"Friday Night Frights " by Alicia G

     As 8:00 pm rolled around, Mandy and Julianne had finished getting ready. The two girls had been best friends and neighbors ever since they could walk. As they made their way downstairs of Mandy’s house, laughter and whispering were heard. They then came to find their mothers in the kitchen drinking martinis and talking about the latest episode of Keeping up with the Kimberleys. “You girls ready to go?” Julianne’s mom asked. “Yes, we are heading out now so bye mom, love you,” Julianne replied. “Love you too, Mom,” Mandy yelled out as she followed Julianne. “Okay be safe girls.” “Don’t take anything suspicious from anyone!” The mothers took turns shouting advice to the girls and in unison snuck in “Love you!” before the girls closed the front door.
     With being in a small town, not many street lights were lit on the street. In fact it was almost pitch black if it wasn’t for the headlights of Julianne’s car and the moon lighting up the night sky. The windows were down and the music was blasting, it already felt like a great night. As Julianne came to a stop at a red light she looked out the window and saw a man across the street looking back at her. He wore black pants and a navy blue shirt. He was of an older age because of his withered white hair and lack there of on top, but Julianne couldn’t quite make out his face. “Jules! The light is green.” Mandy had snapped Julianne out of the eerie headspace and she had forgot about the man within a matter of seconds. Finally they got to the party. No

alcoholic drinks were in sight, however Julianne chose bottled water from the ice chest just to be sure. Mandy on the other hand, poured herself a cup of fruit punch from the punch bowl. Once a great song came on, they were off to the dance floor.
     Lost from being in the mosh pit, the girls hadn’t been able to find each other. Finally, Julianne found her friend in a bathtub covered in red vomit all over her green top and white pants. “Of course the punch was spiked!” thought Julianne. Down the stairs, through the crowd of people, and out the front door the girls trudged with Julianne supporting almost all of Mandy’s weight. As soon as Julianne placed her unconscious friend in the car, she turned the key in the ignition, which gave a slight sputter before starting and with that the girls were off.
     10 minutes into the drive, the car began making the sputtering noises once more followed by slight jerks each time she pushed harder on the gas. Julianne had no choice but to pull over at a nearby park. Cell reception was always sketchy in certain parts of town, so when Julianne had to make the decision of staying with her friend until morning or walking to the nearest gas station for a phone call, she did what she felt was best. Only after locking the doors twice and making sure the windows were cracked an inch so that her dear unconscious friend could breath, did Julianne feel slightly better about leaving her friend. She decided to run to the gas station to reduce time. When Julianne arrived at the gas station she went straight to the phone in the back. As she dialed, she made sure to collect all of her nerves and calm her breathing to be sure not to place her mother into a panic. “Hello?” her mother picked up the phone quickly. “Mom it’s Julianne, we kind of got stranded at McGregor Park, can you please come pick us up. The car died.” “Okay honey, stay where you are I’m on my way,” *click*. Once Julianne’s mother hung up, she began her run back.

     Crossing the grass of McGregor Park, Julianne’s stomach dropped. The passenger door was wide open and Mandy was nowhere in sight. As Julianne got closer she saw that the door had been forced open on the outside. Blood drenched the seat and was splattered across the dashboard. Mandy had been dragged out of the car because a trail of blood was smeared on the floor, leading into the playground where a black mound lay. Julianne sprinted across the lot to the mound. A scream lifted out of her chest that echoed throughout the park. The body that used to be her best friend lay limp, covered in her own blood and stabbed to death. Shaking and frozen in shock remained Julianne. Sounds of footsteps emerging out of the trees shot through the park. A cold chill ran down Julianne’s spine. The thought of her being next shook her out of her imobile state and sent adrenaline pumping in her body. The next thing she knew, her legs were running. A hand, as rough and hard as wood grabbed her shoulder and yanked her giving her whiplash. Still seeing blurry, Julianne tried to focus her eyes on the man standing above her. As her vision began to clear, she realized it was the man she saw on her way to the party earlier that night, except he now had an axe in his right hand that he was placing above his head and grabbing with the other hand. Paralyzed, Julianne looked up at the night sky said a prayer and was plunged into darkness within a matter of seconds.
     A sound of a gunshot rippled through the air and a bullet struck Mandy’s killer through the ribs. Immediately, he fell on the floor. The manager of the gas station, who had heard Julianne’s conversation followed her back to the park to be sure she was safe. But Julianne on the other hand remained on the ground unmoving, for she had died from fear.