What are people supposed to do with time off, anyway?
We'd had a great time shooting skeet the other day, but after Finn had left I'd gone back to my usual because he hadn't exactly told me what I was supposed to do with the rest of my time off. Seeing Ace from the roof made me want another tattoo but I had to decide what I wanted and where before I added that to my to do list.
Halloween was the answer to my problems. The diner ran a pumpkin pancake special and the bakery was selling pumpkin cookies for 50% off. I'd asked if I could have some with chocolate after seeing the special and ended up paying full price but it was TOTALLY worth it. The only bummer was that, by the time I'd thought of it, someone had already covered The General in fake, white spiderwebs, making him look even more decrepit than he really was.
When I was finally allowed to go back to work again, I heaved a sigh of relief - the Red Box was probably going to murder me if I went back for another movie and I couldn't go antiquing one more time without throwing some stuff out.
My first night back was the night before Halloween and everyone on staff was busy with decorations. Every year we threw a big Halloween bash where people were invited to dress up and drink discounted booze. We on staff always wore themed costumes to make sure that we were distinguishable from the hordes and this year we'd decided to be the dodgeball team from the Vince Vaughn movie Dodgeball. I was Kate Veatch since I was the only girl on staff and she the only girl on the team.
I came to work early the next day; hair already braided and costume in my bag. I changed a couple hours before the arrival of the masses and was immediately hit on by half the guys there. Typical. I knew it would only get worse as the night went on and people got drunker and drunker though, so I just offered them another of whatever they'd been drinking and walked away.
As I poured drinks that night, my mind was filled with thoughts of self pity. I missed my guy friends - they never hit on me, not even Adam that one time I'd thought something had been off with him. I missed Adam and Finn and, especially, Graham. His business trip had taken longer than expected and he still wasn't back yet. He'd be back soon but I needed him and I still needed to make up with Adam after that phone conversation and... I really needed to get more friends. Then I'd have actual plans on Halloween instead of working all night in a costume that was getting progressively grosser.
My break was at about midnight that night. I went outside, trying to escape all the noise and regain my personal space and immediately felt better. Down the street I could see a group of about 50 people congregating in the graveyard for some kind of festival - the perfect idea on Halloween - and noticed that many of our new patrons were coming from the direction of the bookstore around the corner. The bookstore that should've closed hours ago.
All of a sudden, I was tired. And something was wrong. I'd felt it all night long but the feeling was getting worse and I wasn't sure why. There was no reason to feel the way I did - at least, not that I could think of. I'd thought the feeling had gone away once I'd gotten some fresh air and it had. But now, it was back even stronger than before for no apparent reason.
Then, I heard it. Or, rather, him. Mr. Ling-Ling running down the street screaming, "HE'S DEAD! HE'S DEAD! THERE IS A DEAD MAN NEAR MY NOODLES!!! SOMEBODY CALL DE COPS HE'S - HE'S DEAD! HELP ME! HE'S DEAD!!"
Immediately, I stood and glanced around. Many of the patrons were poking their heads out of the door and opening the windows to see what was going on. The people along the street had stopped in their tracks surprised by Ling-Ling's words and afraid of what they might mean. In the other direction was Mr. Ling-Ling's cart.
On the far side, I assumed, was the body (the only part visible to me were its feet but I'd take Ling-Ling's word that the man was dead). I remembered, at that moment, that we had an escaped murderer on the loose and began to urge people back into the bar.
Then, I was reminded of the alley. The alley beside the bar was poorly lit and the perfect escape route. I gasped and ran to its mouth, stumbling a bit on the gravel and sending it flying.
I wasn't the only one though. What I saw before landing face first in alley floor was enough to make my heart stand still: a bloody handprint on the brick wall and the flash of a blade as its owner tore around the opposite corner and out of sight.
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