ciwey
in
the_flyboys
HHF ENTRY: Into the Haze, Part 2
HORRIFYING HALLOWEEN FIC ENTRY
Title: Into the Haze
Author: ciwey
Rating: NC-17 for excessive swearing and depiction of violence
Summary: A night at the Gamma Rho Fraternity House turns out to be hell.
Disclaimer: This never happened.
Author’s Notes: Angsty College!Mavid. Based on the Cold Case episode "The Promise". Comments and constructive criticisms are very much appreciated. :)
One hour ago.
More than anything else, Stacey Vuduris was angry. Though she was generally a pleasant girl with one of the nicest tempers the college’s varsity cheerleading team had to offer, right now she found herself overtaken by the unseen fury that had been building up inside her for some time. In most circumstances it would take a lot to bring the girl to anger, but Michael Lee was one of the few people to know that when push came to shove and Stacey’s anger was up, it would take a hell lot of effort to get her to come down and even more to get her furor to disperse in a constructive way. Truth to be told, in such times Michael was always more than a little scared of her.
“Stacey, please, talk to me,” Michael pleaded as he tried to keep up with his girlfriend. “Tell me what happened, at least let me know you’re all right.”
“No I am not all right,” Stacey snapped back, scarcely able to restrain her inner anger yet not really caring whom it was directed at. “What do you think, I got drugged and assailed by some creep while my boyfriend ran off somewhere else, and I’d be totally fine with it?”
“That’s not what I meant,” Michael said with some level of frustration. “I know you’re mad, and you have a right to be, I’m not saying you don’t. What I am saying is that this isn’t how you should be handling it. You should go to the cops, let them know what happened, maybe take a-“
“Fuck that!” Stacey declared angrily. “I’m not going to let the whole world know what they did to me. If I’m stupid for doing this, so be it, but right now all I’m going to do is to go home.”
“Don’t be like this, Stacey,” Michael said as he grabbed hold of his girlfriend’s hand. “I know you feel like this is all a big mess, that you just want to go home and forget about all that’s happened, but you can’t be like this, you gotta take control of your emotions. You know it’s the right thing to do to go to the cops, they’ll take care of everything, they’ll find the guy who-“
“Michael,” Stacey snarled, feeling the anger that was within her arise and strain to push its way through. “I’m not stupid. I won’t just sit on my hands and let this thing ruin my life, but for the love of god can you just let me deal with it the way I choose to?”
“I care about you, that’s the only reason why I’m being this way!” Michael insisted. “I don’t want you to make this mistake just because you think you can’t deal with this right now, just because it feels like it’s more than you can handle. You have to face it sooner or later, and what I’m saying is that you should just deal with it now. If you don’t, you’re going to regret it in time, because god damn it, you might as well be-”
“Just,” Stacey practically screamed, “just shut, up, okay? I can’t be, I can’t, look! Just, just, look, I’m going to go home and that’s final, okay? If you still care about me like you say, you’ll do what I tell you to do and stop minding my goddamn business. I will deal with it myself, I just need to go home and think over it. Just, walk me home, please, because if you don’t so help me god I will lose it.”
“You’re being impossible,” Michael accused.
“Maybe I am,” Stacey admitted angrily, “but at least I know what I’m doing. You think you’re trying to get me to do the right thing, but you don’t even know what’s the best for me, I’m the only one who knows that, okay?”
“Look, if that’s what you really want I’ll take you home,” Michael finally conceded. “Just promise me, think this through, because what you want to do now, that’s not the right thing to do. You’re making this huge mistake, I’m telling you, and in time you will regret it that you didn’t listen to me.”
“Just walk me home,” Stacey said flatly, though not without some level of anger.
“Okay, I will,” Michael said as he pulled on his jacket. “Just promise me that. Think it through, just think it through and make the right decision. Because I swear to god, this really is what you should-”
“I will,” Stacey said simply.
“Good,” Michael said, looking around as he searched out the crowd around the front door. “Look, I hate to do this, but-“
“What now?” Stacey said bitterly.
“-I really think I should go back and get David first,” Michael went on. “I can’t just leave him behind like this.”
“Michael Lee,” Stacey said threateningly. “I’m nearing an emotional breakdown right now. I hardly think finding your friend is a priority.”
“I can’t just leave him here!” Michael yelled. “He’s my friend, I gotta go back and find him and tell him I’m leaving at the very least.”
“Since when do you have a problem with leaving people alone?” Stacey accused bitterly. “Last I remember that’s what you did with me back there, that’s how I got myself into this whole situation to begin with.”
“And I’m sorry about that, okay?” Michael said, looking pained. “I’m so sorry that it happened, I don’t think I can even express it in words, but I don’t want to make the same mistake twice. These people, they’re ruthless. If they see David here alone, they will rip him to pieces.”
“Whatever,” Stacey said resentfully. “Just go find your friend and get it over with.”
Without waiting for her boyfriend to respond, she pushed her way through the front door, scarcely flinching as the harsh autumn wind ruffled her blonde hair and sent a few glow sticks flying across the front lawn. Behind her, Michael found himself staring at where Stacey had been in a silent stupor, not knowing whether to go after his girlfriend or go back for his best friend. Fuck, always getting yourself into the worst of situations, mate. Then again, this whole thing was probably a mistake to begin with, just one huge fucking mess that you can’t possibly hope to deal with. Fuck, how could that have happened to Stacey, how could you have let that happened? That was stupid, just stupid, what the hell were you thinking?
Coming to a decision, the boy turned back from the front doorway and started making his way through the partying crowd. Though quite a few had already left the fraternity house in various states of inebriety, the crowds had barely thinned out at all, still congregating about the hallways and the rooms, nursing their drinks and swaying to the music (currently some heavy metal song to which Michael could not discern the lyrics). He had no idea where in the house David would be at, though mostly he just hoped he wouldn’t have to spend too long here. Ever since Stacey had informed him what had transpired with angry tears in her eyes, the house had taken on a completely different mood, suddenly seeming ominous and distressing in its twisted qualities.
Shit, where the hell is Dave? he thought with some degree of frustration as he pushed through another door of the fraternity house. So many rooms, so many halls, where the hell is David anyway? Where the hell, where is he, is that him? No wait, that’s somebody else, someone you don’t even know, definitely not David. Shit, where the hell is he?
“Excuse me,” he said with some annoyance as he dodged around a corner and nearly collided into a Latina clutching a bottle of beer.
“Oh, my, I’m sorry,” the Latina said with some confusion as she minded the beer that spilled down her front. Taking a better look at the Australian as he tried to make his way past her to the room beyond, she exclaimed with distinct glee, “Hey, I know you!”
“Huh?” Michael grunted, hearing though barely acknowledging what she was saying, his mind mostly occupied by the thoughts of the two friends he likely cared most about in the world.
“Yeah, you’re the pledge, Mike Lee, right?” the Latina said with a slight giggle. “I thought you’d be around here somewhere, I recognized you friend back there-“
“Hold on, what?” Michael said, suddenly all the more interested in what the girl had to say. My friend, she recognized my friend? She means David right, that’s gotta be who she means, who else here is really my friend?
“Yeah, your friend, what’s his name? Cook? Dane Cook?” the Latina said as she took a sip from the can in her hands.
“David Cook?” Michael said hopefully.
“Yeah, David, David Cook. Yeah, I knew that was it, I’ve got quite a knack for remembering names you know,” she went on drunkenly, though Michael mostly looked irritated as she digressed from their original topic.
“Do you know where the hell he is?” Michael demanded.
Somewhat upset by the Australian’s harsh tone, the Latina continued to say, “Well, like I said, I thought I recognized him just now in the hall. He’s kind of cute, actually, but don’t let anybody know I said that.” She laughed dreamily, oblivious to the boy’s growing frustration. Damn it, bitch got so drunk she’s in a world of her own. Shit, I just hope she still remembers where David is, really gotta find him soon.
“And where the hell is he right now?” Michael forced himself to say with some difficulty.
“I don’t know, do I? He’s probably long gone, I mean he won’t be just standing there, and I thought I heard him mention he’s going to leave anyway,” the Latina said simply with a flourish of her hand. “No wait, hang on, I believe I do remember... That guy, Holt? Horowitz? Hunter, right, Hunter. He was talking to your friend just now, mentioned something about the Den and a party in there.”
The Den? “What do you mean, a party in the Den?” he asked.
She pouted prettily, then went on to say, “Oh, believe me, I know. Can you believe he didn’t invite me there too? I mean, I didn’t want to seem like I’m coming onto him back then, but maybe I really should have flirted a bit-“
“No, what the hell did you mean by the Den?” Michael practically yelled.
Giving him a bewildered gaze, the Latina explained as she took another sip of beer, “You know the Den right? It’s that party room right next to that one room with the pool table, I think that’s where that Hunter guy took your friend. I mean, I’m not too sure, but-“
“Thank you,” Michael said with forced sincerity. “Really, I couldn’t thank you enough for that information.”
“Oh, wow,” she said in somewhat of a daze. “Um, I guess. I just, I just think he’s in there, I mean I don’t know for sure.”
Paying no heed to the Latina, Michael quickly shoved his way through the crowd between him and the fraternity house’s staircase, rousing a succession of yells and yelps. The Den? What in the world is the Den, why haven’t you heard of it before, aren’t you pledging? Doesn’t matter, does it? Just get up there, find Dave, get him out of here with minimal fanfare and see to Stacey. Fuck, I hope she’s all right.
Taking only a brief moment at the bottom of the stairs to contemplate the way up (staircase, you can do it, right?), Michael made to sprint up the staircase, taking care not to trod on any of the glow sticks or crumpled beer cans abandoned on the steps. Right, right turn, go right. Which room along the hallway after that? Room with the pool table... that’s the fifth, so the Den’s at the fourth or sixth door then? Jesus Christ, why does this frat house have to be so large?
Bounding up the stairs, Michael felt only the slightest hint of disquiet as his mind went over what the Latina had said. David went off to the Den with Hunter? But... shit, you know Hunter, you know what he’s like! Fuck, this is all going to be hell, mate, this is all going to end up to be hell. Why did David go with him, he knows what kind of person Nick Hunter is, right? But shit, you know how it’s like, of everybody here why does he have to pick Dave? Shit this isn’t good, what are they up to anyway, what if they’re going to-
At the top of the stairs, Michael could see a surprisingly few number of people along the long hallway. Two couples (at least he had assumed them to be so, for all he knew they might as well be two random people who decided to hook up) were making out right there in the open, the more libidinous pair of the two already engaged in a concupiscent round of second base. Aside from the lovers, he noticed two fraternity brothers prowling about, muttering something to each other as they each took sips from a bottle of vodka. A detached, irrational part of his mind raged at the fact that they kept the good liquor from the other party guests, though a greater part of him was just glad (and somewhat worried, though he did not admit it) to have found the way to the Den.
Something was wrong. He knew it, yet he could not manage to put his finger on it. Everything about the situation screamed at his instincts that something was off, but for the life of him he could not figure out what it was. Why are those two guys just standing there anyway, don’t they have anything better to do? Shouldn’t they be hooking up with a girl or two right now? So why are they just kicking back there, just talking... Something’s definitely wrong about this situation, fuck but you can’t just stand here all night, Stacey’s waiting outside!
Making up his mind, Michael darted along the hallway, scarcely noticing as the couples disentangled themselves from one another as he passed by. Fourth door down the hall, maybe sixth? Second door, third door, fourth, is this it, is this the Den?
Coming to a halt at the fourth door, he threw it open...
...revealing only one of the upstairs bedrooms, complete with a king-sized bed and a pair of lovers doing the dirty atop of it. The girl yelped and tried to cover up herself as Michael shot a stunned gaze inside the room, his eyes struggling to adjust to the darkness within. Well shit. Way to go, mate, you just walked in on some two people you don’t even know screwing their brains out.
With a sheepish expression on his face, Michael backed out of the room, taking care to close the door as he did. Sixth room it is, then?
Trudging his way past the next door while cursing his haste and imprudence, he made his way to the sixth door and took extra care to consider it. A wooden door not much unlike the others that lined the hallway, he noticed that it seemed in particular thicker than the rest, likely heavier and harder to open or close as well. As well, in addition to the lock on the doorknob he could notice what looked to be a bolt set higher in the door and its frame. Gotta be against the fire code, this kind of lock, but hey, since when has Gamma Rho cared much for regu-
The door opened inwards. Somewhat taken aback by the sudden turn of events, Michael took an instinctive step back, instead bumping into the two fraternity brothers who had, seconds prior, been sharing the bottle of vodka. Though even Michael would admit that he was not the brightest knife in the crayon box, he knew full well enough that something was very much amiss.
“What the-“ he only had time to utter before the two fraternity brothers shoved him into the room they called the Den.
The occupants of the room erupted into fresh cheers and shouts as Michael stumbled through into the Den. Though he was not fully aware of the situation, he knew enough to tell that it was most definitely a bad one, and not one he wanted to be part of at that. In particular he could pick out several derogative insults from the commotion about the room, and that told him all that he needed to know - it was not a good place to be.
Gathering himself as the two fraternity brothers stepped in and pulled the door shut behind him, Michael tried to look about the room in an effort to figure out what was going on. He caught sight of the scene easily enough, but all that was unfolding before him was not a pretty sight. Oh god, what the fuck are they trying to do here, it looks like a - holy shit that’s Dave, that’s him! What in the hell are they doing to him, what the fuck are they-
“Welcome to our little party, pledge,” a voice he could recognize as Nick Hunter’s said with malicious glee.
“What the fuck!” Michael could only scream back at the varsity wrestler as he stepped out from the crowd of two dozen or so people proudly, an indecipherable twinkle in his eyes. “What are you doing here, just what the, what the fuck!”
“We’re all having the time of our lives here,” Hunter said with a devious smile. “Though I suppose you’re referring to how we’re teaching fag boy over here a lesson?”
Eyes wide and mouth agape in shock, Michael could do nothing but watch as Hunter stepped to the middle of the room, next to where David stood. At least, that was what he had assumed David was doing, though now that he could see for sure. The boy had been restrained, gagged and suspended from the ceiling by his wrists, and though Michael could not see for sure, he knew David was likely in some serious hurt, psychological or otherwise. What scared Michael the most of everything was how cruel this all seemed, how everybody had stood by as a mob and watched, perhaps even participated, as David was made into the center of this sick little party...
“What the fuck, what the, what are you people doing here?” Michael cried in horror as he rushed forward in an attempt to free his friend.
The two fraternity brothers behind him reached out at once, each grabbing hold of one of his arms. Michael struggled, tried to wrench his arms free, but the most he managed was to earn himself a sharp bolt of pain as one of the guys behind him delivered a vicious kick to the back of his shins, sending him falling forward onto his knees. Looking up, he could only gape in horror as Hunter walked up to him with a glitter of vindictive amusement in his eyes.
“So, pledge,” Hunter said as he loomed over the boy on his knees, “I’m here to make you a little proposition of some sort,”
“What are you doing in here, why is David, let him go free!” Michael yelled in anger.
With a smirk coming across his face, Hunter went on as though oblivious to Michael’s outburst, “I don’t know about you, but personally, and I believe I speak for the entirety of Gamma Rho here as well, I’m sick of all the likes of your fag of a friend here on our campus. Now, you might call us homophobes, you might call us bigots, you might even call us extremists - but the fact remains that we’re sick of his type of people around, and we’re going to do something about-”
“You’re crazy,” Michael spat out, practically seething with anger. “You guys, you’re just insane, there’s no way something like this can-“
One of the fraternity brothers who held his arms from behind lashed out, a hard kick that hit the small of his back and would have sent him reeling with pain had he not been forcefully restrained. He cried out in pain, much to the cheers of the others in the room.
“Kindly do not interrupt me again, or you might find yourself in a whole lot more pain,” Hunter said with a smile. “Anyhow, like I was saying, we’re going to do something about all the fags and dykes around here. And since your friend so nicely offered up himself, we’ve decided to start this with him.”
Walking up to where David was hanging from the ceiling, Hunter raised a hand and reached for the boy’s cheek, almost as though caressing the soft skin of his face. David flinched, as though expecting a strike, on edge with the imminent tension that he did not react even as Hunter cleanly slapped him across the face hard.
Michael cried out helplessly, thrashing in a futile attempt to go forth and aid his friend yet unable to do so with his arms held in place by the two fraternity brothers. Fucking bastard, he hurt him! Fuck, he hurt David, that sick son of a bitch!
“And now I’m offering you a choice,” Hunter turned and addressed Michael, a serious expression on his face. “We’re giving you a chance to join us in our... crusade, if that’s the correct term for it. All you need to do is to come up over here to the fag,” he pointed at David’s hanging form, “and break his fingers. We’ll untie him, spread out his hand for you even, all you need to do is to crush his fingers, simple as that. And don’t you even worry, it’s his word against all of us, he has not a chance in the world. So, what do you say?”
“Bastard,” Michael growled as loud as he possibly could with all the rage in the world behind his voice. “You fucking bastard, you let go of Dave this instance or I swear to god I will-“
Whatever strength or energy that might once have been present in Michael’s face disappeared as Hunter swiftly and squarely punched him in the nose. With a high-pitched howl and the loud crunch of bone and cartilage shattering, the boy’s nose broke with a sharp blast of pain. Blood gushing forth from his nose streaked down his face into the front of his shirt, staining the fabric a dark red even as Hunter pulled him up by the collar of his shirt and slugged him again in the face, sending him reeling to the side. The beginnings of a bruise started swelling on his cheek as Michael clutched his jaw in pain.
“Too bad then, boyfriend,” Hunter said darkly. “Looks like we’ll have to break the little fag’s fingers without you.”
“Don’t you even dare!” Michael screamed, any inhibition in his voice now entirely gone.
Glaring at the other man with pure hate in his eyes, Michael got to his unsteady feet and prepared to rush the varsity wrestler. Taking the opportunity, Hunter simply grabbed the back of Michael’s head and brought it down, kneeing the Australian in the face with all his formidable strength. Convulsive waves of darkness shot through his vision as everything went slightly dimmed, the intense pain in his head searing away all else that he knew. Disorientated from the pain in his skull and the mild concussion his brain had sustained, Michael only managed to totter on his two feet for a second or two before toppling over and crashing backwards into a wall.
“You sick fucks!” Still he managed to hiss, though he began to feel the first few drifts of consciousness begin to escape him, “Bastards, god damn it you sick fucks, damn you all to hell...”
“Oh yeah?” Hunter taunted as he walked up to the prone Australian. “Too bad, I was thinking we’re about to have a lot of fun with fag boy here...”
With one powerful foot Hunter lashed out again, delivering a solid kick to the front of Michael’s chest that likely cracked his sternum and one or more of his collar bones by the sound of things. A second strike roused a bone-shattering crack as Hunter broke two of Michael’s ribs, while the third merely elicited a groan of pain from the boy as Hunter struck him square in the crotch. With consciousness stealing away from him and darkness beginning to descend over his mind, any pain he could feel was numbed at best, and for that Michael was glad. Though he still worried a great deal about David (and to an extent Stacey), he just couldn’t find the energy in himself to care about much of anything at this point.
“Yeah, you like that, don’t cha?” Hunter went on with glee as he struck the near-unconscious Australian in the face once more, knocking loose several teeth. “You like the pain, pussy boy? You like it, don’t cha? Oh don’t you worry, cause you and fag boy over here will soon be feelin’ a lot of it...”
Of all that had transpired, Stacey Vuduris had no idea. She didn’t know that her boyfriend Michael Lee had fallen unconscious and suffered a great deal under Nick Hunter’s continuous assault, nor was she aware of the fact that Hunter had then given the command for two of his lackeys to carry on the assault, and she most certainly had no idea that even as Hunter proceeded with the torture and torment of one David Cook, her boyfriend’s lifeless, battered body was unceremoniously dumped atop one of the Gamma Rho Fraternity House’s indoor balconies. All things considered she could not really have been blamed, but more than all else she was just pissed off at Michael’s absence. By all rights he should have managed to find his friend and get the hell out of the fraternity house within half the time that had passed, but he hadn’t and that more than all else scared yet at the same time angered her.
Having been waiting at the front lawn of the Gamma Rho Fraternity House for what felt like the past six hours (though in reality likely just half an hour at the most), Stacey wanted to scream out loud in frustration. She felt as though she was stuck in the middle of a dilemma, nay, a trilemma of all things, though to tell the truth none of her options seemed particularly appealing right now. Considering her predicament, she could choose to either i) get back in the fraternity house and find her boyfriend, ii) fuck it all and just head home alone, or iii) just suck it up and wait around the front lawn for Michael to return.
As she thought about it, she realized she just could not find it in herself to enter the fraternity house again. It was, it just felt so ominous now that the horrible thing had happened, with the horrible event that had befallen her fresh on her mind. Even the mere thought of the house’s interior made her feel as though she was still seeing Lovecraftian demons in the corners of her eyes, clawing and reaching for her body. Though in all likelihood the visions were on account of the hallucinogens still within her system, she just felt as though it would be too much for her to manage, too much for her to handle. So option one was clearly out of the proverbial window.
And option number two... it took only a few moments of consideration to dismiss it. It was just too dangerous, a girl like her walking home alone in that skimpy dress? She’d have been ripped to pieces within seconds she got out of everybody else’s sight. Besides which she didn’t even have a vehicle of any sort, Michael had given her the ride here in the first place. And perhaps more than anything else, she could not stand to be alone. Not just on the way home, but back at her house also. Her parents had gone out of town, and she had originally planned on persuading Michael to stay with her, comfort her... but not now, no, that just wouldn’t happen if she went home all by her lonesome.
Enter option number three. Just standing out there in the wind like an idiot.
She sighed, letting the whoosh of air roll off her tongue heavily. It was stupid, that much was clear to her, but she just felt so... useless. It was not even a real option, she didn’t choose to take any action even, just stand there and let indecision paralyze her until everything was too late. That was what she always did, she was always so weak yet so unmindful of it. Take right now, she could have just stormed in and stirred up a hell of a tempest looking around for Michael and David, or she could have just chanced her way home and call for a friend from the cheerleading squad (Molly? Kim? Carly?) to stay the night with her. But no, she didn’t, all because she was just too afraid to make a decision, too afraid to make the wrong choice... and in not doing so, she had more often than not relegated herself to the worst third option, doing nothing at all.
Like just now, back then, even. Michael kept insisting she should have gone to the police, told them everything and anything that had befallen her that night, let them know, let them handle it, let them find that sick bastard and lock him up behind bars. That’s what she should have done. Let them take one of those rape kit tests, take a morning after pill just on that off chance, and hope for the best. By all rights, that’s what she should have and would have done.
Yet she didn’t. Always the heedful girl, she was just afraid too many people would find out. What would her parents say? What would her friends say? It all seemed too much for her to handle. She didn’t want this to screw her up, sure it was a horrible thing, but more than all else she didn’t want this to take over her life. They would brand her the title of a rape victim, and that would likely be what she’d be doomed to remain for the rest of her college life. And that just utterly terrified her.
So she just did not want to make a decision, and instead merely stood by and did nothing. Let the bastard go free, leave him to do the same to another innocent girl. Because you just know bastards like him don’t stop at one (and that’s if you’re even his first victim), he’d move on and try this out on another girl and another girl until he’s eventually caught, and when’s that going to be if everybody was like you, so afraid to even make a decision, make a choice to stand up to this guy? What if it was Jackie? What if this guy does this to Jackie? You can’t just stand by and let it happen girl, you gotta stand up to him, make the bastards like him regret what they had ever done. You can’t be so weak, you can do this, you have to do this.
Taking a deep breath, Stacey tried to calm herself down. As much as she wanted to do that, to go to the police and let them take care of everything, she realized that she couldn’t. How would they even catch him? Whatever that bastard’s given has fucked with your brain so much you can’t even recognize his face, his age, anything about him at all. And that’s gonna help how? Rape kit, DNA testing? What, are they going to test every single alumni Gamma Rho has had over the years? Think real, girl, this just isn’t possible. No, if you want revenge you’ll have to get it yourself. But how...?
Make them regret it, that’s how, she thought to herself bitterly. Make them regret they ever did that on you, ever took this momentary lapse in your judgment and use it to take advantage of you. Make them regret ever hosting this stupid party where they did this horrible thing, make them regret everything. Break up their stupid party, ruin it, call the cops on them? No, too much of a hassle, and besides it likely won’t do any good anyhow, you gotta take this into your own hands. Burn their house down. Burn their stupid fraternity house down!
Taking only the briefest of moments to consider that idea, Stacey found herself liking it a lot. In retrospect with the drugs that addled her brain and the trauma of what had befallen her, her judgment was not the best in the world, but at that time Stacey couldn’t care any less. It felt like a good thing to do, something that would break up their party and let her get her revenge, avenge everything that had happened over the years. That felt like the perfect solution, even. Burn the house down, burn Gamma Rho down to its foundations.
But...
Michael’s still inside there. As is David. They’re both still inside, and they’d be in danger if you did this. They might get trapped, trampled, anything might happen to them just because of that bastard... So what?! Michael was a traitor! He went back in, he knew you were in so much pain, so much hurt, but he still went back in for his stupid friend, when by all rights he should have stuck by you, so don’t give me that shit about looking out for him! He didn’t look out for you, he left you alone to fend for yourself, it’s all his fault you ended up like this anyway, it’s all his fault, let him burn with the house, let him burn!
She felt close to entirely dissolving in tears. It was horrible, it was a horrible thing to have happened, but god, she just couldn’t bring herself to do that. Everybody else inside, the Gamma Rhos and the others, half of them didn’t even have anything to do with this in the first place. She would be condemning everybody else too if she did set the fire, everybody else inside, even Michael, even David. And that wasn’t fair to them, she could not-
Oh my God, she screamed to herself. It’s him.
Standing in front of one of the windows that overlooked the front lawn was whom she was sure was him. She could recognize that sports jacket of his, creased and crumpled as though he had been wearing the same attire for the past month. The hairstyle looked different, hair colour too, and honestly he didn’t look all that alike as what little that she could remember from him, but... oh god, it is him, it has to be. He’s looking straight at you, he’s looking down on you, he’s gloating, he knows what a weakling you are, look he’s smiling now, and oh god he’s going to come and get you, oh god you have to get him before he does get you girl, you gotta do this, you have to.
Insensitive to the considerably quieted commotion of the party emanating from inside the fraternity house, Stacey dug into her purse with numb fingers. Throwing aside personal artifacts around the lawn as though they were not even hers to begin with, she could only stare dumbstruck at the open doorway, waiting for him to emerge. Oh god, he’s going to come and get you soon, hurry up girl. With greater haste, she dug methodically inside, tossing tubes of lipstick and tissue paper and her wallet every which way as she looked for what, looked for, aha, found it!
Wrenching free the box of matches from her purse with what might have been worshipful glee, the girl could only give thanks to whatever deities existed above. If such deities did in fact exist, they probably would have informed her not to do whatever she was planning on, or at least have smited her with some intense level of divine intervention if she persisted. Instead she pulled free a single match from the box, and with trembling fingers she struck the match.
To her delight it ignited almost immediately, a single dancing flame lighting up the night like a true beacon of justice that guided her. Not minding the accompanying whiff of smoke and burning phosphorus, she closed up the box and pressed the burning end of the match to it, reveling in the pure ecstasy and beauty of the naked flame as the box burst into flames as well, singeing the ends of her fingers. Still holding the aflame match box in one hand, she ambled up to the open doorway of the fraternity house, her eyes only seeing all the wood that would burn, all the furniture that would feed the fire...
Do it. This is it, you have to do this. Do it before he gets to you again, before he gets to Jackie. Just do it girl, you can do it-
She flung the burning match box out. It fluttered for just the slightest of seconds before a combination of gravity and momentum sent it rolling onto the floor, the threads of the carpet almost alight immediately as well. With the drunken haze that took over the bulk of the remaining partygoers (and honestly with glow sticks littering the floor it was hard to tell much of a difference), nobody aside from herself really noticed the flames that spread slowly at first, at least until it reached the jacket draped over an end table. Then it went faster, flames creeping up the fabric of it (a sports jacket, she could now notice, an irony which she appreciated a great deal) and igniting a jar of wilted flowers next. And then it just seemed to spread like crazy - the wallpaper singed and curled off the wall, the coat rack next to it burst into flames like a medieval torch, the hair of a passing girl caught fire as she turned around and screamed like a banshee on fire.
Though prior to this particular night Stacey had never considered herself a pyromaniac, she couldn’t help but admire the beauty of it. Fire, the ceaseless wavers of man’s oldest fascination, so beautiful and striking in the gloom of night... yet also capable of raging with such grand destruction.
Part 1
Part 3
Title: Into the Haze
Author: ciwey
Rating: NC-17 for excessive swearing and depiction of violence
Summary: A night at the Gamma Rho Fraternity House turns out to be hell.
Disclaimer: This never happened.
Author’s Notes: Angsty College!Mavid. Based on the Cold Case episode "The Promise". Comments and constructive criticisms are very much appreciated. :)
One hour ago.
More than anything else, Stacey Vuduris was angry. Though she was generally a pleasant girl with one of the nicest tempers the college’s varsity cheerleading team had to offer, right now she found herself overtaken by the unseen fury that had been building up inside her for some time. In most circumstances it would take a lot to bring the girl to anger, but Michael Lee was one of the few people to know that when push came to shove and Stacey’s anger was up, it would take a hell lot of effort to get her to come down and even more to get her furor to disperse in a constructive way. Truth to be told, in such times Michael was always more than a little scared of her.
“Stacey, please, talk to me,” Michael pleaded as he tried to keep up with his girlfriend. “Tell me what happened, at least let me know you’re all right.”
“No I am not all right,” Stacey snapped back, scarcely able to restrain her inner anger yet not really caring whom it was directed at. “What do you think, I got drugged and assailed by some creep while my boyfriend ran off somewhere else, and I’d be totally fine with it?”
“That’s not what I meant,” Michael said with some level of frustration. “I know you’re mad, and you have a right to be, I’m not saying you don’t. What I am saying is that this isn’t how you should be handling it. You should go to the cops, let them know what happened, maybe take a-“
“Fuck that!” Stacey declared angrily. “I’m not going to let the whole world know what they did to me. If I’m stupid for doing this, so be it, but right now all I’m going to do is to go home.”
“Don’t be like this, Stacey,” Michael said as he grabbed hold of his girlfriend’s hand. “I know you feel like this is all a big mess, that you just want to go home and forget about all that’s happened, but you can’t be like this, you gotta take control of your emotions. You know it’s the right thing to do to go to the cops, they’ll take care of everything, they’ll find the guy who-“
“Michael,” Stacey snarled, feeling the anger that was within her arise and strain to push its way through. “I’m not stupid. I won’t just sit on my hands and let this thing ruin my life, but for the love of god can you just let me deal with it the way I choose to?”
“I care about you, that’s the only reason why I’m being this way!” Michael insisted. “I don’t want you to make this mistake just because you think you can’t deal with this right now, just because it feels like it’s more than you can handle. You have to face it sooner or later, and what I’m saying is that you should just deal with it now. If you don’t, you’re going to regret it in time, because god damn it, you might as well be-”
“Just,” Stacey practically screamed, “just shut, up, okay? I can’t be, I can’t, look! Just, just, look, I’m going to go home and that’s final, okay? If you still care about me like you say, you’ll do what I tell you to do and stop minding my goddamn business. I will deal with it myself, I just need to go home and think over it. Just, walk me home, please, because if you don’t so help me god I will lose it.”
“You’re being impossible,” Michael accused.
“Maybe I am,” Stacey admitted angrily, “but at least I know what I’m doing. You think you’re trying to get me to do the right thing, but you don’t even know what’s the best for me, I’m the only one who knows that, okay?”
“Look, if that’s what you really want I’ll take you home,” Michael finally conceded. “Just promise me, think this through, because what you want to do now, that’s not the right thing to do. You’re making this huge mistake, I’m telling you, and in time you will regret it that you didn’t listen to me.”
“Just walk me home,” Stacey said flatly, though not without some level of anger.
“Okay, I will,” Michael said as he pulled on his jacket. “Just promise me that. Think it through, just think it through and make the right decision. Because I swear to god, this really is what you should-”
“I will,” Stacey said simply.
“Good,” Michael said, looking around as he searched out the crowd around the front door. “Look, I hate to do this, but-“
“What now?” Stacey said bitterly.
“-I really think I should go back and get David first,” Michael went on. “I can’t just leave him behind like this.”
“Michael Lee,” Stacey said threateningly. “I’m nearing an emotional breakdown right now. I hardly think finding your friend is a priority.”
“I can’t just leave him here!” Michael yelled. “He’s my friend, I gotta go back and find him and tell him I’m leaving at the very least.”
“Since when do you have a problem with leaving people alone?” Stacey accused bitterly. “Last I remember that’s what you did with me back there, that’s how I got myself into this whole situation to begin with.”
“And I’m sorry about that, okay?” Michael said, looking pained. “I’m so sorry that it happened, I don’t think I can even express it in words, but I don’t want to make the same mistake twice. These people, they’re ruthless. If they see David here alone, they will rip him to pieces.”
“Whatever,” Stacey said resentfully. “Just go find your friend and get it over with.”
Without waiting for her boyfriend to respond, she pushed her way through the front door, scarcely flinching as the harsh autumn wind ruffled her blonde hair and sent a few glow sticks flying across the front lawn. Behind her, Michael found himself staring at where Stacey had been in a silent stupor, not knowing whether to go after his girlfriend or go back for his best friend. Fuck, always getting yourself into the worst of situations, mate. Then again, this whole thing was probably a mistake to begin with, just one huge fucking mess that you can’t possibly hope to deal with. Fuck, how could that have happened to Stacey, how could you have let that happened? That was stupid, just stupid, what the hell were you thinking?
Coming to a decision, the boy turned back from the front doorway and started making his way through the partying crowd. Though quite a few had already left the fraternity house in various states of inebriety, the crowds had barely thinned out at all, still congregating about the hallways and the rooms, nursing their drinks and swaying to the music (currently some heavy metal song to which Michael could not discern the lyrics). He had no idea where in the house David would be at, though mostly he just hoped he wouldn’t have to spend too long here. Ever since Stacey had informed him what had transpired with angry tears in her eyes, the house had taken on a completely different mood, suddenly seeming ominous and distressing in its twisted qualities.
Shit, where the hell is Dave? he thought with some degree of frustration as he pushed through another door of the fraternity house. So many rooms, so many halls, where the hell is David anyway? Where the hell, where is he, is that him? No wait, that’s somebody else, someone you don’t even know, definitely not David. Shit, where the hell is he?
“Excuse me,” he said with some annoyance as he dodged around a corner and nearly collided into a Latina clutching a bottle of beer.
“Oh, my, I’m sorry,” the Latina said with some confusion as she minded the beer that spilled down her front. Taking a better look at the Australian as he tried to make his way past her to the room beyond, she exclaimed with distinct glee, “Hey, I know you!”
“Huh?” Michael grunted, hearing though barely acknowledging what she was saying, his mind mostly occupied by the thoughts of the two friends he likely cared most about in the world.
“Yeah, you’re the pledge, Mike Lee, right?” the Latina said with a slight giggle. “I thought you’d be around here somewhere, I recognized you friend back there-“
“Hold on, what?” Michael said, suddenly all the more interested in what the girl had to say. My friend, she recognized my friend? She means David right, that’s gotta be who she means, who else here is really my friend?
“Yeah, your friend, what’s his name? Cook? Dane Cook?” the Latina said as she took a sip from the can in her hands.
“David Cook?” Michael said hopefully.
“Yeah, David, David Cook. Yeah, I knew that was it, I’ve got quite a knack for remembering names you know,” she went on drunkenly, though Michael mostly looked irritated as she digressed from their original topic.
“Do you know where the hell he is?” Michael demanded.
Somewhat upset by the Australian’s harsh tone, the Latina continued to say, “Well, like I said, I thought I recognized him just now in the hall. He’s kind of cute, actually, but don’t let anybody know I said that.” She laughed dreamily, oblivious to the boy’s growing frustration. Damn it, bitch got so drunk she’s in a world of her own. Shit, I just hope she still remembers where David is, really gotta find him soon.
“And where the hell is he right now?” Michael forced himself to say with some difficulty.
“I don’t know, do I? He’s probably long gone, I mean he won’t be just standing there, and I thought I heard him mention he’s going to leave anyway,” the Latina said simply with a flourish of her hand. “No wait, hang on, I believe I do remember... That guy, Holt? Horowitz? Hunter, right, Hunter. He was talking to your friend just now, mentioned something about the Den and a party in there.”
The Den? “What do you mean, a party in the Den?” he asked.
She pouted prettily, then went on to say, “Oh, believe me, I know. Can you believe he didn’t invite me there too? I mean, I didn’t want to seem like I’m coming onto him back then, but maybe I really should have flirted a bit-“
“No, what the hell did you mean by the Den?” Michael practically yelled.
Giving him a bewildered gaze, the Latina explained as she took another sip of beer, “You know the Den right? It’s that party room right next to that one room with the pool table, I think that’s where that Hunter guy took your friend. I mean, I’m not too sure, but-“
“Thank you,” Michael said with forced sincerity. “Really, I couldn’t thank you enough for that information.”
“Oh, wow,” she said in somewhat of a daze. “Um, I guess. I just, I just think he’s in there, I mean I don’t know for sure.”
Paying no heed to the Latina, Michael quickly shoved his way through the crowd between him and the fraternity house’s staircase, rousing a succession of yells and yelps. The Den? What in the world is the Den, why haven’t you heard of it before, aren’t you pledging? Doesn’t matter, does it? Just get up there, find Dave, get him out of here with minimal fanfare and see to Stacey. Fuck, I hope she’s all right.
Taking only a brief moment at the bottom of the stairs to contemplate the way up (staircase, you can do it, right?), Michael made to sprint up the staircase, taking care not to trod on any of the glow sticks or crumpled beer cans abandoned on the steps. Right, right turn, go right. Which room along the hallway after that? Room with the pool table... that’s the fifth, so the Den’s at the fourth or sixth door then? Jesus Christ, why does this frat house have to be so large?
Bounding up the stairs, Michael felt only the slightest hint of disquiet as his mind went over what the Latina had said. David went off to the Den with Hunter? But... shit, you know Hunter, you know what he’s like! Fuck, this is all going to be hell, mate, this is all going to end up to be hell. Why did David go with him, he knows what kind of person Nick Hunter is, right? But shit, you know how it’s like, of everybody here why does he have to pick Dave? Shit this isn’t good, what are they up to anyway, what if they’re going to-
At the top of the stairs, Michael could see a surprisingly few number of people along the long hallway. Two couples (at least he had assumed them to be so, for all he knew they might as well be two random people who decided to hook up) were making out right there in the open, the more libidinous pair of the two already engaged in a concupiscent round of second base. Aside from the lovers, he noticed two fraternity brothers prowling about, muttering something to each other as they each took sips from a bottle of vodka. A detached, irrational part of his mind raged at the fact that they kept the good liquor from the other party guests, though a greater part of him was just glad (and somewhat worried, though he did not admit it) to have found the way to the Den.
Something was wrong. He knew it, yet he could not manage to put his finger on it. Everything about the situation screamed at his instincts that something was off, but for the life of him he could not figure out what it was. Why are those two guys just standing there anyway, don’t they have anything better to do? Shouldn’t they be hooking up with a girl or two right now? So why are they just kicking back there, just talking... Something’s definitely wrong about this situation, fuck but you can’t just stand here all night, Stacey’s waiting outside!
Making up his mind, Michael darted along the hallway, scarcely noticing as the couples disentangled themselves from one another as he passed by. Fourth door down the hall, maybe sixth? Second door, third door, fourth, is this it, is this the Den?
Coming to a halt at the fourth door, he threw it open...
...revealing only one of the upstairs bedrooms, complete with a king-sized bed and a pair of lovers doing the dirty atop of it. The girl yelped and tried to cover up herself as Michael shot a stunned gaze inside the room, his eyes struggling to adjust to the darkness within. Well shit. Way to go, mate, you just walked in on some two people you don’t even know screwing their brains out.
With a sheepish expression on his face, Michael backed out of the room, taking care to close the door as he did. Sixth room it is, then?
Trudging his way past the next door while cursing his haste and imprudence, he made his way to the sixth door and took extra care to consider it. A wooden door not much unlike the others that lined the hallway, he noticed that it seemed in particular thicker than the rest, likely heavier and harder to open or close as well. As well, in addition to the lock on the doorknob he could notice what looked to be a bolt set higher in the door and its frame. Gotta be against the fire code, this kind of lock, but hey, since when has Gamma Rho cared much for regu-
The door opened inwards. Somewhat taken aback by the sudden turn of events, Michael took an instinctive step back, instead bumping into the two fraternity brothers who had, seconds prior, been sharing the bottle of vodka. Though even Michael would admit that he was not the brightest knife in the crayon box, he knew full well enough that something was very much amiss.
“What the-“ he only had time to utter before the two fraternity brothers shoved him into the room they called the Den.
The occupants of the room erupted into fresh cheers and shouts as Michael stumbled through into the Den. Though he was not fully aware of the situation, he knew enough to tell that it was most definitely a bad one, and not one he wanted to be part of at that. In particular he could pick out several derogative insults from the commotion about the room, and that told him all that he needed to know - it was not a good place to be.
Gathering himself as the two fraternity brothers stepped in and pulled the door shut behind him, Michael tried to look about the room in an effort to figure out what was going on. He caught sight of the scene easily enough, but all that was unfolding before him was not a pretty sight. Oh god, what the fuck are they trying to do here, it looks like a - holy shit that’s Dave, that’s him! What in the hell are they doing to him, what the fuck are they-
“Welcome to our little party, pledge,” a voice he could recognize as Nick Hunter’s said with malicious glee.
“What the fuck!” Michael could only scream back at the varsity wrestler as he stepped out from the crowd of two dozen or so people proudly, an indecipherable twinkle in his eyes. “What are you doing here, just what the, what the fuck!”
“We’re all having the time of our lives here,” Hunter said with a devious smile. “Though I suppose you’re referring to how we’re teaching fag boy over here a lesson?”
Eyes wide and mouth agape in shock, Michael could do nothing but watch as Hunter stepped to the middle of the room, next to where David stood. At least, that was what he had assumed David was doing, though now that he could see for sure. The boy had been restrained, gagged and suspended from the ceiling by his wrists, and though Michael could not see for sure, he knew David was likely in some serious hurt, psychological or otherwise. What scared Michael the most of everything was how cruel this all seemed, how everybody had stood by as a mob and watched, perhaps even participated, as David was made into the center of this sick little party...
“What the fuck, what the, what are you people doing here?” Michael cried in horror as he rushed forward in an attempt to free his friend.
The two fraternity brothers behind him reached out at once, each grabbing hold of one of his arms. Michael struggled, tried to wrench his arms free, but the most he managed was to earn himself a sharp bolt of pain as one of the guys behind him delivered a vicious kick to the back of his shins, sending him falling forward onto his knees. Looking up, he could only gape in horror as Hunter walked up to him with a glitter of vindictive amusement in his eyes.
“So, pledge,” Hunter said as he loomed over the boy on his knees, “I’m here to make you a little proposition of some sort,”
“What are you doing in here, why is David, let him go free!” Michael yelled in anger.
With a smirk coming across his face, Hunter went on as though oblivious to Michael’s outburst, “I don’t know about you, but personally, and I believe I speak for the entirety of Gamma Rho here as well, I’m sick of all the likes of your fag of a friend here on our campus. Now, you might call us homophobes, you might call us bigots, you might even call us extremists - but the fact remains that we’re sick of his type of people around, and we’re going to do something about-”
“You’re crazy,” Michael spat out, practically seething with anger. “You guys, you’re just insane, there’s no way something like this can-“
One of the fraternity brothers who held his arms from behind lashed out, a hard kick that hit the small of his back and would have sent him reeling with pain had he not been forcefully restrained. He cried out in pain, much to the cheers of the others in the room.
“Kindly do not interrupt me again, or you might find yourself in a whole lot more pain,” Hunter said with a smile. “Anyhow, like I was saying, we’re going to do something about all the fags and dykes around here. And since your friend so nicely offered up himself, we’ve decided to start this with him.”
Walking up to where David was hanging from the ceiling, Hunter raised a hand and reached for the boy’s cheek, almost as though caressing the soft skin of his face. David flinched, as though expecting a strike, on edge with the imminent tension that he did not react even as Hunter cleanly slapped him across the face hard.
Michael cried out helplessly, thrashing in a futile attempt to go forth and aid his friend yet unable to do so with his arms held in place by the two fraternity brothers. Fucking bastard, he hurt him! Fuck, he hurt David, that sick son of a bitch!
“And now I’m offering you a choice,” Hunter turned and addressed Michael, a serious expression on his face. “We’re giving you a chance to join us in our... crusade, if that’s the correct term for it. All you need to do is to come up over here to the fag,” he pointed at David’s hanging form, “and break his fingers. We’ll untie him, spread out his hand for you even, all you need to do is to crush his fingers, simple as that. And don’t you even worry, it’s his word against all of us, he has not a chance in the world. So, what do you say?”
“Bastard,” Michael growled as loud as he possibly could with all the rage in the world behind his voice. “You fucking bastard, you let go of Dave this instance or I swear to god I will-“
Whatever strength or energy that might once have been present in Michael’s face disappeared as Hunter swiftly and squarely punched him in the nose. With a high-pitched howl and the loud crunch of bone and cartilage shattering, the boy’s nose broke with a sharp blast of pain. Blood gushing forth from his nose streaked down his face into the front of his shirt, staining the fabric a dark red even as Hunter pulled him up by the collar of his shirt and slugged him again in the face, sending him reeling to the side. The beginnings of a bruise started swelling on his cheek as Michael clutched his jaw in pain.
“Too bad then, boyfriend,” Hunter said darkly. “Looks like we’ll have to break the little fag’s fingers without you.”
“Don’t you even dare!” Michael screamed, any inhibition in his voice now entirely gone.
Glaring at the other man with pure hate in his eyes, Michael got to his unsteady feet and prepared to rush the varsity wrestler. Taking the opportunity, Hunter simply grabbed the back of Michael’s head and brought it down, kneeing the Australian in the face with all his formidable strength. Convulsive waves of darkness shot through his vision as everything went slightly dimmed, the intense pain in his head searing away all else that he knew. Disorientated from the pain in his skull and the mild concussion his brain had sustained, Michael only managed to totter on his two feet for a second or two before toppling over and crashing backwards into a wall.
“You sick fucks!” Still he managed to hiss, though he began to feel the first few drifts of consciousness begin to escape him, “Bastards, god damn it you sick fucks, damn you all to hell...”
“Oh yeah?” Hunter taunted as he walked up to the prone Australian. “Too bad, I was thinking we’re about to have a lot of fun with fag boy here...”
With one powerful foot Hunter lashed out again, delivering a solid kick to the front of Michael’s chest that likely cracked his sternum and one or more of his collar bones by the sound of things. A second strike roused a bone-shattering crack as Hunter broke two of Michael’s ribs, while the third merely elicited a groan of pain from the boy as Hunter struck him square in the crotch. With consciousness stealing away from him and darkness beginning to descend over his mind, any pain he could feel was numbed at best, and for that Michael was glad. Though he still worried a great deal about David (and to an extent Stacey), he just couldn’t find the energy in himself to care about much of anything at this point.
“Yeah, you like that, don’t cha?” Hunter went on with glee as he struck the near-unconscious Australian in the face once more, knocking loose several teeth. “You like the pain, pussy boy? You like it, don’t cha? Oh don’t you worry, cause you and fag boy over here will soon be feelin’ a lot of it...”
Of all that had transpired, Stacey Vuduris had no idea. She didn’t know that her boyfriend Michael Lee had fallen unconscious and suffered a great deal under Nick Hunter’s continuous assault, nor was she aware of the fact that Hunter had then given the command for two of his lackeys to carry on the assault, and she most certainly had no idea that even as Hunter proceeded with the torture and torment of one David Cook, her boyfriend’s lifeless, battered body was unceremoniously dumped atop one of the Gamma Rho Fraternity House’s indoor balconies. All things considered she could not really have been blamed, but more than all else she was just pissed off at Michael’s absence. By all rights he should have managed to find his friend and get the hell out of the fraternity house within half the time that had passed, but he hadn’t and that more than all else scared yet at the same time angered her.
Having been waiting at the front lawn of the Gamma Rho Fraternity House for what felt like the past six hours (though in reality likely just half an hour at the most), Stacey wanted to scream out loud in frustration. She felt as though she was stuck in the middle of a dilemma, nay, a trilemma of all things, though to tell the truth none of her options seemed particularly appealing right now. Considering her predicament, she could choose to either i) get back in the fraternity house and find her boyfriend, ii) fuck it all and just head home alone, or iii) just suck it up and wait around the front lawn for Michael to return.
As she thought about it, she realized she just could not find it in herself to enter the fraternity house again. It was, it just felt so ominous now that the horrible thing had happened, with the horrible event that had befallen her fresh on her mind. Even the mere thought of the house’s interior made her feel as though she was still seeing Lovecraftian demons in the corners of her eyes, clawing and reaching for her body. Though in all likelihood the visions were on account of the hallucinogens still within her system, she just felt as though it would be too much for her to manage, too much for her to handle. So option one was clearly out of the proverbial window.
And option number two... it took only a few moments of consideration to dismiss it. It was just too dangerous, a girl like her walking home alone in that skimpy dress? She’d have been ripped to pieces within seconds she got out of everybody else’s sight. Besides which she didn’t even have a vehicle of any sort, Michael had given her the ride here in the first place. And perhaps more than anything else, she could not stand to be alone. Not just on the way home, but back at her house also. Her parents had gone out of town, and she had originally planned on persuading Michael to stay with her, comfort her... but not now, no, that just wouldn’t happen if she went home all by her lonesome.
Enter option number three. Just standing out there in the wind like an idiot.
She sighed, letting the whoosh of air roll off her tongue heavily. It was stupid, that much was clear to her, but she just felt so... useless. It was not even a real option, she didn’t choose to take any action even, just stand there and let indecision paralyze her until everything was too late. That was what she always did, she was always so weak yet so unmindful of it. Take right now, she could have just stormed in and stirred up a hell of a tempest looking around for Michael and David, or she could have just chanced her way home and call for a friend from the cheerleading squad (Molly? Kim? Carly?) to stay the night with her. But no, she didn’t, all because she was just too afraid to make a decision, too afraid to make the wrong choice... and in not doing so, she had more often than not relegated herself to the worst third option, doing nothing at all.
Like just now, back then, even. Michael kept insisting she should have gone to the police, told them everything and anything that had befallen her that night, let them know, let them handle it, let them find that sick bastard and lock him up behind bars. That’s what she should have done. Let them take one of those rape kit tests, take a morning after pill just on that off chance, and hope for the best. By all rights, that’s what she should have and would have done.
Yet she didn’t. Always the heedful girl, she was just afraid too many people would find out. What would her parents say? What would her friends say? It all seemed too much for her to handle. She didn’t want this to screw her up, sure it was a horrible thing, but more than all else she didn’t want this to take over her life. They would brand her the title of a rape victim, and that would likely be what she’d be doomed to remain for the rest of her college life. And that just utterly terrified her.
So she just did not want to make a decision, and instead merely stood by and did nothing. Let the bastard go free, leave him to do the same to another innocent girl. Because you just know bastards like him don’t stop at one (and that’s if you’re even his first victim), he’d move on and try this out on another girl and another girl until he’s eventually caught, and when’s that going to be if everybody was like you, so afraid to even make a decision, make a choice to stand up to this guy? What if it was Jackie? What if this guy does this to Jackie? You can’t just stand by and let it happen girl, you gotta stand up to him, make the bastards like him regret what they had ever done. You can’t be so weak, you can do this, you have to do this.
Taking a deep breath, Stacey tried to calm herself down. As much as she wanted to do that, to go to the police and let them take care of everything, she realized that she couldn’t. How would they even catch him? Whatever that bastard’s given has fucked with your brain so much you can’t even recognize his face, his age, anything about him at all. And that’s gonna help how? Rape kit, DNA testing? What, are they going to test every single alumni Gamma Rho has had over the years? Think real, girl, this just isn’t possible. No, if you want revenge you’ll have to get it yourself. But how...?
Make them regret it, that’s how, she thought to herself bitterly. Make them regret they ever did that on you, ever took this momentary lapse in your judgment and use it to take advantage of you. Make them regret ever hosting this stupid party where they did this horrible thing, make them regret everything. Break up their stupid party, ruin it, call the cops on them? No, too much of a hassle, and besides it likely won’t do any good anyhow, you gotta take this into your own hands. Burn their house down. Burn their stupid fraternity house down!
Taking only the briefest of moments to consider that idea, Stacey found herself liking it a lot. In retrospect with the drugs that addled her brain and the trauma of what had befallen her, her judgment was not the best in the world, but at that time Stacey couldn’t care any less. It felt like a good thing to do, something that would break up their party and let her get her revenge, avenge everything that had happened over the years. That felt like the perfect solution, even. Burn the house down, burn Gamma Rho down to its foundations.
But...
Michael’s still inside there. As is David. They’re both still inside, and they’d be in danger if you did this. They might get trapped, trampled, anything might happen to them just because of that bastard... So what?! Michael was a traitor! He went back in, he knew you were in so much pain, so much hurt, but he still went back in for his stupid friend, when by all rights he should have stuck by you, so don’t give me that shit about looking out for him! He didn’t look out for you, he left you alone to fend for yourself, it’s all his fault you ended up like this anyway, it’s all his fault, let him burn with the house, let him burn!
She felt close to entirely dissolving in tears. It was horrible, it was a horrible thing to have happened, but god, she just couldn’t bring herself to do that. Everybody else inside, the Gamma Rhos and the others, half of them didn’t even have anything to do with this in the first place. She would be condemning everybody else too if she did set the fire, everybody else inside, even Michael, even David. And that wasn’t fair to them, she could not-
Oh my God, she screamed to herself. It’s him.
Standing in front of one of the windows that overlooked the front lawn was whom she was sure was him. She could recognize that sports jacket of his, creased and crumpled as though he had been wearing the same attire for the past month. The hairstyle looked different, hair colour too, and honestly he didn’t look all that alike as what little that she could remember from him, but... oh god, it is him, it has to be. He’s looking straight at you, he’s looking down on you, he’s gloating, he knows what a weakling you are, look he’s smiling now, and oh god he’s going to come and get you, oh god you have to get him before he does get you girl, you gotta do this, you have to.
Insensitive to the considerably quieted commotion of the party emanating from inside the fraternity house, Stacey dug into her purse with numb fingers. Throwing aside personal artifacts around the lawn as though they were not even hers to begin with, she could only stare dumbstruck at the open doorway, waiting for him to emerge. Oh god, he’s going to come and get you soon, hurry up girl. With greater haste, she dug methodically inside, tossing tubes of lipstick and tissue paper and her wallet every which way as she looked for what, looked for, aha, found it!
Wrenching free the box of matches from her purse with what might have been worshipful glee, the girl could only give thanks to whatever deities existed above. If such deities did in fact exist, they probably would have informed her not to do whatever she was planning on, or at least have smited her with some intense level of divine intervention if she persisted. Instead she pulled free a single match from the box, and with trembling fingers she struck the match.
To her delight it ignited almost immediately, a single dancing flame lighting up the night like a true beacon of justice that guided her. Not minding the accompanying whiff of smoke and burning phosphorus, she closed up the box and pressed the burning end of the match to it, reveling in the pure ecstasy and beauty of the naked flame as the box burst into flames as well, singeing the ends of her fingers. Still holding the aflame match box in one hand, she ambled up to the open doorway of the fraternity house, her eyes only seeing all the wood that would burn, all the furniture that would feed the fire...
Do it. This is it, you have to do this. Do it before he gets to you again, before he gets to Jackie. Just do it girl, you can do it-
She flung the burning match box out. It fluttered for just the slightest of seconds before a combination of gravity and momentum sent it rolling onto the floor, the threads of the carpet almost alight immediately as well. With the drunken haze that took over the bulk of the remaining partygoers (and honestly with glow sticks littering the floor it was hard to tell much of a difference), nobody aside from herself really noticed the flames that spread slowly at first, at least until it reached the jacket draped over an end table. Then it went faster, flames creeping up the fabric of it (a sports jacket, she could now notice, an irony which she appreciated a great deal) and igniting a jar of wilted flowers next. And then it just seemed to spread like crazy - the wallpaper singed and curled off the wall, the coat rack next to it burst into flames like a medieval torch, the hair of a passing girl caught fire as she turned around and screamed like a banshee on fire.
Though prior to this particular night Stacey had never considered herself a pyromaniac, she couldn’t help but admire the beauty of it. Fire, the ceaseless wavers of man’s oldest fascination, so beautiful and striking in the gloom of night... yet also capable of raging with such grand destruction.
Part 1
Part 3