One Minute to Midnight by Steve Lang

at a time. I didn't bother to
explain any of that to Dan. My mother was a heavy smoker for years,
and what I've found is that smokers can get defensive about their
addiction, so it’s an invitation for trouble to tell them they are
killing themselves, and how everyone has to breathe in their
unfiltered smoke. The seats were new black leather, his dash
immaculate and completely restored, and he had a chrome skull shift
ball with red eyes that lit up. Neat car. I wasn’t too sure about
the driver, on the other hand. I was about to find out just how
disturbed my new friend really was. Later, at my trial, witnesses
would testify they never saw me get into a candy apple red Dodge
Charger that day after school.
"So, here's the deal. We're going out tonight on a little caper to
get PAID!" Dan said.
    "My Mom isn't going to let
me..."
    "Your mom is at work tonight and your
dad is out of town, right?"
    I don’t know how he knew this. I
should have gotten out of the car and never spoken to him again.
But that’s not what I did. I had never been adventurous, nor had I
left the house for anything more than brief trips to the grocery
store, or out to dinner with my parents. I figured that having a
cool friend with an awesome car was going to turn my fortune around
at school. I had the feeling that people were finally going to
notice me.
    "What time are we doing it?" I
asked.
    "Well, it’s Friday night, so how about
midnight? I'll pick you up at your house."
    "Do I need to bring anything? Shovel,
pick?"
"I got you bro. I'm bringing bolt cutters and a crow bar. If we
need a shovel for anything, we're already doing more work than we
need to. Besides, have you ever dug down to a coffin with a shovel?
We'd be there all night, and the object is not to get busted by the
cops for grave robbing." Dan explained.
"Gotcha, I'll be ready."
    He pulled up to my house and I got out
of the car.
"See you tonight, man. This is going to be exciting!" Dan
said.
    I walked up my driveway, and as I
turned to wave his car was already gone. I don’t remember hearing
the sound of his car rumble down the street, and the street
actually was empty in both directions. For the rest of the
afternoon I tried to make sense of that disappearing act, but it
was tough. A car does not simply vanish into thin air, especially
one with as loud an engine as Dan's car had. I was beginning to get
nervous about this plan of Dan's, and I thought about calling it
off several times, but I didn't have his number. There were not
many times in my adolescence where I needed a parent home, but this
night was one of them. I felt alone, like I was about to strike a
deal with the Devil and the saints weren't watching. Intuition is a
funny thing, and if you listen to the suggestion of that inner
voice, you may just avoid an unforeseen catastrophe. I ignored
every instinct to tell Dan no. Instead, I waited anxiously for him
to arrive at my house.
    It was eleven fifty-nine p.m. when I
heard the roar of Dan's engine and winced at the glare of his
headlights illuminating my dark living room wall. I took a deep
breath and walked outside to meet Dan. From the brightness it was
impossible to see him sitting inside the car, but when I got in on
the passenger side, Dan was in the driver’s seat. His head was
covered in a black wharf fisherman's cap, and his face was almost
obscured by one of those thin face masks that have a skull print on
them. All that was visible was his eyes. His appearance was
frightening, and I felt like I was riding in a car with the
undead.
"Hey bro, where's your mask? You got anything to cover your face?"
Dan asked.
    "What? No, you never mentioned I'd
need one?" I was trying to remain calm.
    "Here, put this on." He tossed a ski
mask over to me.
I put the mask over my head and it smelled like mothballs.
"This thing stinks!" I said.
    "Quit bitching, man! That thing was in
the bottom of a trunk two hours ago. You should just be glad I
brought you anything at all. Don't you