-7-
THE PARTY
"Nice glove, Danny," Gord said sarcastically as Danny climbed into the taxicab, in full Freddy Krueger gear. They were on their way to pick up Terri, to go to Justin's Halloween party. "Who are you supposed to be…Michael Jackson from Hell?"
"Now that, wouldn't be as bad of a costume as it sounds!" Danny came back, with a sneer. "You ever see Thriller?"
"Touché!" Gord laughed, as the two clasped hands in a brotherly grip, which suspiciously resembled an arm wrestle.
"And you're one to talk!" Danny continued, "What's with that chainsaw, Mr. Black and Decker?"
"Name's Ash. Housewares." They laughed again. "Although I don't know how the guy in that movie carried this thing around for so long. My arm's already starting to go numb from the weight!"
"And it's going to make drinking a pain." Danny put in.
"So true," Gord sighed. "Speaking of which…" Gord slyly pulled a metal flask from his shirt and watching the cabby wasn't looking back, he took a swig. Danny stifled a chuckle. Smiling, Gord handed the flask to him.
"I saw that, son," The Cabby turned, and looked back at them. He had long haggard hair, and was wearing sunglasses at night, Danny noticed, to his amusement. The cabby looked to Danny like one of those "punk" rock stars his mother used to listen to; like that Lou Reed guy. "Best be giving me a swing of that, if you don't want any trouble." The cabby's hard weathered face broke into a quiet smile.
The boys laughed in amused relief. "You got it! Gord said, as he handed the flask to the driver.
The two were already half in the bag, when the cab pulled around to pick up Terri. She was running to the car, freezing, while clad in nothing more then her leopard skin loincloth, and a coat to keep her warm. Both of the boys let out a sigh of awe as she ran towards the car. Terri was gorgeous, and in that loincloth, she was looking good.
With the effects of the alcohol taking its hold, Danny stopped to ponder his amazing luck over the last few months. Since he had moved here, he had felt awkward and outcast, but right from the get go, Terri had been so warm and inviting. This was especially puzzling to him because, he wasn't very good with girls, and she had been so popular. When she asked him to the school dance two months ago, he had just about flipped his lid. He had to do a double take just to make sure she was serious, and not resorting to some cheap prank put forth by one of her ditzy cheerleader friends.
She had appeared hurt when he suggested such, and immediately a pang of guilt flushed through him. Quickly, he resorted to damage control, and graciously accepted her offer. The two had been going out ever since.
It was absolutely amazing how warm and inviting she was, and so absolutely disarming. Danny found himself confiding in her about his deepest, darkest secrets, things he thought he wouldn't ever tell anyone. Even that crap back in Haddonfield, which he found hard to discuss even with his parents. He had exposed his soul to her, knowing that she would understand, and not judge him.
At that moment, Danny realized how much he was in love with her.
"Open up, you bastards!" She pounded on the door, which Gord had just locked. "I'm freezing my butt off out here!" Danny and Gord were laughing uncontrollably, and the cabby even managed an amused smile. " You jerks! Come on!! I'M FREEZING!"
Finally, Gord opened the door, and still laughing, he let Terri by to sit beside Danny. On her way in, she elbowed Gord in the gut playfully, and punched him in the shoulder. "You're such an ass," she said, smiling.
"I am what I eat!" Gord countered, and they were all laughing again.
"Hello, handsome, Terri said, as she slid up against Danny and placed a gentle kiss on his lips, her silky blonde locks tickling his cheek in a dangle. Everything about her seemed to ooze sexuality. Danny stiffened in his seat, and smiled.
"Hello, my beautiful jungle queen," Danny smiled as he took her in his arms and kissed her again. Is the magnificent queen Sheena ready to head to the jungle to party?"
"Lead the way!" She returned his smile with her own, a smile that could erupt a volcano.
"Onward, James!" Gord called to the driver.
"Yeah, kid, whatever," the driver returned in his thick British accent.
The party, as it turned out, was a huge success. The house was packed with people, dressed in an array of bizarre and interesting costumes. In the kitchen, a large rotund blond man in a blue sailor's cap was struggling with the pump to the beer keg. Frustrated, he took his hat off and slapped the thin man in the red shirt and white hat beside him across the head.
"You broke the lousy pump, little buddy!"
"Ow! I told you to knock that shit off, man! It gets old pretty quick! Give me the damn pump! I'll get it working." The thin guy in the red shirt and white cap placed his beer on the trashcan beside the keg.
Suddenly, the trashcan's lid began to rise. The beer spilled to the floor, and a furry green face stuck its head out and looked around.
"What the hell's goin' on around here? And what's all that racket?"
The two men struggling with the beer pump began to howl in amused surprise. The large one began to laugh so hard, he fell to the floor, while his face turned beat red.
"Well, don't just stand there like a couple of idiots! Hand me that funnel and let's start chugging! Seconds later, the funnel was in the fur face's mouth, and the fat sailor was pouring the beer in.
"CHUG CHUG CHUG CHUG!!!" A small group had gathered around the trashcan and started to chant.
"Guys!" Justin greeted, with open arms, as Danny, Terri and Gord walked in the door. He walked over and gave Terri a squeeze, while staring at Danny over her shoulder. Justin's hair was dyed green and his face painted like some demented clown. Where he had found the purple suit was a mystery to Danny.
"Danny, I thought I told you to wear a costume!"
"Hardy har, har, clown-boy," Danny responded, with lack of amusement. He couldn't place why, but he didn't care for Justin. There was just something about him that made Danny feel uneasy. The same words out of anybody else's mouth would have made Danny laugh in good humour, but Justin's slights always seemed to come with a bite; there was always an undercurrent of true venom with them. But hey, it wasn't like Danny had a right to complain. Justin was friends with Terri long before he knew her, and who was he to tell her who she should hang with and who she shouldn't? The last thing Danny wanted to do tonight was upset her; over the last couple of weeks, she had hinted and alluded to tonight being THE NIGHT.
"I've got a surprise for you at the end of the party," she had whispered in his ear while giving it a nibble, before they had stepped out of the taxi. Danny's heart began to pound with mad anticipation.
As well, Justin and Danny shared, by association, the same social circles, so Justin had unfortunately become a pain Danny had to tolerate.
Besides, Justin wasn't all bad…he always threw rockin' parties.
After a brief trip to the kitchen to reload on beer, they followed Justin into the livingroom. The music was pumped to a maximum, and the house shook while the room flickered in strobes of orange. Below the lights, dozens of fiends, devils and monsters danced and partied in drunken delight.
As the night grew on, the party got wilder. Danny had just won a face-off with Justin in a beer chugging contest. Justin had called Danny on, and Terri had playfully agreed to kiss the winner. Danny, never willing to back down from a challenge, had dropped five consecutive beer in the course of seconds. Justin stuck with him up until the forth, but gagged on the last, the beer spewing forth in a foamy mess.
"You lose, Bozo," Gord said, giving Justin a condescending pat on the back. He too shared Danny's distaste for Justin, and acknowledged him as a necessary pain.
"Yeah, yeah," Justin spewed, his pride momentarily wounded. "Sure he won the small time round. But you babies ready to play ball in the major league?" Bouncing back from his defeat with a smile, he produced a bag and a syringe.
Danny and Gord's jaws dropped in shocked unison.
"Fuck off with that junkie-shit." Gord protested with a dismissive wave.
"Come on, you pussy faggot. What happened to the trash talk? Put your money where your mouth is."
"I don't like it," Danny said, uneasily. "I don't like the risks involved."
"What, you think I'd set you up with a dirty needle man? This is top-line, man. Completely clean. And in case you hadn't noticed, you guys are the only ones I'm offering it to. It's not like I'm handing it out at the door."
"I still don't like it." Danny maintained.
"Just as I thought. Fucking wimp," Justin rolled his eyes in distaste, and then placed his gaze on Terri. "What do you say, angel? Want to hook up for the wild ride?"
Terri paused, her gaze falling to Danny then back to Justin with a look of indecision. "I…I'll try it if Danny will."
"What the hell?!" Danny exclaimed in protest.
"Have you lost your mind, Kitten?" Gord put in.
"Oh, come on, Danny. Aren't you the least bit curious? It's only once. It might be fun. Don't you want to try it just to say that you did?" She had that pout on her face; the one Danny had never been able to resist. She brought his face to hers, and pierced his heart with those deep blue eyes. "Come on, Danny, do it for me. Please?" She smiled that wicked smile, and Danny, having lost the first half of his inhibitions with the booze, felt the rest of his will giving away.
"Yeah come on, Danny," Justin interrupted with a mocking tone. "Show some balls or Terri won't play with them!" He cackled madly, and cupped his crotch.
"Shut up dip-shit!" Terri told Justin with a nudge.
"All right," Danny finally gave in. "I guess it won't hurt…just once."
"Man, you are fucking crazy," Gord spouted in outrage. "Have fun jabbing your veins. Count me out." With that, Gord retreated to the kitchen for more beer. He needed a drink.
Danny and Terri rolled up their sleeves, and Justin tied the tension. He then prepared the needle and shot them up.
Danny's head arched back in an explosion of sensation. Nausea seeped up within him, and he forced it down with a gulp. Even with his eyes closed, he could feel the room begin to spin uncontrollably. When he opened his eyes, Terri was laughing madly and pulling him onto the dance floor.
The strobe of the lights did not help his condition. The after-images of the lights took on a haunting ghostly presence, and the room and the people distorted in a thousand different ways. Terri, a woman possessed, continued to dance passionately, rubbing and gyrating up against him. This did nothing to ease the growing apprehension building inside of him. He was in a room full of monsters. Time seemed to speed up and then abruptly slow down. Suddenly, everyone was moving in slow motion, and Justin's face floated into his peripheral vision, like a disembodied balloon full of helium. His grin spread out across his entire face, bearing far too many teeth. He cackled with a shark's grin, the grin swallowing his face as it opened.
"Hey Danny," Justin said, his voice deepened, and distorted. "You ever dance with the devil by the pale moonlight?"
The boom of the music sent a dizzying quake through Danny's head. Then Justin was laughing. And laughing. And laughing. His voice rose, like it was infected with helium, and he continued to laugh. The pitch of his laughs met a maddening peak, and Danny screamed.
A silence fell over the room as Danny fell to the floor, and launched his lunch. People looked upon him with grave concern, when Gord ran to him and helped him up. Then the music went back on, and people went back to the business of partying.
"Danny, oh Jesus…are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm okay…just give me a minute to shake it off…"Danny said distantly. Gord didn't buy it. Danny was in a bad way, and Gord was thinking that maybe they should split.
"Pussy faggot," Justin spat, and walked away.
Gord flashed Justin a contemptuous scowl, and returned his attention to Danny. "Let's bug out, man."
"No!" Danny screamed in overreaction. We're not leaving. Just give me some fucking space. I need a drink."
You numb fuck, Gord thought to himself, beginning to feel a little angry at Danny. How could he be so stupid? He gestured to Danny, who was catching his breath, bent over and holding his knees. Danny caught his gaze and waved him off. There was no talking to him.
Maybe Terri can help convince him, he thought.
When he found her, she was chatting up a girl in a skimpy sailor suit. A wave of arousal fell over him, as he marveled at her beauty. God, she is beautiful, he thought. And damn, if she didn't look good in that leopard skin loincloth.
As he walked over to speak with her, Gord noticed that she was uncharacteristically giddy. He wondered how much the drugs were affecting her, as well. Unlike Danny, she seemed completely fine, which struck Gord as odd. She was lucky to be ninety-five pounds, yet she wasn't showing a sign, except for the giddiness.
Women can take a lot, Gord dismissed his skeptical line of thinking with a thought. Look at childbirth…can you see a guy squeezing a pumpkin out of a hole the size of a golf ball? He thought not.
"Terri," he began.
"Hey there, Gordo." Terri said with a whispery voice, as she placed a hand on his chest and flashed him a come hither glance. Gord was taken aback.
"I think we should check out, Kitten. Danny's in a bad way, and I think he should sleep it off."
She spared a nonchalant glance to Danny in the kitchen, then turned back to Gord and gave him that piercing stare with her deep blue eyes. Gord was beginning to feel uneasy, and torn. Danny was his friend, and he felt guilty for the way he was feeling right then.
The truth was, he had always had a crush on Terri. But then luck swung its way to Danny, and Gord accepted it, trying in vain not to feel jealous.
Seeming to read his thoughts, she jumped up and kissed him passionately. She forced her tongue into his mouth, and he thought he was going to faint.
"Let's go upstairs instead," she said with her lips close to his, again in that throaty whisper.
Gord was exasperated and confused. Too much was going down too fast. His head began to throb from overload. "What, what about Danny?"
This time she didn't spare a glance. "Fuck him," she said with a contemptuous tone. "He'd be the one going upstairs with me right now, if he wasn't such a limp dick!"
Gord angered a bit at this. How could she be saying this? This whole thing was starting to feel surreal. It was starting to feel like some sort of dark fantasy. Then Terri's hand slid down his leg, and cupped his crotch. She kissed him again, holding his bottom lip in a nibble before parting, and spoke yet again in that sexy throaty whisper.
"You do want to go up don't you?" She began to pout. "I was starting to think that you liked me."
At this moment, Gord's brain stopped working. The back up generator in his crotch kicked into overload.
"What do you say?" she said, with finality.
"Okay."
She led him up the stairs, and once again that growing guilt began to worm its way back into Gord's mind. He felt awful for betraying Danny this way. He pushed the thoughts away. Screw it. Obviously, Terri wasn't as interested in him as he had thought, and someone was bound to be there, someday. It might as well be him. Hell, life was too short, and you needed to live without regret, he thought. And God he wanted her. He had always wanted her. He took another drink, and followed her to the bedroom.
Once he closed the door, he turned, and Terri was on him. She kissed him passionately, and pulled his shirt, still buttoned, over his head. Before he could free his arms, she giggled and pushed him flat onto the bed, and within seconds she was straddling him, holding his arms above his head in the makeshift noose of his shirt.
She flashed him a dirty grin. "Give me some sugar, baby," she spoke coyly, and her lips were on his again. Then she was kissing his cheek. His throat. His Chest. For a brief moment, Gord thought it was going to be over before it began. He had never experienced anything like this before.
She's been holding out on you Danny-boy, he thought with mixed emotions. Sorry about your luck guy, he thought again.
She worked her way down to his navel, and he could feel the warm heat of her breath. Suddenly she was back to face him again, he silk blonde hair dangling over him and she whispered in his ear.
"Oh, Gord," she began, gyrating and rubbing against him. "I've got this sudden craving. I've got to have it."
"What?" he said dreamily.
She looked deeply into his eyes. "Let me taste it, Gord. Please? I need it so bad!"
OH
MY
GOD
Gord thought.
His face broke into an open dirty grin. "Take all you like," he said with nothing but filthy intent.
"You mean that?" Terri put her finger to her lip and feigned a look of angelic innocence.
"You betcha!"
"Aw, you're such a dear." She responded with that bubbly cheerleader enthusiasm. With a pinch of his cheek, she reached behind her back and pulled a knife from her belt and drove it into his chest multiple times. He struggled and thrashed, but she held her weight on him, and maintained her grip on his arms, which were still locked in his shirt above his head. She slit his throat and began to kiss him madly, the blood from his jugular squirting its warmth into her face, painting it red.
"Oh Gord, that tastes so good. So good…"
Down stairs, Danny tried groggily to regain his senses, but the room was still spinning. Justin walked in, and dead-bolted the kitchen door. He turned to Danny, and spoke.
"Come on sport," he helped Danny to his feet and brought him out to the living room. We can't have you missing the main attraction."
"Look," Justin laughed, and tilted Danny's limp head to see that some other guy was locking the living room door. "You can check in, but ya can't check out!" Justin laughed again.
Danny's head spun around to meet Justin's eyes, confused. Just what was going on, here? Then the power to the music was cut, and Danny's gaze turned to the sound of a strangely familiar voice, thick with a British accent.
The cab driver was standing on the buffet table, on the left side of the room. What the heck was he doing here, Danny wondered in confusion.
"Is this for real? Or am I hallucinating again?" He said, weakly.
"Oh, its very real, chief," Justin replied. "Watch and learn."
"Children of the night," The cab driver began, while the audience looked on, in stunned amusement. He raised his hands, as if in sermon. "In one week's time, Cernunnos, Herne, the horned one, the god of the hunt, will rise, and with him bring the legion of the underworld. Then, the Eternal Hunt shall begin. Sadly, none of you will be here to see it."
Bemused moans of regret and giggles ran throughout the audience. This was some party. The character on the table paused and grinned widely.
Still grinning, he removed his glasses. "You're just the appetizer," he said and began to laugh. His eyes were black, like the eyes of a snake.
Someone flicked the music back on.
Then everybody started dying.
Two men at the living room's entrance fashioned guns and began opening fire on the party. People screamed as the bullets riddled them, as their bodies shook in mad caricatures of their previous dancing.
With long blades, two others cut down the ones that brushed by Danny and Justin and tried to get to the kitchen door. They butchered them madly, their crazed hacking unrelenting.
In immobilized shock, all Danny could do was watch. Then Justin was in his face again.
"Does this party kick ass, or what? He said and laughed that sickening laugh again. The laugh was cut short, however, when Danny buried his fist in his face.
"Terri! Gord!" Danny called out as he ran up the stairs to the second floor, the only place left to go. In a desperate fit, he kicked the first bedroom door open, and froze in sickened disbelief at the sight before him.
Gord lied dead, in a bloody mess, on the bed. Staddling him, sucking at his open throat was Terri, drenched in his blood.
"She looked up and flashed him that innocent angelic look of hers. "Danny!" She called out with enthusiasm. "Surprise!"
She went over to hug him, and he recoiled in sudden terror. He turned to run back out the door, only to come face to face with the cab driver. He was still grinning, his black eyes absorbing Danny intently.
"What's the matter, kid?" Lose your nerve?" With that, he slammed his fist into Danny's temple. Danny dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes.
"Hey baby," Terri smiled and walked over to the cab driver, and gave him a squeeze.
"Hello, little bit," he responded, and taking her in his arms, he dipped her and kissed her bloody face.
"Time to go," He said, at last. "The boss wants his cargo as soon as possible."
THE PARTY
"Nice glove, Danny," Gord said sarcastically as Danny climbed into the taxicab, in full Freddy Krueger gear. They were on their way to pick up Terri, to go to Justin's Halloween party. "Who are you supposed to be…Michael Jackson from Hell?"
"Now that, wouldn't be as bad of a costume as it sounds!" Danny came back, with a sneer. "You ever see Thriller?"
"Touché!" Gord laughed, as the two clasped hands in a brotherly grip, which suspiciously resembled an arm wrestle.
"And you're one to talk!" Danny continued, "What's with that chainsaw, Mr. Black and Decker?"
"Name's Ash. Housewares." They laughed again. "Although I don't know how the guy in that movie carried this thing around for so long. My arm's already starting to go numb from the weight!"
"And it's going to make drinking a pain." Danny put in.
"So true," Gord sighed. "Speaking of which…" Gord slyly pulled a metal flask from his shirt and watching the cabby wasn't looking back, he took a swig. Danny stifled a chuckle. Smiling, Gord handed the flask to him.
"I saw that, son," The Cabby turned, and looked back at them. He had long haggard hair, and was wearing sunglasses at night, Danny noticed, to his amusement. The cabby looked to Danny like one of those "punk" rock stars his mother used to listen to; like that Lou Reed guy. "Best be giving me a swing of that, if you don't want any trouble." The cabby's hard weathered face broke into a quiet smile.
The boys laughed in amused relief. "You got it! Gord said, as he handed the flask to the driver.
The two were already half in the bag, when the cab pulled around to pick up Terri. She was running to the car, freezing, while clad in nothing more then her leopard skin loincloth, and a coat to keep her warm. Both of the boys let out a sigh of awe as she ran towards the car. Terri was gorgeous, and in that loincloth, she was looking good.
With the effects of the alcohol taking its hold, Danny stopped to ponder his amazing luck over the last few months. Since he had moved here, he had felt awkward and outcast, but right from the get go, Terri had been so warm and inviting. This was especially puzzling to him because, he wasn't very good with girls, and she had been so popular. When she asked him to the school dance two months ago, he had just about flipped his lid. He had to do a double take just to make sure she was serious, and not resorting to some cheap prank put forth by one of her ditzy cheerleader friends.
She had appeared hurt when he suggested such, and immediately a pang of guilt flushed through him. Quickly, he resorted to damage control, and graciously accepted her offer. The two had been going out ever since.
It was absolutely amazing how warm and inviting she was, and so absolutely disarming. Danny found himself confiding in her about his deepest, darkest secrets, things he thought he wouldn't ever tell anyone. Even that crap back in Haddonfield, which he found hard to discuss even with his parents. He had exposed his soul to her, knowing that she would understand, and not judge him.
At that moment, Danny realized how much he was in love with her.
"Open up, you bastards!" She pounded on the door, which Gord had just locked. "I'm freezing my butt off out here!" Danny and Gord were laughing uncontrollably, and the cabby even managed an amused smile. " You jerks! Come on!! I'M FREEZING!"
Finally, Gord opened the door, and still laughing, he let Terri by to sit beside Danny. On her way in, she elbowed Gord in the gut playfully, and punched him in the shoulder. "You're such an ass," she said, smiling.
"I am what I eat!" Gord countered, and they were all laughing again.
"Hello, handsome, Terri said, as she slid up against Danny and placed a gentle kiss on his lips, her silky blonde locks tickling his cheek in a dangle. Everything about her seemed to ooze sexuality. Danny stiffened in his seat, and smiled.
"Hello, my beautiful jungle queen," Danny smiled as he took her in his arms and kissed her again. Is the magnificent queen Sheena ready to head to the jungle to party?"
"Lead the way!" She returned his smile with her own, a smile that could erupt a volcano.
"Onward, James!" Gord called to the driver.
"Yeah, kid, whatever," the driver returned in his thick British accent.
The party, as it turned out, was a huge success. The house was packed with people, dressed in an array of bizarre and interesting costumes. In the kitchen, a large rotund blond man in a blue sailor's cap was struggling with the pump to the beer keg. Frustrated, he took his hat off and slapped the thin man in the red shirt and white hat beside him across the head.
"You broke the lousy pump, little buddy!"
"Ow! I told you to knock that shit off, man! It gets old pretty quick! Give me the damn pump! I'll get it working." The thin guy in the red shirt and white cap placed his beer on the trashcan beside the keg.
Suddenly, the trashcan's lid began to rise. The beer spilled to the floor, and a furry green face stuck its head out and looked around.
"What the hell's goin' on around here? And what's all that racket?"
The two men struggling with the beer pump began to howl in amused surprise. The large one began to laugh so hard, he fell to the floor, while his face turned beat red.
"Well, don't just stand there like a couple of idiots! Hand me that funnel and let's start chugging! Seconds later, the funnel was in the fur face's mouth, and the fat sailor was pouring the beer in.
"CHUG CHUG CHUG CHUG!!!" A small group had gathered around the trashcan and started to chant.
"Guys!" Justin greeted, with open arms, as Danny, Terri and Gord walked in the door. He walked over and gave Terri a squeeze, while staring at Danny over her shoulder. Justin's hair was dyed green and his face painted like some demented clown. Where he had found the purple suit was a mystery to Danny.
"Danny, I thought I told you to wear a costume!"
"Hardy har, har, clown-boy," Danny responded, with lack of amusement. He couldn't place why, but he didn't care for Justin. There was just something about him that made Danny feel uneasy. The same words out of anybody else's mouth would have made Danny laugh in good humour, but Justin's slights always seemed to come with a bite; there was always an undercurrent of true venom with them. But hey, it wasn't like Danny had a right to complain. Justin was friends with Terri long before he knew her, and who was he to tell her who she should hang with and who she shouldn't? The last thing Danny wanted to do tonight was upset her; over the last couple of weeks, she had hinted and alluded to tonight being THE NIGHT.
"I've got a surprise for you at the end of the party," she had whispered in his ear while giving it a nibble, before they had stepped out of the taxi. Danny's heart began to pound with mad anticipation.
As well, Justin and Danny shared, by association, the same social circles, so Justin had unfortunately become a pain Danny had to tolerate.
Besides, Justin wasn't all bad…he always threw rockin' parties.
After a brief trip to the kitchen to reload on beer, they followed Justin into the livingroom. The music was pumped to a maximum, and the house shook while the room flickered in strobes of orange. Below the lights, dozens of fiends, devils and monsters danced and partied in drunken delight.
As the night grew on, the party got wilder. Danny had just won a face-off with Justin in a beer chugging contest. Justin had called Danny on, and Terri had playfully agreed to kiss the winner. Danny, never willing to back down from a challenge, had dropped five consecutive beer in the course of seconds. Justin stuck with him up until the forth, but gagged on the last, the beer spewing forth in a foamy mess.
"You lose, Bozo," Gord said, giving Justin a condescending pat on the back. He too shared Danny's distaste for Justin, and acknowledged him as a necessary pain.
"Yeah, yeah," Justin spewed, his pride momentarily wounded. "Sure he won the small time round. But you babies ready to play ball in the major league?" Bouncing back from his defeat with a smile, he produced a bag and a syringe.
Danny and Gord's jaws dropped in shocked unison.
"Fuck off with that junkie-shit." Gord protested with a dismissive wave.
"Come on, you pussy faggot. What happened to the trash talk? Put your money where your mouth is."
"I don't like it," Danny said, uneasily. "I don't like the risks involved."
"What, you think I'd set you up with a dirty needle man? This is top-line, man. Completely clean. And in case you hadn't noticed, you guys are the only ones I'm offering it to. It's not like I'm handing it out at the door."
"I still don't like it." Danny maintained.
"Just as I thought. Fucking wimp," Justin rolled his eyes in distaste, and then placed his gaze on Terri. "What do you say, angel? Want to hook up for the wild ride?"
Terri paused, her gaze falling to Danny then back to Justin with a look of indecision. "I…I'll try it if Danny will."
"What the hell?!" Danny exclaimed in protest.
"Have you lost your mind, Kitten?" Gord put in.
"Oh, come on, Danny. Aren't you the least bit curious? It's only once. It might be fun. Don't you want to try it just to say that you did?" She had that pout on her face; the one Danny had never been able to resist. She brought his face to hers, and pierced his heart with those deep blue eyes. "Come on, Danny, do it for me. Please?" She smiled that wicked smile, and Danny, having lost the first half of his inhibitions with the booze, felt the rest of his will giving away.
"Yeah come on, Danny," Justin interrupted with a mocking tone. "Show some balls or Terri won't play with them!" He cackled madly, and cupped his crotch.
"Shut up dip-shit!" Terri told Justin with a nudge.
"All right," Danny finally gave in. "I guess it won't hurt…just once."
"Man, you are fucking crazy," Gord spouted in outrage. "Have fun jabbing your veins. Count me out." With that, Gord retreated to the kitchen for more beer. He needed a drink.
Danny and Terri rolled up their sleeves, and Justin tied the tension. He then prepared the needle and shot them up.
Danny's head arched back in an explosion of sensation. Nausea seeped up within him, and he forced it down with a gulp. Even with his eyes closed, he could feel the room begin to spin uncontrollably. When he opened his eyes, Terri was laughing madly and pulling him onto the dance floor.
The strobe of the lights did not help his condition. The after-images of the lights took on a haunting ghostly presence, and the room and the people distorted in a thousand different ways. Terri, a woman possessed, continued to dance passionately, rubbing and gyrating up against him. This did nothing to ease the growing apprehension building inside of him. He was in a room full of monsters. Time seemed to speed up and then abruptly slow down. Suddenly, everyone was moving in slow motion, and Justin's face floated into his peripheral vision, like a disembodied balloon full of helium. His grin spread out across his entire face, bearing far too many teeth. He cackled with a shark's grin, the grin swallowing his face as it opened.
"Hey Danny," Justin said, his voice deepened, and distorted. "You ever dance with the devil by the pale moonlight?"
The boom of the music sent a dizzying quake through Danny's head. Then Justin was laughing. And laughing. And laughing. His voice rose, like it was infected with helium, and he continued to laugh. The pitch of his laughs met a maddening peak, and Danny screamed.
A silence fell over the room as Danny fell to the floor, and launched his lunch. People looked upon him with grave concern, when Gord ran to him and helped him up. Then the music went back on, and people went back to the business of partying.
"Danny, oh Jesus…are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm okay…just give me a minute to shake it off…"Danny said distantly. Gord didn't buy it. Danny was in a bad way, and Gord was thinking that maybe they should split.
"Pussy faggot," Justin spat, and walked away.
Gord flashed Justin a contemptuous scowl, and returned his attention to Danny. "Let's bug out, man."
"No!" Danny screamed in overreaction. We're not leaving. Just give me some fucking space. I need a drink."
You numb fuck, Gord thought to himself, beginning to feel a little angry at Danny. How could he be so stupid? He gestured to Danny, who was catching his breath, bent over and holding his knees. Danny caught his gaze and waved him off. There was no talking to him.
Maybe Terri can help convince him, he thought.
When he found her, she was chatting up a girl in a skimpy sailor suit. A wave of arousal fell over him, as he marveled at her beauty. God, she is beautiful, he thought. And damn, if she didn't look good in that leopard skin loincloth.
As he walked over to speak with her, Gord noticed that she was uncharacteristically giddy. He wondered how much the drugs were affecting her, as well. Unlike Danny, she seemed completely fine, which struck Gord as odd. She was lucky to be ninety-five pounds, yet she wasn't showing a sign, except for the giddiness.
Women can take a lot, Gord dismissed his skeptical line of thinking with a thought. Look at childbirth…can you see a guy squeezing a pumpkin out of a hole the size of a golf ball? He thought not.
"Terri," he began.
"Hey there, Gordo." Terri said with a whispery voice, as she placed a hand on his chest and flashed him a come hither glance. Gord was taken aback.
"I think we should check out, Kitten. Danny's in a bad way, and I think he should sleep it off."
She spared a nonchalant glance to Danny in the kitchen, then turned back to Gord and gave him that piercing stare with her deep blue eyes. Gord was beginning to feel uneasy, and torn. Danny was his friend, and he felt guilty for the way he was feeling right then.
The truth was, he had always had a crush on Terri. But then luck swung its way to Danny, and Gord accepted it, trying in vain not to feel jealous.
Seeming to read his thoughts, she jumped up and kissed him passionately. She forced her tongue into his mouth, and he thought he was going to faint.
"Let's go upstairs instead," she said with her lips close to his, again in that throaty whisper.
Gord was exasperated and confused. Too much was going down too fast. His head began to throb from overload. "What, what about Danny?"
This time she didn't spare a glance. "Fuck him," she said with a contemptuous tone. "He'd be the one going upstairs with me right now, if he wasn't such a limp dick!"
Gord angered a bit at this. How could she be saying this? This whole thing was starting to feel surreal. It was starting to feel like some sort of dark fantasy. Then Terri's hand slid down his leg, and cupped his crotch. She kissed him again, holding his bottom lip in a nibble before parting, and spoke yet again in that sexy throaty whisper.
"You do want to go up don't you?" She began to pout. "I was starting to think that you liked me."
At this moment, Gord's brain stopped working. The back up generator in his crotch kicked into overload.
"What do you say?" she said, with finality.
"Okay."
She led him up the stairs, and once again that growing guilt began to worm its way back into Gord's mind. He felt awful for betraying Danny this way. He pushed the thoughts away. Screw it. Obviously, Terri wasn't as interested in him as he had thought, and someone was bound to be there, someday. It might as well be him. Hell, life was too short, and you needed to live without regret, he thought. And God he wanted her. He had always wanted her. He took another drink, and followed her to the bedroom.
Once he closed the door, he turned, and Terri was on him. She kissed him passionately, and pulled his shirt, still buttoned, over his head. Before he could free his arms, she giggled and pushed him flat onto the bed, and within seconds she was straddling him, holding his arms above his head in the makeshift noose of his shirt.
She flashed him a dirty grin. "Give me some sugar, baby," she spoke coyly, and her lips were on his again. Then she was kissing his cheek. His throat. His Chest. For a brief moment, Gord thought it was going to be over before it began. He had never experienced anything like this before.
She's been holding out on you Danny-boy, he thought with mixed emotions. Sorry about your luck guy, he thought again.
She worked her way down to his navel, and he could feel the warm heat of her breath. Suddenly she was back to face him again, he silk blonde hair dangling over him and she whispered in his ear.
"Oh, Gord," she began, gyrating and rubbing against him. "I've got this sudden craving. I've got to have it."
"What?" he said dreamily.
She looked deeply into his eyes. "Let me taste it, Gord. Please? I need it so bad!"
OH
MY
GOD
Gord thought.
His face broke into an open dirty grin. "Take all you like," he said with nothing but filthy intent.
"You mean that?" Terri put her finger to her lip and feigned a look of angelic innocence.
"You betcha!"
"Aw, you're such a dear." She responded with that bubbly cheerleader enthusiasm. With a pinch of his cheek, she reached behind her back and pulled a knife from her belt and drove it into his chest multiple times. He struggled and thrashed, but she held her weight on him, and maintained her grip on his arms, which were still locked in his shirt above his head. She slit his throat and began to kiss him madly, the blood from his jugular squirting its warmth into her face, painting it red.
"Oh Gord, that tastes so good. So good…"
Down stairs, Danny tried groggily to regain his senses, but the room was still spinning. Justin walked in, and dead-bolted the kitchen door. He turned to Danny, and spoke.
"Come on sport," he helped Danny to his feet and brought him out to the living room. We can't have you missing the main attraction."
"Look," Justin laughed, and tilted Danny's limp head to see that some other guy was locking the living room door. "You can check in, but ya can't check out!" Justin laughed again.
Danny's head spun around to meet Justin's eyes, confused. Just what was going on, here? Then the power to the music was cut, and Danny's gaze turned to the sound of a strangely familiar voice, thick with a British accent.
The cab driver was standing on the buffet table, on the left side of the room. What the heck was he doing here, Danny wondered in confusion.
"Is this for real? Or am I hallucinating again?" He said, weakly.
"Oh, its very real, chief," Justin replied. "Watch and learn."
"Children of the night," The cab driver began, while the audience looked on, in stunned amusement. He raised his hands, as if in sermon. "In one week's time, Cernunnos, Herne, the horned one, the god of the hunt, will rise, and with him bring the legion of the underworld. Then, the Eternal Hunt shall begin. Sadly, none of you will be here to see it."
Bemused moans of regret and giggles ran throughout the audience. This was some party. The character on the table paused and grinned widely.
Still grinning, he removed his glasses. "You're just the appetizer," he said and began to laugh. His eyes were black, like the eyes of a snake.
Someone flicked the music back on.
Then everybody started dying.
Two men at the living room's entrance fashioned guns and began opening fire on the party. People screamed as the bullets riddled them, as their bodies shook in mad caricatures of their previous dancing.
With long blades, two others cut down the ones that brushed by Danny and Justin and tried to get to the kitchen door. They butchered them madly, their crazed hacking unrelenting.
In immobilized shock, all Danny could do was watch. Then Justin was in his face again.
"Does this party kick ass, or what? He said and laughed that sickening laugh again. The laugh was cut short, however, when Danny buried his fist in his face.
"Terri! Gord!" Danny called out as he ran up the stairs to the second floor, the only place left to go. In a desperate fit, he kicked the first bedroom door open, and froze in sickened disbelief at the sight before him.
Gord lied dead, in a bloody mess, on the bed. Staddling him, sucking at his open throat was Terri, drenched in his blood.
"She looked up and flashed him that innocent angelic look of hers. "Danny!" She called out with enthusiasm. "Surprise!"
She went over to hug him, and he recoiled in sudden terror. He turned to run back out the door, only to come face to face with the cab driver. He was still grinning, his black eyes absorbing Danny intently.
"What's the matter, kid?" Lose your nerve?" With that, he slammed his fist into Danny's temple. Danny dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes.
"Hey baby," Terri smiled and walked over to the cab driver, and gave him a squeeze.
"Hello, little bit," he responded, and taking her in his arms, he dipped her and kissed her bloody face.
"Time to go," He said, at last. "The boss wants his cargo as soon as possible."