NSYNC and the House of Dark Challenges By Mega-Nick Copyright 2000
The obligatory disclaimer: I have no clue as to the sexual preferences of anybody in this story. This is fiction and if you don't believe it, get a life! If you are underage according to the community standards of where you live then you shouldn't be at the Nifty Archives at all, and you certainly shouldn't be reading this story. The author takes no responsibility for the actions of the irresponsible.
Dedication: the entire story is dedicated to Jay aka SuperJoey at the Nifty Boybands Chat Room. He is also the character of Cubby in the story. This third part of the story is dedicated to my good friend and inspiration, Eric aka ec at the Nifty Boy Bands Chat.
Acknowledgements: special thanks to Schuyler, CJ, Karen, Josh, Kyle, Jon, Justin, Dark Phoenix, Kat, Superchris, Jay Cee, Jeff, Em, Shell, Dayse, Colleen, Nsyncgrrl, Sprout, Matt, Tazsten, and most of all SuperJoey, and that loving couple, Dennis and Eric, and of course all the guys at Boy Band Chat for their warm welcome and wonderful friendships and kindnesses. All comments and quality constructive criticism will be greatly appreciated.
Who knows? If you're real sweet you might make a friend for life! You can reach me at mega_nick@hotmail.com
Part Three Thursday Evening 8:00 PM Nick's Mom's House and DFW International Airport The Wreck of Flight 849
Joey and Cubby made Nick comfortable on the couch downstairs in the living room. Cubby put a blanket over Nick and crawled in beside him. He took Nick's right hand and held on tight. Cubby looked worn and tired. He often had trouble dealing with Nick's frail constitution. It took a toll on Cubby's nerves and the frustration of it often tormented him. He loved Nick and he knew it. Nick made him feel like no one ever had. He adored him, and even though no couple could be closer, not even Lance and Chris, Cubby kept secrets from Nick. He even concealed the truth from Nick upon occasion.
Nick's mom walked in with some hot chicken soup and a cup of Nick's favorite coffee, made just the way he liked, and a small pile of crackers. Cubby took the tray from her and said thanks and scooped up a spoonful of the hot soup for Nick, who made an ugly face and spoke bitterly.
"I hate chicken soup."
"I know sweetie, but it's what you need to get your strength back." Cubby spoke with a gentle voice, but the others in the room could hear the iron underneath.
The storm hit North Dallas with all the fury of a dozen hurricanes tied together. The two fronts met somewhere over the LBJ Freeway at just after eight PM. The rain came down at a rate of over nine inches per hour. The winds howled out of the southwest at over eighty miles per hour.
Somewhere to the east, Flight 849 fell from the sky. Faster and faster the plane fell, and then the wind shifted slightly. The damaged aileron caught the wind and began to dig hard against the dive. The Flight Engineer called out.
"Captain, I have the secondary back-up electronics grid online! We have the control systems computer back."
The captain of Flight 849 fought hard at the controls of his runaway Jumbo Jet. He had a job to do, and if he couldn't do it then there was going to be a smashed airplane and lots of dead people all over the DFW International Airport.
"Captain, I have communications online." The Flight Engineer spoke triumphantly. The captain spoke into his headset.
"DFW International Tower, this is Flight 849. I'm declaring an emergency."
"Flight 849, this is DFW International Tower. State the nature of your emergency. We have been out of radio contact with you for twelve minutes."
"DFW Flight Control, this is Flight 849. We have been struck by lightning.
Our main electronics grid and the primary backup are both down. We have access to the main control computer, and some flight control through the secondary backup system. We have possible physical damage to the structure of the plane. I say again, we have possible physical damage."
"Flight 849, this is Fly One in command of DFW Flight Control. You are on fairly good approach into the airport. Turn left five degrees, and drop your wheels. We are going to try and bring you down onto Grand Runway Zero.
Emergency vehicles are rolling."
"DFW Flight Control, this is Flight 849. Roger, turning left five degrees.
The landing gear is down and locked." The captain wrestled with his controls to bring the plane around slightly to the left.
Justin prayed. Tears formed in the corners of his eyes, but he fought them back. It wasn't going to do any good for him to start crying. He loved being alive and he had no wish to die, but he now knew that the plane he was on was only minutes away from crashing onto the concrete of the DFW International Airport. His blood pulsed in his temples. He could hear the rush and the pounding of the blood. He prayed for mercy, not just for himself, but also for all the other passengers and crew of the plane. Something warm and loving seemed to wrap itself around him. He shuddered as he felt the plane lurch a little to the left. Outside his window there was nothing to see except the black clouds lit up by an astounding display of lightning.
He could hear the flight attendants going through the emergency landing procedures for the passengers. It all seemed just a little silly to him. What good would it do to bend over and cover your head with your hands if the plane was going to be smashed into a billion tiny pieces, he thought.
"Flight 849, this is DFW Flight Control. You are on glide slope onto Grand Runway Zero. Altitude looks good. Direction is good. We only get one shot at this. Dump excess fuel. You are not required to acknowledge any further transmissions."
"DFW Flight Control, this is Flight 849. Roger." The captain knew that dumping excess fuel at low altitude over the outer edge of the airport was a dangerous business. He knew the reason why Flight Control gave the order though-to minimize the potential fire hazard if the plane broke up on landing.
"Flight 849, this is DFW Flight Control. Turn left ten degrees to heading two seven zero due West. You are now on final approach. Full flaps and air brakes now."
The captain complied. A moment later the giant passenger jet slammed hard onto the leading edge of the runway. With full flaps and air brakes digging hard into the wind, and the captain pushing hard on the landing gear brakes, the plane hurtled down the runway at over a hundred miles per hour more than normal for this plane. The left side main landing gear buckled under the strain. The Jumbo Jet leaned over on the left side and sparks flew in all directions as the left wing hit the concrete. The wing broke in half. The plane slewed around in circles as it skidded down the runway. The main body of the plane broke in the middle. The front half of the airplane skidded to a halt.
Something hit Justin in the head. He roused out of brief unconsciousness only a moment later. His seat had broken off the steel mounts. He was sliding down the aisle of the plane and the seat turned around. He slid backwards out of the broken airplane and onto the concrete of the runway. His seat skidded to a halt somewhere on the edge of the runway close to the terminal entrance. He unbuckled his seatbelt, felt himself over to see if he was still in one piece, stood up and walked away towards the terminal entrance. He looked back over his shoulder to see hundreds of the passengers scrambling out of the broken plane to safety. He looked at his watch and noted that he had arrived at the airport exactly on time.
A crowd of officials and two emergency medical technicians surrounded Justin, and fired question after question at him. The med techs found him completely unharmed. They scrambled on towards the broken plane.
Justin gave his statement to the officials. He asked an executive from the airline if his luggage could be recovered and gave an address to forward it on to if it could be recovered. He then left the temporary holding area and found that the tiger and Andy were there waiting for him. The tiger and Andy leaped at Justin and covered him with hugs. The last hour had been pure Hell for the younger boys. They had not known if Justin was alive or dead until the moment they saw him walking towards them.
Nicholas just finished his hot soup and crackers when he sat upright on the couch and asked Joey to turn on the television to the CBS 11 News. The news anchor was showing video of the wreck of Flight 849, Justin's flight, scattered three quarters of the way down the longest commercial runway in the world. Everybody in the room was stunned. The news anchor spoke with the video displayed behind him.
"Good evening. You are watching live at DFW International Airport, the wreck of Flight 849. This is an 11 News Special Report. This is just in from officials at the airport. The ill-fated Flight 849 landed at the airport at 8:49 PM local time. The airplane had been hit several times by lightning and was damaged on approach into the airport. The left landing gear collapsed moments after the plane touched down. The Jumbo 777 broke apart as it skidded down the runway. Only one death has been reported. The pilot of the airplane was killed during the crash. Only four serious injuries are reported and none of them appear to be life threatening. Most of the passengers escaped unhurt from the crash. There were several dozen minor injuries, and of course the passengers are considerably shaken up. We have a reporter on the scene that has the Flight Engineer of Flight 849 ready for an interview. " The cameras switched then from the studio to the reporter on the scene at the airport.
The interview was brief, but shocking and uplifting as the Flight Engineer told the story of what happened to Flight 849, the crash and the calm heroism of the captain. The pilot didn't make it, but he saved his passengers and crew.
The scene in the living room of Nick's mom's house was something unreal and bewildering. At first nobody spoke. None of the young men could find their voices. They sat with their eyes glued to the television screen. Then the camera at the airport panned across some of the passengers leaving. In one group they could clearly see their friend Justin walking towards the exit to the terminal. Sighs of relief resounded in the room. As usual, Nick found his voice first.
"Thank God, Justin's alright."
"That is the luckiest guy you'll ever see." Lance said.
"I told you he'd be fine." Cubby said as he looked over and saw a big smile break out all over Lance's face.
JC sat on the edge of couch next to Nick. He looked pale at first and then the color came back to his face. He leaned back against Nick and put his feet up on the coffee table. He grinned first at Nick, and then around the room at Lance, Cubby and Joey in turn. Joey saw a playful sparkle behind JC's eyes when JC looked at him. Joey walked over and pulled JC down to the far end of the couch. He sat next to JC and put his arm around his shoulders.
Nick sat up and threw the blanket off of him. Cubby began to protest, but Nick cut him off and said he was feeling fine now. Nick wadded up the blanket and ran upstairs to throw it on his bed. When he returned to the living room he looked great. He'd brushed his hair and changed clothes and he had color back in his face. Everybody in the room was relieved. A few minutes later, the tiger, Andy and Justin burst into the living room through the foyer to the front door. The boys were talking and laughing and the others in the room looked at the three like they'd all gone crazy. Everybody jumped on Justin and wrestled him to the floor. The boys all covered him in hugs and welcoming kisses of relief and joy.
Hidden in his lair, deep beneath the secret stairwell, the Creature howled in rage and frustration. The Loving One had survived. The Creature stood frozen in time and space and howled down to the Gates of Hell with an unquenchable rage. The one called Justin was alive and well and loving his friends, at that moment, when he should be dead. How could he live? The Creature raged again and again. Then, slowly, his rage subsided, and he began to think and to plan. He would wait until the group arrived. He would torment and torture them and teach them the true meaning of fear. Then when he had driven up their emotions high enough for him to consume, he would kill them, slowly and one at a time. He would feast on their souls and emotions of fear. He would reserve a special and delectable treat for himself with the one called Justin. Yes, the Creature would bide his time and when the group was least ready, weak and suffering from fear and hate and mistrust, then he would strike.
The Creature settled back into his brooding. He began to plan his traps for the boys with the skill of a surgeon planning his next open heart surgery. He was intelligent and devious. He planned with great care exactly what his moves would be when the boys arrived the following day. He planned to move slowly and deliberately at first. He would allow the boys to explore the house during the day, but would be careful to keep his lair, the hidden stairwell, the chapel, and one or two other rooms secret from the boy, at first. He would throw blinds and red herrings in their path to confound and confuse them. He would visit them in dreams. He would attempt to take possession of the minds of the psychics. Each maneuver to be executed with precise timing and meticulous care. He would forget nothing, and leave nothing to chance. His rage was boundless now after being blocked from his first attempt at the life of the one called Justin. He would not make any further mistakes. The Creature smiled an evil yet benign looking smile. He would enjoy the feast to come.
Later that night, the boys all settled down to bed. Cubby slid naked under the covers next to Nick. He wound his body around Nick's and held him close. He loved this young man more than anything else he could imagine. Nick was everything to him, and he knew that he was everything to Nick. Cubby looked into Nick's eyes and felt the love he had to give returned in full measure. Nick reached up and held Cubby's face between both hands. He pulled Cubby closer and kissed him gently on the lips. The young lovers whispered their love to each other just moments before falling asleep in each other's arms.
For an hour, maybe longer, JC tried to sleep and found that he couldn't. He rose from the bed in the guestroom he shared with Joey and walked over and sat on the side of the bed Joey was using. He saw that Joey was wide-awake and shivering. He climbed under the covers and whispered in Joey's ear.
"I'm here bro. I'm here."
"Thanks Josh. Something isn't right. Something about this weekend bothers me."
"I understand. I'm here now. Go to sleep Joey. Go to sleep."