Horror Town 2

A Familiar Feeling

      Charlie shot up with a gasp. Sweat beaded off his forehead and soaked the collar of his shirt. It had been a year since that brutal Halloween night that lead to Asher's death and Charlie's plague of nightmares. Lately, they weren't as frequent as they were in the beginning, but they still snuck their way into his subconscious from time to time. The boy huffed and grimaced as he flopped onto his soaked pillow.
       Suddenly, his senses came back to him and he rolled over to grab his phone. Six Fifty-Eight. He sighed in relief and swung his feet over the side of the bed. A sharp pain shot up his thigh. Charlie gasped and tried to massage the pain away. Even though the stab wound had completely healed, it still hurt on occasion and only lasted for a minute.
       Once it went away, he got up, did his morning routine, grabbed a granola bar for breakfast and biked his way to school. Once he arrived, he weaved his way through students and cars as he powered up the small inclined sidewalk. He chained his bike up and moseyed to the door to wait for the first bell.
"Hey, Charlie"! His friends were huddled by the door, waving him over. He waved back and jogged the rest of the way over.
"You good? Your lookin a little green around the gills". Jesse asked, scanning Charlie up and down.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just had a bad dream", he answered.
        His friends nodded in acknowledgment and Jake patted his shoulder. "Join the club, my friend". Tawny whipped her head up at Jake and smacked his leg. "You can't be having the same nightmares as him! You didn't fight the crazy bastard"!
"Nor did you race around town trying to find a cop like Raven after the lunatic broke into his house", Jesse added. 
"Still a freaky situation for all of us to have been in", Gwen chipped in.
        The four of them continued to debate and argue, paying no mind to Charlie and Raven. The two shared an uncomfortable look and quietly listened to their friends. The bell rang and brought the trivial discussion to an end. The group herded into the building and parted ways to their respective classes.
       Hours ticked by slowly; filled with boring lectures and excited chatter for the Horror Town Attraction. Finally, lunch rolled around and Charlie practically ran to the cafeteria. He had been starving for the past two hours and was fully prepared to cannibalize his own hand.
       His friends had the two earlier lunch periods, besides Jesse, so it would only be the two of them. Charlie marched through the door and found Jesse waiting for him at the closest table. The two greeted each other as Charlie sat down and began unpacking his lunch.
"Christ. Ms. Harrington was on my ass! I forgot one damn piece of paper and she ripped into me. Shoulda gotten outta that class when I had the chance". Jesse popped open his soda and drank from it, shaking his head in disbelief.
      Charlie chuckled. "Well, you should have seen the fiasco that went down in Mr. P's class today." He tore open his chip bag and ate them slowly. "She was on her phone the whole class and Mr. P told her over and over again to get off. When she didn't, he called the office to come and get her. Then she started cussing him out. 'Your an asshole', 'your a dickhead', and so on".
      Jesse nearly choked on his sandwich as he laughed. They continued to talk until a cold chill traveled up Charlie's spine. He turned around and noticed Chandler Ackland and Riley Garrety moving to their own table. He couldn't understand why they, or one of them, put him on edge. All he knew was he shouldn't be completely relaxed while they were here.
      Jesse took notice of his friend's odd behavior. "What"?
"I just got a weird feeling. Like..... I'm not safe".
      The taller boy studied Charlie, puzzled. He followed his nervous stare and watched the two boys. Jesse knew them vaguely, but never hung out with them. All he knew of them was that Chandler had a bad home-life and was a big brother figure of sorts to Riley. Riley was more scrawny then Chandler and was often picked on and beat up. He could still hold his own in a fight, however. Jesse remembered a time when he saw a small crowd formed in the hallway watching a fight. Rather a trio of guys ganged up on Riley.
        All he could see of the boy was his shoulder length brunette hair and limbs as he got a couple of good punches in. He was going to intervene when a rush of air whizzed by him and watched Chandler tackle the leader. He threw him to the ground and picked Riley off the floor. The trio's leader went to attack again, but Chandler beat him to it; kicking him in the stomach and punching him over and over. It was over as soon as it started when Riley yanked his friend off the bigger male and ran for the doors. All Jesse could do was stare after them in awe.
"That's Chandler and Riley. They're ok guys", he explained. "Just don't get on their bad side, it's not pretty. Better to be friends then foes with them".
"It's not that. It's...... I can't really explain it. You remember when Asher  and up to us at Fright Night"?
"Yeah...".
"It's that feeling. But, I just don't understand why that Chandler guy is giving off that vibe".
      They looked at the duo again, watching the two carry on in conversation. "Maybe he just resembles Asher in some way and it's reminding you of him. That's the only explanation I can come up with. It is that time of year".
"Probably. I hope that's what it is".  
       Jesse nodded in agreement and got up to throw their trash away. Charlie stole one more glance and swore he saw Chandler smirking at him. He turned back around and started another discussion to calm his growing anxieties.

       Chandler shook his head and rubbed away the aching pain behind his eyes. He must have blacked out again. It's been happening ever since that night at the park.
"You alright, dude", Riley asked. His blue eyes filled with concern.
"Yeah. Just got a headache. It's gone now".
"Your dad hit you in the head again"?
"Naw. Too drunk to aim properly".
"I'm trying to talk Ma into letting you stay with us. I think I'm getting close to a breakthrough".
"Could you at least take me on a few dates before we move in together".
       Riley nudged Chandler's arm and reached into his bag for something. Chandler sat there and watched him, an unknown anger bubbled up in his throat. His anger had gotten worse since that night too. Sure he hated his folks, but he never got this angry. Not anymore. It was almost like his thoughts and feelings weren't entirely his own anymore.
                                      Kill them, Chandler. You know you want to.
   
   'Ok, that was new', the boy thought to himself. He shook his head and tried to focus on Riley, who had been absentmindedly talking to him this whole time.
       At the end of the day, he walked out of the school with Riley and parted ways once they neared his house. Chandler continued to his own house alone. When he arrived, his father was throwing empty alcohol boxes and bottles into the yard; arguing with his mother as she held a half empty wine bottle in her hand. She stormed back inside, leaving him alone with his dad.
"Where the hell you been, boy", the drunkard demanded.
"School", Chandler answered nonchalantly.
      The man closed the distance between faster than Chandler thought possible and slapped the boy across the face. The two stood in silence, glaring at one another.
"Don't you take that tone with me, boy", he pointed a meaty finger in Chandler's face. "Now, get in there and take out the trash". His father turned and stomped back into the house. The burning anger turned to rage as the boy stared after his father's retreating form. A train came to life behind him, triggering a massive headache that nearly threw him to his knees.
        The train's monstrous whistle rang in his ears as his vision began to blur. Finally, the headache subsided and the unseen resident in the boy's body took control. He bent down and retrieved a broken bottle that had sharp dagger-like edges. He smiled a malicious, toothy smile and stalked into the house.