Chapter 13: End Of All Hope

Title: Haunted

Genre: Angst / Suspense

Rating: M

Summary: Two years after breaking up, Big Time Rush reestablish their friendship in the time of a danger that could possibly destroy everything for each of the boys... WARNING: Rated for Slash, Rape, Drug Use, Self-Harm.

Written: August 2011

Word Count: 2,108 words

Authors Note: Wow! This is the last chapter of Haunted, the ending to my very first story and my very first BigTimeRush fanfiction! At this time, I would like to thank the following people for submitting reviews to Haunted: Bella15, gleechild, Lovin' Big Time Rush, Kogan4life, Zana De Dorinte, leopardcheer2, waterwicca, surfergal23, squoctobird, chocolateXcupcakeX, irishoreo, jay, bigtimedegrassi, sasukemyemo394, Carla, SpottedXStorm4ever, BTRandRKO, and fanofbtr! You guys are the BEST! This was my very first story, and gosh, I just cannot thank you guys enough! I also want to thank everyone who put my story on alert and favorite! I want to thank BigTimeRushBabe, BitchinBabyy, BTRandRKO (again), chocolateXcupcakeX (again), deathy A. Saiyania, fanofbtr (again), Lovin' Big Time Rush (again), oneforthehaters, SpottedXStorm4ever (again), squoctobird (again), A.R Brooks, bigtimedancer, bigtimedegrassi (again), bigtimerushfangirlamy, BTRandRKO (again), chocolateXcupcakeX (again), fanofbtr (again), gleechild (again), irishoreo (again), Lovin' Big Time Rush (again), ObsessedWithDannyPhantom, Saphire-Flyer, sasukemyemo394 (again), sega385, Silverprint, SpottedXStorm4ever (again), squoctobird (again), surfergal23 (again), uNperfectXxXx, waterwicca (again), and xUndisclosed. You all have stood by me and I love all of you guys SO much. Oh, and please read till the very end!

It is the end of all hope
To lose the child, the faith
To end all the innocence
To be someone like me

Kendall Knight knew what the word hopeless meant. It meant there was no hope; the situation was beyond optimism or hope; times were desperate. When the police and paramedics had finally arrived, along with Mrs. Knight, Charlotte, Carlos's parents, and Kelly, there were a million emotions flying around as if they were in a battle. Mrs. Knight and Kelly were shocked to see Gustavo alive, which was a curious statement in itself as the man had been loaded into the back of an ambulance. Mrs. Knight almost fainted upon hearing that Katie had gone missing, and Carlos's parents cried upon hearing that Geraldo was missing too.

Kendall wondered how Carlos felt at the prospect of calling Stephanie only a few days after receiving the lovable boy. Kendall could not believe that they had won, only to lose. They didn't realize that Mercedes had gotten them in the position she had wanted; she wanted them to be helpless and alone. Sure, people would believe that Mercedes Griffin had gone crazy, but only she knew where Logan, Katie, and Geraldo were. The police had refused to let the boys meet her until they had interrogated her, but the boys were all frantic to meet with the crazy heiress.

Suddenly, James cleared his throat, and robbed Kendall of his thoughts. The boys were at the same place where everything had started; Apartment 2J. The police had cleared the building to clear the numerous bugs in the hotel room, which were listening to every word that the boys had said. When they had entered Logan's room and Katie's old room, Kendall felt as if he would lose his own sanity. He could not believe the three people could not be found. The police promised to call them as soon as they found anything, but seconds felt like hours, and minutes felt like days. Time was tantalizing and it was mocking Carlos, James, and Kendall.

The three boys had been discharged from the hospital after a few inspections. Needless to say, the press was curious to see three celebrities grazed with injuries, although Kelly had developed a loud voice to drive them away. Kelly had been emotional upon seeing Gustavo return, and although he had been in a peaceful slumber in his hospital bed, perfectly safe, Kelly had been sobbing in tears upon seeing the portly man return.

"So explain everything to us Kendall, just everything." Mrs. Knight barely whispered, as her bloodshot eyes remained barren. Charlotte was caressing Mrs. Knight's back, although it was almost to no avail. So many close friends of theirs had died; Bitters, Buddha Bob, and Jett, in Mercedes's pursuit to exact justice on the boys for a crime they never knew they committed. How were they to know that their rivalry with Jett would spiral into the murder of CEO Arthur Griffin? Kendall had thought of contacting Jo, Camille, and Dak, but he figured the less publicity he had, the better he would feel.

"It all started when we returned from our own lives to meet back up in this apartment," Kendall croaked. He hardly noticed Carlos getting a glass of water, and neglected to even acknowledge the beverage. "We all received our first message from Reaper-I mean, Mercedes, under the guise of Reaper. Unfortunately, at that time..." Kendall felt his throat tighten, as he thought of how many years he had spent apart from his lover, Logan.

"At that time, none of us really trusted our brothers," Carlos picked up the speech and continued. "So we went on, battling Reaper in our own ways. In some ways, Reaper helped us, like introducing me to mami and papi," Carlos gave a weak smile to his birth parents, "but in other ways, Reaper completely ruined our life, like what she did to Kendall." Carlos sent a furtive glance to Mrs. Knight, upon seeing her reaction of her son turning out to be gay. Carlos could have imagined a sarcastic comment from Katie, and her small body reminded Carlos of his son. Suddenly, his heart felt heavy.

"Anyways, we kept on battling Reaper, as we received a video from her. She basically told us we killed both Gustavo and Griffin, and while we...certainly caused their deaths, we di-didn't meant to." James sniffed slightly, as he felt himself losing control over his emotions. He sniffed once more, before looking up. Kelly, Gustavo (who was in a wheelchair), Mrs. Knight, Charlotte, and Mr. & Mrs. Pena were here. "But eventually, after we were all driven to a point of no-return, we decided to bond together again and become as close as we were when we were Big Time Rush..." James felt as if he could not continue anymore. For some odd reason, he desperately wished for Gustavo to yell at how stupid his 'dogs' were for breaking the band up, but there was only a mocking silence.

"Finally, we heard from James that Jo-who we originally thought was Reaper-was at UCLA. Reaper had just told us that she would be at UCLA, and thus we thought it fit perfectly. However, I chose to stay back, and thus I discovered Mercedes's secret." Kendall quickly turned to Carlos to continue, as his throat continued to tighten as if a snake was constricting it.

"We stupidly made this plan to let Logan be the bait for Reaper, which worked, until she stabbed him." Carlos breathed, as scars were implanted in his brain upon seeing Logan's own scars. It made him feel numb and cold. Mercedes had done so much to them.

"Thus, the next morning, when Kendall joined us, we noticed Gerlado was missing, and so was Katie. When we got to the hospital, Logan was found missing as well." James whispered, as the painful memories from that morning still burned fresh on James's memory.

"However, before that, I had gone to Mercedes's office, and found it completely unused. I eventually put it all together, with the help of Logan's clues, and discovered that Mercedes hated us for causing the death of her father and eventually the ruination of her life. It all suddenly made sense, and I raced to find the others, but when I got there, my mind was frazzled upon seeing Logie injured..." Kendall knew he had used his pet-name for Logan, and he didn't care at this moment what the others thought.

"So...you guys have been in so much pain for all these days?" Mrs. Pena commented, sending a sympathetic look toward the boys. Mr. Pena looked slightly uncomfortable, although he only murmured a few notes of sympathy. Carlos appreciated the mere presence of the couple, as he appreciated Mrs. Knight, Charlotte, Kelly, and Gustavo.

All the adults were stunned. It was truly striking to see how much hell the boys had gone through under their noses, and they felt vulnerable and helpless. They were unable to help the boys at all.

"The only thing the situation begs is this question; how did Mercedes discover all of our secrets? My secret and Logan's secret," Kendall sent a furtive glance toward Kelly, who stood unfazed. The adults were unaware as to what these secrets were. "occurred during the course of Big Time Rush, as did James. Carlos's was sort of recurring throughout his life, but it was something none of us knew about each other." Kendall commented, finally seizing a bit of control back into his life.

There was a momentary silence in the room, and Mr. Pena's uncomfortable fidgeting seemed to somehow fit into the situation. These were the times that Kendall missed Logan the most. His rational explanations always saved the boys, and it seemed like something that would surely come in handy. Kendall's heart was hurting in a way he had never felt pain before; he missed Logan with all of his life, and he would do almost anything to see the shorter boy again.

Suddenly, Kelly's phone vibrated. She gave a sheepish ghost of a smile as she scrolled through her smart-phone. Suddenly, she let out a high-pitched gasp, which caused all of the members in the room to turn and face her with an incredulous gaze.

"T-Turn on the TV..." Kelly whimpered, as she suddenly trembled. Gustavo rolled his wheelchair to the remote and shuffled through the channels, until he saw a news report with a familiar face on it.

"Actress Joanne Taylor has told us that she has just sent a legal document to her former fiance Kendall Knight for illegal trespassing, harassment, and other misdeeds. Her agent claims that she intends to sue Kendall Knight for every penny he is worth." Jennifer Golden smiled pleasantly, as if she was reporting that the weather would be sunny for the rest of the week. Kendall's jaw dropped, as he felt the hands of Mrs. Knight, Charlotte, Carlos, and James on his shoulders. Jo was originally the least of his problems, but she was becoming a parasitic thorn on Kendall's side. He was initially infuriated to discover in her apartment, that Jett had been living next-door to the couple, blackmailing Jo. He was even angrier to discover that Jo had alerted Jett that the boys were back together in Los Angeles and that they were in her apartment, which caused him to move out. While Kendall had felt bad upon hearing about the actor's untimely death, he almost felt no remorse. It frightened him how the situation had escalated into Kendall's lost of remorse, Jo's sadistic behaviors, and Logan's absence.

"How interesting Jennifer," another news anchor smiled, as he turned to face the TV screen again. "It seems like the boy band has been up to no good. Actress Camille Roberts went to court today, to file a lawsuit against James Maslow for attempting to rape her." After hearing this, the entire room gasped as James, who almost felt like shrieking like he used to when he was younger. Camille was suddenly against the boys? She had been one of their closest friends when they were younger, and now there was this ludicrous claim coming from her? As if one cue, James's celebrity lawyer had sent him an email, informing him of the lawsuit. James couldn't believe it. Reaper-Mercedes was incarcerated, but her magic was still haunting the boys. She was like a spectral witch, sending her astral projections to forever haunt the boys.

Carlos almost felt like an imminent force was coming to attack him. He mentally braced himself for the news, until the weather came on. As if one cue, everyone let out a breath of relief, although James running to the bathroom and Kendall muttering words under his breath were not good signs at all. Logan was gone. Katie was gone. Geraldo was gone. Bitters was dead. Buddha Bob was dead. Jett was dead. Camille was an enemy. Jo was an enemy. Mercedes was an enemy. It was like the entire world was crumbling apart for the boys; nothing was right anymore. Logan was supposed to forever be with them, as Katie and Geraldo were. Bitters was supposed to grow old and impress his mother with his lies, but secretly have an appreciation for the boys. Buddha Bob was supposed to peacefully retire and write songs with Guitar Dude for a living. Jett was entering the world of politics, where with his charm and grace, he would surely make an impact. Camille and Jo were supposed to always be on the side of the boys, and Mercedes was supposed to be happy about inheriting the company. Nothing was right in the world anymore.

As if on cue, Carlos's phone buzzed. The familiar sensation he felt whenever he opened a text from Reaper was back. Suddenly, the world lunged and attacked him, clawing out whatever life Carlos had left. He wanted to laugh. The boys thought they had gone one step by stopping Mercedes, but they had only eliminated a pawn in the game.

There was a text message on his phone, from a restricted number. The signature of the message was ReaperToo.

The boys were forever haunted; they were doomed to suffer through waves of mental anguish and torment. Their closest friends and comrades were gone, slowly people around them were dying, and instead of taking the queen of the battlefield, they had only taken a pawn. A simple pawn. They had invited the ghosts of the past to come and terrorize them to no end. They had opened the door for their own destruction by breaking apart. They had caused the imminent ruin of their own lives, and for the people around them. They were doomed to be forevermore haunted.

Before you guys kill me or hound me with mail, I would like to let you all know there will be a sequel. It will be called Scream and I plan to have it posted by August 18th. Please check back by then to see the story! Once again, thank you guys so much and I cannot wait for you guys to leave your comments, reviews, and feedback!

~*ImprecantesStellam*~