Novie slipped in through the kitchen door. Her mother sat at the table on the phone and computer. As she tried to move past her unseen, her mother hung up the phone.
“What are you doing here, Novie? I thought you had practice until four.”
“I didn’t feel like going.”
“Are you sick?”
“No, I just didn’t feel like going. Maybe, I don’t want to be a cheerleader anymore,” Novie said and ran up to her room. She slammed the door and turned on her computer.
***
“I can’t believe your mom actually let you quit,” Jersey, Novie’s best friend said, as she lay on her stomach on the thick, deep- purple comforter on Novie’s bed.
“Not really. She tried to get me back on the squad even called coach Kim, but no deal. Kim said if I were a happier and a more devoted cheerleader she might consider it. Now, mom is on this kick of finding something else for me to do.”
“Why?”
“How the hell should I know? I guess she wants her alone time whoring around,” Novie said and changed the radio.
“You know, Halloween is like three weeks away. What do you want to go as? I was thinking we could be villains from
Once Upon a Time. I want to be Regina. You could be Zelena. Or I could be Zelena and you could be Regina.”
“We always dress up in some cheesy, matching Halloween costumes,” Novie said.
Jersey frowned, “okay Nov, then what do you want to dress up as?”
“Zero.”
“The Creepypasta Zero?”
“Yeah.”
“Why? Isn’t she a little, I don’t know, creepy?”
“That’s the point isn’t it? It is Halloween.” Novie got off the bed and went to the closet and pulled out the outfit she had been assembling for the last week. “I pretty much got everything I need except the hair dye, the colored contacts and the sledgehammer.”
“That’s cool. I guess; I could go as a Creepypasta character as well.”
“Why don’t you dress up who want to be? I think you would be an awesome Evil Queen. You love wearing fancy dresses.”
“I know, but it’s like our best friend thing.”
“Just because we are dressing differently, doesn’t mean we are not still best friends.”
***
Two weeks before Halloween, Novie found her mom downstairs.
“Mom, can you order these things for my Halloween costume?” Novie gave her the list.
“White hair dye, white contact lenses, a sledgehammer? We don’t have the money for this. If you need this stuff so bad, why not ask your father for the money?”
“How do we not have the money? He pays child support and alimony,” Novie snapped.
“First of that money goes to the bills and the food.”
“And it is supposed to pay for my clothes as well.”
“Yeah clothes you wear to school, not expensive Halloween costume crap. If you want this shit, ask your father for the money.”
“Fine,” Novie said and marched off.
Her dad answered on the first ring, “November, what is it? I’m a little busy.”
“Dad, this won’t take long. I need some money to buy things for my Halloween costume and mom said we don’t have the money and she told me to ask you.”
She heard him count to ten quietly on the other end. He took a breath in and said, “fine call Tracy and tell her what you need. Tell her I said to get what you needed.” Then he hung up.
At least she was making progress for her costume. She could tell her dad was pissed, and she also knew he would be calling her mom later on to bitch her out. Novie didn’t blame him. Why is that her mother got pretty nails and fancy clothes and Novie was left shopping the bargain bin?
Tracy, her stepmother, was eager and pleased to help Novie out.
“One of my friends is a hairdresser. I can take you over tomorrow and she will color your hair white. Since your hair is so dark anyway, it might be the best to have a professional do it.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, maybe if you want, we can spend some time together. Do you need anything else for your costume?”
“No, I have the outfit already. I had to buy the tights but the rest I had in my closet.”
“How about I pick you from school?” Tracy asked.
“Great.”
***
When she arrived home from spending all afternoon with Tracy, her mother was pissed.
“What the fuck is this? Why did you ignore my calls? Where the hell was you?”
“I was with Tracy. She paid for my hair. I think it looks nice. Instead of all white, the hairdresser said I should do a black and white ombre.”
“No, it looks like shit. It’s funny how she has all this money to waste on you but I can’t get any more from that lying sack of shit. You know he called me this morning. Fucking prick.”
“That lying sack of shit is my dad!” Novie screamed. “And Tracy is nice and she wanted to hang out with me. She bought the rest of my Halloween costume and we ate at Applebee’s and went shopping. We had fun.”
“I would say, go live with your father. But he doesn’t want you either.”
“Fuck you, mom!”
Novie’s mom, slapped her across the face. Novie started to cry, she ran up to her room.
***
Novie came home from school and there was a large package on the doorstep. She picked it up and smiled. It had to be the sledgehammer. She looked at the box closer and something was strange about it. Her name was written on the box in a black marker, but not her address. There was no shipping label or a return address. It was like it just appeared out of nowhere. A chill raced down her spine as the October wind picked up and swirled leaves around her.
She brought the box to her room and opened it. Inside was a sledgehammer, but not the sledgehammer she picked out from eBay. This had a painted white wooden handle with strange rune-like markings on the shaft. The top was black and made from what appeared to rubber. Etched in the rubber and painted in white was the number zero with a line through it, a computer zero. Novie took it out of the box.
As she held it in her hands, a warm feeling radiated from the sledge hammer through her hands, up through her arms, to her heart. This was hers. It was meant for her. It was like that feeling she got when chose out her puppy from the shelter before he parents divorced. He was a skinny, skittery little black dog with a big brown spot by his tail. She had a connection with him and had to have him. Of course, when her parents divorced less than a year ago, Tartan had to go back to the pound because her mother couldn’t afford to take care of him. She had a connection with the sledgehammer. This was meant to be.
Kismet.
***
She woke on Halloween morning, kissed the sledgehammer that she had been sleeping with since she got it. Lucky for her, Jersey has not wanted to come over in awhile. Otherwise she would think it was weird that Novie had received a sledgehammer and that she had been sharing a bed with it, even cuddling it like was her childhood lovey. And really Novie, didn’t want Jersey coming over anymore, and she never saw her except for school. She told her that her mom grounded her, but the truth was she had to get home from school and be with the sledgehammer. She would spend all her time laying in bed with it, stroking it, talking to it, doing things with it.
Novie popped the white contact lenses in. She got them a couple of days earlier and started wearing them full time. The whispers started when she had her dyed, but it got worse with the contacts. Novie didn’t care about those posers anymore. She couldn’t believe she used to want to be friends with them and maintain her status. All that mattered now was the sledgehammer.
She slipped on the black and white tights and the black jean cut off shorts. She put on a black bra and her black fishnet shirt and a black tank top. Separating her hair in the center, she put it up in pig tails. Lastly, she slipped on the finger-less gloves. She picked up the sledgehammer and swung it around.
“Oh my god, this would make a killer video.”
Novie grabbed her phone and started recording. She claimed to be Zero, swung at the full-length mirror and shattered it.
“Did I hurt you? I’m sorry. I love you. I’m so sorry,” Novie said and cradled the sledgehammer. She kissed it once again. Then turned off her phone.
“So I can’t take you to school, but we will be going out tonight. There is a poser party at Riley Mondoon’s house. And we are going to be awesome,” Novie said to the sledgehammer, kissed it once again and left.
***
Novie carried the sledgehammer over her right shoulder with her hand firmly on the shaft.
Never had she felt more alive, more purposeful. Tonight was going to be her night; she knew it. Her mother was standing in a slinky nurse’s costume on the phone, like always.
“Well you were supposed to be here twenty minutes ago, we are going to be late for the party,” her mother said to her boyfriend of the week.
Novie felt like she was drifting away, a voyeur on her own life. She let the sledgehammer fall from her should so that the center of the shaft was in her hand. Grabbing it with her other hand, Novie swung it until connected with her mother’s head. The skull snapped and cracked and blood shot out from the wound. Her mother fell to the floor, twitching. She was still alive, but couldn’t speak to whoever was on the phone.
She heard his voice. He yelled for her mother. Her mother groaned and gurgled.
“Happy Halloween, Mom.”
It was eight and it just started getting dark out. Novie wandered the streets on her way to the party. She had blood on her face and hair and on the tool. Little kids in their cowboy and princess costumes screamed when they saw her and ran to their mommies. At Riley’s house, she slipped into the shadows on the side of the house. She saw Jersey and some other girls from the squad all dressed like villains from Once Upon a Time. Funny how that was
their best friend thing. Perhaps if, Jersey was a bit more understanding she would have continued to be her friend instead of ditching her.
“Jersey,” Novie yelled from the shadows.
“Novie, is that you? I didn’t think you were coming.”
“Can you come here?”
Jersey appeared, “I’ve missed you, Nov. What’s been going on with you?”
“Sure you’ve missed me, that’s why you stopped coming over. You were jealous because I had this,” Novie said and showed her the sledgehammer.
“Well, it’s really cool. But why I would be jealous of a stupid sledgehammer? It’s just a cool prop. I think this costume fits you. You look awesome.”
“It’s not a prop; it’s real. I’m real.”
“Novie?” Jersey asked.
Novie held the sledgehammer in her hands. She smiled.
“What’s wrong with you?”
Novie swung it at Jersey’s face. Her nose and teeth broke. Jersey fell against the wall and almost to the ground. More blood sprayed over Novie. Jersey tried to scream but Novie swung the sledgehammer again hitting her once more in the face, but this time her face was smashed against the brick wall. Jersey collapsed to the ground and her face looked like it melted behind a mask.
Not knowing what to do next and feeling damn good and alive, Novie went to the backyard. Halloween lights were strung up in the patio. Hip-hop wafted through the open sliding glass door. Guys laughed and girls squealed. There were a couple of guys sitting on the patio, smoking a bong. She sauntered closer to them, with her trusty sidekick slung on her shoulder.
“Damn, Novie. You are hot,” Shane said. “Why don’t you come over here and sit on big papa’s lap?”
Shane, the player, he had a go around with everyone else but not her. She was never interested him and his sleazy ways. She used to prefer guys who weren’t jocks, smart guys, not nerds, but the smart, brooding, hotties. Tonight, playing with Shane would be fun.
“Hey Shane, what are you supposed to be?”
“A pirate and I want some booty! And yours looks like a fine treasure.”
The others laughed. Novie laughed and came closer until she was standing in front of him. “So is this what you want?” she asked.
“You going to give it up, or am I going to take it?” He asked.
The two other guys chortled.
“You know you are going to have to take it from her,” one said.
“Look at how she wants you,” the other said and inhaled from the bong.
“Oh, I was thinking about doing the taking,” Novie said slyly.
The guys whooped. Shane sat back in the chair, “I’m all yours, baby.”
In one fluid motion, she held the sledgehammer in her hands. It was an extension of her; she was one with it. She whipped the sledgehammer and whacked Shane’s head like a baseball. Blood squirted from the side of his face.
“And I think that is a home run, fellas. Isn’t that what he wanted?”
One of the guys screamed and ran inside. The other grabbed his phone and called 9-1-1. With the commotion, people from party came to the door. The guy inside was screaming. Novie leaped over to the guy on the phone and struck him. His phone went sailing into the grass and more blood rained on her. She loved the way it felt when hit her face and then dripped down. It was like art. Everyone had their phones out. They had to be recording. She was famous. She was Zero.
“November, stop!” Riley yelled.
The crowd parted. He had a shotgun in his hand. He cocked it.
She went for him and he fired into her eye and out the back of her head taking brain bits with it. She wavered and dropped the sledgehammer and then fell to the ground.
***
Eleven Months Later
“Sargent, we have a problem?” Officer Madeston said on the phone from the evidence room in Meridan Police Department.
“What’s that?”
“That sledgehammer, which was used to kill all those people last Halloween, is gone.”
“What the hell do you mean gone?”
“It was here last week, when I did my weekly inventory and now it is not. I looked at the video and no one left with it. No one came in here but me.”
“For Crissakes, how the hell does a sledgehammer just walk out of a secured police station?”
****
Zero-Creepypasta, written by ZombiePunkRat inspired this story.
