“You're fired.” Dick said to me when I was in the fucking middle of my shift. 

“Wait what?” I replied thinking I might have misheard what he said.

“I said you're fired Gabe, now get your ass out of my store.” My manager Dick, reached out his fat, gross hand and ripped my employee's badge right off my gas station vest. I couldn't believe it. I just stood there in shock staring at him through my long black emo bangs. I'm guessing I stood there too long because Dick grabbed my arm and basically dragged me to the door. I could have sued him for that, now that I think of it.

He shoved me out the front door into the spring twilight air. He marched back inside taking my work vest with him. Lowering my head knowing there was nothing I could do I threw my black sweatshirt hoodie over my grey beanie. What a typical look for a depressed person. I pulled my tangled earbuds out of the well worn sweatshirt and clicked shuffle on my Spotify playlist.  

“Check yes, Juliet. Are you with me? Rain is falling down on the sidewalk. I won't go until you come outside.” We the Kings, great band. I needed a distraction until I got home so I could take my panic medicine. And I suppose We the Kings wanted to try and help.

So off I went heading to my appointment. My car got totaled three weeks ago so I had to take the bus. My head was spinning and I almost missed my stop. But I paid the bus fee and walked three blocks to my apartment building. As I walked in the street lamps glow I felt as though I was being watched. I stopped and took out my earbuds. I hear nothing except the distant sounds of traffic.

“Hello?” I called out. Why did I expect a response? I put my left earbud in and kept walking. I walked by a tall chain link fence that kept out the ever growing patch of forest. My apartment happened to be on the very edge of the city right next to what locals call the murder forest. They called it that because people would go into that forest and never come out. Once a mangled body was pulled out of it, and after that there have been multiple police searches of those woods to see if there were any more body’s. All they would find was nothing but homeless people shelters and a bunch of dead animals. Young adults would often dare each other to go in there to prove they had balls. I used to do that with my friends until we all got jobs and had to start being adults. Being a twenty four year old is so boring. People will treat you like a gross teenager and a stupid adult at the same time.

Lost in my music I crossed the street, away from the forest and walked up to the front door of the apartment complex. I struggled to get my keys out of my pocket when I heard something behind me. I whipped around facing the forest. Staring into the dark woods I thought I saw a flicker of a campfire coming from deep within and the sound of laughter. Suddenly out of nowhere a stray dog lunched out of the woods and hit the chain fence. I jumped back in surprise, hitting the heavy door of the building. The dog barked as I quickly pulled out my keys and opened the heavy door, rushing inside. I sat down on the floor holding my head in my hands. Who would have thought that forest would still find some way to scare me.

After a moment to compose myself I got up and walked through the hallways to get to my apartment, witch was on the ground floor. Before I could reach it my roommate Maxwell bolted out the door.

“Gabriel! Gabriel!” He shouted, grabbing me by the shoulders and started shaking me. “They were outside our window again!” I took a quick whiff of Max’s scent, he was absolutely stoned. I patted him on the cheek.

“Max, There's no one at the window but if you keep shouting you will be going through the window.” I teased him, patting his back. We both walked back and inside our shared apartment. It was a nice place. Max worked as a manager at a Spencer's and got paid pretty good money. He’s been my best friend since middle school. He’s the one that introduced me to alternative music. We’d also have a competition all throughout puberty on our height. I won by a landslide, sprouting up to 6’2” while he only went to 5’10”. And if it wasn't for him I'd be homeless. My parents died in an accident when I was eight, so I was sent to live with my aunt. She was pretty cool, but she died four years ago from cancer. Then my buddy Max scooped me up and let me live with him. Don't worry I'm not leaching off him, I help pay rent.

I locked the door behind us and went into the living room, threw my sweater and beanie on the couch and exited onto our deck to smoke. Not weed, I needed a cigarette. As I shut the glass sliding door behind me I pulled out my lighter and took a second to enjoy the electric chemicals entering my lungs. I looked out into the forest once again. That light I had seen earlier was still there. Now that I was thinking Max normally wouldn't freak out like that when he was high. Was someone actually at the window? I opened the door and peered inside.

“Oi Max!” I called

“What?”

“Can you come out here for a sec?” I stepped back as Max approached and stepped outside. “What did you see at the window?” I asked, taking another puff of my cigarette as he lit his bong. After he took a hit he spoke.

“There were two people standing outside right where we are now. All honesty they looked like shitty cosplayers with prosthetic horns and shit like that. I wouldn't have freaked out normally but I saw them out here last week.” He inhaled his weed and sat down in one of the folding chairs on the deck. 

“What did they look like besides cosplayers?” I asked as I could see his pupils dilate from the weed.

“Like us, you know punk, emo with skinny jeans, chains. Do I need to continue?”

“No, I get it. Why didn't you call the landlord or the cops?” I replied leaning back on the glass door. 

“Because I was all fucked up on weed. As I think about it, those people seemed to be looking for something. They then moved to look in your bedroom window and disappeared.” Max added “Did you steal anything, or do you owe something to someone?” I shook my head no at his question. When Max and I would go out to party we’d stick to the people we knew and stayed away from everyone else. Speaking of parties I remembered we had one to go to that night.

“Is the gig at Sanity Fall still happening at 10?” I asked Max. He always had the connections to where all the fun was.

“Yeah, we should probably head out now, you drive.” Max threw me his keys as he stumbled up. “Where is your work vest?” He asked

“I got fired.”

“Oh”

“Yeah”

“Why?”

“I don't know, he just fired me. Dick never liked the looks of me from the moment the old manager hired me.”

“Probably super christen. After all boomers think people who look like us worship satin or something? That might have been why you were fired if you didn't do anything wrong.” Max’s words made me laugh. He always knew how to make a depressing situation a good one.

We walked back inside and covered the glass door with the black curtains just to make sure no one looked into our apartment again and walked to the parking garage. Max had a small 2009 yellow mini cooper. It ran like shit but it wasn't falling apart. We got in and off we went. We drove out of the parking garage and onto the street just in front of the apartment where I previously had walked. I drove slowly past the forest looking for any signs.

“Bro what the fuck?” Max asked.

“I'm looking for a crazy dog I saw early.”

“Dude you're always looking for something in that forest.” Max wasn't wrong. I felt like the police didn't do a good job when they'd look in that forest. I knew something was in there. A secret it kept hidden. It was almost unnerving. “Well pick up the pace. We're going slower than a herd of turtles.” Listening to Max I stepped on the accelerator and headed in the direction of the city.