April Fools (April Fools Day Special)

https://rumble.com/v4yd6ho-april-fools-by-ray-bush.html
 

April Fools

By: Ray Bush

1

“Truth or Dare?” Chase asked Stacia. That smile was new and Stacia didn’t like it. She also thought this was a weird game to be playing after three years together, she felt like he knew everything about her. She never tried to hide anything from him. But at least he was trying to do something fun together so she would play along. “You better be careful , I’ve got some crazy questions and even crazier dares.” Again she thought he had a wicked smile on his face and she didn’t like it. Maybe she was just being paranoid. 

“Truth,” She answered smiling, Chase twisted his face in a mask of disappointment. “What? Do you want me to pick Dare?”

“It doesn’t really matter,” Chase answered but he still looked disappointed. Chase pretended to think, “Are you scared of me?” Actually with that smile Stacia was a little scared. 

Stacia thought that was a very weird question, she had known this guy since she was fifteen years old. They had been together for the last three and lived together for the last year and a half. 

“Of course I’m not scared of you,” Stacia answered, she guessed he asked a dumb question because he wanted her to choose Dare. “Should I be?” Stacia was thinking that maybe she should be but the thought was short lived. “K it’s my turn, Truth or Dare?”

Chase ignored both questions. “Pick Dare this time.” he invited eagerly. “I really have a good one.”

“Ok Dare I guess,” Stacia hadn’t hit the point of nervousness yet but it was fast approaching. He was acting so weird.

His weird smile widened, “I dare you to let me tie you up in the basement and leave you alone for ten minutes.” Now she was nervous.

Stacia really didn’t want to do that, the unfinished basement was very scary. There were even rumors that three kids summoned two demons with a Ouija board. Then there was Miranda, the lady that lost her mind and ended up in Asylum 77. Her husband was arrested the same night and ended up in the Asylum himself. Reluctantly Stacia agreed. That’s when things went horribly wrong for Stacia. He led her through the kitchen, down the stairs, then into the cement walled family room. He sat her in a kitchen chair then cuffed her to it. 

“I’ll be back in ten minutes,” Chase said, then brushed an almost loving hand through her hair. For some reason Stacia flinched away.

Stacia sat alone in the dark but somehow she didn’t feel like she was alone. She felt eyes watching from the dark hallway, she breathed a little harder. Then whatever it was stood next to her. There were two of them, one on each side. The one on the left sniffed her hair while the one on the right brushed an icy hand across her cheek. Stacia flinched away into a freezing nose that pushed on her neck. Stacia was terrified, she couldn’t believe the stories were real. The apparition on her left softly bit Stacia’s bicep, like a dog trying a new type of food. Stacia cried out and a hand covered her mouth, it smelled awful. The demon on the right growled in her ear, or it was a purr of enjoyment like a cat. Stacia sat statue still. The two moved around her slowly until she was surrounded by a weak tornado. It smelled even worse now in the swirling air. 

Stacia was more than relieved when she heard Chase take a step on the top of the stairs. The smell and the whirlwind was gone in an instant. Stacia began to cry softly. “Hurry get down here Chase,” Stacia was mad and terrified. “You need to uncuff me now.”

Chase ran down the stairs holding an oil lamp that looked like it was straight out of a wild west saloon. He moved a chair that Stacia hadn’t seen directly in front of her.
“I can’t believe you fell for this,” Chase again had that smile on his face. “I have to admit that you were one of the smart ones, I didn’t think I would break you.” Stacia wondered what he was talking about. “Now I’m gonna kill you in an untraceable way.”

Chase set the lamp down then pulled a blunt and lighter out of his shirt pocket. He lit it and let the first few puffs escape his lips. Stacia was terrified when she realized what was happening.

“Chase, what are you doing?” Stacia’s eyes were the size of dinner plates and full of tears. “What the fuck are you doing?”

He exhaled a large cloud of weed smoke into Stacia’s face. “I can see you trying to hold your breath. How long do you think you can keep that up, a minute maybe a minute and a half. I have a full blunt to smoke.” He took another deep hit. It was too big, making him cough, and spit some drops of spit, directly into Stacia’s face. Stacia exhaled then inhaled a quick breath. There was no oxygen, it was all weed smoke which Stacia was deathly allergic to. 

Stacia was furious for letting herself trust this piece of shit. She felt the hives forming and already starting to itch on her face. She took in another short breath but Chase was right. How long could she really do this? He blew another hit in her face, then another. The air surrounding her head was thick with smoke. She felt her throat closing and panicked. She took in a deep breath then coughed hard. 

Just before she passed out Chase put the blunt roach on the floor next to her and said, “I’ll call you an ambulance but we both know it won’t be here in time. 

2

Caitlyn answered the phone almost immediately when she saw it was Stacia calling. “Hey Stacia, what’s up?”

It wasn’t Stacia, it was her boyfriend Chase. He told Caitlyn that when he came from work he found Stacia on the floor with a mostly smoke blunt next to her. He told her that she was still breathing when the ambulance arrived but they were not giving Stacia much of a chance. He found a note on her laptop explaining how lonely she was and she felt like everything was meaningless. That hurt Caitlyn a little. Stacia was her best friend, Caitlyn hoped their friendship wasn’t meaningless. His voice sounded like he had been crying for a long time. None of this made sense to Caitlyn. She went to lunch with Stacia just yesterday and she seemed to be her normal self. Caitlyn felt like she knew Stacia well enough that she would be able to tell if her friend was this upset. Stacia never gave off a suicidal vibe. Unfortunately most people were not comfortable asking for help, it was truly sad. 

“Will you meet me at the hospital?” Chase asked and Caitlyn didn’t even think about saying no. 

After twenty minutes that felt like a lifetime to Caitlyn, she arrived at the emergency room. She parked her car and sprinted in the building. The automatic doors opened too slow, Caitlyn almost went nose first into the glass. Chase was sitting in the waiting room watching TV with red eyes and tear soaked cheeks. Chase hugged her which was odd, they had never hugged before, but she guessed it was the situation. However he did seem to put some extra flirt into the gesture. 

“How is she?” Caitlyn asked, she too had been crying her eyes out since the phone call. 

“They let me go back there for a minute,” She could hear the lump in his throat. “I lied and told them I was her husband. I bet if you tell them you’re her sister they will let you go back too.” Chase paused, he seemed to be fighting back a sob, “They said it was to say goodbye.” Chase rested his head on her shoulder which she also found a bit strange but again she guessed it was just because of the situation. 

Caitlyn did tell them that she was her sister and they did let her go back. Caitlyn broke down when she saw Stacia hooked up to all the flashing and beeping machines. 

3

Stacia opened her eyes and tried to smile when she saw her best friend Caitlyn through teary vision. She could tell that Caitlyn had been crying a lot. Stacia’s eyes closed slowly like automatic blinds. She snapped them back open and Caitlyn was next to her bed and they were now holding hands. Stacia gave Caitlyn’s hand a squeeze. Staica coughed and her eyes closed again. Caitlyn brushed a hand through Stacia’s hair and this time Stacia was able to smile. Stacia lacked the strength to open her eyes but she was able to speak softly. Stacia told her friend everything that happened but when her eyes opened again Chase was standing at the foot of the bed. 

“Would you just die already,” Chase said, she could see the sea of hate in his eyes. Stacia began to shake in fear. 

“Are you ok dear?” The nurse asked. Stacia opened her eyes and she was still shaking. She didn’t see Chase anywhere, she calmed but just a little. The nurse turned on something that dripped into Stacia’s IV. Her eyes closed again.

This time when she opened her eyes Chase was standing 

menacingly in her doorway. Her room was dark and the hallway was light making Chase an almost shadow figure. Stacia tried to sit up but she was far too weak. She tried to push the call button that alerted the nurse she was in need of help. Her fingers wouldn’t move. Her eyes filled with tears that were half fear and half fury. Stacia wanted to bury her hunting knife into his left eye first then his right. He walked towards her. She fought to keep her eyes open but lost the battle after only a minute. The machines beeped and chirped behind her head. She tried to focus on the noises so she would be able to hold on to consciousness. 

“Why won’t you just die?” He breathed hot breath into her ear. She opened her eyes only to look directly into his evil ones. “If you won’t die then I’ll just have to kill you again.” Stacia’s eyes closed.

4 

Four days passed since Caitlyn saw Stacia in the hospital. She did hear from a friend of a friend that Stacia was being released today, Caitlyn didn’t believe her friend or her friend’s friend. Caitlyn made no effort to see Stacia again. Maybe because her and Chase had found comfort in each other, the two had become close. They went on their first “not” dates two days ago. The two bonded over the trauma of what Stacia put them through. Both would grieve Stacia for a long time but there was no reason the two couldn’t grieve together. Anyway Caitlyn was still mad at Stacia. How could she try to leave Caitlyn alone in this crazy world? It was during the first “not” date that Caitlyn told Chase that Stacia had passed away, she even produced an obituary. 

Caitlyn spent the next four days getting to know Chase and even told him that Caitlyn couldn’t believe Stacia could do this to such a great guy. Chase said the same but towards Caitlyn and not himself. He found Caitlyn to be a sweet girl. Every “not” date the two went on they both felt like they were being watched, tonight was no different. Like a ghost was watching from the corner of a dark basement. 

Caitlyn couldn’t believe how fun this night had been. How did he know that she loved musicals, she couldn’t remember talking about it. And now they sat in the corner of a dark bar holding each other’s hand and enjoying each other's company.

“I’m so glad you decided to come out,” Chase said and he did sound genuine. “I know you and Stacia were close, and after everything I didn’t know if you would.” 

“Honestly it does feel weird,” Caitlyn’s eyes teared up but she fought them back. “But she did what she did with no care for me, so I'm gonna live my life without a care what she would want.”

“That’s very true,” Chase said with a wicked smile that Caitlyn didn’t like but also did like at the same time. He looked like a smoking hot villain. “I just know we both loved her so this might have been weird, but I’m glad we did it. And you’re right, she decided to leave so fuck it.” The two clinked glasses.

5

Stacia couldn’t believe what she was seeing, her best friend on a date with the man that tried to murder her. It had only been about a week since that piece of shit tried to kill her. The first day out of the hospital she got in contact with her brother who worked at the examiner. He printed up a few of that day’s paper with Stacia’s fake obituary that she would strategically plant around her friends circle. Only a few people would get to know she was still around. She wanted Chase to totally believe she was gone. He had some payback coming, and Stacia wanted him to be surprised when it hit. Chase was in for some trouble he was not ready for. Stacia was going to get that son of a bitch, and she knew his mom so she could say that.

Stacia watched from across the street for the couple to come out of the theater. It was a very long and very angry wait for the young woman. She wanted to dice Chase up with a sharp knife but she had to be smart about it. Now she watched the two drinking wine and laughing like a couple of asses. Fresh anger coursed through her veins. When he leaned in to kiss Caitlyn, Stacia almost blew her cover. Lucky for him Caitlyn stopped, she expected that from her long time best friend. She watched the two walk out of the bar hand in hand at one o’clock in the morning. Stacia watched from the shadows but there was nothing to see. Caitlyn got in one car and Chase got in another. Stacia followed Caitlyn and was relieved when her friend truly did go home alone. 

6

Two out of the next three dates Caitlyn was nearly positive that she saw Stacia lurking around. On those occasions Caitlyn made sure to grab his hand or maybe pull him in for a hug. The good news was that Chase didn’t see her. How would he have reacted if he had? She guessed it would have rightfully freaked him the hell out. It may even cause things to end between the two and Caitlyn was not ready for that to happen. Today was April Fools Day and Caitlyn was not quite done with him yet. She had big plans for Chase today, she always had fun on April Fools Day. Having the almost holiday fall on a Saturday was perfect. The two planned to spend the whole day together ending with dinner at the home he shared with Stacia not that long ago. He was very excited for tonight, Caitlyn had not so much as kissed him. Chase was sure that he knew what the surprise was. Chase was basically foaming at the mouth, he couldn’t wait. He tried plenty of times but Caitlyn shot him down on every occasion. 

She spent the morning getting ready, she wanted to look her very best for tonight. Today was going to be a very important day for her, probably life changing. She got a text as she was finishing her modest makeup. It was Chase of course.

Are you about ready? I’m already at the diner waiting for you. Today is going to be amazing.

Yes, I’m about to walk out the door, she responded, I’ll be there by noon, the diner is only a couple minutes from my house. 

7

Stacia was already at the diner when Chase pulled into the parking lot. He got out of his car and took a puff off his vape then blew out an impressive cloud of smoke. He pulled out his phone and began messing with it, it looked like he was typing. He stopped and after only a minute his phone dinged, he read it and smiled. She guessed that he texted Caitlyn then she texted back. Stacia was so mad, she wanted to make that asshole suffer more than anyone in history. She couldn’t believe what he did to her then he had the balls to ask out Caitlyn also. How could he go out with her best friend? The Chase she had known most of her life would have never done any of this. Sadly, that was not the real Chase. The real Chase was a villain, like a fictional character created in the mind of a madman. 

It looked like Chase could feel her eyes on him. He put his phone in his pocket then scanned the area slowly and carefully. Or maybe he had a similar plan for Caitlyn, maybe he had plans to kill her as well. Maybe this was a pre-murder lunch. His eyes fixed on the bush that Stacia was using for camouflage. Stacia knew what she was doing so she knew there was no way he could see her but maybe he did sense her. 

After a few minutes Caitlyn pulled into the parking lot then parked next to Chase who rushed to open her door for her. She got out of the car and Chase tried to kiss her, Caitlyn pulled away. Stacia heard her tell Chase that there would be plenty of time for that later. He looked frustrated but respected Caitlyn’s wishes. They went inside and thankfully the hostess sat them next to the window. Stacia watched and was as angry as she had ever been in her life. 

8

Caitlyn looked out the window and thought she saw movement in the large bush on the other side of the parking lot. The sane part of her mind thought it was probably a cat or maybe a squirrel. The paranoid part of her brain thought it could see the shape of a person. Again she thought of Stacia. 

“I still can’t believe you agreed to date me,” Chase seemed genuinely excited, “You know because of Stacia.” Maybe he really did like her. She would find out how much tonight after mini golf. 

“Well she obviously didn’t care to be here with me so I don’t care to respect her memory,” Caitlyn sounded pretty chippy. “She didn’t care if she hurt me and hell she’s gone anyway. Of course it was hard at first. Stacia was my best friend for a long time but that meant nothing to her.” Caitlyn smiled a cold smile that Chase seemed to like, he bit his bottom lip a little bit. 

Chase agreed. They left the restaurant, Caitlyn left her car in the parking lot of the diner. Caitlyn watched a car that seemed familiar pull out of the parking lot only seconds behind them. Chase jumped on the freeway and the two sang together loud and out of tune. They laughed together, things were going great. Caitlyn even threw in some of her signature dance moves. She was having a great time with him, it was a bit surprising for her. Their first few dates were fun but so far this one was on a whole new level. Maybe she was just extra excited for tonight. He pulled into the underground parking lot, found a spot, then opened Caitlyn’s door. They both barely noticed the car that drove by then parked three stalls away next to the thick cement beam.

9

Stacia snuck in the dome theater after all the lights had gone black. The action between the couple was non-existent during the laser show. All three were fans of obscure music from the early two thousands. The show was a little of everything. Rap, rock, grunge, country, pop, and even a couple techno songs. She ducked as low in her chair as she possibly could, Stacia was short so she was able to sink pretty low. She even let herself enjoy the show. She waited a full two minutes after the couple left before exiting the theater. 

Stacia followed them all the way to Roy for their miniature golf game. The place was designed for families, there was a full eighteen hole golf course for dad and mom. They also had a very long mini golf course for the kids. Stacia hid behind trees and watched the entire game. There were a few separate instances of hand holding and a couple of hugs but still no kissing. The game ended around seven and the course was only minutes away from Chase’s house. Stacia beat them to the house and watched them pull in the driveway while hidden under the pine tree across the street. A fresh wave of murdery feeling washed over Stacia, she couldn’t believe he brought Caitlyn to the house they shared. 

10

Chase cooked. Caitlyn very much enjoyed the dinner he made. Now it was time to have some drinks and prepare for the surprise. Chase made the first round, but Caitlyn wanted to make something special for their next drink. Kind of an April Fools prank, she poured the powder into his drink then stirred it until it was invisible. She hoped it was tasteless also. He drank it so quickly that she didn’t even think he tasted the alcohol. Caitlyn talked him out of his clothes with very little effort. She sat him on the couch and watched him black out before she could even pretend to try to kiss him. 

Chase blinked his eyes open, Caitlyn could see in his eyes that his brain was still foggy. His eyes locked on Caitlyn’s, “April Fools motherfucker.” Chase looked confused at first but then looked terrified when he saw Stacia standing next to Caitlyn. “Did you really think I’m dumb enough to be with you after what you did to her?” 

He looked down to see his hands and feet handcuffed to a chair, probably the same chair he had cuffed Stacia to. He was in  the guest bathroom looking towards the mirror. Both Caitlyn and Stacia could see that Chase was completely terrified of the two ladies. They both relished in it. 

“What are you gonna do to me?” Chase asked and he was almost crying. Stacia was pissed that he would try to play the victim after the hell he put her through. There would be no sympathy from her. 

Caitlyn laughed when she thought about how terrifying the two young women must look with the candle flickering behind them. Caitlyn slapped him across the face, “I can’t believe you thought I would betray her for you. You fuckin loser.”

Stacia flicked her thumb nail across the head of a match which brought it to life with a bright flash. When it faded to a normal burn Stacia smiled then flicked it into the waterless toilet. The toilet bowl flashed bright like it was full of gunpowder, then flared out. The bones and the leaves smoldered in the bowl creating a wonderful smell that Caitlyn was not expecting.

“Bawa, Bazon come and get him. Bawa, Bazon come and get him. Bawa, Bazon come and get him,” The two women chanted. The room dropped in temperature enough that the women could now see his breath. 

“We have to get out of here,” Stacia said while ignoring Chase’s pleas. There was movement in the basement, “They will come fast.” 

Stacia and Caitlyn quickly left the bathroom into the hallway then into the living room and out the door. Both girls stopped in the middle of the road then turned back to the house. At midnight in Clinton, traffic would be light so they wouldn’t worry about cars..

11

Chase sat cuffed to a chair staring into the mirror and watched the flame on the candle dance. It got cold after the women chanted but was now even colder in the bathroom. He knew the stories about this house, most of them were pretty dark. Chase heard more movement in the basement. Tears filled his eyes when he heard the footsteps start ascending the stairs. He began to shake when he heard the footsteps squeaking on the kitchen floor. Then there was silence. A dark shadow formed in the mirror behind him. Chase screamed.

12

His screams of pain echoed off the neighborhood houses for no longer than thirty seconds. That scream would echo through every good dream Stacia would have for the rest of her life.