“Anything interesting?” Sam Winchester asked as he strolled back towards the car, having just refilled it with fuel and purchased a few snacks for the road on one of the many credit cards his brother had obtained fraudulently. He sometimes wondered whether he’d ever have a normal nine to five job, but quickly dismissed the idea. He’d grown accustomed to this life he and his brother had forged for themselves as hunters of the supernatural. His brother Dean was scrutinising the newspaper, something had obviously caught his attention, a look of deep concentration was displayed on his face.

“Could be our next job” Dean replied, tossing the newspaper to his brother to look at “the circumstances surrounding his death do look suspicious”

“And we're only about a hundred miles away” Sam nodded his head, agreeing with Dean that the story in the newspaper did look right up their street “whose turn to drive?”

“Do you really need to ask?” Dean replied, already walking around to the driver’s side.

He started up the car, cranked up the stereo and hit the gas, leaving the small town of Hilldale behind as AC/DC’s ‘Back in Black’ blasted from the 1967 Chevy Impala’s speakers.

~*~

“Dude, you have to check out this game, it’s freaking awesome!” Nick said, turning his head around to look at AJ who was tipping the last remains of Doritos out of the bag and into his mouth.

“How awesome?” AJ asked “is it better than that zombie game we were playing last week?”

“Way better” Nick replied with a huge grin on his face and Xbox controller in his hand.

“That good huh?” AJ asked and reached for the game case to read the game features on the back cover. “Premonition… survival-horror-action game…multiple supernatural enemies” AJ read “sounds pretty fucking good”.

“It is. Look how awesome these graphics are, it’s like watching a horror movie with me in it!” Nick grinned and then turned back to the game where the character on screen looked very much like him. The game was a demo, not due for release for at least another six months, but Nick had contacts and had managed to get hold of it before anyone else (well, apart from a few select employees over at Ubisoft who were trialling the game).

“Can I play it later?” AJ asked, wanting in on the action. He wasn’t as big of a gamer as his friend and band mate Nick, but he did like to play video games when the mood took him.

“We’ll see” Nick smirked.

“Come on you guys, time to get to sound check” Howie popped his head around the door of the bus Nick and AJ were sharing, looking at his watch in annoyance. Nick looked as if he’d just rolled out of bed, dressed as he was in crumpled clothes. Howie shook his head and left them to it. If Nick wanted to go to sound check in scruffy joggers and a ripped t-shirt then so be it!

“Coming Dad” Nick joked and paused the game so that it would be ready to continue with later. “I swear he’s turned into Kevin”

“I hear ya” AJ agreed and they both laughed.

The Backstreet Boys were on tour again and due to perform at another sell out concert later that evening. They’d been on the road so long this time, trying to get to as many places as possible to repay the fans for their continued loyalty. There weren’t many bands like theirs which could still pull the crowds after seventeen years, apart from Take That who’d recently celebrated twenty years of existence. But they didn’t really count as they’d taken ten years off, whereas the Backstreet Boys had remained together through thick and thin, good times and the bad.

Nick and AJ soon joined Brian and Howie in the black SUV and were driven to the arena for sound check.

“Wonder what we’ll get asked by the fans today?” Brian wondered out loud.

Sometimes fans surprised them and asked really interesting and unique questions, catching them off guard and making the sound check party more memorable. Other times it was the same old tired questions like ‘what kind of underwear do you prefer’, ‘what’s your favourite colour’ and ‘when is Nick going to settle down, does he have a girlfriend’. Those kind of questions bored them to death.

“I hope they’ve got some good ones” AJ replied. AJ wasn’t shy when it came to answering personal questions; in fact, he wasn’t shy when it came to any questions the fans threw at him. He often let things escape his mouth that should be kept private. But that was AJ; nothing stayed a secret for long once he knew about it!

A couple of hours later and the boys were on stage, a group of fans in the front rows singing along as they sang ‘Siberia’. It was one of those songs they all liked to sing live, in fact it was Brian’s favourite Backstreet song, but they hadn’t performed it on tour since Never Gone as it hadn’t been a single. Once they’d finished, it was question time.

“AJ, do you have any plans to bring back the Mohawk you had for the Inconsolable video?” asked a pretty brunette wearing a ‘Mrs McLean’ t-shirt.

AJ laughed and shook his head “I don’t think I have enough hair to be able to” he said as he ran his hand over his thinning closely cropped hair “why, did you like it like that?”

“Oh yeah, it was sexy as hell” she giggled.

“Well, thank you very much” AJ replied.

The boys were asked a couple more questions, the usual kind, before doing another song ‘Drowning’.

“That is my favourite song of all time, but what are your favourite Backstreet songs?” asked a blonde holding her camera up to capture the conversation on film.

“I bet I can answer for everyone” Nick grinned as he looked at his friends perched on their stools.

“I should say ‘As Long as You Love Me’ because that’s where I met my wife, but my ultimate favourite is ‘Siberia’” Brian replied to be met with cheers from the fans. He then began singing part of it before Howie cut him off to give his response.

“All I Have To Give” Howie replied and then turned to Nick.

“Incomplete” Nick said and turned to AJ.

“Mine’s off the new record” AJ said and then proceeded to sing ‘If I Knew Then’ with Nick joining in.

Sound check that day went down really well, as they did most days. It was only occasionally they had an off day.

“We’ll see you guys later” they all said when they were done with the meet and greets and the photos. It was time to go backstage and have something to eat, chill for a couple of hours and prepare for the show.

z88;

The Winchester brothers arrived in Holden, Missouri, by nightfall and checked into a cheap motel. The guy on the front desk grimaced at them when Sam had asked for one twin room, until Dean mentioned they were brothers. Even then, he wasn‘t one hundred percent sure the guy believed him. It seemed to be a common occurrence having to explain that no, they weren’t a couple!

Sam flipped open his laptop and searched for all the information he could about the death of Jacob Taylor, but he didn’t find much more than was printed in the newspaper. According to his findings, Jacob was a grade A student from a good home, he’d never been in trouble and rarely ventured far from home (where he was staying during summer break from college). Something was definitely suspicious about his death though. An apparently fit and healthy nineteen year old dying like that in his bedroom? It wasn’t normal, which is just what the brothers specialised in.

It was a little late to do any digging around for information from the family, so they decided the best thing to do would be to take a wander around town, have something to eat and maybe question the locals to see what they could find out about Jacob.

As Jacob was only nineteen, they figured it was pointless visiting the local bars, so instead found a lively looking diner and sat down in one of the booths.

“Food looks good here” Dean commented as he looked around at people devouring their meals, laughing, talking and enjoying themselves. He picked up a laminated menu and perused it quickly, deciding on cheese burger and fries with a side of onion rings.

~*~

Rob Edwards was glad he’d stayed in rather than go to the diner with the rest of the crowd. The new game he’d managed to get his hands on was amazing. With graphics as realistic as they were, it was like looking in the mirror at his character…as if the game somehow knew what he looked like. It was like being the hero in some big Hollywood blockbuster without leaving the comfort of his bedroom.

“Take that you fucking zombie piece of shit” he muttered as he blew the shuffling, rotting corpse’s brains all over the place with his weapon of choice - a sawn off shotgun. The zombie stumbled to the ground, now just a headless corpse with congealed blood slowly oozing from the gaping neck wound and fragments of rotting flesh, bone and brain splattered around him.

Rob shouldn’t even have the game, and if anyone found out he’d stolen it the day of Jacob’s funeral, he’d be in big trouble. He’d only meant to use the bathroom, but once upstairs he’d taken a detour into Jacob’s room and spotted the game his deceased friend had raved about in their MSN conversations. The game he’d said was the most awesome game ever, but was only a demo on special loan and therefore not for anyone else to use. But Rob figured that Jacob would’ve wanted him to have it, after all, they had been best friends all through school and had even gone to the same college. Rob still couldn’t believe his friend was dead. Teenagers weren’t supposed to die, not like that.

He shook off thoughts of his friend and focussed back on the game, wondering what he’d have to fight off next.

“What the hell” he mumbled as he came across something he wasn’t quite sure about. In this game, you didn’t know who to trust. What appeared to be an ally could quite easily be the enemy, you just had to make the right decision.

At that moment, his mom popped her head around the bedroom door to say goodnight and to make sure he switched everything off before going to sleep. Did she think he was twelve or something? He was nineteen for god’s sake! He knew how to switch a TV off.

“Night” he called absently and then cursed under his breath. He’d let his attention slip for a moment and found himself in the clutches of a vampire. They sure weren’t like the ones in those lame ass Twilight films. These vampires were more the Thirty Days of Night kind, with razor sharp teeth and no remorse.

“Think you’re gonna take me down huh?” he said to the screen and then reached into his pocket and took out a wooden stake, plunging it into the vampires chest. The vampire staggered backwards and then burst into flames. He burned brightly for only a few seconds before being reduced to a pile of ash.

“That’ll teach you for messing with the master” Rob laughed.

He played for a few more hours, until his eyes started to become heavy and his concentration was slipping.

“May as well just let it kill me” he shrugged, figuring he’d start afresh the following day.

If only he had another day.

Pulling the covers over himself, he was soon in a deep sleep, only to be awoken some time later by a scratching noise. He pulled the covers tighter and closed his eyes again.

“Must be imagining things” he murmured, already half asleep again.

There was no imagining what came next.

The covers were savagely pulled back and something grabbed him. It lifted him from the bed and dragged him like a rag doll across the floor.

“Please…whatever you want…just take it” Rob begged, thinking his attacker wanted to rob the place.

“Don’t worry…I will” answered the most evil sounding voice Rob could imagine, and he could imagine a lot of things!

“Wait a minute…this must be a dream…you can’t be real” Rob decided as his eyes became accustomed to the dark, only the light of the moon shining through his partially open curtains. His attacker wasn’t even human, he was the freaky looking creature from the game…the one who’d killed him.

“I’ll show you how real I am” he said in his grating voice and then placed his mouth against Rob’s and sucked the life right out of him, leaving him a shrivelled corpse in front of the window.

~*~

Later that night after performing to a sell out crowd in The Midland Theatre, Kansas City, the Backstreet Boys congratulated each other for putting on another incredible show.

“Man, that was awesome tonight” Nick said as the adrenaline still pumped through his body. They couldn’t say the same for every show, sometimes the atmosphere wasn’t as good and that made it harder work. But when the crowd reacted the way this crowd had, it gave them a warm feeling inside.

“Let’s go to a club instead of going back to the busses just yet. We don’t have to leave until morning, let’s have a bit of fun” AJ suggested

“But…” Nick began to protest. What he really wanted to do was carry on where he’d left off with his game.

“No buts dude, you can play that game tomorrow” AJ said “come on, live a little!”

z88;

While Howie and Brian boarded their own individual buses (their wives and children were travelling with them for this leg of the tour) to set off for Colorado, Nick and AJ headed to a club which had been recommended. Without their girlfriends accompanying them on tour, they figured they ought to make the most of a night out, plus a bit of window shopping wouldn’t hurt. They could still look even if they couldn‘t sample the goodies!

The atmosphere in the club was great, just the right amount of fans for it to not be too awkward, and a fantastic selection of music. Girls in body hugging dresses which left nothing to the imagination vied for their attention, and the two single Backstreet Boys were loving every minute of it. AJ, always the extrovert, danced with a few girls, whilst Nick remained where he was, quite happy to just observe. Despite his reputation as a ladies man, Nick was in fact nothing of the sort, at least not anymore.

“Fancy another one?” AJ asked as he held up his empty beer bottle a while later. The pair of them had gone through hard times when it came to drink and drugs, but were now in a place in their lives where they could enjoy one or two and then walk away.

“Go on then” Nick replied, draining the last remains of his bottle of Bud Light and placing it down on the bar.

By about two in the morning they were ready to go, and so had a car take them back to the bus at the concert venue.

“Man, I’m so tired” Nick yawned as he kicked his shoes off when they were back on the bus.

“Me too. We must be getting old, remember the nights where we’d party all night long?” AJ reminisced.

“Hey speak for yourself, I’m only thirty!” Nick replied “I could still party all night if I wanted to. It just happens that I don’t want to all that often”

“Same here” AJ agreed.

“Y’know, I’m too tired to even play ’Premonition’, I think I’m just going to go straight to bed. Night” Nick yawned again and crashed down onto his bed, not even bothering to undress.

“Night” AJ replied and decided he’d have one last cigarette before going to sleep himself. He stood outside the bus and lit his cigarette, inhaling deeply and looking up into the starry night sky. No, he had to agree with Nick that he didn’t miss the old days, not one little bit. But he also wouldn’t change a thing either as every step he’d taken had brought him to where he was right now - a happy place in his life.

~*~

Back in their motel room, Dean and Sam mused over the evening’s events. After finishing their meals and talking to the teens in the diner, they found out that Jacob was a well liked guy, if a little on the geeky side. No one could think of any reason why someone would slay him so brutally in his own bedroom. In fact, the kids were more than a little shocked by it. That kind of thing just didn’t happen in Holden.

“We’re going to have to try and get into that house” Dean declared “we need to see what we’re dealing with here, seeing as the police don‘t seem to have any leads”

“What are we going to be this time?” Sam asked, thinking of the many aliases they’d used in the past to gain entry to crime scenes.

“FBI maybe” Dean answered and rummaged through their many fake identifications for the ones he wanted.

“Yeah, that should do it” Sam replied. He knew they’d never be able to pass themselves off as friends from college, or police officers. This was the kind of town where everyone seemed to know everyone, including the local police. They’d be sussed out within seconds.

The following morning, after just a cup of coffee, they got into the Impala and made their way over to the Taylor house, badges in their pockets at the ready.

“I really hope we’re not dealing with another poltergeist” Dean murmured.

“I’ve got a feeling it’s something worse than that” Sam replied. He didn’t know why, but sometimes he had these feelings, like he knew something was about to happen, but couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

“You and your feelings” Dean teased.

They arrived at the Taylor house, which was in a quiet tree lined street in a nice well maintained area neighbourhood. Dean parked the car outside and they climbed out, putting on their professional faces as they walked up the path. Within a few moments of ringing the doorbell, a smartly dressed woman in her early fifties opened the door.

“Mrs Taylor?” Dean asked.

“Yes“ the woman replied cautiously.

“I‘m Agent Northman and this is Agent Compton, we‘re from the FBI“ Dean announced, flashing his badge and smiling inwardly at his little True Blood reference. If only people realised that vampires were far from fiction and not at all like the brooding handsome actors who portrayed them on screen, they‘d soon lose their appeal.

“How can I help? The police did all they could when it happened” she asked.

“Well, as you know, the case is still open and far from resolved, the police called us in to investigate it further. Do you mind if we ask a few questions?” Sam said politely, hoping she believed who they’d proclaimed to be.

“And maybe take a look at the scene of the crime?” Dean added, glancing towards the staircase, itching to get into the house and up those stairs to where the dead teenager’s bedroom was.

“Do you mind showing me some identification first?” she asked and the brothers pulled out their fake FBI identification. “Well, you’d better come in” Mrs Taylor pulled the door open further and stepped back to allow them in.

The brothers followed Mrs Taylor into a comfortable looking living room, decorated tastefully in neutral colours.

“Take a seat” she offered and sat down in the armchair closest to the fireplace.

“Thank you” Sam replied and they both sat down on the expensive leather sofa. Sam pulled out a notepad and pen and sat poised ready to make note of anything useful.

“Could you start by explaining to us what your son was doing that night? Was it anything out of the ordinary?” Dean asked.

“No…he wasn’t doing anything unusual. We’d had dinner at seven o’clock as usual, and then after helping me clear away, Jacob disappeared up to his room to play some new game he’d got that day” she began.

“Game?” Dean asked to clarify.

“He liked to play his Xbox…a lot. In fact he’d spend hours and hours up in his room playing those games, chatting to his friends on Xbox live sometimes” she told them “to be honest, I never saw the appeal of those games, too violent”

“Did anyone call the house…or did you notice anyone hanging around outside?” Sam asked.

“No, nothing” Mrs Taylor replied “I didn’t see or hear anything”

“When did you discover your son‘s body?” Dean asked with as much empathy as he could.

Mrs Taylor began to cry, tears rolling down her perfectly made-up face. “It was the following morning” she sobbed “I called him for breakfast a couple of times and when he didn’t answer…my husband went to wake him up…but he was…he was…dead” she choked out the words.

The brothers knew it wouldn’t be right to ask anything further, the poor woman had been through enough, so they asked whether it would be alright to take a look upstairs in his bedroom.

“I suppose” she sniffed “it’s the last door on the right”

Upon entering the room, the brothers quickly discovered that something supernatural had been there - they just didn’t know what. Obviously there were no visible traces of evidence left, but that didn’t mean that everything had been cleaned away. There were still traces here and there which were invisible to the untrained eye.

“You making a note of all this?” Dean asked as he rummaged around the teenager’s desk and found nothing suspicious. There was no sign of any new game, in fact the Xbox drive was empty. Maybe the boy’s parents had tidied his games away. It didn’t seem that important though.

“Yep” Sam replied “but there’s not a lot to go on”

They finished up in Jacob’s room, thanked Mrs Taylor for her time and then left the house.

Meanwhile, not too far away, another family had just discovered something so unspeakably horrendous, the screams could be heard down the street.

“Do you really think it’s the game?” Sam asked.

“Anything is possible, we’ve seen just about everything else” Dean replied, looking up briefly from the journal “you find anything?”

“I’m just looking up all I can find about this game, it seems that it’s not due for release for another six months” Sam said as he searched for more information “and check this out…it looks like it should’ve been released already but they had to put the date back for reasons undisclosed. I wonder what they were!”

“I think we can probably guess, and I bet there’ve been more than just the two deaths we know about. We’d better see what else we can find” Dean replied and they carried on their search for answers.

~*~

“Dude…what the fuck?” Nick stood with his hands on his hips, a completely pissed off look on his face “I’m gonna have to start over again. Damn”

“Sorry man, but you were asleep and I was dying to play it” AJ replied, having paused the game to turn and explain to Nick, not a hint of remorse on his face.

“Awesome isn’t it?” Nick said, not able to stay mad for long. If he’d been in AJ’s position, he would’ve done exactly the same thing. In fact, he wouldn’t have even apologised.

“Fuck yeah! You should’ve seen this giant I just slaughtered, oh my god, I swear he nearly had me but then I pulled out the shot gun and blew him to pieces” AJ grinned “but here you go, I’ve had enough for now”. AJ reset the game and handed the controller over to Nick. He looked at his watch, noticing that they weren’t too far away from Bloomfield if the driver’s timing was anything to go by.

“Alright! Time to kick some supernatural ass” Nick grabbed a bottle of water and a bag of Cheetos and settled down for some game play.

AJ wandered back into the sleeping area to make a phone call to his Monkee, who had been unable to come along for this leg of the tour due to work commitments. He missed her so much, but was thankful for Skype.

“Take that you fucking blood suckers” Nick was shouting at the TV as he fought off a coven of blood thirsty vampires with a crossbow loaded with wooden stakes. The vampires each burst into flames, screeching in agony before being reduced to ashes. “Just call me Van Helsing” Nick laughed as he finished off the last one and moved on.

“You wish” AJ laughed as he came back into the living area and sat down.

“Shut up dude, you’ll distract me” Nick chastised his friend and threw a cushion at him.

“It’s just a game man” AJ dodged the cushion unsuccessfully.

“A freaking awesome game” Nick corrected and then turned back to the TV screen.

“What the hell is that?” AJ asked as some weird looking creature appeared on the screen.

“No clue, but the master will bring him down…just you watch and see” Nick grinned.

The creature turned out to be a gorgon - legend had it that if you looked one in the face, you turned to stone.

“You sure is fugly” Nick said to the hideously ugly looking creature that was snarling and slowly making its way towards Nick.

“It’s got freaking snakes for hair” AJ pointed out the obvious “wasn’t there a film…Clash of The Titans…don’t look at it or you’ll turn to stone, just like in the film”

“Shit” Nick said and made sure his screen character didn’t look it in the eye “thanks”

“No problem” AJ replied and decided he’d had enough of watching Nick play and grabbed something to eat. With any luck they’d be stopping soon.

Nick kept his eyes lowered, but was very aware of every move the gorgon was making. It approached slowly, and Nick didn’t have a lot of time to think.

“Dude…can you remember how they killed it in the film?” Nick called out to AJ, who was just finishing off a glass of orange juice.

“Decapitation. It’s the only way” AJ replied.

“Cool” Nick said to himself and reached behind his back to retrieve the Samurai sword which was sheathed in a leather harness. He swung the sword above his head and then aimed it at the gorgon, hoping to behead it with one swift movement. It wasn’t that easy though. Although Nick did slice through skin, bone and tissue, he didn’t decapitate it completely and the gorgon came at him in a blind rage, its head dangling at an odd angle.

“Don’t look at it” Nick kept repeating to himself as the creature somehow managed to grab hold of him. He tried to free his arms but the creature was too strong and the sword soon clattered to the ground. “Fuck” he murmured.

But without a moment to lose, he had to do something. Nick wasn’t in the habit of losing and would battle to the bitter end. Kicking his legs, he managed to unbalance the gorgon, sending them both flying through the air on their descent to the rough ground. Now was his only chance before the creature caught him again and forced him to look into its cold eyes, which would turn him to stone where he stood. Nick reached for the Samurai sword, his fingers only just clasping the handle. He swung it and hoped for the best. Fortunately, luck was on his side that time as the gorgon’s headless corpse dropped on top of Nick. Its head rolled in the opposite direction, the snakes had stopped moving and those cold eyes were now lifeless.

~*~

The Winchester brothers’ investigation uncovered a lot more than they expected it to. They found out that the man who’d originally devised the game had met his untimely end three months before the death of the first teenager. Jason Barlow had been found dead in the apartment he shared with his fiancée Selena, his wrists slit and his throat cut, with a medieval looking dagger within arm‘s reach.

A verdict of suicide had been recorded but according to Selena, there was no way her fiancé would take his own life. What reason would he have? He was doing a job he loved. He was getting paid a lot of money for doing the job that he loved so much. He was getting married the following year to the woman he loved and who loved him enough to put up with the hours he spent thinking up new game ideas. He lived in a nice neighbourhood and drove a fast sports car. Everyone who met Jason seemed to like him. So why would he kill himself? But the police established that there had been no break in at the time of death. Jason had to have done it to himself. Dean and Sam thought otherwise.

“We’ve got to talk to Selena” Dean said “I know it’s a couple of hours drive, but maybe she knows something”

And so they set off for Springfield and hopefully for some more answers.

A couple of hours later, Nick and AJ’s bus pulled up outside their hotel in Bloomfield, Colorado. Glad of the chance of a proper shower and something better than chocolate and crisps to eat, the two Backstreet Boys quickly left the bus and checked in to the hotel.

“Later bro” Nick said as he took his card key from the hotel receptionist and left AJ behind, hurrying for the elevators before any fans could spot him and approach. There were always a few die hard fans who always found out where they were staying in advance. He could’ve spent time wondering how they managed it, but didn’t. He had more important things to think about; like a nice hot shower, some room service and then a couple of hours of Xbox before the show at 1st Bank Center later on that evening.

Stripping off in the opulent bathroom, Nick couldn’t help noticing the bruises covering his torso “how the hell did they get there?”, he muttered to himself as he turned from side to side, lifting his arms as he took a closer look in the mirror. He didn’t remember falling out of bed or knocking himself on anything. But who knew? Stranger things had happened! He shrugged and reached over to turn the shower on, then finished getting undressed. The nice hot shower was just what he needed after a long journey on the tour bus. By the time he’d finished his shower and had dressed into a clean pair of jeans and a t-shirt, his food arrived.

“Now then, let’s kick some butt” he said as he connected up his Xbox to the large flat screen TV in his room. In no time at all he was engrossed in the game and fighting off supernatural beings in his quest for victory.

~*~

“I think this is the place” Sam said as they approached the address written on the piece of paper in his hand a couple of hours later.

Dean whistled as he looked up at the impressive apartment building. “Lot of money in this game business then” he expressed.

“Looks that way” Sam agreed “come on; let’s see if anyone’s home”.

They climbed out of the car after discussing who they were going to be today (they decided to keep the FBI identities going for now), and walked up the entrance of the building. Dean rang the bell and they waited anxiously for a reply. It was mid afternoon, the time of day that most people would be working, but after a couple of minutes, a woman’s voice answered the intercom.

“Yes?” she asked and the brothers looked into the camera which they knew was pointed on them.

“Miss Rodriguez?” Sam asked and she confirmed it with a simple yes. “I’m Agent Compton and this is Agent Northman, we’re from the FBI. May we come in for a minute; we’ve got a few questions we’d like to ask about Jason if that’s OK”

“But I told the police everything, they said it was suicide” she replied sadly.

“Please…this is important, we won’t take up much of your time” Dean added.

“OK then” she replied and the door opened to allow them into the building “come on up”.

The apartment was on the top floor, the penthouse. Selena opened the door and eyed them cautiously, twisting the sparkling engagement ring which still adorned her finger. The Winchesters flashed their fake identification badges and Selena opened the door wider to let them in. She led them into the living room which contained all the high tech gadgets money could buy, but the room still had a homely feel to it.

“Take a seat” Selena gestured and sat down on the chenille sofa, waiting for them to ask their questions.

“Thanks” Sam replied and they both sat down.

“So, what did you want to ask?” she began and again twisted the ring on her finger as she waited for the questions she really didn’t want to answer.

“Can you tell us what makes you think Jason’s death wasn’t suicide” Dean asked and Sam shot him a look as if to say ‘go easier on her’.

“I know…knew…Jason. He wouldn’t do that. There was no reason for him to take his own life. He had everything going for him. It just doesn’t make any sense” she shook her head sadly.

“Can you tell us a little about his work?” Sam asked to which Selena looked up a little puzzled.

“His work?” she asked.

“Yes, what did he do for a living? Was he happy in his job?” Dean asked.

“He worked for a major game manufacturer and he loved his job. He was really excited about some new game which was in development and about to be released. He spent months working on it…said it was going to be the most realistic graphics ever and knock everything else out of the water” she replied.

“Oh yeah” Sam said “what kind of game was it he was working on?”

“It was called ‘Premonition’ and it was a horror game, full of monsters and that kind of thing” she replied, wondering where this was going and what it had to do with anything “why do you ask?”

“We just want to get a better idea of the kind of man Jason was” Sam replied and Selena nodded.

They talked some more and then asked if it would be alright to take a look in the study - the place Jason had apparently taken his own life.

“I suppose so” she replied and directed them to Jason’s study.

The study looked untouched (apart from the fact that it had obviously had some specialist cleaning after the incident), there were items scattered over the large desk and Dean and Sam wasted no time in combing over the area. Removing his detector from his jacket pocket, Dean soon found traces of supernatural activity within the room, particularly around the desk and the flat screen which dominated one wall of the study. The Xbox was under the TV and a la-z-boy chair situated in perfect viewing distance, with an Xbox remote tucked neatly in a side pocket.

“I’ll look here, you check out that bookcase” Dean suggested, looking over at the solid oak bookcase which contained all sorts by the looks of it, not just books.

Dean skimmed through Jason’s papers and saw various items regarding the game which were of interest. It appeared that only five games were in existence at the time of Jason’s death. That meant - as long as no other games had been produced - that three more people must have the game. Rob had quite obviously ‘borrowed’ Jacob’s game after finding it in his bedroom. The brothers just needed to find out who had the remaining three games.

Before they could do any of that though, they needed to find out what they were up against. Video games didn’t just come to life of their own accord; something or someone must have tampered with it. But how?

Dean switched on the TV and the Xbox and watched as the game began to load, he had no intention of playing it, but had to see for himself what was so extraordinary about it.

“Dude, check this out” Sam called as he stood at the bookcase with an ancient looking leather bound book “it’s some kind of witchcraft book”

“Let me see” Dean said and immediately put the controller down and walked to where his brother was stood holding the book.

“We can’t stay up here for hours looking through this thing” Sam said “Selena will be wondering what’s taking so long”

“You’re right” Dean agreed and stuffed the book into his coat pocket. Sam gave him a look, but Dean simply shrugged. He was sure Selena wasn’t going to miss it if she never even came into the room.

They finished searching the room for clues and although they were positive the game was the cause of everything, they couldn’t work out how without having a good look at the book and the game. There were no records in the room of where the other games were located, and even if there were, they may not have been correct seeing as Jason had died three months previously. So that would mean a trip to the office and a bit of breaking and entering. They needed to find those other games fast before anyone else became a victim.

The hammering on his hotel room door tore his attention away from his game.

“Damn, is it time already?” Nick asked himself as he looked at his watch. He’d been playing for a couple of hours but it felt like minutes.

“Dude, come on” Howie was calling on the other side of the door.

Nick stopped his game and let his band mate in “I’ll just be a minute” he said as he walked towards the bathroom.

A few minutes later the boys and a couple of security were making their way down to the vehicles which would take them to the venue. By now even more fans had gathered in the hotel lobby, their cameras at the ready, hopeful of a picture with a Backstreet Boy or two.

“Nick, Nick” called a pretty blonde “can I get a picture with you please?”

“Brian, how’s Baylee?” called another fan in a homemade Backstreet t-shirt.

“I love you AJ” called another.

“Do we have time for a few photos with the fans?” Brian asked.

“We have a few minutes” Adam, a member of security replied.

And so the boys stopped for a few minutes for pictures before being whisked away to the cars.

“Man, I swear you have the weirdest fans” AJ laughed as he looked at the ‘gift’ one of the fans he given Nick. It was a scrapbook filled with photo-shopped pictures of Nick and the girl in various situations - first date, weekend away, wedding, etc.

“Tell me about it!” Nick laughed, but knew that the weird ones were a small minority.

A short while later they were in their dressing room getting ready for the show, when Brian noticed the bruises covering Nick.

“How did you do that? Fall out of bed again?” he laughed.

“No clue” Nick replied.

“Only Nick could get himself covered in bruises like that and not know how” Howie laughed.

“I’d better keep my shirt on tonight, can’t have the fans thinking you guys are beating me up” Nick laughed.

“I’m sure you’ll make up for it” Brian teased.

“You bet” Nick replied. He could get the girls going no matter what he did. A thrust here, a crooked smile there, that’s all it took to drive them crazy.

And that’s exactly what he did.

~*~

Getting in to the office was easy enough, as was finding out what they’d come for. What they didn’t anticipate was being caught.

“Stop right there” said a voice and Dean and Sam turned to see a man aiming a gun at them “who the hell are you and what are you doing here?”

“FBI, I’m Agent Northman…” Dean began.

“If you’re FBI then I’m Santa Claus” the man smirked, his finger resting on the trigger.

“Sam and this is my brother Dean” Sam replied, eying the man with caution.

“That’s better. And what are you here for?” he asked, looking at the file in Dean’s hand.

“You wouldn’t believe us even if we did tell you” Dean muttered.

“Try me” the man said “I think you‘ll find that I‘m quite open minded“.

“How about you put the gun away first” Sam suggested.

“How about you tell me what you’re doing here first?” he said and kept the gun exactly where it was.

“OK, you win” Dean replied.

The brothers briefly filled the man in on what they were doing and were surprised by his response. He lowered his gun.

“Y’know, I had my doubts about that game, but no one would take me seriously. You can‘t exactly go around telling people that you think a game is jinxed and expect to be taken seriously. So I kept my mouth shut and instead tried to hold off the release date by falsifying the marketing reports, making out that the game needed a bit more tweaking before it‘s release date. I don’t know what it is about that game, but I know for sure that Jason wouldn’t have taken his own life” the man replied.

“You worked with Jason?” Dean asked.

“Yeah” he replied “my name’s Zach Manson and I work in the creative and design department here”

After talking with Zach for a while longer, the Winchesters left the office, assured by Zach that any trace of the game held there would be destroyed. He didn’t go into details on how he’d achieve this, but Dean and Sam believed and trusted him.

“Looks like we’ve got some people to track down, including a member of a boy band” Sam said as he looked over the names on the list again.

“Would the world really miss another talent less pretty boy?” Dean teased.

“Let’s just hope we get to him before something else does” Sam replied.

“We’ve got to find out what kind of thing we’re up against first and that means looking through this lot and that witchcraft book” Dean said as he waved the file.

“Back to the motel then?” Sam suggested.

“How about we go over it all over a couple of beers instead” Dean replied.

As they downed their ice cold bottles of beer, the brothers poured over the details they had to hand. They went back to the motel a couple of hours later and performed the spell Sam had discovered to undo the evil magic which had cursed the game.

But that wasn’t enough and one more person died that night.

“Man, I miss my Monkee so much” AJ said as they travelled in the elevator up to the fifth floor where all of their rooms were located “I wish she was here with me”.

“Believe me, you’re lucky to have some alone time. I love my wife, but I just know she’ll have me doing Wylee stuff when I walk through that door, when all I really wanna do is collapse into bed and watch a bit of TV” Brian told him, envious of the two younger Backstreet Boys who’d left their girlfriends behind.

“Dude, you are so whipped” Nick laughed “aint never happening to me”

“We’ll see” Howie smiled.

“No fucking way man” Nick protested.

“Whatever” Howie smirked. He felt sure that Nick was indeed on his way to being tamed, his friend had never had a relationship last as long as the current one, so she must be doing something right.

“See you in the morning” Brian said to the others when he reached his hotel room door.

“Yeah, see ya” they all said to him and carried on towards their own rooms whilst Brian walked in to be bombarded with scarves, bags and Leighanne waving a camera in his face. He sighed and then dutifully did as he was told.

“Night D” Nick and AJ said to Howie before he disappeared into his room where his wife and son (hopefully asleep) would be waiting. Luck was on Howie’s side that night and he and Leigh were able to enjoy some adult time for the first time in days.

“What do you say we play a bit of Xbox? That’ll get your mind off of missing Rochelle” Nick asked, thinking they could play two players for a change and maybe order some pizza.

“Not in the mood for Xbox…but we could go down to the bar for a couple of beers” AJ suggested as he quickly tapped away at his phone, no doubt sending a text to his Monkee.

“Now you’re talking” Nick smiled “meet you out here in five?”

“Sure” AJ replied and they went into their own rooms to do what they needed to do before going to the bar.

Although there were a few fans staying at the hotel, the two Backstreet Boys managed to evade them for a while whilst they unwound with a couple of bottles of Bud.

“I need a smoke” AJ announced and stood up to go outside. That was it then, they’d been spotted and unless they wanted to spend the next however long answering questions and posing for photos, they’d have to call it a night.

AJ finished his cigarette and stubbed it out with his foot, said goodbye to the girls who’d decided to join him, and then went back inside to find Nick.

“Goodnight girls” Nick said “nice talking to y’all”

“Night” they all gushed in return and the two Backstreet Boys walked away.

“Xbox?” Nick asked as they took the elevator up to their floor.

“Why not!” AJ responded “you never know, I might even kick your butt”

“In your dreams dude” Nick laughed.

~*~

“Damn, we’re too late” Dean banged his hand against the steering wheel in defeat when they arrived at Jackson Troy’s house the following morning to find a couple of police cars outside and the vicinity buzzing with activity. Jackson had been one of the unlucky people to have gotten his hands on the trial game through a friend of his father’s who worked for Ubisoft.

“Could be something else?” Sam suggested “a robbery maybe”

“I don’t think so” Dean replied as a body bag was wheeled out of the property and loaded into a van with blacked out windows.

The brothers climbed out of the car and walked across to where a few of the neighbours had congregated, hoping to find out what had happened.

“I heard screaming” one woman was saying to another as she stood there with her arms folded.

“I heard gunshots” another said.

“Always knew there was something about that family” another gossip contributed.

“Oh come on Emma, that’s a bit harsh, just because they’re new in town doesn’t mean a thing” defended the woman with folded arms.

“What happened?” Dean asked the group of women.

“We don’t know” folded arms woman replied.

Dean and Sam walked out of hearing of the rest of the crowd “we need to get inside that house” Dean said.

“How? The place is crawling with police” Sam replied, gesturing towards the officers coming and going.

“Since when did that ever stop us?” Dean smirked.

While Sam created a diversion, Dean managed to get inside the house and retrieve the game, which was still in the Xbox. With the body already taken away, he had no idea what the cause of death had been, but it had been bloody. Splatters of blood coated the walls and the carpet was drenched.

“Did you find anything?” Sam asked when Dean was safely back outside with the rest of the onlookers.

“I got the game. Man, whatever did this was a sadistic son of a bitch. There were finger nail scratches in the desk, as if the guy had been trying to claw his way to safety or something. And the blood…it was like something out of Nightmare on Elm Street, it was even on the ceiling” Dean replied “but I don’t know what he died of. You hear anything?”

“No, and I hope you’re not suggesting a trip to the mortuary” Sam warned “because it’s not going to change anything, the guy is dead and we still have more games to find before more people die”

“Which one is next on the list?” Dean asked

“Tiffany Simpson, in Greensburg, about fifty miles away from here” Sam replied as he looked at the map.

“Then let’s get going!” Dean announced and got into the car and started the engine.

There was nothing much else they could do for Jackson, except put an end to the game before anyone else suffered.

A little while later they arrived at the address they’d found for Tiffany.

“Man, I hope we’ve made it in time” Sam said as he looked at the house.

They got out of the car and walked up the path to the front door. After ringing the doorbell, they waited anxiously for a reply. No one was home, or at least no one was answering.

“Time for a bit of breaking and entering I think” Dean said as he picked the lock with the ease of a professional thief “anyone looking?”

“Not that I can tell” Sam replied, looking around.

“Good” Dean muttered and slipped inside.

Treading carefully and quietly, the Winchesters made their way into the living room first. There was no sign of an Xbox in there so they went on to the next room.

“Nothing downstairs” Sam acknowledged and they quietly made their way upstairs.

They struck gold in the first bedroom that they came across. The game wasn’t in the Xbox though; it was stacked with a bunch of other games, books and DVDs on the bookcase. Sam shoved it in his jacket pocket and they made sure they left the room exactly as it had been before retreating down the stairs.

The brothers had just managed to get out of the house and close the front door when they were surprised by someone walking up the path.

“Can I help you?” asked a woman in her late teens to early twenties. They couldn’t just ignore her and had to do a bit of fast thinking.

“We’re looking for Justin, is he in?” Sam asked, hoping no one called Justin lived there also.

“Sorry, you must have the wrong address, there’s no Justin here” she replied and her eyes lingered just a bit too long on Dean.

“Well, sorry to have bothered you” Dean smiled at her.

“No trouble at all” she smiled back and bit her lip seductively.

They walked away and Dean shook his head, grinning. “Dude, for a geek she was HOT”

“I can’t believe you were checking her out!” Sam chastised his brother.

“No harm in looking” Dean shrugged.

“Come on Casanova, we’ve got work to do” Sam reminded him as they reached the car.

“The dude is on tour…six hundred miles away in Colorado, that’s some distance away” Dean remarked, a print out of the Backstreet Boys tour dates in his hand “and if we don’t catch him in Broomfield then we’ll have to drive to Salt Lake City. Man, that’s another four hundred miles! Would the world really miss this Nick Carter dude?”

“That’s not the point Dean and you know it. We’ve got to stop this thing before it claims any more lives” Sam told him, closing the trunk of the car.

“Let’s get going then instead of standing around talking about it” Dean said as he climbed into the driver’s seat and started the engine.

“See, I told you I wasn’t going to get my butt kicked” Nick laughed as the pair of them fought off a hoard of ravenous zombies, their samurai swords slicing through rotting flesh and bone as they decapitated them one by one “how fucking cool is this shit!”

“Totally friggin awesome” AJ agreed and raised his semi-automatic and fired a bullet into a moaning zombie’s forehead, splattering congealed brains everywhere, whilst beheading another with his razor sharp sword.

“Dude, watch out…it’s OK, I’ve got it” Nick said as he hacked the head off a particularly sinister looking member of the undead, who was just about to get his friend within his clutches. The head rolled away and the body slumped to the ground with a loud thud.

They played for a while longer until they’d completed that mission, and then decided to call it a night. It was late and they had another long journey ahead of them in the morning. Next stop Salt Lake City, another four hundred miles away. But at least getting a good night of sleep in a comfortable hotel bed would make the journey more bearable…and of course the chance to carry on playing Premonition once they were on the bus!

~*~

Driving in his beloved Impala was something Dean loved to do. He didn’t care how long the journey, as long as he had his music to listen to and gas in the tank, which was just as well seeing as the brothers had missed the Backstreet Boys in Broomfield and would have to drive to Salt Lake City.

“Do we know where they’re staying yet?” Dean asked, leaving the research to Sam, who was sitting in the passenger seat with his laptop open, tapping away.

“Thanks to their dedicated fans, yes” Sam replied as he read some of the posts on the message boards he’d come across and shook his head. “Dude, I am so glad we aren’t in a boy band!”

“What makes you think I’d ever be in a boy band?” Dean asked, wondering why his brother had said such a thing. He even shuddered at the thought of it.

“Just saying” Sam replied “some of those fans are nuts”

“Well, I wouldn’t mind the girls, but that’s as far as it goes” Dean remarked.

“I think you do alright with the girls without the fame” Sam laughed.

“True” Dean smirked.

A couple of hours into the journey and they decided to take a break and grab a bite to eat in a roadside diner. Sam opened up his laptop once more to do a little more research.

“Anything?” Dean asked as he slid into his seat after returning from the bathroom.

“Well, the police are saying Jackson could’ve been killed by some psycho who escaped from the mental hospital a couple of days ago. No one wants to believe there is a killer in their neighbourhood and obviously none of them would believe the reality” Sam explained.

“Anything about that Nick Carter dude?” Dean enquired as he raised his fork to his mouth.

“No, thank god!” Sam replied and closed his laptop to finish off his food.

They finished their food, left a tip for the waitress and left the diner.

“Do we have to listen to this?” Sam asked

“Sammy, you know the rules. Driver picks the music…”

“Shotgun shuts his cakehole. I know” Sam said reluctantly as Dean grinned, turned the music up and put his foot down hard on the pedal.

Being hunters, the brothers got to do a fair bit of travelling. What other job offered the kind of freedom that this one did? No boring nine to five desk job would give them the job satisfaction that this gave them - knowing that with every evil creature they eliminated they saved an innocent life.

~*~

“Y’know, not to sound gay or anything, but I’m actually enjoying sharing a bus with you” Nick admitted to his friend.

“Same here” AJ agreed as he plugged in the Xbox, a cigarette dangling from his mouth.

It had been a while since they’d shared a bus, the last tour in fact. With them both being fairly settled down with girlfriends now, they didn’t often get the chance for hanging out together like they used to. But this was a bit like old times, except that now neither of them needed the drugs or to binge drink in order to have a good time.

“Still gonna kick your ass on Xbox though” Nick laughed.

“Bring it on” AJ teased and they sat down on the sofa ready for a few hours of playing whilst they travelled to Salt Lake City for another show. They had a supply of snacks to hand and were ready for another epic battle.

Their next mission was a bit of a wild card mission, anything and everything could happen. They could be up against a pack of werewolves one minute and then a goblin the next.

“Dude, that vampire sure doesn’t look like those hot Twilight chicks” AJ remarked as a hideous fanged creature lunged for him, aiming for the jugular.

“No shit” Nick laughed as they successfully staked and then decapitated the vampires without injury to their own characters. “Anyway, what are you doing watching Twilight?”

“How do you know the Twilight vamps are hot?” AJ came back with.

“OK, point taken. I was forced to watch it” Nick sighed.

“Same here” AJ replied, although he wasn’t going to admit to Nick that he’d actually enjoyed it as much as his Monkee.

The pair continued on and soon found themselves in a dark forest, the undergrowth was thick and their on screen characters had to hack their way through with machetes.

“Well, at least we’re rid of the vampires” AJ observed and took this opportunity to reach for a handful of M&Ms.

“What…the…fuck!” Nick said, causing AJ to look up from the bowl of M&Ms.

“That thing is fucking ugly” AJ agreed as a strange looking creature with an axe and javelin type weapon approached them. The creature was only about five foot tall, but it was dangerous looking. Its skin looked as if it was covered in scales and it had a lizard like tail and taloned feet.

“It looks like it means business” Nick said as the ferocious creature glared at them for a moment or two, as if deciding on the best way to attack.

“Where’d it go?” AJ asked as the creature seemed to vanish into its surroundings.

“Maybe it saw the two of us and thought we were too much to take on” Nick shrugged.

AJ didn’t necessarily agree with Nick, after all, this was a game and the enemy wouldn’t just run away. But he didn’t tell Nick that.

As if out of nowhere, the creature (joined by a couple of other equally ugly creatures) appeared, axes at the ready. The two Backstreet Boys were surrounded and outnumbered. It turned out that these creatures were Troglodytes and therefore had the ability to change their appearance to blend in with their surroundings. They were savage hunters who were known to hunt in packs of three or four to take back fresh meat for the rest of the tribe.

Nick and AJ were in serious trouble.

“Fuck” they both murmured as the pack advanced on them.

Bullets didn’t seem to bring them down. AJ fired off round after round of ammo to no avail. It was as if their tough reptilian skin was impenetrable to bullets.

“What are we gonna do?” Nick asked, not wanting to be beaten by a few five foot high ugly fuckers.

“Fuck knows” AJ replied and raised his crossbow which was loaded with silver tipped arrows.

He fired his crossbow and the arrows seemed to bounce off, landing on the ground still intact.

“This isn’t working” Nick shouted.

“I know” AJ sighed as an axe flew through the air and settled into his shoulder before he’d had a chance to duck. He cried out in pain, tried to grab hold of Nick before falling to the ground.

“Dude, that thing so killed your ass!” Nick laughed as AJ’s on screen character lay slumped in a bloody heap next to Nick’s character, an axe lodged deep in his shoulder, almost severing his head.

“Pretty fucking realistic looking aint it? “ AJ observed his mirror image on the screen, noticing how even the tattoos looked quite accurate. He wondered, and not for the first time, how a game could be so real. “I can’t believe that out of all the creatures we’ve fought on this game, that little bastard was the one that got me!”

“You’ve gotta expect the unexpected in this game” Nick said, not taking his eyes off the screen as he decimated the monster which had taken down AJ.

“Nice one!” AJ congratulated him as Nick swung his sword and butchered another.

“Watch the master at work and learn a thing or two” Nick smirked. Although he wasn’t happy that his friend had been killed off in the game, he was relieved that it hadn’t been him. AJ would never have let him forget it.

“Actually, I’m gonna go call Monkee” AJ replied and grabbed his phone, stood up and walked to the back of the bus where his bed was. Hopefully she’d be somewhere where she’d be able to participate in a bit of dirty talk. He missed her so much and if he couldn’t have the real thing, he’d have to settle for a little bit of phone sex instead.

He didn’t get as far as dialling her number.

~*~

“Y’know, we might even catch up with them before they get to Salt Lake City” Dean observed as he looked at the speedometer. They were already more than halfway there, just on the outskirts of Ashley National Forest.

“We might. But how do you think we’ll get them to stop?” Sam questioned. It was hardly likely that a tour bus carrying a world famous boy band would stop for a couple of guys in a car. At best they’d be thought of as obsessive fans, at worst they may think of them as would-be kidnappers!

“We’ve got that police light in the back of the car” Dean replied “been dying for a chance to use it since I got it”. He pulled over and got the light out of the back, secured it on the roof of the car (it was magnetic, but just how magnetic, Dean didn‘t know as he‘d not tried it since he‘d obtained it) and plugged it in to the cigarette lighter on the dashboard. “Is it working?”

Without waiting for a reply, Dean got out of the car and looked for himself. Sure enough, it was working. “That ought to do the trick“, he thought to himself with a smug smile. He grabbed their police identification out of the back too and then got back in the car, unplugging the light for now. He’d plug it back in when and if they came across the tour bus.

It just so happened that they didn’t have to wait too long.

~*~

“What the fuck!” AJ shrieked when he heard a noise inside the small room, tearing his attention away from his thoughts of a naked Monkee. He looked up, and did a double take at the sight before him. Standing right there, in his tour bus bedroom, was one of those fucking ugly creatures from the game. “It can’t be. This kind of shit isn‘t real, I must be imagining things…I must‘ve been playing that game for so long that it‘s messing with my mind” he thought to himself for a brief moment, until the creature moved very slowly towards him, axe held high. It was at that moment he realised that this was no game; it was as real as real could be.

“Oh fuck…fuck. Help!” he screamed, hoping Nick would hear. He scooted back as far as he could, not that that would do anything, but still, it was instinctive. He alternated between calling for help and swearing as the Troglodyte twirled his axe.

The monster let out a ferocious sound and lunged for him. AJ dived to the other side of the bed as the axe came down, ripping through the bedding and mattress with ease.

“Fuck” AJ cried and grabbed the lamp from the bedside table. He threw it at the Troglodyte, the lamp’s ceramic base smashing against its big ugly head, yet having little effect.

“Arghhhhhhhhhhh” the creature roared and pulled his axe free as AJ backed up against the wall, completely defenceless except for his laptop which he grabbed and held against his chest as a kind of shield.

“What the fuck is all this noise back here?” Nick asked, opening the door expecting to catch AJ indulging in some weird kinky phone sex but instead coming face to face with the stuff of nightmares. “Fuck” he murmured, dropping his Xbox controller to the floor in complete and utter shock.

“Help me Nick…please” AJ begged as he cowered in the corner, with only a laptop for protection.

Although Nick was in shock at what he was seeing, he knew he had to do something fast. The laptop AJ was holding wasn’t going to stop an axe. “Hey you ugly mother fucker” he called, hoping to get its attention “have some of this”. Nick grabbed for the nearest item, which happened to be an Axe deodorant, and squirted it in the creature’s face. For a moment the Troglodyte was blinded and therefore weak.

“Quick AJ, get out of there” Nick screamed to his friend, hoping that he’d get out of the room before the monster recovered his sight.

AJ scrambled out of the room as fast as he could, trembling and shaking with fear. “Thanks bro” he hugged his friend gratefully before the pair of them realised they had to get off this bus without delay.

Luckily there was an emergency stop button in the main area of the bus, so Nick ran and pressed that, figuring they could somehow get off the bus and maybe out run it.

“How the fuck did that thing appear?” Nick asked, still hardly able to comprehend what he’d seen. The bus came to a stop and the two Backstreet Boys ran for the door.

“Fuck knows” AJ replied “one minute I was lying on the bed about to make a phone call, the next, that thing appeared in the room, wielding an axe”

“What’s going on?” their driver shouted from behind the wheel as Nick and AJ raced out into the open, pressing the button outside to close the passenger exit door.

But before they had a chance to reply and warn him to get the hell out of there, the Troglodyte massacred him, his blood and guts splattering all over the tinted windscreen of the bus.

“Urgh” the two men both exclaimed, holding their hands over their mouths. In reality gore and guts weren’t easy to stomach.

They didn’t hang around to see what the monster did to the butchered body of the driver, they ran as fast as their legs would carry them, staying on the road where they’d be able to flag down a passing car. They’d both seen far too many horror films to know that the characters that veered off the beaten track ended up dead.

~*~

“That looks like a bus” Sam exclaimed, looking into the distance and seeing a large black vehicle.

Dean plugged the flashing light in and pressed down harder on the pedal. In no time at all, they’d reached the bus, which had pulled over into the side of the road.

“Shit, I hope we’re not too late” Dean muttered as they pair of them climbed out of the car cautiously. They armed themselves with numerous weapons and approached the stationary bus.

“Well, we’re too late for someone” Sam remarked as he caught sight of the driver, or what was left of the driver.

The door was open and so they carefully stepped inside, on the look out for anything out of the ordinary. After searching the bus from top to bottom, they came to the conclusion that something had been there. There were EMF traces all over the bus, but no sign of either Backstreet Boy.

“Do you think they got away?” Sam asked, knowing that they couldn’t have just vanished into thin air (or hoping that wasn’t the case).

“Well if they did, I don’t think they would get far. Have you seen any other cars on this stretch of road in the last hour?” he said, knowing full well that they hadn’t seen any other vehicles in a while.

“No” Sam shook his head.

“Exactly” Dean replied.

With no sign of the Backstreet Boys or the creature, the Winchester brothers knew that time was running out, or had already run out. Sam retrieved the game from the Xbox and shoved it in his pocket. There was no time for casting reversal spells which may or may not work, their top priority was finding Nick Carter and AJ McLean.

Dean started the engine and hit the gas, wheel spinning back onto the road. Sam was on look out for anyone on foot.

After a few miles with no sign of either Backstreet Boy, Dean stopped the car and turned to his brother “well, we know they’ve not been picked up, so that means they’ve either gone that way” Dean pointed to the left “or that way” he pointed to the right.

“Great” Sam replied.

“Dude, we’re not gonna shake this thing off by staying on the road in broad daylight. It’s like the freakin Terminator or something…it’s not gonna give up” AJ rasped breathlessly as they ran for their lives, the creature not far behind. AJ did consider that they were lucky in that the Troglodyte didn’t seem to possess super speed. After seeing the way it butchered their driver, he didn’t want to give it another chance to catch up with them.

“Aw come on man, you know as well as I do what happens in the movies to people who don’t stay on the road! Remember that movie ‘An American Werewolf in London’? Look what happened to them!” Nick protested, knowing full well just what AJ was suggesting.

“For fuck’s sake Nick, this isn’t a movie! This is real and all we’re doing is wearing ourselves out running along this road. In case you haven’t noticed, we haven’t seen a single car” AJ told him. “You know as well as I do that we’d stand a better chance of losing it if we headed for the forest”.

There were trees on both sides of the road, but they looked more dense to the right, so that’s the way they decided to go.

“If I end up dead, I’m coming back to haunt you” Nick warned.

“Dude, chances are if you die then so do I” AJ retorted “but I’m telling you now, staying on that road would be suicide”

“You’d better be right” Nick muttered.

Even though it was mid afternoon, with hours of daylight still ahead of them, once Nick and AJ had ventured off the road and into the thick forest, it seemed as if darkness had descended upon them. It wasn’t pitch black or anything, more like twilight.

“I think if we weave in and out rather than stay on a straight path through the trees, we might just shake it off” AJ suggested, hoping he was right. He was tired, out of breath and felt as if his heart was about to leap out of his chest. The pair of them were running on adrenaline, their fear was the only thing keeping their legs moving.

“Good thinking” Nick agreed. He hoped AJ was right. He didn’t want to die a gruesome death at the age of thirty. Hell, he didn’t want to die a gruesome death at any age!

They decided that it would be best to stay together as separating would only lead to disaster. They didn’t want to end up lost, alone in the forest and quite possibly dead. If they were going to do any of those things, it would be better to have company.

The two Backstreet Boys weaved between the trees, turning to glance back every so often to make sure it wasn’t behind them. It wasn’t. For now anyway.

~*~

“Why do people insist on creating more trouble for themselves?” Dean shook his head as he thought of Nick and AJ and which direction they might’ve taken.

Everyone knew what happened to people who didn’t stay where they could be found in the movies. In reality, the Winchester brothers had found it was exactly the same. You stay out in the open where people can see you, and you stood a better chance of surviving.

“I think they went this way” Sam pointed towards the trees to the right, his supernatural detecting device in his hand.

They armed themselves with guns, knives, iron, silver and a crossbow, figuring that it was best to be prepared for everything. They had no idea what it was that they’d be up against, but judging by the bus driver, whatever it was, it was strong.

As they jogged through the forest, looking for signs of disturbance to signal which way Nick and AJ had travelled, Sam thought about the bus driver. In all the other slayings, no one but the game player had died.

“Why do you think it killed the driver?” he asked.

“Well, in all the other deaths, the victim was alone at the time. Perhaps that’s why” Dean suggested.

“Yeah, it got what it came for and left. But in this case, they escaped and the driver just happened to be in its path. Unlucky!” Sam shook his head. The sooner they caught and killed it, the better.

“We’re heading the right way…look…footprints” Dean stopped and examined the fresh footprints in the soft earth.

Although they couldn’t hear any signs of human life, Dean and Sam repeatedly called out to Nick and AJ, hoping that they would get to them in time. They knew that a couple of pampered city boys like the Backstreet Boys no doubt were, wouldn’t get very far in this terrain. The Winchester’s were seasoned hunters, used to whatever was thrown in their path. If Nick and AJ were near, they had no doubt they’d find them, be it alive or dead.

~*~

“Dude, I gotta stop for a minute, I’m fucked” AJ panted, completely and utterly worn out from running non stop since they’d left the bus. Although he considered himself to be in good shape, there was only so much his body could take without a break.

Nick wasn’t faring much better. Sweat was running down his face and he was having to constantly wipe it away with his sleeve. His clothes were stuck to his skin and were extremely uncomfortable, but that was the least of his worries.

“Me too” Nick agreed, pausing and leaning against a tree for support while he got his breath back.

“Do you think we lost it?” AJ asked, knowing that Nick didn’t have the answers, but needing someone to tell him what he wanted to hear.

“I hope so” Nick said as he ran his hand through his soaking wet hair, then wiped it on his jeans.

They sat on a rotting fallen tree trunk for a few minutes, not really saying anything, just getting their breath back. Neither of them could believe this was actually happening to them. Who would’ve thought it?

“Do you think anyone would believe us if we told them?” Nick asked.

“If we get out of here alive, and it’s a big if, I think people would have us certified as insane if we told them” AJ forced a smile.

“Suppose you’re right” Nick agreed. If someone had told him yesterday that he’d be chased through the forest by an axe wielding, reptilian looking, Howie sized monster, he would’ve laughed and asked what the fuck were they smoking!

“Come on, we can’t just sit here all day, let’s get going” AJ announced, standing up after ten minutes.

Instead of running though, they decided it was safe enough to walk. They’d obviously lost whatever the hell it was that was after them, so why tire themselves out with running. With no sense of which direction they were walking, the two friends didn’t realise they were walking around in circles until they noticed the fallen tree on which they’d been sitting earlier.

“Shit!” Nick exclaimed “dude, we’ve passed this tree already”

“I know” AJ agreed “what about if we try and go back the way we came?”

And so they turned and starting walking in the opposite direction, hoping that somehow they’d find a road or a path which would lead them to civilisation. The sun was setting fast and they were supposed to be in Salt Lake City by now. People would be wondering where they were. The bus had probably been discovered by now and the police were probably all over the place, combing the area in their search for them. That thought reassured them. They’d be safe before night fall.

That feeling didn’t last long when just a few minutes later, they came face to face with the enemy.

~*~

“Dude, it’s starting to get dark. Did you bring the torch?” Dean turned to his brother.

“Here you go” Sam tossed a torch over to Dean from the bag he’d been carrying on his back.

“Thanks bro” Dean replied and switched the torch on. The light was fading fast now and before long, it would be pitch black and harder to find the missing singers.

“Did you hear that?” Sam stopped, looking around in all directions.

“What?” Dean asked.

“Shh, I thought I heard something” Sam whispered and the pair of them stood still for a moment and listened for noises in the darkness.

It was in the distance, but it had definitely sounded like a scream. Guns loaded and at the ready, Dean and Sam started running through the trees, trying to be as quiet as they could so that they wouldn’t draw attention to themselves and had the element of surprise when they came across whatever it was that was after Nick and AJ.

Twigs inevitably snapped under their feet as they ran, but there was nothing they could do about that. They had to get to them quickly.

“What the?” Dean stopped in his tracks when he caught sight of Nick, AJ and the troglodyte “we’ve not seen one of those in a long time”

“Can you remember how we killed it?” Sam asked, trying to think back.

AJ was on the ground, the troglodyte on top of him and Nick trying to get him off. Even with two against it, the troglodyte would win in the end. In fact it was probably enjoying the challenge and would make the meal all the more worthwhile.

“Silver bullet to the brain or the heart, which is on the other side to a human heart” Dean replied, loading his gun with silver bullets. “Don’t let it see you’re armed, they can blend in to their surroundings like a chameleon and we’ll lose it if it thinks the odds are against it”

“So what’s the plan?” Sam asked.

“I‘m thinking of one” Dean replied.

Sam started walking towards the fight unarmed and hoped his brother knew what he was doing.

“Hey” he called out, getting everyone’s attention.

The troglodyte didn’t stop, determined to get its kill.

“Don’t just stand there” Nick screamed. He didn’t care who this guy in the forest was, or what he was doing there. He just wanted to save AJ from a horrendous death.

Sam quickly joined Nick in trying to free AJ but the troglodyte was too strong and whilst still holding on to AJ, somehow managed to knock Sam flying.

“Son of a bitch” Sam rubbed his sore jaw and went back once again.

There was a huge struggle on the ground, bodies rolling, twisting and fists flying in all directions. Between the three of them they managed to get the axe out of the creatures clutches, but couldn’t seem to hurt it with punches.

“Sammy…now!” Dean shouted and Sam moved to the left to give his brother a clear shot.

Dean fired the gun and the silver bullet flew through the air, but missed the heart by about an inch.

“Damn” Dean muttered and got ready to fire again.

By now the troglodyte was in pain and therefore even more enraged. Without his weapons, he had to improvise and sunk his teeth into AJ’s shoulder, biting off a piece of flesh, determined to get his kill. AJ screamed out in absolute agony, blood pumping out of the open wound as he watched the creature eat a part of him.

“No” Nick screamed and furiously battered the monster with a rain for punches, all of which had no effect.

“Move now” Dean shouted and this time when he fired, the bullet hit the troglodyte right between the eyes.

The creature went limp and fell to the ground, blood slowly trickling from the bullet wound to its head and from its mouth where it had taken a chunk of AJ between its teeth.

“Get it off me” AJ cried out in agony and everyone worked quickly to free the trapped Backstreet Boy from under the troglodyte.

Once everyone was a safe distance away, Dean poured a small can of lighter fluid over the creature’s body and set fire to it. There was nothing like fire to make sure something stayed dead.

“Who the hell are you?” Nick asked, knowing that they couldn’t possibly be police. The police would’ve been just as freaked out by a monster as they had been. He knew he should be grateful to them, and he was grateful, but he was also a little wary.

“I’m Dean…this is my brother Sam” Dean gestured towards his brother who was tending to AJ’s wound.

“How did you know where to find us?” Nick asked, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Over the next few minutes, Dean and Sam explained everything. They told them about the game, the other deaths and how they were lucky to be alive.

“Come on, we’d better get him to a hospital” Sam had pulled AJ up and was supporting him.

~*~

After taking the Backstreet Boys to the nearest hospital, the Winchesters set about destroying the games they’d recovered, performing the spell which would send whatever curse had been cast, back to hell. They then went back to the forest and dealt with the troglodyte’s burnt corpse.

Back in Springfield, Zach Manson kept his side of the bargain and destroyed every trace of Premonition. He knew it could be traced back to him if investigated, so also took the opportunity to transfer a huge amount of money to an untraceable offshore bank account and then quit his job. He’d always fancied travelling the world and figured that this was his chance. He had a friend who could set him up with a new identification and wasted no time in contacting him.

The bus and driver were discovered a few hours after Nick and AJ had left it. The official story was that an escaped serial killer was to blame. Nick made a statement to say that their bus had stopped when the driver saw an injured man in the road and presumed it was a hit and run accident. The man had then savagely attacked the driver and then pursued the two singers, who fled into the forest, where they lost the killer and were rescued by a couple of hikers (Dean and Sam).

Conveniently, an escaped serial killer was captured just days later and although he denied ever setting eyes on the Backstreet Boys, no one believed him and he was thrown back into the top security jail he’d escaped from, an extra life sentence added to his existing sentence.

The Backstreet Boys had to postpone the tour until AJ recovered, but fans were given the option of a refund if they wanted, or they could wait for a new date to be scheduled.

AJ and Nick never did tell anyone what really happened on the bus. They met up with the Winchesters again and thanked them properly for all that they had done to save them.

“All part of the job” Dean replied as they shared a farewell drink with the two Backstreet Boys they’d got to know over the past few days.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I hope our paths don’t cross again” Nick remarked.

“But if we run into anymore monsters, we know who to call” AJ added, glad to have their phone number on his phone and hoping he’d never need to call them.

They finished their drinks and went their separate ways.

THE END