Date: Sun, 13 Aug 2000 16:12:15 -0700 (PDT) From: WIP MAN Subject: Bad Boy B-Rok: The Stripper Movie Parts 13-17 Okay, here's the next part. Pretty quick, too, eh? The usual stuff applies here. This is all fiction, don't read it if you're not supposed to, blah blah blah. Thanks to all the fans that responded enthusiastically to the return of 'Bad Boy B-Rok' after a WHOLE FIVE MONTHS. I swear I'll do better from now on, so don't kill me, aight? Well, if you have any questions, answers, comments, feedback, want to say you liked or hated the story, you know the drill. My addy is worknprog@yahoo.com! And now, on with the story.... "And it's laughter that I feel when I think of you. It's one more dusty rose about to turn. I'll see you when I reach New Mexico. If I'm in the mood to crash and burn. I wrote a letter that I never mailed. I rehearsed a dialogue in my head. In case you ever wanted to track me down, I'll take my cell phone to bed. And it's laughter that I hear when I close my eyes. And it's one more punchline I forgot to learn. I call you up when my bottle's dry. I'm on my way to crash and burn."~Sheryl Crow. Bad Boy B-Rok: The Stripper Movie (Part 13) "What do you mean you didn't open the window?" I thought it was a joke. "I mean I didn't open the window. That gaping hole in the house that's covered by glass? Well, I didn't open it." Nick laughed, thinking it was all a joke. "Fuck." I whispered and spun my head quickly back and forth, looking for anything strange in the dark. "Matt, chill babes. It's just an open window. I'm sure no one will find out your little secret." "Goddamnit, Nick! If neither you or I opened the window--who the fuck do you think did?" I screamed in the quietest voice possible. "Um, maybe the boogie man?" Nick mocked me. I walked further into the den, Nick trailing behind me, probably thinking I had gone crazy. "Shit, I didn't think he'd actually break into the house. I thought he was just fucking with me. Damnit, Nick! Why's this gotta happen to ME of all people?" I carried on as I looked around for some sign of a burglar. "What the hell are you talking about, Matt?" Nick walked up behind me and spun me around to face him. "There's somebody in the house, Nick." I answered simply, but with alot of fear in my voice. "Matt, stop being so melodramatic. It's just an open window." Nick's statement was punctuated by the sound of something breaking two rooms over in the living room. Simultaneously, we both snapped our heads to look in the direction the noise came from. "Fuck." Nick whispered. "Exactly." I was scared shitless. "Come on, Matt. Let's get back upstairs and call the cops." Nick began to try to drag me towards the stairs. "Wait!" I jerked him back, stopping him. "What if it's just the dog or something?" "Did the dog open the window?!?!" Nick whispered frantically. "Good point. Maybe we should go check it out?" I shrugged my shoulders, but still afraid. "Yeah, right! What if the son of a bitch has a gun?" Nick was frantic. "Then I push you in front of me and run like a bitch." I rolled my eyes. Even though it was dark, Nick could catch onto my facial expression. "Okay, smart ass. If I get strangled or raped, you die." "I don't think you have to worry about being raped." I tried to make a joke, even though I felt like pissing myself. Nick practically wrapped his arms around my neck as we slowly crept towards the living room. We slowly crept through the hall that went under the stairs and past the downstairs bathroom. We were about ten feet away from turning the corner to the living room when there was another loud "crash" sound. Nick and I both jumped up against the wall and hugged it for all we were worth. We stood there, up against the wall, as there was more crashing, then sounds of something being shredded. It sounded like someone ripping paper, then there was another loud pound against the wall, just on the other side of the wall we were against. Nick and I both dropped to the floor and almost took off towards the stairs again. But suddenly, there was a shattering of glass, then the noises stopped. Nick got up quickly and began to run down the hall, but I ran after him and grabbed him by the shirt. "Come on!" I demanded and drug him towards the living room. "Oh god, we're gonna die." Nick was almost crying. "Well, we're gonna die together!" I was scared to death, but I wanted to know what was going down--but not alone. I managed to wrestle Nick all the way down the hall. When I saw the entrance to the living room, I got more scared. The room was completely dark--not exactly a tempting offer when there could be an axe murderer standing behind the door, waiting to chop at the first thing he saw. "Count of three?" I turned and asked Nick. Nick just shook his head. I could tell in the dark that he was pale as a ghost. "Rush in and hit the light. If you see someone besides me--beat it's ass." I explained in a very low voice. "Okay." Nick croaked. "Alright.....one." I stated lowly. Starting to count made me more nervous. I could feel the sweat on my forehead start to run down to the tip of my nose and drip off. "Two..." I rubbed my hands together, trying not to chicken out. Nick had a firm hold on my bicep and was squeezing harder and harder, almost cutting off my circulation. I paused for a long time after I said "two", wondering if I really wanted to see what was going on in Barb's living room. I knew that if I didn't go in, things could get even worse, though. "Fuck it", I thought to myself and said the last one. "Three!" I screamed and ran into the living room, dragging Nick behind me. Nick did what he was supposed to. He flipped on the light and started beating the shit out of everything in sight. However, once the lights were on, I stopped--horrified. The whole room was torn to hell. The glass coffee table was shattered, the couch was shredded to shit, and things were thrown everywhere, glass covered the floor. The window facing towards the street was wide open, the curtains blowing with the wind that poured in. "Stop it, Nick!" I grabbed Nick away from the piece of furniture he had chose to kick the crap out of. "What the hell?" Nick turned away from his victim and looked at the scene I was looking at. "And it looks like the motherfucker got away." I was pissed as I walked towards the window and looked out. "Thank God! I sure as hell didn't want him to be in here when we came in!" Nick exclaimed as he walked up behind me. "Damnit!" I slammed my fist down into the windowsill. "I'm gonna go get the guys, Matt. We need to call the cops or something." Nick was more than exasperated. "Aight." I sighed, not really wanting the guys to know about "the man"--nor have Nick leave me alone in the living room. I didn't have to worry for too long. Nick was back at my side, tugging at my shirt in two seconds. "Didn't want to go alone?" I had to laugh, even though I was still scared shitless. "Um, Matt? Look." Nick pulled me up from my bent down position. "What?" I turned around to face the wall that was behind us. It took a few seconds, but I knew I screamed. I know I screamed really loud. Loud enough to wake everyone upstairs. Probably loud enough to wake everyone in the neighborhood since the window was open. On the wall wall above the two recliners were poster-sized pictures of me. All of the pictures were of me in public places. At the mall. At the a movie theater. At the premiere of one of my movies. Even one from the restaurant I was at earlier with Brian. Above all the pictures, in blood red paint, was the message "Scared Yet?" Just about the time I had stopped screaming and had time to take in the whole situation, I heard what sounded like a cattle herd coming down the stairs. In nothing flat, Brian, Kevin, A.J. and Howie came charging into the living room to find me and Nick standing there and staring at the wall. "Matt?!?! What the hell is wrong with you two?" Brian ran towards me, not having seen the wall yet. All I could do was cover my mouth with my hand and point at the wall. "What?" Brian shook me by the shoulders. I pointed again with more conviction towards the scene in front of me. Brian spun around to see what I was pointing at for him to see. His jaw dropped. "Jesus Christ." (Part 14) "So, you've been getting phone calls for the last three months?" Kevin sat on the edge of the ripped up couch with the other guys. "Yes. And the son of a bitch has been following me around, too. Obviously more than I realize from the looks of all those pictures." I waved at the wall across from me as I paced back and forth in front of the guys. The guys just watched me as I walked back and forth. They all looked very worried and spooked about the "stalker news", but somewhat intrigued at the same time. "And I know Barb must have a cigarette somewhere in this house!" I threw my hands up and walked over to the end table by the couch and practically yanked the drawer right out of it. Sure enough, there was a pack of smokes and a lighter there, just waiting on someone to smoke them. I snatched up the pack, yanked a cigarette out and shoved it in my mouth. I had barely lit the cigarette and taken my first drag when Brian jumped up and yanked it out of my mouth. "That'll kill you." Brian scolded me as he chunked the lit smoke out of the still open window. "Well apparently I'm headed that way with or without 'em." I retorted and lit another. "Damnit, Matt. Don't say that!" Brian screamed. "What?!? Do you know how easily that guy could've have killed any one of us tonight?" I spun around, facing all the guys as I asked my retorical question. "Matt, if he had wanted to kill someone, he would've done it. Like you said, it would've been easy." Howie stood and tried to feed me logic. "That's right. But instead he chose to scare me some more first. So he qualifies as a psycho, don'tcha think?" I laughed crazily as I exhaled a puff of smoke. "How long has this guy been fucking with you?" A.J. piped up. "Just today or in general?" I sighed. "Damn, Matt. Lose the sarcasm." A.J. replied. "Sorry, it's not easy for me to be nice when someone is stalking and wanting to kill me." I shrugged my shoulders. "So how long?" Brian grabbed my shoulders and looked me in the eyes. "I don't know, about three months." I suddenly got calm looking into his eyes. "Fuck." Brian let go of my shoulders and slunk over to the recliner to sit down. "Yeah, that's what I thought." I snorted. "Are we gonna call the cops or what?" Nick suddenly joined the conversation. "Just give me a second to think!" I swung my arms around in the air wildly. "The cops already know." Brian barely spoke loud enough for us to hear. "Huh?" Nick spun around in his seat to look at Brian. Brian got up from his seat and walked over to the open window, making a chill run up my spine. "Brian, what are you mumbling about?" I asked quickly. "The cops arleady know, Matt. The cops in New York AND the cops in L.A." Brian sighed. "B-Rok, how could they know about this?" Kevin asked slowly. "Well, they don't know about THIS..." Brian waved his arm and began to explain. "But?" Howie leaned forward in his seat. Brian began to explain again, but just stopped and looked at me, his eyes tearing up. I stood there, wanting to run over and shake the shit out of him until he spoke and explained what he was talking about, but at the same time, I felt really sorry for him. I don't know why I felt sorry for him. I didn't know what he was going to say. But seeing him tear up was enough to make me want to cry with him. "Guys, could you excuse us?" I turned to the guys and pleaded. All of the guys could see something was going on, but didn't really want to miss out on what would be said. Reluctantly, they all got up from their seats and headed towards the door. I turned to Brian as they all left the room and saw the tears rolling down his cheeks. I walked over to the couch and sat down slowly, still holding the cigarette between my lips. "Come here." I held my hands up, motioning for Brian to come sit by me. Brian slunk over to me, wiping the tears from his eyes with the back of his hands, and sat down slowly next to me. "What's going on, baby?" I asked slowly. "Matt, you're going to be so pissed at me." Brian began bawling and grabbed onto me, burying his face in my chest. I suddenly forgot the whole "stalker thing" and about the fact that the living room looked like Freddy Kreuger redid it and held onto Brian, stroking his hair as he cried into my chest. We stayed there for several minutes before I began to question Brian again. "Come on, Brian. Tell me what's going on." I leaned back and held his head in my hands, making him face me. "Matt, you're going to hate me. I should've told you before." Brian looked at me through watery eyes. "Baby, what do you know about this?" I asked, knowing I wouldn't like what I was going to hear. "Barb told me about this. She told me way before you even knew anything about it. We didn't think it was going to come to this, though. We thought this was just some other wanna be stalker. It happens all the time. An actor gets a few nasty notes and dirty pictures from some psycho, the police find the guy, tell him to cool it, and that ends that. I never thought the fucker would spend three months stalking you and breaking into Barb's house." Brian spoke so quickly that I could barely make out what he was saying. "When did she tell you about this?" I was dumbfounded. "You were sick, Matt. We didn't want to give you more shit to worry about. You didn't need that...." "When I was in the hospital?" I asked quickly, interupting him. "Yeah. You were out of it anyway. Barb came and told me that she had gotten quite a few letters from some freak mixed in with your fan mail." Brian kept explaining. "And?" "Well, she said it seemed like the usual 'I hate your movies and want to kill you' crap that stalkers send. She said she'd seen it a dozen times and the stalkers never made good on their promises." "Why didn't she tell me?" I asked in awe. "She asked me if we should. But you were sick at the time. I told her that you didn't more to worry about. So we just decided to forget it. We had no idea the guy was bothering you." Brian clutched onto me again and began crying into my chest. I sat there for the longest time, just holding on to Brian as he cried more into my chest. I thought it was pretty ironic that Brian was crying when I was the one with the stalker. I stroked Brian's hair as I kept my eyes on the open window in front of us. I wondered how I was going to take care of this situation. What was I going to do? What if this guy really wanted to kill me? "Are you mad at me, baby?" Brian interupted my thoughts. "No." I looked down at him. "It'll be aight, Brian. We'll fix this one way or another." I hugged Brian tightly to me as I kept wondering how I was going to fix something like this. (Part 15) "You are so fucking fired!" I screamed into the cordless phone as I paced back and forth in the living room, smoking like a chimney. "Matt, what the hell is wrong with you?" Barb groaned back. I know Barb had been asleep when I called her, because it was just beginning to get light outside in California. All the guys had eventually gone back to bed, but I couldn't. I stayed in the living room and paced back and forth in front of my stalkers handiwork while I smoked and cooked up the idea to call Barb and bitch her out. "Brian told me that you two knew about that fucking freak!" I screamed more. "What freak? Matt, what are you yapping about?" "The stalker, Barb!" "What stalker? Matt, I'm half asleep here, start making sense or I'm going back to bed." Barb moaned. "Barbara," I spoke slowly and calmly this time,"some fucking froot loop broke into your house tonight." "Do what?!?!" I could practically see Barb sit up in bed. "Some guy broke into your house and tore up your couch, coffee table and tried to re-wallpaper the place with pictures of me." I explained, trying to stay calm as I puffed on my cigarette. "Matt, didn't I tell you to lay off the crack?" Barb asked slowly. "That's not funny, Barb. I'm in deep shit here." I sighed and plopped down on the couch. "Are you serious?" "Yes, Barb. I'm totally serious here. I'm up shit creek without any paddles. I don't even have a fuckin' boat when you think about it." "Okay, I'm on the next plane." I could hear Barb groan as she got out of her bed. "What do I do until you get back?" I asked quickly. "Do you have Brian with you?" Barb asked. "Yeah, Brian and the guys are here with me." "I'm calling Bob. I'm going to tell him you can't film for awhile. How much do you guys have left on the movie?" "I only have one more scene to shoot." "Which one?" "Which one do you think?" "Well shit." Barb said in an exhausted breath. "Yeah, I know. I'm so fucked here, Barb. I'm sorry about yelling at you, but I'm scared shitless." I practically whispered. "What? What was that? Is Matt scared?" Barb tried to make light of the situation. "I know. I'm scared, Barb. I'm really scared." "I'm on the next plane. You guys go to a hotel room A.S.A.P., k?" Barb instructed. "Aight." "And stop smoking my cigarettes. You were doing so good for awhile there." "Yes, mother." "Love you, Matt. I'll see you as soon as I can. Just make sure to keep your cell phone on so I can get in touch with you when I land, k?" "Okay, hurry...." I whispered right after Barb hung up. "Wakey, wakey everyone! Get your shit packed." I shouted as I walked down the hall towards Brian and my room. I pounded on each door as I sleepily stumbled towards my destination. "Matt, what the hell are you doing?" Nick peeked his head out of his room. "We've gotta go." I stated blankly without even turning around. "Get everyone to get all their shit together. We're going to stay at the Hilton." "Oh, aight." Nick knew I was serious. I walked into my room to see Brian sitting on the edge of the bed, his head in his hands, slowly waking up. "Get ready, baby. We gots to go." I tried not to sound too scared. "Okay." Brian groaned as he rubbed his eyes more. I opened the closet and got our suitcases out and walked over to the bed, laying them down and opening them. I quickly began going through the dresser drawers, yanking out clothes to take with me. After I had thrown as many clothes as I could into one suitcase, I went to the closet and began yanking more clothes off of hangers. I grabbed as many pairs of shoes and sandals as I could and hauled them over to the bed with my armful of clothes. "Baby?" "Yeah?" I replied hastily, not stopping to look up. "Do you plan on staying at the hotel for a couple years?" Brian asked meekly. "What do you mean?" I finally looked up to see Brian staring at me. "Matt, you're packing every single bit of clothes you have." "Oh." I looked down at the pile of clothes and shoes I had accumulated. "Are you scared?" "I'm petrified, Brian." Brian just sat there, just looking me in the eyes, as if looking right into my soul and reading my thoughts. "Why me, Brian? What's so special about me? What did I ever do to that sick fuck? I just want to make movies and spend my life with you. I don't want anything extraordinary." I sighed and plopped down on the bed. We sat there in silence, just looking at each other, not knowing what to say. Brian then suddenly stood up and walked over to his side of the closet. He pulled out a pair of blue jeans and quickly slipped them on. He slipped a sweater on over his head and grabbed one of my "Gilligan hats" and slipped on some sandals. "Come on, boy." Brian grabbed me with one hand and the one closed suitcase with the other. "What are you doing?" I asked, having to smile at how Brian was taking charge. "Just come on." Brian drug me out of the room and down the hall. We got to the stairs and Brian stopped, looking back towards the guys rooms. "The car's leaving in two minutes guys! Get your asses in gear!" Brian hollered down the hall. It didn't take the guys long to decide they better go with us or get left behind, because withint two seconds, the guys were coming out of the rooms and coming towards us with their luggage in hand. "Do you think we're getting out of here quick enough?" Howie snipped, his eyes still red from no sleep. "Not soon enough." Brian retorted and lead us all down the stairs towards the garage. (Part 16) I stood there on the balcony with my arms crossed on the ledge, a cigarette dangling between two fingers. I tilted my head towards the sky as the afternoon sun beat down on my face. I could still hear Brian snoring loudly from the bed. I looked over the ledge, down six stories to the pool area below. I watched as the other guests at the hotel swam and hollered at each and horseplayed. The kids were having a blast splashing each other and playing Marco Polo. I smiled slightly to myself as I finished the cigarette and snubbed it out on the ledge. I contemplated going in and waking Brian up as I stood there looking out across the city. I was so tired. I felt weak, but I was afraid to go to sleep. I wasn't exactly safe when I closed my eyes. I knew I was safe in the hotel. No one knew I was here except Brian and the guys, and I knew they wouldn't tell anyone. I didn't have too long to think about much. I heard Brian make a loud snorting noise like someone shoved a handerchief up his nose, then I heard him crawl out of the bed. I just stood there where I was, waiting for him to come and get me. "Baby?" Brian peeked his head out the door just like I expected. "Uh huh?" I turned around and propped both elbows up on the ledge, facing him. "Did you get any sleep?" He asked as he came over and wrapped his arms around my midsection, burying his face in my chest. "No, I can't sleep." I replied as I kissed him on the top of his head. "Can't or don't want to?" Brian looked up at me and asked. "A little of both." I smiled faintly. "I bet I can help you sleep." Brian grinned. "I don't think that'll even work." I replied. "I wasn't talking about THAT." Brian laughed and began to drag me towards back into the room. I slowly followed Brian, holding his hand tightly as he pulled me into the room and closed the sliding glass door behind us. Brian closed the blackout curtain and pulled me over to the bed. Slowly, he pulled me down onto the bed with him. I was expecting him to want something, but he sat up towards the top of the bed, resting his head on the headboard. Then he pulled me up towards him and pulled my head down on his chest. Out of reflex, I pulled my legs up on the bed and kicked my shoes off. I wrapped my arms around his chest and nuzzled my head in his chest as I snuggled up to him. "I love you, baby." "I love you more, Brian." I replied as I felt him kiss my forehead. "Now get some sleep, baby." "I can't..." I started. "Just try." I did as Brian told me and nuzzled closer to him, breathing slowly as I felt his chest rise and lower underneath my head, lulling me slowly towards sleep. It wasn't long before my eyes shut and I felt sleep overtake me. It was quiet, and very dark, when I woke up in my hotel room. I rolled over slowly, stretching my arms out, and reached for Brian. My eyes shot open when I realized I was in bed alone. I sat up quickly in the bed and began rubbing my eyes frantically, trying to get fully awake. No light was coming through the balcony curtains. I knew I had been asleep for a long time. I looked over at the bedside table at the alarm clock. Eleven-Thirty. It hadn't been that long, but long enough for the day to be gone and the night to creep up on me. I began to reach to turn on the lamp when the most terrifying thing possible happened. The phone rang. "Fuck." I stated audibly as I looked in the direction of the phone. Who the hell would be calling my hotel room this late at night? Only one person came to mind. The guy that broke into Barb's house. BRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIING. I didn't know if I should pick up the phone or run for the door to find Brian. I didn't know if I wanted to do either. I also felt like sliding back under the covers like a little schoolboy hiding from the Boogie Monster. BRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIING. I decided quickly that I better answer it. I reached for the phone slowly and breathed deeply before finally picking up the phone. "Hello?" I asked cautiously as I pulled the phone to my ear. "Matt?" "Yes?" "It's Brian, baby." I exhaled loudly as he announced it was only him. "Thank God." I was relieved. "Hey, we're down in Nick and A.J.'s room," Brian chuckled,"come on down if you feel up to it." "Aight, I'll be down in a bit. I definitely ain't gonna stay in here by myself." "Okay, baby. Love you." "Love you more." I smiled to myself as I hung the phone up. I slowly stood up, throwing the covers off. I stretched high above my head, almost touching the ceiling and making my shirt come up, exposing my tummy. I yawned loudly before plopping back down on the bed and reaching for my pack of cigarettes. I shook a cigarette out of the pack and shoved it between my lips. It took me a minute or two, but I finally found the lighter on the table. I finally determined which end I had to light and flicked the wheel, making the room light up ominously from the glow of the orange flame. I got my cigarette lit and inhaled deeply. I felt much better with my lungs full of smoke. I smiled to myself and let the lighter fall onto the bed. Something caught my eye. In the corner of the room there was something. I didn't have time to see what it was before the lighter had gone out, but something WAS there. I scrambled for the lighter, losing my grip on it several times from the adrenaline rushing through my body. I finally got the lighter back into my sweaty hand and lit it after five or six tries. The thing in the corner was closer than when I had last seen it. It wasn't exactly an inanimate object. It was a person. A person all in black with some type of ski mask over their face. I was paralyzed. There was a fucking person in my hotel room in burglar clothes. Standing right in front of me. Looking into my eyes. "Hello, Matt." The voice. I knew that voice from so many phone calls. I couldn't say anything, I just stared at the figure before me like a deer in headlights. "Are you ready to die?" The man cackled with in a sinister manner. "Huh?" I suddenly felt like laughing. "Are you ready to die, faggot?!?" The man screamed loudly, but not too loud for anyone outside of the room to hear. "Am I ready to die? See Scream much?" I gave an indignant laugh. The man didn't answer or get upset, he just reach into some hidden compartment in his vest he had on and slowly pulled out a very long and very shiny and very scary looking knife. I just took a step back, making sure I was out of reach. I could see the man smiling evily through the mouth-hole in his ski mask. The lighter suddenly began to burn my finger and I had to let the flame go out. It didn't last long, soon I was flicking the wheel again so I wouldn't be alone in the dark with this psycho. As soon as I could see again, the man was much closer to me, close enough to have stabbed me without me even knowing to get out of the way. "Jesus!" I screamed and jumped back several feet. "I don't see you laughing now bright boy." The guy laughed. "Fuck you!" I screeched, making my throat crack. "From where I'm standing, I'm not the one that's fucked." The guy replied angrily and lunged forward, swinging the knife at me. I quickly move out of the way, but not so far that I couldn't hear the knife make a "swoosh" sound as it went by my head. I almost fell over and had to reach out to grab the table behind me to keep from falling over. In my grasping, I let go of the lighter again, losing sight of the man again. I quickly ran in the direction of the bed and jumped, grasping the lighter in my hand. I landed on the bed and jumped off the over side. When I landed, I lit the lighter again and looked towards the other side of the bed. The guy was standing there, holding the knife in his hand and some shredded material in the other. The man just chuckled evily as he swung the clothe back and forth in front of him. I couldn't figure out what was in his hand, until I looked down towards my arm and saw a huge chunk of my t-shirt missing. The shredded sides of the hole in my shirt almost made me faint. I could've been cut--and not just on the arm. "You crazy fuck." I looked up from my torn sleeve to the guy. "Did you really think going to some hotel was going to make you safe?" The man threw the piece of my shirt down and brandished the knife menacingly in my direction. "Well if you're going to do something with that knife, why don't you shove it up your ass?" I laughed, but was scared shitless, knowing the next slash wouldn't just be at my shirt. "You should learn to keep your mouth shut." The man jumped up on the bed, making me jump back against the wall, making a loud 'thud' sound. "Come on, then!" I shouted as I regained my stance. "You're not afraid to die?" The man asked. "I'm not afraid of you you fucking pussy!" I shouted. "Then maybe I'll have to kill your cute little boyfriend, too." I could see the man's huge grin again. "I could kill him anytime. No one can protect either one of you." "FUCK YOU!" I screamed. The man came charging off the bed towards me, knife pointed right at my gut. I quickly jumped out of the way and dropped the lighter. The room was completely black again. When I heard the man hit the wall I was just standing against, I ran as fast as I possibly could towards the door to my room. I hit the door running at full speed and tore it open. I didn't even look behind me as I ran down the hall at breakneck speed towards Nick's room. I was halfway there when I looked behind me and saw the man running after me. I turned my head back to the front of me and ran faster than I thought possible. I didn't stop running until I got to Nick's room. I stopped so fast I thought I'd slide further down the hall and right past the room. I quickly began banging on Nick's door. "Let me in!!!!!" I screamed loudly, looking back to see the man coming closer. "Goddamn it, open the door!" It seemed like an eternity from when I got to the door and when Brian opened the door and let me in. He didn't exactly "let" me in, I pushed my way in. "Matt? What the hell is wrong?" Brian grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me. "That fucker is right behind me, close the goddamn door!" I screamed and tried to shut the room door. "Matt, have you gone insane?" Brian laughed nervously and stopped me from shutting the door. "Brian, shut the fucking door!" I screeched, making my voice crack again. Brian just shoved me out of the way and shoved his way into the hall. I was expecting the man to come running up and stab Brian to death, but nothing happened. "There's no one out here, baby." Brian looked back in the door at me like I was crazy. (Part 17) "Goddamnit, Brian, there WAS somebody in here!" I insisted as all six of us stood in the middle of the hotel suite that Brian and I were staying in. I knew I sounded insane. The only thing that was "torn up" about the room was the bed I had just gotten out of. Other than that one minor detail, nothing seemed out of place or looked like I had just almost gotten killed. "Matt, are you sure it wasn't just a dream?" A.J. came over to me and asked lowly. "It wasn't a fucking dream!" "Listen, Matt. It's okay now." Brian came up to me and hugged me. "You're just really tired and need to get some more sleep. It's no wonder you're so out of it. You've had to delay filming the rest of your scenes, this guy broke into the house last night and you're just tired, baby." "I'm not tired, I'm not out of it, and I'm not crazy. That sick bastard just tried to kill me, Brian!" I pushed him away and sat down on the bed. "Matt, there's no one here. You were just having a dream." Brian leaned down and tried to calm me down. "IT WASN'T A FUCKING DREAM!" I jumped up to face them all. I had my hand clenched in the sheet, and when I jumped up to look at all of the guys, I pulled the sheet up with me. As I yanked the sheet up, something flew out of the covers and landed on the floor with a "thud" sound on the other side of the bed. "What was that?" I turned away from the guys when I heard the noise. I dropped the sheet back on the bed and tried to look over the bed from where I was standing, but I couldn't see anything. "Matt, what was it?" Howie asked slowly as I tried to peek over the bed at the mysterious object. "I don't know." I replied, almost whispering. I slowly walked around the end of the bed, trying to find what had fallen off the bed. When I got to the other side of the bed, I saw the object. At first I almost gasped at the sight, but instead, I knelt down and picked it up, still holding it low where to guys couldn't see what I had. "Matt?" Brian spoke up in a shaky voice. "What is it, Matt?" Kevin stepped a little bit closer to the bed. I just stared at the object I had in my hand for a few more seconds, and looked up at the guys from my position of kneeling on the floor. "Brian, did Barb call?" "About an hour ago, why?" Brian looked like he was about to freak out. "Where was she?" I asked, looking down at the object again. "She was calling from her car. She said she was going to go home, then she'd be over in the morning. What the fuck is it, Matt?" Brian spoke so quick I could barely understand. "We've got to go." I stood up, showing them the hunting knife I had in my hand. "Fucking Christ!" Nick jumped back. "Dream my ass." I sighed. All the guys just stood there, just staring at the huge knife I had. Suddenly, Brian spoke up. "Matt, what's that?" He asked, pointing to the paper paper stuck to the end of the knife. I pulled the paper off of the end of the knife and held it up for the guys to look at. "Matt, is that..." A.J. began to speak. "....it's a picture of Barb!" Howie finished. "We've got to go." I threw the knife and the picture down on the bed and headed for the door. "You guys stay here. We're going to get Barb." Brian chased me out the door, giving instructions to the guys. Brian and I practically ran down the hall to the elevator. I kept pushing the button over and over again until finally the elevator arrived and we jumped in. I kept tapping my foot and chewing my lip as we rode the elevator down. I just knew that sicko had made an extra stop back at Barb's house and was going to fuck with her. Maybe even kill her. I didn't know what to think, I just knew Barb was in danger. She was in danger just 'cause she knew me. Finally, the elevator got us to the lobby and Brian and I made a mad dash for the parking garage. Luckily it was after midnight so the lobby was fairly vacant, otherwise we would have knocked quite a few people over on our way. Brian and I quickly found his car and hopped in. I was just fastening my seatbelt as Brian peeled out of his parking spot on the way to Barb's house. "Brian, from now on when I tell you that I've just had a guy try to kill me, trust me, okay?" I scolded him as I pulled a cigarette out of the pack to help calm my nerves. "Okay, so I fucked up. I didn't believe anyone would know we were there." Brian apologized. "Don't light that in here." "Hey, I almost died, you can deal with some smoke." I replied and lit it. "How the hell did you get away from a guy with a knife?" Brian shook his head as we sped thru a redlight. I didn't know how to answer. I just shook my head. "He almost got you." Brian stated and looked down at the cut sleeve on my shirt. "I guess you can do almost anything if you're faced with death." I replied and puffed on my smoke, trying not to think about how close I had been. "I guess so..." Brian trailed off, probably trying to keep his mind off of it, too. "Jesus Christ, Brian, can't you go any faster? What if that fucker is killing Barb right now?" I screeched. "Matt, I'm going a hundred already, how much faster do you want me to go?" Brian replied calmly as we sped thru downtown Beverly Hills. I tried to keep silent and just let Brian drive the rest of the way. Finally, I could see us coming upon the street that Barb lived on, and grabbed the door handle, waiting for Brian to pull into her driveway so I could jump out. When Brian pulled up in the driveway, I kept yanking on the door, but it wouldn't open. "Unlock it, Brian!" I spoke quickly. Brian unlocked the doors and I jumped out, not bothering to close the door behind me. Brian was right behind me, not wanting me to go into the dark house alone. I ran up to the door and hand the knob in my hand when I looked up and saw the piece of paper taped to the door. "Matt, I'm waiting inside for you?" Brian read it out loud over my shoulder as my hand began to shake on the knob. "Did Barb leave that?" "Who do you think left it, Brian?" I asked, my hand still shaking on the knob. "It doesn't necessarily have to be from him, it could be from Barb." Brian tried to think of something to keep from getting scared. "That's not Barb's handwriting, Brian." I stated and pulled my hand away from the knob. "Are you going to go in?" Brian asked. "No." "No?" "Go get on your cell phone and call the cops, Brian..." "But he might leave if he sees the cops coming. Or he might do something irrational if he's in there with Barb!" Brian stated quickly. "I almost got stabbed by that fucker once tonight, I ain't takin' two chances in one night. Please just call the cops." I replied. Brian ran back over to his car and hopped in. He grabbed his cell phone and quickly dialed 9-1-1...... TO BE CONTINUED......... Hope you all enjoyed this section. I'm trying to put out sections a bit quicker than I normally do. Anyway, remember if you have anything to say, ask, blah blah blah, e-mail me at worknprog@yahoo.com! To DR- "Crazy, my thinkin' was hazy. Placin' you in the kitchen with apron and skillet preparing me dinner. But to serve's not your forte. Lonely, I bet I was only lookin' in your direction for some small affection, but you made me love you. 'Cause you always get your way."~You Always Get Your Way, Sheryl Crow.