8. Jack, The Ripper （The Date, Part One）

EIGHT

JACK, THE RIPPER (THE DATE, PART ONE)

NICHOLAS

I was awake before Jason. When I blinked my eyes open, it was still dark, but the nightlights allowed me to watch his chest rise and fall. He looked so soft and peaceful. Just thinking about what was going to happen tonight made my chest flutter. Today was the day—maybe even the most important one of my life so far—the day that would change my future. I knew nothing would go wrong during the scary part of our night. We'd practiced it five times. This was the biggest scare I had ever planned for Jason. It was over the top, but I was sure he would love it. But what about the question I wanted to ask him at the end? What if he answered it with something other than the enthusiastic ‘I do' I was hoping for?

If only I didn't have to wait until tonight.

Fortunately, I could talk my way out of working at the gas station. To be fair, I also had to , or I wouldn't have been able to pull off the surprise.

Everyone who helped me with my plans for Jason was also involved in the bonfire, which took place at the same time. So I had to help prepare the fairgrounds in their place because Alex, the sound effects guy, had to prep my car for the fake radio transmission we came up with for tonight, just like Jack would have to leave during the event so he could play the fake killer on Jason's and my date.

I knew I was asking a lot of them. Still, when I told them why I wanted to go to such lengths and why it had to be tonight , everyone was happy to help, including many of the older people who wanted to show how grateful they were for me recording their stories about the town before they couldn't tell them anymore.

So I got Stan to work the day shift at the gas station in my place, and a lovely lady I had met during the filming of ‘Seastone Secrets' called Mrs. Candice to help Gary in the evening.

Besides, not seeing Jason all day would have advantages. I wouldn't have to worry about keeping a straight face for over twelve hours. I could be as excited as I was and tremble as much as I needed to.

And with that thought, I lay my eyes on his beautiful face for one last time before jumping out of bed to get a head start. It was still Halloween—the busiest day of the year in Seastone.

The closer I got to picking Jay up at the gas station, the weaker my legs felt and the harder it was to concentrate on what I was doing.

I squatted in front of the bonfire, trying to stack the last sheet of wood against the pile. Only an hour left before the mayor would ceremoniously set it ablaze. But that damn log wouldn't stay where I wanted it to. It kept falling over and over, even after the seventh try. I picked it up again, ready to shove it where the sun doesn't shine, when— BAM —someone smacked me in the shoulder. I stumbled forward onto my knees, threw the log up in the air, and watched as it landed on top of the stack, settling into a position much higher but staying right where it was as if that was precisely where it had belonged all along.

"I knew that the only one who was going to be scared tonight was you," Jack laughed behind me. "Go home, Nick. Everything here is as good as it gets."

I wanted to protest, mostly because I didn't want to face the fact that he was right. I was so scared that I couldn't say a word.

Jack's face softened. "You shouldn't be late." He reached out to help me up. "Nick, everything will be fine. You two are going to have an unforgettable night."

I put my hand in his. "Are you sure that everything ?—"

"I mean what I said." Jack's arm muscles tightened as he pulled me to my feet. "You two are made for each other. Anyone can see that, believe me."

His words made my pulse drop a little. "Thanks." I pulled him into a quick hug. "I'm grateful to call Jack the Ripper my friend."

With a pat on my back, he released the embrace. "Now, off you go. We'll, uh, see each other later."

"When you chase me through the woods and stab me!"

Jack made a face. "That sounds wrong on so many levels." He turned around and walked away, putting his hand to his ears as if he was tired of hearing about it.

As I made my way to my car, I could feel the eyes of other helpers lingering on me. I searched for them and found smiling faces and sentimental eyes on the verge of tears. A few ‘Good luck' wishes from some of them found their way to my ears. It looked like my plans weren't a secret anymore. Hopefully, they hadn't gotten through to Jason.

I pulled my car keys out of my jacket and… dropped them. My head snapped around to see if anyone had noticed, but everyone had gone back to whatever they were working on.

A laugh escaped me.

Why was I so nervous?

It was going to work out. I would get the answer I was hoping for. What was important now was to have a good time with it.

I squatted down, took the keys, and unlocked my car. I climbed into my seat and closed the door behind me, muffling the sounds of the busy townspeople preparing the last stuff. Later, we'd come back here with a good story to tell. I was sure of it.

My gaze wandered to the storage space in my door. The small, unlabeled white box I was looking for was still there. I placed it on my lap and opened it. There were still twenty-three fake blood capsules left. Only seven were gone to test the effects. Even though I only needed one, I took three out and put them into my jacket. In about four hours, I would secretly have to put one in my mouth and bite on it at the right moment.

A grin crept across my face. "I'm not scared. I'm excited," I whispered to myself.

This was going to be an incredible night. Now, it was time to focus. Game on.

I tucked the package back in the door. I wanted to have them close by, just in case, and since they weren't labeled, Jason shouldn't suspect anything. It wasn't unusual for me to keep a lot of stuff in my car because old habits die hard.

As I started the engine, the sound of drums filled the car, but after a second of listening, the song ended, and a familiar male voice said, "This is 66.6, your favorite Halloween station. This message is for Nicholas from his friends Jack and Alex: Good luck tonight. It's going to be awesome. " I looked at the radio. It was glowing just like it should have. No one who didn't know could even guess this wasn't an actual broadcast. If it hadn't been for this unexpected message, I would have forgotten about it, too.

Alex was a master of his craft. He had rigged my car so that it appeared to be a regular radio when, in reality, it was a prerecorded stream playing from an MP3 player in my trunk. The whole thing was timed so that just before the fake killer was about to attack us, some orchestral music from the 1920s would play, sounding romantic at first but changing the perception once the spooky stuff started happening. Just like it always does in horror movies. Since we couldn't time precisely when we would be in the car (except for when we would be at the lookout in the mountains), Alex had suggested we fake it for the whole evening, and now I'm glad I went with it.

The last colored leaves on the trees glowed in the setting sun. I drove up the street, listening to a rock song that told me I was on the expressway to hell. The first cars were already lined up on the side of the road. I slowed down as I passed families gathering lanterns and fixing costumes, eager to get to the grounds in time.

My heart pounded as I turned onto the familiar street that would take me to my regular workplace.

I parked the car behind the building, hid the plastic spider in the passenger side sun visor, and went through the back entrance. I walked through the tiny hallway but stopped in front of the break room to watch Jason and Gary huddle behind the counter.

The gas station was decorated in so much orange you would think it was a Halloween decorations store. Pumpkins making funny faces were everywhere. The severed plastic hands from last year were back, but this time, they hung over the coolers so that I wouldn't have to keep banging my head against them.

Jason winked at me but quickly focused back on the young couple dressed as pirates on the other side of the counter. I instantly knew where this was headed. Jason was wearing his prosthetic eye today, as was tradition, and the usual Halloween prank was only seconds away.

Gary came over, a knowing grin on his face. He leaned close to me as if this wasn't the most suspicious way to talk to me. "Are you excited?"

Searching for Jason, who was putting a credit card into the payment terminal, I lowered my voice. "Let's not talk about that right now."

"Right, right," Gary replied, raising his hands to his mouth as if that would make what his words unsaid. "Promise me to tell me everything tomorrow."

"I will," I said, although I was going to leave out some of the more gory details because, for all he knew, I was taking Jason out on a romantic date. "Is Mrs. Candice here yet?"

"Oh, she called earlier to say she'd be a little late. It's always like that with temps! But, you know, I can handle it on my own. If things take too long, then people just have to wait! They're all too busy these days anyway, and?—"

Some screams made Gary and me look up.

Jason stared at the prosthetic in his hand. He was doing the same trick he had done to me last year. "Looks okay to me," he said, putting the prosthetic back in his eye socket.

The young woman with a parrot on her shoulder had retreated into her girlfriend's arms, but both were laughing and shaking their heads at how Jason's prank had caught them off guard.

Jason pushed the bowl of candy toward them. "Take one. If you dare," he said, glaring at them.

The woman looked at her girlfriend and back at the bowl. She cautiously took a step closer, her eyes on the prize, but not without constantly eyeing Jason to see if he had another trick up his sleeve.

"Go ahead, will you? I won't bite," Jason said. "Though I'm not sure the bowl is as gracious."

"The bowl can bite?" she asked.

"Where do you think all those hands are coming from?" Jason asked, pointing to the plastic decoration above the coolers that resembled severed hands.

The young pirate laughed and shook her head, seeing right through it. She put her hand into the bowl, but just as her fingers touched it, Jason stepped quickly toward her. She jumped back—albeit not without taking a candy bar. "I knew it, Larissa!" she yelled, but it drowned in the laughter of everyone present.

"Happy Halloween," Jason announced.

"Happy Halloween," the couple replied as they left the store.

"I've been in retail for fifty years," Gary said as he approached Jason. "I never figured out how to be as playful with customers as you are."

"That's because you take your job seriously. I'm just the scary mountain man who happens to own a gas station," Jason laughed.

"Now, now, off you two go," Gary said, pushing Jason aside to take his place. "You don't want to be late for your dinner reservations. The traffic is only going to get worse in the next hour."

"Thanks for taking the night shift," Jason replied.

"Thanks for paying me double the hourly rate," Gary laughed, pulled out the folding stool we kept under the counter, unfolded it, and sat down.

Jason smiled at me as he walked past me into the break room.

"How was your day?" I asked.

I walked through the door when Jason spun around, wrapped his hand around my head, and pushed me against the wall. My heart rate doubled.

"Sorry, I can't think straight when you're dressed like that," he whispered, pressing his lips to mine and running his hands through my hair before letting go of me a second later.

I wasn't even wearing anything special, just my grey work pants and the usual dark brown hoodie under a bright orange safety vest.

"It was as busy as every Halloween," Jason answered my question. "I got to scare so many people." He yanked open his locker, took his white sweater, and pulled it over his red company shirt. "How did it go at the fairgrounds?"

"Well enough that Jack let me leave twenty minutes early."

"I still can't believe you want to miss the scariest day of the year to go on a romantic date with me. Not that I'm complaining."

I curled my toenails. If only I could tell him that this night was going to be scarier than anything we'd ever experienced.

"Well, we'll see…" I bit my lip. Why couldn't I keep my mouth shut? "So, let's head home, change, and then get on the road, shall we?" I added to change the subject.

"For your information, I have prepared myself, especially for today, not to be frightened by anything. Look, this is the face I'm going to make." Jason dropped the smile, his expression now as grim as on a passport photo.

"Well, you won't need it," I replied.

It would have been unwise to assume that he thought we were having a normal date. That's why I planted the fake spider in the car. Hopefully, that would throw him off and make him think that was the only thing I had planned.

"I bet you ten dollars that I will find that lovely little plastic spider somewhere hidden in the car," Jason laughed as he got his jacket out of the locker.

"I raise it to ten dollars and a kiss…" I raised my index finger to emphasize my point, "… on a body part of the winner's choosing that you can't guess exactly where it is hidden."

He tucked his arms into his jacket, his gaze wandering between me and the ceiling. "I'll take that kiss right now, but let's invest those ten dollars in dessert." He closed the door to his locker and came over, pointing to his cheek. "It's under the sun visor."

I made a face but pursed my lips to keep my end of the bargain. I leaned in close as he turned around, and the kiss landed on his mouth.

The grin on his face when he pulled away made my heart melt. "Please never stop hiding that spider for me," he whispered. "It's always one of the best parts of my day."

Following Jack's recommendation, I parked my minivan on the edge of the cliff for a breathtaking view of the valley.

The full moon shone over Seastone, bathing the trees in a soft, ethereal glow. About two miles away, the bonfire lit up a small section of the forest. The mountains towered over the town, protecting it from whatever was brewing behind them. A few tiny orange lights blinked at us from the houses like stars that had found a home in the valley. I'd only seen this view during the day, and, boy, what an improvement. No wonder this had been the designated make-out spot for generations.

Jason leaned his head against the headrest as I turned off the engine. "I'm honestly surprised," he said, his eyes lingering on the beautiful view before us. "You didn't try to scare me at all. I was expecting something at the restaurant, but not even a fake fly in my mocktail. So, is it coming now?"

"I'm not trying to scare you," I said, trying to sound a little annoyed. "Not tonight …"

He stared at me as if trying to look inside my head to see if he could figure it out. After three seconds, he put his left hand on my knee and turned his head back toward the valley. "I believe you."

I dropped back into the seat and uttered a quiet "Thank you."

The radio was playing a mix of Halloween and love songs. Every five to ten minutes, the fake host would talk about something to make it seem like a real radio show.

It was two past eight, and we still had about ten minutes before something was going to happen.

"Can I tell you something, Nicholas?" Jason said, his eyes still focused on the view. "It was only a year ago that you came here, but now it feels like it was never any different. Like you've always been here, working and living with me." He looked at me. "I like that." The corners of his mouth perked up for a second as his eyes drifted to his lap. "That's actually what I'm most afraid of right now. That one day, you might tell me you want to continue your journey."

My heart dropped to my knees. This was and was not what I had hoped to hear tonight. I had no intention of ever leaving again. That was the whole point of this evening. But I couldn't tell him that now .

"You don't have to worry about that."

"Why not? You've stayed in places before and left."

"You know—" Damn it. I wish I could just ask him now. But that would ruin everything I've been working on for weeks. "It's difficult. It's not about the place itself. I've seen many beautiful cities, and I've met many nice and kind people. But no matter where I went, I felt…" I took a deep breath. "…like an outsider . Does that make sense? And isn't it best to settle down in a place where you feel you belong?"

"What if you never got to that point because you've always left before it could happen?"

"I've lived in my hometown for eighteen years and haven't gotten there. Shouldn't that be enough?"

"Probably." His thumb moved up and down my knee, gently stroking it. "You know, what you say makes sense. Even though I call Seastone my home and the people have treated me as one of their own, I have always felt different. Maybe it's because of my eye. Or because I'm gay. Or because I lived alone for so long in one of the town's eyesores. It's hard to say for sure. The only person I felt a genuine connection with was Jack. Until I met you, that is. With you, it's different. You felt like the right thing from the first moment that you laid your eyes on me, screaming like I was death itself."

We both laughed at his words.

"I love you, Nicholas."

"I love you, too," I replied, placing my hand on his. "If it is any consolation to you, I'm certain I'm nowhere near finished with Seastone." I leaned over the center console, my mouth reaching for his touch. "I'm talking years, maybe decades away."

Jason opened his mouth and let me in, his tongue caressing mine. His lips were soft and soothing. Our breaths intertwined.

"That's comforting to know," he whispered in between two kisses.

After a minute, the song on the radio stopped just as the chorus was about to kick in.

"Breaking news," the fake radio host announced. "We interrupt our program to inform you that there has been a prison break at Broken County State Penitentiary."

My heart rate went from zero to a hundred in a second.

This was it.

Our heads turned toward the radio as if we could hear the announcer's words better that way.

"A man identified as thirty-seven-year-old Edward Raynes Petrol, also known as the Leather Mask Killer, has escaped custody and is now on the run. He was last seen at a gas station near Ashbourne, Pennsylvania. Citizens should remain vigilant and contact 911 if they observe anything suspicious. As far as the police know, he is unarmed but extremely dangerous. Do not approach the individual. Lock your doors, and do not let strangers into your home. We will keep you updated on this issue."

The music took over again. We stared at the radio for another second before Jason laughed and pushed my head away.

"You're funny. How did you do that?"

I couldn't tell him how hard it was to tap into the radio and control it from the trunk, so it looked like this hour-long program Alex had prepared would appear to be a live radio broadcast.

"What are you talking about?" I tried to sound as serious as possible. "It's just the radio."

"Yeah, sure."

I stared at Jason, biting my tongue to keep from laughing. I had to play my part to make it seem real. "Honestly. Look." I pointed to the unplugged cable I usually use when I want to listen to something on my phone.

Jason frowned. "So that wasn't you?"

I frowned back. "How would I even do that?"

"I don't know." He pulled his hands back, his eyes wandering through the window to the side mirror. "So a real killer is running around Pennsylvania?"

"Looks like it," I replied. My lower lip trembled, not because of a non-existent killer but because it seemed like the plan was working.

"Shall we go home?" I asked. Even if he said yes, we definitely wouldn't be going anywhere. We had planned for that possibility and had prepared my car to look like the engine was dying.

Jason shook his head. "I think this guy has other things to do than show up in the mountains and kill random people. He's probably more fixated on getting out of the state right now."

"You know, that's what they say in the movies," I teased him.

"This is not a horror film," Jason replied, taking a deep breath. "Come to think of it, maybe you're right. Should we call someone? If there's a killer on the loose, they shouldn't have a bonfire."

"Let's call Jack," I said, pulling out my phone. We had prepared for this case as well. I dialed his number. When it beeped, I put the call on speaker and turned down the music so we could hear him properly.

"Nick?" Jack answered. "What's up? Aren't you supposed to be on a date?" In the background, we heard people laughing and the fire burning.

I knew Jack was hiding behind the bushes, ready to play the fake killer the radio had just told us about, but Alex had recorded some background noise for him to play so it would sound like he was down in the valley where he should be.

"We are," I said. "But we just heard some disturbing stuff on the radio and wanted to check in."

" Uh , are you talking about that Leather Mask Slayer? Because the police are already here. They didn't want to cause a panic, so they sent some people to check out the area. Also, they said it should be all right because the last time they saw him was in Ashbourne, and they think he's heading in the opposite direction to the state line."

Jason nodded and took a deep breath. "Thanks for letting us know," he said in a raised voice.

"No worries. Thank you for caring enough to call us. And now go back to your date, you two lovebirds," Jack said and hung up.

I winked at Jason. "Better?"

"Yeah," he sighed and leaned back in his seat.

I turned up the music again. It had finally changed from the Halloween theme to romantic orchestral music from the 1920s.

"So, do you want to keep making out?"

"Only you could be turned on by a killer."

I leaned over and kissed him again. Part of the plan was for us to make out, like in any good horror movie. My hands ran over his chest, my mouth over his chin and neck.

As planned, the bush next to us shook, trying to get Jason's attention. I ignored it, but after another three seconds, Jason pulled away from the kiss.

"What was that?" he asked.

Ignoring the lover's concern is horror movie 101. So I looked at the bush. It wasn't moving anymore. "Probably just a squirrel," I said and brought my lips to his neck to kiss him again.

"What the fuck?" Jason screamed, pushing me away. "Nicholas, look!" He pointed to the bush.

Behind it was a man—I knew it was Jack—with a leather mask on his face. He didn't move. He just stood there, staring at us, his hands in the pockets of his orange jumpsuit.

I yanked my eyes wide open, hoping that Jason would believe my mediocre acting. "What the?—"

"Is this a joke? If you're trying?—"

"What the hell? This isn't a joke!" I said in a stern voice, surprised at how serious I could sound on cue. "Let's get the fuck out of here!"

I rushed my hands to the key in the ignition and pretended to turn it over when the sound of a dying engine came out. I couldn't believe it was working. We had installed a boombox under the dashboard connected to Jack's phone, and he played the sound from his pocket.

"No fucking way," I said. "This can't be real."

I glanced at Jack and pretended to turn the key around again. The look was the hidden signal for him to play the sound a second time.

Jason stared at me and turned pale.

I felt sorry for him, but now that we were in the middle of it, I couldn't just stop. I knew the excitement he would feel when we reached the planned climax would outweigh the fright right now.

Jack, aka the fake killer, took a step toward us and raised his arm to show us a knife. It looked surprisingly real in the dark, even though it was made of rubber.

"What are we supposed to do?" Jason shouted, his head spinning between the fake killer and me.

"Let's get out of here," I yelled, fumbling for the handle. The door snapped open, and as I jumped out of the car, I tripped over my feet and landed on my hands on the cold ground.

This couldn't have worked out any better.

Jason followed my lead and climbed over the center console to jump out on my side as well. I have to hand it to him. If this were real, it would have been a smart move.

I pointed toward the woods. "Here," I yelled, holding out my hand like I did on our first date. "I'll lead the way." He was still night-blind, and even with the moonlight, it wouldn't be bright enough for him to see well in the forest—a circumstance Jack and I could use to our advantage because it would make it easier for Jack to follow us secretly, while we'd let Jason believe we'd gotten away from him.

As expected, Jason put his hand in mine.

We ran from the car down a path that looked random but wasn't. I had scouted it carefully beforehand to make sure there was nothing we could trip over. This was just for fun, and I didn't want anyone to get hurt.

I looked over my shoulder from time to time to make sure Jason was okay while I pretended to be looking for Jack, aka the Leather Mask Killer. He didn't even follow us anymore because we had planned the spot where he was supposed to appear out of nowhere. "Let's hurry," I yelled to make it seem like he was still behind us.

We ran for another five minutes until we reached the designated spot.

A small clearing behind a large rock provided cover while the spot was open enough for the moonlight to reach it. This part of the scare wouldn't work if Jason couldn't see.

I pulled him behind the rock and pressed him against it, holding my index finger in front of my mouth to show him how to keep quiet. We both panted but tried to calm down as quickly as possible, listening to our surroundings.

"I think we might have gotten away from him," I whispered.

I crept over to the side of the rock. Jack was already hiding behind it, giving me a thumbs-up that I pretended not to see. I secretly reached into my pocket for the fake blood pill and put it in my mouth.

Turning back to Jason, I froze for a second. He was shaking, his gaze lingering on the ground. I reached for his shoulders, and when he looked up, his eyes darted past me and went wide.

The rubber knife pressed against my back.

I bit into the capsule, feeling the fake blood flood my mouth as I arched my back. I forced my lips apart and let the fake blood drip out onto my white shirt. Jack pushed the rubber knife in deeper and wrapped his hand around my jacket to secretly guide me to the floor. The plan was for me to end up on one knee, but no matter how hard I tried during rehearsal, I couldn't do it myself. On the third try, we came up with the idea that Jack could also hold me to keep me stable. So, I took a step forward with my right foot, and thanks to Jack guiding me from behind, I ended up kneeling on my left knee, right in front of Jason.

"Jason…" I wheezed. "I love you…"

His eyes darted between me and the fake killer. When Jack finally pulled off his mask as planned, Jason's mouth fell open.

Jason's mouth fell open.

I stopped acting and took his hand. "…and as much as I like to scare you, I want to make sure that nothing but me will ever scare you again." I reached into my jacket and pulled out a black ring box. "That's why I want to ask you…" With a deep breath, I opened it and presented a silver ring to Jason. "Will you marry me?"