Pumpkin Slicer

The sticky guts made a wet plunk noise as Jasmine plopped them into a bowl. 

"It's too bad Molly had to work tonight." She reached her hand in for another scoop. 

"I know she would love this," Fay said as she plunged the knife in to cut out an eye.

"I'm not talking about carving pumpkins, I mean since you two have gotten awfully cozy lately." Jasmine teased. 

Fay blushed. “We have been spending a lot of time together. I wish she could've been here tonight but tomorrow’s Halloween and I have special plans for us." 

"Romantic. Fay, how are you doing this so fast?" Jasmine looked from where she was still cleaning out her pumpkin to Fay's which already had an expertly carved face. "Also how did you manage to make it look so... sinister?" 

"First, he's not an it, he’s a he and his name is George. And Second, practice." 

“First, you're a weirdo. Second, do you do this more than once a year?" 

Fay's wink was her only answer. 

Later that night, as Fay walked home from Jasmine's house, she felt as if someone was following her. She stopped to look around and just as she was about to call out, a car raced around the corner. It whipped past Fay, stopped, and started to reverse. Fay's heart sped up as the car stopped right next to her. The passenger window rolled down and revealed her brother. 

Fay let out a breath. "Do you always drive like such an asshole?" she asked. 

"Only when I want to scare girls walking alone at night." He smiled a wolfish grin. 

Fay rolled her eyes and tried to open the locked door. “'You going to give me a ride home or not?" 

"What makes you think I'm going home?" 

She leaned in through the open window to check the time. “It's eleven thirty and you're not at Billy's house which means you've either struck out or already finished." 

“Very funny. Get in." He unlocked the door and Fay got in, the feeling of being followed completely forgotten. 

Halloween fell on the perfect day that year, a Saturday. Fay slept in and when she woke up she luxuriated in having the house to herself. Her parents had left the day before to spend a romantic weekend together and her brother was working his shift at the Jiffy Lube. 

She made her coffee and took it outside to drink on the patio. She sipped and stared out at the trees behind her house, the leaves ranging in color from still alive green to dying shades of yellow, orange, and red. It was warm in the sun but the wind was crisp and Fay smuggled into her hoodie, actually Molly's hoodie. 

Molly. The name sent a heat through her that had nothing to do with the sun. She couldn't wait for tonight. She had so much planned and so much to prepare before the other girl came over. 

After coffee, Fay walked to the 7-Eleven to pick up her package from the Amazon locker. It was the last thing she needed for tonight and part of her had been panicking that it wouldn't come on time. Then it was back to the house to set up the basement. 

Fay passed the next couple hours in a trance. By the time she was satisfied with her work, she realized she had no idea what time it was. She reached in her pocket for her phone but it wasn't there. Now that she thought about it she hadn't had it all day. 

She went to her room and found it on her desk. It was dead. Fay plugged it in and as she waited for it to turn on she checked the time on the microwave. It was 5:53. Molly was due at six which meant she would be there any minute. 

Just as Fay was about to go check her phone, the doorbell rang. She opened the door to see Molly who looked relieved and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"I was so worried about you. I wanted to come over as soon as I heard the news but I couldn't get out of work. Why haven't you answered your phone?" Molly had said all this with her face tucked into Fay's neck but at her last question she pulled back to smack Fay on the arm. Now that she knew Fay was okay there was a hint of aggravation on her face.

"It was dead. I just plugged it in before you got here but it hadn't turned on yet. What happened?" They were still in the doorway so Fay led them into the living room.

“Jasmine is dead." Molly sat on the couch and since she was still holding Fay’s hand she went down with her. 

"What happened?" Fay asked.

“Rich went over last night and found her in the kitchen. Dead. Someone had…someone had cut off her head, propped her up in a chair, and carved her torso like a jack o’ lantern." 

"Oh my god."

“I was so worried about you. You were over there yesterday, right?" 

"I was but everything was fine when I left." 

"I got so scared when I didn't hear from you today. I thought... I can't even say." Molly's voice was thick with emotion and tears brimmed in her eyes. 

"It's okay. I'm okay; I'm right here." Fay pulled Molly in to her and felt her release a shaky breath. She rubbed soothing circles into Molly’s back. They stayed like that for a bit until Molly calmed down. 

"How's Rich?" Fay asked.

"In shock I think. I called him. The cops questioned him but let him go. They couldn’t find any evidence. Rich overheard them talking at the police station. The knife was missing. They think it was the same one you guys were using to carve the pumpkins. And they haven’t found…her head.”

“Do they have any idea who did it?" 

Molly shrugged. “I don't think so. I just can't believe this." 

"Maybe I should rethink the plans I had for tonight" 

“No, no no. I've been so excited about tonight. Besides I need the distraction." Molly was once again holding Fay's hand. It was as if she needed constant contact to make sure the other girl was actually there and safe.

Fay led her down the stairs to the basement. 

"What do you think?" Fay stepped aside with a flourish revealing what she had set up. A fort was in the middle of the room and pumpkin apple scented candles were placed sporadically around.

"I think you built me a fort and that's adorable." 

"Wait until you see the inside." Fay crossed the room and parted the sheet. "After you." 

Molly ducked inside and sat down to take it all in. There were approximately a dozen throw blankets and pillows each scattered around. Purple and black string lights were placed on top of the sheet on the outside and strung along the inside. Two bowls of candy were on the couch which was one base of the fort and directly across from it was a TV on a rolling cart with a VHS player like you'd see in a school from twenty years ago.

Fay bent down to join Molly. "For movies I got Misery, Salem's Lot, and The Shining. My favorite, your favorite, and a bad classic.” She offered Molly the stack of videotapes.  "And no streaming. I wanted it to feel… I don't know older. Streaming didn't feel right for the vibe I was going for. What do you think?" 

"I absolutely love it."

“Pick one to start. I'll make some popcorn and grab some drinks.”

Two and a half hours later and The Shining was over and it was full dark out. 

“I could never stay somewhere I was stuck and couldn't leave. Hello claustrophobia,” Molly said. 

"I think I could if I had enough distractions." Fay countered. 

"Oh yeah like what?" Molly asked and Fay saw a glint in her eye that made her think of distractions she hadn't been considering at first. 

"You know. Books and stuff.” Fay answered. 

"And stuff?" Molly pushed further. 

Fay opened her mouth to answer but stopped when she heard the garage door open. “Ugh what is my brother doing here? He was supposed to be at Billy's party tonight." 

Just as Fay said this a loud crash sounded from the garage. "Did he get tanked and kicked out already? I have to check on him." 

"I'll come with you." Jasmine's death had been forgotten during the movie but now was back at the forefront of Molly's mind. 

The girls walked to the garage gingerly as if afraid to make any noise. Upon entering, they saw the source of the crash. Fay's dad's big toolbox that stood at about waist height had been knocked over, tools spilling out. Fay was looking at the mess when Molly let out a scream. 

Fay's head whipped around to look first at Molly and then her eyes followed to where Molly was looking. Tied to a chair was her brother but his head was missing. Carved into his torso right below his pecks was the face of a jack o' lantern. Blood dripped from the corners of the eyes and mouth. The pumpkin Fay had carved the night before was next to the chair. 

Bile filled Molly's mouth and she bent over gagging. 

"We have to go." Fay said, "Whoever did this is still here. Do you have your keys?" She went over and placed a hand on Molly's back. Molly straightened up. Tears filled the corners of her eyes. 

"They're in the basement"

"I'll have to go get them."

"I'll call an Uber then.” The thought of either of them having to go back to the basement was too awful to comprehend. 

“Phone?" 

Molly patted her pockets. "Basement. Can’t we just walk to a neighbor's house?" 

"It's too far. Stay here. I'll grab your phone and keys and I’ll be right back." 

Molly paced the garage keeping her eyes away from the body. She counted off seconds in her head. When she got to ten minutes she considered going back into the house to look for Fay. But then the door opened. 

"Thank God let's get out of..." what felt like a brick slammed into her head and the world went black.