Birthday Surprise

The friends drove through miles of empty fields. It had been more than twenty miles since they last saw civilization. The old, dusty, green VW bus jostled to a stop at the end of the dirt driveway. The sun was setting behind the three story, hundred year old house and the mist was beginning to spread over the fields. The image was eerie enough to scare two of the six occupants of the bus.

“You’ve got to be crazy!” A wide eyed lady in the middle row exclaimed. “I’m not going in there.”

“Don’t be a baby Sharon; talk some sense into your girl Keno.” The driver, who took the goth lifestyle to the extreme, chided Sharon who optimized the bookworm look.

“I’m with Sharon; Steven please let’s go.” the woman in the back seat exclaimed to her boyfriend.

“This is going to be great Georgia, c’mon babe. Rah, rah” They had been at a football game and they were all decked out to support their team. Steven gave her a squeeze. Georgia wasn't convinced, she asked.

“Why do we have to watch it here? Is there any electricity?”

“Everything is cool Elgian’s been out here twice for work, packing it up.” The woman in the front seat who was also dressed goth offered.

“Thank you Joselyn." Elgian blew her a kiss. "The man who lived here Mr. Granger, nice guy, he was here on my first day. He said he was moving south. There is a generator, it’s my birthday and this is a new movie that requires a special venue. Okay? Oh yeah and I drove so you guys have to stay." Elgian said as he exited the van. “C’mon Jos let’s go.” Joselyn slid out of the front seat and joined Elgian. Sharon and Georgia looked at each other. Steven hugged Georgia and said,

“I’m here to protect you, babe. Let’s go.”

Georgia gave a pat on Sharon’s arm,

“It’ll be fine, I'm sure.” Georgia, not quite sure, exited the bus with Steven.

Keno and Sharon sat in silence for a moment. Sharon had known Elgian, Joselyn and Steven since middle school. She met Georgia in church when they were eight years old. Keno was new to her; she had met him a month ago at community college. Two days ago Keno asked her if she wanted to hang out sometime. Sharon was flattered. She hadn’t been out with anybody ever, her mom had told her she should dress less like a bookworm and lose the glasses. Keno was handsome and Sharon didn’t think he went out with many bookworms. He patted Sharon’s arm and nodded and they exited.

The inside of the house looked like a House Beautiful home after thirty years of neglect. The foyer next to the living room rounded up to a large arch with ornate woodwork. In the spacious living room there were big boxes, some full of furniture and some empty.

“This house smells.” Georgia wrinkled her nose.

“It’s like a mixture of cedar and musty.” Elgian pointed around the living room,”all the cedar in here is worth some cha ching”

It didn't take long before Elgian and Steven had the movie ready to go and a cover over the sofa. With beers in hand the three couples sat back on the large sofa.

With about half of the movie gone Sharon stood straight up and declared “That’s what I don’t like about horror movies.”

“What don’t you like?” Elgian, on his third beer, chuckled.

“Okay,” Sharon began

“I’m gonna pause it babe.” Joselyn took the remote control.

“Okay so you have this skinny little heroine who gets a great hit on the bad guy, takes him down and then she runs away. Killer gets up and chases her for another twenty minutes. Why doesn’t she hit him a few dozen more times in the head while he’s down?” Sharon concluded.

Steven chimed in “They’re just filling screen time. Have another beer.”

Everyone laughed mostly because they were already inebriated, except for the designated driver Georgia. Before they restarted the movie there was a knock on the front door. Everyone jumped off the sofa.

“Oh my bad.” Joselyn said as she started for the door. “I invited a couple buddies. Birthday surprise, they have some serious party favors.” Keno intercepted Joselyn.

“I’ll get it.”

"Why thank you sir." Joselyn stumbled to the sofa.

Elgian hit play and everyone settled into the sofa. The air was broken by Georgia’s shrill scream. Keno stumbled out of the foyer holding his chest. They saw red liquid drip through his hands and spread across his white shirt. Sharon screamed. Elgian and Joselyn looked at each other and yelled,

"That was great!"

Keno fell to his knees then on his face. A giant shadow stepped into the light of the foyer. The killer stood over six feet, his menacing frame filled the doorway. The whites of his eyes were sickly yellow. In one hand was a three foot bloody machete in the other was a severed head. Joselyn screamed when she saw her friend's head in the killer's hand.

Everyone but Sharon yelled and took off in different directions. Elgian and Joselyn ran towards the back of the house and out a back door. Georgia and Steven followed but lost them around a corner and were unable to find the door.

Sharon sat motionless on the sofa and watched everything unfold in slow motion. She had often dreamt of being so scared she wasn't able to run away from danger. This felt like a dream. The murderer ignored her and went after the others. Sharon knew even if she could move, she couldn’t go far. Her legs felt like concrete pillars. She spied the boxes, climbed into an empty one and held her breath. She trembled in fear, sobbing until she realized he might hear her.

It felt like an eternity inside the box. She thought about never seeing her parents, her dog or her room anymore.

The murderer had been back and forth through the living room a few times. His heavy footsteps shook the floor, sweat poured off Sharon’s head when he knocked over boxes close to hers. For a while she didn’t hear anything but was petrified that if she came out the murderer would be waiting right outside the box. Finally she was determined to open the box; but before she could she heard Georgia scream as she ran into the living room. She was followed closely by the murderer, his machete dripping blood. Sharon peeked through a hole

“No please!” Georgia whimpered. This was Sharon’s best friend for more then ten years, there was a rock in her stomach. She acted without thinking. She popped up like a jack in the box.

“ No!” she yelled.

She continued in a placid tone. "Hello."

The murderer turned towards her, she couldn't, her legs were unresponsive. Thoughts raced through her mind and settled on her religious upbringing. Empathy was the sermon last Sunday, she also remembered how the only way some people feel anything is from other people’s pain. It felt like she melted; an instant later she wasn’t scared of dying anymore.

“I’m sorry; that you hurt inside. I don't know whether someone made you like that or you did it to yourself."

The killer snarled and inched closer to Sharon.

She continued.

"I know you get relief by killing, blood. I don’t understand it but I believe it.” Sharon said with such conviction that the murderer stopped advancing on her. “I’ll give you my blood, it’ll help you for a few minutes, my Savior Jesus will help forever.” She saw Georgia leave out the front door. “If you spare my life I pledge to be your friend and never leave you alone again.”

The murderer rocked back and forth and moaned. The dark clouds of his mind were trying to block any light, telling him that she’s a liar.

The clouds overtook his hand and the machete cut quickly through Sharon’s neck. As her body fell to the floor the murderer relented; he howled and swung the machete in a circle above his head. He fell to his knees and gently caressed Sharon’s head. He howled once more, fell on the machete and died.