SEVENTH:
The glitters of sun jumps through the stain glass, raining down the blue and the red and the yellow onto the dark brown stage. She flutters her eyes, admiring the glass portrait shining on the ground. She reaches for her camera, snapping it away as she rests upon the hard ground. The portrait stretching out over the stage, blending with the other images from the windows. She gathers her belongings, striding around the church one time before pushing through the double red doors and feeling the sun welcome her into the fresh mellow air.
Her boots clomp on the beige concrete sidewalk, making her distance further away from the church. She smiles, traveling around the neighborhood. The different shops displaying their delicacies from pastries to summer wear. She flashes her camera at the stores trapping their like museum pieces as their sixties aesthetic vibrates off her lenses. The rumbling in her stomach matches the soreness in her feet. She stops in front of a bright pink store with the words 'Pop's choclite shop' blazing in red letters. She maneuvers through the parking lot, the crunching of pebbles under her boots gliding through the array of luxury vehicles mixed with antique cars.
She steps inside, the warmth envelopes her while the greasy smell of pepper eggs and maple syrup filters through the restaurant. She prances, looking at the empty booths until she places herself at the counter closest to the delectable savory smells. She scans through the plastic menu finding the names of some of the dishes appetizing and fattening. The clacking of stilettos eases up on her, with the familiar brown hair waves in her face. Turning to see Veronica, wearing a checkered green and black pattern dress suit with gold trimming around the edges. She beams at Toni, her gaze layer with heavy praise. "Well, Jesus Christ must be blessing me himself for having me run into you again."
"Or maybe you're just stalking me." Toni hears a slight giggle come from Veronica. The waiter, a tall bulky boy with dark brown hair and blue eyes swipes out his pad.
"Hello, I'm Kevin. What would you two lovely ladies like today?" Toni re-examines the menu, tempting herself with all the items until she drops it back on the counter.
"What can I get for, a dollar?" Toni whispers, the weight of the waiter and Veronica's eyes burrowing into her.
"Well, lucky for you." He says, sliding the pad back into his pockets. "We have a special where you get a free pie of your choice on your birthday."
"But, it's not my birthday." Kevin grins at her, leaving without another word. Toni sits there shuffling in her seat, the heat from Veronica's gaze on her. She turns, preparing to explain or provide an argument. Only to see Veronica thumbing through the menu. The waiter returns with large glass of milk, fill to the brim, and a hefty slice of apple pie on a small saucer.
"We also have chocolate milk if you prefer that instead?" Setting the items down in front of her.
"No, this is fine thank you." Toni grabs the fork, the saliva boiling over her lips as she slides the fork into her mouth. The vibrant sweetness and tartness of the pie sinks onto her taste buds. The waiter turns to Veronica, discussing every item on the menu like it was some type of foreign delicacy with him. Finally, she settles on egg whites with wheat toast and orange juice. The waiter lingers, engaging in gossip with Veronica that Toni tries to channel out of her mind, only catching a few words about someone leaving some institution. She chomps on her pie, letting the flurry of words go through her ears.
Till the words about college and opening settles in the brim of her ears. She grips the fork, watching the waiter leave. "Sorry," Toni leans over to Veronica. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop but I just wanted to ask you something."
"Yes," Veronica widens her lips in a huge grin. "I am most, slightly single-ish, and open..."
"Well, that's good to know," Toni giggles, pausing as she wonders if she should halt herself before the words migrate into thoughts and leave her mouth. "But I overheard you two talking about being in some school or college?" Veronica morphs her face into a distorted frown.
"Yeah, what about it?"
"I want to know what type of school it is? How you attend?" Veronica explains the school as some halfway house for between high school and college where teens can earn college credit and scholarships to any college of their desire after graduation. Toni finds herself intrigue and enamored with the whole concept. "How many kids actually get to attend?"
Her heart soars, butterflies fluttering in her stomach. "Is there some criteria or interview?" The scents of pepper and warm eggs drift through the air landing onto Toni's pallet as her mouth begins to water. Kevin returns with a small plate cover with white eggs and two brown pieces of toast on the sides. The stream from the eggs floats in the air as Veronica shovels a bit into her mouth, chewing with precision.
"Want a bite?" Toni feels her face flush, ignoring Veronica's dark brown eyes from examining her full pink lips. Toni prevents the drool from slipping out of her mouth as she shakes her head. Veronica slides her tongue over her lips before shoveling another bite. "Well, to be frank with you Miss Topaz. I believe some students just get to go, if their grade point average is solid enough and they demonstrate some love for community service." Toni's hear jumps in her throat, jittering in her seat with a wide smile on her face. "You think about attending next year?" The question jumbles around in Toni's head, tying itself to the different possibilities. With the likely one being that no positions are available at the beginning of August and school starting in less than a couple of weeks.
Her face crumbles, the splatter of hope crashing onto Toni's face. She excuses herself as she gulps down the last slip of cold milk and exits out of the restaurant.
She struts down the street, her black stilettos clacking on the streets as her bright red miniskirt hugs tighter around her hips. She enters the crowded restaurant, finding Josie at a booth by herself scrolling through her phone. She scans the restaurant, gaining sight of every person in the place as she makes her way down the aisle. "Good morning." cheering, she wipes out her phone examining the solid red paint over her full luscious lips. "You're here by yourself or..."
"My sister isn't here Cheryl." Josie blasts a sly smile towards Cheryl who shrugs her shoulders dropping her phone in her purse. "She's at home."
"Josie, please. I'm Cheryl Majorie fucking Blossom. I'm not here to chase or lust after anyone." Pressing her lips together in a tough grimace, she lowers her eyes to her lap. "So why are you here?"
"I'm waiting for someone," the news perks up Cheryl's ears as she leans closer. Kevin arrives, as Josie slides out of the booth. "You want to come with us?" Cheryl glances her eyes from Josie and Kevin, flashes of her mother's hollow eyes borrows through her brain. She springs up following behind them as they hop into Kevin's antique station wagon and roll down the road.
They drive for a few minutes without any case of gossip or chatter. The silence rips through Cheryl, as she shuffles in the back seat. She glances at Josie, who is gliding her slender brown fingers over her phone and Kevin, whose eyes remain fix on the road ahead of him. Cheryl peers out the window, admiring the small houses that flashes before her. The pristine quaint look of the houses brings a smile to her face. She fantasizes about the families that could be living in these houses. Thinking about the mothers who are preparing a late afternoon dinner for her family. She ponders about the brothers and sisters playing outside in the backyard as their mother calls for them to the table.
The sweet wholesome conversations that the family has with each other while eating, just in time for dad to arrive and join them. The laughter the family shares whenever they told a silly story. Or the encouragement they offer to each other whenever one of them describes a bad situation or poor mood they are in. Cheryl thinks to her own family dinners, the calculated still silence that harbors around them. The maids that hovers and watches them as they have to place every bite delicately into their mouths. The emptiness of Jason's seat at the large rectangular table, across from her. A warm tear slips down Cheryl's pale cheek. She dabs her away as she glances to see if Josie or Kevin notice her lapse of cries. She urges herself not to respond or investigate, despite the quiet she has at her home. The stillness of the car, with the air blistering through Josie's beautiful red and brown afro and Kevin's slick brown locks.
She absorbs the warmth from their bodies. Josie turns away from her phone, giving a Cheryl a quick smile. Cheryl smiles back and returns her gaze back out the window towards the cozy homes.
The car rattles up to a white futuristic house layer with glass windows around the edges of it. The faint chirping of crickets films while the sun slips further down behind the darkness. The quaint whispers of Josie and Kevin catches Cheryl's ears, as she stares out at the house shrouded in darkness.
A figure sulks from the shadows, gracing itself to the car until the door opens. Reggie slides next to Cheryl, a large goofy grin smears across his face while his dark hair slips in front of his eyes. "Are you guys ready?" the deep croaks of Reggie's voice swifts through the car as Kevin pulls out of the driveway and dredges on the empty highway. The sun's rays disappear as the darkness encroaches onto them. The hefty clouds covering over the bright stars, leaving them in a heavy shade of black. They drive down the road, the headlights from the car flashes up as the only source of life into Cheryl's face. The luring of Reggie's tall bulky body gloats over Cheryl's side of the seat.
"Well, is anyone going to tell me where the hell we're going?" Trying to mask the terror in her voice as they burrow down the shadowy road.
"Relax princess," The cockiness in Reggie's words grates against Cheryl's neck. "You'll find out along with the rest of them." The drive returns to the same stillness as before, Cheryl forcing her eyes out the window to notice nothing but large rocks and cliffs flickering in the lights from the car. She glances around, the darkness pinches into the back of her neck twisting her mind to flashes of rumble and decay until the smell of rotten flesh chokes down her throat.
The bubbling of sweat drapes around her forehead soaking her bright ginger hair in dampness. She glances out the window, the darkness staring back at her with enamored eyes. The scent grows stronger, stinging her eyes as they water. The rumblings of rock tumble outside her head. Until she sees a figure grazing against the side of the road, headless and gaunt. "Stop!" As the word barely slips out of Cheryl's mouth, the wheels screeches along the rough pavement. It swerves past the headless figure as it jumps out of the motion of the car, as it stops. The rampant throngs of heartbeats spurt down Cheryl's spine, her mind on the figure still standing behind them. The car rolls back, the wheels stitching itself to the ground as Cheryl anticipates herself getting closer and closer to the figure. Squealing into the night, as the car eases itself in front of the motionless figure.
Cheryl hops out, her body trembles as her heels scrapes in the dirt. She stumbles to the headless figure, its shadow looming and refracting among the headlights. 'Jason?' Cheryl reaches out, a young woman appears with the light displaying her short stature. Her long hair wrap in a ponytail on top of her head while it falls to her shoulders in loose waves. Her fishnet tights spring out of her shorts into her combat boots. She moves closer, a bag dragging behind her. Cheryl looks her over, pushing back the tears. "Who the hell are you?" her words shout into the night making the crows resting nearby to fly off in shock.
"Aren't you the girl from the restaurant?" Kevin's words snap, as Cheryl continues to peer around her. Seeing nothing else in the darkness but them. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Kevin rushes to her, their words drone as she shoves herself back in the car. She sinks into the seat, closing her eyes. The pal-a-pit of her heart soothes to a calm beat through her veins. The door slams feeling Reggie scoot closer to her. "Everyone, this is Toni. I invited her with us tonight on our little rendezvous."
"The more the merrier," Reggie gazes at Toni, admiring her full pastel-color lips underneath her dark brown eyes as they set upon her smooth tan skin. Toni throws a smirk over her shoulder as they continue barreling down the road. The darkness engulfs them; a few streaks of lights would shine their way as another car passes by them on the road but then it all settles again in the night.
The inside of the car is quiet, Josie and Kevin continue to chat up front with bursts of giggles spiking through the air as Reggie engages in desperate attempts to lure Toni into conversation, from sprinkling her with compliments on her fishnet stockings and pink streaks in her hair to grafting information from her about her family.
Cheryl tries to sneak some glances over at Toni, noticing how beautiful she is whenever a flash of light would scan over her. She leans against the window, fearful of gazing her eyes out the window once more.
The car rattles to a brief stop, the engine and lights all go off at once as everyone ceases their words and the inside of the car becomes quiet. "Looks like we're here." Reggie glees, all the doors open as Cheryl eases herself out of the car. Placing her red bottoms firm on the ground as she peers around her, the shapes and shadows of trees wave in the slight wind that dries out in the air. A sudden door slam sends a chill down Cheryl's spine as she watches everyone scurry through the forest. She follows, trailing a bit behind as she maintains her strut and balance in her heels.
They all weave through the trees, every snap of a twig and fleet of a tiny animal shakes Cheryl to her core. She maintains her composure, listening to Reggie and Kevin talk to Toni. Her hard stance and demeanor irks Cheryl as she wraps her arms around herself, forcing herself to not take another glance as the way Toni's skirt hug around her ass.
After a long trek through the forest, they arrive at a cabin in a lone area appearing new and clean. They all form inside the cabin, the scent of pine drifts around them as Toni flicks the lights on. The inside line with expensive looking brown leather furniture and white carpets on the ground, the fire place hosting tall candles on its mantel. The lights flick back off, Cheryl's shoulders stiffen as she turns and sees Reggie standing by the entrance of the door.
"No lights," He says in a cocky tone, moving through the cabin. "It's better that way." Toni groans, shaking her head at all the furniture as she rests against the arm of a couch. "Kev, you got the flashlight?" Kevin throws a flashlight at Reggie, catching it with one arm as a loud clap rings out in the silence. He sits on the ground, follow by Kevin and Josie. Cheryl lowers herself to the ground, eyeing Toni who still remains standing by the couch.
"What exactly do you guys do here?" Toni asks, as Reggie shines the light on his face. Cheryl takes the opportunity to shush Toni in the darkness, a tiny giggle seeping out of her.
Josie chirps in, explaining to Toni about how they enjoy arriving to this cabin at the end of every summer before school starts back to spend time drinking. Toni listens, appearing slightly intrigue as she nods towards Reggie with the flashlight. "And the flashlight?"
Reggie beams at her, trying to cast shadows on his face to highlight his chisel chin. "Why don't you take a seat next to me and you'll find out." Toni remains standing before sliding her body on the couch, seemingly far away from everyone else sitting on the hard floor. "Independent, I like that." Reggie winks at her before returning his gaze to the rest of the group.
Kevin pulls out a large bottle of wine, passing it around the group as everyone takes small slow sips. Toni takes the bottle, looking huge in her tiny hands, sniffing the aroma from it before taking a large gulp as she hands it off. Toni pulls out a small blunt to share along with the group.
"Everyone ready?" The eagerness builds in Reggie's throat as no one objects, passing the bottle of wine around once more as he begins. "Years ago, a group of kids, just like us, came into these woods." Reggie's voice stalls, as he gazes among everyone only half staring at him, more focus on the bottle of wine and itching for their phones than listening to his story.
"They came to this very cabin, you know just looking to drink and smoke and maybe hook up." Reggie darts his eyes quickly to Toni as she flips her middle finger at him, he smirks to himself while he continues his story. "But they soon got bored being up here, so they decided to play a game. That's when one of them turn to ask the group. 'Have you guys ever heard of the piggy man?'" They all look at Reggie, the small cabin filling up fast with smoke as Cheryl's lungs begin to constrict in her chest, trying to avoid inhaling the marijuana down her throat. The blunt rests in her hand as she attempts to whiff up a smell of it before passing it off with touching it to her lips. She watches Toni, always a full breath draining into her throat.
"Reggie," Cheryl interrupts. "I'm sorry but your story is starting to sound kinda stupid."
Reggie snatches the blunt from Toni, taking a couple of puffs as he ignores Cheryl's distaste. "Who's the piggy man? They all ask. Well, the piggy man was just a regular person like you and me, who lived on a farm way out in the country where all he had to live with is his brother, and their pigs. One day, his brother fell in love with a sexy and beautiful woman. A woman that he wanted to marry. Well, he didn't take this news to well. So he went and kidnapped the woman, killed her and chopped her body up into tiny pieces. Well, he thought that was the last of it. His brother just assume the woman ran off with another man.
That was until he went out to take care of the pigs. And saw her finger with the 14 karat diamond ring sticking out of the mud as the pigs chomp away on her body." Reggie chuckles as a few groans and gags flood his ears. "Well as distraught and pissed off as one should be, one night he went to his brother and drugged him up. While he was asleep, he chopped off his brother's hands and feet to replace them with hooves. Then took a pig's head and clamp it down on his head. When the brother woke up from his drug induced dream. He saw his brother looking down at him and realized the horrible truth. That he was in the pen with the rest of the pigs."
The rest of them look at Reggie, their ears perk up at the details he continues to describe the man crawling around on nubs with pig feet attach, gagging for help as mud fills his mouth. "So they say whenever you go out in the night on a full moon and call out 'Here piggy piggy piggy, here piggy piggy piggy!' That's when the piggy man will come out to get his revenge on anyone who dares mock him. Of course everyone thought the guy was full of shit. So they all went out, one by one to call the piggy man. It wasn't until the next week that the cops came looking for them, only to see their blood and guts and body strewn across in a puddles and puddles of mud."
The silence coagulates the room, as the sound of the bottle spins in between Josie's trembling hands. "Where you scared by any chance Josie?" Reggie shines the light on her, everyone waiting as the silence dredges into awkwardness. Josie stands up, stretching out her thin slender legs.
"I'm just ready to go to sleep." Everyone else follows her, sleeping on the squeaky leather couches. Soon every slips into a deep sleep. Kevin and Josie curl close to the fireplace, the first to go to sleep. Toni rests herself on the leather couch as Reggie rests himself against the base of it, his snores breaking in the night. As Cheryl forces herself to sleep on the leather chair on the other side of the room, by herself. She wakes up, every couple of hours, admiring the cramp cabin on her own time. She chances closing her eyes, only to see heavy red blood drip from the walls in dawn light. She tries to rearrange her dreams, shifting out the unpleasantness.
A low grunt grates against the windows, Cheryl's eyes shift open as she stumbles over to it. A small mist covers the window, looking out in the darkness. A few rustles hide the consistent grunts and snorts that plague Cheryl's ears. She rushes back to the chair, curling her knees up to her chest as the snorts persist in the night and large bulky shadows drift by the window so often.
The sunlight dashes through the cracks, finally allowing Cheryl to rest from the stiffness and roughness of the night.
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