September 14th, 1997-The Plan and the Promise.
"Sorry, but I've got to go."
"Desiree!"
Desiree looked back, to see her very pissed off boss glaring at her. She was only a few years older than Desiree, but she appeared at least three times her age. "Boss?" She asked nervously.
Darcy Middleton marched up to Desiree McMinn and poked her in the belly with one withered, powdery finger, tipped with a nail notoriously sharpened to a point. Desiree winced; the nails had sunk deep into the flesh of her belly, and she hated it. "Where do you think you're going?" Darcy demanded angrily.
Desiree looked pained. "I've...I've had enough! I'm quitting!" She hope desperately that her boss wouldn't hear the faint note of fear-yes, Desiree was afraid of her boss, hopelessly so.
"What?" Darcy asked, more shocked than angry. Desiree took a swift step back, and shouted at her boss angrily:
"I've had it! I can't do this anymore! So, I quit!"
"What did you say to me?" Darcy asked, her voice soft, but deadly. Her eyes narrowed.
"God, are you DEAF? I SAID I'M QUITTING! And there isn't a single thing you can do about it!"
And with that, Desiree McMinn marched away, away from her, away from her job, away from what she did best.
XxX
Melanie Dwyer had no idea HOW exactly Kazza had managed to bullshit his way out this time-he'd been locked up for murdering his cousin-a snotty, incredibly up-himself man of eighteen, who thought he was King and everyone else was a pile of rat shit.
Somehow, miraculously, Kazza had gotten off on manslaughter-the clever bastard!
And now he was free. The fun could start. People could begin to die, all those who didn't believe that shit happens.
Yes, she thought, as she hurriedly changed into a pair of slack and a white blouse, now the fun can begin.
XxX
Kael walked next to Ray, grinning from ear to ear. He couldn't believe it; he just couldn't BELIEVE it, that he was FREE!
How nice the air felt on his face, cool but refreshing, and how soft the grass was, oh, how he had missed such things while in prison!
Ray chuckled. "You look like a little kid, Kazza."
Kael turned to him, still grinning. "You know what, Ray? I FEEL like a little fucking kid-shit, how everything's just coming back to me now!" He sighed happily. "Shit, it feels good to be free."
"I hear you, man. I hear you."
"The Hideout still going strong?" Kael now asked, looking towards the corner of bush he and his friends had hung out when they were kids.
"Absolutely," Ray replied.
Unbeknownst to the two young men, a figure, clad in robes of black and deep red, was watching them, not ten feet away, safely hidden in the shadows of the night. It made no noise, and moved as little as possible, head turned in the direction of the two men, and, had the eyes been visible, they would have been staring intently at them.
"How've Dizzy and Mal been?" Kael asked suddenly. Ray considered.
"Well, you know Dizzy; she's doing what she does best."
"Fucking," Kael said matter-of-factly.
"Yeah."
"How about Mal? She hasn't cottoned onto Dizzy's bad habits, has she?"
Ray laughed. "Shit, no! That smart little bitch is working on making a new poison, or some shit. She's been wanting to test it out, apparently."
The figure shifted suddenly, reaching into a deep pocket. Out came a notepad, and a pencil. The figure knelt down on the ground, still making no noise, and began to write.
Kael was amazed. "She sure is a smart bitch. I envy her."
Ray chuckled. "Don't we all, Kazza." He stopped for a moment, squinting into the darkness. Kael, surprised, also stopped, and, when Ray did not answer to his anxious demands, tugged on his arm angrily. Ray's arm jerked back. "Fuck! What's your problem, Kazza?"
Kael took two steps backwards, holding his hands up in a sign of surrender. "You scared the shit out of me, Ray," he answered. "What's the matter?"
"I thought I saw Dizzy and Mal," Ray said. "But fuck, I can't see in this dark. I guess I'm seeing things."
"Old age catching up to you, old buddy!"
Both Kael and Ray turned, surprised to see Desiree skip merrily towards the two of them, wearing something slightly less revealing than what she normally would have worn-but still not great, a fact the hooded figure took note of, scribbling feverishly on the notepad, having already filled three pages.
"Dizzy!" Kael roared, running up to her and embracing her tightly. "How the HELL have you been, sweetheart?"
Desiree laughed and allowed Kael to swing her around in a circle. "I've been great!"
"Too much information, Dizzy," Ray commented. The three of them laughed heartily.
"I hope I haven't missed much!" Melanie shouted, appearing seemingly out of nowhere and wrapping her arms around Kael.
"You haven't missed anything, babe," Kael chuckled, kissing Melanie on the cheek. "God, I hear you've gotten even smarter! Is that even possible, Mal?"
"Ray's exaggerating," Melanie said, rolling her eyes.
"Somehow, I kind of doubt that," Kael said, winking at her.
"Okay, okay! Enough with the theatrics already!" Ray shouted. "I got you all here because I have a plan!"
The figure hidden in the shadows tucked their notepad back into the pocket and resumes its solitary position, tucked safely behind a tree, and watching the four friends.
"Don't fucking shout, Ray!" Desiree hissed. "Someone could be listening!"
The figure shifted their weight slightly. As they do so, the moon creeps out from behind a cloud, and the figures face is temporarily visible-though there was no human face under the hood. The face of an enraged boar glared at the four, before pulling the hood down even lower-so much so that even if the moo should come out again, the pig mask would not be visible.
"Sorry."
"Now, what's this plan, Raymond?"
"DON'T CALL ME RAYMOND!"
"Sorry," Desiree said sulkily, moving away from Ray, and closer to the figure.
Ray took a few deep breaths, calming himself down. "Sorry, Dizzy."
"That's alright, Ray. But the plan-"
"-Is this." He gestured to all of them to form a circle around him, to maintain the secrecy. The figure moved closer, in an attempt to hear what Ray was going to say.
"Right, guys. Here's the plan..."
Everybody, including the figure, moved closer. Ray decided he'd start with Kael. "Kazza, you remember when you got that old bitch with the guitar?" Kael nodded. "Well, I got an idea, I mean, if you still want to play the flute..."
"Thanks for the thought, Ray, but-"
"Shut up! Let me finish," Ray growled, agitated. He may not be as aggressive as Kael, but he scared most people, nevertheless. And, as much as his friends didn't want to admit it, he scared them as well.
Ray was bigger them all, and stronger, and he was smart. Not as smart as Melanie, but still smart.
And the fact that he played with fire didn't do much for him, either.
"There's this chick, I think her name's Selena Mason, she is the best flutist in the country. And, Kazza, if you want to be as good as her, all you need to do is rock up to her place with a knife and a tape recorder." Ray's eyes were gleaming, as he processed Kael's expression, which went from scared to shocked, and then, finally, sly.
He smiled.
Ray pressed on: "And you told me that that officer wanted you to make yourself a good, honest man, yeah? Well, if you become a modern Mozart, that's one way to do it. You'll be rich, Kazza, and people will adore you instead of fearing you. Don't you want it, Kazza? Don't you?"
"I do," Kael answered. Then he grinned. "This is going to be the easiest money. God. It's almost too easy, really."
"And that's the beauty of it, Kazza. Think about it. By this time tomorrow, you could be bathing in money, Kazza!"
"YES!" Kael shouted. Desiree and Melanie were looking slightly confused, probably wondering what this had to do with them. Ray decided he may as well tell them.
"Dizzy. Mal. Us three, we've had relatively good lives, haven't we? But Kazza's has been shit."
"That's true," Melanie murmured. Desiree nodded.
"And we need to help him get his life back on track."
"But how?" Desiree wondered. Ray sighed. Desiree wasn't the brightest spark out there.
"If we get the spotlight off of Kazza, everything will fall into place. I guarantee it. Mal, I heard you wanted a test subject for your new concoction." Melanie nodded. "Well, Mal, I can get you that. If you promise to help Kazza, I'll get you a test subject, two if you like, fuck; I'll get as many as you need!"
The figure began to write once more.
"Alright..." Melanie said slowly. "I'll try and help, Ray. But what can I do?"
Ray puffed his chest out importantly. "All you need to do is stick a couple of fags with your new poison, and leave the bodies in different places; a body each night. Psyche the cops out." Melanie nodded. She liked the sound of this idea. It was easy, it sounded fun, and better yet, she was unlikely to be caught. Of course she would do it.
"And what can I do?" Desiree asked desperately. Ray turned to her with a smile.
"Get a new habit," he replied. Desiree scowled, and Kael and Melanie guffawed laughter. "No, I mean it, Dizzy," Ray said, protesting. He reached into the bush behind him, and he pulled put two knives; one, a meat cleaver, which he handed to Desiree, and the other, a machete, which he handed to Kael.
Desiree looked at her cleaver with something close to reverence. She knew what Ray was insinuating-that she murder instead of fuck. Of course she would murder-but she could not give up what she did best-it gave her a sense of power, and she hated to lose it. Besides, if Melanie could balance out the two things she loved doing most, why couldn't Desiree?
Ray saw the expressions on his friend faces, and he smiled. "Not that I don't trust you, guys," he began. Desiree looked up from her meat cleaver, surprised. Kael stopped examining his machete and gazed at his friend intensely. Melanie, having nothing to look up from, simply continued to watch Ray, as she had done the entire time. "But I think we ought to, uh, do something, that shows that we've promised, and we'll stick to it." He smiled awkwardly. "Make sense, guys?"
"You mean like Blood Brothers or something, right?" Desiree asked. Ray nodded vigorously.
"That's exactly what I mean, Dizzy. A pact."
"Let's do it now," Kael said suddenly. He pointed to his machete. "We've got the gear, so what are we waiting for?"
Everyone agreed, Melanie somewhat reluctantly, to pull their sleeves on their left arm up (none of them were left-handed-Ray was ambidextrous) and for Kael to mark them all. Kael made a slit in his forearm, big enough for Desiree to squirm, but not large enough for massive blood loss. Kael winced as he was cutting his arm open, but no noise escaped from him, and Melanie suspected that he was gritting his teeth.
Melanie went next. The incision Kael made in her arm was slightly larger than his own, and the vicious sting of it made her whimper a little. "It's okay, Mal, it's okay," Kael murmured, passing his knife to Ray, who sliced his arm open, and then Desiree's, who practically screamed. Ray felt like slapping the stupid bitch.
Kael and Melanie wrapped their arms together, the wounds pressing together. It was this act that made Kael whimper a little himself; the sores were tender, and to press them against something foreign...well, that was painful, very much so. Melanie tried to pull away, but Kael held her tight, feeling their blood intermingle.
While Kael and Melanie were making their oath, Ray and Desiree were making their own, Desiree sobbing like a child, blood dripping slowly down her arm. Then the act was repeated, this time with Desiree paired with Melanie, and Ray with Kael.
The act was repeated again, and again, until everyone had mingled blood with everybody else. "I promise," Kael said solemnly. "I promise to get my life back on track."
"I promise to help you get there, Kazza," Melanie said softly.
"I promise, old buddy," Ray whispered.
"I promise," Desiree murmured.
Then the four friends embraced each other, in a confusing group-hug. "We promise," they all said softly. "We promise."
The figure in the red-and-black robes moved away, eager to report to their master. They had four new people to test-four more to play a 'game.'
As the sky began to get lighter, the friends all went to go their own ways:
Ray was going to get Mal some test subjects for her new creation.
Desiree was going to see if she could adapt to a new habit.
Melanie was going to do some testing, and then, hopefully, some killing.
And Kael? Kael was going out to hunt, hunt the girl who was so good at what he was not-yet.
