My brain was pounding against my skull. My vision was blurry and I couldn't focus.
I looked up from my position on the floor. I had been asleep, laying on a dusty old rug. I don't know how long I had been out but it cleary wasn't daylight anymore.
The last thing I remember is being lost on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. And then...
Shit..
"CALUM?" I called out. The room was dark. I could barely see my hand before my face. "ASHTON?"
I recieved no response. "Luke?" I heard a familiar voice mutter softly. I looked around, trying to find where the voice was coming from.
"Michael?"
I suddenly felt a pair of hands on my shoulders. I almost jumped out of my skin.
"Relax, it's just me," Michael said. He pulled me up and then, surprisingly, pulled me into a hug.
"God, am I happy to see you," he sounded like he had been crying. "Same for you." I clutched his flannel in my fists.
That's when I knew something was wrong. "Michael, your back..."
He pulled away. "I don't know what happened, Luke..."
"Is that blood?" I choked out. Michael let out a whimper, "I think so. My back feels like it was caught in a woodchipper."
I then thought to check my own body for any blood or anything weird.
Nothing..
I took a deep breath and grabbed Michael's hand. "Let's find Calum and Ash and then get out of here."
Michael squeezed my hand tight, he was still crying. I had never seen him like this. He was terrified, scared out of his wits.
"Don't worry, Mike. We're gonna be okay," I said, trying to cheer him up. Although I was the younger brother, I always had this feeling that I was meant to watch out for him.
Our parents got together when we were 9 and 10 years old. When I first met Michael, I could see that we wouldn't get along. He was tall and already had facial hair. I was a scrawny loser who hadn't hit puberty yet.
And, boy was I right.
We were at each others throats most of the time. I wanted to watch the Discovery channel while Michael watched Adult Swim. I wanted fried chicken for dinner while he wanted pizza. No matter what, we couldn't seem to see eye to eye on anything.
Then one day out of the blue, I heard Michael strumming the chords of the rock classic "Living On A Prayer" by Bon Jovi on his guitar upstairs.
I listened at the door for a while. He began to sing. I was shocked to say the least.
Michael was talented but more importantly we shared a love of music.
I tapped at his door, but he didn't answer. So I simply walked in. After he yelled at me to leave, I sat on the bed and grabbed his other guitar.
He watched me intently, rage and confusion burning in his eyes. I began to play.
I saw him grin out of the corner of my eye. He joined in a second later.
That's when things changed for Michael and I.
We still fight like brothers but we love all the same.
"Do you hear that?" Michael said, breaking my train of thought. I looked up and down the hallway we were now stranded in.
