Among You (2 page)

“
Run,” the constable whispered encouragement to himself. “Run now.”

As the man turned, massive fingers wrapped around the barrel of his weapon. He looked upward to see the face of the demon staring down. The voice shook the rafters of the house and the ribs of the living.

“
What have you done?” The voice roared.

The constable froze, his heart beating faster than the flap of hummingbird wings.

Another wail from the beast sent the constable rushing backward.

“
Dead,” the rumbling voice proclaimed. “You’ve killed them.”

The roar that followed threatened to stop the heart of Constable Murphy. He pulled on his rifle, but it was locked in the creature’s powerful grip. The thing ripped the weapon from the constable’s hands and stepped forward to reveal itself.

At that moment, one thing became perfectly, indelibly clear.

His life was forfeit.

two | present day horror

“
Oh my God,” the young, rail-thin blond cried out. “Your face. What’s happening to your face?”

The heart-throbbing young hunk raised an eyebrow and then, for some inexplicable reason, tore off his shirt to reveal abs that would shame any given Hollywood star.

“
Don’t you like what you see?”

Before the young ingénue could release a scream of fright, their lips connected and their hands explored bodies ripe with passion. Arms and legs entwined in a writhing blend of smoke and flesh. The sound of hushed breathing underscored lips, tongues, and moaning.

“
Arianna,” the male spoke softly.

“
Yes, my love?”

“
I want to make you mine…forever.”

“
Julius, I have always been and always shall be yours.”

Another chorus of whispered moans poured from the entangled show of shadows as the lovers lifted from the marble floor to hover in the hall.

“
Take me,” Arianna moaned.

Music swelled as the screen went black.

“
Next week, on Vamp…”

Sally grabbed the remote and silenced the announcer’s voice. “Scott, how can you like this?”

I turned to face Sally on the sofa. “It’s the closest thing to horror we get on network television.”

Sally rolled her eyes and bit her lower lip. “That is one of the saddest statements I’ve heard in a long time. That’s
not
horror.”

“
I know, I know,” I pulled the blanket back up over my shoulders and leaned back.

Sally rested her head on my shoulder and sighed. It was an action as familiar as it was comfortable.

“
Keep talking,” Sally prodded. “You have a deep grave to dig your way out of.”

“
If I may quote from one of our favorite teachers…
Yes, the acting and writing is sophomoric at best. Yes, the show waters down the power and metaphor of the vampire as a whole. Yes, the show panders to a demographic that is either just coming into or desperately clutching onto what remains of their womanhood. Yes, the lead female is a horrible role model. Even with all of that, if you strip away the facade of beauty, tear off the false mask of reality the characters wear, you can see a truth television rarely displays. We’re all both man and monster. Horror is always just a breath away
.”

Sally released another sigh and wrapped her fingers around my arm.

“
What,” I whispered.

“
I don’t know…I just love the way you can so easily see through the veil. Nothing escapes you, Scott. But you’re a nerd. You know that right? And pulling that quote from our drama teacher out of your butt…well played.”

I reached out and grabbed the bowl that, at one point during the evening, overflowed with popcorn. After digging my fingers around, I came up with a kernel of corn that was caught between unpopped and popped. The nugget rested in my palm. “It’s like Schrodinger’s popcorn.”

Sally laughed. “You mean
cat
?”

“
No, I mean popcorn. We look at this kernel and we cannot know if it is popped or not…so we assume it both. Most avoid eating popcorn in this state. Me? It’s my favorite. Underneath the adamantium-like shell, there is a taste that a fully popped kernel cannot match. Condensed. Powerful.”

Sally snatched the kernel from my hand. “Let me try.” She placed the piece between her lips and bit down. Her face compressed as the full force of her jaw came to bear on the kernel.

“
Crap,” Sally laughed, “I’m going to break a tooth.”

Finally, the crack of corn sounded and Sally’s face lit up. “Oh my God. You’re right, Scott; that is amazing.”

“
I know. Why haven’t you tried it before, you’re asking yourself. I’ll tell you why…fear of the unknown. Everything in our known universe is controlled by a fear of what we do not or cannot know. That which we do not know dwells in the blackest pit of our souls.”

Sally’s forehead furrowed. “That’s a quote, right.”

I nodded.

“
I hope so; otherwise you’re reaching scary-level depths of nerddom.
”
Sally laughed. “I’m just screwing with you. It’s from your favorite film?”

Again, I nodded.

“
Don’t tell me…” Sally’s face made it clear she was diving deeper and deeper into the recesses of her memory. “Hellscape,” she finally exclaimed.

“
We have a winner.”

Sally’s bright smile shone through the dark. “What did I win?”

“
My never ending friendship.”

Even through the dark, I could see the briefest flash of disappointment crash into Sally’s eyes. The moment almost always found its way to the surface. Sally and I had been best friends since kindergarten; she was the only constant in my life. Having her at my side always seemed to water down the daily barrage of harassment I received at school. When that awkward moment of ‘where does our friendship go from here’ popped up, I did everything I could to diffuse.

“
Oh my God!” I nearly shouted. “I almost forgot. I read about this new haunted house over in Tyler’s End. It’s supposed to be the scariest haunt in the country. The reviews are saying it’s almost
too
real. People are passing out and pissing themselves from fear. Would you take me there this weekend? Please. I’ll pay.” I batted my eyes and clasped my hands together to further plead my case.

Sally was the only one of our dynamic duo
lucky enough to have her own car. I did everything in my power to never take advantage of that fact.

A warm smile spread across Sally’s lips. She knew haunted houses were my weakness.

“
How can I resist that face? I’ve tried, believe me…I’ve tried. Of course, Spooky. I’ll gladly drive you. Just remember how much they scare me.”

“
I’ll be right beside you the whole way.”

“
Promise?” It was Sally’s turn to bat her eyelashes.

I kissed her on the cheek. “Promise.”

Sally wrapped her arms around my neck and squealed with glee. “Then it’s a date! Friday?”

I nodded. Sally lowered her head back onto my shoulder. The smell of her hair wafted to my nose. It was a smell so familiar to me; a smell that took me back to the first time we kissed. The beginning of something so amazing that nearly ruined our friendship. It took only six months to realize that, at the time, we worked better when romance wasn’t involved. I hated that, because I loved her. But Sally’s friendship was the one thing in the world that anchored my mind and my heart to reality. And as much as I wanted to dive back into her, heart and soul, I feared losing more than I’d gain. It didn’t help that Sally was amazingly hot. She was waif-like short, with a style that meshed punk and prep in a way only Sally could pull off. There was nothing about Sally I would change. Every time I looked at her my heart skipped and my brain hurt.

“
So, tell me more about why I should like Vamp.”

“
Think about it – you have these drop-dead beautiful Hollywood stars playing hideous vampires who disguise themselves as gorgeous super models. It’s a seven layer dip of lies that celebrates itself by mocking everything it stands for. It’s the Jekyll and Hyde of Hollywood made real. At its very base, it reminds us that no one likes what they see in the mirror. We’re all afraid we’ll look and see a monster staring back. It’s the perfect blend of train wreck and irony.”

Sally sat up, grabbed a pillow, and clobbered me.

“
I hate it when you use that word. You sound like a hipster.”

“
In an ironic way,” I laughed.

She smashed me in the face with the down-filled weapon.

“
You’re going to choke on irony one day, Scott.”

“
I have to find it first. You know how that fickle lady escapes me.”

That wasn’t a joke. Irony was a concept I never could grasp. I’d be a failure of a hipster. Such authentic tragedy.

Silence wafted down over the room. Unlike most within the teenage wasteland, shared silence with Sally never bothered me. I guess that was part of knowing someone so deeply.

“
Okay, Scott, if you could recast any horror movie with kids in our class, what movie would it be and who would you cast?”

My heart skipped a beat at Sally’s change of tactic. I tilted my head toward the ceiling to give the idea some thought.

“
Wow, that’s a good one, Sal. Why can’t Mrs. Fisher ask questions like that in Lit Theory class?”

“
Um,” Sally started, “because she’s as boring and predictable as the average middle-age, middle-class soccer mom. Okay, enough dodging…answer the question.”

Thoughts raced around the curves and crevices of my mind. It took much longer than I’d anticipated to come up with a fully realized answer.

“
Got it. I’m going old school with
The Bride of Frankenstein
. I know, it’s your least favorite of the classics, but it does offer so many wonderful insights into the world of Hollywood horror.”

“
Okay, Scott…there’s no need for a dissertation. Just tell me how you’d re-cast the film.”

I had to think; not because I couldn’t remember the cast of the film, or even the slightest moment of brilliance that underscored the black and white treasure. The stall was all about choosing the perfect cast.

“
Okay, the obvious is Cody Sloan as the Monster. Next I’d go with Mrs. Middleton as the Bride.”

“
Wait,” Sally interrupted, “Why Cody as the Monster? Isn’t the audience supposed to sympathize with that character? Sloan is your arch nemesis.”

I felt the grin spread across my face. “If I’m cast as Doctor Frankenstein, then…” I led Sally to the only possible conclusion.

“
The Monster would be your tormentor. I get it now.”

“
Oh hell yes,” I nearly shouted. It was my turn to re-direct the subject at hand. “Here’s the commercial for the haunt in Tyler’s End.” I grabbed the remote and turned the television up just enough so we could hear the glorious sounds.

“
I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him.”

The announcer, clad in the clichéd robes of the grim reaper, held a scythe and spoke with a voice that was the bastard love child of Vincent Price and Tony Todd.

“
Death has risen from the grave. Should his bony finger tap you on the shoulder, your name has been called and Hell awaits your return. Dare you enter the House that Hell wrought?”

The commercial ended with short videos of men and women racing from the exit of the haunt.

“
Oh my God,” Sally shrieked, “did that dude throw up?”

I grabbed the DVR remote and rewound the moment.

“
He did. Wow, that makes me cry a bit.”

Sally slapped my arm. “You’re such a damned horror nerd, Scott. No wonder you can’t get laid.”

The second the words slipped out of Sally’s mouth, regret immediately registered.

“
Oh, Scott, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean…”

“
No, it’s okay, Sally. I know it’s true. Who cares, right? I don’t need to get laid…I have you.”

It was my turn to taste regret. Without skipping a beat, Sally’s joy was crushed in heartbeat.

“
Crap. I’m sorry, Sally. You know I don’t mean…”

Sally held up a hand to silence me.