Devilish Dare

It was a foggy weeknight and all the old drunks were out drinking at the local cantina. The cantina owned by Graciela, who was a heavy woman and was ready to call it quits any day because she just didn’t have anything to live for except to cater to old farts that always came to her establishment named after her, was always full of old silly men drowning their sadness with booze.

Graciela used to be a pretty good-looking lady. Most of the men in town chased her in her prime days. Unfortunately, she settled for the sucker that made her scream one night and put all the other lame bags to shame. This particular man that made her scream one time eventually came to own the bar and named it after her. He died a few short years after, and she inherited the establishment.

Some people said that she had murdered him. Some said that his death was a stupid accident from something she neglected or overlooked. Anyhow, Graciela got stuck with the cantina that only attracted sadness. It was always filled with men who were ready to put a gun in their mouths just because.

After the death of Graciela’s husband, she physically went to ruins. She gained weight and let herself go like crazy. It was said by many that it was her remorse that led her to eat nonstop for killing her husband or accidentally taking his life away. The truth was never known to anyone in the town about her husband’s death. The authority ruled it as an accident. In the end, she lived her life the same every day with boozers accompanying her.

“This one is for my best friend Hugo,” raising his glass, said Enoch.

“I told you not to mention my husband again!” retorted Graciela from the other end of the bar while playing checkers with Ernesto. Graciela never liked it when her customers, and some of them being her only friends, mentioned her husband. Enoch was always the only brave one to mention Hugo once he was inebriated.

Enoch was Graciela’s deceased husband’s best friend. Enoch was also Graciela’s lover until she left him for Hugo. Enoch became a heavy drunk once he was heartbroken. Pathetically, he always tried to get together with Graciela after Hugo’s death, but it was always to no avail. She always rejected anyone that made a move on her after she let herself go. It looked like she felt shame about herself.

“Hey, you know what?” Ernesto started talking and turning to Enoch, “Let’s do the bet tonight, no?”

Everyone froze in the cantina. That particular night, the attendees were Graciela, Ernesto, Enoch, Joaquin (Ernesto‘s cousin), and Daniel.

Daniel was believed to be a bit of a freak. Some said that he was too much of a paranoid deadbeat. The guy didn’t have a life and was always paranoid about everything. Graciela just thought that the guy was always on drugs, always twitchy and all.

“What bet?” answered Enoch.

“You know?” smiled Ernesto as if he just came up with the greatest thing to do at that moment, at that boring hell-hole that they always end up at almost every night.

Enoch’s forehead shifted—his whole scalp shifted towards the back of his head realizing what Ernesto was talking about. Enoch looked dazed for a bit. Daniel, who was sitting next to him, started leaning forward as if to look directly into Enoch’s eyes.

“Oh yeah, that bet,” whispered Enoch.

“You two better stop your silliness,” started Graciela. She ordered Ernesto to make his move, they were still playing checkers.

“Let’s tell them this bet,” Ernesto told Enoch while ignoring Graciela’s remark about continuing the game.

“OK, I’m in,” said Graciela.

“You don’t even know the bet,” jumped Enoch out of his daze and looked almost mad at Graciela.

“If it involves money, then I’m in,” continued Graciela.

“That sounds like a great idea!” Ernesto said excitedly and ignoring the conversations the others were having.

“What is this bet?” asked Daniel puzzled. No one paid attention to him.

“What do you have in mind Ernesto?” Enoch asked suspiciously.

“Everyone places their money before I tell them what has to be done in order to win the bet,” explained Ernesto.

“I’m not going to make a bet without knowing what it is,” responded Graciela.

Daniel jumped on board with that reply.

“Look, I guarantee that this bet will excite and entertain all of us when it’s all over,” Ernesto said as he looked at their eyes. He had a creepy expression as he stared. His mustache was thick and a bit nappy. If he took care of that mustache, Ernesto could easily fit into a bare-knuckle fistfight from the late 1800s.

“It might scare the hell out of us too,” added Enoch, “you remember what happened last time!”

Graciela and Daniel looked at each other trying to figure out what Enoch was talking about.

“That had nothing to do with it” replied Ernesto.

They started arguing about a night that they had some years ago. Ernesto kept insisting that this bet they had supposedly a while back did not affect anything in their lives.

“You two shut the hell up and tell me what this bet is about,” Graciela almost shouting to interrupt the mild argument that Ernesto and Enoch were having.

It was quiet and Ernesto looked down and smiled as if recollecting. Then, he looked back up with a fixed stare.

“Everyone hand me five big ones,” he commanded, “I’ll include mine as well.” Ernesto took the money out of his vest pocket. He was wearing a dirty, light-blue collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up.

“What is this bet we are making?” asked Daniel almost annoyed.

Graciela agreed.

“It’s more of a dare than a bet,” answered Ernesto while holding his folded money up in the air next to his face. They all stared at him, except for Enoch who was downing what was left of his beer.

“If it makes you feel any better, I’ve already lost my money,” added Ernesto, “I’m just putting my money down because I’m not going to do the dare. I guess I’m just paying to see if anyone here will do it. I’m counting Enoch out, so that leaves Graciela, Joaquin, or Daniel up for the job.”

“I don’t want to do it,” said Enoch.

“You still have to pay,” commanded Ernesto.

“Why?”

“You’re not getting a show for free.”

Enoch started taking his money out of his khakis spotted with white paint. He held the money in the air to show everyone and put it down on the bar.

“What is this?” Graciela asked.

“Enoch and I are not doing the dare. We are just going to watch someone else do the dare, but we are including our five big ones. Are you guys in?”

Daniel was sweating and had his hands in his pocket already.

“I’m in,” said Graciela with a smirk, “I can handle any liquor that’s in this bar.”

Ernesto stared at Daniel as Graciela got her money from the cashier and put it on top of Enoch’s bills. Daniel eventually got his out and passed it to Graciela who was standing across on the other side of the bar. Ernesto walked up and put his money on top of the pile.

“It’s only 20,” smiled Daniel nervously.

“What about Joaquin?” Graciela asked with haste.

Joaquin was sleeping on the couch next to the pool table. He was out like a light bulb, for he worked a straight twelve hours that day.

“Let’s wake him!” continued Graciela as if she wanted more money in that pile.

“Let him be,” insisted Daniel.

They all agreed to let Joaquin sleep after convincing Graciela that the man was tired and that he deserved to sleep. Plus, the guy had just lost his home in a fire three days ago and was sleeping at the cantina—Graciela’s charity.

“Go ahead, Enoch, tell them what the dare is.”

Enoch got up and walked around the bar to serve himself another beer from the tap. He looked up at everyone.

“You see them dark woods out there?”

They all looked out the windows from their spot. It was foggy. The full moon beamed its luminous rays through the missing patches of fog. All the other businesses around the bar were closed. The bar was the only thing open on this one-block street for this lonely night up in the mountains. All homes and cabins were at least a half-mile away, for this bar and the businesses around it were meant for passing tourists going to the lake some miles up. The street was a shortcut that not too many tourists knew about. So, when it did have passing travelers, they weren’t many. At this time of the year and especially on this creepy night, the town never had tourists.

“It’s so perfect tonight!” interrupted Ernesto.

“Perfect for what?” questioned Daniel.

“You have to go out there in the woods, away from this block, deep into the woods and call out for the Devil,” bluntly stated Enoch.

Both Graciela and Daniel walked up to a window and looked out. They were contemplating this terrible dare. They were thinking in their own heads if they had the guts to actually call out for the Devil on this foggy, lonely night. What if it came true? What if the Devil actually appeared? They both thought that it was a pretty good dare at least. The idea had them sweating as they looked out into the cold night that belonged to the dark.

“I’m out.”

“Why?” asked surprisingly Daniel to Graciela.

“I’m afraid and I know I’ll see Hugo out there!”

They all stared at Graciela in disbelief. No one dared to ask why she would run into Hugo’s spirit in the woods.

A tear streamed down Graciela’s cheek as she looked out into the creepy void that was outside the window.

“It’s up to you Daniel,” inserted Ernesto, breaking the cold silence that Graciela ensued.

Daniel insisted that it wasn’t up to him. He wanted to draw straws or something, anything to get out of this silly, scary situation. The woods looked very intimidating to Daniel, to anyone.

It was then that Ernesto and Enoch told Daniel that they had somewhat done this dare years ago while they were walking on the road together after a night of drinking. They explained that they had done it from the road and called out for the Prince of Darkness on a crazy, dismal night. Enoch finished the story by saying that the bushes in front of them started moving violently and scared the heck out of them.

“That was the last time you guys saw Hugo, right?” asked Graciela.

“Yes.”

Hugo died the next night in the woods. A tree had suspiciously fallen on him while sleepwalking. However, Hugo had some mysterious gashes across his belly, but it was ruled by the authorities that the gashes were caused by broken branches as the tree came down on him. Graciela forgot to lock the front door that night. It was the only night she forgot. Ever since that night, her life has not been the same.

“Hugo was with you guys last time you did it?” Daniel asked surprised.

“Look, it’s you or no one tonight,” added Ernesto, “you are basically getting paid to do this.”

Daniel stared at them with a smirk. His hands were shaking a bit. Enoch noticed it but ignored it, desperately waiting for Daniel to agree to do the dare.

“If you don’t do it, we keep your twenty pesos,” continued Ernesto.

“Now it’s a bet,” said Daniel, “it’s mine against all of yours.”

Daniel grabbed the money from the bar and put it in his pocket. He walked past Ernesto and opened the door. He looked back and told them that he was going to do this to show them that he was tired of people talking behind his back. He was tired of people calling him a paranoid delusional nut. He made them promise to tell everyone in town what he was going to do that night as he stood in the doorway with the dark behind him. Daniel wanted everyone to know that he was not afraid of the dark woods. Plus, he needed the money for his medicine he added pathetically.

“Listen for my beckoning calls in the woods!” and he walked straight into the eerie, foggy night as if he wanted to get it done without any thinking.

Ernesto walked slowly to the doorway in disbelief. He looked out into the darkness and turned back to say, “Wow!”

Enoch could not believe Daniel did it. Daniel actually walked out into the darkness to summon the Devil. Enoch started getting nervous. He started telling Ernesto that it was probably not a good idea, because Daniel was always paranoid about everything. He mentioned how Daniel’s luck was always a bit on the gloomy side since everything that could go wrong for the guy always did.

Graciela had a look of obliviousness. She stood there at the window still staring out, not even looking out for Daniel. She still thought that she might catch a glimpse of Hugo’s spirit since she was a huge believer of ghosts and such.

Enoch walked up next to Ernesto and stood there in silence.

“Last time you sent out Hugo to do it, didn’t you?” asked Graciela.

Enoch and Ernesto both turned to look at Graciela. She kept staring out the window.

“Listen, we all know it was an accident,” Enoch attempted to comfort Graciela.

Graciela couldn’t shake the stares from people whenever she went to town. Every time that happened, she just wanted to yell out that she was going to have the tree removed. That tree always looked like it was due to fall at any time. That tree fell down hard that unfortunate night. It fell on Hugo.

Suddenly, screams could be heard from the distance coming through the fog. Enoch with his right hand grabbed Ernesto tightly on the left arm. Ernesto shook it off. They halted for a second and they could make out Daniel’s voice.

Daniel was calling out the Devil.

“I don’t believe it!” whispered Enoch under his breath.

Ernesto silenced him with a shoosh. Again, Daniel’s screams could be heard.

Suddenly, a wind picked up and it muffled the noises of the dark. It was an obscure wind. It came out of nowhere. Then, it was like a growl being carried by the wind from afar. It was like a lion’s growl but faint.

What followed then spooked the heck out of all three of them. They heard Daniel screaming for his life.

They froze!

Picture-perfect frozen, they were, with a silly look on their faces. Ernesto began to grab Enoch who was doing the same. Graciela had covered her mouth in disbelief as she retreated from the window. The dark just looked black covered in fog and decorated with Daniel’s screams.

“Close the door!” commanded Ernesto as he started shoving Enoch back into the cantina.

“No,” stopped Enoch from being manhandled, “we have to go out there and help him!”

“I have the gun under the register,” added Graciela with one arm pointing at the register as she kept her eyes glued on the haunting darkness that was engulfing Daniel’s screams.

“Oh God, what did we do,” Ernesto implied, “this is nothing like the last time!”

“Last time, Hugo just came running out of the bushes right before they started moving in front of us!” added Enoch, “That sounds like he’s getting murdered!”

Ernesto shoved Enoch into the cantina and was beginning to close the door when suddenly, out of the thick blackness came running out Daniel. He was running lightning fast.

Enoch hit the floor by stumbling on his own feet when he looked out and saw Daniel darting into the cantina, shoving Ernesto out of the way. Daniel ran into the establishment and tripped over Enoch falling against the bar, knocking down some stools. Ernesto quickly shut the door and locked it. Graciela stumbled over some chairs as she was making her way to the register to get the gun.

Daniel had been scratched all over his face. They weren’t deep cuts, but he had blood on his face from scratches. His eyes were wide open like he had just taken a huge rip of a horrific scare. He was breathing heavily while he held his jacket tight shut with both his hands.

“It was…”

Enoch crawled over to him as Ernesto kept his back to the door as if trying to keep something out of the cantina.

“What happened?” asked Enoch as he approached Daniel and saw the cuts on the man’s face.

“It was…”

Graciela moved in closer as she leaned her fat body over the bar with the gun in hand. She was looking down at Daniel, with her fierce eyes, and Enoch next to him on his stomach.

“It was…”

“What was it Daniel?” asked Ernesto eerily and shaking frantically.

“It was…”

The lights went out and everyone screamed.

The gun went off.

Ernesto covered his face with his shaky hands even though he was in the dark. He kept thinking that the Devil was going to scratch at his face, popping his eyeballs. His imagination got the best of him at that frantic moment.

Enoch crawled closer to Daniel in the dark as he screamed, asking for God’s forgiveness for all his measly sins.

Graciela was nervous. She had fired her gun and didn’t know if she hit anyone, someone, or maybe worse, she shot herself. She held the gun out aiming at the dark and kept yelling for everyone to stay still.

The lights came back on.

Graciela pointed the gun at the person who was standing next to the light switch. It was Joaquin and he looked angry. He had his hand out at Graciela as if telling her not to shoot.

“Shit!” he said in relief, “what are you guys doing?” desperately asking.

They all gazed at him. Ernesto was at the door sliding down on his back until he was in a sitting position. Graciela was slowly lowering the gun as she stared at Joaquin. Enoch was on his stomach embracing Daniel’s legs for his dear life as Daniel sat on the floor with his back against the bar and staring blankly ahead.

“I was just playing a joke man…but the gunshot!” Joaquin added as he found their stare cold and rude. Joaquin fixated his eyes on Daniel who was oblivious to what had just happened.

Everyone else turned their eyes on Daniel too.

“What happened to you Daniel?” asked Joaquin who now joined the curiosity.

Daniel turned to Joaquin and said, “I saw a huge black cat on a tree after I tried to summon the Devil. Its eyes were glowing intensely. It made its way to the bottom of the tree as I stood there too frightened to move. It came right up to my face. I had backed up into a tree and thought for sure I was dead. I kept thinking about my dear sister and how I was finally going to see her again. I kept thinking it was going to rip my head off. Instead, it just stared into my eyes. I could taste its breath that tasted like sour blood, I guess.”

Daniel paused for a bit as if tasting something in his mouth. Blood had trickled into his mouth from his scratched-up face.

“I thought I was dead for sure,” Daniel continued with his eyes fixated on Joaquin, “but it just backed away from me. Its eyes disappeared into the darkness. Then, the wind picked up and a loud growl came from that darkness. It made all of my hair go straight up. I started screaming for my dear life…I’ve never been so scared!”

They all stood there with a picture painted in their heads as each one was caught up in their own version of what Daniel had just experienced with the woods.

“So you got scared shitless and ran through the woods like a scared little girl and cut yourself up with branches, right?” asked Joaquin sarcastically.

Joaquin started laughing a bit as he coughed up some phlegm.

“You’re lucky that the mountain lion didn’t kill you!” said Graciela from behind the bar.

“Do mountain lions come in all black?” asked Daniel as he licked his lips full of blood.

-

by Bazooka Teaches