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Brian clasped the bracelet around his wrist and smiled. Then,



“CUT!”



A man’s voice barked out the command sharply, and all of a sudden, the blackness disappeared. Illuminated by the bright lights shining from all angles, Kevin’s “Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde lizard thing” laboratory set returned.



“Great job, guys,” the man said, as Brian and the man in the white robe – Chaucer – crossed the laboratory. “That’s a wrap on that scene. Just a few more left to shoot today. If we keep going at this pace, “Backstreet Boys: The Movie” should be all shot by the end of the week.”



“Great.” Brian smiled and stepped off the laboratory set. And that was all it was, a set. The smoke and the blackness… it was all gone, replaced by the lights and equipment and noise of a Hollywood sound stage. It was all fake… it was a movie… a bizarre movie.



“Oh, Brian, one more thing-” said the man – obviously, the director of this strange movie. Brian stopped and turned around.



“Yeah?”



And suddenly, the man transformed (was this another part of the movie?) into another person all together. Not a man, but a woman, a woman with vibrant blue eyes… eyes that were deathly cold… yet flaming… literally.



Desdemona.



A malevolent smile spread slowly across her face, fire exploding in her blazing blue eyes. “Brian.” She said his name again, but it was not the curt voice of the director, nor the feminine voice of the hospital nurse. It was a deep, throaty rasp… the voice of evil.



The blood drained from Brian’s face, but he swallowed hard, set his jaw, and gazed levelly at her. Then he held up his arm. Still gleaming from his wrist was the bracelet Chaucer had given him in the last scene… it was just a scene, right? Just a movie?



“You can’t scare me, Desi,” Brian spoke, his voice confident. “You can’t hurt me either.” He clamped his other hand over the bracelet so that his arms were locked together. “With this charm I beseech thee, out of sight and out of me, blood this chant hold may, ward all harm and evil at bay.”



Desdemona’s fire-engulfed eyes narrowed, and she took a step back. And then Brian took a step forward, chanting the spell again, his voice powerful and unafraid.



“With this charm I beseech thee…”





Howie’s eyes flew open and he sat bold upright, looking around him. After a moment of disorientation, he realized what was going on. He was still in this place… this hell… and he had been sleeping. Dreaming. The movie set… Brian… Desdemona… all just part of the dream, just figments of his tortured mind.



When did I fall asleep? Howie wondered. He couldn’t remember. There was no sense of time in this place, and he had no idea how long he had been there. The last thing he remembered was seeing Kevin (if that was indeed Kevin, for it did look vaguely like his older brother, but so… evil) pick up an unconscious Nick – with much struggle, he recalled – and stagger away with him… away into the darkness… to where, Howie did not know. Then came the movie dream, and now… here he was.



But where was AJ?



Looking around again, Howie spotted AJ lying on the ground a few feet away, fast asleep. So they had both fallen asleep at some point after Kevin’s strange appearance. But for how long? And where were Kevin and Nick now? A quick glance over at the transparent wall through which he had seen Nick before told him the room – or whatever it was – was still empty. Kevin and Nick had vanished and not come back. But where had they gone? And how had they gotten out? Howie and AJ had circled their enclosure many times and discovered that it was just that – an enclosure. Completely enclosed, no way in, no way out. Not that they could gain access to anyway. They knew there had to be same entrance because Howie had gotten in there somehow, but maybe it had gone away. Howie didn’t know and tried not to contemplate it too much. It only made his brain hurt. Nothing made sense here, and he was learning to accept that. Still, questions of time and the fate of Nick and Kevin continued to flood his brain.



And then there was Brian.



Howie thought back to his dream. Apart from the whole strange movie thing, he remembered two things – Brian had met the man in the white robe – Chaucer, as he was called – and Brian now had a bracelet like the one a rabid teenybopper had ripped off Nick’s wrist years ago. And Howie knew that that bracelet was not just any bracelet, not just a souvenir Kevin had bought for his brother. That bracelet truly was charmed. It was something special, something that would serve as protection. He remembered Brian’s encounter with Desdemona right before he woke up and realized that the bracelet had done its job – Desdemona had not been able to get at Brian, not been able to suck his soul out of his body and send it hurtling to the pits of Hell with the others. With that bracelet and the chant, that forgotten chant, Brian had been able to keep her at bay.



But had that actually happened? It was only a dream, after all. And he was sure that the movie part was not real (he knew they would never sink so low as to make a Backstreet Boys movie – that was something only ‘N Sync and the Spice Girls would do), but what about the rest? The important stuff – Chaucer and the bracelet. Did it really happen, or was it all just wishful thinking… just wishful dreaming?



Howie was not sure, but, ever the optimist, he had hope. Hope that something like it really did happen. Hope that Brian had help and guidance and protection. Hope that Brian was going to save them.



He knew Brian was up against extraordinary odds. The evil force had already taken four of them; how hard would it be to take the fifth member of their group? But if there was anyone who could fight the force, it was Brian. Brian’s faith was stronger than any of them, and that, if nothing else, empowered him. When it all came down to it, it was a battle of good versus evil. In movies, good almost always wins. But this was no movie, as in Howie’s dream. This was real.



Would Brian’s faith, the bracelet, the chant, and Chaucer be enough to conquer the greatest of evils? Or would Desdemona and her demon faction ultimately reign supreme?



Come on, Brian, Howie thought, squeezing his eyes closed, chanting the thought in his head, as if somehow, Brian would hear it and be strengthened by it. You can do it, Brian. Fight. Fight them… and save us.



Brian was their only hope. And hope was all Howie had left.



***



It was the light that woke AJ up. Its shimmering brightness filled the dark room he and Howie were trapped in and seeped through his eyelids, causing him to awaken. Confused and still half-asleep, AJ opened his eyes and looked towards the source of light, which seemed to be coming from the center of their enclosure. The light was in a tall column and glowing within it, suspended in mid-air, was the face of his grandmother.



AJ gasped, scrambling to his feet. From somewhere near him on the ground, he heard Howie cry out, “AJ! What’s wrong?” But AJ ignored his friend and ran to his grandmother.



“Grandma?” he asked in a whisper, looking up at her face in awe. Now that he was closer, he saw that she was crying. Pearly, shining tears streamed slowly down her cheeks. “Grandma, what’s wrong?”



“Your mother,” she said softly. It was her voice, her loving, comforting voice, a voice he never thought he’d hear again. But it was different somehow – hollow, echoing, distant.



“My mother? What about my mother?” AJ asked, staring at his grandmother’s tearful face in anxiety. “Has something happened-“



“She’s very ill, Alex. She’s dying.”



“Dying?! No! No, no, she can’t die! Grandma, help her!”



“I can’t, Alex. No one can help her now.”



“But… but…” AJ stammered, feeling a prickling sensation in his eyes and a lump in his throat. “Grandma, I have to go to her then! I have to be with her!”



“You can’t, Alex. Not while you’re here.”



“But, Grandma, can’t you get me out of here?” AJ asked with waning hope.



“I’m afraid I don’t have that power.”



“But…” AJ trailed off. What else could he say?



And then, his grandmother began to fade, her face dissolving into the column of light.



“Grandma, wait!” he cried. “Please, please don’t go, don’t leave me here, come back, help me!”



But she was gone, and a moment later, so was the light. The room was pitched into darkness once again.



“AJ? Are you all right?” came Howie’s voice. AJ looked over at him in surprise, having forgotten he was still there.



“No,” he said. “My mom’s dying. I have to go to her!”



Howie looked at AJ sadly and said nothing, but AJ knew what he was thinking. There was no way out.



“There’s got to be a way!” cried AJ, his voice brimming with desperation. “There’s just gotta be!” And he began to race around the perimeter of the room again, searching for some kind of opening, some kind of portal out of this hell.



And, though he was sure he would find nothing, for there had been nothing there before, he found one. All of a sudden, there was a door in one of the walls.



“Howie!” he cried. “D, look, it’s a door! It’s a door, D, we’re free!”



Howie scrambled over, his brown eyes wide. He looked at the door in amazement. “But how…?” he asked, trailing off in confusion. “It wasn’t there before…”



“I know,” said AJ. “But it’s here now, and I say we go through it. We’ve gotta get out of here!”



Howie hesitated a moment, staring at the door. Finally, he nodded. “Okay… let’s go.” He made a move toward the door and reached out to push it open, then stopped. He looked back at AJ, his expression wary.



“Come on,” AJ said, striding up to the door with confidence. “This may be our only chance. We’ve got to take it.”



And he pushed the door open and walked through.



He found himself inside another room, but this one was much, much different from the one they had just left. While the previous room had been a black, empty void, this room was crowded, filled with people sitting at tables and chairs and on stools along a wooden counter. Behind the counter, there were shelves and shelves of bottles.



They were in a bar.



AJ looked around, shocked to see other human beings, shocked to see something that was utterly normal-looking. “Are we home?” he asked, turning to Howie. “Back… back in the real world, I mean?”



Howie was looking around in disbelief as well. “I don’t know,” he said slowly. He walked up to the counter, where there were two empty stools left. It was as if he and AJ were expected. They sat down. The bartender had his back turned, mixing drinks. AJ leaned over to the person sitting next to him, a pretty woman that looked to be in her early twenties.



“Excuse me, miss, this is going to sound really weird, but… where are we?”



But the woman did not answer him or even acknowledge his presence. She kept her eyes straightforward and sipped her drink robotically. Looking around, AJ realized the others in the bar were doing the same thing. Howie tried the man sitting on the other side of him, but he, too, just ignored Howie and continued his drink.



The bartender turned around, a shot glass filled with liquid in each hand. Looking straight at AJ and Howie, he set the glasses down on the counter and pushed them slowly across, one to AJ and the other to Howie.



“Excuse me, sir,” AJ said, ignoring the drink, “but what is going on here? Where are we?”



The bartender just stared at him, not responding. Then, after a moment, he turned and went back to mixing his drinks.



“Hey!” AJ cried. “Get back over here!”



But he was just ignored.



Sighing, he looked down into his drink. It had been nearly two years since his last drink, and though he had had many cravings, he had done a good job at refraining from alcohol. Slowly, the cravings had diminished, and he rarely got them at all anymore.



Until now.



Whatever was in that shot glass seemed to be calling him, tantalizing him, luring him nearer. No, AJ thought determinedly. I won’t do it. I won’t drink it.



A moment later – “Fuck it,” said AJ, grabbing the small shot glass, raising it to his lips, and downing the alcohol in a single gulp. It tasted like heaven to him, and for a moment, he forgot he was in Hell. But that shining moment faded fast, and he yearned to have it back. As if on cue, the bartender appeared again with another glass and pushed it over the counter to him.



“AJ, no!” Howie cried, grabbing AJ’s wrist as he moved to pick up the glass. “Don’t do this! We have no idea where we are or who these people are or what the hell is in that drink. And what about all those months of sobriety? Don’t ruin it now, AJ!”



“I already have,” AJ snapped, and he downed the shot again.



Several more shots later, things didn’t seem so bad anymore. AJ was drunk, and it felt wonderful. He could have stayed in that bar forever, but Howie simply would not allow it. Against AJ’s will, he yanked him off the bar stool and dragged him through the bar.



“No!” AJ cried, as they reached the door, trying to wrench himself out of Howie’s grasp. But Howie was sober and stronger and more coordinated, and he held fast to AJ, guiding him out the door.



AJ expected to find himself back in the dark, empty room they had come from, but he was pleasantly surprised once again. He was outside, in a small, dimly lit parking lot. There was only one car in the lot, a shiny black sports car.



“Look, Howie!” AJ breathed, pointing at it. “Look!” Before Howie could stop him, he broke out of Howie’s grasp and raced across the blacktop to the car. He yanked open the driver’s seat door, climbed inside… and gasped.



There, sitting in the passenger’s seat beside him, was his wife, Sarah.



“Sarah?! What are you doing here?” AJ asked, his word slurring slightly from the alcohol.



“I’ll tell you everything later on,” she said with a smile. “Let’s get out of here.”



Those were the sweetest words he had heard all night. “Okay, baby,” he said, smiling in relief. “Let’s go.”



The keys were already in the ignition. He turned them, and the car sprang to life. Without a second thought, AJ put it in drive and sped away, forgetting all about Howie, who stood forlornly in the now empty lot, watching them drive away without him.



We’ve escaped, AJ thought elatedly, as he sped along the road. It didn’t bother him in the least that the area was completely unfamiliar to him, that he had never been in the woods this road was winding its way through. It looked like the real world to him, the world he was used to, and that was all that mattered. Sooner or later, he knew they would find a place to stop and ask where they were, and then they could find a way home.



He didn’t count on his inability to drive. He barely noticed that he was weaving in and out of his lane or that everything looked slightly blurry and out of focus. But he was quite aware of losing control of the car and veering off the road into the trees.



As the car crashed into a thick tree, its hood crumpled. Why there were no airbags in such a sporty little car, AJ would never know. And why his body seemed to defy the laws of motion and remain motionless in his seat was another mystery. But he sat there, quite uninjured, just reeling from the shock of the impact.



Next to him, it was a different story.



He had heard Sarah scream as the car hurtled off the side of the road. But now, there was only silence. AJ turned to the passenger seat, almost afraid of what he was going to find. Then he began to scream.



Sarah was slumped over, motionless and lifeless. Her face was a bloody mess, apparently from crashing into the dashboard. And even before AJ touched her, shook her, tried to awaken her, he knew the horrible truth.



Sarah was dead.



“Oh, God, no,” AJ whispered. “Please, no… God, what have I done? I killed her… I KILLED her!”



He began to cry then, sobs racking his body just the way they had when he found out his grandmother was dead. That was the last time he had really cried like this.



A rustling in the trees made him look up. His sobs quieted, and, tears still running down his red cheeks, he squinted out into the dark forest.



Something was moving out there. Something big.



AJ sat stock still, debating whether to go investigate or stay there. In the end, he decided to get out of the car. It might not have been the smartest decision, and in a normal situation, he probably would have thought twice. But he was drunk and lost, and Sarah was dead, and frankly, he didn’t give a shit about what happened to him. In fact, he almost wished it was a giant, vicious grizzly bear who would finish him off in a few bites and end the misery.



When he climbed out of the car and stepped into the trees, he saw that the thing was not a grizzly bear. It was much, much scarier.



It was a clown.



A clown that could only be described as… evil. It had gleaming red eyes, and a toothy grin. A grin full of fangs. It laughed, no, cackled, at him, grinning cartoonishly and stalking closer to him, the big red eyes fixed hungrily on him.



“AHHHHHH!” AJ screamed.



And screamed.



And screamed.



And screamed some more.



***



Somewhere in the distance, Kevin and Nick were sleeping. How Kevin had managed to fall asleep in this place, he would never know. For Nick, it was easier. His world had become a sightless void, a world of blackness and fear, fear of the unknown and the unseen. It was better when he was asleep. He could not be afraid when he was asleep, except for in his nightmares. But those were just that, just nightmares. The real world – or this hell, which didn’t quite seem real – was another story. And so, he had allowed himself to fall asleep, knowing that Kevin was at his side, sure that Kevin would be there to protect him while he slept. For once, he was glad to have Kevin hovering over him. For once, he did not resent being treated like a child. He sure felt like one now, scared of the dark and the evils that lurked within it.



But, unbeknownst to Nick, Kevin had fallen asleep too. All the straining to carry Nick had worn him out more than he realized. However, his sleep was not peaceful. Not long after he had closed his eyes and succumbed to his exhaustion, he was jarred awake by horrible screams. Familiar screams.



“AJ?”



Instantly alert, Kevin leapt to his feet. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nick sleeping soundly on the ground. He was safe there… right? But AJ was not, at least he didn’t sound like it. By his screams, he sounded like he was in terrible trouble. And Kevin knew he had to go to him, had to rescue his little brother if he could. That was his duty. Nick would be all right there, fast asleep. He would come back to him later. But right now, he had to go to AJ.



And so he took off running across the strange, lustrous ground, following the sounds of AJ’s haunting screams and hoping he would not be too late.



***



“AJ… AJ…”



The clown chanted his name in a strangely high-pitched, psychotic tone. And then, more stepped out from behind the trees. They walked towards him, an army of clowns, their sharp teeth bared, their blood-red eyes gleaming.



“No!” AJ cried, stumbling back. “No, please, don’t eat me! Don’t eat me!”



Clowns – they were the things that frightened him most, the things that had terrorized him in his nightmares as a child. He wasn’t sure exactly why – a bad circus experience he couldn’t quite remember, maybe? Or perhaps it was just from seeing the movie “It” too many times… or maybe that one episode of “Are You Afraid of the Dark?”



“AJ… AJ…”



“No!”



“AJ! AJ!”



“No, no! Leave me alone! Don’t eat me!” AJ screamed, squeezing his eyes shut in terror as the lead clown advanced upon him.



“AJ!!!”



AJ felt hands gripping his shoulders. He tried to tug away, but the grip was too strong. He could feel the clown’s hot breath on his face and knew the end was coming. Against his better judgment, he opened his eyes to greet his oncoming death…



… and found himself face to face with Howie.



“AJ?” Howie asked, his voice trembling, his face pale. “God, AJ, are you okay?”



AJ sat up and looked around, horribly confused. The woods and the clowns and the car and Sarah… they were all gone. He and Howie were back in the dark room. Maybe they had never left the dark room…



“Howie, what happened?” AJ demanded.



“You had a nightmare,” Howie said shakily. “You were screaming bloody murder… something was trying to… eat you?”



“The clowns,” AJ panted.



Howie gave him a strange look. “Are you okay?” he asked again.



“Yeah… yeah, I think so. So it was all just a dream?”



“Yeah…”



“Sarah – where’s Sarah?”



“I don’t know. Home?”



“And my mom… and Grandma… was Grandma really here?”



Another strange look from Howie. “No… AJ, are you okay?”



“Stop asking me that!” AJ snapped. “Yes, I’m okay. I’ve just been living out my worst nightmare, okay? My grandma came… my mom was dying… I got drunk… I killed Sarah… and then… and then the clowns came.”



Howie just blinked. Then, “Sounds scary.”



“Yeah,” AJ said, glaring at him. “It was.”



***



The speck of light was growing larger. He was getting nearer.



“Hang on, guys,” Brian whispered. “I’m coming.”



He was a little afraid of that light, of what he was going to encounter when he reached it. But his resolve and determination to save his friends, his brothers, kept him going. He trekked on, hastening his step as he grew closer to the light.



And finally, he was there, at a vortex of shining, silvery light. He knew this was it. This had to be the way into wherever the others were. And all he had to do was get in… with his body and soul still intact. That was the key – he couldn’t let his body be stripped of his soul like the others. If he could just get inside in one piece, he somehow knew he’d be able to find them and rescue them. He would have his body, his soul, his bracelet, and his chant. Their chant.



And of course, he had his faith. God would watch over him, that much he was sure of. He just had to step into that light..



But of course, things could never be quite that simple.