Date: Tue, 04 Apr 2000 00:02:26 -0400 From: Shaman il-de SaintGermain Subject: The Price and the Prize Ch. 2 Alright then, here is chapter 2. A couple of things you should know right now. One is that this is the first part of chapter 2. Part 2 will be along tomorrow hopefully. The second is that this chapter is told from the point of view of one of the men of *Nsync. Each of the following chapters will be told from a different member's view until the story is done. That means there will be 6 chapters in all and likely a 7th as wrap up. Now, I have to tell you that I don't know any of the guys of *Nsync. I don't know what they're like, and I certain don't know anything about their real lives. Clear? Good. Once again my thanx go to Kat. My thanx also go to those of you who've written me about this story for good and ill. For those who'd like to do so in future, my email is elderknight@hotmail.com My ICQ# is 15043866 Now, on with the telling... The Price and the Prize Chapter 2: Part 1; "AAAAAGGGGHHHH!!!" THUMP! Crash! All I can see is flashes of light. Where am I? Where...the bus! A dream, it was a dream. No! It was one of *those* dreams. Not that, Please God not that! "Lance! Dude! You alright?" It's Chris. "Yah, I'm okay." I say as he helps me stand. "What happened?" asks Joey poking his head out from the bathroom. "Grace here fell out of his bunk." says Chris. "No," says J.C. as he slides out of the bunk above mine,"He slammed his head into the bottom of my bunk *then* fell out of his. You okay man?" "Yah, I'm fine. Just forgot where I was for a sec that's all." "Oh yah, man," I stiffen as Justin's laughing voice comes from the lounge,"What with all the rockin' an' rollin' I'd forget I was on the bus too. Except that we're *on the bus*!" Looking up I see him step into the hall. He's Okay. No gapping, empty eyes. No expression of hatred. It was just a dream. Forget it and move on. But I can't forget it. "Uhng," I manage to grunt,"Sarcasm...to early...head hurt." Chris chuckles and rubs my back lightly before turning back into the kitchenette. Joey smiles at me and winks as he ducks back into the bathroom. I turn and slip past J.C. who's making his bunk. Why does he do that? Nobody makes him. I mean, He'll leave the bus, his room, any place, a total wreck, but he always makes his bed. Anyway. I sit down at the table and put my head in my hands. The pain is already subsiding, and it doesn't feel like there'll be much of a bump. A touch on my shoulder makes me look up. It's Justin looking concerned. "Sure you're okay Scoop?" He asks. That's Justin for ya'. Noone should be in pain, of any kind, and if he can help it noone will. He's one of the gentlest, most thoughtful people I've ever met. Even if he does have a nasty sarcastic streak. It's funny, Justin gets more play from women than the rest of us combined, and as far as I know he's never broken a heart. I think it would tear him apart to know he'd caused pain like that. Please God, let me be wrong, let the dream be just a dream. "Yo, Lance," says Chris as he sets a cup of coffee in front of me. "Oh, yah Curly, I'm fine. Really" I reply. Justin smiles and heads back to the lounge. Taking a sip of my coffee I watch Chris finish making his scrambled eggs and sit across from me at the table. He grabs the salt and shakes it over his plate as the bus hits a bump in the road. He spills a little salt on the table, groans and wipes it up with his hands. I know what's coming now. Yep. He's closing his eyes. He's mumbling. And there goes the salt over his left shoulder. The man is so superstitious. When we first got together it was kind of weird to see some of the stuff he did. He mumbles little rhymes to bring good luck, makes little hand signs to stop bad things from happening. He insists on lighting a candle to see how it burns before getting on a plane. Like I said, it was weird. We've gotten used to it all now. Heck, it's become sort of tradition, like the prayer before a show. I guess it's comforting in a way. "La-ance," Oops, Chris is talking to me "Uh, sorry Chris, I wasn't listening." "I noticed. I said, would you like some eggs." he says with a look of complete exasperation. "I want some." says Joey as he pushes me over in the seat. "I was talking to the injured party," Chris says with the same expression,"You can get your own." "No thanks Chris, I'm not hungry." I say smiling. Then turning to Joey,"You died your hair again." "It was starting to fade." He replies, which is immediately followed by J.C. shouting from the bathroom. "JOEY! Look at this place. You said you'd clean it up!" Joey looks at Chris and me with his 'I just got caught grin' stands to go saying,"Gotta go." and grabs my coffee on his way. That's one of Joey's bad habits. He thinks just because we're best friends he can use anything of mine he wants anytime he wants. Of course he thinks I should do the same thing with him. I don't mind really. I just make him think I do sometimes to give him trouble. We've been best friends for, what, 3 years now? Yep. Ever since the night he broke it off with Kevin. He was so depressed. Thank goodness he doesn't get that way very often. Joey's usually the one that keeps things upbeat, well him and Chris do, and when one or both of them is down the rest of us sure feel it to. That night Joey was broken. And the thing is, none of the rest of us even knew Joey was in a relationship, let a lone that he was with a guy! Boy was I shocked. First I find Joey with a black eye crying in the room we were sharing, and when I finally wear him down and get him to tell me what's wrong I find out that he's bi-sexual and that the guy he loved just punched him for spilling a beer. Now, I gotta admit that I took all that pretty bad. I mean, the way I was raised, well, the Southern Baptist in me could only think, Play with the Devil, you're gonna' get burned. The part of me that knew Joey wondered how long this Kevin would be in the hospital or if they'd just opted for out-patient care. The friend in me was heart broken that Joey was in so much pain. Luckily for me and the group as a whole, I'm a better friend than I was a Baptist. It took me about a week to really get it all straight in my head, but I never let Joey see my confusion. I just tried to be there for him as much as I could. He eventually told the other guys about his sexuality and he and I even did "IT" once. Just once. It's not for me. Oh my goodness, I still blush whenever I think about that night. "Morning guys," I'm brought back to the present by the chipper voice of our current driver, Mike, coming over the inter-com,"We'll be pulling into Hampton, Virginia in 15 or 20 mins. so pull yourselves together." Business time. "Okay y'all," I say,"Let's get packin'. Ten minutes, Lounge, Itinerary." There's a round of okays and alrights as we start getting our things together. As I get my things I run down the schedule or the next couple of days in my head. We have a show tonight in Hampton, Virginia then a light day of meetings and interviews. The morning after that we're back on the bus, bound for DC for a concert, some appearances and a full day off. Then We head to Richmond, Virginia and then on to Boston. I'll have to recheck all the details. A few hours later we've settled into our hotel and started sound checks and rehearsals. This always gets a bit tedious. Today though Chris and Joey are in rare form. Chris has found a pretty security guard who's good at dead pan comedy. I think he's in heaven. Joey's just yukin' it up with everyone. I think he's figured out that I'm trying to keep my mind off something so he's going out of his way to be funny. God? Have I thanked you today for Joey's friendship? Even J.C. has some good one-liners today. Not that he's slow or anything, but J.C. can't usually keep up with Joey, Chris, or even Justin when they get going. Not that I do much better. J.C.'s a planner though. He pulls the absolute best practical jokes there are. That's something I can't do. Today's a good day. Now If I could only forget about that dream. It keeps coming back though. Joey's asked me several times what's wrong. I just can't bring my self to... "Hey Lanceton, What ya' thinkin' 'bout?" Snapping back to reality I realize Joey is crouching beside me on the edge of the stage. "Nothing." I say. "C'mon Lance. I know you better than that. You've been upset all day, and what with the way you woke up...," He looks at me with concern, his eyes narrowing as he continues,"Did you have one of *those* dreams last night?" No Joey, don't ask me that. I told Joey about the dreams when I started having them again. Actually I told him about them after I was cornered into explaining why I'd been acting like a 'b'hole and starting fights with the guys. It really had gotten bad. See, when I was real young, like five, I started seeing things and having dreams that would come true. Usually it was just little things. When I told my parents about them they got really upset. Good Christian children didn't see the future. When I dreamed about my mother dying in a car wreck and hid her keys so she couldn't go out the next day they decided I needed professional help. I went to a psychologist and got some pills to make me not dream. They worked. I only took them for about a year, but even after that I didn't dream. From the time I was 8 till just a few months ago I don't remember having a single dream let a lone one of the 'come true' kind. I can tell the difference. It's the intensity in the dream and the feeling I have when I wake up. Around eight months ago I started dreaming again. Almost right away I started having *those* dreams too. It scared me. Bad. I didn't know what to do. I was so afraid of what it might mean, me having dreams like that. I mean, when I was little I was told that they were bad, evil, and that if I let the devil put those dreams in my head I would go to hell. I look back now and know that I handled it all wrong. I got scared, and I got moody. The guys didn't know what was going on and I denied that there was anything wrong at all. It got so bad that I almost broke up the group. We had so much going on anyway and I wasn't sleeping for fear that I'd have a dream. For awhile J.C. didn't dare talk to me because I snapped at everything he did. I treated poor Justin just as bad. Chris got to the point where he completely ignored me unless we had business. Joey got it worst of all though. The more he tried to help me the more I tried to push him away. I thought I was going crazy. No, I was going crazy. It came to a head over lunch one day. I don't even remember what was said, but I jumped down Justin's throat so bad he broke down in tears. Now see, the thing about J.C. is that he doesn't loose his temper. He thinks things through before he goes off. Even he has limits though, and when Justin started crying we found that out. No sooner had the tears started then J.C. came up *over* the table swinging. I saw him coming. I saw his fist just before it connected. The next thing I know I'm on a couch. Justin is still crying. J.C. and Chris are trying to get him calmed down. My face hurts *Really* bad, and Joey is sitting beside me looking at me with the saddest eyes I've ever seen cradling his split knuckles. I found out later that he split them on J.C.'s head getting him off of me. Evidently J.C. doesn't loose his temper. He looses his mind. That's when I told Joey about the dreams. The others still don't know. It was Joey who convinced me to get help and he even found Dr. Coltrain for me. She's been a God send. She helped me see that the dreams are dreams. They're not sent by the devil. Wherever they're from they're not evil. Even though I know that, I can't bring myself to believe it about this last dream. I can't even admit that I've had it. Not out loud. I heard somewhere that saying a thing can help make it true. I won't let that be. Please God, let me be wrong. Let it just be a dream. "Hey," says Joey, taking my chin and turning my head so our eyes meet, "did you?" "No Joe." I quickly stand and walk away. I can't believe I just lied to Joey. I just lied to the best friend I've ever had. I can't tell him the truth. I can't let him see that I'm so scared of that dream that I would lie to him rather than tell him about it. "Hey Joey," I say, turning and walking backwards with the biggest, most sincere smile I can muster, pouring on the accent,"Whad'ya want fer lunch yankee boy? Mah treat!" He smiles at me, and starts over. I know he's still worried, but he'll let it lie. Man, bad choice of words. Please forgive me Joey. It's 9:30 at night. The concert went great. I think it really helped me clear my head. We're on our way out of the venue now. We're all tired and I for one can't wait to get to the hotel and...sleep. Sleep brings dreams. Darn! Well there goes another night's sleep. After that dream I'll never get to sleep. Maybe tomorrow. I can hear the screams of the fans through the door before it's even opened. As it does open the sounds becomes deafening. I'll never get used to this. It's amazing. The screaming, the crying, it's all for us, for me. I know that most of these girls are really screaming for Justin or J.C., but I can see a sign or two that has my name on it, and through the noise I can hear it,"LANCE! LANCE! MARRY ME LANCE!" It's just amazing. I smile and wave and touch the outstretched hands as we make our way to the Limo surrounded by security. I'm the last one out so I can see the others doing their thing. Justin's blowing kisses into the crowd. J.C.'s kissing hands and trying not to get pulled in the crush of fans. Chris is signing an autograph and Joey is tossing breath mints, *Breath Mints* here, there and everywhere. How silly is that? Wait a minute. Something's wrong. I, I feel sick. What's going on? I look around and my vision blurs slightly. I can see the guys. I can see security. I see a girl dodge past one of the guards and lung at Justin. "Justin!" I yell, but it's drowned out by all the screams. The girl grabs on to Justin and drags him to the ground. My stomach turns and I fight to hold in what's left of my lunch. My head feels like it's being crushed, and I stagger. The girl is laying on top of Justin kissing him. Security kicks into gear and they finally grab the girl, hauling her away. One of them lifts Justin and I'm caught from behind and almost thrown into the car. The rest of the guys are already inside and the door slams shut. We're moving and it's like someone is trying to crack my skull open from the inside. I glance at Justin and his eyes flutter open. HIS EYES! THEY'RE GONE! Nothing, nothing but empty holes where they were. I gasp in horror and he turns to me and smiles. But it's not Justin's smile. Justin's smile warms the heart, soothes your pain. This smile is, mean. It's the smile of a dog just before it eats a baby. It's the smile of a rapist as he sinks into his victim. But his eyes are there now. Meeting mine. The same blue they've always been. They're different. They're hollow. I can't look at them. It's happening isn't it. Please God, say it's not happening. Say I've passed out and I'm having another dream. "Damn, she had you Justin," Chris says laughingly,"You alright?" "Oh yes," Justin replies,"I'm just fine." No, no you're not! You're not fine Justin! "Lance, are you sick?" J.C. asks. "Yah Lance, you don't look so good." Joey adds. "My...my head hurts." I manage to choke out. What else can I say? What can I tell them. What's going on! "Hey Lance, I got some aspirin in my bag if you want some" says Chris. All I can do is nod. I look out the window to keep from looking at Justin. If I don't look then it's not real, right? If I can't see the things I see then they aren't really there. Maybe that's it anyway. I'm just seeing things. I'm in pain, I'm sick. Yes! Maybe I have a fever. I could be delirious with fever. But I'm cold. I take the pills I'm given and pop them into my mouth swallowing them with the water I got from somewhere. I keep looking out the window, watching the night go by. I'm in pain and I'm afraid, and there's an angel. It's standing in the street, wings folded, arms outstretched, bathed in golden light. No wait. It's just the light reflecting off the windshield of a car. A little car. With a man inside who's staring right at me as if he can see through the black tinted windows of the limousine. Now we're passed the intersection. The car and the man are gone. There was no angel, but there is pain and there is fear. I huddle into myself and close off to the rest of the world. I'm being shaken. The pain is going away. "C'mon Lance. We're here." It's Joey. His hand is warm on my shoulder. He's smiling softly. I'm safe. "Oh, oh, yah," I mumble and shift around in the seat. "Do ya' need help gettin' up bud?" he asks. The others are already out of the car. I can see Chris just outside waiting. J.C. is a little further on looking from the car to Justin who is just walking in the door of the hotel. I hear the screams of fans and I realize that as Justin moves away so does the pain in my head and stomach. "Uh, no, I'm feeling better." He helps me out anyway and keeps his hand on my shoulder as we walk into the hotel. As we get closer to the elevator where Justin is standing the pain returns. By the time we're inside and the doors start to close I'm having trouble breathing. It's him. He's doing this to me. WHAT'S HAPPENING! "Maybe you should go see a doctor Scoop. You look really sick." says J.C. "No." is all I say. There is no more conversation. Joey rubs my back and it helps. Knowing he's there does make a difference. As the doors open on our floor Justin looks back and smiles. I can't take it! I bolt from the elevator and run for my room. I hear the guys yell from behind me, but I can't stop, and I can't look back. I fumble the key into the lock and rush in slamming the door behind me. I make it to the bed and the pain begins to fade. There's knocking at the door and Joey's voice comes from the other side. "Lance? Lance, are you okay?" I can't talk right now. "Go away Joey." "Lanceton don't do this. If your sick you need to see a doctor." "I just need sleep!" "Lance," It's Chris this time,"Let us in guy." The pain is only a dull throbbing now, but the fear is still strong. I can't deal with them right now. "Please y'all, just let me sleep." "Lance please." This time it's J.C. "Just let me sleep till tomorrow, please. We'll talk tomorrow." I don't know if they even heard that. I hope they didn't hear me sob at the end. I hear soft mumbling for a moment then Joey's voice,"Tomorrow..." I can *feel* his hand on the door. I can hear him turning and walking away. I know I've frightened him. I can't do anything more. Not tonight. Facing the door I curl up into a ball and lay there. There's light. I open my eyes and someone is standing in the doorway to my room. "You can't save him," It's Justin's voice, but it's not,"You can't save any of them. Why, you can't even save yourself." He moves forward, with a cold, cold laugh and I see his empty eyes. The emptiness is reaching out to me. It's going to suck me in. Please God don't let it take me. I try to scream. I try to run. Nothing. I can't move. I can't feel. I have no emotion. I can't even breath. Oh. I'm already dead. I can see though, and Joey is lying just outside the doorway. He's dead to. And so is Justin. We all are, and more will die. I watch as something moves *inside* Justin's body. Now I feel. Now I am afraid! It's Coming Out! IT'S GETTING OUT! *NO GOD PLEASE DON'T LET IT GET OUT!* *RING* *RING*...*RING* *RING* I wake to the phone ringing, a scream echoing through the room. Day light pours in through the open curtains. My clothes and my bed are soaked with sweat. *ring ring...ring ring* I fumble to get the phone and croak something unintelligible into the receiver. "Lance?" That voice... "D...DR....Coltrain?" "Yes Lance, it's me. How are you this morning?" How am I? How can she ask that? Why would she ask? Why is she calling me? "F...fine." I answer, still short of breath. "No Lance, you're not." "What?" "Something is wrong Lance. You and I both know that. You've been having dreams again haven't you?" "Dreams?" I cannot believe this. "Yes Lance. I know that this is a strange conversation, but you must believe me when I say that there is no time to explain everything to you. The dreams you've been having aren't dreams. You and your friends are in terrible danger." "I can't handle this!" I hang up on her and stare at my cell phone as if it's some alien thing. I turn it off and make a valiant attempt to turn off my brain. I go into auto-pilot and grab some clothes from my suitcase on the way to the bathroom. Am I in shock? Is that what this is. It's like I have no emotion at all. Maybe I'm actually have a break down. I'm loosing my mind again. I start to hum "I drive myself crazy" as I go about my usual morning routine. I know that somewhere in my head I'm trying to deal with everything that's going on, but I can't do it consciously. I can shampoo my hair though, so I do. I soap up and rinse. I get out of the shower and brush my teeth. I would shave, but I'd have to look in the mirror for that. I don't want to look in the mirror. As I pull on my pants I hear the main door to my room open. Now I wonder who that could be.... The Price and the Prize chapter 2: Part 2; ...It's like I have no emotion at all. Maybe I'm actually have a break down. I'm loosing my mind again. I start to hum "I drive myself crazy" as I go about my usual morning routine. I know that somewhere in my head I'm trying to deal with everything that's going on, but I can't do it consciously. I can shampoo my hair though, so I do. I soap up and rinse. I get out of the shower and brush my teeth. I would shave, but I'd have to look in the mirror for that. I don't want to look in the mirror. As I pull on my pants I hear the main door to my room open. Now I wonder who that could be. "Lance? Breakfast!" It's Joey. Good. Since I'm going insane anyway I might as well tell him about it. I step out of the bathroom pulling on my shirt and start to talk when I realize that J.C. and Chris are here. I must look pretty bad or something. They're all looking at me like I'm dying. "Morning Lance." Joey says, worry etched on his face. Glancing at the others I see the same thing. Glancing at the clock I see it's 7:00 am. They've brought food in. That's good. I'm hungry this morning. Suddenly my headache is back full force...and so is Justin. As he walks through the open door I take a seat. It's that or fall down. Justin looks good this morning. He's dressed in one of his fanciest suits. White. I can't see his eyes. He has sunglasses on. That's okay. I'd rather not. I know what's not there. "Well I see Lancey boy's still alive after all," he says with obvious disdain,"Ain't that nice." There's silence in the room for a few seconds. What am I going to do? "H-hey Just," says J.C. uncertainly,"What's up with the shades so early?" "Oh-h just protecting my beautiful eyes." He says and flashes a smile. I'm chilled by it. I can smell the food and my stomach turns. "Okay, so," says Joey as he turns to me,"What's going on Lance? You have to tell us..." "Oh God!" Justin laughs out,"Do we have to deal with this now? I have things I'd rather do than listen to Mr. Basket Case spill his guts. I have plans." And he munches a piece of toast. "You have plans?!" says Chris. "Yes. I have calls to make, things to arrange. I don't have time for this." "What the hell is wrong with you?" Joey asks in confusion. "Ah-h," says Justin in a baby talk voice,"What's da madder? Did I upset fag boy?" "WHAT?" Joey yells. He's standing now, fists clenched. Justin knows Joey hates the use of that word. My emotions are back. I'm getting scared. This is no time to crack. Something really *is* wrong. Isn't that what Dr. Coltrain was trying to get me to see? How could she know? "Justin!" J.C. shouts,"You apologize!" "Oh my," says Justin,"Listen at J.C. comin' to the rescue. Well in case you forgot, you ain't my Daddy. Even though I know how bad you wanna' be." Justin thrusts his hips suggestively. J.C.'s eyes go wide and his mouth falls open. "But it ain't happenin'. Maybe if you ask nice you can stick it in fag boy." Justin says pointing to Joey with his toast. I watch as J.C.'s face shifts from shock to anger to rage. He's loosing it. He lets out an anguished cry. Then he moves, eyes set on Justin. Chris is between them and he wraps his arms around J.C.'s chest, holding him back. He takes a shot to the head before Joey and I grab J.C.'s arms. Justin just watches with a smile and takes a bite of his toast as he turns and walks out of the room. Eventually J.C.'s wordless shouts turn to sobs and he stops struggling. We sit him down and I go for my phone. She was right. I was right. I know that now. Now I have to find a way to fix whatever's happening. "What the hell is going on here?!" says Chris,"Have all of you gone crazy?!" I call up Dr. Coltrain's number on my phone's memory and dial. It's snatched from my hand by Chris. "Talk to me Lance. What's going on?" "I need my phone Chris!" "Who are you calling?" Joey asks. "Dr. Coltrain." I say reaching for my phone, but Chris pulls it away putting out a hand to keep me back. "Your Psychiatrist?" He says. "Yes Chris. I need to talk to her. Now!" "Lance, I know you probably need to talk to her but I really think you need to talk to us first." says Joey as he puts a hand on my shoulder. Chris steps back and runs his free hand through his hair. "Alright. Enough! Lance is acting like he's going to die or something. J.C. acts like he's lost his mind and Justin's acting like he's possessed..." "HE IS!" I shout before I can stop myself. "What?!" Chris and Joey say in unison. I take the opportunity to grab my phone back from Chris and dial again. I meet Joey's eyes as I hold the phone up to my ear. "There's something *inside* of Justin. It's making him act this way, and it's making me sick." I brace myself and confess," Joey, I, I lied to you. I did have a dream." Joey's eyes widen and he starts to speak when a voice comes over the phone. "Hello Lance. I'm glad you decided to call me back." says Dr. Coltrain. I cut Joey off with a look. Chris says something, but I'm not paying attention. "How did you know it was me?" I ask her. "Caller ID," she says,"But we have more important things to discuss. Are you ready to accept what you saw in your dreams?" I swallow hard before I answer. "Yes, but how did you know?" "That's a long story Lance, and we don't have time for it right now. You and your friends are in great danger. Your friend Justin is possessed by a daemon spirit." "A Demon." I say. I hear Joey say something to me about demons but I ignore him. "A daemon. There is a slight difference, but no matter." says Dr. Coltrain,"Suffice it to say that it's very bad." "Then what do we do?" "I have a friend in your area whom I think can help you. His name is Lancelot. I'm going to have him call you. You must act quickly or it will be to late for your friend." "Lancelot. I'll, I'll wait for his call." I say. "It won't be long. He's waiting to hear from me now. Be careful Lance." And she hangs up. For the second time this morning I'm staring at the phone as if it's from outer space. My head is spinning. "You really have precognitive dreams Lance?" Chris asks. It takes me a second to process the question. I'm about to answer when the phone rings again. I nearly drop it getting it open. "Bass here!" "Hello Lance. This is Steven. We have a situation." It's our press manager. "I'm sorry Steven, this is not a good time..." "You've heard then." "Heard what?" "About the dead girl?" Whoa! What?! "What dead girl?" "So you haven't heard. Well, the girl that attacked Justin last night? She's dead." "What? What happened?" "Apparently she had an aneurysm that stopped her heart and died as security was taking her out of the area. There was nothing that could be done. The doctors say the damage was to severe to treat at all." "Oh my goodness." That must be how the daemon got to Justin. It was in the girl and, and, and when she kissed him,"Oh man." "I know, I know, it's terrible, but it's no fault of yours. We've called a press conference for you to express your condolences, and we've cleared your schedule for the day." "Uh, uh, when?" "The press conference is in one hour. You need to meet with Frank in 30 mins to get everything straight though. You'll tell the rest of the guys?" "Yah, but I don't know where Justin is." "I'll try to get a hold of him then. Good bye." "What now?' Chris asks as I shut the phone. I sigh and collect my self. Too much, too fast. "The girl that attacked Justin last night? She died as security was taking her off." I say. "What?" Joey, Chris and J.C. all say "The doctors say she had an aneurysm and that there was nothing that could have been done. Look, I think that's how the Daemon got into Justin. I think it was in the girl and..." "OH Bullshit!" J.C. yells as he stands up,"Will you cut it with the possessed crap? Justin is *not* possessed. There are no such things as demons." "Yes there is." says Chris as if everyone knows that. The rest of us look at him in surprise,"My grandma used to say that there's a demon for every angel. And there's even a way to tell if one's around." "How?" I ask "Okay, see, you light a match and you..." "Oh come on!" J.C. says,"I'm out of here. You guys believe whatever the hell you want, but I will *not* listen to this *shit* anymore!" He starts out the door, and I shout after him. "We have a press conference about the girl in one hour." No use trying to convince him when I'm not sure I completely believe it myself yet. I mean, yah, I believe in God and the devil and everything, but when you see stuff like this right in front of you. Well it's a whole different story. Chris on the other hand seems to believe, no problem. I guess all his superstitions and things make it easier for him. Thinking about it now though, I have to wonder how much of what he does might be real after all. "Great." says J.C. as he turns out of sight. "He'll come around," Joey says,"s'not like he has much choice." "So, you're with this? I mean, you believe me?" I ask. "Of course," Chris says,"It all makes sense now. Now we just have to prove it." Joey just looks me in the eye for a second making a final check of my sanity, and maybe his to, then nods. "So what about this match thing?" I ask. "Okay," says Chris,"You take a match and light it. Then you say..." My phone starts ringing, and as Chris continues I fumble it open. "Bass here." "Mr. Bass, this is Lancelot." says the strong voice from the other side. "Thank you God." I whisper. "NightFire says we can help each other." "NightFire?" "Dr. Coltrain. Look. We need to talk face to face. I need to know everything you know before I can act. And I need to get close to Justin." "Of course. Umm, we're having a press conference in an hour. Can you be there? I think it downstairs in the hotel. Or we can meet afterwards." "It would probably be best to meet in private. Without Justin." "Okay, come to the hotel then in about an hour and a half. Or do you want to meet somewhere else?" "The hotel's fine if they'll let me in. You're staying at the Marriot in Hampton right?" "Right. I'll tell security to expect you. Umm should I tell them just Lancelot? They'll probably need to see ID." There's a pause. "Tell them Tobias Maxwell." "Tobias Maxwell, Tobias Maxwell," I repeat it to set it in my memory," Okay, they'll be expecting you. And Mr. Maxwell...thank you." "I haven't done anything yet, and I can't promise anything. Are you a religious man Mr. Bass?" "Umm, yes." "Good, whatever god you pray to, start now." And with that he hangs up. Chris and Joey are staring at me expectantly as I hang up the phone. "He's coming to help us." I say. "Who is?" asks Joey. "His name is Lancelot, Tobias, I don't know, but Dr. Coltrain says he can help. He'll be here after the press conference." Looking at them I know they're feeling as uncertain as I am. Oh man. God, please let us save Justin. Please...I don't know whether to pray that I'm still sane or that I've lost it. At least if I have lost my mind the rest of the world is still alright. Watch over us God, just watch over us. It's 9:00 am and the press conference is about to start. We've been over the details. Everything is straight, except Joey. Man I need to laugh right now. There's still no sign of Justin, and J.C. only just showed up. As we enter the conference room and take our seats I can feel that familiar headache coming back. I see him enter. He's smiling again. No sunglasses this time and I can see the emptiness in his eyes. I can't stop the shiver that runs through me and Joey and Chris look up and see him now to. I see them stiffen and Joey pats my arm in a protective gesture. Once Justin is seated we make our comments, answer a few questions and we're done. We make our way out of the room and into a secure hallway. Joey catches Justin by the arm and starts talking to him quietly. This is it then. We're going to try this match thing of Chris'. As Joey keeps Justin's attention Chris steps up behind him. He pulls out a book of hotel matches from his pocket. I can see J.C. watching. At least he hasn't said anything yet. Maybe he believes more than he wants to admit. I watch closely as Chris pulls a match and strikes it muttering something under his breath. It's like I'm seeing in slow motion as the match flares and the fire dances up around the head. It's yellow. I meet Chris' eyes and he looks determined. He reaches out with the match so that it's almost touching Justin's back. Joey stops talking and steps away from Justin so he can see the match. Nothing. Nothing. The match flares. Green fire reaches inches into the air then settles into a steady emerald flame. I hear J.C. gasp as I do. And Justin turns. He sees the match burning in Chris' fingers and laughs. "Ha Ha Ha! Clever, very clever. You have to be careful playing with fire," He leans in close to the match almost touching it with his lips. His breath makes the flame dance and his voice changes. It becomes cold and deep. It's not Justin's voice anymore. It's the voice from my dream," You might get burned." He blows the flame out with a long slow breath. As he stands and pulls out his sunglasses he turns so that he smiles at each of us directly. That smile has the same affect on the others as it does on me. Then he leaves. We watch him as he goes. I think we're all to afraid to take our eyes off of him. He turns a corner in the hallway and disappears. There's a loud sigh as we let out our collective breath. "This can't be real." J.C. says shaking his head. "It is," says Chris looking at the match he still holds,"Grandma was right again." "C'mon ya'll. We have to get up to my room. Lanelot'll be here soon." I say. "Who?" Asks J.C.. "The guy who's gonna' help us save Justin." Joey says. It's obvious he believes now. So do I. It's funny what a little green flame can do isn't it? Nobody says anything on the way to the room. Once we're there we sit down and the silence remains. There's a knock at the door. It's Lancelot. It's gotta be. As I stand to open it I look at the guys. Confusion and anticipation are written all over their faces, and mine to. I open the door and there he is. He's definitely not what I expected. Hey! He's the guys in the car from last night. From when I thought I saw the angel. Suddenly I feel like, somehow, things may be okay. Please God, let me be right about this. End Chapter 2