Post by The Legion on Jan 10, 2021 18:09:04 GMT -6
cw: mild drug use (weed, unnamed drugs are also mentioned)
"The Legion...I like it."
Julie sometimes drew people in the small coffee shop near her house, it never helped cure the small itch for something outside of normalcy... until today.
Today there was someone new, someone she'd never seen before. She just knew he wasn't from Ormond.
It was the most excited she'd been to draw someone in awhile, the way his eyes drooped, the cut of his cheekbones...The freshly shaved stubble growing back too fast, the hair in his face that almost seemed perfectly placed. Ordering a hot chocolate, above all of that. It was...Almost endearing.
She looked down for just a moment, and when she glanced back up he was gone. Her heart sank, she knew she wouldn't have approached him but... Maybe, just maybe.
Still, she didn't have a chance now and she went to drawing from memory.
Until a voice came from behind her, startling her. "You an artist?"
"Something of one," Julie spoke softly.
He snorted, and looked down at her sketchbook. "That me?"
Julie felt heat rush up her back, there was no denying it. He just looked so...So carefree, fun... Rebellious. Not like any friend she'd ever had, or any person she'd met. Everyone stuck to the status quo, didn't push boundaries, break real rules.
"It's alright, you can say yes. Here," He put his foot on the stool, and modelled in an exaggerated pose that he could only hold for a few moments. "That enough to draw from?" Her laugh was a treat to him, he would do so much to hear it again.
Then, there was some banter between the both, Frank, his name as she'd learned, had a lot to say about how bullshit school was, how the system fucked everyone over one way or another, how hard it was to keep a job because everyone was devalued so much, and making money was the number one point.
A moment of silence passes between the two, before Julie closes her sketchbook. "You know, thinking about jobs, and all of that... I was going to throw my friend, Joey, a 'sorry-you-lost-your-job, better-luck-next-time' party. Wanna come?"
Franks laughter made Julie melt, it was so genuine. "Yeah, sure. Joey sounds cool, I can't blame him for not keeping a job. You know how much programming has to be done to make a human able to work a 9-5?"
Frank continued his proselytizing. Joey was going to love him, she knew that much since she already did.
Julie had thought about him every day for the last week. Her parents were out of town.
"Juliana, you'll be good while we're out, won't you sugarplum? We'll be back as soon as possible."
She'd even spent time researching, and looking up the things that he talked about — how education had been corrupted for the industrial revolution, and education was mainly pointed towards everyone working assembly-line jobs. Nothing changed.
Brushing that thought away, she scampered up to Joey, who put his arm over her shoulder.
Brushing that thought away, she scampered up to Joey, who put his arm over her shoulder.
"Big turnout for little ol' me? Jules, you shouldn't have." She didn't immediately answer, and Joey noticed the way that she was scanning for the room. "You got a hit man on you or something? You're acting awfully weird," Snapping out of it when she was nudged, she burst out in laughter.
"I should have, you're my friend. Maybe someone here has a few odd jobs for you... And I'm alright, I promise. I just... Invited someone and I think he's going to be a no-show." Insecurities bubbled up. Maybe he didn't feel the same spark that she did, the same connection. She felt like she was his intellectual equal, and it was nice. Joey was more of a goofball, smart, but he didn't care to talk about philosophy, or science and arts. He would, but he didn't get so into it.
"That's alright, if he doesn't show up you've still got me," His words made her smile, and finally stop scanning the room.
"Yeah, fuck that guy if he doesn't show." She resolved, comforted by knowing that Joey would still be there, and that the world wouldn't fall apart if Frank never came. Maybe he was busy, maybe his cat was stuck in a tree...
"Fuck what guy?" A third voice joined in, Julie turned around to see Frank, and a short girl with a dyed blue pixie cut, who didn't seem like she wanted to be there. The way she fidgetted with the sleeves of her jacket, and how young she looked. She couldn't be older than 13, Julie thought.
"You, I think, my friend," Joey interjected, teasing. Julie hit his arm in a playful manner, to stop him from saying shit like that.
"It's nice to see you, Frank. I'm glad you came..." She lingered on that feeling for a moment, cherishing how different it felt from every other thing in her life. "And this is Joey, that friend who got recently fired."
"Hey, c'mon Jules that's such a shitty way to introduce someone," There was no malice behind his words as he laughed, holding his hand out to Frank to shake in a friendly gesture.
"Good to meet you man, Julie had nothing but good things to say about you," Shaking the others hand, and patting him on the shoulder. "I brought party favors," Holding up a plastic bag, gently shaking it. Alcohol and drugs.
"Who's your friend?" Joey tilted his head down to the girl who'd been silent as the dead, keeping her arms crossed tight. Not very personable. She didn't even want to BE here.
"Oh, this is my younger sister Susie." He put his hand on her back in a gentle manner, in an attempt to get her to pay attention to the situation.
She zoned in, just to smile and tilt her head politely as a 'hello' gesture. She hated this scene, yet Frank continued to bring her to them.
She zoned in, just to smile and tilt her head politely as a 'hello' gesture. She hated this scene, yet Frank continued to bring her to them.
Hours, and hours pass as the four get to know each other. Susie comes out of her shell, Joey and Frank get along as well as Julie could have hoped. There was a long point where Frank and Julie snuck off into her room, this was where he learned about her love of horror, and true crime. The Friday the 13th poster probably being the dead giveaway.
It didn't take long of talking about serial killers with Frank, before she got an idea. Sitting up on her knees, "Frank, there's an old Ormond folktale," or at least someday there will be, "The Soldiers of Mayhem. They reside in the old ski lodge that's been abandoned for five or six winters now... They wreak havoc on the unsuspecting sheep of Ormond, every night they made people think, and want to live better lives."
"C'mon, that's bullshit." Frank laughed from his position on the girls bed, his hands resting comfortably under his head. "Nothin' happened in this resort. Bad business, and bankruptcy maybe."
"It's a story from the future, Frankie. We can make it a reality." Julie's words were serious, it showed in her eyes. There was a sparkle of something, of belief, longing. She wanted him by her side if this was ever to be a reality.
If Frank had to wax poetic about how she looked in this moment, he could rival Shakespeare, and every other writer. It made him want to follow her where ever she went, whatever she chose to do. He would be by her side, if she'd let him.
"I like the idea, Jules." He leaned up to hold her sides, "But... I hate the name"
Julie shrugged, laughing. "It's a work in progress."
"Person to steal the most emblems wins," Julie proposed, her hands on Franks chest. They'd made their way under his jacket, touching his warm shirt. It was a nice feeling, in contrast to the temperature that had started dropping significantly as of late.
"What do I win?" Frank challenged, a grin on his face.
"Whatever you want."
There was a stolen kiss in the cold, before the two ran off. Both of them counted down the time before rendezvoused with their bounty.
Susie liked music, it was one of her favourite things. There weren't a lot of things that were allowed to be just hers anymore. Now she had friends. Well... "Friends", the Marauders of Mayhem, what a stupid ass name... Now that she had friends, she wanted to share her interests with them. It wasn't something she ever did before, especially not with Frank. He mocked her for her music taste, but she knew what he liked.
She would impress Frank this way, Julie and Joey too. She stood in her favourite music store. She wouldn't be buyin' anything, but the boy who was barely older than her behind the counter never minded.
"Heya, Suze," He greeted the blue-haired girl. It made her smile to hear her own name, to be acknowledged. It was rarer and rarer.
"Hey Jeff!" She chirped back, bounding over to the box of vinyl records,
"How's your old man?" The dreaded question. Jeff knew her father, and how he presented himself to Ormond — A businessman who took care of his kids. It was bullshit, but Susie would never dare to tell anyone differently if they didn't already know.
"Haha, ohh... You know, he's over in like. Uh... The States right now," She shrugged, rolling her eyes. "He didn't tell me which one." She didn't know any of the states, so that was a horrible lie.
Jeff let silence fall over the room, going back to sorting cassette tapes, making sure everything was turned and facing the right way.
She wondered if he knew the truth, maybe he just pitied her...
No, no. It didn't matter if he did, or not. She was here on a mission, she had to find music that all of her new friends like, to make them tapes. Gifts were usually something that friends gave each other, right? It would be a Ski Lodge Warming gift!
Julie was the easiest to look for, her favourite song was every rose has it's thorn by poison... If she kept that vibe, it would be easy to come up with a list of five. That was her goal, five songs per tape for her friends.
Of course the lodge had to be the place that the Soldiers of Mayhem made their home base — it needed some love, and truthfully it was the only exciting place in Ormond.
Julie looks around the space, they'd brought some stuff from her house, mementos really. Stop signs, that when Joey brought them out of his car she laughed, reminding them of how they got that specific one — they'd stolen it because of the D.A.R.E. stickers on it. From then, Joey and Susie stole a few more, engineering a few more accidents.
"Oh, hey. Speaking of accidents. I got a new job," Joey announced, almost proud of himself.
"How long do you think it'll last this time?" Frank teased, grabbing blankets out of Joey's car, and the firewood had been stored inside. "I'm betting less than a month. $50 on the table."
Joey gave him the middle finger, laughing. "Low blow, dude. I have a good feeling about this one."
They continued to set up the lodge, their new secret meeting place that would eventually become more like home than their actual houses. Especially for the Morrisons.
Susie made a few things to string around the lodge, making Joey help her do that. It was nice, to have friends, to decorate her own space. Her and Frank's dad didn't really like that she hung up her posters, and so she'd stopped buying them with the little allowance she got, the very few times he was home, lucid, and sober to treat her like a real teenager. She also made a little money on the side, helping out neighbors, and that kind of thing. Frank disapproved of it, saying it 'put her in danger'. What did he care?
"Ooh! Julie, where are those car emblems you and Frank got?"
"Frank has them, I think."
Joey hung the stop signs up, and helped Susie and Julie place the emblems in an 'aesthetically pleasing way'.
"Let's head out to get some more things, we don't have enough to live comfortably," Frank suggested, nonchalantly. "I know a few houses we can hit, and we need to stop by Joey's hardware store." That'd be the easiest, since he had a key.
"Uh... Yeah, sure." Checking his watch, "He goes on break in like an hour, so if we want to make it there we'll have to be quick."
"Quick is my specialty," Frank offered, with an exaggerated bow and a laugh.
Now that the decorating was all done, they bundled up in stolen blankets, on the couches that Frank had done his best to clean off.
"I think we need costumes, like... Superheroes!" Susie suggested, amidst their conversation of their previous crimes.
"We trying to be famous?" Joey criticizes, not that he minds. He didn't really care what their goal was, he was with friends and had fun.
"Why not?" Julie was serious. Maybe this is what she had been waiting for, for someone else in the group to suggest something. She'd still been ruminating on the Soldiers of Mayhem. "No one ever got famous with petty theft and arson, though... 'The Marauders of Mayhem commit arson, and petty theft' definitely wouldn't win us any awards,"
"Eh, "the Marauders of Mayhem"? It's a little tough on the tongue, Jules." He shot her down, once again. "Need something...Snappier."
"Just 'Marauders'?" Susie offered.
Joey laughed, "What, is this a Marvel comic now? Where's Sabretooth? I dunno, I love the whole thing. It's catchy, in it's own way"
"Anyway...I agree with Frank, Joey. It's a mouthful, no fun to say." Susie shrugs, shaking her head.
"My point is... Maybe we should do something real." Julie's voice was soft, serious. When Frank leans in to speak, "What does that mean? Something real?" She looks away. She doesn't know what she's thinking, but she wants to feel a thrill. Like she's read about, like she's seen in movies. She wants to be something grand, larger than life.
A grin crossed Frank's face before he spoke again, "Could you kill someone, Juliana?"
She takes a second to think, "I could," came her easy reply. Frank offers a skeptical glance, gauging her words. There was no doubt, maybe it'd driven her determination, or maybe she was reconsidering.
"I don't think I really could." He admitted.
Julie laughed, leaning in. "Not even for me?" Julie teased, a faux pout on her face.
"Not even for you, Jules. Would you kill for me?" Mimicking her actions from a moment ago, putting on puppy-dog eyes.
"Never." The same bullshitted answer as him. Of course, if it came to it, they would all kill for each other, Julie hoped.
""Not even for me?" "Not even for you."" Frank parroted, laughing at the conversation, rolling his eyes. As if it wasn't serious, as if she didn't mean doing something more 'real'.
Julie was the happiest she'd ever been, and maybe ever would be. She felt free, she felt like she could burn down all of Ormond. Frank made her believe she could, it would all be so easy.
Now, the four best of friends sat around a small fire burning in the ski lodge. Julie looked between the group — Frank looked more of an adult now, fresh faced and twenty. Joey grew his hair out, braided it himself too. He started to grow facial hair, and it was coming in nice. His new style was a wicked amount of eyeliner. It suited him, though. And Susie grew her hair out, dyed it pink now. It was the most consistent she'd been with a hair cut since Julie first met her.
Julie's thoughts were cut off by a beep-be-beep-be-beep-beep-beep. Joey's work pager.
"Huh. 911. Guess something happened. I gotta head out for a little bit." He nodded his head, getting up. "Hope you guys don't need to leave the lodge for a few hours," He teased, since he was the only one that had a car. He drove the most, anyway. Julie had a car that went unused. Likely, now, it was broke down and would need repairs to function again.
Frank had brought a little somethin' for all of them to share. It wasn't long until they all were spouting bullshit, and Julie most of all. It was talking about all of the friends she used to have, the friends she ditched. How mindless they were, they only had one or two things on their mind. None of them mattered.
"We should go on a snack run, I'm hungry." Susie whined, "We don't have anything here," She was hungry and sleepy, now. She wanted to go home, but she knew that Frank wouldn't say yes so she didn't ask.
"They're already closed, Suze. And Joey left, so we can't go anywhere anyway," She brushed the younger girl off. Of course, the now-sixteen year old pouted.
Julie and Frank spouted bullshit, while Susie fell asleep. The two of them cuddled up under a blanket while they spoke about everything, and nothing. That went on for about fourty-five minutes, and truthfully time flew when it was just the two of them.
Joey slammed his way back into the ski lodge, "A fuckin' chocolate bar of all things! I don't even like dark chocolate." He scoffed, trudging over to the couch to toss himself down, startling Susie awake. He'd kept his job much longer than the other ones he had, and now he was damn good at it. All over a little accusation from some fuckin' snot-nosed little kid...He lost his job.
"Well, hey. I won the bet," Frank joked, it was kind of inconsiderate of him to do so but he had hoped it'd offer a distraction. A month was the cutoff, and Joey was just short of that.
"Shut the hell up, Frank," Joey groaned, getting up to pace around hysterically. He felt like he was doing good for once. He was happy with his job, his boss was fuckin' cool.
There was a long few moments of tense silence, and Joey pacing before Julie got fed up.
She stood up in a fit of impassioned anger, "Why don't we get them back, tomorrow night. Let's break into the store! Get some supplies, and light the whole place on fire and let Ormond feel the wrath of The Legion."
Joey's pacing stops, and everything comes to a freeze when they near the name.
A grin spreads across Frank's face, "I like it. I like it a lot."
Julie rushes to a duffel bag that she'd hidden as 'decoration', four bland, generic masks. She tossed them to everyone. "Then the only things we'll need now are real masks, but these will do."
It was a few hours before they set out, preparing themselves for nightfall, for when Joey's boss was sure to be asleep. He didn't want anyone harmed, just property damage.
The drive to the hardware store was a tense one, now. Tense, and anxious bursting from Susie. She didn't want to be here, she'd tried to tell Frank to drop her off at home. Her pleas were ignored, as usual.
They all got out of the car a little bit away from the store.
Silently, Julie knew they were a picturesque sight. Masquerading in the moonlight, on their way to cause problems, show some sheep their place after fucking with the Legion. She wished she had her camera.
They slid their masks on, "Alright. This'll be easy. Joey, Frank, you two go into the back and see what you can fuck up. I'll mess up the shelves, and Susie can be lookout, or help me. Whatever she wants."
They nodded, "I'll help," Susie offered, forcing her voice not to waiver. It did, anyway.
They started the walk down the hill, and Susie couldn't force her feet to move. This wasn't right. It was different, now. Personal. Before it was just...an empty theatre, a few stolen stop signs that caused minor crashes where no one got hurt, car emblems that most people wouldn't even miss! She fidgeted with the friendship bracelet that was around her wrist, it read 'J.F.S.J.', Julie and Frank had told her to take it off as it would be 'identifiable, if anyone saw it'. She didn't listen, though. "Wait, wait wait wait wait..." Susie rushed down, grabbing Frank's arm. "Is what we're doing wrong?" Why did it take her until now to realize? In hindsight, all of what they'd done was so fucked up.
"No, Suze. C'mon. It's nothing any different than before." Frank tried to sooth his sister, breaking her grasp and putting his hand on the back of her head, rubbing his thumb against her hair. "We're doing what The Legion has always done."
There was still a pit in her stomach, that made her feel so sick. "Alright." She swallowed hard, following the other three into the hardware store. Splitting up as soon as they got into the building, the beginning of their plan was in place. Susie changed her mind, and kept lookout, hugging herself.
Everyone kept the plan otherwise, Julie started looking at shit, and knocking it off the shelves. She'd grabbed spray paint and started attempting to empty the bottle by spraying it over the display.
Joey, and Frank went for the files. Frank took them out, read a few words as if he was performing a play before tossing it in the air like confetti. "Makes you feel alive, doesn't it?" He laughed, keeping his voice and laughter hushed.
They hadn't explored the rest of the place, there was nothing they wanted, or needed there. It was just boxes, and gallons of paint. Unimportant, as deemed by Joey.
"Time for the cash register, I found this." Julie held up a crowbar, handing it towards Joey. "Do you want to do the honors?" No reason not to steal some cash, they'd need it.
A janitor had stayed late, to get his work done. There was an unusal rattling, that he heard over his ear buds... He peeked out to check, and saw four masked assailants. Robbing the cash register. Fear rushed through him, but he had to do something. Call the cops. Grab one of them, do something, Georg.
The nearest one to him had their back to me, red plaid on their jacket. He rushed towards her, putting her in a head lock. "What are you all doing here?" His voice didn't shake as Julie fought him, he was much stronger than her though. It was a fight he'd surely win. "Answer me, God damn it!" He yelled.
"What does it look like, Old Man?" Joey shot back, modifying his voice. He knew the man in front of him. They worked together. It caused a pang of guilt, for the first time, to stir inside of him. Georg was a good man, had a wife and a few foster dogs.
Georg, about to speak, lost the chance as immediately as Frank snuck up behind him. Joey felt fear, seeing the glint of silver in Frank's hand. Frank had been taken over by an unspeakable bloodlust, that had been building for months, years even. Seeing Julie in harm brought it out of him. He wouldn't live with himself if she got hurt, when she was finally free from the ideals of society, when she was so close to her ideal self. He couldn't let it happen — he wouldn't.
Frank allowed himself to be taken over by the bloodlust, and he stabbed the janitor, dropping him to the ground. Julie gasped for air, holding her throat. Everyone stared at Frank, in awe and fear.
"Well," Frank spat, a darkness in his eyes that none of the Legion had seen before. Julie, personally, loved it. Joey was so wrapped up in the moment that he couldn't form a complex emotion past shock. And Susie...Poor Susie. She was horrified. It took everything for her not to scream, pressing against the mouth of her mask.
"Finish him." He held the handle of the now-bloodied blade to Julie, once she recovered. She took it, stabbing the janitor twice with no qualms. This is what she wanted, something real. Something that made an impact. What other serial killer did that? Made a point, didn't just do it for their own sexual deviancy? The knife was passed to Joey, who stared down at his ex co-worker. He dodged eye contact, and followed through.
Julie looked between Joey and Susie.
"No, no nononono..." Susie cried, hiccuping. Julie reached for her wrist, but Susie quickly wrenched it away. "Don't TOUCH me." The pain in her voice could have made even the most black-hearted person feel her hurt. "What the fuck? This was a lesson, not- Not m-" She cut herself off, tears dripped from under her mask into her hands.
"You have to finish what we started, Susie," Julie said softly, as if she was trying to coax a child to eat cauliflower, or brussel sprouts.
"No! No, no no no. I won't, I won't do it!" She tried, but Julie reached for her arm and her reflexes were too slow this time. She felt the blood on her wrist, coating the bracelet and the sleeve of her jacket. She sobbed as the knife was put into her hand.
"Come on, Susie. We can get him into the car, and go home once you do." She was bargaining now. It took her guiding Susie to the man who's breathing was so laboured now, that it was any second before it stopped. She let Susie plunge the knife in, using gravity to her advantage. Susie pulled away as fast as she could, hiccupping, and hugging herself. "I want to go home, now." Susie said softly, staring down at the knife that she had left, because she didn't want to cause more damage.
Julie wiped a smile onto Frank's mask in a silent gesture of binding the four of them together. They couldn't be separated now.
Frank and Joey loaded the body into his trunk, being sure to keep him on the tarp that Julie had set down. Susie was sat in the snow crying, her mask in the snow. She used her unbloodied sleeve to wipe her tears.
Her mask was left abandoned when Joey called for her, telling her to get in the car. She sat as far away from Julie as she physically could, to the point of causing herself pain by pushing herself into the car door.
It was a silent car ride home, the energy was mixed. Half part was invigorated, and relieved... The other? Angry, and hurt.
"We can dump him outside the lodge, no one goes up there anymore except hunters. It'll look like he got lost." Frank offered quietly, looking ahead.
"Gotcha." Joey responded, taking an earlier turn so he'd get to the further outskirts of the Mt. Ormond Resort.
They parked the car a ways away from where they wanted to drop the body, all four of them walking together.
"Here's fine, no way anyone will find him until winter's over." Joey nodded, and so they all walked back.
Frank got ahead of the rest, and snow started coming down.
"Damn, a snowstorm... Where did Frank go?" Joey looked around him, for Susie and Julie... Neither of them to be found.
Susie had trailed behind, still wishing this wasn't real. This walk was longer than she remembered, "Julie? Joey?" She called out, silence returned... "Frank?"
"Hello?"
There were no more footprints in front of her, footprints where Joey's should have been, Julie's...
She walked until night time, but oddly enough she wasn't cold anymore. It didn't feel like there was any temperature, even though it was very clearly snowing hard.
If Frank had to wax poetic about how she looked in this moment, he could rival Shakespeare, and every other writer. It made him want to follow her where ever she went, whatever she chose to do. He would be by her side, if she'd let him.
"I like the idea, Jules." He leaned up to hold her sides, "But... I hate the name"
Julie shrugged, laughing. "It's a work in progress."
"Person to steal the most emblems wins," Julie proposed, her hands on Franks chest. They'd made their way under his jacket, touching his warm shirt. It was a nice feeling, in contrast to the temperature that had started dropping significantly as of late.
"What do I win?" Frank challenged, a grin on his face.
"Whatever you want."
There was a stolen kiss in the cold, before the two ran off. Both of them counted down the time before rendezvoused with their bounty.
Susie liked music, it was one of her favourite things. There weren't a lot of things that were allowed to be just hers anymore. Now she had friends. Well... "Friends", the Marauders of Mayhem, what a stupid ass name... Now that she had friends, she wanted to share her interests with them. It wasn't something she ever did before, especially not with Frank. He mocked her for her music taste, but she knew what he liked.
She would impress Frank this way, Julie and Joey too. She stood in her favourite music store. She wouldn't be buyin' anything, but the boy who was barely older than her behind the counter never minded.
"Heya, Suze," He greeted the blue-haired girl. It made her smile to hear her own name, to be acknowledged. It was rarer and rarer.
"Hey Jeff!" She chirped back, bounding over to the box of vinyl records,
"How's your old man?" The dreaded question. Jeff knew her father, and how he presented himself to Ormond — A businessman who took care of his kids. It was bullshit, but Susie would never dare to tell anyone differently if they didn't already know.
"Haha, ohh... You know, he's over in like. Uh... The States right now," She shrugged, rolling her eyes. "He didn't tell me which one." She didn't know any of the states, so that was a horrible lie.
Jeff let silence fall over the room, going back to sorting cassette tapes, making sure everything was turned and facing the right way.
She wondered if he knew the truth, maybe he just pitied her...
No, no. It didn't matter if he did, or not. She was here on a mission, she had to find music that all of her new friends like, to make them tapes. Gifts were usually something that friends gave each other, right? It would be a Ski Lodge Warming gift!
Julie was the easiest to look for, her favourite song was every rose has it's thorn by poison... If she kept that vibe, it would be easy to come up with a list of five. That was her goal, five songs per tape for her friends.
Of course the lodge had to be the place that the Soldiers of Mayhem made their home base — it needed some love, and truthfully it was the only exciting place in Ormond.
Julie looks around the space, they'd brought some stuff from her house, mementos really. Stop signs, that when Joey brought them out of his car she laughed, reminding them of how they got that specific one — they'd stolen it because of the D.A.R.E. stickers on it. From then, Joey and Susie stole a few more, engineering a few more accidents.
"Oh, hey. Speaking of accidents. I got a new job," Joey announced, almost proud of himself.
"How long do you think it'll last this time?" Frank teased, grabbing blankets out of Joey's car, and the firewood had been stored inside. "I'm betting less than a month. $50 on the table."
Joey gave him the middle finger, laughing. "Low blow, dude. I have a good feeling about this one."
They continued to set up the lodge, their new secret meeting place that would eventually become more like home than their actual houses. Especially for the Morrisons.
Susie made a few things to string around the lodge, making Joey help her do that. It was nice, to have friends, to decorate her own space. Her and Frank's dad didn't really like that she hung up her posters, and so she'd stopped buying them with the little allowance she got, the very few times he was home, lucid, and sober to treat her like a real teenager. She also made a little money on the side, helping out neighbors, and that kind of thing. Frank disapproved of it, saying it 'put her in danger'. What did he care?
"Ooh! Julie, where are those car emblems you and Frank got?"
"Frank has them, I think."
Joey hung the stop signs up, and helped Susie and Julie place the emblems in an 'aesthetically pleasing way'.
"Let's head out to get some more things, we don't have enough to live comfortably," Frank suggested, nonchalantly. "I know a few houses we can hit, and we need to stop by Joey's hardware store." That'd be the easiest, since he had a key.
"Uh... Yeah, sure." Checking his watch, "He goes on break in like an hour, so if we want to make it there we'll have to be quick."
"Quick is my specialty," Frank offered, with an exaggerated bow and a laugh.
...
Frank picked the lock easily, he'd scouted and made sure the house wasn't occupied. He hit the door gently so the jiggle of the one last pin against Susie's bobby pin clicked into place, and the door swung open. "Alright, ladies first." He rose his eyebrows at his sister, who looked like she was going to drop dead. She was so pale. Still, she stepped in the house first, it was really, really nice... How could they take any of this stuff?
Frank, obviously didn't have the same idea. He started grabbing the blankets on the couch, that were likely just decoration but looked unbelievably comfortable and warm... He grabbed the toaster, a few pans, and cutlery. He roamed through the bedrooms, grabbing things at his leisure. Susie touched none of it, but every thing that she comments about, Frank makes sure to go back and grab without her seeing.
Frank, obviously didn't have the same idea. He started grabbing the blankets on the couch, that were likely just decoration but looked unbelievably comfortable and warm... He grabbed the toaster, a few pans, and cutlery. He roamed through the bedrooms, grabbing things at his leisure. Susie touched none of it, but every thing that she comments about, Frank makes sure to go back and grab without her seeing.
Meanwhile, "What color paint do you think, Joey? Grey? Grey-blue..." She hummed, meanwhile Joey was keeping an uncomfortable watch.
"Julie, you gotta be quicker in picking... We have like, five minutes until he gets back from his break." Joey paced around her.
"Well, help me pick and I'll be faster." She snorted, going back and forth between the paint samples that corresponded with the brand she was looking at.
They ended on a nice 'off-lilac', Julie had called it. Pretentious, was what Joey thought.
Meeting back down the street from the house that Susie and Frank raided, they got into Joey's car and headed back to the cabin.
"Well, help me pick and I'll be faster." She snorted, going back and forth between the paint samples that corresponded with the brand she was looking at.
They ended on a nice 'off-lilac', Julie had called it. Pretentious, was what Joey thought.
Meeting back down the street from the house that Susie and Frank raided, they got into Joey's car and headed back to the cabin.
Now that the decorating was all done, they bundled up in stolen blankets, on the couches that Frank had done his best to clean off.
"I think we need costumes, like... Superheroes!" Susie suggested, amidst their conversation of their previous crimes.
"We trying to be famous?" Joey criticizes, not that he minds. He didn't really care what their goal was, he was with friends and had fun.
"Why not?" Julie was serious. Maybe this is what she had been waiting for, for someone else in the group to suggest something. She'd still been ruminating on the Soldiers of Mayhem. "No one ever got famous with petty theft and arson, though... 'The Marauders of Mayhem commit arson, and petty theft' definitely wouldn't win us any awards,"
"Eh, "the Marauders of Mayhem"? It's a little tough on the tongue, Jules." He shot her down, once again. "Need something...Snappier."
"Just 'Marauders'?" Susie offered.
Joey laughed, "What, is this a Marvel comic now? Where's Sabretooth? I dunno, I love the whole thing. It's catchy, in it's own way"
"Anyway...I agree with Frank, Joey. It's a mouthful, no fun to say." Susie shrugs, shaking her head.
"My point is... Maybe we should do something real." Julie's voice was soft, serious. When Frank leans in to speak, "What does that mean? Something real?" She looks away. She doesn't know what she's thinking, but she wants to feel a thrill. Like she's read about, like she's seen in movies. She wants to be something grand, larger than life.
A grin crossed Frank's face before he spoke again, "Could you kill someone, Juliana?"
She takes a second to think, "I could," came her easy reply. Frank offers a skeptical glance, gauging her words. There was no doubt, maybe it'd driven her determination, or maybe she was reconsidering.
"I don't think I really could." He admitted.
Julie laughed, leaning in. "Not even for me?" Julie teased, a faux pout on her face.
"Not even for you, Jules. Would you kill for me?" Mimicking her actions from a moment ago, putting on puppy-dog eyes.
"Never." The same bullshitted answer as him. Of course, if it came to it, they would all kill for each other, Julie hoped.
""Not even for me?" "Not even for you."" Frank parroted, laughing at the conversation, rolling his eyes. As if it wasn't serious, as if she didn't mean doing something more 'real'.
Julie was the happiest she'd ever been, and maybe ever would be. She felt free, she felt like she could burn down all of Ormond. Frank made her believe she could, it would all be so easy.
Now, the four best of friends sat around a small fire burning in the ski lodge. Julie looked between the group — Frank looked more of an adult now, fresh faced and twenty. Joey grew his hair out, braided it himself too. He started to grow facial hair, and it was coming in nice. His new style was a wicked amount of eyeliner. It suited him, though. And Susie grew her hair out, dyed it pink now. It was the most consistent she'd been with a hair cut since Julie first met her.
Julie's thoughts were cut off by a beep-be-beep-be-beep-beep-beep. Joey's work pager.
"Huh. 911. Guess something happened. I gotta head out for a little bit." He nodded his head, getting up. "Hope you guys don't need to leave the lodge for a few hours," He teased, since he was the only one that had a car. He drove the most, anyway. Julie had a car that went unused. Likely, now, it was broke down and would need repairs to function again.
Frank had brought a little somethin' for all of them to share. It wasn't long until they all were spouting bullshit, and Julie most of all. It was talking about all of the friends she used to have, the friends she ditched. How mindless they were, they only had one or two things on their mind. None of them mattered.
"We should go on a snack run, I'm hungry." Susie whined, "We don't have anything here," She was hungry and sleepy, now. She wanted to go home, but she knew that Frank wouldn't say yes so she didn't ask.
"They're already closed, Suze. And Joey left, so we can't go anywhere anyway," She brushed the younger girl off. Of course, the now-sixteen year old pouted.
Julie and Frank spouted bullshit, while Susie fell asleep. The two of them cuddled up under a blanket while they spoke about everything, and nothing. That went on for about fourty-five minutes, and truthfully time flew when it was just the two of them.
Joey slammed his way back into the ski lodge, "A fuckin' chocolate bar of all things! I don't even like dark chocolate." He scoffed, trudging over to the couch to toss himself down, startling Susie awake. He'd kept his job much longer than the other ones he had, and now he was damn good at it. All over a little accusation from some fuckin' snot-nosed little kid...He lost his job.
"Well, hey. I won the bet," Frank joked, it was kind of inconsiderate of him to do so but he had hoped it'd offer a distraction. A month was the cutoff, and Joey was just short of that.
"Shut the hell up, Frank," Joey groaned, getting up to pace around hysterically. He felt like he was doing good for once. He was happy with his job, his boss was fuckin' cool.
There was a long few moments of tense silence, and Joey pacing before Julie got fed up.
She stood up in a fit of impassioned anger, "Why don't we get them back, tomorrow night. Let's break into the store! Get some supplies, and light the whole place on fire and let Ormond feel the wrath of The Legion."
Joey's pacing stops, and everything comes to a freeze when they near the name.
A grin spreads across Frank's face, "I like it. I like it a lot."
Julie rushes to a duffel bag that she'd hidden as 'decoration', four bland, generic masks. She tossed them to everyone. "Then the only things we'll need now are real masks, but these will do."
It was a few hours before they set out, preparing themselves for nightfall, for when Joey's boss was sure to be asleep. He didn't want anyone harmed, just property damage.
The drive to the hardware store was a tense one, now. Tense, and anxious bursting from Susie. She didn't want to be here, she'd tried to tell Frank to drop her off at home. Her pleas were ignored, as usual.
They all got out of the car a little bit away from the store.
Silently, Julie knew they were a picturesque sight. Masquerading in the moonlight, on their way to cause problems, show some sheep their place after fucking with the Legion. She wished she had her camera.
They slid their masks on, "Alright. This'll be easy. Joey, Frank, you two go into the back and see what you can fuck up. I'll mess up the shelves, and Susie can be lookout, or help me. Whatever she wants."
They nodded, "I'll help," Susie offered, forcing her voice not to waiver. It did, anyway.
They started the walk down the hill, and Susie couldn't force her feet to move. This wasn't right. It was different, now. Personal. Before it was just...an empty theatre, a few stolen stop signs that caused minor crashes where no one got hurt, car emblems that most people wouldn't even miss! She fidgeted with the friendship bracelet that was around her wrist, it read 'J.F.S.J.', Julie and Frank had told her to take it off as it would be 'identifiable, if anyone saw it'. She didn't listen, though. "Wait, wait wait wait wait..." Susie rushed down, grabbing Frank's arm. "Is what we're doing wrong?" Why did it take her until now to realize? In hindsight, all of what they'd done was so fucked up.
"No, Suze. C'mon. It's nothing any different than before." Frank tried to sooth his sister, breaking her grasp and putting his hand on the back of her head, rubbing his thumb against her hair. "We're doing what The Legion has always done."
There was still a pit in her stomach, that made her feel so sick. "Alright." She swallowed hard, following the other three into the hardware store. Splitting up as soon as they got into the building, the beginning of their plan was in place. Susie changed her mind, and kept lookout, hugging herself.
Everyone kept the plan otherwise, Julie started looking at shit, and knocking it off the shelves. She'd grabbed spray paint and started attempting to empty the bottle by spraying it over the display.
Joey, and Frank went for the files. Frank took them out, read a few words as if he was performing a play before tossing it in the air like confetti. "Makes you feel alive, doesn't it?" He laughed, keeping his voice and laughter hushed.
They hadn't explored the rest of the place, there was nothing they wanted, or needed there. It was just boxes, and gallons of paint. Unimportant, as deemed by Joey.
"Time for the cash register, I found this." Julie held up a crowbar, handing it towards Joey. "Do you want to do the honors?" No reason not to steal some cash, they'd need it.
A janitor had stayed late, to get his work done. There was an unusal rattling, that he heard over his ear buds... He peeked out to check, and saw four masked assailants. Robbing the cash register. Fear rushed through him, but he had to do something. Call the cops. Grab one of them, do something, Georg.
The nearest one to him had their back to me, red plaid on their jacket. He rushed towards her, putting her in a head lock. "What are you all doing here?" His voice didn't shake as Julie fought him, he was much stronger than her though. It was a fight he'd surely win. "Answer me, God damn it!" He yelled.
"What does it look like, Old Man?" Joey shot back, modifying his voice. He knew the man in front of him. They worked together. It caused a pang of guilt, for the first time, to stir inside of him. Georg was a good man, had a wife and a few foster dogs.
Georg, about to speak, lost the chance as immediately as Frank snuck up behind him. Joey felt fear, seeing the glint of silver in Frank's hand. Frank had been taken over by an unspeakable bloodlust, that had been building for months, years even. Seeing Julie in harm brought it out of him. He wouldn't live with himself if she got hurt, when she was finally free from the ideals of society, when she was so close to her ideal self. He couldn't let it happen — he wouldn't.
Frank allowed himself to be taken over by the bloodlust, and he stabbed the janitor, dropping him to the ground. Julie gasped for air, holding her throat. Everyone stared at Frank, in awe and fear.
"Well," Frank spat, a darkness in his eyes that none of the Legion had seen before. Julie, personally, loved it. Joey was so wrapped up in the moment that he couldn't form a complex emotion past shock. And Susie...Poor Susie. She was horrified. It took everything for her not to scream, pressing against the mouth of her mask.
"Finish him." He held the handle of the now-bloodied blade to Julie, once she recovered. She took it, stabbing the janitor twice with no qualms. This is what she wanted, something real. Something that made an impact. What other serial killer did that? Made a point, didn't just do it for their own sexual deviancy? The knife was passed to Joey, who stared down at his ex co-worker. He dodged eye contact, and followed through.
Julie looked between Joey and Susie.
"No, no nononono..." Susie cried, hiccuping. Julie reached for her wrist, but Susie quickly wrenched it away. "Don't TOUCH me." The pain in her voice could have made even the most black-hearted person feel her hurt. "What the fuck? This was a lesson, not- Not m-" She cut herself off, tears dripped from under her mask into her hands.
"You have to finish what we started, Susie," Julie said softly, as if she was trying to coax a child to eat cauliflower, or brussel sprouts.
"No! No, no no no. I won't, I won't do it!" She tried, but Julie reached for her arm and her reflexes were too slow this time. She felt the blood on her wrist, coating the bracelet and the sleeve of her jacket. She sobbed as the knife was put into her hand.
"Come on, Susie. We can get him into the car, and go home once you do." She was bargaining now. It took her guiding Susie to the man who's breathing was so laboured now, that it was any second before it stopped. She let Susie plunge the knife in, using gravity to her advantage. Susie pulled away as fast as she could, hiccupping, and hugging herself. "I want to go home, now." Susie said softly, staring down at the knife that she had left, because she didn't want to cause more damage.
Julie wiped a smile onto Frank's mask in a silent gesture of binding the four of them together. They couldn't be separated now.
Frank and Joey loaded the body into his trunk, being sure to keep him on the tarp that Julie had set down. Susie was sat in the snow crying, her mask in the snow. She used her unbloodied sleeve to wipe her tears.
Her mask was left abandoned when Joey called for her, telling her to get in the car. She sat as far away from Julie as she physically could, to the point of causing herself pain by pushing herself into the car door.
It was a silent car ride home, the energy was mixed. Half part was invigorated, and relieved... The other? Angry, and hurt.
"We can dump him outside the lodge, no one goes up there anymore except hunters. It'll look like he got lost." Frank offered quietly, looking ahead.
"Gotcha." Joey responded, taking an earlier turn so he'd get to the further outskirts of the Mt. Ormond Resort.
They parked the car a ways away from where they wanted to drop the body, all four of them walking together.
"Here's fine, no way anyone will find him until winter's over." Joey nodded, and so they all walked back.
Frank got ahead of the rest, and snow started coming down.
"Damn, a snowstorm... Where did Frank go?" Joey looked around him, for Susie and Julie... Neither of them to be found.
Susie had trailed behind, still wishing this wasn't real. This walk was longer than she remembered, "Julie? Joey?" She called out, silence returned... "Frank?"
"Hello?"
There were no more footprints in front of her, footprints where Joey's should have been, Julie's...
She walked until night time, but oddly enough she wasn't cold anymore. It didn't feel like there was any temperature, even though it was very clearly snowing hard.