Killer Summer

Chapter One

Dani Kincaid snapped her gum, rested her chin on the palm of her hand, and stared lazily out the window overlooking the Santana Beach boardwalk.

Her wad of Bubbleicious had lost its flavor long ago, and there was nothing left at the video store for her to do on that slow Tuesday evening in the dead of summer.

The usual flux of tourists that came to visit her oceanside town were beginning to dwindle, and the long, hot days seemed to stretch out before her into eternity.

The summer after high school graduation was all carefree days and nights, and for eighteen-year-old Dani, life was a breeze.

“Aaaaaalrighty then!”

Jim Carrey’s signature phrase bellowed through the air for what felt like the millionth time that summer, filling the mostly empty video rental store with obnoxious chatter.

Dani flicked her gaze to the television screen mounted over the front desk.

They were surrounded by more movies than she could watch in a lifetime, but her fellow Cool Flix employees always seemed to play the same things over and over again.

She sighed and called out to her co-worker, Kyle. “Hey, can we watch something other than Ace Ventura for a change?”

“Sure.” Kyle turned toward her voice and plucked a tape from the return cart. “We’ve finally got a copy of Scream 2 back in. Seen it yet?”

“Yeah, I saw it in the theater twice.” She yawned. “What about a classic? Something, you know, different?”

“Texas Chainsaw Massacre?”

“Nah, we’d get in trouble,” she said, glancing toward the Classic Movies section. “Too violent.”

“No more violent than Scream.”

“Yeah, but at least Scream has some comedy to balance things out,” she said. “What about Casablanca?”

“Ew. Romance.” Kyle stuck out his tongue and made a gagging sound. “Plus it’s in black and white. Bo-ring.”

“Genre snobs are boring.” She shot her co-worker a playful smile and stepped out from behind the front counter. “Besides, Casablanca isn’t a romance, it's a drama. Romance has to have a happy ending.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot you were our resident film expert.” He grinned and returned to his work.

Kyle wasn’t wrong. Her love for the cinematic arts was what had driven Dani to work at the video rental store in the first place.

All through high school, she spent her summer and after school hours at Cool Flix, rewinding VHS tapes, upselling candy to little kids, and recommending films to customers.

If she had to watch Ace Ventura make his butt talk one more time, she was going to lose her mind.

Dani plucked the plastic clamshell case for Casablanca off the shelves and stared lovingly at the cover with a hint of a smile at the corner of her mouth.

Watching and dissecting films of all genres was Dani’s favorite pastime and passion, something she hoped to pursue further in college.

Part of her was sad to be leaving the little video rental shop by the beach soon for bigger and better things, but another part of her was ready to see what the future would hold.

For now, she was determined to enjoy the last few lazy days of summer before everything in her life was going to change.

With her favorite classic film at hand, Dani took her place behind the counter, and eyed the VHS player mounted over the counter.

She returned Ace Ventura to the rewind machine, popped Casablanca into the player, and relaxed a little as the opening credits played.

Dani had always enjoyed watching black and white films with her parents as a kid.

There was something about the old-timey music and how people acted in films from long ago that helped to calm her down.

She eased into her favorite spot against the back counter, lost in the silver screen as the bell rang over the front door.

“Welcome to Cool Flix,” Dani said, her gaze fixed on the TV.

“Welcome to Cool Flix.” Kyle echoed her sentiment without looking up from the wall of VHS tapes.

The video store employees were required to greet every customer who walked through the door in this scripted way.

It was corny, but Dani had been doing it for so long now that the phrase was almost like a reflex.

Most Cool Flix customers didn’t care anyway; they were just regular folks on vacation looking for a cartoon to entertain their kids, couples looking for a movie to make out to, or wealthy retirees in search of their favorite oldies.

But that evening, the person who walked through the door was neither a kid nor retired, and his presence instantly set her teeth on edge.

This was a customer Dani had come to know and dread.

She could smell him before he even made it to the counter.

“Lucky me,” he said. “My favorite rewind girl is working today.”

The aroma of drug store cologne assaulted Dani’s nostrils as Matt Vickers approached the counter.

Matt was four years older than her and tall with the kind of athletic build that was impressive to some and intimidating to others.

He had been a senior at Sunset High School when she was a freshman, a linebacker on the football team, his name and image immortalized behind the glass trophy cases in the school hallways like some gridiron god.

He wore his gelled curls cropped short and bleached, causing his ultra-blond scalp to stand out in stark contrast against his unnaturally tanned skin.

His teeth were so white they practically glowed when he smiled.

Everything about this particular customer made Dani’s skin crawl, but it wasn’t just his overly familiar attitude or his pink popped collar shirt and seashell necklace ensemble that gave her the creeps.

There was something dark and dangerous in his eyes, something shark-like and predatory that caused a ball of disgust to form in the pit of her stomach whenever he was near.

“Can I help you find something?” Dani swallowed, forcing the spent gum down her throat as she cast her gaze toward the neon outer-space-patterned carpet.

“Yeah.” He smirked and leaned across the counter, resting his forearms a few inches from her chest. “Your number.”

Dani backed up and gagged as the vapors of his spicy sweet cologne invaded the inside of her mouth.

The taste of chemicals, musk, sweat, pheromones, and artifice coated her tongue in a thick, unwelcome layer.

He had been harassing her for weeks now, growing more bold each time he came into the store.

She even reported his behavior to management, but was told there was nothing they could do.

Dani loved working in the video store for the free rentals alone, but she had been starting to consider quitting altogether after her last uncomfortable visit from Matt Vickers.

“I already told you, Matt. I have a boyfriend.” Dani folded her arms at her chest and hugged herself.

“You remembered my name,” he smirked, snapping his gum. “I like how it sounds coming from that pretty mouth of yours.”

Dani threw a desperate glance for help in Kyle’s direction. He was still stacking tapes along the wall, oblivious to her distress. She would have to get out of this one by herself.

She held her chin up high and stood her ground. “If you’re not going to rent a video, then you should probably leave.”

“Easy, easy. It’s okay. I’m not gonna bite ya.” He chuckled and straightened his stance. “I can take a hint. I’m just gonna go check out the new releases.”

Matt backed away from the counter, but the distance wasn’t far enough.

Her entire body was tense, pulse thrumming off the charts as gallons of adrenaline-rich blood pumped through her veins.

She had heard things about Matt when she was in school.

Bad things. Things that made her want to stay as far away as possible from him and his romantic inclinations.

Dani watched from the corner of her eye as the top of his white blond head bobbed through the aisles, first lingering in the action and horror section and finally disappearing behind the red curtain that hid the adult videos.

The thought of having to suffer through performative customer service for him again made her sick.

It was bad enough that he continued to cross boundaries and relentlessly ask her out at work, but having to ring up X-rated videos while averting eye contact with him was more than she could bear.

“Kyle!” she whispered across the store, waving her hands. “Hey! Can you take the register for me? Kyle!”

Her co-worker bobbed his head, blissfully unaware that she was in distress as he continued to shelve tapes.

From her spot behind the counter, Dani could see that Kyle had his headphones on, and no amount of arm waving our shout-whispering would work to get his attention.

She gave the adult section curtain a nervous glance, stepped out from behind the counter, and fast-walked over to the wall of VHS tapes.

Loud, crunchy guitar music spilled out from the padded speakers wrapped around his ears as she tapped him on the shoulder.

“Kyle!” She hissed.

“Whoa!” He tore off his headphones and gave her a wide-eyed stare. “What’s up?”

“Can you please take the register for me? Creepy-ass Matt Vickers is back.”

“What a douche.” Kyle scoffed and shook his head. “Yeah. I’ll finish stocking these later.”

“Thank you so much,” she said, pressing her hands together in prayer formation. “I’m gonna go wait in the break room until he’s gone.”

“No sweat.”

Dani forced her legs to move and fast-walked toward the break room.

She knew her days of working at the video store were numbered anyway, but the urge to walk out right then and there was strong.

Only a few more weeks of summer remained before she would head off to college in a town more than a dozen states away.

If it weren’t for the fact that she would leave Kyle hanging, Dani would clock out and never look back.

As she slipped into the little break room in the back, Dani felt her pocket buzz. She pulled out her purple beeper and for a brief moment forgot all about her stalker and his unwanted advances. She read the small rectangular screen and smiled.

143.

Tommy. She smiled, picked up the employee phone mounted on the wall, and punched her boyfriend’s beeper number into the keypad. She waited and listened to the automated message before entering their shared secret code. 143. I love you.

Dani and Tommy had been dating since the beginning of senior year.

They went to homecoming and prom together, and even though their relationship was fairly new, it was also intense.

Tommy was headed to Ohio State in the fall on a basketball scholarship, and the thought of not being able to see him regularly tugged at her heart.

Part of her wanted to follow him, change the course of her life and see what their future could hold.

A bigger, more sensible part of her knew that throwing her scholarship away was a terrible idea, especially for someone she had only been dating a short time.

Tommy was a great guy, but she wasn’t about to give up her dreams for him or anyone.

She slid the beeper back in her pocket and peered out of the break room door window onto the main floor of the video store.

Nearly two hours left to kill before closing; two hours before Tommy would pick her up after work like he always did.

Dani flipped off the break room light and peered out from her dark hiding position.

Matt approached the front counter and unloaded a stack of VHS tapes, all of them from the 18+ section.

She held her breath and strained to hear his conversation with Kyle even though it was muffled behind the door.

Matt’s gaze flicked up to the break room door window, and her heart stopped as they locked eyes. So much for staying hidden.

Bile rose up into her throat as she huddled in the dark break room, the acrid flavor mingling on her tongue with the thick remnants of her stalker’s sickening cologne.

Everything about Matt jolted her senses into high alarm, every cell in her body sick with terror as she watched him leave.

Dani waited to step out of the breakroom until she was certain he was gone, diligently watching the headlights of his black Mustang exit the parking lot as the sun began to disappear into the Pacific.

“You okay?” Kyle stepped out from behind the counter, his features pinched.

“Yeah,” Dani sighed and rubbed her forehead. “What did he say?”

“You sure you wanna know?”

“Not really. Spill it though.”

“Well, first he asked where you went, so I said you were on break. Then he asked if you really had a boyfriend, and I told him that it wasn’t any of his business.”

“You said that?”

“Yeah.” Kyle snorted. “He got really weird and quiet after that. Then he paid for his videos and left.”

“Great.” Dani slid back behind the register, her heart pounding. “Thanks for covering for me.”

“How does he even know you?” Kyle asked. “Did you guys date in school or something?”

“No! I never spoke a word to him.” Dani glanced out the window. The light in the sky was fading by the minute. “I don’t understand it.”

Kyle’s forehead crinkled. “Tommy is picking you up after work, right?”

“Yeah. I don’t think I’m coming back for my next shift though. I can’t do this anymore.”

“Maybe you can get a restraining order?

“And tell them what? Some weirdo is giving me bad vibes?” Dani shrugged. “I was going to put in my notice at the end of the month anyway.”

“I dunno.” He sighed. “Just, whatever you do, be careful.”

“I will.” Dani gave him a half smile. “Thanks, Kyle. I’m gonna miss working with you.”

“I’m gonna miss you too.”

Dani detected a flush of color on Kyle’s cheeks as he returned to his stacks of VHS tapes.

She really was going to miss him. Dani barely had time to return to her post before a woman and two small children walked through the door.

She did her best to shift back into work mode and shake off the unsettling encounter.

“Welcome to Cool Flix,” she said, the words robotic and metallic on her tongue.

Dani leaned against the counter, propped her chin on her hand and resumed her position staring out onto the boardwalk again.

A ball of dread that she couldn’t shake rolled around in her gut, heavy as a bowling ball.

Beyond the glass storefront, Dani could only see endless shadows; a world cloaked in darkness, concealing any number of dangers.