Anxious to keep his unease and fear hidden, Danny could do no more than stare defiantly into the eyes of the one who had brought about all this misery. It was quite the mystery how the day had unraveled into such a disastrous mess. He remembered that the day had started out innocently enough and cringed at how horribly cliché that thought was. After all, every day started out with innocence and a sense of newness. People certainly did wake up in the morning planning for the day to go to pot by sundown. Not anyone to his knowledge enjoyed contemplating that it could be their last day, especially not right after they woke up. Most people were could barely think at all through their sleep clouded mind. Cliché or not, the point remained that the day had started out like every other day in his life. Even the stuff that he would have considered odd a few weeks prior had become fairly normal. He could recall the events leading up to this current moment with crystal clarity.
- Flashback-
The cinema had been packed, with large crowds of people milling about the general area. Two big blockbuster movies were opening and a couple other popular movies had just recently opened a week or two before. The largest crowd was in front of the ticket booth, uneven lines formed by patrons anxious to get a ticket. It was outside and the fall weather was chilly, but not bitter, so light jackets and scarves adorned the many customers. Other, more organized and less budget conscious people, stood at the kiosk inside the lobby area, having purchased their tickets online. Being teens lent to being less organized and certainly on a strict budget controlled by their parents, Danny, Tucker, and Sam added to the large crowd outside purchasing tickets at the cinema booths.
Tucker could barely contain his excitement as their line slowly moved closer to the employees taking money in exchange for a seat in front of a large screen. "I've wanted to see this movie since I first heard it's name! It's gonna be sooo cool!"
Sam wasn't so sure and made no show of concealing her doubt. "The Killer Chicken Embryo?" She gave Tucker an odd look, before bluntly saying what she felt about it. "Sounds boring to me. And stupid." She had been roped in to this by the guys. There had been another movie she would have preferred seeing, but wasn't quite at the stage in her life where she enjoyed sitting by herself through movies. Besides that, she enjoyed hanging out with her friends and it was the majority that ruled. Sometimes she did wish she had a female friend she was close to.
"You would think that," Tucker began defensively. "You gotta admit its original, though!"
"I fail to see how," Sam remained unconvinced.
"Uh, hello?!" Tucker exclaimed, exasperated. "Killer embryo!Sure, they've had killer chickens, dogs, cats, aliens, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, but embryos?!"He looked at Sam who had raised her eyebrows at his animated hand gestures and raised voice. Skepticism was still clear on her features and Tucker felt himself deflate a little before turning to their other friend, whom he knew he'd have an ally in. "Well, it is a good idea, right, Danny?" There was an awkward silence and Tucker frowned. "Danny?"
"Uh-uhm, yeah, what you said, Tuck," Danny answered distractedly. Both his friends turned their attention to him, the name of the movie forgotten. He was staring intently at something across the street. They both followed his gaze, trying to spot what was so captivating.
"What're you looking at, Danny?" Tucker questioned as he looked across the street. Everything looked pretty boring to him. Sam also stared across the street, confusion replacing her earlier skepticism. Her thoughts were similar to Tucker's—there was nothing strange, new, or remotely interesting on the other side of the street from the theater.
"I saw her," he whispered. "She's right there." His kept his vigil of the other side of the street not bothering to meet either of his friend's hard stares.
"Danny, is this the same chick you've been 'seeing' for the past two days?" Tucker asked, eyebrows knitted in doubt as he searched the other side of the street, still failing to see anything or anyone that could have caught his friend's attention.
"Oh, yes, Danny's stalker," Sam allowed a small smile, slightly amused.
"Yes, it is her and it's not funny," he shot Sam a sideways glare.
"I don't see her." Tucker sighed. "Are you sure you're not just, uhm," Tucker continued cautiously, not wanting to upset his friend, "imagining things?"
"No—no, I'm not!" Danny cried indignantly. "She's right there," he lowered his voice again. He pointed across the street in her general direction trying to be discreet. "How can you miss her?" Clear as day, she stood there, meeting his eyes every now and then and even offering a grin. He was at a loss as to why his two friends would be unable to see her. He was fairly certain she wasn't of the paranormal world.
Tucker and Sam exchanged looks. "Are you sure it's not a ghost?" Sam asked echoing his own inner thoughts.
Danny gave her another sideways look only, confusion and uncertainty obvious in his reply. "No, she looks like a regular person to me….."
Tucker had very quietly reached into his backpack and flicked on the ghost radar he always carried. "The radar isn't picking anything up," Tucker piped up, keeping his voice low. Even thought he hadn't pulled it from his bag, he still felt super conscious talking about ghosts or any paranormal activity within so many people's hearing. Luckily, all the fellow movie-goers were too wrapped up in their own worlds to pay any attention to the three. "But, uh, Danny—we don't see anything." A quick glance at Sam confirmed that she, like Tucker, could not see this person their friend spoke of.
Danny gave each of his friends a quick look to check if they were being truthful. He was met with honest, confused, and concerned looks. He frowned and returned his attention to the girl across the street. Dark, eerie violet eyes met his, framed with dark brown hair with a streak of blonde through her bangs. The eyes sparkled with mysterious mischief and a promise of things to come. A shy smile on her part was offered before looking away from him as if the stare had become too long and uncomfortable.
"Are you sure?" Danny asked and began to describe her. There were more people across the street, some having parked in that area and making their way to the theater or another nearby store. They did live in the nation of consumerism, after all. Whoever was out was either working or spending money. In this area, he was sure most were spending money.
"She sounds pretty." Tucker stated, then added wistfully, "Wish I could see her."
"She hasn't moved!" Danny cried, frustrated. Sam became exasperated and tried to ignore a couple of stares her friends were receiving from some others in line. She spun Danny around so she could look him in the eyes.
"Danny—what you've been pointing at," she explained slowly so he'd have time to digest what she was saying, "isn't a girl. You've been pointing at a stop sign." It was true. Really, all that was over there were a few families, none of which had a girl or woman who remotely matched his description, and a group of guys off to the right of the stop sign, waiting to cross the street.
"What?" Danny's eyes snapped back to where the girl had been standing. A disconcerted and cold feeling settled into the pit of his stomach as his jaw dropped. Sam was right—a stop sign stood in her place. Exactly where she had been not even two seconds ago. There even seemed to be less people than he had thought a few moments ago.
Tucker laughed. "Imagining pretty girls now, Danny? Talk about desperate," he teased, trying to make light of the situation. His friend looked genuinely upset. "Desperate Danny," he laughed good-naturedly, "Danny the Desperate!" Grateful that his friend was at least trying to put him at ease, Danny couldn't shake how bizarre that had been and his face turned a bright red. He couldn't deny that she was clearly no longer there and unless Sam and Tucker were in on some elaborate prank, he didn't think they were lying to him about not being able to see her. The line began to move forward, but only Sam noticed as she moved forward, but Danny still stared across the street in confusion and Tucker stared at his friend in concern. Sam rolled her eyes and reached behind her, gripping Tucker's should lightly since he was closer.
"Come one, line's moving forward." She actually wanted to be in the theater now, watching the movie, no matter how lame. Maybe it would ground Danny back to reality. She wasn't too worried about it. She believed it was probably a ghost and maybe Tucker just needed to tweak the radar. At any rate, she didn't want people passing them in line because they were just standing there. A few people behind them were looking annoyed and aggravated that the two boys hadn't moved.
Tucker nodded at Sam's touch, and grabbed Danny's elbow, yanking him forward and away from whatever he had seen. The line continued to move much more smoothly and neither of the three mentioned the odd event again, anxious to get their tickets and continue on with the day.
New tickets in hand and pockets a little lighter, the trio entered the main lobby and all the activity within it. They had come early so figured they had plenty of time to get refreshments before finding seats. They had quickly made their way to the refreshment area and found the shortest line, thankfully beating a large family to it. Three drinks and a large tub of popcorn later, they began heading towards their theater number.
"I'm so psyched!" Tucker began to ramble, again, about how great the movie was going to be at which Sam felt obligated to roll her eyes. He went on about it and took up trying to convince Sam of the originality of it but came to a halt after a couple minutes, realizing that Danny was remaining strangely quiet and not helping him at all. Danny had been excited about seeing the movie, too. Sam instantly realized what the problem was as Tucker trailed of and they both looked to their left and right before spinning around and checking behind them. Danny had stopped a few feet behind them, standing alert and wary in the middle of the hall, drink clutched tightly in one hand. "Uhm, Danny?" Tucker gave his friend an odd look. He and Sam backpedaled the few steps until they were standing close to their friend again.
Danny's attention was on an elderly woman that was resting on one of the benches placed near the restroom area. She must have been waiting for family or friends. An oxygen tank sat next to her and she had a phone flipped open, fingers pressing various buttons. Unnerved by the intense stare Danny was giving her, Tucker tried to draw his attention away from her. He was pretty sure his friend had seen an oxygen tank before and knew it was rude to stare. "What are you doing?" Tucker nudged his friend, trying to snap him out of his reverie.
"That's her," Danny whispered to his friends. Annoyance crept in Sam's features and Tucker looked put out.
"What?!" Tucker kept his voice low but was obviously puzzled with a note of disappointment. "I thought you said she was pretty...and young!"
"She is," Danny insisted, giving Tucker an odd look.
"Danny," Sam leaned towards her friend, her own voice low. "That 'girl' is a very old lady." She hoped the woman's hearing had gone to the wayside a while ago.
"Yeah," Tucker said agreeably. "She even has an oxygen tank with her! That isn't what I call young!"
"What?!" Danny turned to Tucker, annoyed. "Are you sure you're looking at the same person as me?" There were quite a few people milling about the hall area, one movie having just let out and another had a line while the patrons waited for it to open.
Tucker nodded, also starting to become annoyed with their friend's odder than usual behavior. "The woman on the bench underneath the sign for some kiddie movie coming out in September, right?" There was a large sign above the elderly woman's head with 3D characters that grinned out at them. He took a breath before continuing, "She's sitting on the far right side of it near the entrance for Spiderman." None of them could recall which Spiderman it was and they supposed it didn't matter, there would always be plenty of Spiderman so long as people were willing to pay to see it.
"Yes and she," Danny started and looked away from Tucker, eyes landing back on the woman "...is an old woman," he finished, his voice barely audible. Face paling, his friends had to strain to hear his strangled whisper, "What?"
"Um, Danny, you sure you're feeling okay?" Sam asked, concerned. It was just now occurring to her that perhaps he was sick and running a high fever. Or maybe he had taken something and failed to inform them. That didn't seem very much like him, though.
"Um, y—yeah," Danny stuttered, uncertainly. "I, uh—I thought," he continued staring at the old lady before shaking his head. "Yeah—yeah, I'm fine," he assured his friends. She had thankfully remained oblivious to their attention and Danny let out a shaky sigh. Something must have been put in his drink. A glance at his two friends, though, told him that was probably a faulty theory. They both had large drinks, which Tucker was nursing and had seen nothing. He hadn't had this drink in the line outside the theater. He was at a loss and said nothing else.
Sam decided not to press the matter. However, they were near the bathrooms and she did have to go. "Okay, then," she looked at Danny doubtfully. "Well, since we're here, I gotta stop in real quick anyway," she glanced at Tucker and he nodded. She wanted to make sure he'd be okay alone with Danny, whose hallucination had just been taken to a whole new scary level. Thinking old women were young girls. Just great, she thought. Next, he'll be thinkingI'm an old lady.
"Yeah, ok," Danny mumbled, trying to hide the fact that he was still very much shaken up by the old lady. Sam handed off her drink to him and slipped into the bathroom. It would only take her a couple seconds and she just had to tinkle quickly. She cursed her small bladder. She really hadn't had the urge to go just five minutes ago.
Danny and Tucker were left standing awkwardly in the middle of the hall. Tucker debated going ahead to the theater, but decided against it. On the off chance, the theater was empty, he didn't want to risk going through some bizarre scene with his friend. He was beginning to regret even buying tickets as Danny was putting on a free, though totally unwanted, show. After a couple moments, a couple vacated a nearby bench when their friends exited the bathroom. "Hey, Danny, let's go wait for Sam on that bench," Tucker nodded towards the now empty bench. A silent nod and they went to sit and wait. Tucker glanced at Danny whose mind was clearly preoccupied. "Don't worry, Danny," he tried comforting his friend, "we'll figure it out."
"I don't know, Tuck," Danny shook his head, and averted his eyes to the carpet. "I know I'm not imagining her. It's like—I don't know," some hair fell into his eyes when he shook his head again, confused. He couldn't find the words to express to Tucker just how confident he was she wasn't a figment of his imagination. "But I guess as long as she's not harming anyone or anything..." he pushed the hair out of his eyes, unsure, looking at Tucker for some kind of confirmation and assurance.
Tucker nodded, giving the old lady a sideways glance. He had serious doubts that she could harm anyone, unless she was one of those crazy old ladies in one of those horror movies. They weren't in a horror movie or that's what Tucker thought now. He'd change those thoughts later. He considered that maybe Danny was truly losing his mind. It had been connected to the paranormal for some time now. Arguably, given time, that could drive someone insane, he figured.
Danny just couldn't figure it out. He knewhe was seeing someone—and it wasn't some old, harmless woman...or a stop sign. Maybe I'm losing my mind, his thoughts reflecting Tucker's. It wasn't that hard of a conclusion to come to, after all. With school and his paranormal activities, it really wasn't that illogical to fathom. Stress was a pretty abundant part of his life and it wasn't the good kind. And I don't even have a job yet, he groaned inwardly. I can't wait to see howthat'll turn out. Still, that was at least a good couple years away. If I make it through the next couple years. It occurred to him that he was too young to be having such thoughts and he felt a shot of annoyance at himself. He was too young to give up on anything. He had to at least make it out of high school.
Tucker gave up his mulling and looked to the women's restroom. "Sam sure is taking awhile," Tucker complained, munching on some popcorn. In actuality Sam hadn't been gone longer than a couple minutes, but anything to get rid of this sudden tension that was in the air. Danny nodded and shifted in his seat before finally prying his eyes away from the ground. The sight that met them was nightmarish. A strangled gasp pushed through his throat and he felt his mouth go dry.
Just down the hallway, that girl was back and laughing maniacally as she dug her fingernails into a pale throat. Specifically Sam's! Danny cursed himself for believing the girl to be harmless. Sam was struggling in her grip, clawing at the fingers that were causing her pain but the mysterious girl had made her look like nothing more than a ragdoll in her vice grip.
"Sam!" Danny shouted, jumping up from the bench. Two drinks spiraled out of his hands and towards the carpet. One hit the floor, rolling slightly, the lid miraculously managing to stay on. The other drink hit Tucker's lap and the lid popped off spraying him with icy dark liquid.
"Gah! Danny?!" Tucker squealed in surprise as he was splashed with soda. It had happened in a split second but he had tried to swat the drink away, only to succeed in dumping half their bucket of popcorn that he'd been holding. While trying to right the tub of popcorn, he lost the grip on his own drink, which hit the bench sideways and rolled across it before sailing to the carpet below. Halfway through its journey to the carpet, the lid popped and there was some soda spewing to be had before it hit the carpet with a 'kerplunk!' Tucker took in the mess and groaned, feeling his face heat up, and areas of his skin go cold at the contact with ice and cold soda. The employees were not going to be happy.
Danny had made a mad dash for Sam, arriving at his destination in seconds. Of course, the hall had other movie patrons about it and he had knocked a couple people aside in his hurry to help his friend. Needless to say, those people weren't exactly thrilled and happily yelled some cuss words at him and flipped him the bird before going about their merry way. He was lucky they weren't more aggressive. Danny did not seem to notice or care about the angry patrons, instead his only focus on the girl that was strangling his friend. Without much thought he hurled a fist at her, only to be easily blocked. He kicked and his foot was swatted away. He came at her faster and more furious only to have her block every move with one hand while keeping a firm grip around Sam's neck. Sam's face was turning a light shade of blue and her frantic fingers that had been frantically clawing at her attacker's hands were slowing.
"Let her go!" Danny cried becoming more upset with each missed punch and kick. He was a about to go ghost and give this crazy girl a real run for her money when he was spun around.
"Danny." Sam's voice was odd and she had this astonished expression on her face like she could not believe what she had just witnessed.
"Sam?" Danny looked at her, utterly confused. "But—but..." he glanced behind him at where Sam had just been limp and pale, unable to breathe oxygen. In their place was a...
"Danny, why are you attacking a movie standee?" Sam questioned, not at all amused by her friend's questionable antics and more than slightly alarmed.
"What was that?!" Tucker whispered fiercely at Danny, having already abandoned their very wet bench. Danny looked absolutely mortified. Other moviegoers had stopped to stare. Even the two he'd pushed out of the way had stopped to gape. Some were laughing, a couple looked intrigued, and the rest were just giving him odd looks. Another movie had let out and the halls were full again. One of the movies that had yet to start had an even longer line than when they had originally entered the hall.
"I—I," Danny whispered to his friends, voice shaking, aware of the many stares. "That girl—she was here—she came back. She was attacking you!" He looked at Sam desperately wishing she'd confirm what he was saying. She didn't look frazzled or anything like someone who had just been nearly choked to death.
Sam was taken aback. "What? Danny, no one's attacked me. I was in the bathroom and I'm fine. I promise."
"Yeah," Tucker jumped in with a nod. "That was crazy. You just started attacking that movie display like it was some monster!"He shook his head. "And you made a mess on your way to do so." He looked over at the bench he'd been sitting on just seconds before. Danny followed his gaze. A couple employees were already surveying the mess and one shot him and infuriated glare while the other shot him a concerned and somewhat frightened look.
"Guys, I'm so sorry," Danny sighed miserably. He avoided eye contact and stared at the ground, ashamed. The carpet was a muted color with some designs he'd never noticed before. They were suddenly the most fascinating thing in the world. "I really thought—it looked so..."
Tucker patted his friend on the back. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure it was an honest mistake. I mean, not very many people purposely attack movie displays! Besides," he waved a hand, "it was a display for some stupid movie, anyway—it deserved a good beating!" Tucker tried his best to put his friend at ease, but a quick look at Sam showed just how concerned he was.
"Maybe we should skip the movie," Sam spoke up. "I don't think we're too welcome here." That and I'm not so sure about Danny—we should probably get him home before he starts attackingpeople, she thought but kept quiet. What if the movie standee and elderly lady had been reversed? Was there a chance her friend might have gone off on that woman as he had to the standee? She didn't voice her thoughts as Danny was clearly wishing the ground would swallow him up.
"I'm so..."
"Don't worry," Tucker cut Danny's apology off. "It's no biggie."
Danny gave Tucker a doubtful look. "I thought you really wanted to see this movie? I can always head home and you two can stay."
"I don't think that's a good idea," Sam was quick to shoot the idea down. That's all they needed—Danny walking home alone—what if he tried to attack moving cars on his way home? And she wasn't about to walk home alone with him—what if he attacked her? Tucker could always see this movie some other time. She sent a significant look at Tucker who caught on real quick.
Tucker grinned good-naturedly. "Nah, it's ok. I mean, chicken embryo? Sounds kind of dumb, huh? Now if it were humanembryo then, yeah, I might be a little upset. But since it isn't, I'm not!" Danny smiled gratefully. Tucker turned to Sam, "We're going to stop in the bathroom," he motioned at his wet clothes, "try an' clean up a bit." He jerked his thumb at Danny. "Splash some cold water on him or something." He grinned.
Sam nodded. "Okay—I'll wait here. Just don't take too long." She was uneasy at this sudden role-reversal. Looking at her friends, though, they did need to clean up and Danny said he needed to use it now. These bathrooms are bad luck or something, she thought, but kept it to herself. It shouldn't take them too long.
"We won't, we're not girls," Tucker assured her before heading into the men's room with Danny. Once in there and away from all the gaping mouths and curious eyes, Danny felt more comfortable being open with his friend. It helped that the bathroom was surprisingly empty. Or so Danny thought.
"Tuck, I think I might really be losing my mind," Danny confided. Tucker glanced around a little confused, but shook his head and made sure his voice was low.
"You know," he began, turning the water on so he could start cleaning up, "I was beginning to think that too, but I'm sure it's nothing we can't figure out," he assured his friend as he wiped off his arms. They'd gotten a fair amount of soda splattered on them and it didn't feel very good. He had to scrub some areas it had already gotten sticky. After cleaning his arms up, he began blotting his clothes, hoping to at least feel a little drier. He glanced over at Danny who wore a forlorn expression on his face. "Don't worry," Tucker tried cheering him up. "I'm sure it has something to do with all that stuff in the basement, ya know what I mean? It's kind of weird this is only happening to you."
"I guess," Danny nodded, unsure why Tucker was speaking in code. Danny sighed and found a urinal to relieve himself in while the other teen continued to swipe at himself with damp paper towels. After a few moments, Danny rejoined Tucker by the sink.
Tucker frowned at the damp paper towel in his hand before letting out a discouraged sigh and tossing it in the trash. He wouldn't exactly call his a successful cleanup, but it would have to do. At least he wasn't as sticky and he felt a little drier than before. He looked downwards, frown deepening.
"Maaan, it looks like I wet myself!" He shook his head, unhappy. There were so many people out there including other students that attended their school. That's all he needed, people starting rumors about him not being able to make it to the bathroom.
"I'm really sorry, Tuck," Danny began before Tucker waved a hand, cutting him off.
"Hey, I've already said don't worry 'bout it. It'll come off when Mom washes them, I'm sure. We just have to be sure not to run into anyone from school on our way out."
Danny slapped his forehead, realization dawning on him. "Ugh, what if someone from school saw me?! I don't think I could live that down! 'The kid who attacked a movie standee.' Oh man, I'll be doomed popularity wise-I'll have to transfer schools!" Suddenly, Danny wasn't so sure he wanted to leave the bathroom. Maybe they could just lock themselves in or something. Until they were both too old to go back to high school. Well, he could dream, couldn't he?
It was Tucker's turn to slap his forehead. What was he thinking? He wasn't exactly helping the situation with Danny. In fact, he suspected, he was making it worse and even more embarrassing. "Don't worry, Danny," Tucker flashed his friend a comforting smile as he went into a stall, needing to do more than just pee. He continued to talk to Danny, hoping to get his friend's mind off school. "So, Danny, about this, uh….vision you keep having—you know, I've been thinking...maybe it's someone calling for help in some bizarre way. Or it could be some freakish warning—like a prophecy or something? There are really all kinds of possibilities when you stop and think..."
Danny splashed cold water on his face while Tucker rambled on about what his "vision" could possibly mean. More like "visions," Danny thought, emphasizing the "s." After all, he'd had more than one "vision" of that girl—only today had she started acting like a threat of some kind. Tucker was still using double speak as if others were in the bathroom, but Danny was positive it was empty save for them.
Whatis wrong with me?Danny thought, annoyed. The girl wasn't a threat—she hadn't even attacked Sam. He had—he had...Danny had been pushing the thought aside, but now he couldn't seem to escape it. Had he been imagining things? Maybe I'm just losing it. The thought wasn't necessarily out of the question. It was a possibility—not one he liked, but it was there. He continued splashing his face as he got lost in thought. He stopped for a second and took a deep breath, realizing just how tired he suddenly was. When did he become so tired? He pushed that thought aside and tried to concentrate on the girl he had seen. Who was she, where had she come from and, most importantly, why. The questions pestered him but he could only find one answer within him.
You should know because you imagined her into existence.Danny shook his head and frowned. Wait—did I just think that? Sighing, his thoughts gave way to nothing but confusion. If he'd "imagined" her into existence why on earth would he imagine Sam being attacked by her? There's no way that could be my imagination. Maybe it was what Tucker was talking about—a forewarning of some sort—that wasn't out of the question either.
Danny stopped suddenly. But if it were a warning...did that mean Sam was going to be attacked? What if she was being assaulted right now? He began to panic—he hadn't even thought of that!
"Tuck, we need to," Danny quickly scrubbed his face dry with a paper towel and looked up into the mirror, "check on—Tucker?!" The reflection he found behind him was more upsetting than he could have ever imagined.
Dark violet eyes met his in the mirror. Tucker was no longer in the stall, but she now held him in front of her, he remained perfectly still. Tucker knew if he were to move, he'd meet an awful fate for against his throat, held with a steady hand, was a giant, shiny butcher knife.
Fear flooded every inch of him as Danny easily grasped how delicate the situation was. With just one smooth motion, those dark eyes could end the life of his best friend. "Please leave him alone," Danny pleaded quietly, not wanting to be too loud or shock the girl in any way possible. One startled movement and that knife could be lodged in Tucker's throat. When had Tuck stopped talking? The thought fleeted across his mind but vanished as soon as it appeared.
The eerie eyes met his in the mirror and with her free hand she signaled for him to turn around. Slowly and carefully he turned. Numbness and disbelief filled him that smooth motion he had been so hoping to prevent happened. Without a blink, and eyes still locked on his, the girl calmly slit his friend's throat. The body dropped to the ground as though he was nothing more than a cigarette that needed to be stomped out. Eyes widening, all the thoughts in Danny's head ground to a thought as he tried to process what had just happened. His whole mind desperately tried to refuse to believe what had just happened. It had to be fake, he—no, Tucker.
An innocent look and small smile were all that remained on the girl's face. Danny could do nothing but stare helplessly at his friend's limp and lifeless body, comprehension slowly seeping into him. He tore his eyes away from Tucker and turned a fiery and indignant look onto the silent killer that stood before him, showing no signs of remorse.
"You—you..." Danny suddenly lost any and all logic he'd had and lunged at her, an angry holler resounding throughout the restroom.
She dodged a couple punches before staggering backwards a couple feet when Danny landed a blow. Grabbing one of her arms, he dug his nails into her flesh, drawing blood. She let out a short scream before breaking free of his grip. She stumbled backwards into the stall and slammed the door shut, locking herself in.
Danny, blinded by shock and anger, forgot he could just go through the door. Instead, with adrenaline pumping, he threw all his body weight at it, forcefully banging it open on the first try. He was about to land another angry punch on her when someone suddenly yanked him out of the stall.
"Danny?!"
Danny jerked his hand away and slowly began backing away, his eyes trained on Tucker, who was now standing. And very much alive. No signs of any corpse on the floor could be seen. No blood, no butcher knife flung aside to the ground. To make matters worse, there were a few other guys in the bathroom, each looking beyond disturbed. A couple were quickly trying to finish things up and flee. "T—Tucker? How—how did you...?"
Tucker stared at Danny, aghast. "Danny—what-what—wasthat?!" He moved his hands, attempting to make a point but, instead, his hands only seemed to form rapid circles in the air as he was too shocked to even speak. "What were you—did you-I—I can't—believe—I...can't even—finish my sentences!" Danny continued backing away. Tucker's mouth seemed to reach the floor and he was giving Danny such a shocked 'Do I really know you?' look, it scared Danny. Tucker shook his head and tore his eyes away from Danny for a moment, looking at the door to the bathroom stall Danny had been in. He finally managed to get control over his hands again and pointed at the bottom corner of it. "You—you unhinged it. It wasn't even locked!" Tucker advanced towards Danny who, in turn, picked up his pace and backed away even quicker. It had been an empty stall. It had been luck because on either side, the other stalls were occupied.
"She—she slit your throat—I saw—you...you were dead," he stuttered, uncertainly. For all he knew he could be imagining this right now—what if Tucker was just that, anyway? A figment of his imagination? Danny shivered—it was suddenly very cold in the room. The spot where Tucker's body had been was vacant and...Danny bit his lip. He had no idea what he was doing or thinking. He wasn't even sure if half the thoughts he thought were his own anymore.
Tucker's hands fell to his sides and he gave his friend the most incredulous look he was sure he'd ever given anyone. "Danny—if someone had slit my throat and killed me within the last five minutes—I'd know!" Tucker locked onto Danny's eyes and kept his gaze, continuing with a softer tone, "But no one's attacked me. Actually, I was still talking to you when you went...bonkers."
Danny inhaled deeply and slowly exhaled. He was still pretty shaken up at the sight he'd "witnessed" earlier. Real or not, it was scary enough to give him nightmares. "She was here, Tucker," Danny said with so much conviction it chilled Tucker to the bone.
"No one was here, Danny," Tucker said slowly and lowly. The men who'd been in the bathroom with them had all pretty much filtered out and new ones were entering that were unaware of what had just transpired.
Danny nodded his head. "Yeah, she was," he insisted. "She was..." he trailed off when he glimpsed his arm. It was bleeding. How did that...?Relief washed over him. Of course—the fight he'd just had. He now had proof that he wasn't seeing things or losing his mind. "How do you explain this if no one else was here?" he asked, lifting his arm so Tucker could see.
Tucker gave Danny an odd look before closing his eyes. He took a deep breath while rubbing his eyelids, worn-out and distressed. When he opened his eyes again, Danny was unnerved at how troubled and saddened his best friend looked.
"Danny," Tucker said slowly in as soft a tone as possible, "You did that."