Jen slipped through the flaps of the canvas tent and walked quickly along the back. To her pleasant surprise, no one even noticed her. She passed through the “room” quickly. Past press and managers talking loudly. Jen ducked into a smaller tent. Three surprised young men looked up at her. Jen put on her best “surprised” face.
“Oh! I’m sorry…I didn’t know what this was…” She stuttered, and giggled. They smiled at her.
“No problem, you’re not the first lost concert go-er,” Taylor said smoothly. Jen giggled again. She hated giggling, but it added to the look. She shook hands with the Hansons, who were very polite boys. Only another reason to want them to herself. The boys offered Jen a seat and they talked for a few minutes. Jen asked them where they were going next, and other various questions. A man, who Jen guessed was the infamous Mr. Daddy Hanson, walked into the tent-room. He politely asked Jen to leave, saying the boys had to go out on stage soon. Jen ran towards the section of seating that held her spot. She stepped over the screaming, chanting girls and sat down. A half-hour later, Hanson finally ran onto stage. The noise level increased until Jen thought her ears would burst. She only kept half a mind on the concert, the other half on her plans.
Zac pulled the bread out of the cabinet and sat it on the table. He grabbed a butter knife out of the silverware drawer and set it down also. He kept checking over his shoulder. Tonight had some kind of odd feel to it. Zac got up often to eat, much to the annoyance of his mother, but he’d never been this paranoid. He felt as though someone was in the room with him. He could almost hear them breathing. Zac began to make his sandwich slowly. Zac heard something behind him. He was sure this time. He wanted to turn around, but part of him said if he pretended it wasn’t there, it’d go away. There was another footstep. Zac felt his throat closing up. It was one of his brothers, playing a not-so-funny trick on him, Zac kept telling himself. He was fourteen, he shouldn’t be afraid of the dark. There was one more step, and Zac felt something pressing into the back of his neck. It was hard and cold. Zac tried to scream but he couldn’t. He could hardly breathe. His throat had closed up, his brain was running in every direction. He heard a quiet voice behind him.
“Will you come with me, Zachary?” It said. He told himself to run, but the light pressure from the knife was enough to keep him still. Slowly, Zac nodded.
Isaac walked into the living room, taking a look at his mother who was still sitting in the chair by the window. She wouldn’t budge for anything. She insisted her “baby boy” would come back any second now. It had only been four days since they’d woken up and Zac had been gone. There was no note, but there was no evidence of struggle or a break-in. So the police said they’d have to “further investigate” before ruling it as a kidnapping. Isaac had watched his father beg with his mother to “snap out of it”. It was the first time he’d ever seen Mr. Hanson cry.
Taylor felt a little bit guilty for slipping out of the house, but he couldn’t stand to watch his parents walk around looking so empty. They hadn’t wanted the children out, in case someone would try to take another one. Taylor told himself he wasn’t a child anyhow, so the rule didn’t apply to him. He rode his bicycle down to the little creek down the road. He sat in the soft green grass, viciously pulling blades out of the ground. Somehow hoping the dirt under his nails would give him the answer to his brother’s disappearance. It was sad how you never realized how important a person was until they were gone. Taylor ran the back of his hand over his eyes. Zac wasn’t gone forever, he couldn’t be. Taylor felt stupid, so selfish for having not told his brother that he was important. That he…loved him. Even if he was a sometimes-pesky younger brother, he was just Zac, and Taylor didn’t know what to do without him.
Taylor slowly walked his bicycle through the woods behind the lot the Hanson’s lived on. It was dusk, but the woods were always darker. Taylor began to feel a little bit queasy. Maybe he should have just rode along the road. There was a small crunch of leaves. Taylor stopped. His brain was screaming go, so he did. There was more crunching. Taylor looked under his feet, he was on a dirt path. He looked around, but couldn’t see anything but shadows. He began to walk a little bit quicker. The sound quickened in it’s pace also. Taylor started to cry. He bit his lip and threw his bicycle down. He ran as fast as he could to get out of the woods. All of the sudden the sound on the leaves stopped and Taylor was in the Hanson’s backyard. He was breathing heavily and ran all the way to the back door, letting himself in with a bang. Mr. Hanson ran into the room and Taylor threw himself into the arms of father, for the first time in years, and cried.
After Taylor’s little escapade, the police were called in for twenty-four hour surveillance. The little kids were going crazy. Constantly asking about Zac, which threw Mrs. Hanson into frenzy. Mrs. Hanson’s sister, Rebecca told them they needed a vacation, and offered her house on Galveston Island. Everyone was silent as they rode the plane to the Houston airport, where a van was waiting. The salt air was a change of pace. The sunshine was bright, and the children were finally allowed outside. They played on the beach and stayed out late. It’d already been three weeks since Zac disappeared. Everyone was still in shock. It just didn’t seem normal. There were little things that everyone noticed. Zac wouldn’t have run away would he? But there was that question in the back of their minds.
Taylor walked along the beach, letting the warm water wash over his feet. The sky was pink, orange and purple. He had decided it was sort of nice down here. But it’d been nicer with Zac. Taylor still got that choked up feeling. He just kept telling himself that Zac was on a vacation. Maybe back to Legoland or something silly like that. It made Taylor feel a little bit better thinking that his brother was having fun. There were so many times Zac had been left behind, or ignored, because of his age or something like that. It made Taylor feel so guilty. What if he never got to apologize? The beach was quiet with the soft sound of the surf rolling in and out. Taylor stopped for a minute and watched some birds a little bit further down the beach. It took a second for Taylor realize that the cold object that had just wrapped around his throat was someone’s hand. He felt a knife being pressed into his back. He concentrated on breathing. Everything was swirling around him. Suddenly his fear was knocked out by anger.
“Where’s Zac!” Taylor screamed. The knife pressed into Taylor’s back slowly, a terrifying pain shooting through his body. He bit his lip to keep from screaming. The black began to fade back in.
Isaac threw everything he could pick up that was within sight. He screamed and beat his fists on the wall. Who could take his brothers? He was going to find them somehow. They were going to pay for the grief they were causing his family. Isaac took out his fury on his surroundings until he could hardly move. His brain was still running in circles. Where were his brothers? Who was this psycho? There was nothing he could understand. He felt so helpless.
Zac crawled quietly across the room. Taylor lay, unconscious, belly down on the basement floor. He pushed the hair out of his brother’s face. His tears made spots on the concrete floor.
“Taylor, I’m so sorry, I wish I could have stopped her. I love you, I really, really do,” Zac lay his head on Taylor’s arm and closed his eyes.
Isaac felt so out of place without his brothers. After his initial anger passed, he felt numb. He could barely stand to get out of bed. His brothers, his best friends, had vanished off the face of the earth. No one knew why, or how, or anything. It was all too much like watching a movie being filmed around you. A really life like horror movie. The Hanson family was falling apart. They all went around silently mourning. Wondering if they’d ever see the other two again, alive.
Two months later Isaac Hanson was sitting in a coffee shop, paying half a mind to the book in front of him. He didn’t pay much attention to the people around him either. It was a quiet, still atmosphere. The chair across from him scraped the floor and as someone pulled it out. Isaac looked up at the girl who sat across from him.
“Hello,” She said.
“Hello,” He responded flatly.
“I’m Jen.”
“Isaac.”
“Whatcha reading there, Isaac?”
“A book.”
“Sarcasm, it shows intelligence you know.”
“No, I didn’t know that.”
“You’re not very friendly.”
“You know what? You wouldn’t be either if your two younger brothers vanished!”
“Oh, I’m sorry…”
“Sorry, I shouldn’t have snapped.”
“It’s alright.” Jen began to get up.
“Wait, let me buy you a coffee.”
“I don’t want to intrude on your mourning.”
“No, It’s alright.” Jen sat down again and Isaac waved over a waiter. He gave their order. Isaac and Jen talked while drinking their lattes. Isaac felt something strange in the back of his brain. Jen seemed so familiar. He studied her features intently.
“Do you want to come over? I’ve got a great collection of books if you’re interested,” Jen asked. Isaac looked surprised for a moment.
“Sure, why not,” He smiled at Jen, hoping to find out why she felt so familiar.
Isaac looked at Jen, while she pulled books off the shelf. She looked so familiar, her smile seemed forced. Isaac felt like he’d seen her before. He searched his memory. It was hard to distinguish girls apart from other girls. They all seemed to melt together. Isaac closed his eyes.
“Oh! I’m sorry…I didn’t know what this was…” She stuttered, and giggled. They smiled at her.
“No problem, you’re not the first lost concert go-er,” Taylor said smoothly. The girl giggled again. Isaac and the other boys shook hands with her. The boys offered the girl a seat and they talked for a few minutes. She asked them where they were going next, and other various questions. A little while later Mr. Hanson walked into the tent they were using as a room, and politely asked the girl to leave.
Isaac remembered that this was the girl who had gotten lost at one of Hanson’s concerts. Isaac wondered why she hadn’t brought it up. It wasn’t that long ago. Surely she hadn’t forgotten. The longer he looked at her, the surer Isaac was of who she was. And every moment he was surer, he grew more nervous. There was something that wasn’t right. If she was a Hanson fan, why wasn’t she concerned about Zac and Taylor? Isaac asked where the restroom. Jen smiled and pointed down the hall. Isaac went down the hall a ways, and when he was sure Jen wasn’t looking, began to prod around. He opened doors and peered in, not sure of what he was looking for. Isaac shut the door to what must be the laundry room and opened the next door. His heart leaped into his throat. On the wall was a large poster of he and his brothers. Taylor and Zac had been crossed out with black marker and a large circle was drawn around him. Isaac’s mouth was dry. He was in the house of a deranged lunatic. How stupid he had been. If only he’d gone as soon as he realized who she was. Isaac shut the door quietly and tried to calm himself. He wondered what she’d done with his brothers. Isaac’s thoughts of escaping were halted by the sudden taste of hate. He wanted to kill her for whatever she’d done to his brothers. Isaac heard Jen call his name. He walked quietly toward the kitchen. He looked through the drawers quickly and grabbed the largest knife he could see.
Isaac swallowed as he heard footsteps approaching. Jen sounded nervous.
“Isaac? Where are you?” She stepped into the kitchen. Isaac grabbed her by the hair and pressed the knife against the front of her throat.
“Where are my brothers?” He hissed in a low growl.
“Isaac! I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Jen cried out.
“Don’t fuck with me! Where the hell are they! What did you do to them! I’ll kill you!” Isaac screamed. It was all he could do to stand up straight. He couldn’t believe this was happening.
“Please, please, I’m sorry. I just wanted you. I love you guys. Please forgive me.”
“Tell me where they are!” Isaac yanked on Jen’s hair. She winced.
“They’re in the basement!” She whispered. Isaac felt relief wash over his body. He fought back the tears that filled his eyes. God, how he wanted to see them. Isaac pushed Jen forward as he walked. She told him where the basement was. Isaac saw a telephone sitting on a table in the hall and with one hand yanked the cord off. He tied Jen’s hands together the best he could. He pushed open the basements door and flipped on the light.
“Tay, Zac? Are you guys down here?” Isaac said.
“Ike? Ike!” Isaac could hear Zac call out, and begin to sob. Isaac pushed Jen down the stairs with him. He held her up when she stumbled, no matter how badly he wanted to let her fall. Isaac felt his stomach turn when he saw his brothers. Taylor lay on his side, with a large red gash in his back. Zac was sitting against the wall, crying too hard to speak. Isaac saw some rope lying on the floor, and used it to firmly tie Jen up. He let her sit on the floor while he untied his brothers. He had no idea how long they sat on the concrete, holding each other, but it didn’t really matter. The police were called. Taylor and Zac were admitted into the hospital, and Taylor stayed for a week, fighting infection. Years of therapy followed, but in the end they were happy. And as for Jen, whatever happened to her? She gets out of the institution next year, and MMMBop is still, her favorite song.