Help

Carson grabs his phone from his belt as he heads up the stairs to his apartment. Seeing it's Misty, he inwardly cringes. He loved talking to her, but not when he knew he had to tell her about another failure.

Mustering up a casual tone, he answers as he fishes for his keys in his other pocket. "Hey, babe." He unlocks his door and enters his apartment. "I was just wondering if you wanted to go get some fast food tonight or something. I'd take you somewhere nicer than that, but you know how cash flow goes."

As he talks, he looks on his kitchen table, spying his rent bill. "Maybe Burger King to go, eaten down at the lake. At least I can give you good atmosphere, eh?"


Cindy beams as she receives the flowers from Wes. Her smile couldn't be bigger. "I love you too..." He reaches up to pull him down for a kiss, then lets him go. "Yes, do get the plates, I'm starving." She laughs. "Like that's anything new."


"Kyle wait up!" Phil rolls his eyes as Kyle bounds ahead of the other three up the wooded trail.

Kyle turns around and waves. "I'm just checking it out," he calls back.

Phil gives a smirk, then turns to check on Jason. "How's that leg holding up?"

Jason was limping, but he nods. He'd taken enough pain meds to last him the day. "It's alright."

Camryn has a hold of his hand and gives it a squeeze. "We can rest if you want."

"Nope. It won't take us much longer now anyway, will it?"

Phil shakes his head. "Another half hour and we should be there." He glances at the sun that was sinking lower in the sky. "Just in time to catch some fish for supper."

"Now that sounds good." Camryn grins. "I haven't had fresh fish in ages."

As they walk, Jason's eye catches sight of an old oak tree. Its branches were spread over the trail, it's leaves turning brown in a display of fall. But a large scar on its trunk told a tale of lightning in a recent storm - probably the one just a few weeks ago.

Before Jason can stop it, an image flashes in his mind. It was that same tree. No...a similar one. It was scarred just the same. But it had been taller. No...he'd been shorter.

Jason shakes his head a little, trying to get the deja vu to pass. But as he walks with Camryn, the chatter among the other three remains in the background as his mind insists on remembering where he'd seen that tree.

As if his subconscious knows what's coming, it fights against it, creating a strange inner tension. Then it hits him. The backyard of Alex's house.

Jason takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, continuing the trek up the trail. He'd only touched that tree once, but he could see it out the window of Alex's back porch where he would hide, trying to squeeze between the old washing machine and the wall, attempting to disappear from Alex's grasp to avoid being taken to that dreaded room.

He could still smell the musty porch and feel the grime between the washer and wall. His hand brushed a cobweb, making him cringe. His barefoot snagged on a protruding nail in the baseboard and he bit into his lip to keep from crying out, making his own mouth bleed. He could hear Alex coming. If he could only squeeze in a little farther. If he could only get his shoulder out of sight...

"Jason...hello..." Camryn waves a hand in front of his face.

Jason snaps to attention and looks at Camryn for a moment, trying to focus. He hadn't realized that he'd stopped walking. "Huh?"

Camryn furrows her brow at his paled face. "You alright? You sure you don't want to rest?"

"Yeah...no, I'm alright." He tries to shake off the brief flashback. He wasn't going to let a stupid memory ruin this trip. It was over, he was fine, that was it. He pulls Camryn over to plant a kiss on her lips. "But thanks for worrying about me."

"Hey, you twitterpated two, you," Kyle calls back. "Hustle your feet! We only got one more bend up here and you can see the lake."

Camryn giggles and swings Jason's hand. "Come on."


Scott pulls out Katie's chair for her at the candlelit table, and only sits down after he's sure she's settled. Easing down across from her, he gives her a smile. He and Katie were together all the time, but it wasn't too often that they went out on a special date like this.

The restaurant was nice and peaceful, quiet music playing in the background. The lights were dim, creating atmosphere, and conversations were automatically kept low.

"Domino wanted to come," Scott teases. "But I told her that she'd have to play guard dog tonight...I did promise her we'd take her for ice cream this week though, so we'll have to do that."


Carson settles down next to a big rock on the sandy beach with the bags from Burger King and waits for Misty to join him before breaking out the burgers and fries. It was a cool evening, but not too cold to be on the lakefront. It wasn't the kind of dinner Carson would have liked to have treated Misty too, but he knew she didn't mind, and he certainly couldn't complain, with her company.

Conversation is kept light for a while, and Carson avoids too deep of topics as they eat. But as they finish their meal, he knows he needs to tell her what happened today.

Walking hand-in-hand along the beach for a few minutes, Carson finds a nice spot out of the wind to sit, and draws Misty down with him, planting her between his legs with her back resting against his chest.

Leaning his chin on her shoulder with his arms wrapped around her, he watches the sun sink lower and lower in the sky. The quietness is nice...so peaceful he doesn't want to break it. But he knows he must. And there was no point in beating around the bush.

Heaving a weary sigh, he doesn't move from this comfortable position. "I got fired today."


The campfire flickered in the clearing by the lake. Dusk settled over the wooded land, creating a peaceful atmosphere. Both tents were set up, fish had been caught for supper and already eaten, and the four hikers were preparing to get to bed early tonight. They were all exhausted from their long hike and they wanted to rise early to explore in the morning, so none argued at the suggestion of going to bed.

Bidding each other goodnight, Jason is the last one left at the fire. He'd had an enjoyable afternoon and evening without incident, and was having fun. It had been a long time since he'd done anything like this, and he now wanted to do it more often. He'd forgotten how much he enjoyed it.

A spark from the fire lands by his feet and he looks down, his attention diverted. Suddenly he remembers his earlier brief encounter with the past. He'd successfully avoided it all evening, but as the day drew on it had become harder. It was as if a valve had been opened just far enough to let the memories out, and once started, they couldn't be stopped. Eventually, they would come out.

Jason rises to his feet and heads to the tent, but a pain in his knee causes him to stop and wince. Out of habit, he blocks the pain, but finds it difficult.

His knee scrapes the floor of the back porch a he's yanked from his hiding spot and dragged into the other room. His screaming at the top of his lungs does no good. No one can hear him.

Jason puts a hand to his head. No...not now...it had been so long...this couldn't happen now...

The carpet in the next room burns his bare feet as he's dragged, kicking and fighting Alex's strong grip. But it does no good. He sees the door. That door again...no...

Jason drops to his hands and knees, pounding a fist into the ground. No...no...he could fight this...he had to...

The room is dark. He's shoved inside and hears that door slam and the lock turn. He was alone again. Alone in that room. He bangs on the door with his hands, the tears streaming from his eyes. He'd learned how not to cry, but this time he couldn't help it. He just wanted out. He wanted out so badly. He wanted to see his mommy again. He just wanted out.


"Kyle, isn't Jason coming?" Phil rolls over in his sleeping bag, questioning his brother.

Kyle is fooling around in his bag and shrugs. "He said he was right behind me." He crawls to the tent opening and sticks his head out, squinting toward the fire. He didn't see Jason. Funny....he'd said he'd put the fire out. Scanning the area, he suddenly spots his friend. Kyle is immediately on alert and scrambles outside. Halfway to Jason, he calls back to his brother. "Phil, get out here!"

Jason curls up tightly on the ground, shaking violently, his heart rate quickening. He breaks out in a cold sweat and shivers in the night air. Reality is skewed. Terror surges through his veins. He can't get out. The nightmare is swallowing him whole.

"Jason..." Kyle kneels next to him and places a hand on his shoulder.

Jason's eyes are shut tight, but he lashes out with a fist, barely missing Kyle's face.

"Hey, hey, easy, easy."

Camryn comes out of her tent. "What's going on?" Seeing Phil and Kyle down by Jason, her heart leaps into her throat, and she runs over. "What happened? What's wrong?"

"It's one of his bad spells," Phil tells her grimly. "It's been a long time."

Fear flashes in Camryn's eyes. "What do we do?"

"Try to bring him out of it." Phil kneels next to his friend, speaking quietly. "Come on, Jase, you're okay...you're with us...Alex isn't here...you're not in that house."

Jason's muscles are so tight they start to cramp, his eyes still scrunched shut. He can hear a voice, but he doesn't recognize it. Fear. Terror. Anger. Hurt. Pain. Without a grasp on reality, all emotions burst forth like an erupting volcano. With force, they envelop him, affecting his mind and body.

Phil reaches down and feels Jason's forehead. Surprised, he looks up at Kyle. "He's burning up."

"I don't remember it being quite this bad before."

"It wasn't. We have to get him in the tent."

Despite Jason's fighting, somehow, the three manage to get him into the tent where he curls up again, unresponsive, lost in his own world.

"Come on, Jason..." A tear runs down Camryn's face. "Please pull out of this."

Kyle sits back, a prayer on his mind. "He'll be okay. It'll just take him a while."

Phil grits his teeth, hurting for his friend. "He said he can pull himself out. He just has to let it run through his system."

Voices...feelings...thoughts...Jason's mind spins. Pictures fly through his mind one after the other like a horrid unending movie. He can't find the light. He can't see it. It's not there. He tries. He tries desperately, clawing at the darkness...clawing at the surging emotions within. But they're too thick...they're too strong...they're drowning him in a river of poison.

Minutes tick by. A half an hour...an hour.

Phil has never wished he had a cell phone more.

Kyle fidgets nervously. By now Jason was drenched in sweat. They had covered him in blankets, but he was still running a high fever, the cold sweat persisting, the shaking continuing, his pulse still racing. They couldn't get him to relax, and he'd become hard after being so tense for so long. They had to get help.

Kyle looks at his brother, then at Camryn. His jaw set with determination, he grabs a flashlight and his smaller backpack. "I'm going for help."

"Not on your own," Phil hisses.

"You have to stay here," Kyle reminds. "I'm going. If he pulls out of it while I'm gone, then great. If not..." He looks his brother in his eye. "I don't care what he's said, he's not going to pull out like this and he's killing himself."

A sob catches in Camryn's throat. She was so confused. What was happening?

Kyle looks between them one more time before disappearing out into the dark, hitting the trail at a sprint.