Psycho Candy

by Steven Hunter

  "Jesus!" she exclaimed, craning slightly to see who the hand belonged to and was faced with the sight of Sarah McCaulsland, a smile crossing her face as she struggled to contain laughter. Sarah was responsible for helping Candy come out of her shell. She had taken a meek girl and over a drunken drink walked her through the reasons for being herself.

  That first laugh; an open look of trust, these were the first things Candy had noticed about this tall blonde woman whose beauty was a constant remark on the lips of those she passed.

  She glanced down at the books on the floor then at Candy, then both women began simultaneously to pick up the scattered texts.

  "I wish you wouldn't sneak up on me like that,” Candy complained mildly.

  She was in fact glad to see her friend.

  Not only had she been dreaming strangely of late, she had felt a pull of fear whenever she thought about Sarah; a feeling of excited terror which would last mere seconds before vanishing again into whatever emotive state she had been zoning through previously. Despite there being no founded reason whatsoever for these momentary jolts of unpleasantness, Candy still found it difficult to dismiss the panic she would feel.

  "Don't you know I have ninja powers? Yeah, I'm deadly babe. I really can't help it that I walk like Jet Lee," Sarah said in mock joking tones.

  “So the fact of the day is don't mess with you, yeah?" replied Candy.

  "Yeah, I'll kill every motherfucker in the joint and then some. Say, are you okay? You seem kinda stressed if you don't mind me saying."

  "No. Nothing. Just a weird. . . something. Nothing to worry about. Anyway, Miss Way of the dragon, I've got a class to attend. You still on for later?" Candy asked, referring to their planned evening out at Blast.

  "That's Bruce Lee. You need to beef up on your Kung Fu fighters."

  “I'll do that right after I qualify. So are you still on for later?”

  “Sure thing,” Sarah nodded as she walked backwards past other students in the hallway who swerved to avoid her.

  Everything is a sure thing with you, she thought as her friend waved a silent goodbye and left Candy to her class. This time she opened the door without any further surprise, yet was given a stony stare by the class lecturer, a small scrawny man in his late fifties. The man had a habit of stopping mid-sentence and talking to himself under his breath, more often than not with a giggle to back up these unintelligible murmurings. He was doing this now, muttering while staring straight ahead at Candy as she moved closer to the empty seat a couple of rows to her left. The man kept staring and muttering and Candy watched the as words - “would be insulin we'd suppose” - tumble from his mouth.

  All other sound in the room slowed to a near whisper.

  Now the man was screaming, a look of such certainty on his face, haunted eyes pleading with warning - "THEY ARE BEGINNING TO SEE YOU THEY WANT TO RAPE THE ESSENCE AND RAPE THE SPIRIT MEPHINIE IS CONTENT WITH THE CUNT BUT THE REST WANT TO FEAST MAKE YOU PLAY A GAME... would need specific I.V treatment as-" The rest of the words went unheard as books once again slid from her hands as Candy's legs grew weak, causing her to stumble. Her hand found purchase against the shoulder of a young male who seemed uncomfortable with the attention drawn towards him. Candy barely registered the commotion and stumbled down into the nearest chair. More people looked on now, the heavy murmuring of their voices sped up to normal speed. The lecturer had stopped his private reverie and he too was gazing at the skinny brunette who now practically fell into her seat.

  "Are you okay? I mean are you alright?" the lecturer asked.

  Candy met the man's eyes with questioning disbelief.

  “What did you say?" a bare whisper.

  "I said are you alright? Just now, you-"

  "No, before then! What did you say?" the drastic change in volume had the lecturer worried.

  "I was, eh, I was just going over the next sequence of the lecture. It's insulin. I was just-"

  "No, you said something! I-" Candy shook her head.

  It wasn't possible. She was a medical student, aware of the possibilities of hallucinations, however they generally happened to those who had the illness to fit. People with mental health problems, schizophrenics and the like; yeah sure. But her? The idea was ludicrous. Unless; hadn't Sarah said she seemed stressed? She had been under a lot of pressure. The bills were piling up and the loans were stacking up right beside them, not to mention an impossible amount of course work. Candy looked up again towards the worried gaze of the lecturer. False composure worked itself into a mask of control, concealing Candy's anxiety.

  They are beginning to see you, make you play a game. The rest of the words repeated themselves in her thoughts, they want to rape the essence and rape the spirit. And then there was a name; something which began with M. How could she deny what she had heard if she could remember it? Yet, the lecturer, he had no idea of what she had heard. She found she was breathing deeply, and each new breath brought with it an element of calm, enough for logic to surface. There had to be a logical explanation for this, however she was not going to find it here.

  She looked the lecturer in the face, and it took effort to keep her voice steady. “It was just a dizzy spell. I think I'm going to maybe sit this one out. Can I pick up the notes later?"

  Candy saw relief in the lecturer’s eyes. He obviously was not the type to deal well with hysterical woman.

  "Of course,” the lecture replied, “I'll make you a copy of what you've missed, Miss... Ah?"

  "Candy."

  She had spent the rest of the day between a kind of numb calm and a racing need to find a reason for the day's unusual events. She was studying to be a doctor, and although she still had a long way to go, she also had a good lot of resources at her disposal. After two hours of searching and reading through a variety of material in the university library she had come to the conclusion that she was suffering some kind of temporary stress disorder, nothing to worry about per say, but something to keep an eye on none the less. She had briefly caught up with Sarah and taken a Valium and then had booked an appointment with the college shrink.

  That done, she had showered and begun the process of getting ready for her night out at the club. She had considered giving it a miss, however as Sarah had pointed out, she had been working extremely hard of late and if anyone needed a night out, it was her.

  “You know what all work and no play make Jack, Candy?”

  Candy sighed. The shining was one of both girls’ favourite books, and Sarah used this argument more often than not when she wanted Candy to lighten up.

  “Yes. I know. All work and no play make jack a serial killer.”

  “Not just a serial killer, Candy, but a dull serial killer.”

  “Sarah, do you think it says something about us, that we use Stephen King as a guide to good living?”

  “Shit, I don't know. Would you prefer to read the fucking bible?”

  “To be honest, at the moment, anything would be a pleasant change from all the medical shit I have to wade through daily.”

  “It'll be worth it. Just think; a few more years and no more study, no more sharing rooms with fuck-wit weirdoes. Comparatively, it'll be freedom.”

  The beginnings of a heavy shower began and Sarah and Candy huddled closer together.

  “Lying weather report bastards! This is all we need!” said Sarah, tossing the last of her cigarette into the already filling gutters where it was quickly extinguished.

  Liquid needles weaved through erratic bursts of wind, stinging their faces, creating a redness of its own to mingle with the blusher they had applied before leaving the dorms.

  “Shit. My fucking make-up is going to start running!”

  “It's okay. I brought supplies just in case. Anyway, we'll be inside soon enough, so long as the queue isn't too long.”

  They entered the club's car park, and walked between empty rows towards the club's entrance.

  “Looks like the queue isn't going to be a problem,” said Sarah wi
th a nod of her head towards the entrance where two heavy set bouncers stood alone, sheltering in the doorway from natures onslaught, their collars turned up for extra warmth.

  “Evening guys. Looks like we turned up at the right time, or we might have had the misfortune of an extra shower this evening; especially seeing as how I prefer mine warm. And naked.”

  The bouncers smiled as Candy turned her gaze upwards. This was typical of her friend.

  The smaller of the two bouncers extended his hand outwards. “On you go ladies, have a good night. Tonight you enter for free,” the man said a Mexican infliction to his tone, which contradicted his Caucasian appearance. Sarah smiled flirtatiously at the man and stepped inside and Candy followed her friend into the heavy mixture of beats and lights. Looking around they could both see the emptiness of the main room, a couple of people milling around the bar which held an array of drinks, and, Candy counted, six bartenders.

  Tonight BLAST was giving birth to a new drum and base night to fit in line with its other music fashions.

  "By the looks of things they've overestimated the launch night. They have the staff, but are kinda lacking the clientele don't you think?" Candy giggled.

  "Yeah. Give it time though. The D.J isn't on for another thirty minutes or so. It'll fill up. You want to get a drink?"

  Candy nodded. She did.

  They made their way across the dance floor to the bar and Sarah ordered two Jack Daniels with lemonade and a couple of bottles of water. Then with a different drink in each hand, Candy and Sarah set out across the dance floor.

  "Come on. Let's head up to the chill out zone. I feel the need for some chemical love."

  Candy smiled. She too wanted the ecstasy. It had been a long day and she wanted those feelings of happiness and contented well being; the loving rushes and the joy that the little tablets brought to her.

  She followed her friend through the emptiness of the dance floor, feeling a tickled sense of nausea as her mind brushed against the disembodied memories of evenings past, to the doorway that would take them to their desired location.

  Her hands full of potential intoxication, Sarah pulled open the door with her right pinkie, spilling her cocktail mixer slightly in the process. Upstairs, a warm ambient beat drifted downwards and Sarah indicated the noise with her head and Candy nodded a silent understanding – they had located their destination.

  The entrance was a curved arch through which lay a host of comfortable seats and massive cushions laid strategically together to create a soft environment for the tired clubber to rest or to merely sit and 'chill out'.

  "Shall we hit the cushions? They look comfy," said Sarah.

  "Yeah. I need all the comfort I can get," replied Candy.

  Sarah handed her a pill. It was round, a few millimetres thick and white with a picture of a jewel with an 'R' in the middle of it. Candy stared at it for a moment. “What the hell are these? I thought you said you had dollars, like last time?”

  Sarah shrugged. “I do. I mean I did; I left them behind and brought these instead, got them at the last minute. They're called rubies. New on the market. Supposed to be the purest pill going about at the moment.”

  “Better than the dollars?”

  “Better than any of them.”

  “If you’re sure...”

  Sarah shook her head at Candy's scepticism. “I have reliable sources,” Candy's eyebrows raised a millimetre, “okay, so I brought a few of the dollars just in case. I just thought, what with you being a scientist and all, you'd have no problems being a guinea-fowl for happiness.”

  “Don't you mean guinea pig?”

  “Whatever. Are you going to drop or what?”

  “Hell, if you're bringing science into it...”

  There was a synchronised swallowing of pills, washed down with water from the sweat greased moulded plastic they held.

  "Here's to comfort," said Sarah, raising her glass.

  Candy held her own aloft. "Comfort!" the glasses clinked together.

  The night was under way.

  Candy could not find Sarah. The night was almost over. It had been fun, she could not deny that but she was still high and wanted very badly to see her friend. She made her way to the end of the corridor where the entrance to the club lay. Up ahead she saw groups of loved up clubbers thronging for the exit and in their midst she thought she saw Sarah, then the vision of her friend was lost again in the swallowing crowd. She went after her when a hand grabbed out at her from nowhere, startling her.

  Candy turned around and was face to face with a young woman, maybe her own age, maybe slightly younger. Her hair was a shiny blonde, cut into a simple bob, and there was a perfect symmetry to her face which encompassed forehead, nose, cheekbones, and a dainty jaw line; all of which was wrapped up in smile warm enough to rival Sarah's. She was one of the most beautiful women Candy had ever seen. Yet the most striking thing about her was her eyes. They were a shade of green that Candy could not quite place, as if they did not belong to the world in which they now took residence. Yet there was no denying they fit the face itself perfectly.

  "It's Candy, right?" the green-eyed girl asked.

  Candy paused for a moment. Had she met this girl before?

  She was about to ask when the girl thrust a small capsule into her hand. "This will make you see the truth," said the green-eyed stranger, folding Candy's fingers around the tab.

  "The truth about wha-?" Candy started to ask when again she felt a touch, this time on her other arm.

  A turn of the head revealed Sarah, wide eyed and grinning. Glad to have found her friend, Candy grabbed Sarah by the arm, lest she disappear again and swivelled her head back to its original direction, hoping to probe the stranger for an answer to the obscure statement that had been delivered along with the gelatine capsule she now possessed. She was confronted instead by empty space which was soon filled with another danced out sweaty stranger. Candy gazed at the capsule. She had an idea what it was, had to be, but she needed it confirmed.

  She held it up to Sarah for inspection.

  "I think someone just gave me a trip."

  "Windowpane acid. Ha. Fucking hippies. Come on. Let's go."

  CHAPTER THREE

  A CHANGE OF HEART OT THE COVENANT OF THE DAMNED

  It had been a long day at the university and Candy collapsed contentedly onto the hard single mattress that sat in the corner of her room. The toughness of the bed had been difficult to get used to at first, and for the first week she had toyed with slitting open the rough material, firstly to prove her theory that the interior really was made up of bricks and secondly, well, to get a new mattress. However she had gradually gotten used to its firmness. It was one of many changes she had had to adapt to, a task she had firstly found daunting. However she soon began to enjoy the changes around her. This was her first time away from home, the large stone walled house she had shared with her parents.

  Not that that in itself had been a bad thing. She came from a loving family, yet she had found with each new change a challenge, and with each new challenge a change within herself, and she now relished the experience, and the liberation it had brought her, the space to grow and 'find herself'.

  The halls were unnaturally quiet for a Friday night. Usually the corridors would be lined with students, comparing notes on the parties the night held in store, yet she had met only two people on her way to her room, both women with faces that were only partially familiar. Her room-mate Jenny was nowhere in sight. For now she was alone. With a quickening of breath she cautiously withdrew the tinder box from beneath her mattress. The object was from the sixties. That much she knew from the date which had been engraved on the inside of the containers lid. 1967. It was a small affair, decorated in a swirling of rainbow colours. She had come across it in a junk shop a few months previously and its sole purpose since had been to hold whatever chemical delight the weekend had in store. As she prised open the metal lid and stared at the clear gelatine capsule, the words of
the green eyed girl came back to her. “This will make you see the truth.” For the umpteenth time she pondered over the words and their meaning. I wonder what I’ll see?

  Candy was distracted from her thought by a knock at the door. Feeling the blushing guilt of an eight year old that has nearly been caught with their hand in the cookie jar, she tucked the box back under the mattress and leapt to her feet, reaching the door within three large strides.

  Her hand was an inch from the handle when she froze. A feeling of dread seemed to spark from somewhere between the handle of the door and the flesh of her hand, as if there was something terrible contained within the very action itself. The knocking on the other side repeated itself, and Candy willed her hand to reach out and work the handle, yet still it hovered before it. This is ridiculous, she thought to herself, yet despite her best efforts to rationalize her paralysis, the terror would not abate. Then as quickly as it had come, the feeling departed and she grabbed onto the handle with all the might she could will.

  What the hell had that been?

  All she could now remember from the experience was that the feeling had been somehow real; although she knew that in itself was only a poor approximation of something she could not properly explain. Finally the door swung open, and the still flushed Candy was faced by a half smiling Sarah.

  “If you say you weren't masturbating you know I won't believe you.”

  "Actually it was the oddest thing. For a minute it was like I'd forgotten how to open the door.”

  "Well as long as you washed your hands, I don't give a-”

  “Sarah, I'm serious. This is fucking weird. This isn't the only thing...” Candy lapsed off into silence.