Col. Mayer raised the knife with a maniacal grin. "I've waited a long time to do this, oh yes… you've caused a lot of trouble, boy."

Luke was strapped down, struggling in vain. "Stay away from me!" he yelled in terror.

Noah tried to lurch forward, to knock his father out of the way and free Luke, but he found that he couldn't move… he was like a spectator, only able to observe, not intervene.

And then the Colonel plunged his blade into Luke's chest. Luke's scream of pain was the most horrifying thing Noah had ever heard, but he was still immobile, incapable of doing anything to help his boyfriend. Then the Colonel was twisting the knife, sadistically relishing the sound of Luke screaming.

"Stop it! Leave him alone!" Noah was now screaming too, for watching this was tantamount to being sliced and tortured by the knife himself. "No! Nooooo…"

Noah bolted upright, his heart rate and breathing out of control, his body covered in cold sweat. After several seconds, he was able to will himself to calm down. He looked around the dark room… this was Luke's bedroom, and he was in Luke's bed. He quickly glanced sideways, and sure enough, Luke was lying right next to him – sleeping peacefully, in fact, in stark contrast to how Noah was feeling at the moment.

He pressed a hand to his forehead, his breaths still as labored as if he'd just finished a marathon, his heart still hammering against his ribcage. This had obviously been a nightmare. But why was he having nightmares about his father? Noah sighed. It had to be the movie. Col. Mayer had been dead for over a year, and Noah had moved on; his decision to dig into the past and dedicate much of his movie to life with his father was obviously the reason the Colonel had resurfaced in his subconscious.

He's gone, Noah told himself firmly. Dead. He can never hurt Luke or anyone else again. Enough of this. He had a frustrating feeling that going back to sleep now would not be so easy. He contemplated going out for a walk to clear his head, the way characters did in the movies, but for some reason he didn't want to leave Luke alone right now. With another sigh, Noah lay back down and slung a protective arm around his sleeping boyfriend.

*

"Dr. Lange," said Col. Mayer, offering his hand to shake. "It's good to meet you again."

"You too, Colonel," said the bald, beady-eyed man as he briefly shook the Colonel's hand, "But unless I'm mistaken, you're supposed to be dead."

The Colonel smirked. "I needed to throw off the police and the FBI, that was all."

"Well, you obviously did a good job," said Dr. Lange, "Nobody knows you're alive. But why tempt fate like this? You should leave the country as long as you have a chance, Winston."

"Oh, I will," Col. Mayer assured him. "I just have some unfinished business here, or else I wouldn't have come back to this town in the first place. And for that, I need your help."

The other man's eyes narrowed. "I wish I could help you out of the kindness of my heart, but as you know, I'm a fugitive now too. Can't go around risking my neck for nothing. What's in it for me?"

At this, The Colonel picked a brown briefcase off the floor and opened it, revealing that it was filled with hundred-dollar bills. "That's six grand, you're welcome to count it yourself… wasn't easy to get, either."

Dr. Lange grinned. "Fair enough. So what is it that brings you back to Oakdale?"

"My son, Noah," said the Colonel. "And his -" his face contorted in disgust. "- friend, a boy named Luke Snyder. He has corrupted my son, turned him against me… and he needs to pay."

"You want me to kill that kid?" Dr. Lange raised an eyebrow. "You don't need me for that, do you?"

"Oh, no," Col. Mayer breathed maliciously, "I've got something much worse planned for him."

*

Slinging his backpack over his shoulder, Noah closed his truck's door behind him and began walking through Old Town, which seemed empty in the early morning hour. I hate it when I have to open the place, he thought as he headed towards Java.

Since he'd gotten up early, he hadn't had the chance to tell Luke about his nightmare yet. After mulling it over on his way to work, though, Noah had decided not to say anything. He knew what a worrywart Luke could be; he had the feeling that if he brought this up, Luke would get all concerned about the emotional baggage Noah's carrying and how making the film might not have been the best idea, etcetera. Noah didn't want to open up that can of worms… the two of them were happier than they'd been in a long time. Plus, Luke and his biological father Damien were getting along better, the summer break was just around the corner, and everything was great. No reason to spoil that by bringing up some horrifying nightmare that obviously didn't mean any –

Noah's train of thought was cut off when, out of the blue, he felt a stab in his right shoulder. He was suddenly feeling weaker and involuntarily fell to his knees. With a lot more effort than it should have taken, he turned his head around ninety degrees to find a syringe buried in his shoulder.

"I'm sorry about this, son," whispered a familiar voice from behind him, "But it's the only way to save you now… you've left me with no alternative."

DAD? What the hell - ?

Completely freaked out now, Noah tried to hold on, but it was no use; clearly, whatever he'd been injected with was already working its way through his system. A couple more seconds, and everything faded to black.

*

"Noah, please call me when you get this, alright? Love you."

Luke grumbled and tossed his cellphone on the sofa in the Snyders' living room. "I don't get it, Dad. Why isn't he picking up?"

"I think you might be getting a little paranoid," said Holden patiently. "People don't answer their phones sometimes… there's no reason to jump to conclusions."

"Dad, the last time something like this happened, Noah was being held hostage, alright?" Luke all but threw his hands up in frustration. "I think I have the right to be a little paranoid."

"But haven't you talked to him today?" Holden asked.

Luke shook his head. "He left early this morning and I didn't want to interrupt him at work… I think I've been doing enough of that lately. But he should have been home like an hour ago." He sank into the sofa with a dejected look on his face.

"I'm sure everything's alright," said Holden calmly, giving his son's shoulder a brief, reassuring squeeze. "Anyway," he continued, "I have to go, I'm meeting your mother for lunch at the Lakeview. I'll see you later."

"Alright, bye," said Luke in a small voice. As Holden began to head towards the door, Luke's phone suddenly rang. Luke quickly grabbed it and was relieved when he saw the caller ID.

"It's Noah," he told his father brightly.

Holden paused at the doorway and smiled. "See? Tell him I said hi."

"Will do." Luke picked up his phone as Holden exited the house. "Hey, I've been waiting for you to call!"

"Well, I sincerely doubt that."

Luke felt as though an iron fist had suddenly grabbed his heart, crushing it with its tight grip. This was not Noah's voice. It was another voice, one that brought back horrible memories, that was supposed to be gone forever… yet here it was.

"Col. Mayer?" Luke gasped.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" said the Colonel pleasantly. "And I hadn't even paid you the courtesy of letting you know I was alive… my apologies."

The air seemed to be gone from Luke's lungs. For a moment, rational thought was beyond him. Then he realized something. It wasn't just that Col. Mayer was alive… he had Noah's phone.

"Where's Noah?" he demanded, doing the best he could to stop his voice from shaking, but not having much success. "What did you do to him?"

"Noah is no longer a concern of yours," the Colonel replied in a calm voice. "You ruined his life… and now, thanks to you, he's gone."

That iron fist was getting tighter. Luke struggled against it.

"No," he said, shivering as he did, "You didn't – you didn't kill him…"

"That's right," the Colonel snapped without hesitation, "You did. All I did was put him out of his misery."

He hung up, leaving Luke with nothing more than the horror of silence on the other end.

Tbc…