*Disclaimer - I do not own any of the members of ‘N Sync (nor would I ever really want to), they belong to their respective owners. I do, however, own all fictional characters; and to steal them would be to steal my livelihood. So, don’t do it unless you want to face my wrath. Thank you.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Not a very smart move, Devon, my dear.” the sibilant voice behind Devon startled her, causing her to whirl around and face her assailant. The ominous shadowy figure swathed in black gave a soft diabolical chuckle, setting her nerves on edge. Devon took a stumbling step backward when the figure moved toward her. She gasped loudly as her back encountered the sturdiness of a wall.

“Wh -- who are you?” her voice trembled slightly, fear coursing through her vein faster than blood.

“Who I am, my sweet, isn’t the concern in this matter.” the figure shook his head, taking another step closer to her.

“You stay the hell away from me, or I’ll scream.” Devon cautioned, holding a hand out.

“Scream all you’d like. No one will get here fast enough to help you.” he chuckled again. A cold chill of anticipation wrapped around her spine, making movement difficult.

“You don’t know that for sure.” she shook her head, determined to argue her way out of the situation.

“In case you hadn’t noticed, my sweet, this is a very large house. A mansion if you will. You’ll be dead before they can check the first three rooms on the first floor.” he shrugged a shoulder, the black cloak he wore fluttering slightly with the movement.

“All right then, what is it that you want from me?” Devon lifted an eyebrow, hoping her voice sounded stronger than she thought.

“Your cooperation, my dear.” he laughed softly with a shake of his hooded head. He held out a hand to her and she snorted softly.

“If you honestly think I’m just going to hand myself over to you, you’re nuts. I don’t know which script you ended up getting, but I live.” Devon’s eyes became icy as adrenaline suffused her body, knocking the fear down a notch or two.

“You don’t have a choice.” the shadow figure’s voice became harder, filled with frustration.

“I don’t?” Devon shot back, giving him a hard shove as she bolted from the room. He let out a cry of rage, fisting his hands as he ran after her. Devon risked a glance over her shoulder as she made her way down the hallway, checking each door to see if they were locked. All of them were.

“Chris!” she screamed as she made it to the top of the stairwell. From her surroundings, she guessed she was on the second floor. Relief coursed through her, making her lightheaded when Chris’s form appeared from the living room doorway.

“Devon?” he called, glancing around.

“Chris!” she cried out again, trembling hands grasping the railing for support as she took a couple of shaky steps down. Chris swung around, eyes landing on her and he smiled, holding out his hand to her. She took another shaky step, closing her eyes, desperately trying to still her racing heart.

“Devon, behind you! Run!” Chris yelped, startling her, a split second before a strong arm wrapped around her waist from behind, hauling her off her feet. She let out a terrified scream, struggling within the shadow’s grasp, trying to free herself. Chris took a few faltering steps toward the stairwell, his heart thundering painfully in his chest. He shook his head, feeling rather detached from the whole situation as the shadow pulled out a knife, his glove covered hand covering Devon’s mouth and nose so she couldn’t scream. He couldn’t reach her in time. He closed his eyes tightly as Devon’s eyes rolled up into her head, the knife coming down into her chest. Chris sat heavily on the bottom stair, his heart painfully contracting. Devon was dead. Her body was lying at the top of the staircase. And he couldn’t stop it from happening. He had tried to warn her, but there hadn’t been enough time. Not nearly enough time to save her. Joe and Ashley stumbled out of the living room, eyes wide with fear.

“What happened?” Ashley finally broke the strained silence. Chris just shook his head, eyes losing some of their light and humor.

“Chris, what happened?” she demanded again, kneeling in front of him as Joe glanced around the room, making sure they were the only ones in the room.

“Devon’s gone.” Chris stated tonelessly, eyes once again going back to the top of the stairs.

“What do you mean ‘gone’, Chris?” Ashley prodded gently.

“Whoever is after us. The ghost. The serial killer. The guy from Scream. Who the hell knows? He got her. Stabbed her right in front of my eyes. I tried to warn her. Told her he was right behind her, but it was too late.” Chris explained in a slow, halting voice. Ashley sighed, closing her eyes as she took Chris’s hand in her own, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“There was nothing you could do.” she shook her head, turning her eyes to Joe, who shrugged a shoulder, at a loss for what to say.

“I think we should get out of here. There has to be a boat or a canoe, something, around here we can use.” Joe finally spoke, standing at the window near the front door, gazing out at the water surrounding the island.

“Didn’t Leigh say we should stay here?” Ashley lifted an eyebrow.

“Sweetheart, do you honestly think it’ll be safer for us to stay here?” Joe countered, folding his arms across his chest.

“Well, if we go down to that boat house, all three of us are going. No more wandering off on our own.” Ashley sighed, rubbing her face tiredly with her hands. Joe nodded, giving her a small, strained smile. He held his hand out to her, and she quickly climbed to her feet, walking over to him. Joe pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly.

“We’ll make it through this. I promise.” he whispered softly, lips brushing lightly against her ear. She nodded, pressing her forehead against his shoulder, the warmth of his arms around her a small comfort.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Joseph.” Chris sighed, surging to his feet. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I have to see about Devon’s body.”

“Chris, there’s nothing more you can do for her now. Let’s just go out to the boat house and see what there.” Ashley pleaded softly, stopping Chris in his tracks. His shoulder sagged, head drooping forward for a moment before he turned and followed Joe and Ashley out of the house. Ashley glanced up at the sky, rubbing her arms for added warmth.

“The sun is going to set soon.” she mumbled, causing Joe to slow his steps and turn to her.

“We’ll be all right.” he trailed the backs of his knuckles over her cheek.

“I don’t think I can take spending another night here.” she shook her head, lower lip trembling as she fought to keep the terrified tears at bay.

“I know, baby. That’s why we’re out here trying to find a boat or something.” his thumbs gently brushed the tears from her cheeks. She nodded, taking a deep breath. Chris stood off to the side, gazing out at the water, trying to let the couple have a few minutes of privacy.

“Are you okay, now?” Joe inquired softly, eyes searching her face minutely.

“I’m okay.” she whispered with a nod.

“Sure?” he prodded gently.

“Sure.” she nodded once again. His head dipped and he delivered a soft kiss to her forehead. She closed her eyes, leaning into the caress for a moment before she pulled away and forced a cheerful smile.

“Let’s go.” she grabbed his hand, lacing their fingers together.

“I love you, Ash.” he murmured, giving her hand a small squeeze.

“I love you, too.”

“Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“I’m sure.”

“Tell me again why we’re doing this.”

“Someone needs to be put in their place.”

“But, why?”

“Don’t you want to get revenge for everything?”

“Well, yeah. But, like this?”

“Why not like this?”

“Because it’s kinda cruel.”

“Maybe.”

“It is.”

“I know, but you have to admit it’s a good idea.”

“It’s a wonderful idea. I just don’t know what’s going to happen when it’s all over and done with.”

“We’ll all laugh heartily, because you know he deserves it.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“We’re too far into it to stop now.”

“I know. I just didn’t want to kill everyone.”

“I know. But think of the greater good.”

“I’m trying.”

“Good.”

Joe took a deep breath, standing in front of the door to the boat house, trying to gather the courage to open the door. Ashley stood behind him and Chris at her side. Joe sighed, reaching for the doorknob. The rusty hinges squeaked and groaned as he pushed the door open. He reached inside, lightly running his hand along the wall beside the door frame, trying to find a light switch. He gave a muted sigh of relief when his fingers encountered one, a light flickering to life brightly. He pushed the door the rest of the way open, and peered inside. Cobwebs hung from everything, telling the trio no one had been in the boat house for years.

“Joe?” Ashley’s soft voice gave him an initial start, then he shook his head with a rueful laugh. Everyone was on edge and it was starting to drive them all crazy.

“Well, it looks safe enough. But, I don’t think anyone should wander off.” Joe glanced over at his friend and girlfriend. They both nodded. He took another deep breath and took the first step into the room, his eyes swinging to every corner to make sure no hidden danger was lurking around. Ashley and Chris followed him slowly, before Chris pushed ahead and walked further into the room.

“All right,” Chris sighed, rubbing his hands together to keep the numbness away. “We need to spread out a little bit and look for this phantom boat.”

Ashley tossed a wary gaze to her boyfriend and sighed softly, giving a slow nod of agreement. After twenty minutes of searching, they turned up only one boat and it had a hole in the side the size of a LP record. Ashley sighed, closing her eyes, heart stalling slightly with fear. She leaned back against the wall, her breath coming in short, soft pants. Her knees quickly turned to jelly and she slid down so she sat on the floor, her back pressed tightly back against the wall, her knees curled up to her chest. She rested her forehead on her knees, trying to take deep breaths to calm herself. It didn’t work. Tears trickled down her cheeks, her heart feeling icy in her chest. She bit back a scream when a large hand lightly touched the crown of her head. Her eyes snapped open, and she groaned inwardly as Joe’s luminous brown eyes gazed at her with concern.

“Come on, let’s go back to the house and figure out what to do from there.” he suggested. She nodded, struggling to her feet. The three slowly made their way back to the house and into the living room. Joe grabbed a blanket from off the floor and sprawled out on the couch.

“We should make shifts or something. One person stays up for a few hours while the other two sleep, and so on.” Joe mumbled, motioning to Ashley to sprawl out next to him. He knew she needed the intimate gesture because he tattered nerves were starting to become unglued. She crawled onto the sofa beside him, cuddling up to his side as he wrapped an arm around her, pulling her even closer.

“I can keep first watch. I won’t be able to sleep anyway.” Chris muttered, standing at one of the windows.

“Thanks, man.” Joe mumbled through a yawn. His eyes closed as Ashley’s cheek nuzzled against the steady beat of his heart, the two falling into a fitful sleep.

Chris sat in an overstuffed chair, notebook open on his lap as he wrote all the jumbled thoughts in his mind onto the papers. He had been writing like this for going on three hours, basically rambling about how much he loved Devon and what was going on in the Thornstone mansion. He explained how Mike was the first to disappear, then the others dropping like flies all around him. He wrote about how Leigh had disappeared the day before and how he thought she was the one responsible for everything happening in the house. He set his pen down, rubbing his burning eyes with his fingers as he tried to formulate a coherent sentence in his mind. When the group had talked about a vacation, this wasn’t what they all had in mind. Tears burned his eyes as he picked up his pen and started writing again. His eyes darted over to the couch when Joe stirred slightly, his eyes opening. Joe shifted with a wince and rubbed his face with his free hand.

“You ready to catch some sleep?” Joe inquired, his voice slightly hoarse. Chris nodded with a shrug, closing the notebook and tossing it onto the floor. He wandered over to the second couch and sprawled out on it, pulling a blanket over him. Joe sat up slightly, careful not to wake Ashley as he reached for a book laying on the table beside him. He opened to the first page and began reading.

“We should get them now. He’s asleep.”

“I don’t know about this.”

“If you had a weak stomach, you shouldn’t have started this.”

“I never wanted to kill anyone.”

“Neither did I, but you roped me into this.”

“I roped everyone into this.”

“No shit.”

“All right, let’s go.”

“I’m still not sure about this.”

“Neither am I, but we have to finish what we started.”

“What do you mean ‘we’?”

“You know what I mean.”

“Whatever. Let’s just get this over with.”

“All right. Let’s go.”

Chris awoke with a start, the sunlight streaming in through the windows making it difficult to stay asleep. A slow smile curved his lips upward, his head shaking slowly with the horrifying dream he had during the night. His eyes squinted open and his heart lurched. It hadn’t been a dream. Devon was really dead, as were the others. The only ones left now were Joe, Ashley and himself. He struggled to a sitting position, muscles screaming in pain as he looked around. His heart lurched again. Joe and Ashley were nowhere in sight.

“Guys?” he called as he stumbled to his feet. There was no answer. The house remained silent.

“Come on guys, this is far from funny. I thought you said we had to stick together.” Chris called out again. Once again, the house remained silent. Chris sighed as he gazed around the room again. Nothing seemed out of place. Nothing moved from where it was left the night before. He took a deep breath, wandering from the room. He peered out into the hallway, his heart thundering loudly in his chest. This is was too freaky by half. He took a careful step out into the hallway. He nearly jumped out of his skin when a loud creak sounded from upstairs. He shook his head, stumbling back into the living room.

“Okay, think, Chris. If this were a horror movie, which it definitely could be, the creaking floorboards upstairs would only mean the killer or killers are in the house. If I go upstairs, I’m a goner. However, if I stay here, I could be a goner as well. Damn. No matter what I do, I’ll probably end up dead before lunch today.” he shook his head as he paced the room, wracking his brain for ideas on how to get off the island quickly.

“Well, I could always swim.” he snorted, flopping down on the couch.

“Christopher....,” a wispy voice called out to him from the very depths of the house.

“Oh, hell.” he muttered, eyes darting around the room.

“Christopher....,”

“What?” he yelped, jumping to his feet.

“I’m coming for you, Christopher....,”

“Well, isn’t that nice. But I don’t suppose you’ll take ‘I gave at the office’, eh?” Chris demanded loudly, hands clenching to fists at his sides.

“I’m coming for you....,”

“Screw this.” Chris muttered stumbling from the room. He bolted to the front door and pulled it open. He rushed outside, glancing over his shoulder at the house and tripped. He grunted, throwing his hands out in front of him, trying to break his fall. He winced as the gravel scratched his hands, his left knee cracking against the ground with enough force to seriously jar the bones. He rolled over onto his butt and nearly scrambled away when he saw he had tripped over Joe’s body, sprawled awkwardly on the ground, his arms and legs twisted, a puddle of drying blood circling around his head. Chris shook his head, scrambling to his feet, heading back into the house as his heart threatened to explode inside his chest. He closed the door behind him, resting back against it, holding a hand to his heart. After a moment, he pushed himself away from the door and made his way into the kitchen, only to come face to feet with Ashley’s body, which was dangling from the ceiling.

“Shit.” he yelped, taking a stumbling step backwards from the room. He turned on his heel, bolting for the stairs. He stopped in front of the door to his assigned room and threw the door open, racing inside. He came to a dead stop, his eyes widening. Devon was in the bed, glassy eyes staring at the ceiling, a bloody CD lodged deeply into her throat.

“Devon.” he whispered, his heart contracting painfully. He closed his eyes against the image, backing slowly from the room. He wondered a little wildly who could possibly be sick enough to do everything that had happened in the course of a few days. His mind whirled, thoughts becoming tangled as he staggered dizzily toward the bathroom, his stomach heaving slightly. He pushed on the bathroom door with the weight of his body, causing it to slam back against the wall with a loud bang, then stepped inside and over to the sink. He turned on the cold water and proceeded to splash some on his face, hoping it would calm him. There had to be a way off the island and to the mainland that he and the others had overlooked in their initial panic. Chris rested his hands on the sink, head bowed and eyes closed, as he took numerous deep breaths. The boat in the boat house was of no use and in no condition to put in the water especially with the hole in the side of it. The phones were still out. Leigh was nowhere to be found, not that he was sure he wanted to find her, or be found by her for that matter. He sighed and reached for a towel to dry his face with. Instead of touching something warm and fuzzy, his fingers brushed against something cold and wet. He snatched his hand away with a groan, his stomach twisting violently. He mentally prepared himself for the worst case scenario and turned. A very dead, gaping Lance was propped up against the wall, a make-up brush imbedded to the bristles in his eye. He closed his eyes, stumbling back out of the room, tripping over his own feet in his haste to leave the horrid sight. Chris lay on his back for a moment, breathing deeply to keep from panicking.

“This is crazy. My life has flashed in front of my eyes more times than bad Star Trek repeats.” he muttered as he climbed to his feet.

“I don’t know who you are, or what you want, but let’s get something straight. I WILL NOT DIE HERE!” he yelled to the empty house, his voice straining slightly as it echoed off the walls. He turned on his heel and stormed down the hallway back towards the staircase. He made his way down the stairs on shaky legs, going back to the living room where it had all started. His heart lurched, then jumped into his throat when he saw the bodies of JC and Mike tossed on the couch.

“This is so not happening.” Chris mumbled, taking a step backward, only to bump into something.

“Please don’t let it be another dead body. Please don’t let it be another dead body.” he chanted softly to himself as he slowly turned around. A smiling Justin stood in front of him. Chris’s eyebrows shot upward, then he took a stumbling step backward as Justin reached for him, only to be brought up short by the coffee table. Justin cupped Chris’s cheeks in his hands and gave the older man a huge smile.

“Gotcha.” was all the younger man said before laying a resounding kiss on the older man’s cheek. Chris shrieked, shrugging Justin away from him and in turn, falling over the coffee table to land on the couch where JC and Mike’s bodies resided. He shrieked again when JC’s arms wrapped around the older man’s shoulders, squeezing tightly.

“The look on your face. Classic, I tell ya.” JC’s voice was enough to startle Chris and make him leap from the couch as if burned.

“I do have to say, everyone here is a good sport, and none of this would have been possible without you, Chris.” Leigh’s voice sounded from the open doorway, a smile on her face as she held a bottle of wine in each hand.

“Wha -- what’s going on here?” Chris finally stuttered, glancing from Mike to JC to Leigh to Justin.

“Well, sweetheart,” Devon started as she stepped into the room, her neck void of the CD and any blood. “Mike and Leigh are rather good friends. And, well, Mike regaled Leigh with many tales of all your pranks on all of us. Think of this as one giant pay back.”

Chris opened his mouth to speak, but nothing emerged from his throat as Joe, Katie, Ashley. Lance and Rachel made their appearances, all carrying wine glasses for everyone. Mike chuckled, wandering over to Chris and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“Sorry to give you a scare, old man, but, you deserved it.” she tugged on a dreadlock teasingly.

“Wait.” Chris held up a hand. “All of you were in on this?”

“Not really.” Mike shook her head. “It was all Leigh’s idea. When I was up in the attic, after the others left, Leigh cornered me and told me of her idea to get you back. Nothing was going to happen unless I agreed, which I did. Then none of the others knew until Leigh and I ‘killed’ them. So, essentially, everyone was left in the dark until they died.” Mike shrugged as she helped Leigh pour the wine.

“But, Justin didn’t have a pulse. Ashley even said so.” Chris tried to piece together everything his friends were telling him.

“That’s not really true. We slipped something into his drink that would make his heart slow to barely nothing. He was in no danger of dying.” Leigh smiled, handing glasses to everyone. Chris sat down heavily on a chair, holding his head in his hands.

“So this was all an elaborate practical joke on me?” he mumbled.

“Something like that.” JC nodded with a laugh.

“Also, I didn’t know what to do with this house. I thought maybe making it a murder mystery resort. Of course, this wasn’t really all that mysterious so I’ll have to work out a plot. But, with Mike being a writer and all, I’m sure she and I can come up with something better. And most of you didn’t find any of the clues I left. So, that will also need to be worked on.” Leigh explained with a shrug.

“All right, I have only one thing to say to you people.” Chris sighed, climbing to his feet after he’d downed his entire glass of wine.

“Pay back’s a bitch.”

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