Epilogue

By Eboni and Mare

I'm gonna die...I'm gonna die...I'm gonna die.

Damn you Brian for calling me instead of the damn police to come check on stupid Nick!

Nick... Nick was bleeding, Nick was being very quiet.

His eyes dared to glance over at Nick who sat propped against the wall in the corner of the kitchen taking very shallow breathes.

"Alright, fine...fine, whatever you say," the crazy man with the knife pressed against AJ's throat spoke to himself again, as if he were carrying on a cell phone conversation with someone crazier than he was! The imaginary cell phone seemed to have disconnected at the present moment, for now the crazy man was talking to him, "Looks like Nicky over there is going to get a show before he goes. Because of your bad timing, I'm going to have to kill you first."

There went the Pepsi he'd drunk before he'd come. The police would find his corpse in soiled pants, how embarrassing. Wait, when you died, didn't you soil yourself anyway? Hmm...well, he supposed they wouldn't think the worst of him then.

Thump. Thump.

Shh...he hissed at his heart. The crazy man might hear you and decide to cut you out to shut you up, instead of slitting my throat. Having one's heart cut out did not result in immediate death, he'd heard.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

I thought I told you to hush... The crazy man's eyes were not on him anymore, nor were they on Nick. Instead they veered up toward the ceiling. AJ couldn't help but follow his eyes, was there something up there besides the light fixtures that AJ should be concerning himself with?

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Suddenly he realized that thudding sound wasn't his heart. "Who's up there?" the man hissed, his hot breath brushing against AJ's face, "Up...stairs?I ...don't..know..."

"He wasn't alone you fool! You should have checked! One of the others may be up there!" Chaucer roared.

"Well what should I do?" Gary asked desperately.

"Go up there and find them!" Brian hissed.

"But what if.."

"Take AJ as a hostage!" Nick? When had Nick gotten there?

"But what if..."

"Hurry up! I want my body!" Nick fumed.

"Me too!" Brian snapped. "I think we've made a mistake in who to trust. I think someone else would have done the job better. Gary, you were a mistake."

"No! I'm not a mistake! I can do the job just fine! I'll show you!"

"Then show us then! We grow tired," Nick growled.

Gary sneered at the ungrateful blond, "I can get your body for you right now."

"You should have a long time ago, before the other showed up. It's too late to do it now, you have to get rid of THEM first. Leave him to bleed to death."

"Yes," Gary nodded. He revived himself a bit, and pressed the knife against AJ's throat again, drawing a little blood, "Lets go see who you've brought for us, Alex." Slowly Gary began to push AJ out of the kitchen directing him towards the stairs.

AJ trembled, he was going to die... He shot one last pleading look at Nick, who was slowly losing consciousness. No help would be coming from that department. He was manhandled toward the stairs and forced to take them by two's. Just what the hell was up there anyway? Knowing Nick it was some stupid toy he'd left on, on maybe something had fallen. Or it could even be one of those dumb mutts of his... he had 6. Come to think of it, where were those mutts? Probably ran off to safety, screw Daddy, it was every dog for himself. Hell, he bet even Cujo had run when she caught sight of Cybil here. AJ never had been able to make peace with that damn rottweilerr... Sugar he called it, that monster was anything but sweet. It had tried to eat JD, and for that he'd never forgive it.

They reached the top of the stairs and were met with darkness. "Where's a light switch?"

AJ blinked, he didn't know if the man was talking or not. It'd be pretty embarrassing to answer him, and the guy was talking to one of his alter egos. He received a little kick. Oh... "Right wall...just feel for it."

The upstairs den was bathed in light. "So... call for your friend."

"I.... I didn't bring anyone with me." I should have. "I don't know who's up here...OW!"

"Call for your friend!"

"There's no one up here!"

There was a loud thud from one of the bedrooms...something was moving around behind one of those doors. "Stop lying to me!"

"I'm not..I swear..."

"Call..." he could feel the warm stickiness of blood rolling down his neck and trickling down his collar.."your....friend."

"Uh...." he had no choice, he couldn't just stand there and be decapitated, "whoever's in there, come out. Please? He's gonna kill me."

His voice was high and broke at every other word.

More ruffling noises, and another thud. "Your friend doesn't like you much, does he?" he was being pulled towards the door, the crazy man now moving in front of him in a crab march, keeping a firm arm around AJ's waist, the knife still against his neck. They stopped before the door, and listened at the noise of something pacing back and forth inside the room, "Open the door AJ, and let your friend see just where I have you."

"I don't know...ow....ok....just stop," he was beginning to see stars before his eyes, and his hand shook as it reached for the door knob. He twisted it weakly and gave it a push. Gary kicked the door fully open with his foot, "Come out of here now, I've got...AAAAAAHHH!!"

AJ's vision was assaulted by shiny midnight black and rusty mahogany brown as he was struck by a weight greater than he was. He tumbled to the ground with a startled cry, but was relieved to find the pressure of the knife gone from his neck. He and the insane young man fell together under the massive snarling black and brown coated body of....an angry rottweiler, whom Nick hadn't yet put in the garage for the night.

AJ rolled out of the dangerous tango between killer and beast, and scrambled to his knees breathing hard and staring in shock and disbelief. Thoughts to call the dog off penetrated his dazed mind, but had no affect on his mouth. He simply watched as Sugar savaged the man that had put a knife to his throat...the man that would have killed him. He shivered violently, he'd almost died tonight...he'd almost died. Something was licking his face, and his hand came out to stroke the head of a small pug,"Willie?" The tiny dog gave a yelping bark, and nudged at AJ, it wanted him to do something...

As Sugar growled and snapped, biting at the screaming killer, who cried for someone named Chaucer to save him.... cried for Brian to save him...even cried for Nick to...Nick. Oh Nick! AJ stood to his feet shakily, swaying a bit as he ran towards the stairs, "Hold on Nicky...Hold on...I'm coming."

***

Nick looked up at the ceiling as he heard first the unmistakable thud of bodies falling to the floor then the horrible blood curdling screams begging for help. He tried crawling over to the steps, just in case J was hurt, even tried to yell his name but the only sound that escaped was a gurgle.

It was actually true he thought to himself as he heard the man who had attacked him, yell his name, there is such a thing as a death gurgle. That's when he lost the battle he was having with his brain. His eyes grew heavy and the sounds of screaming for mersey fell into a distant echo.

He was floating away. It felt good, It felt peaceful.

He saw his family. Mom, dad and the kids playing touch football in the backyard smiling and happy. He saw himself sitting up endless nights playing on the computer. Even trying his hand at writing. Next he saw himself playing with his pugs. How he loved them. And Sugar.

"Nicky, stay with me buddy. You are going to be okay. I promise! Just hold on. Nicky can you hear me?"

He saw his friends, the boys he became men with. He saw them all laughing in hotel rooms joking about love, life and the future. Working their butts off to make it as far as they did.

"Yes..please hurry he is bleeding to death..Oh God..please you have to help him...no! He's not responding to me.."

He spent so much time with those guys. They were his family. They taught him so much. They tried to protect him from everything. Sheltering him from All the pain...pain. He was in so much pain. He felt his side and grimaced.

"Nick? Oh God, Nicky the paramedics are on their way. Please..Hang on kiddo"

AJ...Did he hear AJ? AJ was his confidant, the guy he ran to always when he would have a nightmare about demons coming out of closets and clawing at the five of them while they slept. AJ called him a wuss, but yet, stayed up all night keeping watch with him. Eyes trained on the closet keeping the monsters that lived in there at bay.

"Thank God you're here. Please hurry...he has lost a lot of blood"

Train...Kevin..isn't that what we used to call Kevin way back when? Kevin had also helped to protect him from those demons by giving him a magic necklace. God how he adored Kevin.

"Dammit, I am fine. Can I ride with him to the hospital?"

That necklace was supposed to keep him safe. Keep him out of situations like this. Away from the evil and the cruel world. Protected forever.

"Nick everything's going to be alright.... going to be alright...everything...alright"

As AJ's voice started to fade another one took it's place. A cruel voice. A laughing voice. It was that man. What was his name? He tried his hardest to remember afterall, this was the man that had tried to kill him. Then it came to him...yes, Gary.

Now Gary was sitting there laughing at him, his head almost disconnected from his body; Thanks to Sugar. Gary was laughing and pointing. I got you! I did it! See? I didn't fail afterall Chaucer.

Nick felt a hand in his own as he struggled to open his eyes. He knew it was AJ...wasn't it AJ he had heard last? He was having a hard time distinguishing reality from the phantasms now swarming around him. Reality and his demons becoming one big swirl, culminating in a small pinpoint of light.

"Nick you are going to be alright. Okay? Just hang on for me please Nick?"

From where he was standing...how was he standing? He had no clue, but from where he was, he noticed that the light was coming from a crack in the closet. He looked down at his hands, they were oddly small. Child sized almost. Then he heard the laughter, it was coming from the boys. Sitting there on a bed of some random hotel room. Just like the old days.

The closet door opened and exposed more of the light, "Where are you going Nicky? Don't you want to stay?"

Nick looked over to Howie, the brightness of the light bathing him in a radiant aura. He was glowing.

"We are loosing him...charge the paddles..."

He looked at Howie and smiled. But the warmth and loving glow of the light made him turn and walk toward it.

"He's still flat lining.."

He walked closer to the light becoming almost translucent with every step. The door opened up fully now. It was beautiful...

Then he felt the pull.

Just like that the door closed leaving everything black.

The End?

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