Note: This chapter might be a little 'overflowing' due to the influx of characters. Shorter, there won't be just 2.
Chapter 2. The Party
Unarguably past 7 p.m. With the equation of isolation, evening and big city in play, someone's asking for trouble; unless said person is capable of conducting him or herself in adverse conditions. Usually, such types are normal amongst people in their late 20's.
"Another worthless experience. Complete waste of time."
A frustrated person is pacing down a sidewalk, eyes are almost diagonally aimed at the road ahead. Unfortunately, the non-favorable psychological condition is punched to new heights with the impression of the police force to the right.
"Really?"
An extremely subtle eye-roll is enacted before the new event grabs a hefty amount of the person's attention. The police force is fully aware of the negative consequences for allowing civilians to roam around a crime scene; a tape measure going around it – one of the solutions. The other is having 2 officers guarding the premise while the investigation is done.
[At the core]
"According to the doctor, the cause of death was a stab."
"Multiple?"
"Almost guaranteed."
"Pfffff."
A person bends his knees; thus, a more personal connection is established.
[On the sidewalk]
"A murder on Halloween? That's exactly what I needed." – the observer remarks sarcastically.
Fear of the future joins frustration on the emotions stage. It takes an immensely short period of time for dread to brush over the psyche.
[At the core]
"This definitely falls into a crime of passion."
"I see your point, but…"
Palms are placed on the side of the waist.
"…That's not the thing that worries me."
"Then what does?"
A split second of silence flourishes.
"Is this an isolated incident? Or are we looking at a spree?"
[On the sidewalk]
A lightning strike from the protective frame of mind shifts the approach – the emotionally turmoiled person looks away from the crime scene, walks forward a bit before pulling out a cellphone.
"You know you're supposed to pick up when I call? Ah. I got out of therapy early, so I was thinking… maybe we cook dinner tonight?... I'll see you soon."
[…]
"…Basically, it does not matter. The internet allows for any information to get from one place to another in a flash. The murder spree in Woodsboro could have easily inspired this event."
"Hah."
A sigh of discouragement.
"Add on top the fact that is the weekend before Halloween."
"You get the perfect stage for malice."
Safe to say both of them realize the situation they find themselves in.
Sometime later. A vigorous sound is blasting in a street; the producer of it imprints the idea of intrigue, peculiarity.
"Okay. I see what you mean."
"Told you this vehicle was a special one."
A passionate play of the lips.
"I honestly haven't sat in something this unique in my life."
"Well, this vehicle was not cheap when new, Hailee."
"No doubt there. When I saw it parked in the lot, it looked like nothing other on the road."
"The style does wonders."
"Exactly. The style alone is otherworldly."
A let go of the gas pedal is logical, given the flashing red light at the nearest intersection.
Suddenly, a twist of the lock and an opening of a dark brown door. Nothing unprecedent follows after – a switch on of the corridor's light, closing of the door, locking of it. The lone detail that is more unusual is the raised attentiveness to the surroundings; almost if the person is expecting an unpleasant surprise.
"Tara?" – the person asks concerned.
An abrupt shift towards a casual, calm movement across the corridor; sadly, this continues for only about a minute. A sound of someone tumbling or smashing into something is heard. Naturally, being the attentive person coincides with a change in terms of mindset. Though again… this lasts negligibly. The reason – subtle moaning, most likely – from a female.
"Right. There's nothing disturbing here."
The walk welcomes a smile, a palm comes up to brush the hair from the top.
"Quinn?"
Some disapproval is laid out; seconds later one of the rooms' doors open up.
"Were we being too laud?"
"Not at all. Have you seen Tara?"
"Ahmmm."
She smasher her lips together; most likely searches for the best approach throughout it.
"Don't get mad?"
"Why would I be mad?"
"Because you'll be mad." – Quinn fires back swiftly.
A bit of confusion arises.
"Is that Paul?"
Quinn immediately throws a grin which I would best describe as 'girl', gets out of the room & methodically closes the door. Though, one could still pick up a male inquiring about the name that had just been mentioned.
"Life… I have found…"
She starts walking.
"…Is about variety."
The person, whom Quinn passes, deliberately releases a surge of air through the nose, shows a cheerful grin before turning around and saying:
"Okay."
Either this is all a masterfully deceitful scheme or the two people are quite familiar.
The conversation continues in the kitchen.
"Where's Tara?"
"She went to the Omega Kapa Beta party."
"I begged her not to go to that!"
Frustration becomes visible again.
"And we've now arrived at mad."
An attempt to recompose oneself is followed by:
"Do you know if she at least took her taser?"
"I cannot speak... to how heavily armed Tara is… at this… fraternity party."
Quinn answered with precision, applying a calculative approach. After a sigh, some walking, more talking, a diversion of paths comes to fruition: Quinn goes back to semi-intimacy, the other person clearly goes after Tara. It would be proper to state that the care for Tara outclasses the care for Quinn; thus, the relationship with Tara must be more close to the heart.
Close to 8 p.m. Delusional people aside, the cultural norm within the 'developed countries' around young people has an absolute – being outgoing is great. Of course, this automatically places the extrovert over the introvert in terms of favorability, value. How does one know there's a party going on? Well,… there are several hints, omens. Loud music, bright lights, an enormous amount of people in their late adolescence which coincidently raises the noise level even more – main examples.
"That one was good."
"I kept telling you, man."
"You sure this is the place?"
"Oh yeah."
The group stops in a synchronized manner.
"This is definitely the place."
Movement comes back.
"I believe that's the place."
A person looks at the front of a card, then the back.
"Yeah. That's where we're invited."
"Then it's best not to create a scene."
The gas pedal released, past acceleration is enough for the vehicle to safely arrive at the preferred destination.
At the front entrance. A significant quantity of hostility surrounds it.
"Prove it."
"Here."
A male looks over the card, begrudgingly remarks:
"Alright. You may enter."
A trio enters the house; almost instantly, a person dashes to the left of them.
"So glad you made it, guys."
A sincere cheerful grin shows itself.
"Thanks for inviting us, man."
The trio shake hands with the 'quick to present' person.
"I see this fraternity party is quite massive, Cody."
"A great occasion, Viktor. People my age longed for that. Especially after the pandemic."
"Good to see most are in the Halloween spirit."
One of them glances around.
"Anyway, Cody. You've got a poker table set up somewhere?"
"I knew you'd ask me that, Adam."
A rise in confidence, self-value.
"Yes. There is one in the basement."
"Then that's where I'll be."
"Me too."
"I'll stay up here with Cody, guys."
"All good, Ray."
Half of the collective begin to march towards the stairs.
"Just open the window if you plan to smoke!"
"Already have that in mind!"
Cody subtly giggles at the leaving duo; to him, their arrival, presence creates a new layer on the already dense celebration tapestry.
[Somewhere else in the house]
"Weird."
"What?"
"Three guys just came in the door that I've never seen on campus before."
An eye lock comes to fruition.
"Are you sure you're still good with your sight?"
"F.Y.I, this is only my 1st beer. So, yeah… I'm sure."
The duo rearrange their eyes back.
"Probably some people that Cody got in secret."
"He does pull a lot of people in."
"I'd say it is more his personality. I mean…"
The person laughs.
"…Have you ever seen him sad?!"
"No."
[Back outside]
"Make sure you both enjoy yourselves, okay?"
"Thanks."
"We will." – Hailee answers.
The allegedly otherworldly styled vehicle slowly splits from the curb before ferociously darting down the road.
[…]
"BOOYEAH!"
A male jumps up into the air from his chair.
"Flush beats straight."
"Sorry to say, but you're out, buddy."
Out of nowhere, everybody turns their sights at the male duo coming down the stairs. Both wearing porpoise grey makeup to extrude the Halloween fell; quite obvious what fictional entities they are going to be. Bizarrely, Adam is wearing shades inside which is a self-harming omen, given the fact that it is not bright in the basement most of the time and he is descending.
"Evening."
"Hey."
"I'd be right to assume that Cody got you here?"
"Well, we did ask him for directions." – Viktor nonchalantly answers.
The male duo confidently, assuredly arrive at the surface of the basement. The space – not particularly massive; table size – decent. Adam counts 6 people down with them: 4 are playing, 1 is dealing and the last one appears to be enjoying watching the ardor play out. The upcoming sequence is predictable, a noteworthy change in the group of players. The one who lost joins the fan on a couch to the left of the table. Last thing to mention – the male duo did bring 2 alcoholic beverages with volume of 700 cc.
[1st floor]
One of the 2 people eyeing Adam & co.'s arrival sees a costume that sends shivers down the spine, swiftly brings back memories of the not so distant past.
"It doesn't bother you?"
A sincere look of unrest.
"I mean,… being at a house party after you were almost brutally murdered at a house party?"
"No…"
The person scooches, shifts the body around on the couch.
"…I think of it like being struck by lightning. The odds of it happening twice to the same person are extremely low."
"Oh…"
The statement is treated as unflawed, logical.
"…Guess I should stay close to you then."
Both start laughing; one takes the other leg and drops it on the waist. The teeth being submerged in beer is not far behind.
[At a different spot]
"…Honestly, I thought you wouldn't make it, Jason."
"Pschhhhh, man! You doubted Tara?"
The duo chuckle, angle their heads down.
"C'mon. She is disinterested in lying."
"Well, she's still a freshmen. I need to see her through a year before stating something that arrogant."
"She'll prove me right."
"I guess we'll see."
The duo down their beverages to the edge; this means the cups are empty.
[…]
A young lady glides or tumbles, not really clear, down the stairs.
"Watch it!" – a male shouts.
"Oops! Sorry." – she retorts while smiling.
The young lady is quite special, since she is essential to 3 people's reasoning for being or coming to the celebration. Judging by the way she came down the stairs, the alcohol level in her body is fairly high. Though, it seems that the female rates it; psychologically one would be stunned not to find any inner turmoil. So the 19 year old zigzags her way around the 1st floor.
"How you doing, T?!"
"Hi." – she replies, palm stretching out, lackadaisical walking.
Predictably, the time it takes for another interaction to flourish is extraordinarily short.
"You're lying?"
"Ah… last one's kicked." – a guy replies in a jerky way.
The young lady is confused & amused at the same time.
"Got some hard stuff in the kitchen."
Most likely, her eyes try to pry open the truth from him.
"Frankie."
He extends his palm.
"Tara."
She shakes it sporadically, waywardly; then angles her head down and says:
"Lead the way."
"Hmmm."
Luckily, they are literally next to the kitchen.
"You Omega Beta Zeta?"
"No, not yet! But I might rush it."
The duo arrive at the table where glass alcohol bottles are placed bowls filled with a mixture of ice and water.
"Oh, freshman. Right on."
Frankie's tone remains jerky, tipsy.
While picking up vodka bottles, he asks:
"Where from?"
Instantly, Tara's eyes, demeanor rapidly changes; now the look seeps seriousness, concern. Still, the feel for the situation lead her to answer quite fast.
"Michigan."
"All right."
She puts the glass bottle down.
Just when Frankie is ready for a somewhat audacious proposal, a familiar person of his walks into the kitchen.
"Frankie. Yo."
He slowly turns around to face said person.
"Cody. Sup, man."
"You look to be having a great time?"
"Yeah. I'd say."
"And you are?"
"Tara."
They shake hands in a similar fashion to the previous one.
"I'm Cody. She's Hailee."
"Nice to meet you."
"You too."
The males exchange looks.
"C'mon, Hailee. I'll show where the game is going."
The duo leave; Tara feeling a sense of curiosity around the female.
[Basement]
"You New Yorkers celebrate Halloween as hard as everything else?" – Viktor asks casually.
"We love to go crazy. Halloween feels no different."
"You've got quite a long celebration this year?"
Adam takes a sip of his drink.
"If I'm not mistaken, the Halloween theme will continue from today to Monday."
"Hmph. 3 Days of being wasted."
"The criteria for most."
Several people start laughing.
[1st floor]
"I got a bottle of Fireball up in my room."
The proposal is presented with him making special, unplanned hand gestures. The 19 year old teenager feels torn, ambivalent about the situation. On one hand, she wants to enjoy herself; on the other hand, there is a major risk involved of going with him due to a particular tragic event of the past. Coincidently, unconsciously, this tips the scales into accepting the proposal, since a rush of distastefulness about the past happens.
"Fuck it. Yeah. Go."
One of the preferred, valued qualities of a friend is looking out for one another; especially when the situation can invoke long lasting negative consequences. Therefore, there is little shock when Tara's friend sees her going with Frankie. The mere pacing, sort of cuddling, leaning into each other brings out a verbal reaction.
"Oh… I don't love that."
"Mmmmm."
Before the duo get to the staircase, a person intercepts them.
"Hey! You wanna call it a night?"
"No… Uh…"
The contradicting, force opposing phase resurfaces.
"I'm think I'm still gonna hang, but you don't have to wait for me."
The acquaintance is quite baffled by the response; meantime, Frankie steps in with:
"Don't worry. I'll take care of her."
An arrogant smirk.
"I'm Frankie."
"And I'm completely uninterested in learning anything about you."
The reply – blatantly, overwhelmingly condescending; Tara gets a shock of pleasure from this altercation.
"No dude, Anika, I'm not that bad."
The female turns to the staircase.
"But I appreciate you looking out for me."
Frankie chuckles and Anika scoffs at him.
[…]
"You look to be well accustomed to the effects of drinking." – Greg points out.
"I just believe it is essential to pace yourself correctly."
"Pacing oneself, patience – both valuable traits."
"Couldn't agree more."
One of the small group members see a strange figure out in the midst of the partying, laughing crowd.
"Raymond. What is it?"
"I saw an unusual lady."
Two closest people take that information as completely true and not overexaggerated.
"Unusual how?"
He takes a sip.
"Like she's bound to make a havoc soon."
"That'd be very unnecessary." – Greg states firmly.
"Then we got to stop her. The vibe of this place is too good for one cynical action."
They nod heads and head out.
[On the mentioned staircase]
Frankie is halted by a toped down, muscular male with a hat from hay. Not just verbally, but… out of nowhere, he grabs him by his plain white shirt and throws him down the stairs back onto the 1st floor.
"Get you fucking hands off her!"
Frankie stumbles into another person, now is definitely in the mood for violence.
"Get the fuck off me!"
Pushes the male at his chest muscles.
"Guys!"
The males start taking turns in shoving each other; the celebratory crowd is taking notice and closing in on the confrontation.
"I see her."
"We've got to nail her before she does something drastic!"
"Who the fuck are you?! Risky Business?!" – Frankie lets out.
"Stop!" – Tara screams.
"Guys, guys!" – the suspicious female shouts.
Soon, she enters the frame in between the two guys.
"Yeah…"
"She's pulling something out!"
"Ground her!"
Everyone is focused in on the confrontation.
"I'm just gonna tease you in the balls real quick."
"What?!"
SMASH. She is speared by Raymond from the back; the two slam into the ground and suffer not so insignificant pain. Needless to say, almost everyone is perplexed by this conflict's resolution.
"Ah. What?"
"Nice job." – someone says.
"WHAT IS GOING HERE?!" – Cody lashes out from the opposite direction of the spearing.
"Look, dude. I was about to… get up the stairs with a lady when… this guy jumped me and she almost tazed me."
The male's anger at least triples.
"Is she the lady you were going with?"
"Nah, dude. I've never seen her before."
By this point, the duo stand up from the ground. Understandably, the female was getting ready to verbally attack him, but Cody's affiliate stepped in with:
"NOT A WORD, LADY!"
Reluctantly, she opts to stay silent. In front of her stood 2 guys that looked eager for physical interaction; instinctively, the realization that the cause for this is the latest action comes to the active sphere.
"Save it. Your case is as disgusting as it is. My friend will escort you out through the front right now…"
Teeth become visible, grind on each other.
"…Or we'll through you through the patio."
She analyzes their faces, takes into account the ferocity behind the ending & comes to a conclusion. In about a minute or so, everybody goes back to enjoying their time at the fraternity party.
Post tension dissipation. Smoke leaves a person's mouth.
"Your decent enough at this game."
"You're no beginner, too."
Adam nonchalantly raises his eyebrows, bathes in his current state. There were only 3 players left the table; in an unpredicted development, a trio comes down the stairs.
"Enjoying your time?"
"Very much."
He allows the trio to sit down, arrange their bodies in a healthy way.
"What was that noise up there?" – Viktor asks.
"A fight broke out."
"Really?... Do tell."
Adam is enthralled to hear Raymond's recollection of the fight; the dealer pauses, since the subject is too alluring for the mind for multitasking.
[On the patio]
"Whoooo! That was a close call."
Greg shows the classic brush with aligned fingers over the top of the forehead.
"Honestly, I did not think I'd meet such an insane chick in my life."
"She is unpredictable."
"Dangerous."
"Such an urge for violence."
Greg scoffs.
"You'd think we're in a horror movie."
[…]
"…Whatever the circumstance, you can't easily march in and tase a guy's genitalia. Especially a guy who you don't know."
"She was just protecting her sister." – Hailee fires back confidently.
"Did she know the full story? No. Not to mention we have a standard case of leftist double standards." – Adam responds with subtle callousness in the voice.
"There is no proof of that."
"Let's say a brother is keen on protecting his younger brother and launches a static inducing pole up a female's genitalia. I can guarantee you that the excuse of being protective would not fly in any state from Cali to Hampshire. This is not a belief, Hailee. It's an absolute fact."
The end is seeping with distaste, disappointment, animosity.
[…]
The wind is blowing in a soothing manner across the patio where the males are talking. The evening is on the cusp of entering its second half. Some sort of disturbance in the wind alludes to a mysterious cause, since neither Greg, nor his acquaintance can see it.
"…Finishing off it, I believe Tara did the right thing of escaping from the party when everyone was distracted."
"You'd have done that, Larry?"
He shrugs his shoulders.
"Not sure."
A shift of the eyesight.
"It depends on how high I'd be."
"Right. How much drunk are you?"
The duo laugh a bit; Larry returns his eyes to previous point. One blink, two blinks, three… TFFF. Instantly, he smashes his back into the wall.
"EH!"
Greg is completely shocked – his just recent talker has a tomahawk edged into the center of his upper body, blood elegantly streaming out of it. While sliding down to the floor, he shouts:
"GUUUUUYS!"