by J. D. Oliva
"What about you?" Abi asked.
"What about me?" Cody said.
"Ever think about running for class president?" She asked.
"Class president? Why would I do that?"
"You're smart, popular, athletic, and your family runs the Haunted Hallow. With all the friends you have, we-- I mean, you'd win easily. Then we could work, you know...together," she said.
The thought of putting himself out there like that and being in charge of anything was terrifying. Besides, why would anyone vote for him? This was a terrible idea, but it wasn't like he could tell her that.
"The only reason people talk to me is cause I'm good at sports."
Cody surprised himself. That was far more honesty than he was expecting.
"That's not true," she fired back.
The look on her face wasn't what he expected from a girl that clearly liked him. Normally, when a girl was trying to talk to him they just agreed with whatever he said. This girl just told him he was wrong, and she said it to him like he was stupid for even thinking it. What's with this girl anyway?
Cody's phone started vibrating.
"Hang on."
Cody pulled out his iPhone and saw the text:
"From Connor. Come outside now!!!!! Mom in trouble!!!!!"
"I gotta go!"
XIII
Roscoe had Alice Richmond's body slung over his shoulders as he burst open the doors to the morgue.
"Bo!" He said. "Bo Slater get your goddamn ass out here!"
Alice Richmond's carcass dropped to the floor as soon as Roscoe snapped her neck. It was easy. She would have followed Roscoe anywhere he asked, so long as he kept talking about her husband. Not that Roscoe had any clue who he was. It was just part of Roscoe’s near foolproof plan. This morgue idea was something unique. For all the years Roscoe had been playing the game, he'd never set up in a hospital. They'd only been in Hawk Hallow a few days, and Roscoe made sure the Family took their time before setting this trap. They made a much bigger scene entering town than he originally planned. Roscoe figured it was better to ease their way into things this time around. Especially with the Old Man probably looking for them already.
Kyra ran out from the back. Much to Roscoe's surprise, she was out of the nurse's scrubs. Instead, she was dressed in short shorts and a crop top, neither were very conducive to Minnesota in the fall. But looking at her, Roscoe understood exactly what she was thinking.
"Gillian?" He asked.
She shook her head and answered, "Kyra."
Roscoe nodded.
"Kyra, where is the boy?" He asked.
"He um... um he--" Kyra stuttered.
"Keeruh," he said, making sure to annunciate her new name.
"Where is he?"
Kyra twiddled her fingers trying to find the right thing to say. Roscoe dropped the old lady's body to the floor. He took three steps toward her, pushing them nose to nose. He towered over Kyra far more than he ever had Gillian. This change was good for him too.
"One more time. Where. Is. Bo?"
"He left."
Roscoe grabbed her by throat and lifted her up off the ground. His fingernails dug into her neck. Blood trickled onto his fingers, while the slightest amount of blue light started to seep out from her wounds.
"And how did you let that happen? Aren't you supposed to be in charge when I'm gone?" He whispered.
Kyra tried to speak but her windpipe was nearly shut. With tears streaming down her face, she finally said,
"I tried to...stop him.... but I couldn't."
"Couldn't or wouldn't? Maybe this new body of yours is making you think all kinds of craziness?"
Roscoe whipped Kyra to the floor where she landed next to Alice Richmond's body. She got the message.
“Maybe you ain't no damn good to this family after all. Maybe I should-- "
BWAAAAAAA!!!!!!
An alarm went off and a light in the ceiling started pulsating. Both Roscoe and Kyra started looking around trying to figure out what was happening.
Roscoe threw the morgue doors open and flames immediately pushed through, bathing the room in orange and red. The hospital was on fire.
"Blake!"
XIV
Cody ran out of the gym as fast as he could. He didn't notice, but Abi and Nick were right behind him.
"Connor! Connor!" He called out.
Nothing. He was walking circles around the parking lot trying to find his brother.
"Connor, where's Mom? What's going on?"
Still nothing. Then he stopped moving and started listening. There were whispers. He couldn't make out what they were saying, but he wasn't alone.
"Connor?" He said with a hushed tone.
A fist came flying out from behind a bush and connected with Cody's nose. A second dropped him to the ground. He rolled to the side and saw five figures dressed in black run out from the bushes. Each of them sending kicks to Cody's chest and back. He started coughing and spitting up blood. It wasn't the kicks that hurt nearly as much as listening to them laugh the entire time. Cody rolled to his back and saw one of them pull off their hood. Tyler Tomczak looked into Cody's eyes.
"I warned you," he said before laying one more kick into Cody's stomach.
"That's enough, man! He's had enough."
Cody didn't need that one to pull his hood off to know who said that. He'd heard Connor's voice his whole life. Tyler leaned over and whispered, "This is what happens to little bitches tryin' to play hero."
Cody couldn't look Tyler in the eyes. It hurt too much. He rolled back over and looked toward the door. The gym had emptied. His entire class was watching. All of them too scared to move. They just sat there and watched. He looked to Nick. He knew Nick wanted to help but couldn't. What was he gonna do against all of them? Then he saw Abi, she had tears in her eyes. Finally, Coach Pawley ran out from behind them.
"Let's go! Let's go!"
Again, he recognized Connor's voice. They were already running away. He also knew that they were going to get away with it. All of them, even his own brother.
XV
Bo Slater came to the junior high school expecting to raise a little hell and maybe find a little snack. What he didn't expect was to watch five teenagers mercilessly beat another one. As soon as the gym emptied, Bo followed the commotion out of sheer curiosity. He didn't plan to be this entertained.
SSSSSSKKKKKRRRRRREEEEEE!!!!!
The shriek was so loud and thunderous that it slightly buckled his knees. But the pitch was so high that none of the kids could hear it. That's what Roscoe liked. Only they could hear their call. Bo had to go back home, most likely in big trouble with Roscoe. Bo talked a good game, but the thought of actually standing up to Roscoe was terrifying. Bo took off in a sprint.
Watching all of the kids scatter, Bo figured his fun was over. He started walking toward Main Street, back to the hospital. That's when he saw the black pillow of smoke pushing up from the ground and into the air. This wasn't good.
The hospital was burning, though the Hawk Hallow Fire Department seemed to have most of it already under control. There were already hundreds of people lined up outside the building, watching firefighters keep the flames at bay. Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be many, if any, fatalities. Roscoe and Kyra were off to the side, trying to blend in with the humans. Bo hated spending time with these human things. They were disgusting. But he was a little happy the hospital was on fire. It meant that any punishment from Roscoe was going to be delayed. If only temporarily.
"I heard Gill--Kyra's call. What happened?" He asked, trying to catch his breath.
"Old Man found us again," she answered.
"Coward never sticks around long enough to finish the job," Roscoe said. "Time to move on."
"Maybe not," Bo said. "I got an idea."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of yellow paper. Bo opened up the sheet and handed it to Roscoe. It was the cheaply made advertisement for the Haunted Hallow. Bo could se
e Roscoe putting together the same scenario he had earlier. Roscoe looked over to him and smiled. All would be forgiven. For now.
"Good work, son. Very good work," Roscoe said.
XVI
Cody couldn't sleep. His ribs hurt and no matter how many times he brushed his teeth he still couldn't get rid of that metallic blood taste. That wasn't what was keeping him up though. It was the look on everyone's face. Nobody laughed at him. They were terrified. No one, not even Nick, tried to help. He didn't blame them either. He tried to be a hero a couple days ago and look what happened to him.
He couldn't hide the beating from his mother. The nurse in her took over and kept the crying mother inside. She repeatedly asked him, "who did this?" And he was honest.
"A bunch of guys dressed in black. They had masks."
He thought about ratting them all out, especially Connor. Their mother would punish him severely. She'd threatened to send Connor to St. John's Military Academy a couple months ago. Maybe she'd follow through this time? Probably not. Besides, that wouldn't make Cody feel better. It certainly wouldn't do anything to Tyler Tomczak. No one was sure that he even had parents, let alone ones that would punish him. This was bigger than any punishment a parent could dish out. He wanted more. He wanted them to feel pain. He wanted them to suffer.
As he tossed and turned, trying to find a comfortable spot in bed, his mind started to drift dark. He wished Tyler Tomczak was dead. Who would miss him? It was only a matter of time before he wound up in prison or killed in something stupid. Why couldn't justice just hurry up and give Tyler and them what they deserved? For what they did to him, they all deserved it, especially Connor.
Now that Cody thought about it, Connor was worse and deserved a bigger punishment than Tyler. Tyler was a piece of garbage and always had been. Everyone knew what kind of person he was. Maybe that's why no one was surprised. But Connor had no reason to do what he did. He knew Connor was raised better. That's what hurt the most. He wished their father were still alive to see what kind of person his oldest son had become, and then he thought about what that meant. For the first time, he was okay with his father being gone. It would have killed him to see Connor turn his back on his brother to impress a bunch of idiots.
No, they needed to be punished. They needed to learn a lesson. To see that just cause you're bigger and stronger doesn't give you the right to beat and humiliate people. They had to feel his pain. But what could he do?
XVII
Abi Ahmad's day started an hour before everyone else at Hawk Hallow Middle School. She was in Advanced Placement Geometry, a class that wasn't offered at the Middle School. Instead, Abi took the bus from her house on Claremont Avenue to Carter-Hallow High School in neighboring Cartersville, MN. After class, she took another bus to Hawk Hallow Middle School to begin the second part of her day back with kids her age. Last year, as a seventh-grader, the halls at Hawk Hallow were very intimidating. But after spending the past two months going back and forth between Carter-Hallow and Hawk Hallow, those halls were nothing. It made life a bit easier.
Abi finished out the rest of her day by acing a science test, turning in what she was certain was an A-paper in English, and staying relatively invisible in gym class. The only part of the day that stuck out was U.S. History. The class was normal, but Cody Burk wasn't there. After what happened last night, she understood. Honestly, she felt guilty about the whole thing. Tyler Tomczak had been tormenting her since the sixth grade. She hated it, but after all that time she learned to deal with it. Seeing him take a beating for basically standing up for her was awful. Cody didn't deserve that. She wanted to apologize, but he wasn't there. She’d have to try again on Monday.
The bus ride home was uneventful. She opened the door of her parent's house on Claremont Avenue-- the nicest neighborhood in Hawk Hallow-- dropped off her book bag, and hugged her mother. It was Friday afternoon, but since she'd missed new comic book Wednesday with all the Harvest Dance craziness, she decided to ride the seven blocks to Town Square and visit Moondog's Comics to pick up her weekly pull. She was usually the only girl in the store, not that she cared.
Abi hopped on her bike, made the ride down Claremont Avenue, and turned right on Moore. She wasn't peddling very fast at first, but then something inside of her felt strange. She didn't know why, but it was like she was being followed. Her stomach quivered.
"There she is!" Said a voice from behind.
After that she was sure, they were behind her. Abi peddled faster trying to push past them.
"Ready, set.... ALLAHLALALALALALALALALALA!!!!!!"
Abi turned her and found Tyler Tomczak and his friends on their bikes closing in. Two of the riders drove up on her left and two more on her right, sandwiching her between. Both of them started to maneuver their bikes to the left, pushing Abi toward the curb.
"Look out! Suicide bomber!" Tyler Tomczak screamed out.
The kid on the left, Mike Shonan, slammed on his brakes and the rider on the right, Kevin Giantolli, made a sharp turn into Abi's front tire. The wheels collided, and Abi lost control of her bike, slamming into the curb. She flipped over the handlebars and landed hard on the pavement.
"Aww. Look at the little dot-head cry," Tyler Tomczak said aiming his phone.
They were filming her with their phones, making their own little found footage horror movie. Abi turned her head away from them. She wasn't crying but didn't want them to try any harder. She just cowered on the ground, wishing they would just disappear.
"Come on, Abs, give us a smile," Tyler said again.
Tyler got off his bike and kneeled down in front of her. He was still recording. He chuckled as he kept pointing his phone at her.
"Look at me, you terrorist bitch."
She turned and looked right him. A single tear run down her defiant face.
"There we go. Look what you made me do yesterday. That was all your fault. Now you both can cry about your little ouchies."
"I fucking hate you," she said.
"Good. You're supposed to hate the enemy."
Tyler got back on his bike and screamed out, "U.S.A!"
"U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!" The freshmen chanted as they rode away.
Abi looked down and saw road rash on her hands and fresh rips in her jeans. She stumbled up to her feet and limped back toward her bike. The front wheel was bent like a taco shell. She fell back down and stayed on the ground for a while. Abi promised herself she'd never show her emotions in front of people like that, and she held back most of her tears. When she was sure they were all gone, Abi opened up and cried. Ever since they'd moved to Hawk Hallow, Abi tried so hard just to be nice and kind to everyone. She never said anything mean, she never made anyone feel bad about anything, and they still went out of their way to hurt her.
"Bullies," a voice from behind her said.
Abi turned back around and saw Cody leaning against a tree with his arms folded across his chest. His left eye was bruised; his lip was still fat, but he had a defiant look on his face that didn't seem to care about anything else.
"My brother and his friends. Just a bunch of bullies."
Cody walked over and grabbed hold of Abi's arm and pulled her up to her feet. Then he grabbed the bike and picked up the back tire.
"You take the front, I'll take the back," he said.
"Wouldn't it be nice if somebody embarrassed them for once?" Cody asked.
"I guess," Abi said.
"Wouldn't you like to be there when someone finally humiliated them?" Cody asked again.
"Yeah, I guess I would."
"Wouldn't you love to be the one who did it?" Cody asked.
Abi looked Cody in the eyes, trying to figure out where he was going. She saw something behind that swollen black eye. Whatever it was scared her. She also wanted to be a part of it.
XVIII
"It's a slaughterhouse!" Leah said with excitement.
Three hours earlier, she received a phone call from a man who'd just moved to Hawk Hall
ow. At first, she was confused as to why this person was calling. Then he mentioned buying the Haunted Hallow. The next six minutes were a whirlwind of calling in her absence to the head nurse at Hawk Hallow Area and making arrangements with the family accountant and lawyers in hopes of finally unloading this millstone. She hadn't seen much of the boys since the accident last week. She knew that her family needed her, but this stupid haunted house kept getting in the way. It was almost to the point where she would have given the potential buyer the Haunted Hallow for nothing if he was serious. Then she remembered how much her family had sunk into this pit over the last twelve years. She needed to get something for the place. Letting the buyer know that was a bad idea. But the quicker she was out of this business, the faster she could fix her family.
She met the buyer and his family on the property at 10 am and unlocked the doors. The goal was to wow them with what little the workers had finished.
"It used to be my uncle-in-law's pig farm. After he passed away, my husband sold off most of the land. Then out of the blue, he turned the old slaughterhouse into the Haunted Hallow. Mike ran it for twelve years. He was like a little kid running around trying to scare everybody," she added.
"I like the man already! Sounds like we'd been peas in a pod," the potential buyer said. "Ya see, I ran a few of these Haunted Houses back home in Alabama. But now that we've relocated, I figured this here'd be the perfect way to ingratiate ourselves to the community."
"I like the way you think, Mister...," she paused. "I'm sorry, I forget your name."
"That's a-okay, Miss Burk. It's Slater, but y'all can call me Roscoe," he said with a slimy smile. "This here's Kyra and Bo."
She hated to admit it, but this Mr. Slater and his children were every bit the stereotype she'd ever heard or seen about Southerners. Roscoe had greasy hair that could have been a mullet if it wasn't thinning up top. He had a huge, gold belt buckle. His children weren't dressed much better. The girl, Kyra, wore a tight, white tank top and daisy duke shorts. She should have been freezing in the cool sixty degree breeze. But if she was, she wasn't showing it. The boy, Bo, wore a filthy, green, poncho. His face had one of those half-assed teenage beards, all patchy and scraggly. When he smiled his buck-teeth stuck out and almost pointed right at her. They were creepy, but if they were serious about buying the Hallow, she was willing to do whatever it took to seal this deal.