arryfame

Fame, Fortune, and Fear.©
A Hanson Story.
By:athene_girl. © 1999

PART 1
Chapter 1
Mystery.

"Don't you ever get tired of working out?" Natasha Demitts asked her friend, Clare Henning. Clare was doing chin-ups in her room, which was the basement. She let herself drop, and smiled.
"Never. You can never be strong enough." She said, and laughed. "Why are you so worried, Tash? I won't beat you up unless you really piss me off!" She joked. Tash rolled her eyes.
"Got any pop?" Christine, Tash's sister, asked. Clare sniffed in disgust.
"Somewhere. I don't usually drink it though. It has a ton of calories." She said. "Check the fridge." Chris got up and went to the little fridge in the basement.
"When are Ike, Tay, and Zac coming over?" Tash asked. Clare shrugged.
"I dunno. Soon. I told them that I'd have to whip them into shape if they want to come into my house again!" She joked. The other day, when Ike Tay and Zac had been over, they had almost eaten her out of house and home.
"Well for sure they won't want to come now!" Christine said. She tossed Tash a Coke. Tash dropped it. Clare laughed.
"How are you supposed to join baseball with me if you can't catch? And what about football? I'm surrounded by couch potatoes!" Clare sighed.
"Well some people aren't obsessed with sports!" Chris said, for once, defending her sister.
*DING DONG*
The doorbell rang. Clare went upstairs to get it, then came back downstairs. No one was with her.
"Who was at the door?" Chris asked. Clare looked extremely puzzled.
"Nobody. Just this." She answered, and showed them a black box.
"Weird. Open it." Chris suggested.
"No! You don't know what's in there. You should wait for your mom and dad to get home." Tash said. Chris rolled her eyes.
"You're such a baby, Tash. C'mon Clare, open it." She said. Christine was 16 turning 17, and thought that she was the most mature person in the world. Tash was only 12 turning 13. Clare was 14. Despite the age differences, they all still hung out together, and with the guys down the street, Isaac, Taylor, and Zac Hanson.
Clare started to open the box, when she burst out laughing.
"I know! I bet the guys put it out there, and a snake or something is going to jump out at me!" She said.
"Maybe. Open it! I'm dying here!" Chris whined. Clare opened the box, and gasped.
"Ooooh, gross. I'll kill them, I really will!" She said, and dropped the box.
"What's in it?" Chris asked, and picked it up.
"YAAH! What the hell?! That's sick! How could they do this?!" She asked, and threw it on the table. Tash leaned over to look inside. There was a dead dove, it's head severed off and placed beside the body.
"Eeew. Sick." She said. "There's a note." Clare walked over to the box, and picked up the note.
"Poor bird." She murmured. She read the note. Tears welled up in her eyes.
"What's it say?" Tash asked quietly. She handed her note. Tash read it out loud
"Hey babes. This is for you. I killed it myself. Hope you like it. Love, you secret admirer." She said. "Gross. They're really sick." She said.
"Who's sick?" A familiar voice asked. They turned around. Ike, Tay and Zac were coming down the stairs.
"The door was open. Who's sick?" Zac repeated.
"You three are! What the hell's your problem, anyway? Do you think you're funny, or what?" Clare yelled.
"I don't get it, what did we do?" Tay asked.
"As if you don't know! Well, let me remind you!" She said. Clare grabbed the box, and threw it at him. The box bounced off of his chest, and fell to the floor. The bird's body and head fell out onto the floor.
"Whoa! That's gross!" Tay yelled.
"What the hell happened to it?" Ike asked. Zac turned away.
"You should know! You did it!" Chris yelled at him.
"We didn't do anything! Why do you think it was us?" Ike asked.
"Because you three are always playing jokes on each other, and us." Tash said. She was determined not to get angry.
"Clare, we didn't do it! I swear!" Tay said. Clare studied his face.
"I swear!" He repeated.
"Who would do this? We play jokes, sure, but we don't kill birds! We all know how much you love animals, Clare. We wouldn't do this to you." Zac said. Clare thought about this.
"Fine. So if you didn't do this, who did?" She asked.
"Someone really sick." Ike muttered. Clare sniffed.
"There's a note too." Tash said, and handed it to Taylor. He read it out loud.
"You're secret admirer? Some secret admirer. Aren't they supposed to send flowers?" He asked.
"That's what I thought." Clare grumbled.
"Weird." Zac said. Then he started laughing. "I bet it was Brink! He's got such a sick sense of humor."
"Ha ha." Tash said, sarcastically.
"Of course! Brink's got a sick mind! He would so do something like this!" Clare said.
"Let's call him up right now." Tay suggested. Zac picked up the phone, and dialed Brink's number. It rang four times before he picked up. They put it on speaker phone.
"Hello?" He asked.
"Hey, Brink, it's me. Zac." He said.
"Hey Zac, what's up? Traci told me that you were going to Clare's." He said. Zac looked puzzled.
"How did Traci know that?" He asked.
"I dunno. She's here right now. She said that Clare said that she was having a few people over today. " He said.
"I never told Traci that." Sophie whispered.
"Oh. Can I talk to her?" Zac asked.
"Yup." There was a pause for a minute.
"Hello?" A high pitched voice came on.
"Hey, Traci? How did you know that we were all going over to Clare's house?"
"Clare told me, on the phone the other day. I called her about our French assignment to see if we could get together today to work on it, but she said that some people were coming over. Like you, Isaac and Tay." She practically sang Tay's name. "And those two other girls."
"Oh. Has Brink been with you the whole time?" He asked. She giggled.
"Oh, yes. I got here about ten minutes ago to, uh, study." She said. "Is Tay there? Brink really want's to talk to him." She said. Tay's face got all red.
"Uh, no. I'm at home, I was just leaving for Clare's right now. Tay and Ike are already there.
"Oh." She sounded very disappointed. "Why would he want to go there? It's much more fun here, with me. And Brink." She quickly added. "See you later Zac. Say hello to Tay for me." She said, and hung up.
"Gross. What a slut." Chris said.
"I have to study with Brink. We're in the same health class." Clare mimicked Traci's voice. "Brink still could have done it. She said that she had been there for about ten minutes. I got the package about fifteen minutes ago." Tay shrugged.
"I can't see why Brink would do such a thing to you. You're his friend, aren't you?" He asked.
"I thought I was. And I thought I was Traci's friend too. Sort of." She said, sounding depressed.
"Brink's a joker, but he's not crazy." Zac said. "Does anyone at your school hate you or anything?"
"I don't know. Maybe I should be home schooled. or something, like you guys. That would be cool." She said.
"We'll find out who did this. Don't worry. You'll probably get another gift, er-thing soon." Ike said. Clare turned to Tay.
"I didn't know that Traci has the hots for you." She said. Zac smirked.
"She's liked him ever since she first saw him in the mall." He said.
"I do not like her though, at all. She's nice, but she's a bit of a flirt." Tay said. Clare laughed.
"Go on, you're in my house, you can say it. She's a whore. I can't believe that Brink's going out with her. She's not really her type. But if Brink did this, then they deserve each other."
Clare said. Tay shrugged.
"This is really weird. You're like, being stalked." Tay said.
"Don't say that! You're going to freak her out! Like the time that she thought that she was being followed by the F. B. I." Tash said.

Chapter 2
History

"Shut up Tash! I'm in the room you know." Clare said.
"You thought that you were being followed by the F. B. I. ?" Ike asked. Clare started to say something, but Tash interrupted her.
"It was really creepy. There was this van following her everywhere, and every time she used her phone, a clicking noise would some on. It made her paranoid." Tash explained. "Then after about two weeks, it just stopped."
"It was really creepy! Even you and Chris thought that I was being put under surveillance!
Tell her, Chris." Clare told Christine.
"It was pretty creepy. I don't know what it was." Chris confessed.
"There! See! I'm not crazy! Now it's happening again!" She said. "Maybe before it wasn't the F. B. I. Maybe it was some sicko, and now he's come back to get me! Zac! Did you close the door when you came in?" She asked.
"I don't know. I think so." He answered. Clare ran upstairs, then ran back down, and shut the bedroom door.
"It's, it's, it's, open! Someone could be inside!" She whispered.
"Well, then I'll go shut it." Tay said, and opened the bedroom door, and went upstairs.
"Tay! Wait! He'll kill you!" Clare called up after him, and went upstairs herself. The people downstairs could hear murmuring voices from the hall. Then a scream. A few minutes later Clare and Tay came down.
"What happened?" Tash asked. Clare stifled a nervous giggle.
"It was my parents. They were bringing the groceries in. They had left the door open." She said. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"But what was the scream?" Zac asked. Clare rolled her eyes.
"My mom ofund a spider in the grape bunch." She said.
"See? You got all worked up over nothing." Ike said. Clare started to laugh.
"I guess I've been watching too many X-files episodes." She said. The phone rang. Clare went to answer it. It was still on speaker phone.
"Hello?" She asked.

Chapter 3
New Suspects

"Hey babes. It's me. Did you like the gift I sent you?" A raspy voice said through the speaker.
"Brink? Brink is that you?" Clare asked, her voice high with terror. The voice laughed.
"No, I'm not Brink. But if he's bothering you, I can get rid of him. " The voice said, and then laughed cruelly.
"No! No! Who are you! What do you want! Why did you kill that dove?" Clare shrieked.
"I wouldn't be so worried about the bird if I were you, you'll see a lot more deaths before I'm done with you. I'm your secret admirer. Later babes. I'll see you around." The phone clicked, and the only sound coming through the receiver was that of the dial tone. Clare dropped the phone to the floor.
"What-what's happening? Who's doing this?" She stammered. Tash tried to comfort her friend.
"It's probably just some sicko. It's okay." She cooed.
"If this is Brink, I'll kill him! I really will!" Clare threatened. Tay looked thoughtful for a moment.
"I don't think that it's Brink. This isn't his style. I've known him ever since we were small, he wouldn't do something like this." He said.
"I don't care who it is! I just want them to stop! This is freaking me out!" Clare yelled. She turned to Tash and Chris.
"Will you guys sleep over tonight? I don't want to have to be alone." She asked.
"Sure. We can ask our parents over dinner." Chris answered.
"We'll stay over night too." Zac said. "To, uh, keep you, company."
"You can if you want. My parents are going over to my Godmother's tonight, and they probably won't be back until some time early in the morning." Clare answered.
"Cool. We'll ask later." Tay said. He seemed surprised.
"If he calls again, I'm going to check the call display upstairs." Clare promised to herself.
"Can't you go check it now?" Ike asked.
"Of course!" She ran upstairs, and then came back down. "It said 'private number'." She announced.
"Anybody want to play some N64?" Zac asked. Everyone just looked at him. "It'll uh, pass time." Zac added. They all sat down in front of the T.V. But none of their minds were on the video game.
They were all terrified.

Chapter 4
Camp out.

"Let's sleep outside!" Tash suggested.
"No way! It's the middle of September, and you want to sleep outside? Did you forget why you're sleeping over?" Clare asked.
"Sorry." Tash muttered. They were all packed down in Clare's room in the basement. No one had a lot to say. Clare's parents had just left, and it was almost 9:00.
"Well, the night is young. What should we do?" Zac asked. No one answered.
"Thanks for your show of enthusiasm." He mumbled.
"I don't think anyone's in the mood for fun, Zac." Ike told him. Zac made a face.
"Well, at least I'm not moping around, waiting for something bad to happen!" Zac retorted. Ike rolled his eyes.
"Cool it, guys. I don't need bickering brothers in my house when I'm being stalked!" Clare yelled. Her sudden outburst startled everyone.
"Sorry." She muttered. There was along silence.
"Do you have any movies?" Chris asked.
"Yeah. Terminator, Terminator 2, Pet Semetary, and Pet Sematary 2." Clare answered.
Chris and Tash rolled their eyes.
"All movies with Edward Furlong in them, right?" Tash teased. Clare threw a pillow at her.
"Edward isn't in Terminator, and Pet Sematary, he's in the sequals!" She retorted.
"I didn't know you liked Edward Furlong, I thought you had the hots for Clint Moffatt." Tay asked her. She shrugged.
"Edwards hotter. I guess dark hair and dark eyes aren't really my thing. I like Blonde and blue, like Erik von Detton. But Edward's hot." She answered. They talked for a little bit more.
There was a loud noise form upstairs.
"Shhh!" Clare hushed. "It sounded like the door." Everybody sat, frozen. They could hear someone coming down the stairs, to Clare's room. The door opened. A tall teenager, who couldn't have been older than eighteen, stepped inside. He looked around. Clare shrieked.
"DANIEL!" She yelled, and ran up to hug him.
"Hey, Skibby. What's up?" He asked, as she ran into him.
"Nothing, what are you doing home? I thought that you were still at college!" Clare asked him. Her guests shifted uncomfortably. Clare turned to them.
"Oh! Chris, Tash, you remember my brother, Daniel. " She said.
"Hey." He said. Tash and Chris both nodded and smiled. They had only met him once before, and that was a few years ago. Everyone could tell from the look on Chris's face that she instantly liked him.
"Guys, you might not remember him. Daniel this is-" She started.
"Isaac Taylor, and Zac Hanson. I know. I remember you three." He said. His cold blue eyes framed on Taylor. Clare smiled nervously.
"Can I speak to you, upstairs?" She asked. He shrugged.
"Whatever." They went upstairs.
"What was that all about?" Tash asked. Ike shrugged.
"Beats me." He said. Then he turned to Tay. "He sure didn't seem to like you, though."
"I remember Daniel. He came to visit last summer, when Clare was sick. He stayed by her side the whole time, and didn't like people coming to visit. It was while you were in Greece."
He said to Tash and Chris. "I went to see her, to see how she was doing, but he didn't want me to go into her room. I told him that I was her friend. He got angry, and told me to leave. I said that I just wanted to see her for a moment, just to make sure she was okay. He started yelling, and said that she was just fine without me. Clare's mom came downstairs and told Daniel to let me see her. He reluctantly agreed. She was awake, and glad to see me. She asked what all of the fighting was about, and I told her that Daniel didn't want me to see her. She got a really worried expression on her face, and told me to be careful, and that he is very protective. As I was leaving, he told me that he knew about me, and the little band that my brothers and I had going, and that if I still wanted to have my pretty boy face, I'd better stay away from his sister. It was really weird. Clare hasn't talked about it since." He finished.
"Weird." Zac muttered.
"We used to see Daniel a lot when Clare was younger, he always hated it when people picked on her, it made him go ballistic. When he was 14, they sent him off to Air Cadets. To 'shape him up.' as Clare had put it. She was really upset. That was when she started to get serious about sports. " Chris told them. "Maybe he doesn't like, uh, guys hanging around her." Tay blushed. Everyone knew that there was a little something going on between him and Clare, but they never talked about it.
"Daniel is one scary dude." Tash murmured. They waited for a few moments in silence.

Chapter 5
Daniel.

"Daniel, what are you doing back?" Clare asked her brother when they were alone in the kitchen.
"What's that Taylor guy doing here? Don't they sing that song 'MMMBop'?" He asked, trying to aviod answering her question.
"Don't change the subject! You aren't due home until December! Why are you here?" She repeated. David shrugged.
"I got bored at Air Cadets. They always want you to do what they tell you to, even if you don't wanna. My Commander is really pissing me off. So I, uh, left early." He said, avoiding er gaze.
"You dropped out?" Clare asked him.
"Yeah. For a while. Until things, cool down." He said. "What are you, my babysitter?" He asked.
"Do Mom and Dad know about this?" Clare asked quietly. Daniel rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, Skib. I called them before I came here to tell them that I'm dropping out of Cadets.
What do you think?" He snapped.
"They'll have a cow." Clare told him.
"And you don't think that they'll have a cow about those guys sleeping over?" He challenged.
"Mom and Dad said it was okay, they're family friends. But I guess you haven't been around here long enough to know that." She said. He looked away.
"I didn't ask to get shipped off to that, to that, hell hole!" He yelled, and stomped upstairs. "You'd better not say that in front of Mom and Dad! They'll really kill you!" She called up after him.
"Do you think I care?" Was the distant reply. Clare shook her head at his disregard for their family, and went back downstairs.
"That's all I need, my over protective brother back, and a stalker." She said as she came into her room. The T.V. was on, and everybody seemed to be watching Terminator. She took a seat next to Tay.
"Sorry about that." She whispered to him. He turned and smiled at her.
"No problem. I had completely forgotten that you had a brother." He said. She looked away.
"Not many people know. It's not like they want to know him. He can be pretty cold sometimes." She replied bitterly. Tay didn't know what to do. He had always been close with his brothers and sisters. He held her hand. It was so small compared to his. She looked up, and smiled at him.
"Thanks." She whispered, and rested her head on his shoulder. Taylor felt better, as if a great weight had been lifted off of his mind. Clare may not have the perfect life, or face, but she's perfect enough for him. They watched the movie for a while. It was near the end, when the phone rang. Clare absentmindedly reached for it.
"Hello?" She asked into the reciever.
"Hey baby, It's me." The familiar raspy voice answered. Clare immeaditly turned off the T.V., and put the phone on speaker.
"What-what do you want?" She stammered.
"You. I've had my eye on you for a while. I know where you live, and who your friends are." It said.
"My friends? Stay away from them you freak!" She yelled. The voice laughed.
"Hey babes. That's no way to talk to me. I like your friends. Especially that guy, what's his name? Oh yeah. Brink." The voice said.
"Brink? Oh! No! What do you want with Brink?" Clare shrieked.
"I don't know, yet. He's here with me right now, if you want to speak to him." It asked.
"Brink!" Clare yelled. There was a pause, then a muffled reply.
"Hello? You've got to help me, I can't-" Brink's voice stopped suddenly. Then the voice came on, and started laughing.
"See? I'm not joking around. I'm serious. Dead serious." The voice said. Tay started to yell.
"Who do you think you are, taking my best friend! When I find out where you are, I'm gonna-" Tay yelled.
"Do what?" The voice snarled. "You can't do anything but sing." Tay looked up.
"Yeah, I know who you are. You're Taylor Hanson. You're real good friends with Clare, now aren't you? Maybe YOU'RE the reason she doesn't like me. Maybe I'll have to get rid of you, too." The voice threatened, then laughed.
"What do you want? Leave me alone! I've never done anything to you!" Clare cried, tears ran down her face.
"Oh, yes you have. You've done more than enough. But now it's my turn. I'll be seeing you real soon." There was a click, and then the dial tone. Clare sobbed.
"Oh, poor Brink! This is all my fault! I-I can't believe that we thought it was him making all those terrible calls, and the bird, oooh Brink!" She wailed. They could hear footsteps above coming down into the basement. Daniel burst into the room.
"What was all that about? Who the hell was that?!" He yelled. Clare was nearly in tears.
"Shut up! Just shut up! Why don't you just mind your own business for once!" She screamed at him.
"Someone's been calling you? Who's Brink? What the hell do they want?" He continued, not paying any attention to her. Tay tried to calm Clare down so she would talk to Daniel.
"Clare, yelling at him isn't going to make it go away." He soothed. She stopped yelling long enough to cry.
"I, I . . ." She sobbed. Isaac tried to explain.
"Clare's been getting these weird calls. They started this afternoon. Someone sent her a decapitated bird, and then called saying that he was her secret admirer. This was the second time that he called. He said, that, that he had Brink. We could hear Brink's voice. He sounded so scared." Ike told him. Ike was really scared himself. Daniel turned to Clare.
"I'm, I'm so sorry Skib, I had no idea. This guy, he, he's really sick." He stammered. He wasn't very good at apologizing. Clare sniffled. Daniel went to hug her. She cried into his t-shirt.
"Why is this happening?" She asked outloud.
"I don't know. But when I find this creep, and I will, I'll kill him." Daniel said quietly.
No one argued.

Chapter 6
The Good Son

Everyone slept downstairs that night. Trying to have a good time. It didn't really work. Tay insisted that they call Brink's house, and they did. It rang thirteen times, and no one picked up.Daniel didn't say much, he just sat by the phone. Clare kept on stealing nervous glances at him. Finally, she talked to him.
"Why did you drop out?" She asked suddenly. He looked up, surprised.
"I don't want to talk about it right now." He said.
"Well, you are. Why? You're no idiot." She said. He shook his head at her remark.
"You don't have to be stupid to want to drop out, I'm just on a break. I'll go back, eventually." He said.
"But last I heard, you were doing alright? What happened?" He laughed. Dry, scornful laughter.
"Is that what mom and dad told you? Think about it, Clare I'm their mistake. They messed up with me. I got in too many fights, hung around the wrong crowd, stuff like that. So do you know what they did? They shipped me off. Away to Cadets. You need a 90% average to get in, but that was no problem, since I was doing okay in school. The head dene at the academy just needed a little bit of, persuasion." He said. Then smirked. " I thought it would be cool, you know. Until I found out the real reason why they sent me off there. So I could 'shape up'." Clare shook her head. He usually never called her Clare. Always Skibby, or runt. But she wasn't the runt, he was. How could this happen? He was good looking, lots of people thought so. He had even been offered a few modeling jobs.
"Um, I hate to break up this little family openess, but it's been three hours, and no one's called. Can we go to sleep?" Zac asked. Daniel shrugged.
"You can go to sleep if you want, but I'm staying awake the whole night." He said. Zac shrugged, and snuggled down into his sleeping bag.
"Isn't that too hot?" Tash asked him.
"Yeah, sort of." He unzipped the bag, and draped it over him. There were sheets and comforters spread across the floor, along with the carpet. Clare layed down. Tay sat down beside her.
"I'm sure Brink will be okay." He said, trying to make her feel better.
"I can't believe I thought that this was him! I feel so guilty. This is all my fault." She said. He brushed a strand of hair from her face.
"Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you." He murmured. She smiled.
"Thanks, Tay." She whispered, and closed her eyes.
* * *
Taylor woke up to a loud bang. He looked around. Everyone else was asleep, except Daniel.
"Did you hear that?" He asked him. Daniel didn't look at him.
"Yeah. A bang. So what?" He asked.
"Well, aren't you worried about what it was?" He couldn't see Daniel, but if he could,
he was sure that Daniel would be rolling his eyes.
"Look. Personally, I think that this is just some dumb kid at Skib's school, trying to scare her. I'm only doing this so she won't freak out." He said.
"But, but, my friend's life could be in danger!" Tay sputtered.
"So? Not my problem." Daniel said.
"Clare was right." Tay said. " You really are cold." Daniel didn't answer.
"What are you guys talking about?" Someone asked. Clare sat up. Daniel sighed.
"Look, Skibby. I don't think that anyone is seriously in danger here. It's just some kid from your school trying to scare the shit out of you. I'm going up to bed. See you in the morning." He said, and got up.
"Dan, Daniel!" She stutterd. "You, you said you would. . ." She didn't finish. He left the room.
"Oh, no." She moaned. Tay shook his head, and stood up.
"That guy has a real problem." He growled, and went up stairs.
"Taylor! No, what the hell do you think you're doing?" She demanded. He glanced back at her.
"I'm gonna tell him to grow up, and get a life." He said. Clare jumped up.
"What? Are you crazy? He'll kick your ass, Taylor. He's twice your size. Forget about it." She said. Taylor thought about this, and then sat back down on the couch.
"Yeah, you're right. But how can he be so thoughtless?" He asked. Clare looked away.
"I don't really know. It's like he said. He's the mistake. I'm the one my parents favor, I don't really know why. He got all the family's looks, and they sort of hated him for never taking those job offers, I guess, since I know what I want to do with my life, they respect me more, and that's really burning him up inside." She said. Taylor shrugged.
"Well, he should deal with it." Clare sighed.
"I know...one moment he's so nice, and awesome. The next, it's impossible to tell." She said. Taylor nodded. He was already drifting back to sleep. Clare yawned, and slumped down into her sleeping bag.

Chapter 7
Wake up sunshine.

Clare slowly opened her eyes. It seemed like everyone else was asleep. She got up, and went upstairs to the kitchen. There was a note on the fridge from her parents.

Clare-
We found Daniel. We've gone up to the base to attempt to get him
registered for next semester. I think the time at home until then will
do him well. He's sleeping upstairs. Be good, we'll be back later today,
right before dinner.

Love,
Mom and Dad.

Clare crumpled up the paper, and tossed it into the garbage. Her parents must've been mad as hell when they found out about Daniel. She looked into the fridge for something to eat, but found only some diet sprite, and orange juice. There was a fifty near the note. Clare figured it must be for her. She hopped back towards the basement, when there was a knock on the door. She heard Zac and Chris coming up the stairs.
"Hey, Clare. Do you have anything to eat?" Zac asked. Clare shushed him with her finger. He gave her a confused look. She pointed to the door. Zac nodded, and stepped forward. He opened the door. There was a package sitting on the doorstep. It was addressed to Clare.
"Clare, don't open it yet. Where are your parents?" Christine asked. Clare shook her head.
"They found Daniel, and they went up to the base to try and get him registered again. They won't be back till later. Daniel's upstairs, sleeping. Chris, I have to open it." She said. Chris shook her head.
"Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you." She said. Clare nodded, and took the box downstairs. Taylor had just woken up. Ike and Tash were still asleep.
"Hey guys. What's that?" Tay asked, then froze. "Or do I not want to know?"
"I haven't opened it yet." Clare said. Taylor nodded, and cleared a spot on the floor. Chris shook Ike and Tash awake.
"Huh?" Tahs asked, still groggy.
"Wake up, stupid." Christine hissed. Tash groaned, and turned over.
"Why? I want to sleep." Ike complained from the other side of the room.
"Clare's gotten another package." Zac said. Tash and Ike both sat up. Clare went to open the package, her fingers trembling. She teared off the tape. Inside the box was a package, wrapped up in newspaper. She unwrapped the newspaper, and screamed.

Chapter 8
What a monster.

"What? What is it?" Taylor was trying to calm her down. Clare continued to shriek.
"Oh my god! Don't open it! Get RID OF IT!" She screamed. The box had closed again, and Isaac slowly opened the top.
"No!! You don't want to do that!!" Clare yelled, and moved to stop him, but Taylor held her back.
"Oh, that's disgusting." Ike said, his face turning green.
"What's disgusting?" Daniel asked. Everyone turned to look at him. Taylor got a angry look on his face. He stood up, and picked up the box. He still didn't know what was inside.
"This is your kid from school prank, Daniel!" He yelled, and shoved the box at him. Daniel narrowed his eyes at Taylor, but opened the box. He dropped it, and turned away.
"Who the hell would do that?" He asked, his face also a murky shade of green. Taylor looked down into the box, and also turned away.
"What? What is it?" Tash asked. Her, Chris and Zac hadn't seen it yet.
"Look." Clare said softly. The three of them went to look into the box. There, helf unwrapped, was the skin from a person's face. Zac recognized who it was.
"Oh, god...Brink." He murmured. Christine rushed to the bathroom. Clare was the only one who wasn't about to hurl.
"Christ." She muttered.
"There's a, a, a letter underneath it." Tash said, also trying to avoid looking at the flesh. Clare walked up to the box, and reached in to get the note. She got another glance at Brink's severed face.
"What sort of a monster would do this?" She asked outloud, to no one specifically. She read the note.

Hey babes. I told you I'd get rid of him. Does't his pretty face look even better away from his body? I think so. He's still alive, you know. And there's a chance to save him. I'll be taking someone else soon too, so watch out. Love you forever, your secret A XOXOXOXO.

"Oh, god, he's still alive?" Ike asked. Clare turned around. He had been reading over her shoulder. There was a knock at the front door.
"Hello? Can I come in? It was open." Traci said, and came down the stairs. Taylor rushed to cover up the box.
"Hello everyone!" Traci chirped, and noticed the silence in the room. "What's up? Oh, did you guys have a sleepover?" She asked. Clare nodded.
"Yeah, hey Traci." She said.
"Don't you know how to knock?" Tash asked. Traci gave her a hurt look.
"I'm sorry. I thought that, I mean the door was open. I thought maybe something was wrong." She said. Something clicked in the back of Clare's mind, but she couldn't put her finger on it.
"It's okay. We just woke up." Clare said. Traci nodded.
"Okay." She said, her eyes drifted around the room, and paused momentarily on Taylor. He was in boxer/shorts, and a old tee. His face went slightly red. Zac rolled his eyes. "I was just wondering if you guys have seen Brink? He was supposed to call me last night, but he didn't, and when I called his house, his parents said that he'd gone out, and hadn't come back yet. Has he been by here?" Traci asked. Tash sniffled.
"No, well, I don't know." Clare said. Traci gave her a confused look.
"He might've been, but we were all asleep." Ike said. Traci nodded.
"Okay then. Thanks anyways. See you guys later!" She said, and hopped up the stairs, and out the door.
"We should've told her." Daniel said.
"Why? I'd just freak her out." Tash said. Christine emerged from the washroom. Her face was flushed.
"You all right?" Daniel asked her. She nodded.
"Yeah. Who was here?" Chris asked.
"Traci. She wanted to know if we had seen Brink." Tash said softly. Christine's nose wrinkled.
"Oh." She paused for a moment. "Isn't that a little convienent?" She asked. everyone gave her a odd look.
"How so?" Zac asked.
"I mean, she shows up right after we get the box with, ah. Brink, in it." Her face turned green momentarily for a minute, "And then she asks if we've seen him. A bit odd if you ask me."
Taylor shook his head.
"Nah, She wouldn't do that. She can't stand the sight of blood. And besides, there was no way she could overpower Brink. She's tiny. And they person who's been doing this is a guy." He said. Daniel shrugged.
"Possibly." He said.
"But, why would a girl call me babes and say she's my secret admirer?" Clare asked. No one had a answer for that. Christine sighed.
"It was a suggestion." She said.
"Man, this is like a demented scavenger hunt, searching for clues, and getting pieces of the puzzle in boxes." Zac said. Everyone looked up at once.
"The scavenger hunt is today!" Taylor said.
"Omigosh, I completely forgot!" Ike said.
"Are we still participating?" Christine asked. A million conversations and questions began, and the object in the box was momentarily forgotten. Finally Daniel did a whistle with his two fingers under his tounge.
"Guys! Are you forgetting what Clare received in the mail today?" He asked. Everyone looked at the floor. "Now, the way I see it, this scavenger hunt is a possibility for more boxes and pieces of people, and it's also the chance to catch the piss head who's been doing this." He said. All the teenagers in the room began to see the connection.
"So, if we split up, then one team might get caught, right?" Zac asked. Daniel nodded. Christine rolled her eyes.
"This is stupid. For all we know, that might not be Brink's face in there, it could be wax or a rubber mask that happens to look like Brink." She said. "No one has touched it yet, so we don't know if it's real." No one said anything.
"Well, someone has to touch it." Tash said quietly.
"Not me!" Zac yelled, and backed away from the box.
"I'll throw up again." Chris said. Clare sighed.
"I'll do it, since I'm the only one who can keep my lunch down when I look at it." She said, and stepped over to the box. Everyone backed off a bit.
"Clare, I think it's real, you don't have to do this ya know." Taylor said. Clare didn't answer.
"I'm okay." she said, and slowly opened the box.

Chapter 9
Squishy and Mushy

Clare reached in, and qinced. Everyone in the room oculd tell she way trying not to scream. She looked away, and pulled her hand out.
"It's real." She muttered, and hurried to the bathroom to wash her hand.
"Well, I think we should go to the police." Tash said.
"Why? Like they'll do anything. They'll probably have less luck in finding out who did this then we are." Ike said. Clare emerged from the bathroom.
"Are you okay?" Zac asked her. She nodded.
"Yeah. It was all squishy and Mushy." Clare said. Chris swallowed.
"Don't, or I think I'm gonna be sick again." She warned. No one continued the conversation.
"Well, the Town Scavenger Hunt and BBQ is starting at 12:00, but the scavenger hunt doesn't start until 7:00 tonight, so we have time to try and figure out who's doing this." Taylor said. They all nodded. This was going to be the most interesting Scavenger Hunt yet.

PART 2
Chapter 10
Missing People

"C'mon, Chris. Don't go alone. Wait for Clare or Tash, they'll go with you. I would, but I have to check out the schedule for the preformances." Ike begged her not to go.
"Relax, Ike. I'll be fine. You worry too much. Nothing has happened all day. I'll be back in five minutes, ten, max. I'll see you later!" Chris waved, and headed off into the crowd.
"Christine! Wait! No, He'll come after you too!! Chrsitine!!" Ike called after her, but she didn't turn around. They had all made a promise not to go off by themselves, and she had just broken it. He wanted to go after her, but he had to check the schedule. He sighed, and made a quick and silent prayer to God that she'd be all right. Isaac hurried off in a quick jog, towards the other direction. He managed to take a quick look at his watch. It read 4:32.

"Have you seen Chris?" Tash asked. It was 5:00, and so far there hadn't been any more little surprises.
"No. Ike said she'd mentioned something about going to the washroom to freshen up, and that he'd told her not to go, but that she'd pu up quiet a argument, and had just left." Clare said. Tash nodded, and headed off to the fair washroom, she stopped halfway.
"I don't want to go alone!" She said. Clare sighed, and followed her. Taylor, Zac, and Ike had gone off to cause 'trouble' as they had put it, what they had really meant was to see if their parents had signed them up for any music shows at the fair. The went into the washroom, and there was no sign of her.
"Well, she's not here." Clare said. Tash got a very worried look on her face.
"Clare, what if she was like...hurt?" Tash whispered.
"I don't think so. There're too many people here. Who ever's doing this wouldn't risk it."
Clare said. Tash nodded, but deep inside, she had a horrible feeling.

Chapter 11
Goodness Gracious Me

"Hey! Guys!!" Clare called to the three blonde brothers setting up on stage. Zac looked up.
"Hey Clare, Tash. Where's Christine?" He asked. Clare and Tash stopped dead in their tracks, their mouths fell open.
"You mean, you haven't seen her?" Tash asked slowly. Zac shook his head.
"No, why? You don't think...." He didn't finish his sentence, partly because he didn't trust what he was going to say. Zac turned around. "Ike! Tay! Come here now!" He yelled. Ike and Tay trotted over.
"What's up?" Tay asked.
"You haven't seen Chris, have you?" Tash asked. There was pure worry in her voice. Taylor shook his head. Ike's eyes went wide.
"You mean she's not back yet?" He asked. Clare and Tash shook their heads. He kicked a nearby amp. The impact made a dent in the side.
"Ike! Chill!" Zac tried to calm his brother down.
"I tried to tell her to go with someone, but she wouldn't listen! It's all my fault!" He yelled.
"What do you mean? Explain what happened!" Tash asked, she was getting hysterical.
"She needed to go to the washroom. I told her to wait, and she said she'd be fine. I was like, 'go with someone, Tash or Clare', and she was like 'I'll be fine', and I would've gone with her, but we had to check the schedule, and that was the last time I saw her." He said. His shoulders slumped.
"Ike, when was this?" Clare asked slowly. He shook his head.
"A while ago." He muttered.
"What time?" Tash asked hurridly.
"I don't know...." He said, then remembered when he had checked his wristwatch.
"About 4:30." He said. Tash's face went pale.
"It's now 5:17." Clare said softly.
"Where the hell is she?" Tash shrieked. Clare grabbed her shoulders.
"We'll find her, she's fine, don't worry." She insisted. But deep down, Clare knew, that there was very little chance of them ever seeing Christine alive again.

Chapter 12
The Next Day

"There's still no sign of her." Tash said softly as Clare slumped down beside her. The teens had gone to the police about everything, and it turned out that Brink had been missing for two days. The autopsy and blood DNA proved that the skin was from Brink, and that by now he must certainly be dead. There was no sign of Chris, and no one had reported seeing her in the washroom. Tash was a wreck, and Daniel was withdrawn. Taylor and Zac had gone very quiet. And Isaac blamed himself. He actually confessed to allowing her to go off on her own. Tash and Chris's parents didn't blame Ike at all, but they were scared and worried for their daughter's life.
Clare's parents were furious that she had not gone to the sooner, and they were even angrier at Daniel for not telling then himself. The Hanson's were lying low, and trying not to attract any press attention. The police and everyone involved had been sworn to secrecy not to mention the Hanson's names outside the case.
Clare stared at the sky, and Tash was silent. They both feared the worst for Christine, and her returning alive was beginning to become more and more hopeless with each passing hour. The Henning's, Demitt's, and Hanson's phones were all being tapped, and there was 24 hour survellience on all three houses. Clare noticed a lone figure walking towards the Demitt's house.
It was Traci. She came up to them, and sat down on the grass.
"Hey guys, what's up?" She asked. Clare tried to smile, but she couldn't.
"Nothing." She said. Traci looked at the ground.
"Still no sign of Christine?" She asked quietly. Tash shook her head.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Traci muttered uncomfortably. There was a silence for a moment.
"I can't believe you guys didn't tell me about Brink, and that his face was in that box." Traci suddenly said. Clare and Tash both looked at her. Traci's face was red.
"I mean, he is my boyfriend, and I was really worried about him. Now he's probably dead, and it's all your fault." She said, and pointed accusingly at Clare. Tash narrowed her eyes.
"That's not fair Traci. How was Clare supposed to know? Huh? I mean, it's not like you ever really loved Brink. You have it too bad for Taylor, too. Oh, wait. Are you jealous of ehr because she has him, too? God, Traci, you are pathetic." She spat. Traci had a look of surprise. She had expected a punch from Clare at the most, but not a word from Tash.
"Get the hell out of here Traci, before I kick your ass." Clare growled. Traci didn't say anything, but she stood up and turned to leave. She thought better of it, and glanced back.
"You know, I hope they never find the guy that's been doing this. Then you can be tortured your whole life, knowing that the killer of your best friend and my boyfriend, is still at large." She said, and left.
"Bitch." Tash muttered. Clare didn't say anything. Something clicked in her mind, something...But she couldn't put her finger on it.
"Look, Tash, I've got to go. I'll see you later." Clare said suddenly, and stood up.
"Okay. I'll call you later if anything turns up." Tash said. Clare nodded, and left.

Chapter 13
It all comes together.

Clare sat in her room, thinking about everything that had occurred the last three days. She
had a odd suspicion that the killer was someone she knew, but she couldn't quiet grasp it. So she sat, and thought, trying to put together connections. There was the bird, how many people knew she loved animals?

"Oh, Taylor, you know I love animals. Thank you so much. This picture is perfect..."

"Ike, don't be mean. Lizards have feelings too, you know...."

"I wanna give everyone in the world a puppy."
"Zac, you love animals almost as much as I do."

"Tash, I swear, if anyone I ever knew touched a animal, I'd kill them."

"Chris, you love hamsters, don't you? That's like me and little cats and animals."

"Oh, I love to watch birds. Especially the doves. They're so beautiful..."

The last thought stuck in her head. Who had she mentioned that to? She struggled to remember, it was at school, she knew. Something about science? Who was in her science class, there was Matt, Rose, Andrea, Tommy, Traci, Andrew....
"Traci!" She yelled out. She remembered the conversation.

"I love birds, I'm so glad I get to do my project on the dove."
"You really like them Clare? I think birds are boring. Doves especially."
"Oh, I love to watch birds. Especially the doves. They're so beautiful."
"If you say so, Clare, I'll see you in french."
"Bye Traci...."

The only person that she had ever mentioned doves to was Traci. It suddenly dawned on her. It was Traci! Traci knew about the doves, Traci resented her, and Christine wouldn't just go off with any stranger, it would have to be someone she knows and trusts to a certain point, and Brink, he's a big guy, he would have to be distracted, and she was the last one to see him alive.
Clare rushed to the phone, and dialed the Hanson's number. Ike picked up.
"Hello?"
"Ike! Is Tay there?" She asked.
"Uh, no. He went out for a walk a little while ago, why?"
"Oh, is uh Zac there? He didn't leave the house, did he?"
"No actually he did leave, with Tash. Said something about Traci calling Tash and and babbling on about how she thought she knew where Chris was. Why?"
"Oh, Christ.....call the police and tell them to get to Traci's house as fast as possible. She did it, Ike, she killed Brink and took Chris!"
"What? Clare, calm down, look-"
"Where did Traci take Zac and Tash?"
"Ah...I think they were going to stop off at Traci's house first." He said, "Look, Clare-"
Clare didn't evem hang up the phone. She dropped the receiver, and ran.

Chapter 14
I'll save you

All she could think about was her friends, and how she had to help them. Clare ran all the way to Traci's house. It was in a secluded part of rural Tulsa, and there were some trees and brush to get through. Halfway through the mini forest, she saw someone stumbling.
"Hello?" She called out. The figure momentarily stopped, and then fell to the ground. She ran at full speed to the fallen person, and almost screamed herself.
"Oh, god, Christine!" She cried. Christine's fallen body lay in a crumpled heap at the forest floor. She groaned.
"Clare, she's wants Taylor. Oh, it hurts." She moaned. Her clothes were all bloody and she had a vacant look in her eyes. She sighed, and her eyes rolled up in the back of her head.
"Christine!! No!" Clare screamed, and looked for a pulse. There was one. Clare silently thanked god, and begged for the strength to save her friends. Clare hod to choose, whether to stay with Christine unti help arrives, or to go and save Tash, Zac, and Taylor too. She chose the latter, Christine was strong, and she would be okay. Hopefully. Clare took off her jacket, and covered Christine with it. She ran to the now visible house at the edge of the clearing. The front door was closed, but she tried the handle and it swung open. The hallway was dark. She heard muffled voices coming from the kitchen. Clare snuck in and headed in that direction.
She hid behind a corner, and took a quick peek around. Another door, which probably lead to the basment, was closing slowly. Clare could just make out the yellow Dr. Martins being dragged down the stairs. She gulped. Please let Zac be okay, Please let Zac be okay.
There was a door slam, and she heard footsteps in the kitchen. She got ready to tackle Traci, and jumped around the corner. Traci's back was to her, but she turned around, with a shiny knife in hand. Traci's mouth twisted into a look of surprise, and she stepped back. Clare tackled her to the floor, and knocked the knife from her hand. But Traci was stronger then she had expected, and she threw her off, and lunged for the knife. Clare jumped back up, and looked aroung for something to use as a weapon. But Traci was a split second faster then Clare, and she lunges the knife into her shoulder. Clare screamed, and kicked at Traci. Traci fell, and Clare pulled the knife from her shoulder. She moved her handm it was still useable. She lunged at Traci, and grabbed for her throat. She squeezed and squeezed. I'm stronger than her! I can kill her! Clare thought. Traci's struggle became weaker and weaker, and finally, she gave up, and her body went limp. Clare let it drop to the floor, without any feelings of remorse. She headed to the basement where she knew Traci had taken the others. She switched on the light, and saw the unconscious bodies of Tash and Zac tied up crudely to some old chairs. There was also the headless bosdy of Brink. Taylor was barely conscious. She ran to him, he looked up.
"Mmlare!" He murmured from behind the duct tape Traci had used to gag him.
"Ow! Hey! You've got to get out! Traci's crazy! She's the one calling you, and, and she killed Brink!" He sobbed. I tried to calm him down.
"Shhh, it's alright. She's dead. I killed her. You're okay." I untied him, and he stood up.
"Thank you. I-I don't know what to say. Traci was sick, really sick. I can't believe she'd that. This, this is all my fault, Brink, Chris, you, everything! I can't believe I didn't see how obsessed she was!" He stammered. I hugged him.
"It's alright. She's gone. Dead. I killed her myself." I soothed. He looked into my eyes.
"Thank you. She tricked me, and said that you were at her house, then she hit me, and I heard her talking softly to Christine, and then, God, she beat Christine up pretty bad, and then just let her go. Then I remember her dragging Tash and Zac down here, and it was awful." He said. I felt tears fall down my cheeks.
"I'm sorry." She murmured. Then turned to Brink. "Oh, God. Where's his head?"
"I don't know. I think she cut it off. I think it's over there somewhere." Taylor answered, his voice cracking. Clare nodded, and went over to untie Tash and Zac. Zac groaned.
"Oooh, my head. Yeow, man, I have one hell of a killer headache. Tay, pass me some aspirin, would ya?" He asked. Taylor smiled softly, and undid the rope that binded his feet.
"Later Zac, you're okay now." He said quietly. Zac groaned again, and slumped over. Tash wasn't even close to waking up. Clare picked her up, and carried her upstairs. Taylor carried Zac.
"Christine's in the woods, I have to go get her." Clare said, and placed Tash on the sofa. "You call the police." Taylor nodded. They could hear the sounds of police sirens in the background. There was a pounding at the door, and about ten police men burst through, along with Isaac and Daniel. Tash ran to her brother.
"Chris is in the woods! Where're mom and dad?" She asked, half crying and hugging him at the same time.
"It's okay, little runt, don't worry, They found Chris. She was pretty beat up, and everything's okay now." He calmed her down. The cops went into the kitchen.
"What happened here?" One of them shouted to the living room. Clare shuddered.
"I had to do it, Daniel. I had to." She murmured. Daniel felt something sticky go through his t-shirt, and looked down. There was blood coming from Clare's shoulder.
"Holy, shit, Clare! You're bleeding! Yo! We need a Doctor here right now." He yelled to the cops. Luckily, the paramedics were coming through the doors, along with Clare's parents, and Mr. and Mrs. Hanson. Two of the cops cam back from the kitchen. They walked up to Taylor, who's mother was hugging him desperately. Tash's parents were already at the hospital with Christine, and they were awaiting her arrival. It was all a blur to Clare. The cops asked Taylor something, and he looked away, at Clare. She said something softly. The cops nodded, and went over to Clare.
"Miss, do you know anyhting about what happened to the girl in the kitchen?" They asked slowly, aware that Clare was in shock.
"Traci. Her name was Traci." Clare muttered.
"Yes, Traci, do you know what happened to her?" One of them asked. Clare looked sharply up at the police officer, and winced. The paramedic was attending to her wound.
"Yes. I killed her." She answered, and blacked out.

To be continued.....
Read the sequel to Fame, Fortune, and Fear© Titled Fear Summer© by athene_girl ©1999
(Sorry about all the copyrights, but it took me a damn long time to write this, and I don't want some loser to come along and take my work. So ©©©©©©©© forever until the end of time.)
Hah.

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