October Challenge

Nick set out a bowl of popcorn and took a final assessment of the room. October 31st was his favorite day of the year. He had gone all-out with decorations, from streamers to themed food, wall hangings to items designed to scare his guests.

The doorbell rang constantly for the next few minutes, and soon all of the Backstreet Boys were present.

“Nick, who else did you invite to this thing?” Brian asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean… it isn’t just us, is it?”

Nick didn’t answer, and Brian laughed, rolling his eyes.

“You know,” AJ came over and put his arm around Nick. “Even though it’s only the five of us on the road on tour all of the time, we are allowed to hang out with other people.”

Nick smiled sheepishly. They had been on the road so much lately that he’d had trouble keeping up with all of his friends. He hadn’t even had time to tell them he was back in town this week, much less to see what their plans were for Halloween.

Just then, he heard a high-pitched scream from the bathroom.

“What was that?” Kevin looked worried and went towards the scream. Brian and AJ followed, with Nick trailing close behind, a smile on his face.

“Howie, what is it?” Kevin banged on the door.

Howie slowly opened the door. He was covered in silly string. Nick burst out laughing, but Howie didn’t show the same sense of humor.

“You almost gave me a heart attack!”

Nick had rigged the bathroom soap dispenser. Instead of soap, the silly string shot out in all directions. Nick was pleased to see that Brian thought it was a good gag, too. He gave him a high five as the other three headed back into the living room.

“They act like its new information you like to play pranks and scare people,” Brian said.

As the other guys crowded around the food table, it was AJ who let out a yelp this time. He’d reached for a piece of candy and the seemingly immobile hand above the bowl had reached out and grabbed him.

“Anything else going to jump out at us, Nick?” Kevin didn’t look amused.

AJ pried his hand free and snatched the piece of candy. “If Justin Timberlake pops out of a closet, I’m leaving. He’d give me nightmares.”

Brian laughed and opened the closet door. “Nope, you’re good.”

Just then, Nick noticed that Brian was staring at Howie’s neck, a hungry look in his eye. Brian noticed Nick’s stare and nonchalantly moved over to the couch, looking at the TV. Nick had put in Friday the 13th. Deciding he was imagining things, Nick sat next to him.

“You know, it’s a full moon tonight,” Brian mentioned casually.

“I know!” Nick said. “How cool is it that it’s on Halloween?”

“Really?” AJ said. “I didn’t notice the moon. Anyone want to go outside and take a look?”

Nick agreed, and he headed out the back door, along with Kevin and AJ. A few minutes later, he returned to find only Brian in the living room.

“Where’s D?” Nick asked.

Brian looked around, apparently just now noticing that he was alone. He shrugged. “He was here a minute ago...”

They started watching the movie again, but Howie didn’t reappear.

“Maybe we should go look for him,” Kevin suggested. He and Nick checked the kitchen and the bathroom, but there was no sign of the fifth Backstreet Boy.

“Do you think he went upstairs?” Kevin asked.

Nick was about to reply when he noticed the coat closet in the entry way wasn’t shut all the way.

Instinctively, he pulled it open. The door creaked and…

Out fell Howie. He lay on the floor, unmoving. There was blood on his neck.

“Kevin!” Nick cried.

Kevin was at his side in a few seconds. “Nick, is this another one of your jokes?” he demanded.

“No, I swear!”

Kevin bent over Howie and examined him. He paused for a moment. As he stood up, he slowly turned to face Nick. “He isn’t breathing.”

“Oh my God,” Nick put a hand on his forehead. “Oh my God. Oh my God.”

They returned to the living room and told Brian and AJ what had happened. They didn’t believe them until they’d seen Howie for themselves.

“Nick, what is going on?” AJ asked.

Why did everyone keep accusing him? This was not at all the same as having something pop out as a gag. Nick would never actually hurt anyone. AJ looked like he was going to be sick, and Kevin was trying to decide whether or not to call the police. When Nick looked at Brian, though, he detected a trace of a smile on his face. When Brian looked at Howie, he did smile… And Nick saw his teeth revealed for a split second. Why were they pointier than usual?

Kevin had decided that calling the police was the way to go. He ran to the kitchen and picked up the phone. “Nick, the line is dead!”

“There isn’t a storm or anything,” Nick said. “There’s no reason why the phones shouldn’t work.” His heart was beating against his chest. He turned back around and noticed that Brian was missing. “Guys, where did Brian go?”

AJ shrugged. “He was just here.”

That’s when the lights went out.

AJ tried the switch, but nothing happened. “It’s dead.”

Nick began to panic. “We have to get out of here! I think Brian’s a vampire.”

“Nick, are you crazy?” Kevin asked.

“Look at Howie! It’s a neck wound, and…”

“You’re saying that Brian sucked Howie’s blood? We’ve known him for how long? Don’t you think we would’ve noticed if he couldn’t handle garlic.”

“This isn’t funny!”

But AJ continued. “Howie’s the vampire.”

“What?” Nick croaked.

“Yeah, remember the Everybody video?”

Nick sighed, realizing that no one was taking him seriously. He walked to the front door. It was time to get out of here. “The door’s locked!” He turned around. He could see the outlines of AJ and Kevin in front of him. Behind them, though, in the shadows was a third figure.

“Look out!” Nick screamed.

Brian went past them and lunged straight at Nick, knocking him down. Brian grinned and Nick could make out the white fangs in his mouth.

“No!” Nick screamed as Brian dropped his head to Nick’s neck. As he bit down hard, Nick screamed again, waiting for Brian to suck his blood out. As the teeth touched Nick’s skin, he realized that they were… Plastic.

Brian made some more growling noises for effect, and AJ turned the lights back on.

“What the heck?” Nick asked. Brian stood up. Nick was about to follow when he felt hands wrap around his ankles. He screamed again, realizing that it was Howie, rising from the dead.

Then he began to come to his senses. If Brian wasn’t a real vampire, then Howie wasn’t really dead either.

“Man, you scream like a girl!” AJ laughed.

“I-I-I,” Nick sputtered.

“And the prankster becomes the prankstee,” Brian said, patting him on the back.