TWO
Dave woke from a restless sleep. That movie had done quite a number on him. That had never happened before. Why had that slasher movie made such an impact on him?
What was that sound in his living room? Was someone there. He got out of bed, grabbing the Louisville slugger next to his bed. New York was a big city. He’d always figured it would make sense to have protection nearby. Having to use it was something else though. The last fight he’d been in was in high school.
His heart pounding he walked to his bedroom door. Slowly he opened it, he stepped in the living room, baseball bat at the ready. There was indeed someone in his room. Sitting in his chair even. Long legs, clad in jeans… Black leather boots. With a battle cry that came as much from fear as anger he ran to the intruder, bat up in the air.
“Whoa, dude! Chill!” the intruder said.
Dave managed to lower the bat just before it connected to his best friend’s face. “Johnny? What the fuck are you doing here?”
The man in the chair raised a bottle of Coors. “I was out of beer, dude. Figured you might still have some left.”
“How the fuck did you get in here?”
“Your lock isn’t much of a challenge. You should have someone have a look at that. It’s a big city, you know.”
Dave sighed. Johnny Darkness (born Johnny Goldstein) had been his friend for forever. They had both been the outcasts at high school. Dave for his insane love of horror movies and comic books, Johnny for being a metalhead, smoking weed and well… Being somewhat of a juvenile delinquent. Johnny had always stood up for Dave when the bullies tried to put him in garbage cans or wanted to take his lunch money. Johnny had never been a muscular kid, but he was tall and had the reputation of being totally crazy. In fact, he might be a bit at that. When Dave had started to study journalism, Johnny had played in various metal bands, went on some tours as a roadie and added some misdemeanors to his record. These days he was working in a comic book store. It allowed him to secretly drink from a flask under the counter and read as many comics for free as he wanted.
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“You can’t just break into my place like that!” Dave yelled.
“I can. That’s what I just told you. Get that fucking lock fixed, dude.”
“You almost gave me a heart attack, man.”
“And you will be sure to have one if you don’t relax dude.” Johnny took a handrolled cigarette from the inside pocket of his leather jacket. He always wore one, filled with buttons. That and the long hair made him look like a mix of Johnny Ramone and Ozzy Osbourne. “You want some reefer to relax?”
“What? No! Don’t you smoke in here.”
Johnny sipped from his Coors. “All right, all right. No worries. Man, what’s gotten you wired so tight?”
Dave sat down on his couch. “I guess it’s partly because of this movie I saw yesterday. It was pretty weird and so real looking.”
“I’m intrigued,” Johnny said. “Show me.”
Dave put the tape in the VCR and pressed play. There was noting but static. “Fuck, again? What’s wrong with that tape? I swear there was something on there.”
Johnny chuckled. “Dude, are you sure you haven’t been smoking some MJ in secret?”
“I swear to you, there was something on it,” Dave said and told what he’d seen the day before.
“Those tapes don’t last forever. You probably wore it out after watching it once,” Johnny said.
“But how do you explain the smart phone in a movie that old?”
Johnny shrugged. “Science-fiction? Didn’t they have mobile phones on Star Trek before they’d ever been invented?”
“But those didn’t look like iPhones! I’m telling you that movie was fucking weird. It gave me a really bad feeling.”
Johnny checked his bottle of Coors. “Just checking the date on this thing to make sure you haven’t been drinking any beer past the expiry date.”
Dave sighed. “Just forget it. Drink the beer and fuck off. I’m going to try and sleep some more.”
Johnny toasted Dave with his bottle. “Sure thing, dude. Sweet dreams.”
“More nightmares bloody likely,” Dave muttered.