by J. D. Oliva
Both Nick and Cody were surprised to hear a third voice. Usually, it was just the two of them. They turned around and saw Abi and Lonnie seated at a table. Cody hadn't noticed them before. Behind them was another huge, yellow banner that read, "Buy Harvest Dance Tickets Here!"
"Since you guys spend so much time together anyway, which one's buying the Harvest Dance tickets?" She asked, looking directly at Nick.
"We're not going together!" Nick said defensively.
Nick may have been Hawk Hallow Middle School's resident smart-ass, but Abi could always put him in his place with ease.
"But I guess if it came down to it, I'd rather go with Cody than you. I'd hate to lower my social standing," Nick said.
"I don't think that's even possible after what Joey Garcia's been saying," she said back.
"God, I keep telling everyone I just had an itch!"
She laughed. It was almost too easy. Even Lonnie cracked a smile.
"What are you laughing at, Chubbs?" Nick snapped back.
Cody laughed too.
"Ignore him, Lonnie," Cody finally said.
"So are you buying a ticket?" She asked.
He wanted to say no. He had a million other things that he would rather do than go to the Harvest Dance. He couldn't think of any, but he was sure they were there. This girl had already gotten him into enough trouble. Still, he couldn't seem to get the word out.
"Whuh...I, um...it's-jus, I, um--"
He choked again.
"Great! Tickets are just ten dollars!" Abi said with a huge smile that showed her braces.
Cody shrugged his shoulders and eeked out a simple, "Okay."
He pulled out his wallet and gave Abi the ten dollars. Cody nudged Nick, who responded by shooting him a look that said, "Seriously?" Cody nodded and Nick begrudgingly paid for his own ticket.
"Just one?" She asked with a sarcastic smirk.
"I'd ask you but pets aren't allowed," Nick said back.
“Good thing you didn't then. Getting rejected by your pets can be very traumatic to young children."
"Shut up, Abi," was all Nick could muster.
Abi turned to Cody, as if to ask who he might be taking to the Dance. Her look immediately made him uncomfortable. He grabbed his ticket and walked away, trying to avoid further eye contact. There was no telling what else she may convince him to do.
X
Leah Burk arrived late for work that morning. She planned to make breakfast for the boys, something she tried to do every morning since Mike died, but both of them left before she had the chance. She felt silly sitting at an empty table full of pancakes, sausage, and fresh fruit. Of course pancakes weren't going to make everything better. That wasn't her plan, she just wanted to mother her boys. She wasn't mad that they wouldn't let her, just frustrated that she couldn't think of anything else. These teenage years were going to be rough.
Leah showed up at Hawk Hallow Area Hospital at 9:45 am. Her shift was supposed to start at 9:00. Then yesterday happened. She'd already taken the day off but with nothing more than a table full of uneaten pancakes at home, why not go to work with people that actually needed her help. Even though she wasn't supposed to be at the hospital, they were more than happy to have her there, if for nothing else than for moral support. There was a time that she would have looked at it like charity, or pity. That time had passed. She was more than happy to be surrounded by friends.
"How you doing, sweetie?" Violet Reed asked.
"We're okay. I think?" She said.
"Are you sure?" Violet asked again.
Violet Reed had been at HHAH for over twenty years and had been a mentor to Leah since she first started working there fifteen years ago. She was slightly overweight, with hair a shade of red that didn't quite exist in nature, and glasses with thick, black frames that had been out of style so long that they were cool again.
"Dr. Palmer checked the boys out and said they're fine," she said.
"That's not what I meant, Leah. I meant are you okay.”
At the other end of the hallway, Mrs. Alice Richmond sat waiting. Her husband, Jerry, had come in a few hours earlier with what she assumed was a heart attack. She hadn't heard anything from the staff, so she just sat there, quietly praying for her husband. They had been together almost forty-five years, and the thought of life without Jerry was just too much for her.
"Excuse me, Mrs. Richmond," a voice said.
Alice picked her head up and found a doctor, or who she assumed to be a doctor. Dressed in green scrubs, he had a stethoscope draped around his neck, but something about him seemed a bit off. Maybe it was the way his thinning hair was slicked back and hung slightly below his ears? Maybe it was the handle-bar mustache? Something about him seemed more like the man who changed her oil rather than the one who operated on her husband's heart.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you there, Doctor--"
"Slater. Dr. Slater, but please call me Roscoe."
The Doctor smiled and extended his hand to her. She shook his firm, strong hand and immediately felt guilty about letting her eyes pass judgment on such a decent man.
"I'm afraid we need to talk about your husband," he said with a concerned yet strongly confident look on his face.
"I don't know. Two car accidents in less than a year. I just think I need a little break," Leah said.
"What do you need from us, Leah? Seriously, what can we do to help you?"
Leah took a deep breath and shrugged. She was just about to say nothing when she remembered the millstone hanging around the family's neck.
"You could buy the Haunted Hallow off of me. I think twenty grand should do it!" She said.
They both laughed, knowing there was no way Violet could possibly afford, let alone want to run the town's top attraction. Unloading this monstrosity would certainly make things easier for them, though.
"I wish I could, honey," Violet said grabbing her hand.
"Me too," Leah said with a sigh.
"Dr. Slater?"
Alice Richmond was trying to get her doctor's attention. He was just about to tell her something about her husband's condition when he just stopped talking. It was almost like he was eavesdropping on the conversation the two nurses at the other end of the room were having. She looked around the room to see if there's something else going on she might have missed. There was just the man sitting in a chair, his head buried in the newspaper. The headline read, Pentagram Killer Claims Fourth Victim.
"Dr. Slater?" She asked again.
"Haunted Hallow?" He asked himself under his breath.
“Dr. Slater!" She finally raised her voice.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Mrs. Richmond," he finally answered her back.
"You were saying something about my Jerry."
"Yes. Well, Mrs. Richmond, it isn't good."
She began to tear up, and Dr. Slater immediately grabbed her hand and stroked it gently. He was very comforting. She wished everyone at this hospital was as genuine as him.
"What happened to Jerry, Dr. Slater?" she asked.
"It really isn't something that we should talk about out here, Mrs. Richmond. Why don't you take a walk with me and we can talk?"
"Okay," she said without thinking about it.
He grabbed her by the hand and very carefully helped her out her chair. He kept a hold of her arm as he led her down the hallway.
"Such a good man," she said.
As the two wandered away, the man in the chair lowered his newspaper and pulled a Zippo lighter from the pocket of his tattered trench coat.
"You're getting sloppy, Roscoe," Blake said.
XI
Gillian Slater sat alone in the morgue running her new, thin fingers through her new, long, blonde hair. She was ready to change her name. Find a new body, choose a new name. It only made sense. A new body came with a new outlook, a change in attitude, a different station in life. This new body, this young, beautiful body changed everything.
She became Gillian Slater forty years a
go. Before that she was a child, Audrey Lee Slater. She was Roscoe's little girl for thirty years. The daughter of Roscoe and Becky Slater. For three decades, they ran together across the backwoods of Louisiana, until an upstart preacher and his flock drove them out of Acadia Perish. Soon they wound up in Upstate New York. Becky never made it. The mirrors got her. She left Audrey and found Gillian, and became Roscoe's wife. She'd been Roscoe's wife and Bo's mother for forty years, and now things were different. Everything was going to be different. Of course, maybe now they'd finally be rid of the crazy, old man that had been following them the past thirty years.
Still, the change was scary. She didn't get a good look at the lady doctor before she leapt. But Gillian knew she was young and beautiful. She needed a new name. A beautiful name.
"Kyra," she said.
Kyra Lee Slater. It had a nice little ring to it. It was pretty. Surely as pretty as she was now. She was pretty now, wasn't she? Back when she was Gillian, it was easy to avoid the mirrors. Physically, she knew she was nothing special. She wasn't ugly, just so boring and average that she knew she wasn't missing anything by not looking. But now she wanted to know what she was missing.
Kyra looked down at her new soft hands and arms. She rubbed her hands on her young, thin legs. She just wanted to take a small peak. It wasn't like they were going to find her right away. Would it hurt all that much? Just a tiny little peak. Just to see what Kyra really looked like. She turned to her left and saw a small mirror at the end of the room. Why they even had a mirror in the morgue she wasn't sure. It didn't matter. She just needed to take a quick peak. Kyra very quietly walked across the room, making sure that neither Roscoe nor Bo were around to see what she was doing.
When Kyra reached the other side of the room, she paused. She needed a minute to prepare herself to make the leap. Not the leap. She did that yesterday afternoon. No, this time it was just going to be a little hop in front to take a quick look. She took a deep breath and slid to the side and found herself in front of the mirror. She was gorgeous. Long, curly, blonde hair. Big, shiny, blue eyes. Long luxurious legs. Tight, supple figure. She knew she was beautiful, but had no idea she was like this.
Kyra smiled and said, "I'm too good for them."
And she was. There was no way anyone would believe this creature would be with someone that looked like Roscoe. That was a sick joke. Then it occurred to her that maybe she didn't need them after all. Maybe she could do this job all by herself--
ERRRRRREEEEE!!!
Kyra covered her mouth. She recognized that sound. She'd been looking for too long. The reflection started to bend and ripple like the wind pushing against a pond. Then the walls around her started to tremble. Kyra couldn't move her body. They were coming for her. They were going to take her family. She turned away from the mirror and the room warped and melted beneath her feet. They were coming.
CRRRRAAAKKKK!
The back of Bo's hand smashed the mirror, shattering the glass on impact. Kyra looked down to the floor and saw her feet covered in tiny glass shards.
Bo caught her. Better him than them.
"What the hell're you thinking?" He asked.
"I just-- I just....," She was speechless.
"You know the rules, Gillian."
"Kyra," she corrected him.
"Kyra?"
"Kyra," she nodded.
Bo looked her up and down and started plotting.
"Well, I guess I can't blame you. Seeing as how you look now, Kyra."
He ran his index finger alongside her cheek. She didn't like the way he was looking at her. It made her very uncomfortable.
"Stop looking at me like that, Bo."
”Why? Can't I appreciate the new view too?"
"You ain't supposed to look at me like that," she said.
"Why not? Only Roscoe gets to play with new goods?"
The very thought of that made her sick.
"Shhh! He'll hear you!"
"So what, what's he gonna do?"
"You know exactly what he'll do!"
"Roscoe's old news. Look at him. He's old and scared," Bo said with a smile. "If Roscoe's so big and bad then why are we hiding down here, runnin' from some old man?"
He had a point. Maybe Roscoe was losing his edge a little. Still, she didn't like the idea of teaming up with Bo to do anything, let alone trying to pull one over on Roscoe. They were a family. She didn't even realize that he was holding her arm until she looked down and saw him slowly rubbing his thumb on the side of her arm.
"You should probably let me go," she finally said.
"Whatever," he said rolling his eyes. "I'm outta here."
Bo let her go and headed for the door.
"Where are you going?" She asked.
"I'm a monster, Kyra," he said. "I'm gonna go do what monsters do."
XII
A blue 2013 Chevy Cobalt pulled up to the front entrance of Hawk Hallow Middle School. A new yellow banner read, "HARVEST DANCE TONIGHT!" Cody Burk and Nick Johnson exited the doors. Neither seemed very comfortable wearing a tie and slacks.
"You boys have a good time!" Ashley Johnson yelled out.
"Thanks, Mom," Nick said under his breath.
Cody immediately regretted this decision. He didn't go the last two years, but sixth and seventh graders rarely attended. The Harvest Dance was always more of an eighth grade event. The only reason he decided to go in the first place was because he couldn't find a way to say no to the girl from U.S. History. This might be the second mistake he made with her.
"What are you waiting for?" Nick asked.
"I don't wanna do this," Cody said.
"I swear to God. You're actually scared of girls."
Maybe Nick was right. Cody hadn't had a girlfriend yet. He knew that there were a few girls around school who were interested in him, but he didn't care. Maybe there was something wrong with him. Then again, Connor was a whole year older and he never had a girlfriend either. But considering how greasy his hair looked and how rarely he showered, he probably didn't even care.
The two walked under the yellow crate paper banner that served as a gate into another world. A world filled with loud, thumping bass, moving, purple lights and familiar faces wearing clothes that made them look like different people.
"I don't wanna be here," Cody said.
"Jesus. Just find a girl to dance with and have a little fun for a change."
"Funny you should mention that--,"
A voice came from behind them again. Cody turned and saw the girl sitting at the table. He knew her name was Abi. He caught it in class earlier that day. It looked like her and the kid who was helping her hang that banner when Tyler and them showed up were taking tickets.
"Since I was so busy planning everything, and selling the tickets, and finding the DJ, and decorating the gym, and that stuff, nobody asked me to the dance. Soooo, I'm totally free...if you wanted to dance," Abi said with a brace-faced smile.
Cody wanted to say no, but he couldn't. He didn't want to dance with her, or anyone else, but he didn't want to disappoint her. For some reason that was important to him.
"Wuh...I don...um, o-okay."
Cody looked over to the back corner of the gym and saw a heavyset guy with headphones behind a set of turntables. He was bobbing his head and having way more fun than a guy his age probably should around a bunch of middle schoolers. He punched a few keys on his laptop, and the loud thumping changed into a slow moving melody that he'd heard before on his Mom's car radio. Abi grabbed his hands and placed them on her hips and took hold of his shoulders. She started swaying back and forth, and Cody just followed along, not exactly sure of what he was supposed to do. Why was this so hard?
Outside of the school, a young man in a tattered, hemp poncho stood in front of the building and smiled. He was looking for trouble, and maybe this was the place to find it.
"Junior high. Like a goddamn buffet table," he said.
Bo Slater burst through the front doors, trying to look a
s intimidating as possible. Unfortunately, there was no one in the halls to scare. A disappointing start. Bo turned his head toward the music and purple light pouring out of the gym. With his hands in his pockets, he started whistling along as he headed toward the sound. He threw the doors open and saw over a hundred oblivious thirteen and fourteen-year-olds trapped in a confined room with him. It was almost too easy.
"Excuse me, um... d-do you have a ticket?"
Bo turned around and found a chubby, pale-skinned boy at the table.
"Huh?" Bo said.
"You, you need a ticket," the glass-clad boy said.
Bo looked the chunky little nerd up and down and sneered. The kid was terrified of him and he was going to have fun with it. He leaned in and opened his eyes as large as he could, letting just the slightest amount of blue light spill out. He wasn't going to kill this kid, where would the fun in that be? Still, watching him twitch and recoil in fear gave him a rush that he rarely felt following Roscoe's "always trap, never hunt" rule. That's when he saw a small sign behind the kid's head. He caught the top line and found it far more interesting than whatever he was doing with the kid. He quickly pulled the poster off the wall. It read,
THE HAUNTED HALLOW!
12TH ANNUAL HALLOWEEN HAUNTED HOUSE!
SCARY! FUN!
October 30-31!
"Well now, that could be fun," he said.
"And then we have student body elections in like three weeks. I'm running for vice-president again. I thought about running for president this year, but I just don't think I'm outgoing enough to be a president." Abi said.
They had been dancing for what felt like an hour. The dancing wasn't so bad, but the fact that she didn't stop talking was making it just go on and on. She was so annoying. Why did he even help her out in the first place?
"Do you know what I mean?" Abi asked.
"Uh huh," Cody said.
Cody looked over and saw Nick dancing with Carly Cortez. He was staring over at him and Abi. He almost looked mad. Maybe Carly was as annoying as Abi. He doubted it.