FZRW Chapter 2

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First period was dull, as expected. Frenchy sighed, looking at René as the goth was doodling something on her paper. “René!” A voice called from the front of the room, and the girl’s head shot up. “For Christ’s sake, René, pay attention!” Ms. Feldman scolded her as she frantically tried to write down the notes about climate ratio or something like that. “Pain in the ass...” René mumbled to herself, glaring at the teacher. Despite being annoyed, she quietly finished her work, and walked out with Frenchy as soon as the bell pinged. “Frenchy, can I come to your house after school? If you have time, I guess.” René asked as they walked through the hallway, with a somewhat hopeful look in her eyes. She was being kind of cute, Frenchy admitted to herself. Who could resist? “Oui! That’d be trés bien!” Frenchy answered cheerfully, smiling as she made an “OK” sign. René giggled at the sudden and unnecessary use of French, and waved Frenchy goodbye as she went to class.

“Hey.” A familiar nasally voice spoke from behind as Frenchy walked into her second period class. She turned around and saw René’s brother looking down at her. “I should’ve introduced myself earlier. I’m-“

“‘scusé Henderson? Saw it on the class roster.” Frenchy interrupted, with a wink. “No, it’s Squeezit.” He answered, coldly. “Squoozi?” Frenchy tried again. “No, it’s Squeezit! Screw it, just call me Q-Z for simplicity. Okay?” He hissed, trying not to yell. “Huh. Q-Z, ça va?” She asked, hoping to start over. “I’m fine,” He answered, sitting down and adjusting his long, dark hair, “How’s my sister?”

“She’s good?” Frenchy responded, somewhat offput. “Why are you so worried about her? Do you not trust her?” She asked, suspicious of the lanky boy. “I just want her to be safe, is that a bad thing?” Squeezit replied, his words like ice. “No, I just...” She tried to come up with something witty, but was unable to say a word. Those damn Hendersons and their ability to drive someone speechless. Squeezit took out a mirror out of his pocket and applied some of his black lipstick, occasionally looking at Frenchy as she nervously sat down. In the back of the class, Flash stared at the two, suspicious. He mouthed vulgarities at Squeezit and his sister, clenching his fist. “Hey, Frenchy, I don’t have work today. Can I come over, too?” Squeezit asked, aloof. She was quiet for a while, choking back her words. Squeezit’s warning about her basement looped in her mind. She looked at him, then at Flash, then at the board, and back to Squeezit. Out of what was either kindness or fear, Frenchy invited him over.

“Cool.”

The rest of the day was uneventful, but Frenchy was shaking. She tapped her hand, bounced her leg, anything to hopefully relax. She had no clue what was bothering her and her mind kept wandering in what felt like a million directions at once. The bus ride was hell until René got her attention. “Hey, look at this.” René giggled as she showed Frenchy something on her phone. It was a photo of a kid in a bucket holding a sponge and a slice of watermelon, with white text that read “Free Lil Onion”. Frenchy snorted a little at the image, and came back down to earth. “So, my brother’s coming, too. Are you okay with that?” René asked with a sigh. “Yeah, I don’t mind. He can hang out with Flash or whatever.” Frenchy smiled as René laughed, hiding her concern.

The bus stopped, and the four went to the Hercules household. The living room was a bit messy, and there was a smelly old man watching TV. “Gramps! We’re home!” Flash shouted before walking to the kitchen. The old man said nothing, and the girls went upstairs. Squeezit approached Flash, his footsteps almost silent save for a soft pit-pat as he walked to the counter. “Flash, was it?” Squeezit asked as Flash was putting a slice of bread into the toaster. A chill ran down Flash’s spine. “Y... Yeah, what’s it to ya?” He said with a growl. “Nothing much. Did you finish the homework yet?” Squeezit asked. “What the hell are you even doing here?” Flash demanded, almost snarling. “Jeez, I’m just trying to start conversation. I’m not gonna bite you or something.” Squeezit rolled his eyes as he hopped onto the counter and sat down. Flash didn’t say anything and just took some peanut butter out of the cupboard. “So, have you heard about what happened before you moved in?” Squeezit asked, tilting his head. “The drug dealer? What about him?” Flash took the toast and put it on a plate. “That story always freaked me out.” Squeezit confessed, putting his hand behind his neck. Flash’s eyes widened and he stopped. “Seriously? You’re such a pussy, Squeezit! He was high off his fuckin’ mind!” Flash barked in such a way that made Squeezit jolt. “Well, I guess, but what if it’s real? My sister used to break in to try and find the door.” He refuted.

The girls could be heard walking downstairs, and Squeezit started to sweat. “Don’t worry, I’ll stay with you!” René could be heard saying to Frenchy as the floorboards creaked. They passed the kitchen as their brothers watched with a confused look. Flash took a bite of his snack and put it back down on the plate. “What are you trying here, Squeezit?” Flash inquired, his brow furrowed. The dark-haired boy got off the countertop and took Flash by the wrist, dragging him to the basement door.

The two walked down, slowly and quietly. Squeezit’s face was stone cold, but Flash’s eyes widened. His jaw dropped at the concerning sight. They saw the girls standing in front of what resembled a mouth, with blinding light pouring from it. A gust of chilly wind made even Frenchy’s well-tighten dress fly back a little. “Are you scared?” René shouted over the wind. Frenchy nodded her head, and her friend took her hand. “I’ll keep you safe.” She assured. They stepped through the gate, and were gone. Without hesitation, Flash ran down to look at the gate, with Squeezit by his side. They stood still, and Flash turned to face cried. “What are you doing? We have to follow them!” He cried out to his neighbor. “I know René will be fine, b-but...” Squeezit stammered. “Enough!” Flash yelled out as he tackled the other boy, pushing both of them in.

The gate throttled and shook them through a series of dark tunnels and tubes. Sometimes it felt wet, sometimes it felt dry. Finally, they fell through a trap door in the ground, or maybe it was the ceiling? The room they found themselves in had doors on every wall, with a variety of patterns and designs on them. The two had landed on an old mattress covered in soft pillows, but that wasn’t the only thing in the room. René and Frenchy were sitting at a small round table, drinking from tea cups with the logo for something called the ‘Nightmare Factory’ on them. “Flash! Q-Z!” Frenchy cried in surprise, almost dropping her cup. Squeezit slowly got up, but was too hazy to realize the girls had left, laughing away.

The door they went through led to an open space, with a single orange street lamp illuminating the area. The amount of light pollution, however, made the cloudy sky a dark yellow color. Before the girls started walking, they heard the sound of a car, and immediately hid, behind a quite short boulder. The car was a white classic style with a gold hood ornament, and the yellow headlights shone on the black street lamp. It stopped, and two people got out from the same side. One of them was a tall woman with long blond hair, a silver headband, and a white jacket. She was wearing heels with fishnets, and was carrying something long. Her cheeks were rosy and she had a pleasant shade of red lipstick on. The look on her face was relaxed, and almost a little sleepy. However, she spoke with normal energy. The other person was a red-haired man in white dress pants that cut off at his ankles, revealing some garters which held up black socks that contrasted white tap shoes. He had a dark-colored tank top with red suspenders, but his outfit was the least strange part about him. He had ivory white horns, and a long white tail with an arrow-like point at the end. He wore white gloves, and was caressing the woman’s hand in his own. He had a devilish grin, and finally said something. “Can’t you stay longer, darling? It’s lonely in hell.” He purred. The woman chuckled. “You have Shaggo, you’re fine!” She said as a cat jumped into the man’s arms. Without warning, René stood up. The man got down to hide behind the car, and the woman, revealing she had a shotgun, pointed at the other girl.

“Hey! Lucy, calm down, it’s me!”