I:IV

By the time we reached Castlevek, the sun had set. Jesica, Malissa, Alexandra and I picked a couch to sit on; Erick leaned over the pit and attempted to get the fire started. Unlike these girls Erick and I could appreciate the sunset. More than that, if Erick had a pen and paper he could describe it for you. Not verbally, though. There were high stacks of junk and scrap metal that, when staring into the sun looked to be silhouettes of mountains; brilliant shades of orange and red pouring between them, blacking them out. I pulled out a cigarette and looked over to Jesica who seemed to be doing a great deal of thinking.

“What’s on your mind Jesica?” I searched for my lighter.

“So you’re telling us that you think the place is haunted?” Her face twisted in a manner that insinuated she was going to call me a moron.

“No, not haunted” I laughed, “Just, you know, someone is using the house as a front to disguise a Colombian slave and drug ring while they get enough money to import their Russian nuclear weapons that would ultimately be used in a mass suicide bombing that will eliminate the United States… and most Pacific Islands.”

Alexandra cut in laughing, “How do you come up with this shit?”

“Oh, its really quite simple, after you’ve established a base camp at 46,000 feet-“ Malissa cut me off.

“The only thing simple for you is where to find a big dick.” Jesica and Alexandra found this hilarious.

“Well of course,” I replied, “how else could you be a tripod, Malissa?” Erick got the fire started and chuckled.

“Had you considered that maybe someone just moved in?” Jesica asked after her laughter subsided. Erick looked over to me. I was at a loss for words, I had no idea why that hadn’t been a possibility in my mind.

Vincent and Rick came up the hill with a tiny and hyper Alex. Vincent was large. Close to seven feet tall, muscular, and mean. Sometimes I was very glad that he was on our side. He had a glandular problem when he was born so he grew out of his body very quickly. No one had ever guessed that he was a Junior in high school. His hair was short and very dark, his skin pale, and he dressed very comfortably. Usually tan Dickies pants and a tank top. Vincent was an angry and violent person, but I had never seen him hurt anyone who didn’t deserve it.

Rick’s name wasn’t Rick. I met him two years ago, he was new in school and a bunch of people were bugging him about what his name was. From a distance I could tell that he just didn’t want to have people in his business. They kept asking him what his name was and he was feeling awkward (I could tell) so I stepped over and I said “His name is Rick now leave him alone already.” The group of people was naive enough to buy it and they left. It wasn’t his name but I told him if he didn’t want people to know his name, then he should go by Rick. He did.

Rick was shorter than me. His skin was very fair. His eyes were sad, sunken, and around them were sleep deprivation rings. I had hung out with Rick a lot and not once seen him sleep. I didn’t want to bring it up with him though. He was skinny and had dark hair that he kept extremely short.

Alex was the youngest of the group, but certainly the craziest. He said stuff that I could never think of. He had bug eyes, blonde hair, and always looked tired in the face. I think that was because of how much weed he smoked. He was very skinny. I liked Alex because he knew how to have fun. Not necessarily get high, or throw a party, he just always knew how to entertain.

When the three made it to the rest of us, Vincent looked over to me and asked, “Who’s the fuckin’ maniac in the Chevy?”