Chapter 4

Nick was sitting on a really firm bed with his back pressed against the cold wall. He has both knees tucked up near his chest and his arms wrapped around his legs in hopes to keep himself warm from the cool, damp air that was in the fairly small squared room that was only lighted by a hanging light bulb that was moving around in small circles. He kept his emotionless gaze down at the black, standard issue shoes that they have given him because they told him that all of his clothes and even his shoes from the concert were evidence as well.

He sat in the same spot and in the same position for almost an hour before he starts shaking his head very slowly, still feeling the punch from Sholtz. He was curious if Howie was dead or still alive and at the same time he thought about why he told Sholtz that he liked what he did. Why didn't I stop myself when I had the chance before stabbing him? He had a quick flashback of the incident, as if possessed by his own personal demons from Hell; he couldn't control his actions tonight. But why didn't anyone stop me, or snap me out of the...this trance or this unconscious rage?

Nick gradually raises both hands so that he could see them. They were clean but one was wrapped up in bandages, and what looked like to him was a small blob of blood that darkened the center of his palm or was it just a weird shadow from the flickering of the light that he couldn't stand. Only to decide to keep it on because that he was a bit scared if DJ would to come into the room and bully him more. He felt like a small boy again, being alone and frightened. He tries to flex his fingers of his right hand and frowned, Nick must have injured some nerve endings. But he then quickly thought about that. Wasn't he holding broken glass? He sighs in frustration and then breaks down in sudden tears.

"What's happening to me...?" He stammers. He lies down on the bed, his body trembling; he curls up and hugs himself to keep warm. Nick cried as he begins to feel very apathetic and confused of everything.

Before he falls to a restless sleep, he thought about the small group of people who he had met a year ago - The night when his life changed dramatically to the worst. This is when his personal demons became to be and only one person knows about this...

Nick remembers when he met the group off people who he had met at a club that he went off to by himself, not bothering to wait for his guard. He went off with them, partying hard nearly all night. Once he left the nightclub and the friendly people, virtually in a drunken state as he began walking; struggling to keep his balance as he tries to get the blurriness out of his eyes. He knew he was going to feel terrible the next day, and wandered through the barren streets of somewhere in the state of Washington. He stopped awkwardly for a moment and gazed around the streets and gradually searched for a pay phone that was close to him so he wouldn’t go far if he passed out…even though he felt like he was going to any second from the dizziness.

He let out a groan as he rubbed his forehead with both hands, almost sighing in relief after as he spotted one several feet away, if he was correct. He slowly took his time approaching the payphone as he gradually reached his hand in his pocket of his pants, fumbling for some change. As he comes to it, he saw a very tall and built man with broad shoulders, that was dressed in a dark blue business suit and shiny black shoes and several rings on his fingers on both hands. He must have been around his late thirties or forties as he glanced over at Nick who stood drunkenly, waiting for him to get off the phone.

“Yeah…I will…sure, it’ll be easy…that drunk can be clumsy anyway…not to mention easy to get to…Yeah, yeah…yep. I’ll see you later too.” He glares at Nick for a while. “Bye.” He slams the phone back and steps away. “You look like you need to call your mommy or whatever, son.” He sternly says to Nick as he walks away.

Nick dumbly nodded and staggered over to the phone with some of the change in his hand; ready to insert into the coin deposit of the payphone. He sluggishly pointed his index finger and tried to dial the number that he wanted to reach. Then he heard the operator machine’s voice answer and he quickly hanged up and heard the change fall into the place where he could get it and use it again. He muttered under his breath as he re-dials the number to Brian’s cell phone after he heard the dial tone. As he waits for his friend…or someone to answer the phone, he glances around the sidewalks and the streets - feeling a bit paranoid. But noticed that the man was gone as he clears his throat.

Suddenly, he saw a hand reaching from behind him to press down on the release button that would hang up.

“Hey -!” Nick shouted and was about to turn around but was met with a really hard jab in his back where his kidneys are. He gasped at the unbearable pain as he fell forward against the payphone. Then he felt a pair of strong hands quickly grab him by the back of the shirt and neck and roughly threw him to the ground with a thud. Nick grunted, feeling more pain as the side of his face smacked and bounced off the hard concrete walkway. His lips curled back as he shut his eyes tightly in pain, groaning; apparently he wasn’t drunk enough to not feel the terrible pain that rang through his head, the ringing sound finally stopped that was in his ears. He could feel something thick and warm leaking down his brow and passing around his eye and he knew it was blood that was pouring out from a gash just above his right eyebrow. He then felt someone pick him up again and he was met with a large closed fist that rammed him right in his nose; blood gushed out of it quickly and he staggered back hard into the payphone at the force of the punch. He got a fairly good look at his attacker and saw it was the same man who was on the phone before him. The man punched him in the face and chest and stomach several more times before kneeing him in the ribs so hard that Nick felt a crack. He gasped and his screams were muffled as the man tightly clenched his hand against his mouth while Nick fell to his knees while the man instinctively wrapped his other arm around his neck to keep him from falling all the way to the ground. He held him like that until Nick finally passed out from the pain. Nick's body lied limp in his arm and he let go of the young man's mouth and then quickly wrapped both arms around him and carried him off into the darkened alley where a few seconds later, a pair of bright beams from a vehicle went on and the roaring sound of a car engine soon followed. As quickly as the vehicle roared to life, the driver frantically slammed on the accelerator and sped out of there;tires screeching and it wnt off quickly down the street.