Early one cold morning, in one of New York's fancy hotel beds, Daniel Jones slowly opens his eyes to the sound of his loud alarm clock nearby. After a quick yawn Daniel reached over to turn his alarm clock off noticing the time was 5:50 am. He jumped out of the bed. Darren wouldn’t be too happy with me... he thought. He sighed, then reluctantly grabbed some clothes that were lying on the floor. Daniel quickly dressed, did his hair and teeth - 20 minutes later he was finally rushing out the door to the lobby practically running over an old lady as he went. Upon reaching the lobby of the hotel, Daniel could see the rest of the bandmembers standing and talking. Darren was not far away - an angry look crossed his face when he saw Daniel coming towards them.
"You're late again!" Daniel wasn’t in the mood for one of Darren’s temper tantrums - he just gave him a dirty look and walked over to Anna - who had been watching the little scene - and was trying to hold back a laugh. Darren rolled his eyes.
"Okay, now that we're finally all here, let's get going. We are going to be late - thanks to Daniel!" Daniel made a face at Darren's back. They all grabbed their gear and followed Darren out to the van waiting for them. Anna put a comforting arm around Daniel.
"Don’t mind him - he is still in a poopy mood since he got that phone call from Colby about the letters they have been receiving." She quickly looked at Darren who was climbing into the van, then she looked back at Daniel. "He'll get over it soon." she whispered. Daniel smiled. She shot him a look. "I see nothing funny about all of this..." she said seriously, but a smile was starting - as she reached the van she was laughing. Ben joined in, soon the only person not laughing was Darren who tried not to notice.
When they were all seated in the van, Darren looked to Andy, their driver. "Okay, let's go mate." Andy nodded, started the car and headed down the street. "And step on it - we are going to be late already!" He looked in Daniel’s direction, who was sitting in the seats in front of him. "No thanks to Jones..." Daniel spun around.
"Darren, shut up! I am tired of...of you ordering me around and treating me like crap!" Darren’s face went from annoyed to angry in seconds, the others could see a big fight starting. Nicole butted in before it could get too ugly.
"Stop it!" She yelled so loud, everyone looked at her in surprise. "You guys are best friends, remember? We are on this tour together for a while so please try to get along!" The whole van was quiet - it seemed like forever before Ben finally spoke up.
"She is right, let's at least try to stay friends..." He smiled his gorgeous smile. Anna smiled at him, nodding her head in agreement. Again there was a long silence. Darren was fidgeting with his wedding ring and Daniel was looking anywhere but in Darren's direction. Everyone in the band held their breath, hoping that Darren and Daniel would resolve things themselves - if not then drastic measures had to be made. They didn't wait long - the tension in the air made Darren more self-conscious. He hated it so he sighed before looking up to see Daniel glancing at him but trying to act casual about it. Darren forced himself to speak first.
"Sorry Jonesy, I guess I over-reacted a bit..." He felt a bit of guilt for having treated his best friend that way. Daniel stared blanky for a second, not sure if Darren really meant it. Daniel looked into Darren's deep blue eyes - after a minute he smiled.
"Ahh, don't worry about it, Darren - it's forgotten!" They laughed. Darren sighed with relief. He hated to fight with his best friend. It wasn't long before they reached the studios and finished the interview - sooner then they had thought - so the whole band decided to go pick Colby and Michelle up to go out for lunch. No sooner had they arrived at the Hayes' home did they find trouble was waiting.
Just on the doorstep, an envelope layed facing up with just 'Darren' written on the top - no address or anything. Darren picked it up curiously, while unlocking the front door. "Colby, you home sweety?" Darren called walking through the house. An uneasy feeling came over darren. "Colby..." Darren called again but only silence followed. Darren searched the house but Colby wasn’t there. Darren's mind returned to the envelope in his hand. He sighed - the answer must be in the envelope.
Darren nervously opened the envelope, praying silently that it had nothing to do with Colby's disappearance. Darren's hands began to shake as he opened the folded paper inside then read it silently. Darren felt anger build up inside, with absolute terror that his wife might be dead. Darren stared, crying uncontrollably, horrible thoughts filled his mind, so when Darren felt a hand on his shoulder he jumped. He turned to see Anna who looked shocked at his tearstained face.
"Darren...what's wrong?" Her voice was shaky. Darren couldn't answer her - he just handed the paper to her. She took it and quickly read it:
We have your darling wife. If you want her back, come to the abandoned house near the park - alone. If you don't come within 24 hours, alone, we will torture her horribly, then kill her...
Anna stood shocked for a second then put a comforting arm around Darren, who was sitting in a chair nearby, totally distraught tears rolling uncontrollably down his face - but he made no attempt to wipe them away. Anna forced a smile. "We'll do all we can to get her back safely, Darren - I promise..." Darren sighed.
"I hope so..." he answered softly, staring at his wedding ring. "If she dies, I dont think I could live without her...she's everything to me..." Darren's voice broke. He covered his face in his hands and began to sob just as the other band members walked in. A surprised look crossed their faces when they saw Darren and Anna crying. Daniel ran over to Darren and Anna.
"What happened?" he asked, looking from Anna to Darren who was still sobbing. Daniel knelt down in front of Darren hugging him, crying in his shoulder. Daniel looked up to Anna for answers. She handed the note to Daniel, who read it out loud after he finished. Daniel cursed. Ben put a hand on Daniel's shoulder.
"What are we going to do?" Nicole asked.
"Whatever it is, we have to do it fast!" Karl answered quietly. He punched his fists in his pockets angrily.
"I don't think this is a joke!" Lee added. Darren stood up slowly.
"I just wish I knew what they wanted or who they were that would do this to me, to Colby..." Darren sighed heavily, fighting back unwanted tears. "God, I hope she is alright," he whispered. "Now we have to figure out what to do to get her back." They all nodded. But what?
It was dark when Colby finally opened her eyes, the pain in her head rushing back at her like a sharp knife. The fear of not knowing where she was set in, panic too if she didn't calm herself down. She sighed, looking around, trying to see in the pitch darkness - but she couldnt see anything but the dark wall behind her. So she leaned against it curling her legs up to her body, hugging them close. She hoped that Darren was alright. Soon after she was curled up, a wave of exhaustion pulled her into a restless, dreamless sleep.
