The first round went pretty much the way they thought. There were two or three bands that were lucky to be included, and Momoko and the boys were pretty sure they would be the first to go. Sure enough, one of those was the first eliminated. The four judges scored the bands on a scale from one to twenty, and the audience applause was also translated into a score from one to twenty, which then got added in for a possible perfect score of one hundred. The band with the lowest score at each round was eliminated.

The scores would only be announced for the final three rounds.

"I'm already so nervous, I don't see how I'm going to survive until the end of the night," Momoko disclosed to the boys before round two began. "You said it would be, like, two or three in the morning, right?"

Sully nodded.

"These first rounds go pretty quickly, don't worry," he assured her. "See?" We're already getting the call for round two, and it's barely been an hour."

Their song for round two was a fairly heavy rock number, and the crowd loved it. For round three, they went with "Like a Painting," the one with Momoko on the drums, thinking it might be good to show a little variety, and, sure enough, everyone seemed really impressed. The judges were looking back and forth, eyebrows raised, and the audience went wild, throwing flowers on the stage for Momoko.

When they went backstage after they were finished, Stu, one of the members of Mangled, said, "I didn't think we were allowed to switch instruments." He had his arm around their new singer, whose name was Kirsty.

"Wow, Stu, that's a really stupid thing to say," Jude said, laughing and shaking his head. "Just really, really stupid." He continued to laugh as they walked by.

They waited to hear the results of round three, though they weren't really concerned. They figured they were bound to make the top three easily. From there it might be tricky.

"Yess!" Tommy fist pumped when they heard they made the cut for round three, as Dane and Jude high-fived and Sullivan kissed Momoko. Similar gestures were being made around the dressing room as the eliminated band, Soul Sisters, began packing up to go home.

"Better luck next year," Momoko called out to Cherry, their lead singer.

"Thanks," she acknowledged with a grin. "My money's on you guys to go all the way, so don't let me down, okay?" She leaned in to kiss Momoko on the cheek. "You've got what it takes, sis."

"Thank you, Cher," Momoko answered.

"Hey, which one of these guys you seeing?" Cherry asked with interest. "I've been watching you all night, but as far as I can tell, you're equally tight with all of them."

Momoko just gave her an enigmatic smile.

Cherry shook her head and gave her a good bye wave.

Kay entered the room looking around for them, holding bags from their favorite rib joint.

Sully waved her over.

"Here you guys, eat while you can," she said, handing out the food. "God you eat like a pack of wild dogs," she noted as she watched them attack the food.

"We haven't eaten since, well, a long time ago," Momoko said as she opened a container of coleslaw. "Mm, this is yummy."

"Anyway, Big Orchid is up in one of the VIP booths, I'm about to head up there myself," she informed them. "I was just texting with one of their reps, and they're very impressed with you guys."

"Yess," Jude said around his food. "This is going to be our big night, mates, I can feel it."

The others were silent, but smiles were exchanged all around.

The large room which all the bands were using as dressing room had been crowded at the beginning of the evening, but it was emptying out as the eliminated bands went home. The band next to Peppermint Silk left, and they spread out, taking over the area. As the room expanded, however, the tension ratcheted up, with the remaining bands growing more and more agitated, their expressions and voices taut with nerves.

Round four came and went, and shockingly, The John Miller Band, one of the bands widely acknowledged as favorites to make the top four, was eliminated. John Miller, the lead singer, was looking around the room in shock. "Did they say our name and I missed it?" he was asking everyone. "Did I miss it?"

He made eye contact with Momoko, who slowly shook her head. "I don't think so," she said reluctantly.

"No way! No way!" he shouted, jumping up from the chair where he sat. "I need to talk to someone--" he practically ran from the room, with the rest of the band following him.

Sully sighed. "The results are final, he knows that," he said.

Sure enough, the members of The John Miller Band came stomping back into the dressing room fifteen minutes later, after round five had begun, saying, "This is such bullshit, man." They began throwing their stuff into bags, packing up. "This competition is bullshit."

"Hey, sorry, mate," Jude said to the band's bass player, who just shook his head.

"Come on, guys, we're next," Tommy called.

They assembled just offstage in the semidarkness, ready to take the stage, still shaken by the elimination of what by all accounts was one of the best bands in the competition.

If it could happen to them, it could happen to anyone.

Momoko gave a little shiver, and Dane, who was standing right next to her, felt it.

"What was that for?" he asked, concerned.

"Well, I'm the lead singer, I feel a lot of pressure," she replied. "I don't want to let you down. I love you guys."

"We love you back." Jude, who'd overheard, responded, stepping in to hug her. "We love you back, so much. Listen," he said, his voice soft but intense. "Until you came along, we were just a really good band. With you, we're great. You make us bloody brilliant. Remember that." Behind him, Momoko could see the other guys nodding in silhouette.

"Group hug, please?" Momoko whispered.

They stepped in, gathering around her, kissing her wherever they could reach, holding her close, murmuring words of love, which were lost in the applause for the previous band.

"Okay guys, we're up, let's go," she finally said.

They took the stage to loud applause and cheers as Momoko waved and smiled.

Their next song was called "Boppin'," a fun, upbeat number that was already very popular on Spotify and YouTube. The audience and judges were singing and dancing along, and Momoko knew that they were going to make it through to the next round.

And they did.

They were in the top five.

Momoko did feel bad for the eliminated band, because being in the top five brought rewards, in the form of airplay on the sponsoring radio station, which was a big deal.

She looked at her phone, and was shocked to see that it was after ten o'clock.

Where had the time gone?

By now the dressing room was barely half full, and everyone had room to spread out. Momoko lay down sideways on the easy chair and closed her eyes, hoping for a quick nap before they were called. All around her, the guys were doing the same thing, on sofas and other chairs.

"Momo?"

Her eyes flew open.

Hunter, with his weird shock of black hair, was in kneeling in front of her, his face inches away. He looked even stranger than before, because his hair had grown out, and there was a good inch or so of his blond hair showing at the roots. In addition, he seemed to have gained about fifteen pounds.

She tried to sit up, but he said, "Whoa, slowly, Momo." And she felt a sharp pain in her neck as the tip of the knife he was holding dug into her tender flesh.

On the sofa, Dane, who was sleeping head to toe with Tommy, opened his eyes, saw what was happening and sat up abruptly, nudging Tommy with his foot and waking him up also. He reached over and awakened Sullivan, who was slouched in a chair and resting his upper body on a table. Jude was nowhere to be found. No one else in the room seemed to be aware yet that anything untoward was happening to the lead singer of Peppermint Silk.

"How did you get in here?" Tommy asked, his voice raspy with sleep.

"Momo, get up, you're coming with me, okay?" Hunter said, ignoring Tommy and his question.

"Somebody get security, please," Sullivan called in a loud voice. "Then call 911."

"No, bad idea," Hunter said, grabbing Momoko and yanking her up from the chair by the arm. "I'll fucking slice her nose off, don't think I won't." He turned her so he was behind her, one arm around her narrow waist, the other at her throat with the gleaming knife.

Finally, people were starting to turn and look, eyes widening as they saw what was happening.

"Hunter, let me go," Momoko said, her voice strong.

He shook his head. "Nope. You're mine, get that through your silly head, Momo. You're coming with me."

Someone slipped out of the dressing room, presumably to get security and hopefully to call 911.

Jude walked in, holding a bottle of water, which he promptly dropped when confronted by the tableau.

"You don't want to hurt her, mate, you love her, right?" Jude said, holding up a supplicating hand.

"I do love her, but I'll kill her before I let you guys have her," Hunter said. "Watch." He drew the knife across Momoko's throat in a slitting motion, and Momoko gave a little shriek of pain as he drew blood.

"Jesus, stop!" Sullivan shouted. "You're hurting her!"

"Why don't all of you pretty, faggotty boys just take a few steps back?" Hunter suggested. "I wouldn't want any of you to get any stupid ideas about trying to jump us."

Sully, Dane and Tommy took a few, careful steps back, giving Hunter and Momoko a little room. Momoko's eyes were wide and wild with fright. The blood dripped from her throat down the front of her pretty shirt.

The band that was onstage finished performing and the next band was called.

They looked at each other.

"We're being called," one of them said to Hunter uncertainly. "Can we go?"

"Sure, go," Hunter responded casually. "Good luck."

"Look, you have to see that there's no way out of here for you," Tommy reasoned. "Just let her go and leave."

Hunter shook his head. "Not without my girl."

The door opened again, and two security guards entered, taking in the situation in a glance.

"Son, let her go. The police are on their way, and you're gonna be in a world of hurt when they get here," the bigger one said. "Things will go a lot better for you if you're in our custody when they arrive, you have to know that. If they get here and see this, you're in for a lot of trouble."

Hunter grinned and tightened his grip on Momoko's waist, nearly lifting her off her feet. "I don't really care. If I'm going to die, all I need to know is that Momo's dead too, you know?" He nicked her again, making her cry out, making tears spill over as more blood dripped down.

A third security guard came in, leading someone by the arm. "Apparently he came in with this guy," she said.

Marshall.