Watch Your Step

Out of Town

"When I think about it," Jason spoke in his spookiest voice, "it still gives me the creeps."

The room he and his friends rented was dark yet still partially lit. One, from the flashlight under his chin making Jason look like a 90's ghost, and two, from the light of the kitchen, where his best friend Mike was making something.

"Uh, Bryan, hand me a drink," Jason ordered, then Bryan passed him a beer.

"Thanks!"

It's late in the night but all six of them were still awake. Four boys, two girls, far away from home — just a simple field trip with their friends. They'd been planning this — a simple getaway — but they seemed unable to decide where. At last, they chose Berkley, where Jason's spooky story took place.

"So folks, better get your blankies because this might get your ass cold," he said.

"Ey, ey, ey, do yo daddy—," Mike sang as he came out of the kitchen, a bowl of nachos in his hands.

"Come on, Mike, we're starting!" Brian squawked next to Jason who's now hitting the flashlight because it started flickering.

"Turn the lights off," Samantha hissed to Mike and the kitchen disappeared into the dark. Mike snuck in between the circle beside Samantha and kissed her.

"Now, go," Carla nervously said while Darwin, her boyfriend, snuggled her.

"We have this classmate back in the first quarter—only this year." Jason told them while Mike interrupted," What's his name again?"

"BrrriiAaan," Jason answered in a "spooky" manner. He expected them to scream just from the name but none of them did.

"Oh, yeah how could I forget," Mike said palming his forehead. "I remember their voices even sound the same!"

"Only it's Brian with an 'i'," Bryan with a "y" interjected.

"Yeah, yeah and he's very generous," Mike said.

"Very generous," Bryan echoed.

"You could learn from him Bryan," Darwin said and Bryan snudged him.

"Anything you ask, he'd give it to you," Jason continued, "that's what we liked about him."

"Like a genie," Mike interrupted again.

"Or a Wishmaster," Jason put an evil smile. The flashlight flickered on his face again, giving them full darkness a couple of times. This seemed to heighten the group's fear and Jason was liking it. So he resumed, "But he didn't like to be left out."

"Really dislike being left out," Mike interrupted for the third time, "so that's why we always hang out at his house"

"Let me tell the story, Mike."

"But you can always tell there's a loose screw in his head."

"Mike!" Jason flushed in agitation.

"Okay, okay, go on, Mr. Storyteller."

"We always hang out in his house," Jason repeated. "It's me, Mike, Bryan, and Brian. He said his parents were out of town. They were nowhere to be seen, so we didn't doubt it. Yet as we've mentioned, he's very generous, food and beers were on the house. When we borrowed clothes from him, he took us to his walk-in closet—which was huge! Whatever you command him he'd give it. But one thing's just off-limits to him."

Jason paused for a second and purred, "The basement. It's always the basement."

" What's in the basement?" Carla asked apprehensively.

"There were voices."

"Voices?" Samantha asked and Jason nodded. "Usually I'm clueless about what's happening around me."

"Cuz you're a knucklehead," Mike teased.

"As if you're not!"

"I'm way smarter than you,"

"If I'm a knucklehead, you're a toehead!"

Mike threw his hands as if giving up, "That doesn't even make sense!"

"Anyway," Jason carried on, "especially if I'm drunk, I'm not too aware of my surroundings. I didn't even mind the decomposing odor that's wafting all around the stairs. The basement was entirely dark and I at least knew something was off. I could feel it right then and there. When I stepped down the stairs, following the voices, they said, "We're here." But just in time, they warned me, "Turn around," and I slowly looked back. Someone was looking down at me by the open door upstairs. It was Brian.

"You can't go there," he said, his eyes were murderous and I could almost make out he's holding something sharp.

"What's that?" Carla asked.

"Something sharp? Don't worry I made it out alive."

"No, I swear I heard something. Like a glass breaking."

"Oohhh someone's getting scared," Bryan jeered."

"Did you lock the door?"

"Babe that's nothing, I'll protect you," Darwin assured her.

They all agreed it's nothing so Jason proceeded, "One month later, I was riding my bike to school then I passed a glance at one of the newspapers. I was dismayed at myself for almost being proud when I saw his name on the headline. It read, two bodies were found at his house's address and Brian was the prime suspect."

Jason waited for a second again and blared, "It means the bodies were already there when we were at his house!"

They all gasped.

"Oh c'mon," Jason balked. "That's all I get?"

"Oohhh, scaryyyy," Samantha sarcastically remarked while Darwin mimicked a girlish scream, "Aahh." To top it all off, Carla accentuated, "There's no way in hell that that's true."

"It's a hundred percent legit story!" Jason pressed. "In fact, we're in their neighborhood right now!"

That oughtta scare them, Jason thought, but it still didn't work. He stood up, his eyebrows touching, as his friends started to chatter their own stories. Mike overtook saying, "He's still not found, is he?"

"They said he's probably killed himself already," Bryan replied.

Jason crossed his arms as he walked to the kitchen, wondering what could he possibly do to make his stories scarier. Then Brian said to him, "That's alright buddy, I know what'll make them appreciate you."

"Just get me another beer, Bryan," Jason requested in frustration.

"Here," Bryan handed him one.

"Tha—nks."

Only Bryan was still sitting inside the circle and Jason felt an excruciating pain in his midsection. He could just make out a shard of glass protruding from his stomach. Jason spewed blood and collapsed to the floor with his eyes wide open. The flashlight in his hand started flickering again. Then it stayed on the face that couldn't be mistaken to be once a generous face. He walked over Jason and the flashlight finally turned off. In complete darkness, Jason didn't know what happened next, he just heard all of his friends scream.