"The date" Nancy read aloud."Mike and Desy were riding in Mikes car after their big date...." She stopped cold. "Desy you and Mikes names are in here."
"Get outta here." Desy said. "Read the line again."
Nancy read the line again.
"Are inserting our names you sneaky minx?" Desy asked.
"No." Nancy said. "This is exactly whats on the page." Nancy said handing the book to Rosie. "Look." Rosie read the line silently to herself.
"Shes right." She started to flip through the book. "In fact all of our names are in here, including Harleys." She dropped the book on the floor.
"Okay...thats creepy." Desy said. She stood up. "Even creepier than that image of Micky in the tarzan outfit. They stared at each other for a moment. "Maybe we can get rid of it."
"Well I don't want to touch it." Nancy said.
"I thought you said things didnt scare you." Jean chided.
"Well you guys are scaring me so I'm scared by proxy." Nancy said defiantly. Jean smiled and shook her head.
"I'm not touching it." Rosie said. Desy shook her head from where she stood. She wasnt about to touch it either.
"You know what?" Nancy said clapping her hands together. "I bet Hollywood video is still open."
"I'll get the car keys." Rosie, Desy and Jean said together.
"Okay we all can't get the keys." Jean said.
"I'll get them." Desy said.
"I'll get the jackets." Nancy said.
"I'll follow you." Jean said.
"I'll go to the bathroom." Rosie said. They looked at her. "Ok I'm scared, but I still have to go." She moved to the bathroom in a kind of weird John Wayne kind of walk.
Rosie finished up in the bathroom. As she turned the water on to wash her hands something caught her attention. In the corner of her eye, she thought she saw something she didnt see before reflected in the mirror. She turned and looked. It wasnt there. She looked in the mirror again, it was reflected right over her shoulder. It kinda looked like that book Nancy bought. Rosie felt a huge chill over her body. She wiped her hands dry and bolted out the door.
Meanwhile Desy looked for the car keys. It would be faster to drive to the video store, which Desy saw as a good thing. It was strangely getting dark outside.
"Thats odd." Desy said as she picked up her keys with her wallet. It had money and the membership card and an umpteen amount of two for one coupons. Most of them were probably expired. Desy turned on her heel after she looked out the window, the sky looked very angry. She was suddenly glad they were driving. As she passed the door on the way to the living room she thought she saw something on the table. She turned and walked to it. It looked like a book. As she got closer she saw what it is. It was that darn book Nancy got.
"All right who put this here?" Desy asked to no on in particular. She listened for a second and walked into the living room where Nancy and Jean now stood. Nancy didnt have the jackets on her.
"Where are the jackets?" Desy asked.
"We kinda forgot them." Jean said.
"Yeah, we thought we saw...."
"the book." Jean finished.
"Okay okay, I thought you and Rosie were the cyber twins." Desy said. "How could you have seen the book? I just saw it by the entry way."
"It was near the back door where the coats are." Nancy said. "I saw it with my own two eyes."
"Four eyes." Jean said.
"Four eyes?" Nancy asked, slightly offended.
"Well I saw it too, so that makes four eyes." Jean explained.
"Ohhhh." Nancy said. "So there you have it." She said to Desy.
"I'll show you two." Desy said beckoning to them. Nancy and Jean reluctantly followed. "It was right here." Desy said as they got to the small table in the entryway. "Its gone now." She said turning around. As she moved towards the girls Rosie came around the corner from the lower bathroom and slammed right into her. They ended up in an entanglement on the floor.
"Cleanup on aisle five!" Nancy cracked.
"Ow." Rosie said getting up. Desy shook her head and started to get up.
"Whats that name of that bus that hit me?" Desy said. She looked at Rosie. "Where did you come from?"
"The bathroom." Rosie said.
"I thought so. Your hands aren't completely dry." Desy said.
"Well, I was scared." Rosie said. "I guess there is a reason girls go to the bathroom in twos."
"But you came out of nowhere." Nancy said. "I bet you left skid marks in the hall."
"I saw the book up there." Rosie said.
"Thats not possible. It was right here." Desy said.
"No it wasnt, it was near the back door." Jean said.
"Then where is it? It can't walk around by itself can it?" Rosie asked.
"Is this the book you sheilas are talking about?" A voice called out from the dark. Everyone jumped three feet. The figure came out of the dark. It was Harley.
"Harls!" Jean said exasperatedly.
"What?" She asked.
"When did you get here?" Desy asked.
"Two minutes ago." Harley said. "You were so wrapped up in whatever it was you were talking about and I didn't want to bother you. Then I went to the kitchen to get a drink and I saw this book." She said holding it up.
"Okay how did that happen?" Desy said. "Man this book gets around. Its here there and everywhere."
"It couldn't have gotten there on its own." Rosie said.
"Theres more you guys." Harley said. "It was open to this exact story: The date."
"Weird." Jean said. Nancy starting humming the twilight zone theme song. "Aren't you scared?"
"Oh puh-leeze. Its a book." Nancy said taking it. "So what if its open to an exact page. We left that way didnt we?"
"When Desy dropped it, it closed." Rosie said. "What else could explain it."
"I got an idea mates, and its stupid." Harley said.
"Sounds like something Nancy would say." Jean laughed.
"Whats that?" Desy asked.
"The book wants to be read." Harley said. "I havent been here for all of this, so thats what I think."
"What book would want to be read, I mean other than Lord of the rings?" Desy asked.
"I have no idea, but it wants to be read. I think." Harley said.
"What do we do?" Rosie asked.
"I don't know about you." Nancy said. "But lets see what happens if we read one story." Nancy said going in to the living room. The girls had turned on all the lights in their mad dash around the house. She turned them off as she went, even though she was slightly afraid of the dark. The lights were on in the living room, and the candles were still lit.
"I don't know about this Nancy." Jean said. "Maybe we oughta just forget it."
"I'm not scared." Nancy said sitting down. "If I'm not, then neither should you."
"Spoken like a true....uh brave person." Desy said.
"Thanks." Nancy said.
"But then again you hurled at the end of the movie Titus." Desy said.
"OK, thats an exception. You just dont do that to anyone what they did to that guy with the spoon!" Nancy said. "All right. The date." Desy and the others relucantly sat down as Nancy began to read.
Mike and Desy were riding in Mikes car after their big date. They were on their first date. Mike and Desy had known each other for while. Desy first saw Mike when he performed with a band made up of his friends. They hung out for a while but then they started getting serious.
"ooooh." Jean whistled.
"Oh quiet down." Desy said.
They drove to a clearing near a forest. It was close to an overlook, from which the whole down could be seen.
Nancy stopped reading. "Didnt Fonzie take Pinky Tuscadero up here once?" She started reading again.
They sat in the car laughing for a while, about a funny incident involving that nights gig. Mike began to bring her close when she pulled back quickly.
"Did you hear that?" She asked.
"Hear what?" Mike asked.
"That banging noise." Desy said. "It was a real rapid thumping sound."
"That could be my heart." Mike confessed. "I'm kinda nervous."
"Can't be. Unless you're the tin man." Desy said listening. Whatever the sound was, it was gone. "Ok I'm fine now."
"I could have told you that." Mike said.
"Ohhhh now we're Mr Smooth?" Desy laughed.
"Maybe. Is it working?" Mike asked with a small smile.
"We'll see." She said as they came closer together. The noise went off again.
"I heard it that time!" Mike said pulling the car into gear. He backed up. There was as light, thump sound as he did so.
"You hit something!" Desy cried out.
"I didn't see anything." Mike said.
"Go look." Desy said as Mike shifted into drive.
"Are you crazy?" Mike said as they left the clearing."I'm not stopping till we get to a well lighted area."
Desy nodded. He was right.
They got to a gas station. Mike got out and looked around and under the car. "I don't see anything." He said as Desy got to the drivers side of the car. She made a gasping sound. Mike turned and looked at the handle on the drivers side. What he saw made him gasp. It was a human hand, holding onto the drivers side door with a death grip.
"Oh my god." Desy said. "There was someone, wasnt there?"
A second later on the radio there was a report of a escaped lunatic known for prowling makeout spots. At last report, he was yet to be found.
"Oh my god, I killed someone!" Desy gasped.
"Yeah but you killed a bad guy." Jean pointed out.
"But still....I'm a nice girl. Nice girls don't kill!" Desy said.
"So we read one story." Nancy scoffed. "Whats the harm...." She started to say as the lights went out. Everyone screamed.
