Jagged Edge

"Does anybody have a camera?" I asked everyone.

"I do!" Zoe exclaimed, struggling with her video camera that was in her pocket. After much yelling and growling, she finally got it our and held it up, exclaiming, "Aha!"

"Alright, I'm gonna tell you what I'm gonna do," I said, motioning to Zoe to come across the table to me. She crawled on top of the table and leaned in, giggling, to hear my plan. I told her and she nodded, turning on her camera on.

"You all might wanna get ready to run," Zoe said as she pushed the 'record' button. I gripped the cross in my hand to that the point stuck out between my fingers. I snuck up behind a random person and punched them in the arm with the cross.

"The power of Christ compells you, bitch!" I yelled as I ran away. I was followed by a stampede of my laughing friends. Zoe had stopped recording to show me the video. As I hit the person, I heard Zoe yell, "STRIKE ONE!"

"We gotta see how many people you can get without getting the shit beat outta you," Donny said.

"Oh, that was the plan," I said evilly. The sun was setting by now, so we left the car and walked around. It was a pretty chilly night, but there were many people walking around our small town.

"Him," Zoe hissed, pointing at a boy from our past. I readied my cross and started quickly walking toward him. I looked back at my friends and gave them a thumbs up. Then I walked quicker, until I was right behind him.

"The power of Christ compells you, bitch!!" I yelled, punching him in the middle of his back and ran to my cracking-up friends. We continuedto walk, hitting people and yelling and laughing. Eventually, I did get chased.

"The power of Christ compells you, bitch!" I yelled, hitting a random guy on the arm. He turned around and glared at me. I saw the fury in his eyes and turned around, sprinting as fast as I could. I heard his shoes clomping behind me and I found that my friends had run into the cemetery. I followed them and noticed that the guy had stopped running.

"You stupid emo faggot!" he yelled. "I'd go after you if that damn place wasn't haunted!"

"Haunted? Ha! You're just afraid of me!" I yelled. The guy growled in frustration, but left. I smiled and headed back to my friends.

"You got 23 people," Veronica informed me.

"It's getting kinda cold. We're gonna go get our cars," Donny said, motioning at Jag.

"We'll meet you at McDonald's," Abbie said. Aydin started to walk with Donny and Jag, too, leaving us girls by ourselves. We started to walk in the opposite direction of the guys, heading toward the local McDonald's. As the darkness set in, so did the cold. It chilled us to the bone.

"Why is it so cold? IT'S SUMMER!" Veronica yelled toward the sky. We laughed at her, but the desire for warmth was too strong. The McDonald's sign was prominent through the dark, shadowy trees. We seemed to walk a little bit quicker. The sidewalk was long enough for all of us, so I walked behind everyone as they talked. I guess I was used to this...

"Here, this is a shortcut," Veronica said, pointing toward a side road.

"Are you sure?" I questioned her. I wasn't sure that this was the right way.

"Yeah, it is. We'll get there a lot quicker," Veronica answered. I shrugged and followed her. We walked silently. The only noise was the sound of the gravel crunching under our weight. No bugs buzzing, no people laughing, no lights. Things felt a little weird.

Suddenly, I heard two gunshots and simultaneously felt pain in my leg and my arm. I collapsed to the ground in pain, clutching my arm. I think somebody screamed, but I couldn't be sure. I tried to clear my vision of the black spots that crossed it.

Then I woke up.

"Roxie, are you okay?" Zoe asked, cracking a smile.

"Yeah, what happened?" I asked. Veronica and Abbie were hanging onto each other because they were laughing so hard.

"You, uh...you tripped and hit your head on a sign...then hit it on the ground," Zoe said, snickering a little. I pictured this in my mind and started to laugh.

"That is some crazy shit," I laughed. That was a cue for everyone to freely join in with their laughter, too.

"You okay to stand up?" Abbie asked.

"I think so...but I need some help," I replied. I couldn't really remember how to sit. Abbie and Veronica grasped my arms and Zoe helped push my back up. I groaned in relief as they got me up. I could remember how to do everything again, including walking.

"I got this," I said confidently. We started walking again. I was a little unsteady, but my friends were there to support me. The draw of the McDonald's was overpowering and talk was unnessecary. We were almost there.

"We should cross the road here while there's not much traffic," Veronica suggested. We nodded and crossed the street. We were so close now, but still a world away.

"One day, we're gonna write a number one hit song about this, and we're gonna have to explain it," Zoe said. We laughed, imagining the awkward scene.

Then, we reached the final road to cross, and then we were there, at McDonald's. We entered the warm building, engulfed by the mouth-watering smell of extremely greasy, unhealthy food.

"The guys better get here, soon. I'm starving," Abbie said, rubbing her stomach. We walked to the back of the restaurant because this one didn't have a playscape. We pushed two tables together and pulled up a bunch of chairs.

After a few minutes of mindless talking, the door opened and three of the hottest guys walked in...our guys. They waved and walked up to the counter to buy some more food. We waited anxiously, and eventually, Aydin walked over, but without any food.

"We ordered a bunch of food and screwed up their system," Aydin grinned, his thick Welsh accent still catching me by surprise.

"Oh well, we can wait," Abbie said, looking happily at Aydin. It was cute how much she liked him.

After what was possibly twenty minutes, the guys came back carrying two trays overloaded with food.

"Jesus Christ, how much did you get?" Zoe exclaimed, her mouth gaping.

"Sixty chicken nuggets, four burgers, lots of fries, and drinks to go around. Not to mention the wide array of sauces," Jag said, motioning at each item as he spoke.

For the next five minutes, a silence fell over the group as we stuffed our faces with all the food. There was an occasional word or two, requesting some other food, drink, or sauce. I loaded my chicken nuggets and fries with honey and salt, the perfect combination. For the next twenty minutes, we snacked and talked. I don't know if I'd ever felt so at peace, surrounded by my happy friends and loving boyfriend.

Suddenly, the McDonald's was filled with an otherworldly chill that only I felt. Then I heard it.

"Roxanne Fischer. Come here right now, please."