9. Jack, The Ripped （The Date, Part Two）

NINE

JACK, THE RIPPED (THE DATE, PART TWO)

JASON

Fake blood dripped from Nicholas' smile as he knelt before me. Some caught on his beard, forming a drop that only missed the ring box by an inch.

My eyes darted from the ring box to the tired but warm face behind him. Jack sniffled. Why didn't he tell me this was also part of the plan? I wouldn't have suggested scaring Nicholas back if I had known that was the intention behind it.

My whole body tingled. The cold autumn air filled my lungs as I tried to catch my breath after running here. I stared at the ring and tried to put on a smile. Not only because I had to improvise with it if I wanted to keep up my surprise for Nicholas but also because I knew this question deserved an answer.

"Nicholas, I?—"

A brutal blow shook the ground, followed by a bloodcurdling scream from Jack. My head snapped up. Following my gaze, Nicholas turned.

A deep red mark appeared on Jack's orange jumpsuit in the center of his stomach. His lower lip quivered as he looked down at the blood and shook his head as if he couldn't believe what was happening. His hands trembled as they searched for the fake wound. He lifted his gaze, his eyes wide and tearful as he muttered a silent "Is this part of the plan?"

If I hadn't known this was an act, I would have believed every second of this performance.

Jack coughed, and some blood trickled from his mouth. He collapsed to his knees, his back arched over the wound. A knife stuck in his chest, and it looked freaking real.

Nicholas' smile faded, his eyes widening as he probably only now realized that something was wrong.

This was my last chance to play my part or call it off. I wanted to answer Nicholas' question. At the same time, I wanted to give him the experience of a lifetime. We had cameras hidden all over the place so Nicholas could use the footage for his channel. We'd planned so much to make the second part of the night seem even more real. And damn it, I just knew he would love to be fooled. In the past, every time I turned the tables and played a prank on him, he laughed so exuberantly in the end. I couldn't call it off. No, going through with the plan was the move to show him how much he meant to me .

I made my eyes as wide as I could. "Could we please stop the charade for a second?" I said, pretending to take this as part of his prank.

Nicholas' mouth opened, closed, and opened again. "This isn't…" He glanced at the knife. "Oh, shit." His feet moved so fast that he couldn't get on them. He stumbled forward into my arms, his legs kicking the ground.

The faint outline of a wrinkled face appeared in the forest's darkness. Thin white hair stood in stark contrast to the black clothing that made the man almost invisible. His wrinkles deepened as he pulled the corners of his mouth into the creepiest smile.

My chest fluttered. If I hadn't known that this was Alex in a mask, I would probably freak out a lot more right now. I didn't think the mask we had borrowed from a theater company in Ashbourne would look so real.

"Can I join the party?" Alex said in the deepest voice that no one who wasn't there when we rehearsed could figure out it was him.

I searched for Nicholas to see if he believed it.

He didn't move, his head fixed on the guy in front of us. "Jason," he whispered, "I know what you're thinking, but this isn't…" He pushed himself to his feet, taking a stance between me and the attacker. He raised his arms and clenched his fists, ready to fight him. "Stay back."

"Don't do anything stupid," I said, pushing myself up as well.

Alex took a step toward us, the creepy smile on his face not going anywhere. "You better listen to your boyfriend."

Jack groaned as he lifted his head to look at us. The fake blood was all over him. "What are you doing?" He tried to pull himself up, but his knees buckled.

Nicholas stared at the puddle of blood mixing with the dirt. He took a step toward him, but?—

"Run…" Jack gasped, coughing up more blood. "…and get help."

Alex stepped behind Jack. He wrapped his fingers around the knife and pulled it out.

Jack screamed as he fell to his side, his face contorted.

Alex leaned down over him. "You're lucky. I don't enjoy going after wounded deer." He turned to us. "It's no fun." Slowly but with confidence, he stood up and grinned at us.

"Save yourself," Jack cried, his eyes pleading.

Nicholas took a step back, his feet brushing against mine. "But Jack?—"

"Run!"

"Damn it," Nick grabbed my wrist and pulled me behind him through the woods before I knew it. He led me back to the path we came from, his head turning back to check if we were being followed. "That's not part of the plan," he yelled. "We… We have to run now. There's nothing else we can do."

"Jack," I yelled, trying to slow down, but Nicholas' grip tightened around my wrist to keep me going.

I couldn't make out his face. I couldn't be sure where he was leading me because it was too dark for me to see much. All I could hope for was that he would do what he always said people should do in horror movies—in this case, run to the car and get out of there as quickly as possible.

Five minutes later, the forest thinned out, allowing more moonlight to shine through the trees. The clearing got closer, and after another ten steps, we were back on the lookout. Only one thing was missing: the minivan. There were only tire marks where we had parked it.

Nicholas panted and leaned down, resting his hands on his knees. "Fuck. What?" He searched the area as if we had run to the wrong place.

"Nicholas, this isn't funny anymore," I said. "Where's your car?"

"It should be right here . I don't understand…" His mouth hung open, still working to catch his breath.

I frowned, even though I knew exactly what was going on. I had secretly taken his spare keys yesterday and given them to my friend Dany, who was also in on it. I figured this was the most likely thing to happen, so we moved the car to force Nicholas and me into an old abandoned cabin just half a mile down the road.

Nicholas put his right hand to his neck as he turned around as if the car would appear in front of us if we only waited long enough. His eyes widened as if he had just remembered something. He shoved his hands into his pockets, his whole body tensing. "Bloody hell."

I raised my arms above my head. "So, this guy isn't part of your plan?"

" No . I've never seen him before."

"So… Jack …?" I dropped to my knees and buried my face in my hands. "He's going to be okay, isn't he?" I sobbed, trying to rub my fingers into my left eye to make it red and look like I'd been crying.

Nicholas placed his hand on my shoulder. He took a breath, ready to say something. But even after ten seconds, the words didn't leave his mouth. Instead, he dropped to his knees and pulled me into a hug. "Jason, we can't stay out here in the open."

"It's like a three-mile walk down to town. It's dark as shit. I can barely see." As if checking out our options, I lifted my head and turned away from him. I had to make sure he saw as little of my face as possible so I wouldn't risk giving away the ruse. "And what about Jack? We have to go back. We have to help him?—"

Nicholas pulled me in closer, rocking me back and forth as if he hoped the movement would help me calm down. "There is nothing we can do for him right now. We have to save ourselves first and call for help."

I pressed my face into his chest because it was perfect to keep up my act. "But how?"

"I don't know. There must be something nearby that we can at least use to hide."

"Wait." I pulled my head out of Nicholas' embrace and turned to face the road. "There is an old cabin in the mountains. It shouldn't be too far."

It was exactly 1764 feet away.

"We shouldn't go up the mountain."

"We wouldn't. It's down the road, just half a mile or so."

"Then… it's probably our best option." Nicholas' breathing was so loud that it was the only thing I could hear. He pushed himself back to his feet and pulled me up with him.

I brushed some dirt off my pants and pointed down the road.

Nicholas nodded and jogged toward it, his head turning left and right, looking for our attacker.

The sound of our feet hitting the pavement as we ran downhill echoed through the night.

A few treetops moved in the distance.

An owl hooted.

Both of our heads turned toward it out of reflex before we briefly searched for each other's faces with smiles that tried to be reassuring but were filled with sorrow.

We rushed down the street without saying a word. I felt terrible that I still had no chance to answer his question, but I knew the moment would come soon. The cabin was set up with cameras filming every nook and cranny, and if I was going to answer him somewhere, it had to be there to get it on tape for him.

It took us ten minutes to reach the cabin. The wooden structure had seen better days but still stood strong for it being built almost a hundred years ago and out of use for ten now. It used to be a visitor center for tourists but was shut down when the hotel closed due to the lack of visitors.

We ran across the small parking lot and up the four steps that led to the small covered porch. The wood creaked beneath our feet. I rattled at the door. As planned, it was locked, but I still made a face to keep up the charade. "Fuck."

Now, all I had to do was to lead him around the building to the window we had left open so he and I could climb in.

"Maybe there's a window in the back?" I asked.

"Good idea." Nicholas leaned over the parapet to check the surroundings. He hurried back down the stairs and went off the sidewalk to go around the building. "Jason, here."

I followed his voice to the back. He pointed to the open window. Since the building was on top of a hill, the window was too high to reach alone but doable if two people worked together.

"I'll give you a lift," he whispered, squatting down and putting his hands together.

I rushed toward him, stabilizing myself on his shoulder as I stepped into his hands. He gained some momentum and pushed me up so that I was level with the window. Holding on to the frame, I pushed the half-ajar window all the way open and climbed through.

Inside, it was dark and dusty—the perfect place for this. There was a small desk by the entrance, some information boards about the area, and a restroom in the back. I landed gently on the floor but still made some distressed noises as if I had hurt myself.

"Are you okay?" Nicholas whispered from outside.

I stood up and looked out the window. "Yeah, I'm fine."

When he looked up at me, my heart skipped a beat. He looked so distraught. Fake blood still covered his face and shirt. He seemed so small, even though he was so much taller than me. I leaned out of the window and reached my hand down.

He grabbed it and jumped up, his right hand reaching for the window. With my help, he pulled himself through the hole and rolled onto his back as he landed on the floor with a hard thud.

His right hand went to his back as he groaned, the corners of his mouth hanging down. I couldn't quite see it because of the darkness, but his sniffling gave away that there might have been some tears that he was trying to hold back.

My heart sank into my stomach. I searched for his hands, and when I found them, he was clinging to me like a drowning man clutching a lifeline.

I knelt beside him, pressing his head against my chest. "I'm here."

"I'm so grateful that you are." He turned his head, his lips searching for mine as if they wanted to make sure that if this was close to the end, they would at least get one last taste.

A shiver ran down my spine for the second the kiss lasted.

"We need to call for help," he said, breaking out of our embrace.

"I will," I whispered, fumbling for my phone. This was part of the plan. All I had to do was make sure he didn't see me dial Dany's number. I motioned to the front window. "Can you stand guard?"

"Sure thing." He dropped to his knees and crawled to the window, staying low so he wouldn't be seen.

I brought my phone to my ears.

"911, what is your emergency?" Dany said on the other side.

I put my hand over my mouth to keep my voice from traveling around the room. "My name is Jason Taft. A man stabbed my friend, and we're now hiding because he may have followed us."

Nicholas leaned with his back against the wall under the window, tilting his head so only his eyes peered over the sill.

"Where are you?" Dany asked, his voice so stern that I could've sworn I was talking to an actual officer.

"We're in the old visitor center in the mountains of Seastone. I think it's, uh, Mountain Road."

A moment of silence on the other side. "Yes. I see a shutdown visitor center on Mountain Road in Seastone. Sending a police car your way."

I couldn't believe how well our conversation was going. Dany and I hadn't practiced it before because there wasn't enough time, but this was amazing.

"Fuck," Nicholas ducked down. "He's here."

I followed Nicholas' lead and ducked down as well, clutching my phone. "Please hurry. He found us."

"Don't approach the individual. The patrol will be there in three minutes."

I hung up and crawled over to Nicholas. "They're on their way."

Nicholas took a deep breath, pushed his head over the windowsill, and just as quickly pulled it back down. His clothes rustled as he raised his index finger to his mouth.

I held my breath.

My knee brushed against Nicholas'. As we sought contact, he grabbed my hands and held them close to his chest. His heart was beating so fast that I could feel it through his shirt.

The wind caressing the cabin made the old structure creak, lulling us into a false sense of security.

Nicholas leaned closer to me, so his mouth was now right next to my ear. "Maybe he didn't?—"

Footsteps on the porch sent a shiver down my spine. Alex moved slowly and with precision—like any killer in a horror movie would. Each step sent a tiny shockwave through the floor, traveling to us like a harbinger of bad news.

Still holding my fingers close to his heart, Nicholas brought his right palm to his mouth as if trying to stop himself from breathing.

A knock at the door.

"Anybody home?"

We didn't dare move.

"Hello?"

Another knock, this time with more force.

The floor creaked as more footsteps announced his retreat.

Nicholas lowered his hand, slowly letting out some air.

Out of nowhere, the entire building vibrated as the door was hit with full force. "Open up, open up, open up," Alex yelled so loud that it sounded like he was already inside.

Nicholas pulled his head in, his quick breaths warming my hand. I wanted to tell him it would be over soon, but with the finale only a minute away, I pressed my lips together.

"Open up, open up, open?—"

A red and blue flash lit up the room and stopped the hammering.

Everything went so quiet that Nicholas' panting seemed as loud as the knocking had been a second before.

Footsteps announced that the person on the other side was leaving.

Nicholas' eyes were red. He released his grip on my hand as he turned to look outside.

I cautiously rose to my knees and lifted my eyes over the windowsill to catch a glimpse of the spectacle that was about to unfold.

Alex limped as he made his way to the old police car. He raised his empty hands to the night sky. The headlights put him in the spotlight. His wrinkles appeared deep but natural. The white hair waved in the wind, making me wonder if it was real human hair they had used to make the mask.

The driver's door flew open. "Stop where you are."

Alex followed, stopping in the middle of the parking lot. "Oh, thank God you're here. I'm so scared. It's not one, but two guys. They're in the cabin. They tried to kill me."

"What the hell is he doing?" Nicholas whispered. "Is he blaming it on us?"

Dany got out of his car, the lower part of his face hidden behind the door. He wore a police cap to hide his hair and had a fake mustache glued over his shaved face. I could only hope that the costume, the accent, and the darkness would fool Nicholas for a few more minutes.

Dany ducked behind the door, grabbed the speaker, and said something into the intercom as he scanned the place.

Alex clasped his hands together in prayer. "Please, officer, save me."

"Get behind the car, sir," Dany motioned for him to come over. He looked at the building, pulled out a gun that looked damn real, and pointed it at the cabin.

"What are you doing?" Nicholas yelled as if the fake officer could hear us. "He's the one you're supposed to be arresting!" His eyes popped open, full of fear.

My heart skipped a beat.

Nicholas believed it all. This wasn't acting. He feared for his life.

Alex walked around the car, and just as he was behind Dany, he pulled out his fake knife, swung it in the air for us to see, and plunged it into Dany's chest.

"No!" Nicholas crumpled. He leaned his back against the wooden wall, his knees bent. His head sank deep into his chest as he shook it from left to right. "No, no, no."

I put my hand on his shoulder, which only made him whimper.

"I'm so sorry, Jason…" A sob rippled through the room. "How the hell did this happen? Oh, my god... Jack... that officer... and you..." Tears streamed down his face. "I wanted to make tonight special. Crazy. A story we could tell for years, and people would think we're nuts. We should have just gone to the bonfire."

He grabbed my hands and held them as tightly as he could. "I wanted to ask you if you wanted to spend eternity with me—not just this life. I wanted us to be together forever, to scare each other until we can't move anymore, to be buried side by side, and to haunt others when we become ghosts. I love you, Jason… so damn much and… now…" His sobs drowned out his words.

That was enough.

"Nicholas," I said. "Look at me."

I wanted to scare him, not make him cry.

I grabbed his chin and pulled his head up. His cheeks were soaked. His lips curled as he tried to pull himself together for me.

"I love you, too, and I'm sorry." My own eyes watered. "I should have listened to Jack. This has gotten way out of hand." My vision was blurred from the tears. "It's not real. So please, don't cry, my love." I stood up and pushed open the window we were hiding under.

"What are you doing?" Nicholas grabbed my arms to stop me, but the window was already open enough for me to stick my head through. "Guys!" I yelled at Alex, who was still pretending to stab Dany. "Show's over."

Alex stopped in mid-motion.

Nicholas peered through the window and watched with his mouth agape. Alex walked in a small circle as if all the tension of playing a killer had to leave his body somehow. Dany stood up as if nothing had happened.

"What?" Nicholas stared at them in disbelief.

"Can I come out?" A third voice shouted through the forest.

Dany turned around. "I think so."

On the other side of the parking lot, a bush shook as Jack climbed out of it.

Nicholas wrapped his fingers around the windowsill. "You have to be kidding me." He closed his eyes for a moment before a big smile broke out on his face and turned into the loudest laugh I had ever heard. "That was such a sick move, Jason! I didn't see that coming!"

He jumped up and wrapped his arms around my shoulder like we were at a football game, and I had scored the winning point. "I knew it. You're just a bloody weirdo like me."

"Happy Halloween," I sobbed, but my words were muffled by his lips pressing against mine.