People Are Strange (The Lost Boys Anniversary Edition)

Chapter Four

At the start of the summer of '85, about two years before the Emersons would move to Santa Carla, everything began to fall into place. David and Dwayne were on amicable terms with each other having successfully defended their claim on Santa Carla from more than a few passing would-be hopefuls. The population of the town grew as spring gave way to summer which meant better pickings as the nomad surfer population began to climb. 

Dwayne was still a persistent shadow on the edges of Fay's world. So much so that she came to expect his appearance around every shady corner or dark alleyway once the sun went down. Always armed and ready with a snarky zinger or three she never passed up the opportunity to give him a piece of her mind. Not that he ever responded in kind. Instead he would keep his distance and enjoy watching Fay get herself riled up over nothing. It came to no surprise when he discovered that he had picked up a tail in the form of a sleek orange tabby with a notched ear that he could never get close enough to catch. 

It was a message. If he kept tabs on her then she would return the favour. Smart witch. 

July 4th was the day that where paths finally crossed as two new variables came racing into town. No one knew it at the time but the big old wheel of Fate had started to turn. Down at the Boardwalk was where it would all play out because in Santa Carla anything worth happening always took place on the Boardwalk.

"Yo' Paul, you think we lost them?" A pair of bright baby blues glanced over the shoulder of a colourful patchwork jacket that was clearly one-of-a-kind.

Two rough-and-ready figures had roared onto the Boardwalk, careful to weave their motorcycles through the vast lumbering crowd. It was the good ol' Fourth of July and the place was packed tighter than a sardine can. It was the perfect place to blend in and hide in plain sight. That was exactly why the two young men had high-tailed it out of Los Angeles for the middle-of-nowhere summer town.

"I think so man. Don and the guys wouldn't bother coming out this far, even after a couple of no-good punks like us." Paul, the taller of the pair, flashed a crooked grin as he parked his bike by a side rail. His eyes instantly zeroed in on a pair of gorgeous bare legs that walked by him.

He let out a low whistle. Hello there!

"Yeah, but how can you be sure? I mean we're not exactly out of the state. Those guys won't stop until either we're both dead or out of the freaking country." Marko grumbled as he killed his engine and hopped off of his bike. Unlike Paul he made sure to do a quick scan his surroundings but with all the people swarming around he couldn't pick out a single face.

"Marko, dude. You seriously need to relax bro. Think of it like this. They think we're long gone and if they think that, why the hell would they bother lookin' for us so close to home? C'mon, they're meatheads, not friggin' geniuses." 

Paul threw his arm around Marko's shoulders and steered him away from the bikes. Marko looked over his shoulder once more before he allowed Paul herd him into the crowd.

"I know. But I can't help think that..." Marko started before Paul cut him off abruptly.

Paul's hand grabbed Marko by the jaw and jerked his head to the side. Before Marko could protest his eyes fell on what Paul was seeing. A vision in leather. Both he and Paul stared slack jawed at the woman who had materialized in their line of sight. In what had to have been a painted on leather one piece number she left nothing and everything to the imagination. She had the eyes of a jungle cat and the body of a sinner. A cat suit never looked so damn magical as it did right then.

When she sauntered right past the two without so much as a side-glance and vanished into the crowd it took a few moments before the two friends remembered to come back down to earth.