Alrighty, this is the story Ive written for the soadfans fanfic challenge but I thought I could post it here as well so you can all read it
Moonlight
Sunday evening.
Diana let go a long sigh as she got aware of the fact that the weekend was almost over. Why did those two days always have to pass by so quickly? The days from Monday till Friday seemed to last forever, and when it finally was Saturday, it was not more than a glimpse until Monday morning again. Monday morning. That meant work. Diana hated work. And this weekend had been so nice and relaxing. She could have stayed at her friend’s place forever, spending days at the pool, lying in the sun and doing nothing. But unfortunately time was a bitch, and Diana had to pack her things and go on her way back home much too earyl. It was a two hours ride, damnit, why had Jennifer moved out of town into the fucking countryside where there was so much space that you could hardly see a house for miles?!
Diana yawned and rubbed her eyes. She reached out for the bottle of coke which lay on the passengers seat next to her. Maybe caffeine would help to stay awake. The sun had already set, and Diana hated driving in the darkness. Next time you should leave a little earlier, the voice inside her head said. Diana rolled her eyes. Thank you for reminding me.
Suddenly there were lights at the side of the road. Backlights of a car. A car? Right in the middle of nowhere? It only took Diana half a second to decide that she would not stop to see what was going on there. You hear about those things in the news every day. Others might be stupid enough to stop their car in the darkness in the fucking middle of nowhere, anyway, Diana was not. If the owner of the car was in trouble, it was none of her business. She would just drive by and not even look out of the window. That was all.
When she was about to pass the parked car, once again her curiosity and her mind struggled for a couple of seconds and in the end, her curiosity won. She turned her head and looked at the two persons who were standing at the side of the road, waving at her. Two guys, a tall one with short dark curls and a goatee and a smaller one with long dark hair. They seemed strangely familiar. VERY familiar. Diana stepped on the brake and stopped the car, hesitated for a second and then got out. The tall guy came over to her, smiling broadly, while the smaller one kept standing where he was.
“Hey”, the tall one said, “I just thought you were about to pass by – thank you for stopping here, you’re the first human being in, like, two hours …”
“You had a puncture?”
“Yeah. I checked it out, it’s the left front tire … I guess I’ve run over a nail or something.”
Diana nodded and caught herself staring at the man. Could this be true or was it her mind playing tricks on her?! There was only one way to find it out.
“Are you two guys from System of a down?”
The tall guy smiled and nodded. “You got us. I’m Serj and this is Daron.”
The small guy grinned broadly and lifted his right hand. He didn’t say anything but nodded at Diana as well.
“Have you got a spare tire with you?”, Serj asked.
“Uhm… no, sorry…” Diana remembered leaving the spare tire at home so there was more space for her clothes. She now wished she had taken the tire instead.
Serj sighed. “I’m sorry for asking you something like that but…could you give us a ride, at least for a couple of miles, to the next town? I don’t wanna stay here all night, it’s getting cold and we’ve got no food and nothing with us…”
“Well… don’t you have a cellphone with you?”
“Sure I do but it doesn’t work here.”
The voice in Diana’s head told her to say no. Never go with strangers or take strangers with you. But those are no strangers, Diana talked back silently. I will always regret if I don’t give them a ride. Just imagine what Jennifer is going to say if I phone her tomorrow.
“Okay”, she heard herself say. “I can give you a ride, that’s no problem. I’m not in a hurry anyway.”
“Great.” Serj smiled from one ear to the other. “You’re really saving us today. Thank you very much.”
Diana nodded silently and watched him get a bag out of the parked car. She couldn’t help it but wonder what was inside of it. Clothes, maybe. Or two kilograms of dynamite. Why the hell did she think anything like that at all? When she seated herself in her car again and Serj sat down next to her on the passenger seat, she tried to get rid of those thoughts. She has almost started the engine again when Serj opened the door and shouted: “Daron, what are you waiting for? Come on, man, we’re leaving!”
Only now Diana realized that Daron had not moved at all since she had arrived. He just stood there, staring out in the upcoming dark, but when Serj called for him, he ran to the car as well and climbed in the backseat. He’s a weirdo, Diana thought when she finally started the engine. She wondered if he ever spoke at all when he was not on stage.
“So what were you doing here all alone?”, Serj tried to start a conversation. “Spent the weekend in complete loneliness in the, uhm, countryside?”
“No… I’ve been at a friends’ place. I wouldn’t drive all the way from the city to end up in this – middle of nowhere for no reason.”
Serj laughed. “I see.”
“And what are the two of you doing out here?”
Silence. Diana realized that Serj took a brief look at Daron who then leaned forward and put his head between the backrests of the seats like children used to do.
“Business”, he grinned. The very first word he had spoken at all!
“Business? Are you kidding me?”
Daron chuckled. “Yeah.”
Diana narrowed her eyebrows but decided not to ask any further questions. If they didn’t want to tell her, alright, she wasn’t a very curious person anyway.
“Damnit I’m starving!” Daron again. And he spoke a complete sentence! “Hey, lady, what’s your name?”
“I’m Diana.”
“Diana, do you have anything to eat with you?”
“Uhm… there is a chocolate bar in the glove compartment…”
“Chocolate, fuck chocolate! I’m talking about real food. Meat, you know?!”
“You’re gonna get meat soon”, Serj smiled. “Believe me. Very soon.”
“Hope so. I’m starving, d’you get me, STARVING.”
Suddenly Daron seemed to be very nervous, filled with a strange kind of energy while Serj remained calm and only gave him an encouraging smile.
“Patience, Daron. Just a little more patience.”
“Sounds like you haven’t eaten much today”, Diana said.
“Today? I haven’t eaten anything for weeks.”
She gazed into the mirror and tried to tell by his face if he was joking. He didn’t look like he was. You were right, the voice in her mind said, he is weird. Good that Serj was with them. He seemed to be a nice guy. If she had been all alone with Daron… just the thought of it was enough to cause a bad feeling in her stomach. It felt like the halibut they had had for lunch had decided to swim around between her intestines. Not a very nice feeling, by the way.
“You must be a very brave woman”, Daron’s voice tore the silence.
“Me? Why?
“Why? Never thought about that it might be dangerous to take two strangers with you in your car?”
“Yeah, usually I don’t do such things but well, you are not what I consider strangers...”, she started but he interrupted her: “Oh, so you think you know us because you have heard of our band before? Maybe because you’re listening to our songs? You think that makes you actually KNOW us?”
“Uhm... no... not really, I mean...”
“You don’t know nothing!” Daron raised his voice more than necessary. “I will never get it, why do people always feel like they know you personally only because they’ve seen you on MTV?”
“Calm down, dude”, Serj said in a low voice. “It’s not her fault.” He turned to Diana and gave her a broad smile. “I’m sorry, you know, Daron is always a little impatient when he’s hungry... We’re working on his behaviour but well, the later it gets, the more nervous he is...”
“I hope he can control himself”, Diana replied quietly. “It’s still quite a long way to go until we reach something like a restaurant at all.”
Serj smiled. “I know.”
They remained silent for the next couple of miles. Diana tried to concentrate on the road in front of her but it got harder the more she felt Daron move from the left to the right behind her. What the hell was wrong with him? She wasn’t retarded, damnit, and she knew that whatever it was, it wasn’t just normal hunger. Probably he was a junkie and didn’t have any heroin or whatever he was on with him. Hadn’t she read that in a magazine once, that he was on drugs anyway? Great, the voice inside her head said. You’ve got a junkie in your backseat. Congratulations.
“Serj, will it still take very long?”, Daron asked. He sounded like a little boy who had to go to the toilet.
Serj took a look out of the window. “No. We’re almost there. Believe me.”
“Uhm... actually it’s still about half an hour to go...”, Diana answered quietly so that Daron couldn’t hear her.
Serj nodded his head slowly. “I know. I’m not talking about the restaurant.”
The strange feeling in Diana’s stomach increased with every minute. Something was wrong with those guys, at least with Daron who sat in the backseat, twisting a pencil he had found somewhere in his right hand and watching it like it was about to answer all his questions.
She suddenly wished she would be able to get rid of them. But how?
“Look, Daron”, Serj suddenly said with a broad smile. “The moon is rising. It’s a beautiful full moon, right, Daron?”
Daron didn’t answer but in the mirror, Diana could see that he was staring out of the window like he had never seen the moon before, his eyes and mouth wide open.
“Is he alright?”, Diana asked Serj.
“Yes. I mean, not yet, but he will be soon.”
Diana doubted his words as Daron began to make weird noises behind her. It sounded like he was about to throw up or something. OMG not inside the car!
“Are you okay?”, she wanted to know from Daron and when he didn’t reply, again from Serj: “Is he okay?”
“I think so, yes. But it would be a good idea if you stopped the car right now...”
Which Diana did. She expected Daron to get out quickly and do whatever, throw up, break down, but he didn’t. He just sat there behind her, his head bowed, breathing heavily. The pencil in his hand broke with a familiar sound. Why the fuck don’t you ever listen to me, the voice in her head yelled. Shut up, Diana wanted to scream, just SHUT UP !
“I guess it’s time to leave you guys alone”, Serj smiled and opened the door. Diana grabbed hold of his left arm. She was about to panic. “NO ! Don’t... I don’t know what the fuck is wrong with you guys and I don’t care, okay, you can have my car and my money or whatever you want, just leave me here, I swear I won’t tell anyone...”
“You won’t tell anyone, that’s true”, Serj nodded, pulled his arm away from her and left the car. She tried to jump after him and keep him from leaving her and this psycho on the backseat alone but it was too late. A strange sound from behind made her turn around. Right the same moment she wished she had not turned around, she had not taken those guys with her, she had not even come here at all. What she faced on the backseat was no longer Daron as she knew him, it was ... something else. Yes. A creature all covered with dark thick hair and teeth as long and sharp as razorblades. Only the big brown eyes reminded of the man it had been before. Diana opened her mouth to scream for help but there was no help, not in the fucking middle of nowhere, no, there was no one who could help her at all. She remained silent as the creature grabbed her, pulling her close, and when the sharp teeth cut her throat within one second, she only let go a long sigh before everything around her went black.
Never go with strangers or take strangers with you. A good advice.
Mon Jun 16, 2008 11:29 am
