After Dark 6 by DCG
############### DISCLAIMER ###############
The usual disclaimer applies as per usual. I don't mean to imply anything about NSync or anything they do or think. But my character Chris, who is based around a real person is, yes you've guessed it, completely and utterly gay and THAT I DO want to imply!!
Also, I am mentioning music that people have had the inspiration to write and compose and perform and I want to impart that the piece used here is the artists alone...(and Sony Music (c) as-well!!)
Also, kids bugger off cause your too young, and the same goes for those who don't like this stuff...All that being said...
Authors Notes: Chapter 5 out of the way, chapter 6 coming your way!! But the questions just keep on coming... Is Chris' fate sealed so early on? How will Justin and JC survive the weather? lol Well, I hope you enjoy how it unfolds...
Suggested Reads: I am writing arc 2 without internet access and it's driving me insane. Therefore, any suggested reads will have to wait until I can actually read something!! lol The good thing tho, is that I will have 6 weeks worth of catching up to do!! YAY
Important Note: Nobodies reading this I'm sure, but ha-ho... I have come to realization that music is a pivotal part of my writing. It influences me immensely and guides my storylines without effort. I listen to a fast paced piece of rock music and the pace of the story increases, and the sentences shorten, and the action becomes slicker. I listen to a piece of background music, or classical music, or soundtrack music for that matter, and it goes the opposite way...and everything slows down and I put more thought into the scene in general, and the thoughts of the characters take a more prominent role...With this in mind, I have decided to attach a piece of music to each chapter, as sort of a theme for it. It will be the piece of music that influenced me the most in my writing, and was more than likely the piece of music I was listening when i wrote it...Some pieces may surprise you, or they may not!! Oh, and if someone else has already done this in their work and feels I have stolen their idea without asking, then please let me know and I'll stop...
Enough of me and on with the show...
Last Time in After Dark...
"Fuck!" He sighed...Then, suddenly, a slight movement, he slipped an inch... Another inch. Another. In his panic he looked back and tried to grab whatever he could to stop...But as he scratched the surface for a hold his body slipped more. The bush began to buckle under his slight weight, and he heard a crack as the small branches which held him began to snap and release from the ground... "Fuck!!" Screamed Chris as he realised this may be the end... His hand kept clambering across the ground for something, and he kept slipping. He felt his legs hit the edge as they hung in mid air, and small rocks and debris scattered into the wind... "HELP!" Chris screamed as he was seconds away from death. Suddenly a large branch snapped under the pressure, and so was Chris' grip. The bush he held onto came away from the rocks that bound it and Chris felt his body slip down the smooth surface to the edge. This was it, he was seconds from death as his torso hit the edge, and all that remained was for his eyes to see his fate...
And now the continuation...
After Dark by DCG
Chapter 6 - Warm Hands
Music: Mexico - Incubus
He was at the point of no return, and he saw what awaited him as he looked down. Only his arms, held aloft, were on safe ground as he slipped further, until, suddenly, as he felt the weight of his body drag him over the edge, he felt the warmest pair of hands he had every felt, grab at his wrists, and stop him in his tracks...He jerked to a stop and his head snapped forward. He looked up, through the blanket of snow, and saw a pair of striking eyes looking back at him...It was Justin. Justin reached down with his other hand and grabbed Chris' wrist again. He then pulled, and Chris grasped with his other free hand, and through the driving snow, and high winds, Chris slowly slid up the sheer cliff face and to the safety of the top.
The grip was strong, and so was Chris' heartbeat. He had been seconds from death, and he had this man to thank for saving his life. They struggled for a few minutes before Chris was on solid ground, on all fours, staring at the ground, thanking the very salt of the earth for his safety. The snow continued to fall but he didn't take any notice as he took in a few deep breaths before looking up, and squinting through the blanket of snow, to see Justin approach.
"Do you know where we are?" Shouted Justin as he shielded his face to speak
"In the middle of nowhere..." Said Chris. "I'm as lost as you seem to be."
"What are you doing out in this weather?" Asked Chris as he pulled himself up and looked at Justin, his voice raised to get over the sound of the howling wind.
"It wasn't like this when I came out...It just turned nasty, and I ended up stuck out here." Said Justin as he looked up into the darkened sky and shivered.
"I think we better get somewhere warmer." Said Chris as he noticed Justin shiver. "We can't stay out here all day, we'll not make it through...It's too cold." He continued, his voice still stretching to get over the high pitched winds. "We need to get out of this...until it clears!" He shouted...
Justin just blinked and nodded. Right now, they needed shelter from the weather, even if it ended up being under a tree, or behind a rock... Chris just pointed into the woods, and Justin followed.
Back in the depths of the woods, JC had continued his descent through the thickening tree-line, towards comfort and warmth. He occasionally glanced over his shoulder, hoping that he hadn't turned his back on his best friend. He was sure Justin was already back at the chalet, worrying about him and not the other way around.
The wind continued to harass him as he bypassed one tree, and rounded another. His ears began to hurt through the piercing whistles it emanated. Then suddenly almost out of earshot, JC heard a sound, a small noise, echoing through the trees. He stopped, and turned on his heels. He squinted to see through the snow, and steadied himself against the bark of a tree, but he couldn't see anything. He could only just see a few feet in-front, never mind 100 yards distant. He was sure it was a voice. `It could have been Justin' ran through his head. But he couldn't just turn around and look, he would never find him in this weather.
He paused for a second as he strained ever more to hear something, hoping upon hope that it was indeed Justin shouting through the wind and snow. But the longer he waited, the more unlikely it seemed. So he turned back around, got his bearings and set off again...He had his head down and a determination in his eyes as he passed tree after tree hoping he would reach a clearing. He looked up again, and it all seemed as if he hadn't moved at all. All the trees looked the same, and still there was no way out. No visible route to safety. So again, he lowered his face from the driving snow and walked on, against the ever strengthening wind. A black shadow seemingly passed in-front of JC as he walked and he looked up immediately. He stopped in his tracks. A shiver went up his spine. The immediate surroundings became eerily silent as he looked around. It was as if some had stepped across his grave. The shadow had passed so close. As he looked around he saw what he thought was the silhouette, through the snow, very faintly...
"JUSTIN!" JC Shouted, but to no avail. He then did the only thing he could think of, and that was to follow. He quickly clambered over a grounded root and started to give chase. JC shouted again, and again, but the wind continued to whistle through the tree-line and JC struggled to even hear himself. He rounded another tree, and still, the figure didn't stop or slow down. JC started to shiver slightly as he leant against a tree as he rounded it. He walked onwards, shouting Justin's name again and again, but still nothing.
Across the divide, in the static warmth of the chalet, the tension could be cut with a knife. The air hung low and heavy as silence filled the room. It was only midday, and yet the day seemed to be drawing to a close prematurely. The light outside had faded to almost nothingness when the clouds appeared, and the snow started, and now all anyone could see out of the window, was white. Complete white.
The four sat scattered across the room. The fire raged on in the fireplace giving a modicum of warmth to the proceedings. Britney sat in the largest of the chairs, near the fire, cell-phone in hand.
"I didn't come here to end up like this!" She said, almost to herself.
"I don't think this was in the brochure. I think it would have mentioned driving snow and cold weather don't you!" Said Joey, looking up from a map he had on his lap, sarcasm dripping from every word. Chris and Lance just looked on, sighed, and returned to worrying about JC and Lance in their own way.
"It would have been a good idea to look at some brochures. Instead I let you lot organise it. Fat lot of good that did us!" She snarled. Her anger had returned at the point where it became obvious the day would be spent indoors. She allowed her shallow nature to take over...
"Justin organised it..." Said Chris as he looked away from the window for a second, and contemplated where he could be right now... His thoughts were drawn to the worst case scenario, as everyone's would be. He could see him huddled under a small tree somewhere, waiting for the snow to abate. But Chris knew, as much as the rest of them there, that that wasn't going to happen. The short garbled weather forecast had dispelled that hope as soon as it arrived. The bad weather would be a predominant feature for foreseeable future. `Bitch' thought Chris as he looked back through the window.
"Don't look like that Chris. He's probably found a bar somewhere and drunk himself under the table." Said Britney as she stood up and walked into the kitchen, defiantly. The shoulders of the other three, visibly lightened as she exited the room.
"We need to do something!" Feared Joey. "We can't just sit here and do nothing."
Lance walked from the closed front door and sat next to Joey, he didn't once meet his gaze. "She could be right you know. He could be somewhere, inside at-least." He thought aloud "We'll just have to wait. That's all!" Chris nodded. But Joey wasn't having any of it. He wasn't the sit down and do nothing type of person. He was the action man of the group so to speak. But he had ulterior motives. He had started to worry as soon as Justin had left the house. Justin was never very good at handling confrontation. He would just cower away and hope it would just all blow over. This, most certainly wouldn't blow over. He stood up.
"I'm not gonna sit here and wait for them to come back. I'm gonna go and find them. I don't know how I sat here this long! You saw how upset Justin was when he left, he could be anywhere, and the state he was in as well. Anything could have happened! and JC too...He`s still out there." Joey ranted. He suddenly made a beeline for the door, taking both Chris and Lance by surprise. He yanked the door open and the snow forced it way into the warmth, sending a shiver up everyone's spine. He paused for a minute before trying in vain to venture out through the door, but the extreme wind and snow pushed him inside...preventing him from venturing out into the endless reams of snow that capped the hills. It gave Lance and Chris enough time to get to Joey's side, and put their supporting hands on his shoulders. Once they did, Joey stopped trying and slumped his head as he closed the door. "This is not how it was supposed to happen. No-one mentioned weather like this." Said Joey, almost pleading within whomever would listen to him.
"I'll try calling again, we've got to keep trying, but we can't go out there...not when it's like this." Reasoned Lance as he grabbed the phone again and tried to dial some sort of assistance. But as with every other attempt, it was doomed before it even started.
BANG!!
Joey, Lance and Chris suddenly looked up, shocked by the loud echo that reverberated through the house. None of them had any idea what could have caused such a calamitous noise. It seemed to come from within the very fabric of the house... Britney suddenly appeared at the edge of the kitchen, a shocked expression on her face, and for once she didn't criticise or complain. She was as in the dark as the rest. Lance and Joey looked at each other knowingly for a second, as they silent deliberated between themselves as to who would venture upstairs and survey the scene... A moment later, Lance nodded...and started to walk for the stairs
"Just shout down if you need anything..." Reassured Britney, and for the first time in an age, Lance was able to give her a smile
Out in the snow, and across the tree-lined, snow capped range Justin and Chris shuffled side by side through the forest. Their journey had been a short one so far, and an equally unproductive one. Everywhere they looked, all they saw were trees, and no avenue of escape from the weather... The snow continued it's barrage as they walked. They could noticed the warmth and feeling in their faces start to disappear as they bypassed yet another bunch of indistinguishable trees. They needed to find cover, and quickly. Chris looked up yet again, into the sky to see no apparent end in sight. He slung his arm around the shoulder of a quiet Justin. Justin just followed, head hung low and silent, and it worried Chris a little. He squinted his eyes and surveyed the scene as they reached an opening. He had no idea where they were, but across the open patch, he saw an opening. It's wasn't too clear to his eyes what the opening was, but he knew for now, it would do... He nudged Justin, who duly looked up and saw the avenue of protection. It took them a few minutes, but they entered the small cave and leant against the wall, regaining their composure, and their breath. For now, they were out of the snow...
By now, Lance had reached the first floor, and he suddenly felt a chill run across his face as he rounded the corner at the top of the stairs. His body visibly shivered at the sudden sensation. He stopped and looked around. Everything seemed normal, but the temperature had visibly decreased. He decided to test the air. He let a small breath escape between his lips as he saw as the air from within his lungs condense in mid air as if he were walking down the street on a cold winters morning. He started walking again and at the end of the hallway, he saw the culprit. He saw a fully opened window, the red curtain that hung from it, blowing hard in the wind as trickles of snow crept onto the ledge. Another chill ran up his spine as he approached, and eventually reached the window. He looked out into the harsh outside world for a second before reaching up and grabbing the window, and pulling it down. He almost reached the bottom, when suddenly he saw something out of place. The latch had been forced off it's hinge, the window had been forcibly opened. Lance stood, shocked for a second, his mind contemplating millions of possible answers and explanations... That was until he glanced down even further a saw another clue. He saw a soaking carpet, a trail of water leading away from the window. He looked up, and followed the trail. It rounded a corner and suddenly, Lance knew where it came from. He walked to the door, and looked inside the room, and what he saw he didn't like, or understand. The trail of water led Lance straight to the bathroom, the very bathroom they had stored the body...
"Where is it?"
That's chapter 6 out of the way and chapter 7 is right alongside!! That's what makes this bit feel good, cause I know the next chapter is already done and dusted!! phew lol Hope you enjoyed it, and now I am back from my sabbatical, things should get updated much quicker than usual!! Drop me a line by email or chat on MSN Messenger, and I will be more than glad to say hi and answer and questions, or just chat!!
Love and Hugs to everyone, and I want to congratulate the people of the Eastern Seaboard for making my trip to the US a memorable one, as it always is, and I look forward to coming back at Xmas!! YAY (A big shout out to that club in Philly that I went to on my way through - I never thought I'd find a club that they `didn't' have in Atlanta, but I was wrong - pity I can't remember the name!! lol)
DCG