The Devil's Gift/The Bloody Handed

7

We pick Dustin, Mike, and Lucas up. We invited Max but she desperately wanted to go home and take care of her mother. To her luck, we made her come along. Lucas had told her she promised him. It was definitely crowded, but at this point none of us cared. It was nice to see everyone smiling and enjoying life for once.

"You're sitting on my leg!" Max hisses.

"Sorry, sorry! What do you want me to do!" Mike says retorting.

"I don't know, maybe not have such a bony ass?" Max says. I widen my eyes and look to Robin, both of us laughing. We were up front with Steve, me sitting in the middle.

"I'm going to throw the both of you out in a second!" Dustin says.

"Throw her out and I'll make sure you go next." Lucas says.

"Alright, Alright. Let's pipe down a bit." Steve says with his hands. He was so a mom.

We shortly arrive at the movie theatre. The yellow and pink lights were flashing along the movie billboard. People were in line, couples were holding hands, kissing, and sharing popcorn and drinks.

"I've never been to a movie theatre before." I look over to everyone and they all look at me in shock.

"No way, you're joking right?" Mike asks.

"Nope." I shake my head. "My movie theatre virginity is still in tact."

"Well, you're gonna love it!" Dustin says. "We are old enough to see anything past PG-13 now. But now that we have you and Steve, we can get into any rated movie."

"So what are we going to watch?" I ask with my eyebrow raised.

"Well.. it's almost halloween so we have to watch a slasher of some sort." Max says.

I remember the Michael Meyers mask Eddie wore when we stole the RV. I smile and look down.

"How about Evil Dead 2?" Lucas asks as he wraps his arm around Max. He looks to her and smiles.

"Sounds good to me." Robin says shrugging.

We walk up to the box office, the unamused old man coming to the microphone.

"Yeah- we need.. 1,2,3,4... we need uh.. 8 tickets for Evil Dead 2 please." He hands the man money and smiles. The man looks behind us at the kids, all of them smiling.

"Alright.. here you go." The man slides the tickets underneath the slot hole, and we walk inside. The atmosphere was bright and lively. And all it did was remind me of Eddie. Everything did. It didn't matter if it was a bug or a blade of grass, there was always something. I feel a cold gust hit my neck. I put my hand there as I feel goosebumps rise, and turn around.

"Hey, you okay Clary?" Steve looks over to me and places a hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah.. yeah." I give him a soft smile. I put my hand over the fabric once again, messing with the strings. Well that's was strange.

***

The movie was good. It was scary, but good. Nothing I haven't seen before by now. The kids were screaming and laughing as they spilled popcorn on the floor and on each other. Robin, Steve, and I were yelling at the pure idiocy the characters displayed. It was crazy to think we could be in a slasher or a horro movie ourselves with what we've been through.

We walk outside, the night sky dark but clear. The stars glistened bright, and the moon stood at a quarter. It was breezy, but it felt good. Fall was always the season every everything felt cozy. From home made pumpkin pie to home grown apples, it just scratched me in the right ways. As a kid I would spend my halloweens sitting at home and watching whatever slasher I could sneak on while Mom and Dad were out on their date nights. I'd hand out candy to the kids, and give extra to those who had cool costumes. I never had the privilege of going out trick or treating and doing it myself, but I enjoyed the atmosphere itself.

I wrap my arms around myself and shrug my coat on. I hear everyone talking about the movie in the background, but all I could do was stare up at the sky. Halloween was in two days and I honestly wasn't excited. A bunch of jocks were throwing a party and we were invited. I wasn't sure why, but I was going to go. I needed to go out and do things- even if they were dumb things. I needed to take a small nature walk and clear my mind. Breathe in the fall air. They can wait for me- they'll probably sit and talk for an hour or so anyways.

I approach the cross walk, and look both ways. I start to walk, and suddenly I hear my name being called. I panic, and look to the left seeing a car violently swing around the corner, tilting. I freeze in place, unsure of how to move. I feel as if my feet are glued in place. The headlights start to grow closer with every millisecond. My body is suddenly ripped away from my place, a pair of arms wrapped securely around me.

"Clary?"