Santa Carla Killers

Chapter 4

Mom and I continued to saunter down the boardwalk, and checked out a few stores.  Then I saw them. The four guys that were in the video store earlier. My heart fluttered. The blonde looked up and saw Mom and I walk past. I could feel his eyes burning into my skin.

"I'm gunna go get us some Chinese. Feel free to look in any of the stores. I'll be back in maybe 30 minutes." Mom said stopping me. I nodded and continued to roam around.

I saw a music store. It had Guns N' Roses, Aerosmith, and Def Leppard albums in the window that I couldn't just resist. I walked in and roamed the aisles looking for some tapes.
I looked through some of the rock tapes and saw Guns N' Roses debut album 'Appetite for Destruction' I stuffed it into the pocket of my leather jacket, and continued looking.

"I saw that." I heard a smooth deep voice behind me. I swiftly turned my head and saw the blonde rocker.

"Saw what?" I played off, turning my back to him.

"You puttin' that tape in your pocket." He said leaning on the shelf. I smirked. "I'm Paul."

"Zoë." I chuckled turning all the way around to see him.

"Does Zoë have a last name?" Paul smirked. I laughed a little.

"Hendricks. Not related to Jimi Hendrix." I laughed. Paul laughed also.

"Well Zoë Hendricks. What brings you to the boardwalk tonight?" He asked stepping next to me to look at some of the tapes.

"To get a feel of the place. I just got here this morning." I said having my eyes on a Skid Row tape.

"Well, I could show you a bit more than here." Paul laughed.

"Like what?" I chuckled.

"Like Hudson's Bluff." He said looking at me, tilting his head to the side.

"Okay."Paul took my hand and led me down the boardwalk. I saw Mom with a bag of food.

"Zoë, where do you think you're going?" Mom said. Her face was white, and she almost dropped the bag. I totally ignored her protesting, and continued to follow Paul.

He led me to his bike and his buddies weren't around. They probably went to a different part of the pier. He got on, and I hopped on behind him, and he revved the engine.

"Better hold on tight, babe." Paul said as he drove off quickly. I squeezed onto Paul, holding on for life. In a matter of 10 minuets we got to the coast line. I heard waves crashing and a bridge or stairway that led down.

"Welcome to Hudson's Bluff, Zoë." Paul said lighting a joint. It was dark and Paul began to walk down the stairs as I followed. "I'll show you where my buddies and I live." he said turning back to me. Why would he live here? I don't see a damn house around here. Only caves.

Paul led me into a cave that had a huge sign saying 'NO TRESPASSING.' It was pretty awesome. There was a big photo of Jim Morrison, which I fell in love with. "Wow." I muttered as I looked around the place.

"Yeah it's pretty rad." Paul said jumping into a fountain with a chandelier crashed into it.
"This was the place to be in Santa Carla about 85 years ago. To bad they built it on the fault. When the big one hit San Francisco the place collapsed."

It was so cool. Then I heard motorcycles outside. That must be Paul's buddies. "Paul! What the hell? Where'd you-" A guy with a curly mullet and a really cool jacket said before he saw me.

"Guys this is Zoë Hendricks. I met her at the boardwalk." Paul said walking towards me. "Zoë, this is Dwayne, Marko, and David." Paul said pointing to each of the guys.

"So, let's get this party started right." David said. He motioned Marko to come toward him and he whispered something in his ear. Marko nodded and smirked. I shrugged it off as Paul threw something at me, a joint. With it not being my first joint, I lit it gladly, starting the night off.

Marko came back and handed David a bejeweled bottle, filled with a red liquid. A wine of some sorts. David took the cork out and drank some of it. He began to pass it around. Then it came to me. I'm not the biggest fan of wine. I prefer vodka and whiskey. But if it's the only thing they have. I'll drink it.

"Drink it Zoë. Be one of us." Paul said as he sat next to me. I chuckled and placed the bottle to my mouth and drank. The wine had a weird taste. It wasn't like any other wine I've had. It was sour and metal-like. But somehow it was intoxicating.

The rest of the night was hazy. I remember head banging rock was playing as we danced around and drank the wine. I think I definitely drank the most. I think I finally met my tribe. I'm definitely not leaving Santa Carla any time soon.