Heroes

By: Carm

I'm going to tell you a story about the bravest men I have ever known. I'm going to tell you about two unlikely heroes that are forever lost to this world. They enjoyed life and living it. They enjoyed being around other people. They could find any reason at all to make someone smile, or to smile themselves. I'll tell you of the women they loved, the career that they shared, and those left behind. I'm going to tell you a story of two heroes that gave their lives for their home and their neighbors. I'm going to tell you the story of the heroes that left us behind.

~*~

The first of the men was mine. I shared him with the world, but he was always mine at heart. I'll say that at first, I was mad. I had told him to weather the storm, but he wouldn't listen. He sweared he was okay and that nothing would happen to him. He would be careful. And he was. He made it through the storm. He just didn't make it afterwards. But, I'm getting ahead of myself. First, the man. What can I say that his fans don't already know? AJ McLean had many sides. On stage, he was the bad boy of the Backstreet Boys. He was the man that made girls' hearts go pitter pat. With his friends, he was a jokester. I called him a dork so often that I can't count anymore. And when he was with me-- he was the sweetest man I've ever known. When I thought I couldn't receive love, that all I could have were schemers and cheaters, AJ showed me that I was worth more. He loved me for me. He took all parts of me, the moods, the bitchiness, he took them all. He gave me all of him and in return I did the same. The second of the heroes was my friend's. He loved her with everything. Again, she shared him with the world. To Nick Carter, she was his world. He came off as the blonde bombshell of the group. His smile could make women wither and there were entire discussions dedicated to his "ghetto booty." He was the baby of the group, and ran wild with his partner in crime. He was also a brother. Aaron Carter dated my little sister, so in a way, Nick left the both of them. He left Aaron as a wreck and left Crystal to care for him.

They both lived in Florida. Another did as well, but he got out in time. Howie was able to make it to safety. Why didn't Nick and AJ? They didn't know. They were locked away, working, paying no attention to the outside world. No radio. No television. Stupid, yes. Had they been aware, they would have gotten out okay. Had they listened to me and Emily and everyone else, they wouldn't have been anywhere near. Nick's family made it away softly. So did AJ's. But those two? Not only did they stay behind, but they decided they had to be heroes as well. They decided to put other's lives ahead of their own, ahead of ours. We aren't together because their hearts were too big. And try as I might, I can't seem to be grateful for the lives they saved. I can't realize that they were so great in their last minutes. All I can grab onto is that they left us. They chose others. They chose to be heroes.

~*~

I remember the storm. It was horrible. Em and I live in New York and luckily it died out before it made its way up the east coast. We were packed in tightly and watched as everyone came. Everyone but them. I don't know if I should say we were lucky, though. Can anyone really be lucky in that kind of situation? We lost a lot. Many tell us that we still have our lives, but those two men were our lives, our loves, and we lost that forever. Again, though, I am getting ahead of myself. Maybe I should talk about Hurricane Iris first. She came quickly, turning from tropical storm to full blown world destroyer only within a few days. We thought everyone had gotten out safely. They had enough warning to at least leave the immediate area. Some went to Brian's place in Georgia, locking up tightly. Others made it to relatives in various areas away from Florida. We were patient. We knew they had made it out in time. Until the phone call.

"AJ! Where are you!" I screamed into the phone. "Where is Nick!" My sister, Aaron and E mily surrounded me, trying to hear.

"We're okay, Baby Girl!" he said. I could hear the noise of the storm.

"No, you're not! Where are you!"

"Um... on a bridge?"

"A-- What the hell... go back! Get cover! Just-- wait it out."

"We can beat it, Baby Girl." He always called me that. I can still hear it sometimes. Just a whisper. Baby Girl. It's so soft but I hear it loud and clear. "We're ahead of it and--"

"And you're crazy! Just-- find a place and--"

We were cut off. I looked around the room and couldn't say anything. I finally said, "It went dead," after a few moments. I didn't look anyone in the eye. I moved over to the sofa and sat down, my head bent. I think I was talking to myself, but it was just loud enough to be heard.

"They're trying to outrun it." I heard the gasps, the cries, the yells of how stupid they were and agreed with all of it. They were stupid. I knew they liked adventure, but this was ridiculous.

It was over an hour before the phone rang again and this time the background was quiet. Almost quiet. I heard a television in the backdrop and pretty much knew who it wasn't. The voice came over the line and I said, "I can't do this." I handed the phone over to Emily and sat down again.

"Hello? Brian, no. They-- they're trying to outrun it." I'm not sure what Brian said to her but she began to cry and from the way she spoke I could tell that more than likely Brian was, too. I tuned out the audible side of the conversation and let tears flow. You don't outrun a hurricane. The winds, the rain, you can't outrun that. And if they thought they could-- I remember watching the movie The Perfect Storm. They tried to outrun a hurricane. Those sword fisherman didn't make it. They all died at sea. Okay, so they were on land, but last I heard, they were over a bridge. Florida is surrounded by water. A gust of wind could easily blow them out into the ocean. It was dangerous, and I'll never understand what made them think they could manage it.

Two hours after Brian's call, the phone rang again. Aaron answered it. I heard his sigh of relief and jumped from my seat to answer. They were fine. They had settled down deep underground in a parking structure. They had finally realized they couldn't beat the storm. They told me things I didn't want to hear. Details that I could do without. I put the phone on speaker so the others could hear. I tried to tun it out, but I couldn't. No one else was speaking, so I could clearly hear AJ and Nick. I looked at everyone else and they were in different stages of shock. Aaron looked partially in awe and the rest in fear.

"There was a lot of rain. A ton of it."

"We were almost tossed off the bridge!"

"We made it, though!"

"Yeah! Nick punched the peddle and--"

"Hydroplane!"

"We had to hide out. It's cool."

"Yeah, we'll just wait til it clears and then find a way out of this mess."

"I love you, Baby Girl!"

"I love you, sweet cheeks!"

They loved us, or so they said. Then why didn't they come home? Didn't they learn anything from what they had just gone through? I never got the chance to really understand it all. Oh, yeah, I asked him. Em asked Nick. We just wanted to know why. They told us, and I think Em got it, but me? It just made no sense to me. I believe in modern day heroes. How could I not after the things I'd seen? That didn't mean, however, that I wanted my love to be one of those. Let others help. I was stingy and I still am. None of it matters, though, because I have to live with the fact that I was in love with a hero.

~*~

Everything was fine. The guys were safe. The storm had passed and died out. AJ and Nick managed to make their way out of the wreckage. Camera crews were coming in to access the damage. Rescue teams were looking for survivors. Helicopters were flying in and out. The blood banks were sending people away to come back at a later date. The line to give blood was long, the wait five hours at times. We watched on the television as AJ and Nick were found and taken to a rescue base to change clothes and get something warm to drink. We were relieved. Tears flowed freely. It was like having a party line going, so many people were calling to tell us that they had seen AJ and Nick, that they were okay. I think this was what they called the calm before the storm. Not the literal storm, but the one that would befall us later.

Only a few days had passed. We expected them to be flown out, but they chose to stay and help. Although Em and I lived in New York, their home, their memories were in Florida. They refused to just let it die. We had to stop Howie from running down there to help. Maybe we should have let him go. Maybe he would have been able to... oh, hell, I don't know. He could have done something. But, that's beside the point. It's actually nowhere near the point. The point is that Alexander James McLean and Nickolas Gene Carter stayed to help, and that they did.

We watched it all on television. Iris may have died out, but she left lingering storms coming in from the ocean. She left something to remember her by, and I have to say that she's one that I will never forget. The camera was trained on them. The reporter ran off at the mouth about two pop stars doing what they could to help out. They weren't alone, however, because I saw JC and Justin trying to help as well. They took a minute to say that Orlando was their home and that they would all do their best to save it and its people. For a moment, watching them all pull people from the wreckage of a twisted house, I was proud. There he was, my AJ, risking his life for others. It showed me just how big his heart was. But, then I didn't care.

The house collapsed. They had just gotten the finally person out and Nick had handed the family dog to Justin. I saw the two men from *NSync trying to grab their hands and pull them up. A beam fell. The ground shook. Justin and JC fell to their backsides as the lumber beneath them rattled. Others came, burlier men. Someone shouted that this area was supposed to be secure. Another screamed that apparently it wasn't. And then, JC and Justin were being pulled back empty-handed. It took me a minute to realize that I was on my knees, grabbing onto the television. I heard screams. They weren't mind. They were male. They were-- My God, they were AJ and Nick as they fell. There was a rumble, then quiet, and the screams had stopped. The reporter was dumbfounded. People ran to try and dig them out. I waited to hear words, screams, something. Anything that would say that they were alive. I stood up slowly and looked to Emily. She was shaking. Crystal was crying into Aaron's shoulder, and in return, his tears fell in her hair. I looked back to Em. She was still standing there, shaking, hugging herself. She whispered, "No," over and over again. I echoed her, even though my mind told me I should be saying, "Yes." I moved to her and touched her shoulder. I think we collapsed against each other at the same time. We just... we fell. And we kept falling.

~*~

That's the story of our heroes. Two very brave men gave their lives to save others. There was fanfare, funds started in their names. Grievers were everywhere, they still are everywhere. We mourn their deaths daily, yet somehow manage to find a way to celebrate their lives. I recall what Kevin said in the eulogy. Neither Em nor I could manage to stand before those people. We had tried, but fallen. Kevin saved us. He said...

...I've known Nick and AJ for years. We fought, we laughed, we screamed, we cried. We were brothers. All five of us. And today, we say goodbye to those brothers. I look around and see the crying faces of the ones who loved them and I say to you... Don't cry. Em, Carmie, Aaron, Crystal... remember that they didn't die in vain. Just look beside you. You see the lives that were saved because they gave up theirs. While one life in turn for another isn't always something to be grateful for, let it comfort you that they died for a cause. Let it comfort us all. Let's celebrate their lives, not mourn their deaths, for today, we lay to rest two of the greatest men any of us have ever known. Today we lie to rest two heroes. May God bless you and give you the rest that you deserve. Goodbye, my brothers. I will never for get you.

Two heroes. Nick and AJ. They were heroes to me and Em before any of this happened. They saved us from a life that was barely worth living. We probably should have known they'd save others. Though, we never could have guessed they would save others at the cost of themselves or us or the ones that loved them. I can still find fault because I still want to blame. But, what Kevin said was right. We laid to rest two heroes. May they rest in peace.

The End

Please tell Carm what you thought of this story!