Chapter 2

Jan. 23, 1999–

Skate Palace was a vintage haze as a spur of different colors danced across the skating rink. Those who skated were like vivid shadows moving smoothly around an endless circle. An aroma of buttery popcorn, fresh corn dogs, and hot pretzels complimented the lively environment. Damien surrounded himself by the snack bar for most of the night, sweeping and cleaning tables for guests; so much so that he could nearly taste the food just by thinking about it. Popular hits from the 80s played in the background for the night. There were a few songs he knew, but he couldn’t remember who they were by.

“Hey D,” Brian Olsen called from behind the rental booth.

“What?” Damien muttered as he stopped sweeping from under the table.

“Ten bucks I can get a girl’s number by the end of tonight,” Brian said arrogantly.

Damien checked his G Shock for the time.

“We close in like an hour,” he said.

“You don’t think I can do it?” Brian asked with a cocky smirk. “Alright, how about two numbers?”

Damien ignored him and continued sweeping.

“Oh, c’mon, you scared I might get laid instead?” Brian suggested.

Damien never liked Brian. Ever since Rick hired him a few months back, he’d always had problems with his work ethic. His douchey personality and laziness made for a horrible coworker when things needed to get done on time. Damien only wished he hadn’t been switched with Mary to the night shift.

“Is the rest of the merchandise stocked?” Damien asked.

“Yeah, I got that done already,” Brian said.

“What about the receipt paper in the payout machine?” Damien asked.

“What about it?” he asked.

“Have you changed them out?” Damien asked.

Brian paused with some confusion.

“We’re supposed to do that?” he asked.

Damien sighed disappointedly.

“Yeah, man, we change them out every night,” Damien said a bit sternly.

“Shit, I didn’t know that,” Brian said. “Mary usually does everything.”

“Yeah, no shit,” Damien whispered to himself.

Brian casually made his way around the rental booth to the payout machines where Damien swept.

“You gonna show me how to do it then?” Brian asked.

Damien laid the broom against the machine and opened the security hatch. He got down to his knees and pulled out a four-inch slot that held the receipt rolls.

“It’s kinda tricky at first,” Damien began as he started scrapping the old receipts. “All you have to do is throw away the old slot and replace it with a new one. We usually keep new rolls in this little bin right here, but if you can’t find any, we have extras under the cash register.”

Damien changed out the old receipt holder for a new one. He adjusted the paper evenly and allowed the machine to recognize it. Once he was done, he closed the security hatch and got back to his feet.

“See, that’s all you have to do,” Damien said.

“Nice,” Brian said carelessly. “Hey, thanks for doing that for me.”

Brian slapped him on his arm and walked back to the rental booth. Damien tightened his jaw with frustration as Brian felt completely confident in thinking they were buddies. Instead of cursing him out, Damien continued to sweep the floor by the machines and returned back to the booth.

As a few more people began returning their skates and heading out for the night, Brian and Damien only had a few tasks to complete before closing the rink. Brian made sure that the popcorn machine was cleaned out as well as the cotton-candy maker. Damien remembered to count the money in the second register before closing it for the night. However, in the corner of his eye, he noticed the doors to the skating rink burst open.

A cold breeze from the January night swept through the place quickly. In a drawn-out silence, Damien watched as a couple casually walked in. A tall, lean, attractive young man with messy hair strolled across the room with a petite young woman wrapped under his arm. He wore a dark flannel underneath a puffy sweater, had torn black skinny jeans with black leather boots, and wore gothic jewelry around his neck and fingers. Damien supposed he was in a rock band, considering the traditional fashion of grunge that popularized the city earlier that decade.

“Welcome to Skate Palace,” Damien said informally. “Just to let you guys know we’ll be closing pretty soon.”

The young man glared at Damien intimidatingly. His placid face and bubblegum chewing made it even easier for Damien to identify him as an asshole. He looked around the skating rink a bit, checking to see if the place was packed or not.

“Do any of them know that?” he asked in a low, smooth voice.

“I’m sure they do,” Damien answered.

He then locked eyes with the young woman he was with. She too appeared apathetic yet less intimidating than her boyfriend. She was short and slender with black hair that cascaded down her back. Her skin was a rich cream that was deceptively pale. Her eyebrows were sharp, which contrasted her piercing feline eyes. As for her lips, they were plump and full, opposite to her breasts that were revealed through a light fawn tank top. She wore a puffy black bomber with tapered jeans, thick heeled boots, and a studded necklace of a crystal. There was a mysteriousness about her that Damien couldn’t identify. It was hard for him to look away as her profound glare passed right through him.

“It’s just us,” the young man said.

Damien was snapped back by his voice. He quickly reached under the register and grabbed a rental sheet that would mark their time and shoe size.

“What sizes?” Damien asked.

“Six,” he said as he pulled out his wallet. He casually threw the cash on the counter and started whispering in his girlfriend’s ear. Damien collected the cash and counted it. When he tried inputting it into the register, he quickly glanced at the young woman, who was still staring at him, this time with a soft smirk while her boyfriend whispered in her ear. Damien awkwardly fumbled the cash into the register and turned back to get the skates. He placed them on the counter and tore the receipt from the printer box.

“Here’s your receipt,” Damien said as he held it out.

The young man snatched it with just two fingers and crumpled it into his pocket.

“You got a restroom around here?” he asked.

Damien pointed to the corner hall near the arcade. “Second door on the right.”

He didn’t bother thanking him. Instead, he kissed his girl and made his way to the restroom. Damien awkwardly stood by as the young woman glared at him once more with a soft smirk. She grabbed the skates from the counter and made her way to the skating rink. Damien couldn’t help but watch her the entire time from the rental booth. There was almost an illusion that played in his mind the more he stared at her; almost as if she could sense him watching her without even looking. And then, just as he came to that thought, she glanced over gradually and stared back for a moment. Damien agitated and started to act busy. She looked away and began lacing up her skates.

The room went quiet for a moment. A brief intermission that rendered necessary. As the neon lights dimmed low from a sapphire blue to a ruby red tint, Damien closed in by the tables. He stood motionless with the broom in his hand, wary of the psychedelic mood that settled the environment.

The young woman began to move gradually around the rink. Her pace was subtle as it matched the opening instrumental of In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins. As the lights grew low in the same blooming shade, her shadow was absent from the ground beneath her. She moved gracefully as the lyrics spilled into the near-vacant space. Her boyfriend sat in the dark corner of the building by the payphones. He casually sparked a cigarette in his mouth and took one long drag. As he exhaled an elusive cloud of smoke, he leaned back into his chair and watched as well.

She glided through the rink like a black swan; her arms extending as the words began to fill her body. Damien barely blinked as he worried he would miss something special. He was mesmerized by her. The way she allowed herself to be amongst a small crowd that quickly became bystanders. An electrifying voice peaked the stereos that caused her body to ploy in a slow, seductive flutter. It was then the lights drew darker, the neon red casting an eerie silhouette of her. The room was bleak and still. And once the bass dropped, the lights brightened, syncing with the intensifying drums of the song, and revealing the blackbird that swept across the skating rink in glorious agility.

Damien’s dark brown eyes illuminated as the vivid cherry hue exploded the atmosphere. His body was like a frigid block of ice; his skin covered in goosebumps as the hairs on his arms barbed. He could feel his heart beating unexplainably the more his eyes followed the young woman. She had no fear. No questionable reason to be afraid of anything around her. She dominated the lively court with just her presence, and because of her bold charisma, it perplexed the audience who watched enticingly from a profound stature.

As the young woman made her way around the rink, she met her boyfriend who leaned against the barrier with the cigarette bud between his fingers. He handed her the cigarette and she took a quick puff. The smoke cascaded out of her nose and was blown into his face. They then shared a soft, sensual kiss that was sure to draw an eye. Damien, who pretended to sweep under the tables, felt a trace of envy the longer he watched.

“Yo, D,” Brian called from the rental booth.

“Yeah?” Damien said without looking away.

“Can you take the trash out while I watch the front?” he asked.

Damien sighed at Brian’s laziness, but he didn’t care as he was more focused on the young woman. He swept the last bit of crumbs under the table and made his way to the back, unaware that the young woman had been watching him as well. He went to the office and got the keys to the back door. Once he collected the trash from the kitchen, Damien made his way to the back of the building.

Under the chilly night sky, Damien strolled through a vacant lot that was connected to other surrounding businesses. An alley had separated the crossroads from this lot, in which the dumpster was located. Damien always felt uncomfortable taking out the trash, as most of the homeless lingered around it, looking for food or any kind of assortment to live off of.

He approached the dumpster cautiously as he waited for some deadbeat junkie to scare him into giving him change. Though as Damien threw the trash into the dumpster, he caught a glimpse of blood trailing behind the gate. He thought it was expired syrup from how black and thick it appeared, but he was certain that it was blood, as what he found next was disturbing. Around the gate, Damien had seen a puddle of blood smeared across the ground and some on the wall. The smell was faint but putrid. A musty, mothball stench mixed heavily with the odor of the nearby waste. Damien only thought something had died, but couldn’t find anything to prove it, other than the blood.

By the time he returned to the rink, Damien made sure to wash his hands multiple times. As he got back to the rental booth, everyone had gone for the night. Skate Palace was to close in five minutes. Damien helped Brian clean the skating rink and polish the outside of the barriers. They shut off all the lights and unplugged the stereo connected to the speakers.

“I was this close to getting this girl’s number,” Brian said as he grabbed his things from the locker. “You should’ve made that bet. You could’ve won ten bucks.”

“I didn’t want to risk it,” Damien said sarcastically as he threw on his windbreaker.

Brian snickered brashly.

“At least you got to talk with that fine ass bitch at the rental booth,” Brian added. “That guy she was with looked kinda like an asshole to me. I bet he got a small dick from how tight those fucking jeans were.”

Damien ignored Brian’s absurd remarks, but he couldn’t help but think about that young woman he mentioned. He remembered every bit of detail about her; as if she was a picture framed inside his head. Damien only wished he had actually talked to her, or at the very least got her name. But his deliberate thoughts about her were interrupted by a loud screech. A speaker from the audio room skipped from an unbearable static to an 80s R&B track.

“I thought you unplugged all the speakers?” Damien asked Brian.

“I did,” he said as he appeared anxious.

Damien set his things aside and ran down the hall. He quickly made his way to the audio room, but it was locked from inside. The music was blasting at full volume and it was sure to draw the attention of the plaza’s security guard. Damien made his way to the office, grabbed the audio room keys, and jogged back. As he entered the room, he tried switching the light on, but it was busted.

“Shit,” Damien said in a hard whisper.

He had no choice but to make his way through the dark and hoped to find the plugs. However, the music made it difficult for him to concentrate, and for a moment, Damien could have sworn he had seen something move in the darkness. He had no time to clarify what he saw, but he was able to find the plugs tangled behind the speaker box. He didn’t hesitate to disconnect the audio jack, as well as the extension cord from the power outlet.

When he was finished in the audio room, Damien returned the keys back to the office. Once he made his way back to the locker room, he noticed that Brian was no longer there. He figured he didn’t want to stay and take any sort of blame for the faulty speaker, especially since it was his responsibility in the first place. Damien didn’t bother to stress about Brian’s lack of effort at work. He packed his things as quickly as possible and left the skating rink for the night.

In the back parking lot of the plaza, Damien’s car rested under a dim light pole that barely gave warmth to the mid-winter breeze. As he drew closer to his car, Damien reached into his pocket to retrieve his keys. He shuffled for them briefly until coming to a complete stop, finding them mixed with some loose change.

“Come on, baby,” a voice said from afar. “Let’s just go back to my place.”

Damien glanced from across the parking lot and saw a tall, young man leaning over a young woman against his car. He leaned in closer for a kiss and she couldn’t help but deny it. Damien suddenly realized that it had been her, the young woman from the skating rink. He stood by his car briefly and watched as they continued to make out, but in a split second, she removed herself from his lips, and her eyes had discovered Damien from across the lot.

Damien suddenly threw his keys into the door and unlocked it. The young woman stared at him the entire time until her boyfriend glanced over his shoulder. He too saw the worn-out ‘89 Corolla that was parked away under the shitty light pole, but his girlfriend was cunning to snatch his head back and stick her tongue down his throat. Damien had seen this and started his car without any delay. As he steadily pulled out of the parking lot, he couldn’t help but get one last look at her. His eyes briefly glazed over his rearview mirror, searching for the black 1991 Ford Mustang. However, as he made the sight of the young man and his sports car, he couldn’t find the young woman at all. What he saw was only the young man slouched over the driver’s side door, his right hand pressed on its roof, and the other hand grasping something that wasn’t there.