Jeff The Killer: Rewritten

Chapter 7: Halloween Preparations

In his old town, Jeff's neighborhood was ecstatic about halloween. Local farms hosted pumpkin carving contests and corn mazes, candy store prices went up, and every block got together to take the children trick or treating. Jeff and his friends would make a map of the town, determined to hit the best houses before anyone else. Even as a teenager, not even his parents could keep him from the possibility of free candy.

It was a little different now. The new neighborhood was rich, so naturally they had all the best decorations.One would think, with how the houses were lined up, that this would be the perfect setting for knocking on doors. But there was a growing problem.

"What do you mean nobody trick or treats here?!" Jeff shouted into his phone, halfway falling off his bed.

"I'm telling you, it's mostly just block parties and the big school one." Nat spoke.

"What about the kids here?"

"Well, the church hands out candy, and some of the mall stores do too."

Jeff groaned and plopped onto the floor, feeling as he did the first day he came here. "That's just the stuff kids do before they go trick or treating, that's nothing." He sighed.

"Well I'm sorry to break the news to you, there's still the party to look forward to! Right?"

"I'm mostly upset for Liu, he's getting older. I wanted him to at least have one more before it was too late."

There was a brief silence on the end of the line before Nat spoke up again. "I'm sorry Jeff, we'll think of something."

It was one week before Halloween. It landed itself on a Sunday, which was unfortunate because the school refused to give the students the Monday off. Jeff had put the 'one off' drug trip behind him, focusing on helping the movie club with preparations for the big day. He was able to donate some of his favorite films for the event. The school would be open on sunday for club activities. The plan was to have the movie club party first, and then Jeff's friend group would carpool to the Highschool Halloween party location. According to Ben, each year it was hosted by a different group. This year it was the band club's turn. They chose a huge bonfire pit located near the Silver Oak Camping and Forest Lodge and even offered to provide the music themselves. Jeff was a little on the fence about going, his track record with forests not looking too hot, but with his friends there, Jeff's anxieties were lifted.

Keith, Troy and Randy had completely given up on pursuing Jeff, at least from his perspective. They didn't even make eye contact in the halls anymore. Jeff was slightly more confident in his school year now that his biggest aggressors had laid off. Word about his fight with Keith had apparently kicked off too, and suddenly he found himself with a newfound respect among the highschoolers.

By wednesday, Jeff and Ben had finished planning out the movie night and just needed to buy supplies. After school, Nat offered to drive them to the store and help them carry their goodies, which they graciously accepted. She and Toby usually carpooled together, since she was the only one with a license. Jeff took shotgun and Ben and Toby crammed into the back. Her car had one of those fuzzy steering wheel covers and there were numerous key chains and air fresheners crowding the rear view mirror. Jeff suddenly felt a lot less safe. "Put on some tunes!" Ben shouted from the back, throwing the cd case into Jeff's lap.

"What do you want?" Jeff asked, flipping through the stuffed case.

"Just put on anything, they're all mislabeled anyways."

After a moment of scouring the endless selection, Jeff picked up a CD that vaguely reminded him of a band that he used to listen to. He pushed it into the CD player and waited as the machine whirred. The sound of shrieking voices and distorted guitars flooded the car, a fast pace genre Jeff had become very fond of. Black metal. "Aw man! I haven't heard this one in forever, turn it up!" Nat rocked her head, careful not to take her eyes from the road.

Jeff obliged,and turned to see if his choice was well received. Ben was into it, and surprisingly, Toby was too. The car turned into a concert, Ben and Jeff thrashing their heads, all 4 being obnoxiously loud. Jeff mimicked the lead singer, replicating one of the shrieking lyrics from the song, everyone in the car was amazed, and Nat asked him to show her how to do it.

After cycling through 3 more good tracks, Nat pulled into the store parking lot. They split into pairs, determined to get the necessary items for the upcoming events. Soda, candy, chips, plates, the usual. Ben had tried to convince Jeff to buy some alcohol, but he settled against it. Liu was going to be there and he didn't want to expose him to that.

Within the party section of the shop, Ben laughed, pointing at some paper plates. "Look man, they've got little monster faces on them, is that too cheesy? Can we get em?"

Jeff chuckled and eyed the price. They were about 50 cents over the normal brand. "It's your club dude, get em. We can turn the leftovers into masks."

"I like the way you think Jeffy boy."

"Throw in some spider rings while you're at it!" Nat cheered, tossing a plastic bag at Jeff as she walked over with Toby.

They had gotten some specialized cupcakes from the shop bakery, and some mummy themed cookies. With the loot in hand, they all set out to find a cash register, but something stood in their way. "Jeffery Woods! Nice to see ya friend!"

Of course, it was Randy.

Jeff backed up, watching Randy advance over to the aisle they were in. "Ugh, what are you doing here?"

"What? A guy cant go shopping on a Wednesday?" Randy laughed, getting a little too close to the group.

"Look man, just go, we were leaving anyway." Ben commented, nudging the group past him.

"Yeah! Don't forget that Jeff kicked Keith's ass, you.. you can't harass us anymore." Toby boasted.

Jeff shot him a look, a 'please don't bring me into this' type look. Randy huffed, shoving his hands deep into his pockets. His smirk never fading. "Y'know, you should be thanking me, you're lucky I didn't go an' tattle on ya to the teach. You broke poor Keith's nose."

Jeff wasn't surprised, he did hear a crack. Regardless, he shook his head, starting to walk away as the rest of the group followed. "Like I give a shit, I don't owe anyone a thanks."

Jeff heard Randy scoff, almost offended.

They paid without issue, Jeff earning some praise from his friends in the process. He wasn't going to waste his time on some b tier bully. He had better, more proactive things to do. As they carried the loaded plastic bags to the car, Jeff noticed the setting sun. The sky was a deep orange, melting into the incoming blackness of night. The sun just barely peeked over the trees. He felt uneasy, but no bloody nose appeared.

"What the fuck?!"

Jeff jerked his head around, Nat was staring at her car with horror and rage. Jeff moved over, to see from her angle, and what he saw shocked him. 2 of Nat's tires had been slashed, the rusty box cutter still buried within the synthetic rubber. The whole right side of her car, brutally keyed. The janky carvings formed into a 3 word sentence that set a fire under Jeffery.

Watch your back.