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Chapter 3: Fright Night
Stavo considered barging in, but instead knocked on the door instead. "Open up!"
"What about my Dad's preaching? He's doing it after we've had breakfast." Not that Audrey, now at least, minded having to sit through one of her Dad's sermons. Maybe it was something they all needed.
"Y-yeah...Audrey's...." Aleks said as she put her arms around his neck, Brooke had told herself to put herself out there, and now she had probably ruined it right now. But when she heard his next comment, she felt her cheeks heat up as well.
She sighed a moment, shaking her head.
"I'm not that manipulative."
For so long she had wanted to do it, imagined doing it in a different way and all, but the way things had happened, she just lost all reason.
"A-and...I'm sorry about just kissing you like that...I had honestly imagined that happening a whole different way if we're gonna be honest here...I was hoping to have done it a little more classy like...maybe after one of your games or something. Or even here on the retreat...."
She sighed again, resting her head on her own arm not wanting to make things anymore awkward than it already was.
"For the record...it was nice...kissing you..."
She added, than shut herself up while they went back to her cabin.
***
Emma was listening, frowning a moment as she thought about it all. "Or what if something has actually happened to her?"
She shifted a bit, looking around right now before focusing on Audrey and Brooke.
"Speaking of, has anyone seen Miss Atler since we got here?"
More so right now she was worried about her mom.
"No, no..." Zach shrugged, "Not that manipulative. But we did kinda go from 'why don't you text back' to 'let me run away and live in the woods forever' pretty quick."
He shrugged, "It's fine. And I meant what I said. I think you're really nice, and I want to be your friend. But I'm not ready for any...relationship stuff. I hope you can understand that. It's not good for me, it's not good for you, it's..." he sighed, "It's not good."
***
"Who?" Brooke blinked, "Oh, the music chick. No. She was here?"
Brooke looked around as if she expected the woman to come bursting out from under the bed.
"Em, you're getting yourself all worked up. It's endearingly frustrating."
***
"Well, whatever it was, I hope it enjoyed the peep show," Micah grumbled, though he softened, turning to Carl, "I'm sorry your fantasy date didn't work out."
He bit his lip, averting his eyes, "But...it was beautiful while it lasted."
-Zach, Brooke and Micah
Aleks shook her head, nodding some as she looked at him a moment. "I think for now we try just getting along...like we were..."
She shifted, looking at him. "But Zach, the whole its not good thing, can only go for so long."
She knew the pain of being alone your whole life, knew what it would take to get past things like that.
"Maybe tomorrow we need to tell someone about her. Just in case." Emma had a point. Where WAS the Music Teacher?
***
"Micah, it was amazing while it lasted," Carl nodded to the campground, and said, "But there's something I'd like to do, and I need your help."
It had been on his mind ever since the night at the park. He needed to make amends.
"I want to apologize to Noah, for that night."
"I'd like that," he smiled at her, "Getting along. That's...that's a good idea."
He sighed at her comment, "It's not just...it's not just a...feelings thing, Aleks. I'm not lying when I say I'm trouble. And I know it's not helpful me stopping right there every time, but that's just the way it is. I'm not even sure about my friends, anymore, but...but a...a relationship, that..."
He breaks off as they reach her cabin, "Anyone I get close to is in danger. I know. It sucks."
She hadn't locked the door when she fled, so Zach was able to easily navigate inside, gingerly lowering Aleks onto her bed.
"I'm happy to finish patching you up, though," he told her, "If you promise not to run out screaming this time."
***
"She's a teacher, I'm sure the other teachers have already noticed," Brooke shrugged, though she couldn't help but peer out the window into the darkness, "I guess I sound like your regular Icy Heart, huh?"
Bad form, she supposed. She turned to Emma, "Look, I'm not trying to be a bitch about it. It's just...well, Noah was enough for one night."
***
"Noah?" Micah didn't understand at first, but recollection came soon enough.
"That was a little overbar," he granted, "I can't even go so far as to call it sexy. Though, considering I was less-than-lucid at the time..."
He shuddered, fingers gingerly going up to the scar on his chin, where it had struck the tree.
"Was that what...turned you off Deanna?" he asked at last, "I mean, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but... Well, you know there was a lot of talk about what happened after, and... You did end up coming out of it sounding like the Knuckles to her Count Nefario."
-Zach, Brooke and Micah
"Well...besides the fact I wasn't even into her...yeah." Carl nodded. Why had he done that stupid shit?
"After that, I...I couldn't be with her anymore. And I couldn't lead her on either."
***
Audrey realized where Brooke was coming from. She'd probably heard enough murder theories for one night.
"Speaking of Noah...No, I shouldn't."
Noah
Noah awakened to knocking at his door, and that already had him in a foul mood.
He walked to his door, and opened it seeing Stavo and Eli.
"Can I help you?"
"Is Smoke here?" asked Stavo, flat out.
"Well, I think that's just great!" Micah declared, "Consider it an exorcism of your last tie to a crooked and heterosexual-passing past!"
He frowned, "Do you...er...want moral support, or is this like a man-to-man thing?"
***
"No..." began Brooke, eyes narrowing, "Go ahead, hun, you have something on your lips, say it. Speaking of Noah...why?"
***
Well, this was embarrassing.
Eli cleared his throat, "Okay, um...sorry, man, we, uh...okay, I forgot there would be another person here."
He looked at Stavo, "At ease, Muscles," then turned back to Noah, "You haven't seen or smelled the dripweed calling himself 'Smoke', have you? I have it on good authority you're his roommate," he paused, "Sorry for that too."
-Micah, Brooke and Eli
"I would appreciate some moral support," replied Carl, nodding to Noah's cabin, "Let's do it."
***
Audrey took a deep breath and asked, "You know that fight Noah had with Jamie?"
***
Lance got up from his bed and said, "If you want some weed, it's 50 bucks for waking me up."
Noah
Noah blinked at them a couple of times, before shaking his head.
"No man, I don't think he is, why do you want him anyway?" He asked before realizing Stavo was pretty ready to fight.
"Mobbing a guy is not the right choice, even if he's a drug dealer."
"Oh, this is bound to be a de..." Micah trailed off, stopping short before the cabin, "Oh. Looks like it's a party."
***
"What? Oh, that..." Brooke tried not to contemptuous, aware that Audrey was, naturally, stuck in the middle here, "From what I gather, she didn't like that Noah was doing what Noah's always done, and she let him have it," she paused, "But, go ahead, you're their mutual bestie, so...give me the fair and balanced report."
***
"I do not want weed, you fucking imbecile, I want my cousin!" Eli poked his head in the door, looking around, "Where is she?"
Noah
Noah obviously knew Lance or Smoke or whatever was in the cabin, but he wasn't going to admit that.
Noah quickly shoved Eli back out of the cabin,
"Don't try your luck Creepy."
"C'mon, man, I don't want to get into it with you. But I would like to know whether or not my cousin's newest deadbeat has seen aforementioned cousin. That too much to ask?"
"She's scared Noah's going to get himself killed, and is taking this to the extreme," Audrey finally said, "She...and I'm telling you this in confidence, came to my house last night and spent the night."
***
Lance finally got up and moved past Noah, coming outside.
He raised his arms in surrender and said, "No, I don't know where Dee is. And you're the second and third persons who have asked me that tonight."
***
Carl looked to Micah and said, "Let's go over."
Noah
Noah shrugged, but went to a chair in the room to sit and watch the interaction, it could prove useful in editing his suspect list.
"She...did?" Brooke cocked an eyebrow, "What, was she scared of him or something? Audrey, we both know Noah, and we both know that we are living in some pretty interesting times...extreme is our only viable channel."
***
Eli sighed, "Okay, fine..."
Well shit. Smoke had been his only person of interest in all this. Without him...
He turned his head, "Let me guess: you haven't seen her since she peaced out during the ice breakers? Well...that's just great, just fucking..."
"Hi,"
"Ach!" Eli staggered backward, "Oh. Oh, it's just you gays."
He paused, "Gay. Guys. Hi."
Micah smiled wryly, as if it at some secret joke, "We haven't interrupted anything, have we?"
"No, we were just having a merry chat about my cousin," Eli looked from Smoke to Carl, "Wow, if we all trooped out right now, we could give her an intervention. DeeDee's Angels."
-Brooke, Eli and Micah
"We...I actually wanted to talk with Noah. Is he awake?" explained Carl, sighing, gripping Micah's hand tightly.
Lance looked to Eli and Stavo and said, "If you're going out to look for her, I'd be happy to help."
Noah
When Noah heard his name, he walked past Lance out of the cabin,
"Yeah, I'm up, what's up...Carl right, crazy dude from the night in the woods?"
"Yeah. I...I wanted to say..." Carl swallowed and said, "I'm really sorry for how I acted that night. It was wrong, and it's not who I am."
Noah
Noah smiled and shook his head, patting the dude's shoulder, "Hey man, it's fine. Tensions were high, and a lot went sown that night." He told him.
"To be honest I haven't thought twice about it."
"Thank you," Carl replied, firmly shaking Noah's hand.
Noah
"You're welcome, thanks for apologizing." He said, then turned to Micah.
"Hey, you're the kid who was there when Terrance Smith died, want to be on my podcast, see if you remember any details about the killer?"
Day 1, Subsection E, A Pyrrhic Victory
I haven't heard back from Zach or F.U.K Smith about those pictures. I'm assuming they were delivered. Zach is a goof but he couldn't mess that up.
Justice was served.
So why does it feel so empty?
It reminds me of history class, when we were talking about false victories in ancient Rome. Some idiot called it a phallic victory. He meant Pyrrhic, after the general Pyrrhus, who though he won a long hard-fought battle, his soldiers were exhausted and his resources depleted. I feel like I've put so much energy into putting this one bitch in her place, so much energy being angry for my friend. I almost got myself shot today. And now there's no immediate karmic retribution, no satisfaction.
Maybe I should be patient, then I'll be happy. But I'm never patient for change because I know I have to enact it myself to get things done. I can't rely on others to do it for me. No establishment, no rich asshole, no dumb jock.
But then what do I do? I can't go to sleep feeling so useless. I have to do something. ANYTHING.
Leslie stopped writing as she lay in Micah's bunk bed. She pondered what happened to Tracy after she walked in and out of their little encounter. Probably out high or maybe snapping more compromising pictures of F.U.K. Who knew? Who cared? Restless, she took one of her wrapped cloves from her bag and lit it, looking to ease this massing anxiety.
She returned to her writing.
Micah is on a date with the Klan spawn. He knows I don't like it. Probably relishes in knowing I'm mad. But honestly, I'm not. Well, I am at the system for allowing homegrown racists like that to roam the earth but not at Micah. I'm worried. He sees the best in people. Terrance, Carl, me. I'm more skeptical and that's to my advantage. I detect bullshit. But where I detect bullshit, Micah detects hope.
And I could use some of that now, on this retreat, trapped with a bunch of loony teenagers, all with bad habits and worse histories, at the mercy of a system that claims to care about them but really only wants to save face as well as at the mercy of a masked anarchist who just days ago killed one of our own yet we continue to go on with our own plans and schemes, telling ourselves it's alright and preaching solidarity when really we're all alone and unhappy.
At least I know I am.
Leslie dotted the period and took another hit from the clove. She was angry. At herself, at Tracy, at Micah, at Carl--Leslie just felt anger and did not know why. All she wanted to do was go to sleep.
And so she tried.
***
"Gree-tans, coooool chick!" Nicodemus spun his hands into finger-guns (but he would assure you he never encouraged violence, so this was NOT a threat). "I'm in search for a brother--a-actually, more like a son from a-nother m-other AND fah-ther, for that matter. Would you dig to help a cat like me out?" He gave a toothy smile that would reflect sunlight if the sun was out.
-Leslie and Nicodemus
"Oh, well, isn't that prec..." Micah trailed off, his gaze resting on Noah, "Your podcast?"
Sometimes, he was surprised this hadn't happened sooner.
"I mean...I...wow," why was he blushing, it was a podcast, every other idiot on the street had one, it wasn't like being on The Voice, "Um, well, I don't really know how much I remember, it was pretty crazy and..."
He cleared his throat, "But, hey, I'd love to. I've never been on...er...the airwaves before."
"Yeah, yeah, that's great," Eli nodded, "So, for the record...none of you guys have seen Deanna?"
"Well, to be honest, I wasn't really looking for her..."
"Great. Fucking great," Eli turned to Smoke, "Hell yes you're helping, that wasn't an option."
Micah looked around, "This is probably a coincidence, but I just noticed we're, like, almost every guy on this retreat."
There's a long silence.
"Not that I was...was paying attention to that, it just...I just happened to notice."
Eli considers, "Ryan's not here."
"Neither's Zach."
"I wasn't looking out for Ryan..."
"Obviously not, and I, you know, I wasn't, like, looking out for Zach..."
"Okay, well...I'm gonna find my cousin." he nodded to Smoke, "You're coming with. Sorry to break up the sausage fest"
***
Phyllis looked the shaggy haired man up and down, at first completely convinced this was little more than a hallucination. But typically one hallucinated things at least vaguely similar to what they were familiar with. This...a lean, trim shaggy haired man with a goatee and...
"You...you aren't wearing any clothes," she pointed out, not quite imaginatively, her eyes resting on the man's boxers, and the tremendous peace sign emblazoned on the groin.
-Micah, Eli and Phyllis
"She's scared, Brooke," explained Audrey, "And... I don't blame her. Her last relationship...it didn't turn out well. Maybe she doesn't want History to repeat itself."
Lance nodded and said, "Let me get my gun and clean hoodie."
"Who the Hell are you?" Teague sat up, hand on his .45, "And why are you naked?"