Brian awoke to Tommy, who had been shaking him ferociously. He groaned tiredly, then rolled back on his side.
“Brian wake up damn it! We have to ggooo! Come on, try to get up.” Tommy watched him sit up slowly, then helped him to his feet.
“Oh God, what did I do last night? I feel like shit driven over twice! I didn’t drink did I … I hope not! Never again, never again…”
Nick walked up to Brian, and gestured around the room. “ You mean to tell us that you don’t remember? What kind of shit did they fill you with?”
“I… don’t know… I just feel… like I have… a major hangover…right now…I…can’t even talk…right. Who’s… they?” Brian hiccuped.
“We’ll explain later.” Kevin comforted him, placing arm around his shoulder.
“Oh…kay…” The people in the room watched Brian drop to his knees with a blank expression on his face. He then started coughing in fits, while Nick, Kevin and Tommy attempted to relieve him.
After about ten minutes of coughing he stopped suddenly and looked blankly around the room once more. His eyes stopped on Samantha, and smiled weakly.
“You look like Leighanne,” he whispered, barely moving his lips. His eyes appeared as though they had deepened in color. They contrasted with his pale face.
Samantha walked over to him and gave him a hug. By now, everyone had gathered around him.
“He’s going to throw up you guys. Back up, give him some room,” Samantha instructed. After they backed up, they looked at him expectantly. Charn wrinkled her nose a bit and buried her face in AJ’s chest. Dakshana glanced at Nick, who was growing paler by the second. He chewed on his cracked bottom lip, even as it bled.
Brian sat on the ground, glancing around at all the people who were watching him. He closed his weary eyes and placed his head on his chest. The audience leaned forward expectantly, then recoiled when Brian jerked his head back up, his eyes wide.
They watched his body jerk violently as he threw up. Most of it was, blood, since he hadn’t eaten in two days. Nick decided that he’d had enough of watching after about two minutes, so he turned to face the wall. Dakshana went to check if he was okay, but when she looked, she noticed that he was crying. She wrapped her arms around him as he broke down and fell to his fatigued knees. He buried his face into his hands and let it all out.
Brian stopped throwing up briefly, to catch his breath. He noticed that most people had either turned away or started to cry.
‘I’m okay,’ he mouthed before another fit began.
“Can’t you stop it, can’t you STOP IT!” Nick screamed as he got up from the floor and stumbled towards Samantha. He grabbed her shoulders and started shaking her back and forth.
Samantha put a hand on his arm. “I’m sorry Nick, I can’t.”
Nick dropped to his knees and held onto her knees. “Please?” He begged her, “Please?” Dakshana pried Nick off of Samantha and held him in her arms, trying to comfort him. She felt him shake under her warm embrace.
Meanwhile, Brian had stopped his fit and was lying flat on his back on the floor. He spread his arms out from his sides, waiting for his stomach to settle down. Streams of blood cascaded from his mouth and nose.
Samantha made her way over to the pile of blood by Brian’s feet. She examined it closely and noticed that it had a yellowish tint.
“Shit!” she cried, “that’s not all blood! I think his body just rejected the stuff or something! Whatever you do, don’t touch it, or you’ll get sick!” She covered her nose and mouth with her gas mask. The outfit was convenient, so she had kept it on.
“Brian, are you okay, honey?” She cooed, stroking his head with her gloved hand. He nodded slowly. “ Everyone is so worried about you!” She turned to the people watching. “Does anyone have a Kleenex?”
Charn dug through her pocket and produced a wrinkled Kleenex. She approached them slowly, then handed the tissue to Samantha. Charn sat down near Brian’s head and watched Samantha clean Brian’s nose and mouth.
“I…think I know…what happened to me…” Brian spoke with caution, “I ran into…the girl…of my dreams…and she told me that she…is a drag queen.” The pleasant sound of laughter rippled through the room. Nick tore through the crowd and hugged his best friend.
“I was so scared Bri! I thought that you were going to puke your guts out!”
“It’s okay bro. I’m fine now. I seriously remember where I am though. And I want out now.”
“I’m working on it.” Samantha smiled. “ I’ve tried the manholes, now all I’ve got left to try is the vents. It’s not going to be easy though. This place is huge. It’ll take us a few days to find our way out. I hope none of us gets claustrophobic that would be the worst of it. We might even have to sleep in the vents. There’s another complication though. I want my brother out. I know that you guys must be feeling quite bitter about him, so I’ll take you out and then come back for my brother.”
“By yourself?” Kevin asked.
“ Yes.”
“No way. If you’re going then I am too. He may have made me mad for a while, but then I thought about it. We were pals, and I felt a special bond with him. I want to come with you.”
“But…”
“Us too.” Howie and AJ called from the back.
“No way! I don’t want you to risk your lives. I appreciate it, but I’m good at it, I’ll manage.”
“But I think we should stick together. You helped us out now I want to help you out. Please.” Kevin looked pleadingly into her cat-like green eyes.
Samantha sighed, ready to give in. “Alright, but just Kevin, okay?”
“But we don’t want to be separated…” AJ started.
“Noooo AJ! Just Kevin, please! Anyway, here’s the plan. I’ll lead, then Kevin, because he wants so badly to with me, then Howie, AJ and the “band” as you call them. Then your dancers and finally Brian then Nick. Just in case Brian gets sick, there’s someone in the back to notice. And I don’t think that Nick will mind going a bit slow for Brian.”
“Can I go in the very back? I want to be with Nick the whole time, please.” Dakshana asked.
“If you want! Charn can go with AJ too.” Charn nodded her head ferociously in agreement.
“Okay, then it’s settled. Brian, you fit for this?”
“Right now, yup.” He had been moving slowly into a standing position the entire time. Now his knees trembled slightly, but other than that, he could finally stand.
Samantha and Kevin pried open the louver and Kevin gave Samantha a leg up.
“It’s gross in here!” She coughed. “Here Brian, wear this.” She threw down her gas mask. Kevin passed it to Brian, who had ventured closer on his unsteady legs. Then Kevin swung himself up and into the tiny cavity.
“Whoa, you’re right! This is going to take a lot to get used to,” Kevin coughed, “okay, Howie, I think you’re next.” Kevin watched Howie struggle to get up for a few minutes before he suggested that AJ give him a boast.
Once inside Howie asked, “How come you didn’t think of sooner?” But Kevin just shrugged.
“It’s not funny!” Howie cried, exasperated.
“Okay so who’s coming first, Charn or AJ?” Kevin asked, ignoring Howie.
“Me, I’ll go next,” Charn said, “I want to be in front of AJ so that he has something to motivate him along the way.”
“Are you sure about that hon? Or do you just want to stare at Howie’s butt the whole way?” AJ grinned as Charn swatted his shoulder with her fist. He helped her into the tunnel, and then he was helped into the tunnel by Tommy.
“Wow, it’s so cramped in here, couldn’t they have made it bigger?” AJ exclaimed.
Dakshana was the last person in the very long line. If they were given instructions by Samantha, it would gradually be passed down. They were only allowed to whisper, since they were escaping directly above their captors.
Chapter 16
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