No Choice But Murder

1

"Keira, it's your turn to give me a dare," said Carter, pulling off his Michael Myers mask to take a sip of his Coke. I stopped daydreaming and turned to see Carter, Farah and James looking at me expectantly. Farah's wig was slipping off her now greasy forehead and I stopped myself from recoiling in disgust.

'Uhm, I don't know... TP Mrs Chatterjee's house,' I said, knowing it had already been done. We'd been playing Truth or Dare for what seemed like hours already. James looked like he'd rather sleep the night away and I would rather be trick or treating outside with my little brother Caleb and his nerdy friends in their Star Wars outfits. I took off my own wig and ran my fingers through my hair.

'Boring,' said Farah. 'At least pretend you want to hang out with us.' She gave me a glare, batting her 3-inch fake eyelashes at me. We'd both decided to be drag queens for Halloween and everything is to be "extravagant and fabulous" according to Miss Know It All Farah. We'd gone to the mall last week and bought short cropped white dresses covered in multi - coloured sequins and cut outs with fish net tights and paired them with 6-inch red stilettos. It was uncomfortable, but it looked amazing. I sort of looked greasy now. 'Besides, James done that last year, didn't you?'

'That was the best Halloween ever. Poor old woman,' He said, picking his nose with boredom. I gave him a disgusted look and turned to the mirror in Farah's bedroom to wipe away my lipstick. I shook out my hair and looked at her sarcastic face in the mirror, looking at me like I was a spoilt child trying to ruin a party because I hadn't got the prize I wanted. I shook my head at her and rubbed the makeup wipe all over my face. 'I'd rather have gone trick or treating with Caleb. This night is turning out to be rubbish. As always.' I threw the wipe in the bin, scored, then turned to face them.

'Oh, ok then, I suppose you've got a great idea for entertainment? You know, since you hate our annual Halloween spooky sleepovers, but you still come to tell us how rubbish they are?' Farah rolled her eyes and pulled off her wig altogether. 'I'll just get my sleeping mask on while we wait.'

'Ha-ha.' I said, sarcastically. I snatched her wig and flung it on the bed. 'Actually, I do.' Farah rolled her eyes again and pulled off her fake eyelashes. She really was going to go to bed soon. Cow. 'I was thinking we could go to Forest Creek. You know, the area and its forest that's been in the news loads recently. We can check it out, scare each other. It'll be a right laugh.'

They all turned and stared at me like I'd just told them I wanted to bungee jump naked on the San Fran bridge. 'What?' I said, raising my exaggerated eyebrows at their stupid gawping faces.

'Not Forest Creek, it's been on the news way too much recently, you said so yourself,' said Carter, turning away to sip his Coke. He sucked through his teeth like the coke had turned to bitter lager. 'It's dangerous, especially on Halloween.'

'There'll be loads of kids there, trick or treating, hiding in the forest, having camp outs. Come on, we can nick their candy and run back to Farah's,' I pleaded. Our sleepovers were so boring, and I'd put up with their rubbish ideas for three years now. I reached for my phone which was charging on Farah's bedside table. 'Hurry up, you guys. Carter, you're driving.'

'Do you know why it's been on the news so much?' Farah glared at me, folding her arms. She looked especially scary with those stick thin eyebrows and that purple lipstick. She was just annoyed because I'd said what everyone had been thinking and for once I was getting the attention and not her. She glowered at me. 'There have been murders, Keira, murders. 32 people reported missing in, like, only a month. They've found 18 of those bodies in that forest. Dead ones, mind. You're literally begging us to commit suicide.'

'At least we know the authorities have a great chance at finding our dead corpses,' I joked, laughing at myself at I rubbed at my stubborn eye makeup with another wipe as I waited. They stared. 'Whatever, you guys are the worst people to go with anyway. I'll go myself,' I said, ignoring everything that Farah had just said. It was all in the back of my mind anyway and I knew it would be so dangerous, but I couldn't back out now. Farah would just laugh. I threw the wipe in the bin, leaving great streaks of exaggerated eye makeup all over my bare cheeks, grabbed my overnight bag from the corner and my wig and stormed off.

'Hey, hey Keira, stop,' Carter blocked the doorway. 'listen to Farah. It's dangerous, you could be killed. Don't be so stupid.'

'Oh, get lost, Carter. It's not like you care anyway.' I pushed past him and stormed down the stairs. I heard a mumble and a groan and then –

'Wait! I'm coming too!' Carter yelled, grabbing his coat and keys. I smiled with satisfaction as I waited at the bottom of the stairs. Ha. I knew they all secretly hated Farah's stupid sleepovers. They were so boring and a waste of time. We all just went to keep her happy.

Carter raced down the stairs, throwing on his jacket, and grabbed his shoes, bustling out the front door noisily, banging his elbow in the process.

'Calm down. It's not that exciting,' I grinned, holding onto his arm. Ha-ha. Shame, Farah. He unlocked his car and I got into the passenger seat and shoved my seatbelt on. I dropped my bag and wig onto the floor and opened the mirror to take off the rest of my makeup. Carter dropped into the driver's seat, clearly pissed off. 'Please don't do this, the risks aren't worth it.' He looked away for a moment. 'I can't go to that road. I can't.'

I wiped the dirty streaks on my face away and snapped the lid of the mirror shut. 'Why are you coming then?' I threw my stuff in my bag and turned away.

'I can't let you go on your own. Since no one can convince you, I guess I must risk my life and go,' Carter narrowed his eyes at me, but I didn't move a muscle. He sighed and started the car. We started to pull out the driveway when there was a shriek from Farah's front door.

'WAIT! WE'RE COMING TOO!'

I knew they were bored. I knew it. I knew everything about these guys. I'd known them since kindergarten, I'd formed our group together in the first place.

Farah and James got in the back seats, huffing and puffing. They were both wearing huge hoodies and jeans. They slammed the doors shut and fastened their seatbelts. I turned to look at Farah with satisfaction and saw her mascara all smudgy and her whole makeup a mess.

'What?' she sniffed, coldly. 'Pass me a makeup wipe.'

I gave her the whole pack.

'Right, where is this Forest Creek?'