Only Time Can Tell
By: Lissa ©2000

Chapter 4

"That was way too easy," Sylvia laughed to herself after she'd gone from Jeff's room. "So I'm pretty certain that it's that Justin guy, but I still can't be too sure. He could be one of the Unknown." Sylvia's light mood darkened for an instant. "No matter. The plans must continue. The next victim will be Drew. He was mentioned first among the others. Now… What special treatment to give him…"

* * *

"You sure you guys don't want to come with me?" Drew asked his fellow group mates as he turned to leave the suite.

"Yeah, it's fine. Go on and have fun without us," Nick joked as he sat with Carrie.

"All right," Drew said. "It's your own loss that you guys aren't interested in museums."

"Who said anything about that?" Justin exclaimed. "Just not the types of museums you want to go to," he added with a wink.

Drew shook his head and left, the guys' laughter following after him. About an hour or so later, he found himself as part of a group of about twenty or so people taking a tour. He had endured about five minutes' worth of lecture when his eyes finally lit up in appreciation. They had come to the armor room of the museum. He never noticed how the group had gone on ahead of him as he stared in awe at the armor of men long gone from this earth.

He gave a low whistle as he stared at one suit at the very end of the hall. For some reason, it held his interest. It was not the shiniest suit around, nor was it the least battered. It looked as if this one had actually been used in a battle. All over the outfit were indentations of where clubs and blades had struck the wearer.

He bent closer to read the information given on the plaque next to it when the power suddenly gave out. Fear instantly wrapped itself around Drew's heart and he was at a loss as to what to do. He straightened up and tried to peer into the darkness that surrounded him. Unfortunately, nothing was to be seen. He couldn't even see his hand when he brought it up right in front of him. Shakily, he called out. "Hello?" No answer came for him. The realization of being all alone in this room frightened him and he found himself frozen to his spot.

Then there it was. A distinct clanging from the other side of the room sounded and echoed throughout the room. Again, Drew called out. "Hello? Is anyone else here?" No answer came except another clanging, this time one that sounded from around the middle of the room. The echoing sound of metal hitting the stone pathway vibrated. "Okay, I must be crazy but that sounds like the armor is coming to life," he muttered to himself. Soon, the clanging of metal and stone came more often. All of them appeared to be coming closer to him and he finally screamed when a light came on behind him.

It was the armor he had adored only a few moments ago. One free hand held a burning torch. A little shakily, the armor took a step and Drew squealed in terror, immediately taking a few steps back. He watched as the armor unsheathed the sword that had been hanging at its side and now held it above his head in a gesture of triumph. Before he realized what was happening though, cold metal gripped Drew's arms in a steady hold.

A voice spoke in the room. "So we finally meet."

Drew's eyes frantically searched for the source and only found himself staring into empty helmets. "Who are you?" he demanded.

"The question is not who am I, but who are you?"

"What?" Drew grew frustrated.

"I'd like to ask you some questions." The voice went on without giving Drew a chance to say anything. "You belong to the famous group, 98 Degrees. Is this not true?"

"It's true."

"And I assume that because you are in this group, you'd know the other guys very well."

"Of course. They're all like family to me."

A short silence followed. "Tell me about this family of yours."

"Huh?" Drew asked, uncertain where to begin. Suddenly, the fire blew out and Drew found himself groaning in pain.

"Let's try this again," the voice said. Drew still groaned from the kick that had been delivered right to his gut area. "Tell me about anything highly unusual with Jeff or any of the other guys."

Drew searched his mind for any interesting details and the first face that came to his mind was Justin. "Well, there's Justin."

"What about him?" He hesitated and once again, he received a blow, this time from the back, knocking the breath out of him. "Again, I ask what makes Justin different?"

"Well, there's the fact that he and Carrie are extremely close it almost seems like they're a couple instead of Carrie and Nick. I mean, sure they're best friends and everything but they look so intimate at times…" He trailed off.

A short silence ensued and the torch lit up again. The bearer of the armor lifted up the mask and he found himself staring at the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen before. She smiled gently at him. "Thank you Drew. You've been of most help."

Before he could say another word, she thrust out with the torch. His clothing caught fire and then his own flesh began to give off an acrid smell as it burned. Somewhere in the distance, he heard someone screaming… Or was it his own voice screaming in pain? He couldn't tell.

The next thing he knew, he was back in his hotel room, lying in bed. Nick and Jeff had rushed in. "What's wrong?" Nick demanded, trying to comfort his brother.

"What the… How'd I get in here?" Quickly, he checked himself and found that he hadn't been scorched and his clothes were fine. His head raced, trying to find an answer. "But, I was just…" A voice echoed in his head, warning him not to mention anything to anyone.

"Hey, are you okay?" Jeff asked, worriedly.

Drew checked himself over one more time before answering in a shaky voice, "Yeah. I'm fine. Just a bad dream, I guess…"

"All right… If you say so," Nick said, leading Jeff and himself out. "We'll let you get some rest."

A few minutes later, Justin came by to check up on Drew. He had felt something wrong with his friend and wanted to check it out for himself. He knocked on the door and came in after Drew called him in. There, he froze. "What?" Drew asked him.

"Uhh… Drew… What happened to you?"

Drew immediately got a panicked look on his face. "Huh? What do you mean?" He looked down and saw that he wasn't fine at all. His clothing showed singe marks and in a few places, he could see where the flames had licked his skin. "Oh no," he muttered to himself.

"Hey, you need some help with that…"

Justin started to come over to see how he could help, but Drew was quick to brush him away. "Uh, no. That's all right. I'm fine. Nothing major."

His friend protested. "But Drew! You're hurt! Let me look-"

"Justin, back off! I don't need your help! Just leave me alone!"

Pain etched Justin's face as he backed away, raising his hands in defeat. "All right. I'm sorry. I just wanted to help… If you need me, just let me know. I'll see you later…" He said quietly, leaving and shutting the door behind him.

A small chuckle echoed around the room and the hair on Drew's neck stood on end. He heard her say, "Good job, Drew. Great acting." The chuckle grew into a laugh and then disappeared altogether.

He looked down and saw that he and his shirt were fine. "What the hell!?" Drew asked himself. No one answered him.

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