Small Sacrifices

Small Sacrifices IX

JC cried out in rage at the sight of his beloved boyfriend lying on the filthy ground. The blood that leaked out of him smeared over the floor on which he lay. JC approached Justin slowly, wiping away the tears in his eyes. He crouched down beside Justin, reaching to touch him when the boy cried out loud. Sobs wracked his broken body and JC was forced to return to his corner away from his boyfriend.

He tilted his head, banging it a few times against the bars. He cried out loud once more, letting the last ounce of anger seep through. Tears of sadness now replaced his anguish cries. His eyes were misty over with tears yet he still could see clearly Justin huddled on the floor, crying his eyes out. Justin had since crawled his way from the middle of the cell to the opposite corner. Still in an infantile position, he continued to cry. The pain just would not go away. It would take weeks to heal if they were lucky enough to escape this madness.

The trembling sobs began to subside and Justin began to suck on his thumb. His eyelids closed over his eyes as the final teardrop found its way past his lids. His breathing returned to a normal rhythm indicating that sleep was just seconds away. His eyes fluttered a few more times before his eyes were bound shut.

Never leaving his eyes off of Justin, JC crawled his way toward his boyfriend. Once he reached Justin, he dipped his head down and kissed Justin on the bridge of his nose. He brushed away the lose curl and wiped the tears dry from his face. Carefully, he shifted Justin's body on his, holding him gently closer to his chest. He removed his own jacket and placed the garment over Justin's body. And together, entwined in the arms of one another, JC joined Justin in their dreamland.

JC's peaceful sleep was interrupted by the creaking sounds indicative of the cell gate being opened. Immediately, his eyes flew open and rage coursed throughout his body as his eyes narrowed on the crystal blues eyes staring right back at him. It was Brian Littrell. What the hell was he doing here?

"Hi." Brian murmured, approaching the two lovers.

"Go away!" JC muttered under his breath. "Or I'll rip your dying heart out of your chest."

"I mean no harm." Brian responded, showing JC what he hid behind his back. "I've brought Justin some clothes and some pain killers."

"Oh. I'm sorry then."

"It's okay." Brian said, moving in closer to the lovers until he was directly next to them. "Can I?" Brian asked, his fingers gripping onto JC's jacket.

JC merely nodded.

Brian slowly lifted the jacket off of Justin's sleeping body. Hidden under the garment was the damage Justin had suffered. So much damage. Brian was surprised that Justin was still alive. He would have just given up and die. He apologized to JC once more before leaving the cell to see his cousin.

Upon reaching the second floor, he could no longer contain the tears that were streaming down his frail face. How could someone put another person through this much hell? How savage were those men? How inhumane was his own cousin?

He stumbled into the office room where he found his cousin reading through the bound book in which his ex-lover wrote the songs of his life on. A smile plastered on his face as he pictured JC had written these songs for him and not for that stupid Hollywood golden boy.

"We need to talk." Brian told his cousin.

Kevin reluctantly pried off his eyes from the book to look at Brian square in the eyes.

"Yes. What's on your mind, Brian?"

"Justin." Brian said, almost whispering. "I went to see Justin. He looks terrible. There was so much blood on his body. I never thought I'd say this but just looking him made me want to throw up."

"And…" Kevin said, as if expecting Brian to continue.

"Why? Kevin, why did you do it?"

"Because that was the only way." Kevin sighed deeply. "For me. For you. For us. That was the only way to get what we needed from JC. For that boy, he'd do anything."

"Why couldn't you just threaten JC with Justin's life?"

"Because for someone who had been a victim of rape before, rape is worse than death itself. I want Justin to suffer and I want JC to suffer even more watching him suffer." Kevin explained without even flinching.

"But he could have died!" Brian grabbed his cousin by the collar, forcing him to look him straight in the eyes.

The door squeaked open and Brian was forced to release his cousin back to his seat.

"But he didn't."

After searching for Justin throughout the downtown area, Chris, Lance, and Joey finally agreed to return to JC's apartment. Perhaps, they would find more clues there. Perhaps, they would find JC waiting for them to enlist their help. They were wishful thinking, praying for the latter scenario more than anything.

They arrived to an empty apartment, again. JC was still nowhere to be found. And their search for Justin turned up nothing save for the bits of information they had gathered from the jewelry shopkeeper. All three former bandmaters convened in the bedroom, where they would try to be productive and at least help JC put everything in his life back in order. However, they were all painfully aware that without Justin, JC would rather die. Life without Justin was like life without music and life without music for JC Chasez was the equivalent of death. As they organized his books and hung his clothes in the closet, Lance noticed the blinking red light on the answering machine. Abandoning the task at hand, Lance slowly walked over the clothes piled on the floor to check the messages on the answering machines.

"Good luck, hon, from mom and dad."

It was only JC's mother.

"Break a leg, JC. I knew from the first day I met you, you would be a star."

It was only Peaches from his Mickey Mouse Club years.

"Where the hell are you?"

Johnny's angry words nearly deafened Lance as he covered his ears. Johnny continued his slurs, damning JC if he did not return to the theatre. Lance was about ready to simply turn off the machine when the next message struck him.

"Hey! Hey!"

He heard JC's voice loud and clear on the machine as if he was calling for him.

"What is it?" He heard an unfamiliar voice appeared on the machine. "What do you want, boy?"

"I was wondering…" There was a long drawn out pause. "I was wondering…" He could barely hear JC's voice over the turbulent sounds. Lance listened more carefully. He even rewound the tape so he could hear every bits and pieces of the conversation. Still, JC's voice was drowned out by, by…Lance had to rewound the tape a few more times. The van was driving over the railroad tracks, sending the van into a slight turbulence just as JC was saying, "Can we stop by that Ice Coffee shop. I'm getting tired already. You know me. I love to sleep. If I'm asleep, you'll never get what you want from me."

He rewound the tape for the final time to listen to the message in it's entirety.

"Hey! Hey!"

"What is it? What do you want, boy?"

"I was wondering…"

Long pause.

"I was wondering…"

Turbulence as the van drove over the railroad tracks.

"Can we stop by that Ice Coffee shop. I'm getting tired already. You know me. I love to sleep. If I'm asleep, you'll never get what you want from me."

A smile crept on his face as he finally put the pieces together.

"JC, you're brilliant," Lance smiled.

He turned around and called out for his friend and lover. His voice higher than the usual bass. There was too much excitement in his voice that he could not hide.

"I know where they are." Lance told them. "Wherever they took them, they took them to a place past the railroad tracks preceded by an Ice Coffee shop. Wherever there is an Ice Coffee shop by the railroad tracks, they will be near."

"Lance, you're brilliant." Joey enveloped his boyfriend in his arms, kissing him on the lips, softly.

Lance wiggled out of his boyfriend's embrace and smiled widely.

"No. It was JC. He's the brilliant one. He left a message on the machine for us, pinpointing exactly where they were taking him. And I'm almost certain that Justin is with him, too."

AJ appeared in the doorway, casting a dark shadow in the room. He shifted his body out of the doorway and entered the spacious room, stopping in back of Brian, to playfully ruffle his blonde hair before taking a seat across from Kevin.

"Justin's not dead yet." AJ repeated once again.

"I know." Kevin said. "But we have all the lyrics in this book."

"Ha! Are you that naïve?!" AJ laughed out loud. He snaked out his hand and before Kevin could react, he had already taken the bound book of lyrics in his hands. He flipped through the pages of the book, nodding satisfactorily. "Looking good. But are you really that stupid?"

"Pardon me?"

"The lyrics are nothing."

"What do you mean nothing? Every song is written beautifully." Kevin retorted defensively.

"Looks like someone still has feelings for our favorite pop star." Nick said as he casually entered the room. He was closely followed by Howie who greeted Kevin with a quick hello.

"Look, Kevin." AJ peered into Kevin's dark green eyes. "Of course, JC's work is art. With such masterpieces, do you really think JC hasn't already burned the lyrics through his soul? Chances are he probably commit the lyrics to heart by now."

"Then what do you say we do now?"

AJ smiled devilishly. He got up from his seat and paced about the room until he stood directly behind Kevin. He leaned closer to his bandmate and whispered in his ears the inevitable.

"We kill him."

"What? I can't do that."

"That's the only way, Kevin." Nick responded.

"Howie?"

"Yes." Howie nodded weakly, avoiding eye contact with Kevin completely.

Kevin slumped into his chair. He rested his head in the palms of his hands, rubbing his temple roughly. AJ took the opportunity and set a sheathed sword before Kevin.

"Use this." AJ said, thrusting the sword toward Kevin. "You'll know what do."

Kevin gazed sadly at the sheathed sword. He removed the protective covering and immediately he was blinded by the glint of the sword under the natural moonlight. He sheathed the sword once more and held it close to his heart.

"Be strong. Have no mercy upon him." AJ added. "Just remember that he never loved you the way you loved him."

"I will."

"Good. Now that we have that settled, we-"

"AJ." Nick interrupted his boyfriend. "I think Brian's gone."

"He's what?" AJ shrieked.

"Nick said that he's-"

"I heard what he said, Howie." Annoyance was evident in his voice as he spoke harshly to his bandmate. "When did he leave?"

"Just a few moments ago." Nick answered his boyfriend.

"Bastard."

Author's Notes: Don't forget to watch SNL on NBC on 10/11/03 at 11:30pm ET/PT. Justin Timberlake will be the host and musical guest on the show. Seriously, Justin should just fire Ken Sunshine and hire yours truly.