Kaz took another swig from her Bacardi Breezer as she swayed to the blaring rhythmic dance music. The makeshift dance floor in the large living room was packed with costumed party-goers. A girl in a Goth outfit wearing a Venetian style mask gave Kaz the thumbs up on checking out Kaz's costume. Kaz had ordered the outfit online and it had arrived just in time for her to wear to the Halloween party. The Black Panther T'Challa jumpsuit costume looked good on her and enhanced her curvaceous figure. She loved that film and had cried for three days when she heard the news that Chadwick Boseman had died. It seemed yet another low in 2020. What a year. Tonight though was about fun and Kaz was determined to have a good time despite her misgivings about going to a party where she knew next to no one. Her friend, Claire had persuaded her to come. Claire knew the host of the party, some guy called Mark, who was taking advantage of his parents having gone abroad to have a Halloween house party.
Besides splashing out on the costume for tonight Kaz had got new braids. They were longer than she usually wore but she loved the look and feel of them.
The dance track ended and Kaz decided finding somewhere to sit down might be a good idea, it was really hot in the room and although she was having a good time her feet were starting to hurt.
She felt a sudden tug on her arm and turned to see a welcomingly familiar face.
'Hey, Kaz, been looking for you everywhere,' Harlequin said. 'You doing okay?'
'Yeah, but I could do with a sit down somewhere.'
'I know just the place,' Claire said taking her hand.
Kaz let her friend lead the way and Claire navigated the way through tight knots of costumed people.
The house was a warren of rooms each crowded with party guests in a plethora of Halloween outfits. Kaz reckoned it must have been three hours since she and Claire arrived though it felt longer somehow. They squeezed past a throng of people in the hallway Claire holding on tight to Kaz's hand as they made their way into the kitchen.
There were fewer people in here and it was cooler too as someone had opened the back door. A kitchen table in the centre of the room was filled with a jumble of empty bottles, beer cans, paper plates with unwanted food and plastic cutlery. There were a few half-empty bowls with snack food in them, and Claire grabbed a handful of savoury snacks as Kaz feeling woozy grabbed onto the back of a chair to steady herself.
'You okay, hun?' Claire asked, through a mouthful of Twiglets and crisps.
Kaz gave a small shake of the head to clear her thoughts and blinked.
The light in the kitchen was harsh in contrast to the rest of the house that was illuminated with soft lights and candles. 'I'll be fine,' she responded.
'You look pissed. How much punch did you have?'
'I dunno, I lost count after 4 cups.'
'It's always good to freshen up halfway through a party.' Claire said finding an empty plastic beaker. She filled it with the water from the tap and handed it over. 'Get that down you.'
Kaz took a gulp then gave her friend a startled expression.
'What?' Claire asked, perplexed.
'I really gotta pee.'
Claire rolled her eyes. 'You know where the toilet is?'
'Yeah, I went earlier. It's upstairs, third door on the right, right?'
'Hey, Harlequin, baby, so this is where you're hiding out.'
Kaz turned to see a tall guy in a Freddy Krueger outfit swagger into the kitchen a bottle in each hand.
Claire flashed him a grin, 'Hey, Jimmy I thought you'd OD'ed somewhere and were lying in the garbage.'
Jimmy gave a delighted drunken grin, his arms thrown wide in greeting, 'Baby, I'd only OD from your love.'
'Spoken like a true drunk,' Claire said dodging his embrace as lurched toward her.
This was Claire's on-off boyfriend and Kaz had lost count of the times he and Claire had broken up and reunited.
Kaz sidestepped him as he made another lunge at Claire who was laughing playfully. It was time she found that bathroom. 'Have fun you two,' she said as she went out of the kitchen back into the house party.
Stepping into the dim semi-lit hallway the rising volume of music and hubbub of chatter laughter and singing of party guests after being the relative quiet of the kitchen was like submerging in a swimming pool.
Kaz made her way through a packed hallway, smiling apologetically when she bumped into anyone and began to navigate her way up the stairs through snogging couples and slumped drunken forms.
From the main room downstairs the opening bars of Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's WAP single blared prompting several girls to stampede downstairs almost sending Kaz flying. She regained her balance and made her way onto the landing which was surprisingly deserted. Her urge to pee increased as though her bladder sensed the close proximity of a toilet.
Kaz hurried to the bathroom door, almost crying when she saw it was shut. She knocked three times and bit her lip to suppress the near bursting dam inside her.
'Just a second,' a girl's voice answered.
Kaz counted to ten in her head to try and kill time.
A moment later the door opened, and two girls emerged. The one nearest wearing a skeleton jumpsuit, her face a painted skull, stared at Kaz for a second. 'Oh my God, it's Cardi B,' she said.
Both girls pushed past Kaz and disappeared off downstairs.
Kaz slammed the bathroom door behind her and not bothering with the catch, dashed for the toilet.
'Oh fuck, better than an orgasm, Kaz thought as she emptied her bladder.
Emergency over, she realised she hadn't locked the door and hurriedly wiped and pulled her panties and jeans up. She stood and found the bathroom seemed to rotate several degrees causing her to reach for the wall to steady herself. The dizzy spell passed but her head felt as though it was only delicately balanced on her neck and at risk of falling off if she moved too quickly. Okay, Kaz acknowledged -- I am definitely pissed.
She drew in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Toilet mission over - next mission somewhere to crash she decided, as she washed her hands. The tap water sounded very loud. She left the bathroom and found herself alone in the landing.
There were three doors each promised the tantalizing prize of somewhere peaceful to lie down.
Two of the doors had handwritten notes stuck to them. Kaz ignored these and tried the third door. She opened it just a little. It was dark inside. She pushed the door open more and a shaft of light from the landing light fell across two half undressed forms on a bed. One of them half sat up. 'Hey, babe, don't be shy. C'mon in and join us,' a male voice enthused.
There came the sound of a slap and a scolding female voice followed by a yelp which could have been male or female.
'Sorry,' Kaz said, closing the door quickly.
Two doors left.
She looked at the scrawled notes written on them. One in capitals simply said KEEP OUT. The door though she noticed was slightly ajar. The note on the other door, right at the end of the landing was even less encouraging -- it was also in capitals and stated: ENTRY STRICTLY FORBIDDEN. The words were underlined twice for emphasis.
Kaz decided of the two options the KEEP OUT door was the lesser of two evils, plus it was already open slightly which was practically an invitation to enter. Kaz, pushed the door further open, just enough to put her head in. Inside it was dark and she strained to hear any sounds from within despite the din from downstairs.
'Hello?' she said softly.
No reply.
She pushed the door open wide, so the landing light illuminated the room. She could make out a large double bed, but her heart sank as she saw three costumed party guests either asleep or passed out on the bed. No room at the fucking inn, Kaz thought as she left, pulling the door behind her. Okay, last room and fuck the note, she decided -- she really needed somewhere to crash -- just for a little while.
Despite her resolve, she hesitated by the door -- the bold words of the note felt menacing somehow.
ENTRY STRICTLY FORBIDDEN
Kaz took a deep breath and put her hand on the doorknob. It felt cool to the touch.
She gave an involuntary shudder then chided herself for having a sudden attack of nerves. It was doubtless just another bedroom with slumbering or snogging party guests inside.
Fuck it.
Kaz turned the handle.
The door seemed to swing open of its own accord as if wanting her to enter.
Inside it was not as dark as the other rooms. A window in the wall opposite let in yellow streetlight from outside.
'Hello?' Kaz said in a half-whisper.
Somehow, she sensed unlike the other two bedrooms this one was empty. There was no reply. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she could make out an empty queen-size double bed in the centre of the room. There was also a chest of drawers, a wardrobe and a bedside table with a lamp on it. There were posters on the walls, but it was too dark to see the images on them. The room was cold and imbued with a strange lifelessness to it. Kaz went in and closed the door. The empty bed beckoned. She would just lie down, maybe for ten or twenty minutes -- a catnap, just to shake off her wooziness before re-joining the party.
Kaz took off her shoes and again had an uneasy sensation in her mind. The bed was immaculately made and oddly the sheets and duvet were black as were the pillows. Who in their right mind had black bedding? Trying to shake off the feeling she was an intruder in this room, Kaz climbed onto the bed and rested her head on a black pillow. She lay on her side and tucked her legs up. From beyond the closed bedroom door, the sounds of the party sounded faint and distant. In no time at all the pull of sleep took her.
Kaz found herself standing alone in a graveyard. The sun was setting behind a stand of trees casting long skeletal like shadows over the tombstones. She was searching for something -- no, for someone though she wasn't sure who. She stumbled from gravestone to gravestone, but on each marker, there was no name only a date -- today's date. Exhausted from searching and in the fading light she finally fell at the foot of a fresh grave. There were flowers placed on it, but they were old and desiccated. Something moving on the ground caught her eyes, small white worms were wriggling up through the soil. Only they weren't worms - they were fingers!
Behind her, she could hear footsteps approaching but she was suddenly fearful to turn around and now she could hear breathing -- closer and closer and closer . . .
Kaz woke gradually from the dream, the images fading, the sounds too. All but one, for she could still hear breathing.
There was someone sitting on the end of the bed, she could feel the depression on the mattress.
Kaz turned and found herself meeting the gaze of an attractive girl - she sat, her hands folded in her lap. A thick mane of black hair framed an alabaster white face. She wore a black sleeveless outfit, that contrasted vividly with the paleness of her skin.
'What are you doing here?' Kaz asked blearily
.
'What am I doing here?' the girl echoed, in an amused tone. Her voice was soft. 'Well, for one thing, this is my bedroom and for another, that's my bed you're lying on. So, shouldn't I be asking you that question?'
