4 Four

"Patrick and Jackie, good evening to you. It's raining really hard tonight but we are here live at 350 West Wolf Point Plaza and behind me is the Liv album and merchandise store which is now surrounded by police force after a robbery and kidnapping took place earlier tonight at around 8:23. Survivors of the crime scene narrated that six armored men barged in the store, faces covered, took money from the cash registry, assaulted five men including the security personnels, kidnapped three people consisting of a six year old girl which police identified as Elaine Irvine, and Madi Alanis, a 21 year old nurse. The third victim is a man that is yet to be identified as police now are still reviewing the camera footages inside and around the store to confirm his identity.  Survivors are now receiving medical attention as most of them are having anxiety attacks from what has transpired earlier. Police said that the the armored men took advantage of the seemingly bad weather tonight and made their exit downtown Chicago which is now being traced..."

The band members including their company staff are now packed in a hotel activity room as they watched the TV report of a robbery and kidnapping incident that happened a few blocks away from the hotel they are staying at. The members have been notified thru a text message by their staff a few minutes earlier about the incident that happened around the corner and that it's best that they should stay at their rooms for their safety, but Yves was alarmed since Cahill has not returned yet from his walk. It is almost 2 hours since he departed their hotel room and no word was heard from him yet for his whereabouts. Yves immediately alerted the staff and the members and they all filed into the hotel room to watch the news and rule out their worries, but as much as they wanted to deny that it was Cahill who was the third victim that was abducted, a CCTV footage was shown to the tv screen and their apprehension heightened when Yves rose from his seat, claiming that the guy wearing all black seen in the footage is no other than Cahill.

"That's him! Oh shit, that's Cahill!" Yves wasn't able to stop his tears from falling as he saw on the screen how Cahill tackled the armored man down and in return was punched and kicked on different parts of his body before he was grabbed and dragged onto the car, together with the other victims. The other members and the staff was in denial with what they saw and started calling his phone number but it cannot be reached as of the moment. They figured out that if it was really him on the footage, his phone must have been turned off by the culprits already or was being thrown elsewhere to avoid being traced. Sobs and alarmed voices are heard everywhere as they figure out what to do next.

"He told me he was just going for a walk, he told me that the reason he wore that outfit is for him to look like an average teenage guy," Yves continued to explain in between sobs as the band members hugged each other in an effort to calm themselves. "I told him it is not a good idea for him to go out, but he never listened." He shook his head as he sat down and continued to cry his eye out.

"Good Lord, this cannot be happening." Keith said in disbelief as he take in what they have just discovered.

"That boy, he told me about his feeling that something's going to go wrong. Cahill, why did you allowed yourself to be put in that situation." Blaise muttered on his breath as he sat down beside Yves, thinking about what Cahill told him earlier.

"Why did he even get out of the hotel. What was he thinking?" Shay voiced out his question as he paced back and forth.

"Bro, I cannot imagine his situation right now." Declan finally spoke, trying to steady his breathing from the amount of sob he was trying to suppress.

The members shared wary looks as they think about what must be happening to Cahill and the other victims as of the moment. Several devastating scenarios have clouded their minds and not a single one of them knows what to do but wait for the updates from their management as they coordinate with the authorities to confirm Cahill's identity.

"We should probably call Cahill's parents. We shouldn't wait for them to know what happened thru the news reports, that will drive them crazy." Brione suggested and the members agreed. The staff reminded them to not say anything on social media and celebrity friends as they work on the case. But they all know that it's just a matter of time when the news will be out and Cahill's face will be all over the headlines. The result of Cahill's disappearance occupied their heads as they thought about their upcoming concerts and schedules, the reactions of their fans and concerned people, the news spreading like a plague across the world, their name and status in the industry, their charts and sales, and above all, Cahill's life. Not one of them knows where he was taken, if he's alive and breathing, or if his body was severed and thrown somewhere.

They wouldn't know.

~

People are rushing in and out the room I am in. The smell of hair products, setting sprays, colognes and sweat are sticking on my nose as I hurriedly change to my pink loose shirt, topped by a pink designer jacket. Zipping up my white trousers I heard the staff announced we only have 2 minutes to drag ourselves to the platform waiting for us at the backstage for the next performance. I slipped on the white footwear prepared for me as the make up artist finished whatever she was doing with my face. We ran through the hallway and positioned ourselves into the platform just in time when the music started and we are raised up in the stage, lights started to blind us. The defeaning cheers from the crowd welcomed us and I can swear I felt my heart almost went out of its cage because of the emotions governing me. I focused my eyes to the crowd in front of me, trying my best to relax myself before I started moving my body to the rhythm. We danced the choreography we practiced for a hundred times, just to be sure we perfected the routine and give our fans the show they deserve. I put my microphone in front of my lips, reciting the lyrics from our song and jiving to the music. The crowd went wild when we came near the edge of the stage, to have a closer view of the audience. People were jumping up and down, raising their hands in the air, shouting lyrics and chants, and feeling the moment as if there is no tomorrow. I watched how my members are having a good time, giving their all and pouring every bit of themselves as they sing their hearts out while slaying the choreography. In unison, they turned their heads to my direction, smiling widely at me. But it's as if a magic wand was waved in front of them, because their wide smiles were replaced by wary looks directed to me. And then the music and the sound coming from the crowd has dramatically faded away, replaced by a an eerily quiet surroundings, and a cry of a child coming from somewhere. A cry of a little girl. I scanned my eyes to the crowd to look for the origin of the sound but just like the music, the crowd faded into black. I averted my gaze back to the direction of the members but they were all gone. And then I realize, I am the only one standing in a pit of darkness. The cries of the girl echoed everywhere and I turned my body to search for its origin but I see nothing. The atmosphere turned really cold and I hugged myself, slowly laying down on the cold floor, closed my eyes and focused on listening to the sound of the girl crying.

I snapped my eyes open and took in my surroundings. I am no longer in the complete darkness I was in earlier, but instead, I am in a dim lit room that looks like a storage area. Boxes are stacked on the corners, and papers are scattered everywhere. I tried to move my body to see the opposite side of the room but I felt a sudden surge of pain electrifying my whole body. It's as if I was beaten by a group of men which resulted to the body sore I am feeling right now. And then it hit me. The events that happened earlier started to flood my mind that it made me groan in too much pain just by remembering it. So apparently, I was held in captive now? Does this explain why I am in a storage room? I tried lifting my head and turning it to the opposite side but it made the pain worst so I attempted to rub it with my hands only to realize that I cannot move them. Fuck it. I am fucking tied. My hands are tied on my back really tight and I can feel my arms numbing from the position I am right now. I took in oxygen as I breathed in and out, closing my eyes, calming myself to steady out my heart beat that is pulsating twice, as if I was running a marathon. Then I heard the crying of the girl again which I suppose is on the opposite side of the room from where I am facing right now. So I opened my eyes, lifting my head slowly and rolling my body to the other side, ignoring the pain that's shooting inside my systems to my every move. I adjusted my eyes to the light that is coming from the lamp illuminating the room, placed on top of the table near the door, and roamed my eyes to the scene in front of me.

The girl that was crying was sitting up not so far from where I am lying, her back faced to me. Her hands was also tied from the back and I suppose her legs too, just like mine. She isn't moving or trying to get away from the ties, but she's just staring down to something infront of her, continuously sobbing as if she is mourning a dead cat. I kicked my feet to the floor in an attempt to move in an angle that I will be able to raise my head above me to have a better view of her, and there I saw, another person, a woman, laying on the ground, unconscious. "God, I pray she isn't dead yet." I said to myself. From my angle, I can only see her legs that was tied down and her hair that has a visible streak of blood, probably coming from her head. The little girl obstructed the view from where I am lying so I cant tell if her hands are tied or not. I couldnt make out the face of the woman because her long hair was covering it and I just really pray she isn't dead because I am sure the memory of that pale and lifeless face will certainly hunt me my entire life, that is, if I would make it out alive from here. I cut off my thoughts and reminded myself to stop thinking negatively and decided I should call the little girl but then I noticed the unconscious woman moved her head.

Great, she's still alive. I guess I won't be hunted by her lifeless pale face then.