Masters of Midnight by Josh Malerman

Author:Josh Malerman [Lennon, Evans Light and Andrew]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: epub, ebook, QuarkXPress
Publisher: Corpus Press
Published: 2019-08-31T16:00:00+00:00

“Why didn’t we see it before?” Austin asked.

They let the video roll once again. The camera panned up to show Trevor’s face and the blood spurting through his fingers. As he spewed all over his friends, the camera dipped towards the floor. The word appeared onscreen again briefly, clear as day, before it was completely destroyed by Mrs. Hansen’s retreating feet.

“How in hell did that happen?” said Trevor.

“Woooooooo . . . ” Austin mocked, making a ghostly sound.

“Fuck it,” Demarco said. “Let’s see if we can do it again. Give me that bucket.”

Trevor handed him the bucket, the same one that had spilled in the video.

“Want to get your camera ready, Kurt? Just in case?”

“Let’s just see if anything cool happens first.”

Demarco mimicked his mother’s gestures from the video, dropping the bucket onto the floor in the exact same manner. It bounced once and tipped over, scattering candies haphazardly across the floor.

The boys examined the mess from every angle, but no word was to be found. Demarco quickly scooped the candy back into the bucket and tried again.

Still nothing other than a mess appeared on the floor.

Trevor gave it a try, then Austin.

Nothing.

“Oh, well, it was worth a shot,” said Kurtis. “We got us one hell of a killer video, though—there’s no way anyone’s going to think we used special effects. Everything happened way too naturally. Let’s get it uploaded. We’re going viral, boys. We’re breaking the internet tonight!”

Fifteen minutes of editing later, the video was ready for prime time and uploaded to YouTube with the clever title: MAD MOM GETS HALLOWEEN “TREAT”—FOR REAL!

“Ready for liftoff, gentlemen,” Demarco declared as the video went live. “Let’s sit back and watch the view count soar!”

They gathered around the computer, giddy with excitement, refreshing the web page over and over to see how many people were watching the video, hoping to read a never-ending comment scroll full of amazement and praise.

Thirty minutes and exactly three registered views later, the excitement of the evening was officially pronounced dead—time of departure, 11:47 P.M.

Bored of staring at the screen, Austin was the first to bail, flopping down on Demarco’s bed to turn on the TV, settling in with SpongeBob. Kurtis and Trevor watched random videos on the computer, glazed looks on their faces.

Demarco was disgusted. “What the hell happened to us? It’s not even midnight and we’re sitting here watching cartoons like we’re eight years old,” he said. “It’s still Halloween. We got all the treats—maybe it’s time we served up some tricks? What do you guys say?”

Kurtis and Trevor perked up.

“You thinking what I’m thinking?” Kurtis held up his phone, tapping the camera.

“Video pranks!”

“I know the perfect victim,” Demarco said, full of excitement once again. “Maurice fuckin’ Harris. He leaves the house at five A.M. every morning for work, even on the weekends, so you know he’ll be asleep. I bet he’ll lose his shit and make one hella funny video.”

“One million hits, baby!” Kurtis cried, fist-bumping Trevor.

“One million hits.”

“So what should we use? The Frankenstein mask?” Demarco asked.

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