do now was hope that she'd be OK. I called for AJ.
"What?" AJ gasped when he saw Cameron. "I'm calling 911 man."
"No, call Carrie." I told him.
"Why?" AJ pulled out his phone anyway. Something in Brian's voice told him to. None of them had talked to Carrie since she broke up with Howie. He dialed anyway and handed the phone to Brian.
Brian kept one hand in Cameron's and the other cradled the phone to his ear. The phone rang many times before a gruff voice answered. "What?"
"Is Carrie there?" I asked.
"No. That slut is dead." The line went as dead as the feeling in my chest. I felt like my whole body drained of blood.
Looking down at the phone I mechanically turned it off and handed it back to AJ. I took Cameron's hands in both of mine and stared at her shaking body for a moment.
I rested my forehead on her stomach. Carrie was dead. She wasn't supposed to die.
"B, man are you OK?" AJ asked, worried.
"Tell Howie to come here."
Cameron
"Why'd you kill her?" Cameron asked after watching the things that had happier to Carrie. "You said you were going to kill the baby, not her."
"Then you tried to ignore me. You must realized there are consequences to every action you make."
Cameron started to sit and a chair pop up underneath her.
"You're getting soft in your old age." He teased.
"Maybe, but I can't take much more of this. I'm through when I figure out what that ticking means."
He smiled, an evil smile that held many meanings.
"What?" She asked grudgingly.
"You know you do have to prevent the hazard, correct?"
"Yeah, I know." Cameron said. 'I'd just forgotten,' but I'd keep that bit of information to myself.
"Just making sure." He turned and looked at the screen with her in it. "You know Brian is getting very attached to you."
"What do you want me to do about it?" Cameron asked, exasperated.
He smiled. "Oh don't ask me that. I'm on a roll today."
Cameron retracted her question.
"Smart girl. So what have you discovered so far?" He asked, a table, almost like a game board popped up in front of him.
"The next victim is Nick Carter."
"Very good." He said. A pen appeared into his hand and he marked an 'X' on the table somewhere. "And what about the ticking?"
"I don't know. I'm guessing it's his life."
"In a metaphorical sense." He sat back, tapping the pen to his mouth. "What an interesting concept." He shrugged it off. "No matter, I cannot tell you if your are incorrect or correct because you have said you're not for sure. Unless of course you'd like to change your mind?" He asked, egging her on.
If I had said I was sure, things would move faster. The real source of the ticking would be reviled and the ticking would no doubt speed up. I would move to the next "level" what ever that was.
But if I had said no, then I could still have time to think and to sort. It wouldn't feel like he was breathing down my neck. Waiting for my mistake so he could pounce.
I had to decide. Show my cards, or bluff.
"I'm not going to give my final answer just yet." I said.
He sighed. "You're not as fun as you used to be either."
"I'm not as stupid." I countered. "I got a lot of people killed when I was younger. I don't want to make those same mistakes again."
He smiled. "I suppose your right. Well, I think that's all for now. You ignore me again and I'll do much worse than kill some spineless twit."
"You retract that comment." I ordered, though I had no authority to do so.
He smiled. "All right, I suppose that was a bit uncalled for. But so is your lack of entertainment. Spice things up a bit already." He snapped his fingers and I was looking at the bottom of the upper bunk.
I took a deep breath and looked around. How long was I with him? I felt someone touching me. I lifted my head and saw Brian holding my hand, sitting on the floor, but taking to Howie, who's head was in his hands.
"Brian." I said, sitting up. Howie looked up as well as Brian.
Brian looked at his watch. "What's going on?" He grinned. "You've been shaking for an hour and a half."
I sighed and looked at Howie.
"I was Carrie's ex."
It felt like my body churned. He knew. I looked at Brian. "How did you know?"
"I called. Some guy answered, told me in blunt terms what happened."
My legs swung over the edge, nearly kicking Brian. "What did his voice sound like?"
Brian frowned. "Rough, drunk."
"That...he's the one who killed her." I stood. "Is there a phone on this bus?"
Howie handed her his. She called 911 and then remembered who she was. She pushed the phone at Brian and told him to talk. She sat next to him and listened to what the operator said and then told Brian the answers to the operator's questions.
When they hung up the rest of the Backstreet Boys were surrounding them, all with astonished looks on their face.
"I think our secret is out." Brian joked.
I wasn't amused though.
"Brian, what's going on?" AJ asked.
"You have to tell them something." Brian told me.
"No, I don't. And neither do you. It's none of their business." I said, taking time to glare at each one of them. I looked back at Brian. "If you want to have what happened to Carrie happen to them, then you can tell them, but I'm not going to be the one to blame for this." I stood but when I tried to push past to go into the kitchen before they stopped me. "I've got enough to be blamed for." I muttered to myself.
"Not this time, sugar." Kevin drawled. "I want answers and I'm going to get them."
"You're going to have to fight them out of me then." I said, fists raised.
Kevin looked like he wanted to laugh.
"Go a head. I'll kick your butt into the next millennium. I dare you."
Kevin wasn't amused anymore. "Brian your friend has a serious problem."
"Cameron, come on." Brian's hands rested on my shoulders and then were sliding down my arms and griping my hands. "I really don't want to see my cousin humiliated. Do you know how long it takes a man's pride to heal after getting whooped by a girl?"
I almost smiled, I didn't though. But I put my hands down.
"Now, tell them something. Right now they probably think you're that chick who gives tarot readings on television."
I sighed. "Fine." I looked around, my eyes staying on Nick.
He looked uneasy and scanned the other guys before looking back at me. "The reason I attacked you is because I've been having nightmares about your eyes."
Nick gave an uneasy laugh. "You're nuts."
"Nick." Brian warned.
"You believe her?" Nick asked, incredulous.
"Yes, and if you don't shut up you won't know why."
Nick did shut up, but he crossed his arms over his chest in defiance.
"I can't, and won't explain why I do. I didn't know it was you until I got here. You're the reason I have seizures. I'll survive though. I've had them since I was really little."
"Why?" Howie asked.
"Why what? Why do I have seizures?"
"Yeah."
"I know it's not your normal way of dealing with nightmares, though they're really not that. It's just the easiest way of explaining it."
Kevin starred hard at me.
"What?"
"I know you from somewhere."
"No you don't."
"And how do you know that?"
"No one knows me from anywhere."
Kevin raised a thick eyebrow. "Is that supposed to be some way of saying you're a lone ranger?"
"Uh, no. It's my way of saying no one ever sees me in the same place twice. Ever."
"Funny, I've seen your face a bunch of time just in the last few days, doesn't that mean we-"
"Can it Nick." I snapped. "You know what I mean. You can go back to my home down, where I was born, no one knows me. If my parents were alive, they wouldn't remember me either. No one remembers me."
I pushed Kevin hard this time, he banged against the bunk and let me through.
Brian
"Is she an orphan?" Howie asked.
"That's usually what happens when both parents die." Brian said.
"I know, but I mean since childhood."
"I don't know that."
"Has she really been forgotten that much? Or is she exaggerating?" Nick asked.
"I'm afraid not." Brian paused, staring as far down the cluttered hallway as he could after her. "I'm even more afraid I won't remember her if she tries to leave me." I turned and walked the opposite way, sitting at the front of the bus.
Nick
"What do you guys think?"
"I think she's serious." Howie commented.
"I think so too." AJ said. "I think she needs help."
"Brian's got it bad." Howie added. "Really bad."
"You don't have to tell us that." I said. "He's head over heals. I don't even know why, she's so mean."
"Probably because she needs carrying for. You know B's like that." Howie said.
"He wouldn't fall for her if she was a charity case," AJ started. "No, he's gone and it's for more reason's than her lack of manners." AJ looked at Kevin. "What do you think?"
"I just can't place where and when, but I know her." Kevin said, turning to look down the hall. "I'm sure of if."
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