Movie Night

During a late night in Cleveland, Kenny Hoffman is sitting at home in front of the television with his friend, Leo Delaney, watching a horror movie. Kenny is the kind of guy who likes to yell at the screen while Leo enjoys just watching how things play out.

“What person in their right mind would be so curious enough to open that door?” Kenny asks to no one in particular as he gestures obscenely at the screen. “If you’re in a creepy, unoccupied cabin and you hear something knocking on the fucking door in the middle of the night, why in the world would you open it?”

“Just watch the movie,” Leo says as he bit into his chocolate bar. “The scene has to move somehow.”

“They could’ve at least looked out the damn window,” Kenny went on as if Leo hadn’t said anything. “But they don’t. They just slowly walk up to the door with no weapon in hand and turn the knob.”

“You’d think the killer would just bust the door down instead of knock,” Leo comments and digs through his popcorn bowl.

“If only things were that easy.” Kenny rolls his eyes and sits back in his seat. “It’ll take a few tries before he’d be able to break open that door. By then, they’d be out the back and booking it down the highway.”

Soon the movie ends and Leo is getting ready to leave for home. No one would have ever known that they were being watched throughout the whole evening.

“Hey man, you still riding a bicycle around?” Kenny says to Leo. Leo already has one shoe on and is having difficulty finding the other.

“Yeah,” he answers distractedly, “Have you seen my other shoe?”

“Nope.” Kenny starts cleaning up the living room. “Why don’t you get a car? You’re not turning into a hipster, are you?”

“Since when do hipsters not have cars?”

“They’re tree-huggers and if they do have cars it runs on vegetable oil.”

“Are you thinking hippies?” Leo moves around the living room. He looks under chairs and cushions but can’t seem to find his other shoe.

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“No. No it’s not.” Leo moves past the basement door that is slightly ajar and hears a loud thump. He jumps and hurries to Kenny’s side. “What was that?”

Kenny scoffs at Leo and walks up to the door, peeking through the opening. When Kenny doesn’t see anything, he reaches for the knob slowly as Leo stays behind him and watches.

“Just open it,” Leo says, and Kenny jabs him in the stomach.

“I’ll do it when I’m ready.” Kenny grabs the knob and quickly opens the door.

At the bottom of the stairs they see a pair of glowing eyes attached to a dark figure and hear a low growl. The eyes begin to float towards the top and the boys slowly back away while clutching onto each other.

Suddenly, the figure leaps and the boys screech an earsplitting scream while falling over each other to get away from it. They hurry to the door and Kenny risks a look back. What he sees slows his pace and then he stops completely.

“Kenny!” Leo says panicked when he doesn’t see his friend beside him. “What’re you doing?”

“Look,” Kenny says as he tugs on Leo’s collar.

“We’ve got to get out of here!”

“Turn around and look, Leo.” Kenny pulls Leo to face him and points at a golden-brown retriever with white ears. “It’s just Moose.”

“What?” Leo looks down at Moose and notices a shoe hanging from his muzzle. “My other shoe!”

Leo grabs the shoe from Moose who was reluctant to let it go. He sits there wagging his tail and panting as Kenny scratches behind his ear.

“I think we should stick with comedies for now,” Kenny says. Leo nods his agreement and puts on his other shoe.

Kenny watches Leo disappear down his driveway. He didn’t worry about his friend riding alone in the middle of the night. They lived only a mile apart, but little did Kenny know that this night would be the last he ever saw his friend alive.