Bloody Jacket
Don’t listen to me. Don’t share my tale. It will only make things worse.
The sun started to set over Halbridge City, painting the sky a burnt orange and turning the clouds a dark grey. The night would be upon us soon, and Halbridge City’s nights never go well, especially downtown. Most of the fun usually happens around then, and even though a couple of nights ago, a young man was hanged in an alleyway by his feet, night lovers still made their daily communion to downtown. Churchgoers, with their religion being a good time, and I was one of them.
I hopped into my Uber and told the driver, “The Temptation, please.” The driver nodded, and we were soon on our way. I pulled out a pocket mirror. I had to make sure everything looked just right. I moved my wavy blonde hair out of my face. My eye shadow was just right, not too thick, and not too light. It complimented my green eyes, making them shine like gems. The idea of makeup isn’t to look like an overdone clown but to be subtle and pop out of the crowd. The keyword is subtle.
The Temptation was my go-to club in Halbridge. It stood just shy of the beach with a perfect view of the lake and the sun setting. The best club in the Bayside Nulles area. I didn’t know the owner, but I loved the vibe the club gave. It was nice, like an EDM festival but turned down to a dancing lofi. Many business owners and dealers came to Temptation to solidify contracts. I came to Temptation for … well, you’ll know soon.
I noticed my leg shaking. I quickly grabbed it and added pressure. I wanted to stop. Saying I was fine would be a lie, and I never lie to myself. I was worried about the young man who was hanged by his feet, remember. I hadn’t known him personally but what happened to him was something only a monster would do.
The young man was named Andrew something(I could care less about his last name). He was heading home after a long night shift and found himself taking a shortcut. There were many shortcuts home. Andrew was worried that something might happen, he started to rush through the alleyway. First mistake, the moment your start running, is when you begin attracting the flies. They love targets that run, and Andrew made a good target with his yellow jacket. I don’t know what happened next, but I do know what happened to him. The police found him hanged by his feet with his throat cut like a pig. That wasn’t the crazy part.
The crazy part was that there was no blood. There were some bloodstains on his face but none on the floor. A perfect circle was below the body, only the size of a large jar of Mayonnaise. The police deduced that whatever was below Andrew was a large bowl, I immediately thought of a large salad bowl. What worried me was that whoever was stalking Andrew and drained him of any blood did it pretty close to the Temptation. I would love to say this wasn’t normal, but murders like these are common in Halbrdige, and the police work day and night to solve them (which they never do.)
I glanced out my window and watched the buildings and skyscrapers zoom on by. The Uber driver had hip hop playing in the background; I believe it was Peaches by Justin Bieber. It set the mood and made the sun slicing its way through the city even more heartwarming. “ I got my peaches out in Georgia. Oh yeah shit~,” I found myself singing along quietly. The driver noticed and smiled.
We pulled up to Temptation, and I hopped out of the car. I pulled out my phone, opened up the app, and gave the driver a five-star rating. I’m a sucker for good music.
Another reason I loved Temptation was that there weren’t any lines to get inside. It was a membership-only club, and you had to register online, then wait two weeks for your metal membership card to come in the mail. I gave my card to the bouncer at the front door.
“Evening, Betty,” I said.
“Evening Nicole,” Betty said, taking my card and looking it over. Betty was one of the three bouncers that guarded the door. She made sure that no one that didn’t have a membership didn’t get in. There was a reputation that came with Temptation – one of royalty.
She handed me back my card and opened the door – just your typical security protocol.
“A hotshot reserved half of the bar,” Betty said. “A hot-tempered douche. Try to watch out for him.”
“Thanks.”
I headed on inside. It was dark, but dim lights hung from the ceiling, lighting the path. Black and red sprawled off the carpeted walls. It was a type of seduction, and it really set the feel of Temptation.
I leaned up against the wall in the lobby with the receptionist. I didn’t want to hit the floor and search around for my friends.
Where you guys be, I texted. After a couple of seconds, I got a response.
Upstairs, the usual spot, Shelby texted back. Shelby was one of my girls and my best friend. It was Shelby, Jada, and Leah. The four sisters of Temptation, the owner, called us. We would show up all the time before things went to shit in 2020.
I headed for the main floor door when my phone dinged again. I glanced, and it was from a random number. All it said was, Watch out for the man with the blue pocket flower. I … ignored it and went on my way.
The floor rushed into me, the music was poppin, and the people were dancing. I went to the spiral stairs in the corner of the room. The second floor was for VIPs, but most of them sat downstairs.
I noticed the man Betty had mentioned sitting on the other side of the club on the first floor. He wore an orange suit and had a squad of men in black sitting around him. He looked nervous.
He was staring at the dance floor. About ten to fifteen individuals were dancing around, your typical dance floor, I guess. As I headed for my girls, I noticed they were staring at the dance floor as well.
“What’s going on,” I said, pulling out a seat for myself. “ Did you guys see-”
“Nikki, doesn’t that guy seem strange to you,” said Leah. She was gripping the handrail of the balcony tight.
“If you’re talking about the guy in the orange suit. No, he looks like your average rich kid.” Which I wasn’t wrong. I hadn’t seen him before, but he had a rich boy vibe to him.
“She’s not talking about the kid,” said Shelby. “She’s talking about him.” She pointed towards the middle of the floor. Jada pulled Shelby’s hand back.
“Don’t point.”
“Why don’t you call Betty to get rid of him?”
“We … tried,” said Leah. “But he’s not doing anything. Doesn’t he look familiar?”
I got up and walked over to the edge, and looked down. A pale man was standing in the middle of the dance floor. His clothes were dirty, and his hair was caked with something that made it stand up like a faux hawk. But that wasn’t what caught my eye. It was his yellow jacket. The same jacket that I had read about on Twitter, it was the young man who was hung by his feet.
He looked up at me, and our eyes met. His was dead and glazed over, but he immediately started to smile. Showing his bloodstained teeth.
“That’s impossible,” I said, and the man pointed at me. “We should go.”
“You think,” said Shelby, and the four of us started for the door.
“Why didn’t you text me this?”
“You wouldn’t have believed me.”
“You’re not wrong,” I said, rushing down the stairs and towards the exit. Shelby, Leah, and Jada headed through the main door. I glanced back to just make sure I wasn’t losing my mind. The young man was still staring at me. I could clearly see him now. No one on the dance floor noticed him, too busy feeling the vibe. A blue flower was sown on his right breast jacket pocket.
“Shit,” I said. I rushed toward the main door, but it was locked. My girls had just ran through the door, so how could it be locked? I banged on it; nothing. I slammed harder and nothing. A shriek cut through the door, but the music drowned it out. “Shelby!” I banged again, but nothing. I placed my head against the door, and I could hear scratching on the other side. Fingernails were scrapping off on the other side. I jerked my head back and called Shelby.
Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Beep. “Hi, this Shelby leave a message at the tone.”
I tried again but then stopped. At the bottom of the door, blood seeped out, crawling across the carpet. I took a step back, and I felt myself bumping into something solid.
I turned around slowly, praying that whatever it was wasn’t what I thought it was.
The young man stood before me. He was still smiling that bloody smile, and I could see the gash around his throat.
Fear didn’t envelop me; anger did. My hand tensed out like claws. “Back off,” I growled. “Now.” He took a step back, still smiling. I turned back to the door and banged again. “Hey open up!” No one opened the door. “Don’t make me break it down,” I yelled. If no one was paying attention to me before, everyone was paying attention to me now.
“Nikki,” said a quiet voice. Usually, it wouldn’t have been heard, but the club music wasn’t playing anymore. A quiet club is an eerie club.
“Who?”
“Nikki, it’s me. Detective Julian, I got a message a couple of hours ago from my son.”
“Julian, I’m sorry but do I know you – doesn’t matter – open the door,” I growled.
“I don’t think I can do that. We got one hell of a mess out here.”
“A mess?”
“Oh yeah, some murders. We got the receptionist in a couple of pieces and the poor bouncer, oh gawd, the poor bouncer. Her ID says, Betty Williams.”
“Uh, you said two murders.”
“Yeah. We got three Madurugos by the door, so says our specialist. Looks pretty bad. Did you get my message?”
“That was you,” I asked, trying to think of a way out.
“Just wanted to warn you. The young man we found a couple days ago in the alleyway. I’m sure you heard the news. He went missing a few hours ago from the morgue. An unusual thing, but bodies do go missing. I just had a gut feeling that someone might be impersonating the young man.”
“And you think they are after me,” I said. He wasn’t wrong. The young man was standing behind me. “I’m not even related to the case, and what the hell is a Mandurugos? Just open the door. I have nothing to do with Andrew’s death.”
“Blood-sucking fiends. I don’t know the details, but they have sharp barbed tongues. We’ll try to move as fast as we can, Nikki. Just stay tight.”
“Detective?”
“I … never mentioned his name.”
“What?”
“The young’s man name. It wasn’t released to the media. How did you know his name was Andrew.”
…
Cold hands landed on my shoulders. I could feel the young man breathing down my neck, a deathly smell. I turned my head slowly, and his glazed eyes stared at me.
“I … Love … You,” it said. I could feel a scream rising up from my throat. Everyone’s eyes were snow on me. The young man grabbed the cry in my throat and squeezed.
