Into the Eyes of a Killer
Pow-Wow's aren't as productive as they should be
We all sat in the living room of Sophie’s house, glancing around at each other between scattered conversations. Roxy and Scott sat next to each other, talking in hushed tones. He absently scratched his beard and I barely caught him mumbling,
“I picked a shitty ass time to quit smoking…”
Lance and Sophie, however were quoting lines from MST3K The Movie, back and forth to each other between giggles. I sighed in frustration. We had been trying for an hour to come up with some kind of strategy or plan for dealing with her. No one could focus. Every time someone started to get serious, another person would make a joke. I pretended to laugh along as I ground my teeth angrily. Things were getting worse. She started getting violent. Even threatened to kill me the other night over the phone.
“He didn’t have the balls to follow through,” she said in a low voice. “I promise you, I do.”
She started getting into Roxy and my heads. The boys as well, though they only brought it up when prompted. Lance had begun to have dreams, nightmares really. She was trying to find his fears… and after a few probing nights, she found what she was looking for. How afraid he was that the girl he loved would betray him.
My thoughts were interrupted as Lance started singing “Don’t Stop Me Now”. I looked over at him and saw that he was at one of the computers, logged into World of Warcraft. I sighed and was about to ask him if now was really the time, when I realized what everyone was laughing at. His character was naked, running through a high level area with a trail of baddies streaming behind him while he sang frantically. I couldn’t help it. I started laughing, unable to stop despite the stitch that had cramped in my side. Oh God… I haven’t laughed like that in a long time… I miss that… God I miss that. Just hanging out, not flinching at every odd look or movement. Not suddenly finding myself with a hand wrapped around my neck.
Though we did make light of certain situations in retrospect. It was never too soon to make an inappropriate joke. For example…
Sophie, Ryan, Roxy and I rushed through the snow, ducking quickly into the shed behind the trailer I lived in during the school year. We all checked to make sure our cigarettes made it unscathed as I flipped on the dollar store heater. Sophie and Ryan sat in the two chairs that were set up while Roxy and I lit up the candles so that we could see each other. We wanted a chance to talk about everything that was going on out of earshot from my roommates. We didn’t really want to have to answer the awkward questions that would come from it.
I was particularly on edge that night as he had made it perfectly clear to me that my life would come to a swift end should I continue to interfere with his plans. We mostly smoked in silence, enjoying our cancerous friends. In the silence, the heater just stopped rotating, shutting off.
“Cheap piece of shit…” I murmured as I looked up to notice that Sophie was glaring at me. Well… not Sophie… it was him. My heart stopped and I was just about to run as Sophie looked around at us, the heater starting back up again.
“What…?” She asked, glancing at our worried faces with concern. We all let out a collective sigh, taking long draws off our ciggies. The heater must have been so cheap that any shift in energy would cause it to turn off. A handy little tool to have. We all began to watch it intently as Sophie just groaned sadly.
I shifted and suddenly the heater shut off. I immediately grabbed Roxy and shoved her out of the shed, throwing us both into the cold. I promptly cowered behind her, ready to bolt and lock myself in the house.
Sophie held up her hands innocently.
“Still me… promise.” She said meekly as I peered over Roxy’s shoulder at her. Ryan glanced at the heater and nudged it with his foot. It promptly started producing warm air once more.
“You must’ve hit it. This thing really IS cheap.” He explained with a little smile. Roxy glanced over her shoulder at me, clearly not pleased.
“Shove me out of the way so you can save yourself, huh? No no, I see how it is. I get it.” I pouted guiltily at her.
“I wanted to get you out too…” I said weakly as we shuffled back into the shed. After a few moments, everyone burst out into much needed laughter.
Then the heater shut off. And this time, no one was anywhere near it.
“I picked a shitty ass time to quit smoking…”
Lance and Sophie, however were quoting lines from MST3K The Movie, back and forth to each other between giggles. I sighed in frustration. We had been trying for an hour to come up with some kind of strategy or plan for dealing with her. No one could focus. Every time someone started to get serious, another person would make a joke. I pretended to laugh along as I ground my teeth angrily. Things were getting worse. She started getting violent. Even threatened to kill me the other night over the phone.
“He didn’t have the balls to follow through,” she said in a low voice. “I promise you, I do.”
She started getting into Roxy and my heads. The boys as well, though they only brought it up when prompted. Lance had begun to have dreams, nightmares really. She was trying to find his fears… and after a few probing nights, she found what she was looking for. How afraid he was that the girl he loved would betray him.
My thoughts were interrupted as Lance started singing “Don’t Stop Me Now”. I looked over at him and saw that he was at one of the computers, logged into World of Warcraft. I sighed and was about to ask him if now was really the time, when I realized what everyone was laughing at. His character was naked, running through a high level area with a trail of baddies streaming behind him while he sang frantically. I couldn’t help it. I started laughing, unable to stop despite the stitch that had cramped in my side. Oh God… I haven’t laughed like that in a long time… I miss that… God I miss that. Just hanging out, not flinching at every odd look or movement. Not suddenly finding myself with a hand wrapped around my neck.
Though we did make light of certain situations in retrospect. It was never too soon to make an inappropriate joke. For example…
Sophie, Ryan, Roxy and I rushed through the snow, ducking quickly into the shed behind the trailer I lived in during the school year. We all checked to make sure our cigarettes made it unscathed as I flipped on the dollar store heater. Sophie and Ryan sat in the two chairs that were set up while Roxy and I lit up the candles so that we could see each other. We wanted a chance to talk about everything that was going on out of earshot from my roommates. We didn’t really want to have to answer the awkward questions that would come from it.
I was particularly on edge that night as he had made it perfectly clear to me that my life would come to a swift end should I continue to interfere with his plans. We mostly smoked in silence, enjoying our cancerous friends. In the silence, the heater just stopped rotating, shutting off.
“Cheap piece of shit…” I murmured as I looked up to notice that Sophie was glaring at me. Well… not Sophie… it was him. My heart stopped and I was just about to run as Sophie looked around at us, the heater starting back up again.
“What…?” She asked, glancing at our worried faces with concern. We all let out a collective sigh, taking long draws off our ciggies. The heater must have been so cheap that any shift in energy would cause it to turn off. A handy little tool to have. We all began to watch it intently as Sophie just groaned sadly.
I shifted and suddenly the heater shut off. I immediately grabbed Roxy and shoved her out of the shed, throwing us both into the cold. I promptly cowered behind her, ready to bolt and lock myself in the house.
Sophie held up her hands innocently.
“Still me… promise.” She said meekly as I peered over Roxy’s shoulder at her. Ryan glanced at the heater and nudged it with his foot. It promptly started producing warm air once more.
“You must’ve hit it. This thing really IS cheap.” He explained with a little smile. Roxy glanced over her shoulder at me, clearly not pleased.
“Shove me out of the way so you can save yourself, huh? No no, I see how it is. I get it.” I pouted guiltily at her.
“I wanted to get you out too…” I said weakly as we shuffled back into the shed. After a few moments, everyone burst out into much needed laughter.
Then the heater shut off. And this time, no one was anywhere near it.
♠ ♠ ♠
Alright, finally another update! Sorry that took so long, I had some trouble figuring out how I wanted to do the next part. Good news is more is coming! Thanks Lillie for the creative help!