Red Lady

He chuckled, rolling his eyes at his friend's antics, taking another swig of his now lukewarm beer. Ben grimaced slightly at the taste, before he distracted himself with glancing at the clock. It was getting late and things were already starting to wind down. His friend and host of the party, Daniel, had organized this little get together. The other three were friends Daniel had made at his fraternity, they had proven to be fun and entertaining. Ben had a silent approval towards his friend's fraternity brothers, despite being occasionally loud, they had really great stories to tell. In fact, when the clock chimed once again at 1:30 in the morning it was decided to end the night with one last story.

The chair creaked as Ben stretched, groaning loudly and rubbing his sleepy eyes before he settled. Daniel met his green eyed gaze with a wildly energetic wink, before he sent a smile toward the dark brown haired fraternity brother.

"How about a ghost story for the road, boys?" The brunette asked, grinning madly. They each gave a slight shrug, Ben smirked lightly to himself as he leaned back, brushing his hand back along his short black hair.

"One day there lived a lady with hair as black as the night and skin as pale as the moon. She longed for a man to come and sweep her away, praying each and every night for her knight in shining armor." Daniel snickered loudly at this, the blonde fraternity brother next to him turned towards him to smack his arm while giving him a light glare. They both turned back to the head of the table where the brunette sat, waiting patiently with an eyebrow raised as he continued.

"The people of the town called this young woman, Red Lady. She was called so because she had nails as long as needles that were always painted a deep red, the same color her lips were." The brunette paused, taking a swig of his beer. He licked his lips, beginning again with a crooked smile.

"So finally, guess whose knight in shining armor strolls into town one night? She instantly falls in love with the man, love at first sight and all that." Ben rolled his eyes at this but stared as the brunette now began to smirk.

"What the poor Red Lady didn't know was that this guy was none other than a cold blooded killer. This was the third town he had come to, and she was going to be his seventh victim. He arranged to meet with her at the edge of the town where the forest surrounded the little town. She got all dressed up, putting on her favorite white lacy dress, her usual lipstick, and red nail polish." The brunette shrugged innocently, leaning back against his chair.

"An old traveler passing by found her body the very next day, she was brutally stabbed 15 times in the chest. They caught the guy too when they saw his face covered in scratches. When he got placed in jail to await his trial, they say he screamed and cursed out, calling the Red Lady. The next day they found him face up on the floor, blood surrounding his corpse, and dozens of puncture wounds on his chest." He paused and then suddenly leaned forward, his hands smacking down on the table excitedly, nearly knocking over his beer. The brunette beckoned them all forward now, continuing in a low voice.

"So legend says that if you say her name three times, she'll come to you at the witching hour and murder you like she killed him."

Ben's eyebrows raised in slight surprise before he spoke, "Another Bloody Mary then, huh?" Daniel whirled around quickly to face him, his face pale in the dim light, it startled Ben a little.

"No, Ben, you don't understand. Don't you remember how Bobby died two years ago? I remember, he did that stupid call!" Ben furrowed his eyebrows together in disbelief, shaking his head at his friend.

"He was still finishing his house Danny, they said he left his nail gun on." Daniel shook his head while Ben rolled his eyes, looking at the brunette now who shared a lazy smile with the other fraternity brothers.

"You can't believe these stupid ghost stories," Ben said, "what do you have to say? Red Lady three times?" Daniel instantly lurched across the table, grasping Ben's arm tightly, looking at him with wide eyes. The brunette laughed at Daniel's reaction while nodding at Ben's question.

"Red Lady," Daniel's fingers dug into Ben's forearm. Ben winced, yanking his arm away sharply, glaring at his friend.

"Red Lady," the fraternity brothers began to whoop loudly over Daniel's pleas.

"Red Lady"

~

The keys clinked loudly against the glass bowl as Ben tiredly shrugged off his jacket. He rubbed his forehead tiredly, still thinking about Daniel's practically teary good-bye. He rolled his eyes, collapsing into bed, sighing softly at the feel of the cool covers. He distinctly remembered the clock chiming once more signaling that it was 2:30 by the time he felt his breath slow and his eyes close as he drifted into almost instant sleep.

He woke up groggily, his vision blurry as he glanced at the alarm clock by his bed. It read 3:00. Not a second later, pain bloomed in his chest as long rotting red nails plunged down. His face contorted in horror as a sinister smile peeked behind dirty greasy black locks met his eyes. He didn't have time to scream as they slid out quickly, her nails were twisted and chipped and sharped to a point. They slammed back down, blood pooling and sliding down his chest.

He awoke with a jolt, his stomach dropping with fright, and a cold sweat. He breathed deeply for a few seconds, patting his chest with relief. Wiping the sweat off his brow he looked at the alarm clock by his bed.

It read 2:59

He heard the closet door creak open.