by Alan Spencer
Brian was lingering nearby along with the rest of the restaurant patrons who were standing in the parking lot to watch the show. Had anybody called the cops? Was somebody going to break this up before it escalated?
The answer was no.
Dan couldn't hold back anything anymore.
"You entitled son-of-a-bitch. You're not getting a dime; not a fucking dime. And why does everybody think I got paid a lot of money for the re-release of Blood Mask? It was five grand. I split that with my producer, that's producer, a guy who put as much work as I did into making the movie. You did shit, Mitch, except stand on the sidelines, butt in, and watch with your thumb up your ass. Then you stole from me. There's only one thing I owe you, my friend, and that's a knuckle sandwich, compliments of the house!"
Dan bunched up his fingers into a fist. He wound back the coil and let loose the spring and swung hard and swung fast. How he ended up twitching and jittering on the ground didn't come to him until moments later when Brian was shaking him, trying to bring Dan back to life.
"Jesus, Mitch-the-bitch tasered you."
Oh, that's what I'm feeling, Dan thought. Jolts of white hot pain were dancing in his nerves. He suffered a total paralysis for thirty seconds before he could twitch his fingers, wiggle his toes, and will his body up off of the ground.
Mitch was already stomping off to his car. Before he drove off, Mitch shouted, "You owe me a thousand dollars, Dan."
What was more painful, Dan thought, having so many jolts of electricity introduced into your body, or having some chump tell you that you owed him a thousand dollars for theft of stolen property?
Mitch-the-bitch wasn't getting a penny.
Brian helped Dan into the van.
"You think you need to go to the hospital?"
"No, I'm fine. Let's just go home."
Brian whistled. "Fuck, what just happened? Wow, I didn't think the week would be this crazy. Just know if Mitch comes anywhere near you again, he's going to be sorry."
Dan recovered from the assault at Brian's house. After processing the attack, Dan stood in front of the mirror in the basement bathroom and noticed the purple bruises. Two small lines over his ribs. Zap. Zap. He would survive, but now that Dan knew what it felt like to be tasered by a lunatic, he never wanted it to happen again.
Brian was talking up the moment to his mother upstairs. The woman was loving every juicy detail. When Brian came downstairs shortly after he was done telling his tale, Dan was confused by his friend's solemn tone.
Brian handed him a can of beer. "We need to talk."
"Are we going to be drinking beer twenty-four seven?"
"Of course. This is Bloody Mask week, and we're going to get back to enjoying Bloody Mask week after we talk about what you said to Mitch in the parking lot. What kind of debt were you talking about? Was it worse than a few thousand?"
"Yes."
Dan didn't want to tell him how much worse. What could Brian do? Say sorry? That wasn't going to change the course of the past. That debt changed Dan's entire life. Would apologizing change how the movie tied up his dad's construction business with a bank loan, and how it took forever to pay it off? Would Brian know how it felt to be a grown man and be beholden to his parents? Of course Brian did, because he mooched off of his mother and lived like a teenager in his forties and didn't care. So could Brian do now to make things better?
Dan said this to Brian in so many words.
Brian had tears going down his eyes. "If you only would've told me. If you would've let me know, man. I could've helped. I would've. I promise you."
"You had no trouble spending money either," Dan said, channeling that bottled up anger into more purging. "You doubled what I wanted to pay that hooker to show her bush. You catered with our credit card frivolously. I didn't have the money. We had to independently release Bloody Mask on home video. That was like four grand in itself. Then I had to pay the theatre to show Bloody Mask, and on top of that the advertising for the showing. I tried to tell you, but you didn't want to talk business. You wanted to pretend you were a hot shot producer. I'm the one who sacrificed, not you."
Dan was out of breath. He was shaking from top to bottom.
When Brian came closer to him, Dan got nervous.
Was Brian going to fight him?
No.
Brian brought him in for a hug.
"I'm so sorry, Dan. I didn't know, and I didn't make it easy for you to tell me. You took this burden on your shoulders, and on your shoulders alone. I've been going on and on about the movie, and I never knew how hard things were for you. There's not much I can say to make things better. The past happened the way it happened. But I can do something to make it up to you now."
Oh God, here it comes.
"I wasn't going to tell you this until after the reunion party at Debby's, but you see, my mom told me she's set aside money over the years. She said she wanted me to use it for another movie. It's not twenty grand, but it's a decent chunk of change. It's my turn to pony up the money, Dan. I owe you that much. I should've helped out more financially back in the day."
Dan was feeling bad for everything he said, and the angry way he said it.
"Look, you were young, and how could you know?"
"You were young too, Dan. You were the responsible one. You arranged for the movie to be distributed, advertised, and you came up with the money when it mattered. Your dedication was well beyond mine. I was the guy who was having fun, and you were the hardest working son-of-a-bitch. I want to try this again, and this time, Bloody Mask 2 will be much better. How about it?"
Brian extended his hand to shake.
"I realize I'm overwhelming you with crazy ideas. We don't have to live together, or any of that other shit I said before. I just want to make another movie with my best friend. So what do you say, Dan Daniels? Will you return to the director's chair for one more ride?"
Dan didn't have to think.
"Fuck yes."
Dan was drinking beers on the front porch. He showed Brian his script for Bloody Mask 2: The Devil Wears A Mask. The script, wrapped in plastic, hadn't been touched since the day Dan finished writing it.
Brian was entranced.
"I like how you keep the concept simple. Five masks blow in the wind, five people pick them up and wear them, and the killings continue. I think people like our simple style. Give them what they want, make them laugh, make them cringe, and add blood, boobs, and slashing. It's a proven formula."
Andy's van pulled up to the front yard. Andy hurried in at Dan and looked him over. "I heard what happened at Debby's. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Next time I see Mitch, I'm running the other way. I'm not trying to reason with that lunatic. I'm calling the cops."
"Maybe you should file a report?" Brian suggested.
Andy's smile twisted into something hard to watch. Dan couldn't put his finger on it, except that expression was wrong for a split second.
"You won't be having any problems from that guy," Andy said. He handed Dan a 9mm pistol nestled in a leather holster. "You keep it. If Mitch comes anywhere near you, you don't bother with a warning shot. I don't want my director, or his producer, threatened by anybody."
Then Andy moved to his van and showed them a .45 Magnum. Andy played his finger down the barrel. "If that fucker tries anything with me, no go. I'm well within my rights to protect myself. Are you sure you're okay, Dan?"
Dan wasn't sure what to say. The 9mm scared him. It meant Dan had a reason to carry the gun. It meant he could use the gun too. Dan wanted to throw the gun into the nearest lake and forget he'd ever seen it. But the way Andy watched him, it was the worst thing he could do, so Dan kept hold of it.
Dan tried to move on from the awkward moment. "You guys mind if I call Janey?"
Brian hit Andy's shoulder. "That's his ex-girlfriend. I bet he's hoping for some "long time no see, how would you like to fuck me?" Hah, you're a tiger. You take 500 volts of electricity, and you're ready to bang at a m
oment's notice."
"Jesus, Brian. This is high school all over again."
Brian laughed. "Call her, Dan. I'll tell Andy about our movie project."
Andy's face lit up. The fan boy came alive. "You mean another Bloody Mask? You have to let Cult Crushers release it. I can help you. Anything you need, I can make it happen. I know people with equipment, and possible investors."
"I got a script written by the one and only Dan Daniels."
Dan stepped aside and dialed the phone number written on the Debby's receipt. Janey answered on the second ring. She was happy to hear from him.
Dan skipped the I miss you, and what you have you been up to and asked her if she wanted to meet up somewhere to hang out.
Janey had the perfect meeting place.
Dan drove the van to Lewis and Clarke Elementary School. Janey was parked in the teacher's parking lot beside the playground. Janey was sitting on a swing. She was wearing an oversized black leather jacket and a red skirt. Her hair was dyed black with cranberry streaks for bangs. Janey retained her slim figure. The only thing that had changed was what twenty years did to everybody. Age.
Janey gave an excited yip when Dan walked up to her. They hugged, and Janey gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Oh, it's go good to see you, Dan. It's been a lifetime."
"I know. I'm older and fatter."
"Oh come on. Hey, you're still full of that charm. You can ask anybody to do anything, and you can word it just right, and you'd make it sound like you were doing them a favor."
"You make me sound like a car salesman."
"No, you were just ambitious. Nothing was going to stop you. That's what I liked about you. Here, sit with me. I have something I really need to get off of my chest. You need to hear it."
"Uh-oh."
Dan sat down on the swing. The schoolyard was empty. It was about an hour before the sun would go down and night would take over.
Janey took his hand into hers.
"I owe you a big apology. I know I broke your heart. I regretted what I said to you when I broke things off. I meant them at the time, I won't lie. But that girl was young, naive, and it was mean what I did to you, Dan. I thought I would become some big actress, and you would be a famous director, and when you told me how you were in debt, I left you high and dry. The things I said to you, Dan, they haunt me."
Big tears were hanging from her eyelashes about to fall. When they did, and she felt their warmth trail down her cheeks, Janey kept talking.
"I said you were a loser that wouldn't amount to anything. The truth is, you did more with your life that year than I ever did in my whole life. I did a lot of stupid things. I ran off with some friends, bummed my way to California, and I lived on the streets. I didn't know what to do with myself. I'm sure you've heard some wild stories.
"The truth is, I got into drugs. I hung out with street people. Bums. Hippies. Nobodies. It was a bad scene. I was a wreck. I needed money. I was so broke, and so hungry, and so bad off. I even sold myself."
Dan lifted her up off of the swing and hugged her. Janey's entire body was wracked with emotion. She was shivering.
"You don't have to tell me. Everything's going to be okay." Dan said everything he thought to say in such an intense moment. "You're a wonderful person, Janey. No matter what happened. You're a good person."
Janey wasn't hearing it.
"I sold myself one time to this surgeon, and he took me in. He said he loved me, and he took care of me, but the guy was just some old lonely guy. I almost married him because I was so desperate. I knew it wasn't right. So one day I ran away. I never talked to him again. I came back home, and I married someone I really did love, and I've been happy ever since. I just wanted to tell you the truth before anybody else put other ideas in your head. There's so many variations of what happened to me when I went out to California. And I wanted to tell you this so you'd understand what kind of a person I was at that time.
"I wasn't right in the head. I needed time away from this town, away from my parents, any responsibility, and the future. It sounds corny. I thought I needed someone to help me, to do things for me, to take care of me, but what I really needed to do was learn how to take care of myself."
Dan wasn't ready for the story. This week was supposed to be about Bloody Mask. Now he learned his ex had been a drug addict and a prostitute. He got tasered, and Andy had handed him a 9mm. He wanted nothing to do with the damn gun. Dan hadn't been here but a few days, and he already knew he couldn't live in Prudence ever again.
But Janey was being genuine. She was still his friend, and Dan didn't judge her.
"Hey, you're okay now. You're in a better place. Who did you marry?"
"James Brewster. You don't know him. He didn't grow up with us."
"Is he good to you?"
"I told him my story, and he still loves me. We have wonderful kids, and I'm so happy. I just, this is weird, but when Becky told me you were back in town, I knew I had to apologize, but I couldn't without telling you why I treated you the way I did. I was a stupid girl who thought a man was going to step up and take care of me, and all I had to do was whatever I wanted to do. It's not much of a life, if you ask me. I was young and dumb."
"I understand." Dan smiled. "I accept your apology. We all make mistakes when we're young. I'm sorry you went through all of those things."
Dan motioned for Janey to sit back down on the swings. He told her about his debt, his bad marriage, and his two wonderful kids, and how he worked for his dad in Virginia.
"Can I come to the reunion party?"
Dan's heart went out to Janey. She thought there was a chance Dan wouldn't welcome her to the party.
"Of course you're invited. And look at my phone. I've got five texts from Andy asking me if I'll bring you back to Brian's house so you can talk about Bloody Mask."
"I'd love to."
"Do you want to go now?"
"Yeah. It'd be fun."
Before they drove in separate cars to Brian's, Janey thanked him for listening to her and being so cool about everything.
Janey beat him back to Brian's house. Andy was working fast to set up his camera and recording equipment. Brian gave Janey a beer (the man with an endless supply of beer). They toasted each other and Janey sprayed Brian with foam after she shook up the can. It was something she did when they were making the movie. They called it "Beer Wars".
Andy was recording Brian and Janey spraying each other with beer. The fan boy had a grin the size of Detroit. It was a far cry from the expression he wore when handing Dan the 9mm earlier.
After a few minutes, with everybody covered in subs, Andy had Janey sit down on the porch swing with Dan. Andy said to reminisce about the movie and share any fun anecdotes or things that happened on the set.
The window behind the porch swing, Brian's mom parted the curtain, opened the window, and asked if anybody wanted any grilled cheese sandwiches. Brian said yes. Nobody else was hungry. The woman closed the door and went back into the house.
"Anyway," Dan said into Andy's camera. "That's the producer's Mom, if you fans care to know. I'm now with Janey, who played various female victims in the film. She didn't have any actual parts except for being dead. She was the close ups of wounds. Janey was my gore canvas. She wore every prosthetic. I even covered her in worms."
Janey threw her head back in laughter. "You went to that damn bait shop for the worms. You painted a paper plate the color of skin, wet it down, and you cut two holes for eyes. I remember you shoving out grungy worms through the holes to make it look like a corpse was crying worms. I never knew a dead body could cry worms. I was watching Brian do the effect, and the look on his face, it was like a kid getting off on a stroke magazine. I don't know, but it made me throw up watching him.
"Of course, Dan over here recorded me throwing up. He showed variations of me spewing throughout the film. The female cop at that crime scene. The main character's girlfriend who pukes during a game of quarters. Speaking of which, that
game of quarters runs like ten minutes long."
Dan interrupted her. "I shot that quarters scene last because the movie was only sixty-eight minutes. I had to break the seventy minute barrier for distribution purposes. And you puked so well, Janey. It was worth using multiple times."
"Yeah, but every time somebody pukes, whether they're fat, chubby, have red hair, brown hair, or whatever, it's obvious it's me who's puking. You can edit it however you like. It's just like the hooker who pulls down her panties to show her pubes. I remember watching an early cut of the movie, and you had to redo it, Dan, because you had one of those hooker pube shots right after a boy points at a corpse in the street and yells for the police. Then those pubes show up again, then cops arrive on the scene, and that boy is still crying. I seriously laughed my ass off when I saw that. It was so confusing. It was like the kid was crying over seeing the pubes instead of a dead body. Then you immediately had to go to your editing room, which was what, your bedroom with two VHS players?"
Dan wasn't sure how another can of beer got into his hands, but there it was, unopened and cold as ever. Leave it to Brian, Dan thought, to keep things nice and lubricated.
"It's true, I didn't have much for editing equipment. Shooting on video was super cheap. I could fuck up all day. And yes, there was a pube shot where there shouldn't have been a pube shot. I really didn't know what the fuck I was doing. I think Bloody Mask is the only movie that's not a porno with excessive, and accidental, bush footage."
Andy asked a question off camera. "Is it true you guys were dating at the time of shooting?"
Janey spoke up before Dan could.
"Yes, we were high school sweethearts. We had big plans after high school. First, the movie, then we were going to marry, but I—"
Dan knew she was going to say things that would make her look bad, and he intervened.
"We had different goals in life, and like Janey said, we were going to marry each other. But life happens. Things change. It doesn't mean anybody's a bad person."
