I’ve always been scared of the dark. Face it. We’ve all have. However, this dark was different. It was scary. Scary, like an unseen force of scary. Scary to the point. You’d piss your pants.
The story starts in the Western Outbacks of Australia. The whole continent had managed to squeeze itself a morsel of horror since the past events regarding meteors and tectonic shifts of the earth. (Warning: I’m the only one that survives. So, this story is quite gruesome).
Once upon a time, the story picks up and we are at the back of a van. Me and my homies. Jennifer, Lyla and Clark. Clark is a guy by the way. I’m a guy too. (And, no)… —they —are —not —our girlfriends.
Ten years ago, we were on a boating trip. I fell—off the boat, luckily, Clark was able to save me. He gripped me in his arms and carried me to the ‘hull’ of the boat. There, he resuccitated me. I woke up: choking —on sea water. He was there, so was the others in their bikinis. That was the first —
“Devon,” said Clark. “Whatcha’ lookin at?”
“Ahh, nothing,” I said. My boy, and girlfriends chuckled. “Just —… seems pretty interesting.”
“Aight,” he said, turning around. He still had his arms on both of our girlfriends.
I blushed. He was making me fume, from the inside out. What, would it take to be under his arms?
A blush headed its way — on my cheeks. I turned around, covering myself from his gaze.
“Just… — seems pretty interesting,” Clark mumbled, repeating after me.
The ride went on like that for a while.
| Clark would ask me something, the girls would giggle. And I’d just reply | vice-versa. |
We entered a clearing that we hadn’t entered before. Liam, our driver, was a High School Sports Captain of Haddon High, the highschool that we all went to. Captain, might mean differently (to you), but it meant the same thing as “Coach” back in our school.
“Seems, we will have to go through a little detour!” he shouted. We nodded.
(I am so sorry, I can’t recall correctly, it wasn’t Jennifer, and Lyla…)
The van went through a few-little bumps along the way… we were descending, to where, I don’t know. Yawn. The girls shifted in their seat, preparing themselves for the rest of the night; they barely talked. Jessica and Naomi.
Clark, was like a chad, almost as if he had just two girls on his arms, but he wasn’t interested. Clark looked at me, I turned away.
“Man, this sucks,” he said, after a while. “You, barely talk to me, after all.”
“Did —… — our lips touching really scar you that much?”
A blush went all the way to my fore-head lines where a crease was. Clark, didn’t notice — after all; it was dark. He’d tease me, though, saying it was a “’meter’” for how much heat I had in my body. Though, that’d be different, somehow. I think I’m gay.
| The ride progressed for the next few hours or so. The girls, would mumble in their sleep. Especially, Jessica. Naomi, was the quiet one — even when fast asleep. Clark would nudge his arm, to get a reaction out of Naomi because he wanted to hear her talk. I got pissed. Turned | away. |
“We’re almost there,” said Liam. I could tell he was about to tell a joke: “And: I guess it’s time for you to realize it’s morning!”
“Wake, up, sleepy heads!”
“Goddamnit,” said Clark. He wrestled with his eye-lids, “…shut the hell up,” he said.
Both of them were drinking buddies, so it was all good. However, if Clark’s words had been in earshot he would still have been fine.
| Okay, Darkness Cabin, here we go | . Liam got out of the van and headed to our side, he opened the door. The van was a convertible in terms of if we tried to get out, we would get stuck but Liam would be able to, “drag”, it open from the outside. |
Jessica, still bleary eyed — hobbled over after Naomi. She clutched on to her younger sister, as they hobbled to the charcoal —colored —door of the black-cabin, in front of us.
Yawn. Said Clark. Scratching his back.
| “Dude, you look like you’ve been in a shit—storm,” I said, piping up. | Yeah, yeah he replied. |
“Hey, everyone! Look at what we’ve found!” said Naomi, piping up and diverting our attention away from the awkwardness between Clark and I. Mind you, I’m a native American, from Texas so if anyone asks me, what I’m doing here — tell my mother to leave me alone.
“A TV, a radio!” said Naomi. “Dude, we aren’t that primitive, are we?”
Jessica chuckled, haha of course.
“Yeah, yeah cut —the Cabin owner some slack,” said Clark, still trying to find that —invisible —itch behind his back.
“Cookies…” I mumbled. Clark seemed to brighten —up, turning: towards me, for once.
“Cookies,” I repeated. “Cookie time, and limited —edition, as well.”
“Now, we’re talking,” said Clark. He took a hand—ful from me and distributed it to the group. Liam refused the offer.
“It seems —” he said slowly. “I’d, have to get goin’ now.”
| “Oh, sure…” said Clark, hesitantly. He, was seriously going to miss a drinking buddy, and look at all those bottles: | I, thought. |
“Night’s coming soon,” he said.
Clark and Liam said their good—byes. I waited at the back, with the girls taking turns at the radio.
“Hey, Naomi! Check this out,” said Jessica, singing into the radio — like — a — wildcat.
‘Huh?’ I can do better. I folded my arms, looked towards Clark waving his bye’s to Liam.
When Clark turned around, I turned around, as well.
“What happens now, is something that never happened before,” I’m telling you this now.
I imagined him, walking towards me and wrapping me in his arms. His — perfume — everything about him, melting into me like a candy —wrapper going full-melt.
Devon, he said, softly.
“Come over,” he said. He was having his hands to his hips. A —serious—look—on—his—face.
“What’s gotten into you?!” he asks. “You, barely talk, and shun, looking me in the eye.”
“Uh- I’m sorry,” I said.
“This holiday is meant to be fun, brother,” he said. “And, that means enjoying these next two weeks.”
‘Together.’ I nodded— I understood. It, still stung.
“Boys!” shouted Jessica. Naomi trailed behind her.
“While you guys were having a, so ‘endearing’ heart —to —heart, we’ve been having some serious malfunctions.”
The room we entered was the one with —the —broken —TV.
Look, I can’t seem to get it on, she said.
And, what’s—more, the phone doesn’t work.
That’s interesting, I thought. I looked towards Clark.
“How, about our cell’s?”
“No, reception!” Naomi said. Clark padded the room, his phone in the air trying to receive a signal.
“Damn…” he said. “I can’t contact my parents, now.”
“I literally promised to call ‘mine’ every night!” Jessica said. Mine too, said Naomi. Me three, I said.