Slater | Nick Goode

4.2

"As the malls lead custodian engineer, I ensure that all retail establishments come equipped with the StoreSafe 250. This is the Cadillac of store gates. Now, the 250 prevents your standard stash-and-grab, graffiti, all while complying with the 70% visibility ordinance. Best part..." Martin led the group over to one of the stores in the mall. He opened the gate and turned to them, "easy to operate."
"And we can rig them for quick release?" Ellie asked.
"Little grease, these things go down faster than a Sunnyvale cheerleader," Martin confirmed, shooting a wink at Ziggy.
"Okay, Deena is the target now, so the killers will go after her blood. Just like they did with Sam. And then we use that to lure them into the stores, and then..."
Martin closed the gate back, "welcome to the clink, motherfucker."
"The killers will be locked up, then it's us versus Melissa."
"Okay, sure, awesome, but then what? How do we take out Melissa?"
"We don't do anything. I'll worry about Melissa, you all worry about surviving," Ellie insisted.
"Are y'all serious about this?" Martin asked.
"Once they're down, how quickly can we get the gates back open?" Ziggy looked around.
"Well that depends, but-"
"Why would we want to do that?"
Ziggy thought for a moment, then turned to Ellie, "you've read Carrie, right?"
It took a moment, but then Ellie smiled slightly, "pigs blood... Ziggy that's fucking perfect."
"What? Carrie? I've never read it," Deena confessed with a questioning look.
"We pour blood on that bitch, then release the killers. It'll be perfect, and we won't be framed for murder," Ziggy explained.

-

Ellie and Ziggy made their way to the bathrooms, each holding a bucket.
       "I didn't know you were a Stephen King fan," Ellie retorted.
       "I'm not," Ziggy chuckled, "Stephen King is for nerds. No, I uh, got the idea from Nick, actually."
        "I'm not following."
        "That night, uh, when I locked Shiela in the outhouse?"
         "Yeah?"
         "I wasn't alone. Nick came back to our cabin looking for you. He told me about your fight-"
         "It wasn't a fight."
         "Anyways, I told him that I wanted to get revenge on those assholes who wrote on our walls. And- I guess you saw the bugs and shit."
         Ellie stifled a laugh, "yeah, I saw." She tried not to think of that night, of that trip to the outhouse. Of what came afterwards.
        "I also told him that you've never been in a relationship before. So, I told him he better watch himself... he really liked you."
"You totally lied. I had been in a relationship. Sarah McCowsky in middle school," Ellie confirmed.
"Uh, yeah. For like a week, before she realized she wasn't into girls."
Ellie laughed and continued to fill her bucket up with water.
"So..." it became awkward, but Ziggy became curious, "you and Nick?"
          Ellie raised an eyebrow at her, "what about us?"
          "Are you two... a thing now?"
          "No! No... no, Ziggy, no."
          "I tried calling you all last night," she admitted, "you weren't home. Then, Ms. Lane, and I don't know why she knew, but she told me you were at his house."
          "Yeah, I don't know why she knew either," Ellie mumbled.
          "So you are together?"
          "No. We're just friends... we're co workers," Ellie denied.
          "But you like him. And he likes you," she paused for a moment, setting up her bucket in the sink of the girls bathroom, "I can tell. I see you in those interviews, at those speeches. I saw the way he looked at you today. It's like you're both still seventeen and sneaking out to meet each other because you don't want people to know."
        "It's never going to happen. Especially after tonight. Not after I accuse his sister of being a fucking witch."
        "Admit it, though. You love him."
        "I do."
        Ziggy gave a cheeky smile, before turning off the faucet and picking up the bucket. Ellie followed her lead, picking up the bucket she filled.
        "What about you? Any guys worthy of The Ziggy Berman?" Ellie joked.
        "God, no. I'd rather crack my skull open than date any one of these losers. Looks like you've taken the best, already, Ellie."
        Ellie shook her head, looking down at her shoes. Her eyes skimmed the scars on her calves and she quickly averted her eyes, looking around at other random things in the mall.