Chapter 17

After Dr. Marx left, the only sound heard in the room was the irregular beating of the heart monitor and the sound of the machine breathing for Nick. All the guys looked down at the young boy lying in the bed and stared a few moments, imbedding the image in their minds. There was a white bandage wrapped around his head, concealing most of his golden hair which was a mixture of it's natural blond color and a light pink from washed out blood and his face was pale except for a few places of color from the fever and a mixture of bruises and cuts.

All four of the men jumped as they heard the door opening and a young nurse stuck her head in the room and asked them to go to the waiting room while a CAT scan was done on Nick to determine if he had any brain injuries or damage. Brian looked at his best friend one last time before he was gently pushed out the door by Kevin and Howie. He reluctantly followed them to the waiting room and collapsed in the nearest seat and threw his bookbag on the couch across from him as he took in a deep breath and watched as the rest sat in the seats around him.

There was a few moments of silence as they all thought of something to say. All of a sudden Brian smacked his hand down on the chair's armrest and jumped to his feet, making his way towards the couch where his bookbag lay. He picked up the navy blue JANSPORT bookbag and walked over towards his seat again digging through the contents of the bag as his friends looked on. Without looking up he said, "Kevin hold out your hand please." Kevin held out his hand as he let out a yawn waiting for his youngest cousin's next move. Brian stopped digging through the bag for a moment and reached inside, grabbing something and feeling for Kevin's outstretched hand. When he came in contact with it, he dropped the contents into his hand and continued digging through the contents of the bookbag. After a few more seconds, he came up with a bottle of Aspirin. He dropped the bookbag at his feet and gave his cousin a sheepish grin and looked at the contents in his hands "Spare change." he mumbled as Kevin dropped the assortment of change into Brian's waiting hands. Brian counted out 75 cents and dropped the rest in his bookbag as he looked up and gave another sheepish grin and then grabbed the bottle of Aspirin, taking out two and dropping the bottle into the bookbag. He then got up and mumbled, "Be back in a bit." and started to walk off but didn't get far because of the grip that was on the back of his sweatshirt. He turned around slowly and looked at Kevin, "Yes Kevin?" he mumbled. "Where you going Brian?" asked Kevin as he grip on Brian's sweatshirt loosened. "To get something to drink so I can take these Aspirin and then to the bathroom. Why do you ask?" said Brian as he studied the wall of the waiting room, suddenly becoming interested in the pattern of the wallpaper. He heard Kevin going through his bookbag and looked down to see Kevin handing him his cell phone. "Take the cell phone with you, Bri. And if we hear anything we will call you, ok?" instructed Kevin as Brian nodded his head in response. "And Bri" started Kevin as Brian walked away. Brian turned around and rolled his eyes as he waited for his older cousin to continue. "Should you take your heart meds also Brian?" asked Kevin as he looked at his watch. Brian rolled up the sleeve of his Navy Blue Kentucky sweatshirt to look at his watch and said, "Nope not 10:30 yet, I will take them when I come back. See you in a bit." and then he walked off.

Brian walked down the small hospital hallway until he finally found a soda machine down a empty hall that was to the left of the waiting room. He looked at the selection he could chose from and was pleased to see that they had Ginger Ale. He entered his change into the slot and pushed the button for his selection and picked up the can. He then popped the top on the can open and took a drink before popping the 2 Aspirin in his mouth and drinking some more Ginger Ale to help him swallow the pills. He looked behind him and was glad to see the sign for a bathroom and made his way over towards it. He opened the door and walked in, placing the open drink and cell phone on the counter by the sink as he turned the cold water on and bent over to splash his face with cold water to wake him up. Through the sound of the running water, Brian failed to hear the sound of the door opening and softly closing behind him. The next thing he knew, he felt something in his back and a rough voice whispering in his ear, "You come with me and you will have no trouble, got it Littrell?" Brian froze when he realized the man knew his last name and he slowly reached for the cellphone on the counter and pushed the first 4 digits of AJ's cellphone before the man behind him pulled him back roughly and knocked the soda and cellphone to the floor with a loud crashing sound. He then pushed Brian roughly towards the door still holding the gun to his back and he followed closely behind him and whispered, "Go through the double doors at the end of this hall, Don't try to pull anything or you will get it, I won't hesitate to shoot you, got it Littrell?" Brian nodded quickly as he walked out in the empty hallway and turned to his right heading towards the double doors at the end of the hall with the man keeping closely behind him. When they reached the double doors, they both walked through and Brian was thrown into the backseat of the Explorer. He didn't know whether he should scream or pass out. He quickly chose his second option and welcomed the darkness that surrounded him.