Darkness surrounded the old-growth forest and an unnatural chill emanated from the sides of the old van, beating back the attempts from the struggling heater. The warm air from the front vents twisted with the cold, swirling and mixing before being forced down to the floorboards.
Leah sat in the back, watching the others from the third row of seats. The grotesque shapes of bent trees with reaching arms passed as dim shadows in the darkness beyond her window. She shivered, rubbing her upper arms while leaning away from the windows.
"Can you turn up the heater?" the girl asked loudly.
"It's up all the way," their driver, Troy, answered. Still, he reached out to turn the knob just in case. The silver glitter on the sleeve of his costume reflected the light of cellphones from inside the car before he put his hand back on the wheel and slowed.
"Doesn't bother me," Tanya purred from the passenger seat. She raised her arms and her bosom swelled. Leah rolled her eyes when the girl's left nipple peeked out from the thin lapis bra. Her Princess Jasmine costume was see-through and the girl flaunted it. A leather collar encircled her neck to complete it. She touched it when she brought her arms down. "And you're even wearing clothes. Why couldn't you bring a costume like Soon Bok?"
"That's not my name," came a muffled voice from the second row of seating. The tiny girl with silky black hair had her shirt up over her head, fighting to get it off without bumping anyone. Red peeked through in flashes as she struggled. "Nobody look! Nobody- okay, I've got it."
She tugged at the costume she wore beneath her long sweater and then shivered. Glossy red strips of fabric covered her meager breasts. They ran down to a bikini bottom and up to a ring below her neck, where they were tied together. Long white collars, also attached to the ring, lay against her shoulders to complete the outfit.
Her nipples were hard in the cold air and they pressed against the red outfit.
"Tonight, I am no longer Soon Bok," the girl said with an air of haughtiness that was betrayed by the fierce blush on her cheeks and the trembling smile she held. Her hand started to reach for the red straps but she held them back. "I am...
Sin
."
"Oh lord," Leah sighed.
"
You
should've been Vampirella, Jennifer," Tanya said, looking over her shoulder at the other girl sitting in the second row. "Or some other vampire."
"Because why?" Jennifer asked, her thin eyebrow arched in curiosity. She wore a tight black latex costume with a yellow iconic bat symbol across her slim chest. A loose yellow belt and black boots completed the look.
"You're- You-" the girl fumbled.
"Batman," Jennifer said bluntly. "I'm Batman."
"Batgirl, you mean," John said from the back. He nodded his head lightly while his thumb and index pointer tapped out a silent rhythm on his Spiderman costume.
"No, I said what I meant," the girl retorted. Her voice took on a gravelly undertone. "I'm Batman."
"Should've been a vampire," Tanya said again. "You like to wear black. And- umm- you're-"
"What?" Jennifer asked again. "I'm what?"
"Nothing, never mind," Tanya said quietly.
"So why
aren't
you wearing a costume, Leah?" Jennifer asked, turning to look at the other girl. Her eyes dipped down to the small silver cross the girl wore at her neck. "Too religious?"
"No," Leah said, looking once more through the windows. She touched the cross briefly and it seemed to shine despite the lack of light. "It's just all 'slutty slave princess' and 'slutty cleaning maid' and I'm tired of it."
She fidgeted for a moment, on the cusp of speaking again before closing her mouth. But her expression firmed and she decided to continue after all.
"I know you think it's stupid and don't believe-"
"Hey, whoa," Jennifer said, palms up and flat. "Yeah, no, I don't but that's your business. Don't go preaching to me and I won't tear down your flimsy beliefs. We're cool."
"Why'd you come?" John asked. Both of his hands tapped against his thigh, moving higher and lower. The drummer never seemed to relax and it was worse when he had a pen or pencil in his hand.
"I like parties," Leah shrugged. "I thought it'd be fun."
"It will be," Troy said from the front. He slowed and turned to go around an obstacle in the path before straightening the wheel once more. "Jake is running it and I've been to his parties before. They can get a
little
crazy but I'll try to keep an eye on things."
Their driver adjusted himself as subtly as he could while glancing at Tanya. The girl in the passenger seat pretended not to notice but a sly smirk crossed her lips.
Lights bloomed in the car as they returned to their phones. Troy hummed softly with both hands on the wheel. The drive was surprisingly treacherous with rocks jutting from the dirt road. And it was so
dark
. He kept thinking he saw things moving on the side of the road and he would tense, ready to slam on the brakes but it would pass and he'd see nothing more than a rotting branch stretching out as if to touch him.
The tip of the crescent moon appeared, painfully bright. It seemed to burn through reality itself against the void of the night sky. No stars twinkled above and no clouds could be seen but Troy knew they
must
be there as more of the moon started to show. Once fully visible, he found it hard to focus on. And disconcerting. As if it were an open wound on a screaming victim. He shook his head at the thought, wondering why it came to him and tried to focus on the road instead.
The house appeared suddenly. Sullen and dark. Imposing in the eerie silence with the cars parked around it as if they were supplicants, kneeling in adoration. Or terror.
"I don't see any lights," Tanya said as she leaned forward. Her voice was hushed and she hugged her arms while licking her lips. "Shouldn't there be lights?"
"There's cars," Troy told her as he pulled into an empty spot next to a sleek BMW. "Probably just curtains or something. My granddad lived in an old house and I swear the curtains each weighed a ton. You couldn't even hear anything once you were inside. Blocked out everything."
Leah's breath formed a ghostly ring on the window next to her when she bent to look at the house. She gasped as a deep chill settled beneath her breastbone and her hand instinctively went to the cross she wore. It burned her hand but she held it tight and the pain ebbed.
Soon Bok tugged at the handle of the sliding door next to her. It groaned on old wheels but finally slid open.
"Fuck!" the girl gasped as a rush of cold air invaded the van. "Wr-wr-wrong costume i-idea today. I'm going in!"
The driver and passenger doors opened as everyone filled out behind Soon Bok. She squealed and dashed through the grassy parking lot until she reached the entrance.
"Somebody heeeeelp," the girl whined piteously when she struggled with the massive double doors.
Troy walked faster and they both strained to open the doors.
Jake stood rooted within the foyer, open mouthed and vacant-eyed. Troy blinked and Jake bowed with a wide smile.
"You're the last of us," Jake said. His voice boomed but sounded strained, as if the very air was being forced through his lips while his tongue and mouth worked to form words. The sentence started strong but slowed to a wheezing hiss.
"Hey Jake," Troy said. There was a smell that he couldn't place as he stood close to his classmate. His mind worked at it over and over but the only thing he could think of was something like pond scum. Rancid pond scum. "Where is everyone?"
"With us," Jake replied. His pupils consumed his eyes, black colorless holes floating on a sea of white sclera tainted by a rash of broken blood vessels. "Here."
"Uh, okay," Jennifer said, glancing around. The tips of her black hair bounced against her pale neck. "Dude, it's not my place to say anything but maybe lay off whatever you're on."
"I'm full to the brim with it," Jake groaned. "It consumes me."
"Yeaaaah," Jennifer said while looking back at her classmates. Soon Bok hid behind Jennifer, barely concealed by the other girl's slightly larger body. Her fingers clamped against Jennifer's arm painfully tight. "We can tell. So, uhh, where's the 'no drugs' part of the party?"
"Behind me," the boy hissed, twisting his arm backwards until it bent to an impossible degree. "Nearest the source yet further than I was. More will join soon."
"You're laying it on thick," John grumbled. His right hand tapped his hip while he looked around Jake to see the door.
Beneath the wide stairs lay a door steeped in oily shadows.
"You go first," Soon Bok said, gently shoving Jennifer.
"Troy drove us here," Jennifer told her, leaning back. "He can lead."
"Oh, fine," Tanya sighed while rolling her eyes. "I'll go."
The girl adjusted her transparent, cerulean outfit before stalking past Jake. The baggy leggings billowed around her. The matching top she wore was separate, barely covering her chest and leaving her midriff exposed. Her lean, tanned back flexed as she mixed her steps up and purposefully began to sway her hips. She paused with a dramatic twirl, her hands clasped above her as she shook and the thin metallic rings clinked against her wide waist. Her shoulder-length curly hair bounced against her back and shoulders.
Facing forward once more, she hummed one of the songs from the Aladdin movie until she reached the designated door. Tanya turned, twisted the handle and bumped it with her hip before spinning into the room.
"She never turns it off," Leah sighed.
"No she does not," Jennifer agreed. She walked and Soon Bok followed, her hand still clutching the other girl's arm.
John glanced around the interior while tapping against a faint beat bumping from the headphones resting around his neck. Just ahead of him, Troy watched Tanya steadily until she was out of sight. He sped ahead and the rest of the group to catch up to her.
"Come on,
Sin
," Jennifer laughed, taking Soon Bok's hand away from her arm. She held the girl's hand to bring her into the room.
The opulence within made the group stop and stare. A huge fireplace roared from the far end of the room, blasting waves of heat strong enough to force the group to step back. Black leather couches and chairs dotted the room with tables laid out in between. Ice buckets were set atop each table, perfectly centered with a constellation of wine glasses surrounding them. Three bottles of wine rested within each bucket, their dark green glass dull in the shifting flames.
