Thank you to all who have just started reading this and for your wonderful reviews! I appreciate it! :-) And Marko appreciates it. (Snicker)

The reasoning for why I felt like shit was becoming more and more clear, and it wasn't from what I had smoked that night. At two am the lights in the building were dead, and the shadows in the hallway called my name as I climbed the stairs to my apartment, taking them two by two. But by then it didn't matter, even if it had been a night prowler, I was heavily sedated by weed. Not something I would normally do on a work night but the two bikers, David and Dwayne had struck a nerve deep down inside of me. Their presence marked an unknown dreaded change coming. I could feel it, and the dully illuminated and silent hallway in this crap hole of an apartment where I lived was the calm before the storm. I just couldn't figure out why two outstanding biker bullies had suddenly set their sites on me. Then again maybe Spencer was right; maybe it was all in my head. After all, we were all overworked and under paid and that starts to weigh your spirit down after awhile.

I slipped a key from my pocket and unlocked the door, pushed it open, and set one foot inside only to bring it out again as my attention was drawn to the sound of a scream two doors down. It must have been a TV because there was no noise after that. I stepped in and slammed the door doing a half twirl to my bed and fell face down on it as I closed my eyes. Regardless of the drugs, I wasn't going to sleep very well that night. I kept having visions of the two guys creeping into my bedroom and forcing me to smoke all kinds of weird shit. Then I would look around and find Spencer passed out on my bed beside me with two huge holes in his neck. Blood seeped out of them and the walls of the entire room were covered in it. I'd wake up and fall back to sleep only to dream the whole dam thing over again only a little different each time, and for the first time since growing my hair out, I actually considered cutting it off. I liked the style, but waking up to a web of your own curls wrapped around your neck after a nightmare isn't fun.

After that I basically watched the late night fade and morning rise through the window. With what felt like a hangover, I stared blankly at the new sun on the pavement down below the building for about an hour, and then changed my clothes. The guys worked early, so I thought heading over there with the intent of asking them to go with me to the party on the bluff would be a good idea.

On my way out, as I passed my neighbors apartment I noticed the door swinging wide open. Behind it were a couple of badges casing the room and taking notes, and to the left of them on the bed was a display of gore that screamed murder and I did a double take. Splayed across the silk sheets was the body of the girl that had shown interest in me the week before at the Boardwalk. Two puncture wounds had been permanently stamped into her neck and her blood was smeared across the walls in some sick bastards imitation of a finger painting, just like in the horrid dreams I'd had. Her glassy eyes cut through me and her mouth hung open in death still attempting to call for help.

In that moment all of the blood running through me fell to my feet and could have leaked out of my toes. It left me pale and feeling sick to my stomach. "What the fuck…?" I mumbled, unable to move or look away. Had it been anyone else it wouldn't have mattered much.

"You know that girl?" One of the officers asked point blank. Why they assume you know or did something wrong just because you're in a state of shock from seeing a stone cold corpse is beyond me, but at this point in time it was obvious I'd look like the guilty party if anyone associated me with her from that night. Given the circumstances of the weird shit going on and the dream I had had, I suddenly felt the need to run.

"I don't know her," I lied. Technically I didn't. You can't really call a brief acquaintance actually knowing someone.

"So you didn't hear anything last night? Any strange noises, disturbances?"

I shook my head no. There was that one scream, I thought, but it wasn't like I'd slept much so anything out of the ordinary would have come to my attention, unless the shit I had been dreaming was real. That would have made me either an eyewitness or an accomplice I wasn't sure which. "No…no, nothing." I glanced up at him quick before raising a hand to chew off a few nails and started to back away from the room while he took a moment to write something else down. As soon as I got to the stairs I took off as fast as I could down and out the door. It was a guilty move, but I had to get out of there, and hopefully the cop had been too busy in thought to notice.

The shop was about three blocks away and I ran until the vomit rising in my throat forced me to stop and heave, but nothing came out. I looked around a little frantic thinking there was a possibility they were in fact following after me. What was I going to say? You've got the wrong guy? I knew she didn't live there, but I never paid any attention to who really did. Was it Dwayne? Had they been spying on me this whole time, trying to set me up? Again the thought of being delusional crossed my mind, but sometimes you just can't fight that little inner voice that says otherwise.

When I finally reached the shop my mouth was sticky and dry and I was still pale, but the smell of fresh oil and the sight of greasy rags helped the disorientation a little. Now all I needed was a good hit. In a matter of one night, it seemed I had become an addict.

"Hey man, what are you doing here so early?" Marty asked. "You look like shit."

"Hey I need a favor," I said, ignoring the insult as my gasping for air slowed to a heavy breathing.

Todd looked up from the bike he was working on with a smart assed smile. "You finally need us to cut that hair?"

"Fuck you Todd!" I snapped and gave him the middle finger. Common decency towards anyone who had had a hard anything was something he never practiced, and on this morning it pissed me off.

"Hell man, calm down…sit down, have a smoke," Marty said, pulling a stool from under the bench. I sat down or rather crouched down on it and allowed him to pass me a joint. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

I lit it quickly and inhaled, swallowing and then letting the smoke slip easily past my lips. "I think I did. That chick…the one that was all over me that night on the Boardwalk…she was murdered last night in the apartment next to mine."

"No shit?" Marty mumbled. "How do you know it was her?"

"I saw her, that's how I know. Cops were all over it."

Todd scooted away from his project and sat up a little straighter, his expression suddenly serious. "Jesus Marko, did they question you about it?"

"Started to, but I got the hell out of there. I can't go down for this shit, not here." I covered my mouth again and bit at my nails.

"Aww dam it! Why did you do that? Now you're gona look guilty as hell."

"God dam sons a' bitches," Marty praised, looking up at the ceiling. "That's one hell of a coincidence, her living there."

"She doesn't live there," I stated. The adrenaline rush from panic had exited and a righteous calm from the smoke was taking over. "Shit, I don't know who actually lives there. But hell, I dreamt that murder last night."

"You dreamt the girl got killed?" Marty asked.

"Actually it was Spencer, but the scene matched it in every other way. And those two bikers from the arcade came in here last night looking for bike parts. One offered to help me with mine. What if it's one of them and they're trying to set me up?"

Todd got up and strutted over giving me a clap on the back. "Hell, I think Spencer is right. You are delusional. It's called coincidence, like Marty said, and too much weed my friend. Don't you forget how talented you are compared to the rest of us, huh? Lay off the pot and draw some skulls and shit." He shook his head like suddenly he was the wise one of the group. "I know what you're thinking too. You want us to be your wingmen at that party tonight…well forget about it. I mean, how do you expect those two punks to help you if they're the ones who did it? Besides, I heard it was by invite only."

"Delusional? What the hell does Spencer know?" I asked, turning to follow him as he moved to exchange his wrench for another. "And for your information it's an oral invite. I have one. Besides, how the hell would they keep us out even if we didn't have one?"

"The surf Nazis man." Marty twitched a little when he said this. "Sons of bitches are everywhere. I heard they paid them off to keep stragglers out."

Todd laughed. "He's just upset because he interrupted one of their little parties."

Marty's face had turned beet red and he puckered his lips in anger before throwing one of his wrenches in Todd's direction. It made a metal-to-metal twang sound as it bounced off one of the handlebars of the bike Todd was once again situated under. "They shoved straws up my nose you asshole! And made me suck up my strawberry milkshake that way!"

I shook my head in annoyance and turned to leave. "Fuck this I'm out. I don't need this childish shit right now. I'll go alone."

"Hey!" Todd yelled. "What the hell is your problem? You on something or do you really have an invite? I just got my car running. You promise me tits and beer and I'll be there."

I put my hands on my hips as I looked around still irritated, but when the words finally sank in I grinned impishly. "Beer is a given, but the tits you'll have to find on your own."

"Great, now go fetch us breakfast. I'm starved."

When I first started at the shop, I had offered to pick up pizza for everyone one night. Before I knew it, I was running all over town every evening for snacks, dinner, whatever they wanted. It was a good break, but in this point in time I wasn't feeling all that generous. What I did feel was a bit of relief, at least enough to make a comeback remark. "Do I look like an errand boy to you asshole?"

Besides, food was not on the agenda for me anyway, at least not until night fell. Instead I snuck back into my apartment and slept the rest of the day, surprisingly without any nightmares and no knocks on the door from the police.

Todd collected the other guys after work and met me there around nine in his Chevy Bel Air. Spencer and Marty had already started in on the booze and were picking at each other from the front and back seat.

"You ready?" Todd asked. "Where's the beer?"

I flipped him the finger and held up the sack, alhtough I knew there would be plenty of kegs at the party to fulfill their thirst, he required a special brew. One not so watered down. He waved for me to get in and I hopped over the back door into the seat as the hood of the car was pulled back for the night and we were off.

"Look at what I found?" Spencer said fumbling around for a second while Todd weaved in and out of the curves on the road. He held up something dangly and colorful but before I could get a good look he lunged at me and pinned one of them down into the left shoulder of my jacket as hard as he could.

"Son of a bitch Spencer!" I yelled. "Watch what you're doing with those dam things!" I could feel the prick of something on my skin. Any harder and the dam thing would have shot straight through.

"Squid lures," he chuckled, pulling another one out. "From that blonde headed guy at the Boardwalk." This time I blocked him and took the thing for myself. It was blue and sparkled a little. "I've never seen any like that. I kept them just in case…you know, the whole thing you've got going with that jacket. They kinda fit."

For as vague as Spencer sometimes seemed, it wasn't a bad idea coming from him. In fact when they were all three in place, I liked them more and more. I figured I'd leave them for the night and see what kind of reaction they got, if any.

By the time we got there the bluff was overrun by large groups of people spread out over the cliff. Oil drums were lit, kegs were out, and radios littered the ground. With the music raging, Todd decided to do a few cookies in the gravel not far from the other parked cars sending rocks flying in all directions. I'm sure it wasn't too appreciated, so rather than have my assed kicked, I managed to jump out of the car before he had come to a complete stop.

"Hey Marko," one of the girls beckoned. She was cute, worked at the drug store, but I had other business to take care of first before flirting.

"Hey have you seen two guys?" I asked her, scanning the crowd.

She giggled and tapped the keg she stood against lightly with her fingertips. "There's a lot of guys here silly. Do they have names?"

Before I could answer her, she was shoved violently away by a big beefy guy, perfectly tanned and sporting a Mohawk. "Out of the way bitch, you're blocking my beer."

I frowned and without thinking about how big the guy was got in his face. It was one thing to give the guys shit, but to push and shove a girl around was another and I didn't like it. It made my blood run hot. "What the fuck is your problem asshole? Apologize to the girl!"

The guy looked around at his friends and laughed before he had me in a choke hold on the ground. I did the norm and grabbed his fat ass hand with both of mine and scrambled the ground with my feet to try and keep him from giving me a good pounding. He sucker punched me in the side with his free hand, and even though it hurt like hell, I raged. Now not only was I pissed that he had shoved the girl, I was also pissed because he was stronger than me. Surf Nazis, they hung out all over the beach like they owned it and heaven forbid if anyone got in their way.

Somehow I managed to get in just the right position and got one knee right up into his balls. He hunched over and let go of my throat if only for a second, but it was enough time for me to get myself off the rocks, and by the time he came at me again I was ready, only this time, he was stopped by someone else. I saw him literally sent flying backwards into the crowd and when I looked up David was standing in front of me.

"Pretty risky, fighting someone like that don't you think?" he asked with a cocky smile.

I glared and caught my breath. "He pushed my friend," I told him, even though the girl and I hardly knew each other. "Thanks for the save."

"Good friends are hard to come by," he told me like there was a point to be made. "You're alright Marko," and with that he put a hand on my back and we walked towards the quieter part of the bluff where the other guy, Dwayne, waited.

I was still pissed, more because I couldn't defend her by myself, and now more because these guys just seemed to pop up anywhere and everywhere at the exact right time. "Man, I don't want to sound ungrateful, but why are you helping me?" I stood fast, my hands on my hips still trying to catch my breath.

"Just looking for new friends," David answered. "Like I said, they're hard to come by. Nothing wrong with that is there?"

Dwayne pulled a joint from his pocket and lit it up. "Care for a smoke?" he asked. "Look, we're not out for anything, just like to have a good time that's all. Not many people like us around, and from the looks of it you could use it."

"No thanks. No smokes for me tonight. I came to drink." Before I could contemplate the meaning of 'not many people like us around,' there was a flask in front of me offered by David's hand. I looked at it uneasily. After what happened the night before it wouldn't be a wise decision. After a few moments of my hesitation he retracted the offer and took a swig of it himself.

"You must be fairly new to the area. I don't think I've ever seen you around the Boardwalk or in town until now," he said. His eyes were more vibrant in the firelight now that he had consumed the drink, and behind the inviting, beckoning there seemed an aggressive nature tattooed there in the pupils.

"Almost a year now. I work a lot. Gotta keep up the rent on that shit hole of an apartment I rent. Was kinda hoping to get into one of the decal shops with my designs but…"

"No bites," Dwayne finished. "You should come to our place…check out some of the old fashioned artifacts there."

"You collect? I thought bikes were your game?"

"I do both, inbetween skateboarding, partying all night and whatever the hell else I feel like doing," he answered in all seriousness.

"Hey Marko," Spencer called behind us as the three of them made there way over to where I was as they eyed their surroundings. This part of the bluff was steeper than the rest and the rocks jutted out and then in making the drop feel more evident. One stupid move and any of us could have plummeted over to our death. "Why are you all the way over here when the party is over there?" He held up his six-pack of beer to point towards the crowd.

Dwayne started to move towards him but David put up a hand and he settled back into place. "Everybody's welcome. It is a party after all."

"Ya but the chicks are over there," Todd stated, already buzzed. "And I intend on getting my dick wet tonight, so if you wouldn't mind letting Marko here know whether or not you killed that little girl…" he didn't finish the statement, but instead combusted into laughter.

"Well, truth be told," Marty started, his eyes glazed, "You should probably help him with his bike because we don't have the time, or the want." He too started to laugh. "That is…if you're not killers."

My chest suddenly pounded the rhythm of the waves that crashed against the rocks below as I looked to David in all seriousness. The dicks were trying to make an ass out of me. "Someone was murdered in my apartment last night."

Both David and Dwayne looked at each other and began to chuckle. It went well with the laughing fit both of my so-called friends were having but there was something more sinister about it. Were they making fun of me now too? I looked to Spencer who had been rendered silent.

"I uh, I don't feel so good," he said, blinking like someone was flashing a bright light in his eyes. Before I turned my attention back to David a vision flashed in my head and for a moment I was afraid to look at them. I thought if I did for some reason their faces would be contorted and bloody like monsters.

"Sorry about that," David said. He seemed to shake off the more than rude gesture easily. "There are a lot of murders in this town boys. It could be anyone really. We're just here to talk shop are we not?" He didn't seem the least bit offended that they had partially accused him of killing the girl.

Dwayne nodded. "I figured we would just come by the station tomorrow night that way you don't have to worry about getting it transported to our part of town. I can have her up and running in two nights."

Marty sipped his beer messily and leaned against Todd for support. "You work at night?" he asked, like the idea was stranger than strange.

"I'm a night person," Dwayne answered. "There something wrong with that or should I go out of my way to explain it?" He moved forward again, his stance dark and brutal and I could tell that he wouldn't take much more idiotic sarcasm from the two.

Todd gave him a once over. "Shit man this a party, relax. Was just a question, that's all."

"shit do it man!" Spencer urged from behind, once again in his normal state. "You've been needing to get that done forever and now's your chance. Live to ride…"

"Ride to live," David finished raising his flask to Spencer as he took a drink. "Good man. Unfortunately for you boys, we have some business to take care of." He got up and walked past me, putting one of his gloved hands on my shoulder. We'll be by around nine thirty give or take a few." Dwayne followed behind him with a nod and I tipped my head in response. The urgency to get my bike fixed had taken over the feeling that something was not altogether right about these two. For that time being I felt better, and as far as I knew they had rejoined the party but I didn't see them again that night.