AJ woke up the next morning, yawned and stretched then noticed that Nick was still flat out asleep and snoring. One arm was dangling off the side of the bed and his shirt had ridden up his back. AJ contemplated waking him by rolling an ice cold bottle of water across his bare back, but then decided against it. Now was the perfect time to play that game.

He did what he had to do in the bathroom and then walked into the lounge area of the moving bus. They were still quite a way from their next destination and probably wouldn’t arrive until some time in the afternoon, depending on how many stops they made.

“Right then, let’s see what the big deal is with Carter’s game” AJ said to himself as he flipped on the TV and picked up the Xbox controller. The game was still paused where Nick had left it, but AJ figured if he wanted to play, he’d have to re-start the game. He could always make up some excuse later as to why Nick had to start again.

He didn’t bother reading the player instructions and clicked straight onto ‘start new game’. It took a few minutes to create his character, but AJ was impressed with the results. It was like looking at a smaller version of himself on the screen. His character even had the sunglasses and tattoos. “Modern technology eh!” he said to himself.

“Now for my weapons” he grinned as he checked out the arsenal available at his disposal. He picked up a couple of guns and had his character stuff them down the back of his jeans, just like they did in the movies. They he strapped on a couple of harnesses for his Samurai sword and pump action shotgun. He was like something out of an Arnold Schwarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone film, with a bit of Al Pacino’s ’Tony Montana’ thrown in - a real action hero. He clipped on a few grenades and fastened a dagger to his thigh, and then was ready for the fun to begin.

With eyes like a hawk, AJ carefully made his way through the dark, knowing that at any moment something could jump out at him. He didn’t have to wait long.

“What the fuck” AJ laughed when a minotaur blocked his path. There was no way some half-man, half-beast with a primitive looking club was going to take him down, not when he was tooled up the way he was.

AJ underestimated the creature though. It fought like a savage and was stronger than it looked, but he was no match for the Samurai sword which AJ unleashed on him. The sword sliced through flesh like a knife through butter, cutting the minotaur’s arm clean off. The creature cried out in pain but wasn’t ready to give in just yet. He came for AJ again, his club held high in his remaining hand, but AJ was too quick for it. With the sword in one hand, he reached for one of the guns and fired off a couple of bullets into the minotaur’s chest and head. The creature staggered on it’s hooves for a moment, a blank look on it’s face, before tumbling to the ground in a heap.

“Fucking awesome” AJ congratulated himself and then slid the bloodied sword back into it’s harness. He decided to keep the gun in his hand so that he’d be ready for the next battle.

~*~

After leaving the Taylor house, the Winchester brothers headed back to the diner for some breakfast and to go over the events so far. Whilst tucking in to their bacon and eggs, they went over the details they’d picked up on at scene of the crime and threw ideas around, but there wasn’t that much to go on.

“Can I get you anything else?” asked a pretty blonde waitress in a low cut top and short shorts, directing her attention solely at Dean. Dean smiled at her and looked her up and down appreciatively.

“Just the bill please” Sam answered.

“OK” she replied and then bit her lip seductively and turned away. Dean watched her walk away, his eyes on her ass as Sam shook his head.

“We are allowed to have fun once in a while y’know” Dean shrugged.

“I didn’t say a word” Sam replied.

As the brothers were leaving the diner, they couldn’t help over hearing the latest news…someone else had been killed, not just anyone though, it was another teenager. They managed to pick up that the boy was a friend of Jacob Taylor’s and lived just a few streets away.

“Let’s get over there” Dean said and they left the diner.

By the time the Impala pulled up outside the Edwards residence, there were police all over the place. By some kind of miracle, they managed to gain access to the house and fool everyone once again with their fake FBI badges. The police had sealed off the area and were waiting for the body to be removed. The Winchesters had arrived just in time.

“Check this out” Dean exclaimed as he leaned over the corpse. There was no way this could be described as death by natural causes, suicide or even murder. In fact, nothing about this death looked the same as the other teenage victim. The body had been completely drained of every bodily fluid and resembled a dried up old prune. It was enough to make the police officers who’d seen the body throw up.

Sam looked at the body and then the pair of them had a quick scout around the room. Again, nothing looked out of the ordinary, except for the wasted corpse on the carpet.

“This feeling I’m getting here, it’s not like anything I’ve ever felt before” Sam explained. Sam had researched these ‘feelings’ he sometimes got and discovered cases where traumatic experiences could make people more sensitive to premonitions and psychic tendencies.

“What was that other kid doing before his death?” Dean asked, more to himself than anyone else “he was playing some video game”

“People don’t die gruesome deaths by playing video games Dean” Sam retorted.

“But what if they do?” Dean eyed his brother as he held up the ‘Premonition’ case.