Disclaimers, ratings, name, etc can be found in prologue.
Author's Notes: Two chapters for the price of one! Woo hoo! Before I make my comments, I thought I'd let you all know that this upcoming week -Halloween week!- I promise nothing more than tricks and treats in each chapter - in other words, we've got tricks with lots of blood, death, gore and…well…I'll let you imagine the treats for yourself. *^_^*
Agent A.T. - You have NO idea how close you are to uncovering how the first kill is going to take place! You should win a door prize or something! : -)
CarryTheZero - Glad to see you back, Zero and hope all goes well with moving in!
Ayezur Draca - Thanks for reviewing! I hope to continue to please!
A Nightmare On Water Street - I don't know if you got my e-mail but I seriously want the cover art thing you made so I can put it on my website! Pretty please send it to me!
More warnings…
WARNING: BAD LANGUAGE
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Chapter 18
The Foxglove was all ready humming with action. Named after the plant, the owners of the establishment thought it would be fun to go with a forest theme. The walls were covered with fake ivy and other greenery; the actual foxglove itself captured in several plastic glass cases embedded deep in the walls for display.
All the workers, save for the bouncers, were required to wear silly little headbands with fox ears on the them and the front stage was currently being primed and set for this evening's performance.
The air in the club was thick and hot, several young bodies moving around, ordering drinks, dancing on the floor as the current DJ mixed out some heavy, deep techno tracks. Strobe lights above flickered on and off to the beat as well as several colorful lights that rotated around wildly.
Maggie Burroughs and her friend Doc had never felt more out of place but continued to flitter their way thorough the madness, eventually finding a safe haven in the back of the club near the bar.
Angela Walsh eventually made her way over as well, once again dressed smartly, this time in knee high black boots, a black skirt and pink turtleneck tank top. She went over to the bar and ordered a drink, showing her ID first. She approached them with a smile, shouting over the loud music; "This is some place, huh?"
Maggie and Doc merely nodded as she roared; "I saw several of the students here. I think you'll do really well on your survey."
"Thanks!" Maggie called once again eyeing Angela's dress. She herself wore black slacks, a white blouse, and suit jacket. She sighed.
"I'm gonna go and talk to some of the kids, blend in like a native!" Angela laughed, "I'll try and get some good statistics for you while I go around, okay?"
"That'd be great! Thank you!" Doc hollered as Angela walked away, he turned his attention to Maggie, "Depressed?"
"I feel old," Maggie muttered.
Doc just shook his head, "Angela didn't graduate college that long ago herself. She's still transitioning."
"It's funny though," Maggie muttered, "I feel like I never went through that stage…like I've always been an adult."
"Some of us are lucky," Doc encouraged,
She threw her head back and laughed, "Liar."
Doc chuckled, "Come on, let's go do our own investigating…"
Doc and Maggie moved back into the melee just as Alice Johnson and Jacob entered the club's front doors. Jacob had never been in a club but was now glad he had dressed nicely as he looked over the scantily clad, but highly attractive girls dancing.
Alice saw the look on his face and swatted his arm, "Hey! These girls are too old and too fast!"
"They don't look too old," Jacob muttered under his breath as his eyes bounced from one girl to another. Alice took hold of his shoulder and turned him to her, "Focus!"
Jacob nodded firmly and followed his mother around, eyes still wandering. They weaved their way through the dance floor, passing several sweat-encrusted, dance-locked teen bodies, including Paige, who was squealing happily as she spotted Will entering. She bounced up and down, waving in his direction as he came over.
"Hi!" she said brightly, eyes sparkling.
"Wow, you're happy to see me?" Will asked, confused.
"Duh, how can I not be psyched?" Paige gushed, "The music is rockin' and any second now your new girly girl is going to show up, ya know I gave her a make-over, wait'll ya see, yer jaw'll drop."
"Girly girl?"
"S-A-MM-Y!" Paige sang loudly.
Will couldn't explain why he was blushing as he avoided Paige's eyes, "She's not my girl."
"Uh huh," Paige giggled, "Not the impression I got from Lor, boy was she steamed, but then Tyler showed up tonight and she was all starry-eyed…"
"Great," Will mumbled, not really caring to discuss Lori. Instead his eyes searched the room for Samara, "So…Sam's coming?"
"You bet, I convinced her to come…least I think I did," Paige said, then batted his arm and began rocking her hips in his direction, "Now how about ya loosen up 'till she gets here and shake your ass wit' me on this dance floor?"
To try and encourage him Paige shimmed all around him but Will was not interested, instead he held up his hands and backed away, "No thanks, you should save all that for Disher, you know?"
Paige rolled her eyes, "Puh-lease, Mr. Rock-N-Roll hasn't even shown his face yet. Probably too busy in the back, making out with his guitar or some junk…"
"Still, I gotta go that way now." Will said, forking his thumb off behind him as he turned and walked off, eager to get away from the obviously sugar-injected Paige who merely let out another loud squeal as she hopped back into the now massive rave that had formed in the middle of the club's dance floor.
Will shook his head, who would have thought a girl who looked so modest was such a rocker? Clubs, drinking, raves…he wasn't into this whole scene. Sure, every now and then it was nice to get out and hang with your friends but this? No, he liked more laid back, comfortable settings.
The loud music, the screams…it reminded him too much of Westin. He preferred sweet silence and soft talk much more than sounds that recalled his time spent in the nut house.
He wouldn't have even come tonight save for the fact that Disher had been so adamant and Will didn't want to hurt his feelings. He may not be great friends with the guy but there was no harm in encouraging him. After all, Will needed to get out more and make friends. And then there was the appeal of Sam showing up.
He had actually planned on asking her to come with him. He was pleased when Paige confessed that she had gotten the girl to agree to come. But then, that was only mere speculation. There was still every likely chance that Sam would not show.
Will was so lost in thought that he wasn't paying attention, causing him to bump into a girl in front of him. There was a gasp as her drink tipped forward, splashing her.
Will blinked, startled. "Oh god, I'm so sorry!"
She gave a tiny smile and shrugged, "It's all right."
Will looked around, desperate for a napkin and found a few on a nearby table. He handed them to her, "No, really, I feel awful…"
"It's no problem," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand as she took the napkins and began dabbing her chest.
Suddenly his vision seemed to kick in and he finally saw her. She looked very young and her eyes were the most amazing shade of blue green. She kept trying to push arrant strands of brown hair behind her ear as she discarded the wet napkins and adjusted her top. She looked at him and turned a soft shade of pink
Will swallowed and began babbling incoherently, "I - I should have been watching where I was going. I hope your top's not ruined, I was just - I should have - I wasn't watching where I was going."
"It's understandable in place like this," she remarked, squinting slightly, "Being so dark and loud. And anyway, no harm's done."
His eyes scanned her again as he said succinctly, "I don't think I've ever seen you before…are you a student at the University or are you from out of town?"
She laughed, "Not exactly. I'm the new guidance counselor, Angela Walsh."
She held out her hand and Will took it in his own, giving it a gentle shake. However, he was completely dumfounded, "You're the counselor?"
"I know, don't look much like one, don't act much like one," she laughed again, "Actually I'm on assignment. I'm helping a colleague gather some information. I was pretty distracted thinking about it so it was probably me who bumped into you."
"Nah, I'm big and clumsy trust me," Once the words were out of his mouth, Will immediately wanted to hit himself violently in the forehead several times. Big and clumsy? What was he thinking?!
He changed the subject in an attempt to save himself, "So what kind of information are you gathering?"
She looked into his eyes, a warm smile on her face, "Well, first you have to tell me your name."
"Oh," he turned red, scratching behind his ear, "Will Rollins."
"Well Will, what do you dream about?" she asked softly.
Will was about to answer when suddenly a big crowd of kids rudely pushed through. They tossed both Will and Angela aside so that they were separated. The kids were noisy and horsing around, quickly exiting the club to walk past Samara.
Her pale face was set, hair dancing in front of her face as if it planned to hide it then falling away again to show more pale skin. The blazing red streaks stuck out like a sore thumb and as she drew closer to the front door she pulled in a deep breath, her eyes sealing closed as she thought of all the victims inside. It was time for the fun to begin.