“I’m telling you, I feel funny. When I feel like this it always ends up happening. I’d rather not be stuck at a party when i’m stuck in time.” Chrissy said as she met the others at the door of her townhouse.

“You always say that! we get that you have anxiety and stuff. But this time slip or whatever the hell you call it is ridiculous. Why is it that none of us has ever witnessed this shit?” Tyler said, his annoyance becoming ever more apparent with each passing moment.

“I’m sick of this! We can’t ever go anywhere because she has to wear her stilettos everywhere. Late for everything because she can’t get ready on time. Now we can’t go because the laws of the universe somehow work differently, but just for her. You’re so god damn lucky there’s like ten of us who live in this town. Or you’d have no friends at all.” Tyler unleashed on her. Lighting a cigarette and slightly trembling from the rage he was feeling towards his only real friend.

“Okay!, geez calm down! Mister fucking grumpy pants. Look how cute you are when you’re grumpy! It just makes me want to pinch your cheeks.” She said to him. Making sure to hide the fact that he had just emotionally crippled her for the night.

The drive was long it always took along time to get anywhere in the badlands. Every few miles you’d occasionaly drive past a ranch house or farm. Old abandoned buildings and structures left rotting from a long gone lifetime. Skeletons of a failed past dotting the time colored bluffs and buttes. The only thing as endless as the skies above was the vast unending prairie it collided with on the horizon. With Aerosmith blasting as loud as was attainable in the old weathered Pontiac carrying them through the night across the border.

Every Sunday we all gathered in this little border town. Everyone looking for a little adventure and excitement for hundreds of miles around. Debauchery and over the top cartoonish partying. The kind of insanity that only those raised in the complete isolation and misery that is life in this corner of the world. The children and grandchildren of those who found themselves better fit for a hermit lifestyle in an environment likely to kill them at any given opportunity.

Upon entering the unassuming front door and walkng down a hallway to another door. Inside more people than you’ve seen in the last month combined are all drinking and dancing. Tyler immediately goes to find some entertainment. A beer, maybe a fight if he can’t find a girl to help him waste the evening. Of course he’ll need to find some blow. Chrissy knew she probably wouldn’t see him until closing time. By then he’ll be ready to go home and to bed or he’ll want to stand on his dick all night drinking and talking about his big -plans.”

“It doesn’t matter, go do what you need to do. I don’t have money to bail you out so just be a decent person.” Chrissy explained to Tyler as he wiggled away amongst the crowd.

Suddenly Chrissy felt that terrible falling sensation followed by the abrupt stop. The motion sickness and the realization everything has stopped around her.

“Fuck Me!” she proclaims with her fists high in the air. All the lasers frozen in place. Lights illuminating certain areas while others remained pitch black. The same single note from whichever top 10 hit was playing when the universe hit pause. She walks over and stuffed a beverage napkin in her ears. At least dampen the endless noise of the single. moment of the song. Sitting down at an empty seat at the bar she sips her drink from a straw. It’s just red wine but to protect her teeth from staining her grandmother taught her to always drink from a straw.

“Well I wonder how long or not long I’m going to be stuck like this? doop a doop a doowop” she sang to herself.

“Crash” the sound of glass shattering cut through the damned single note. Never has anything ever made a movement before. How could glass break? she asks herself while clutching her chest pretending to have a heart attack.

“Okay, I’m not afraid” she shouted at the crowd of people frozen in place. Her voice cracking and teetering off was an obvious indication that this was a lie.

“Fuck this!” as she stood up and took off running for the door leading to the street. Around the partygoers still in line getting carded. Around the minors and the drunks out smoking their cigarretes. As fast as she could throught the field until she came to the Pontiac. Which she crawled into and locked the doors.

“What the fuck just happened?” tears running down her face. Out of breath from the insane speed her legs carried her to safety. She’d not ran since volleyball in High School. She wasn’t fond of it then either she thought to herself. Lighting a cigarrete and wondering of her hearts pounding from the running or the glass shattering. Regardless, it’s calming down now.

After a bit of time and a few smokes, her composure had returned. At least her curiosoty had overcame her fear.

“What if whoever or whatever that was knows what the hell is happening here?” She thought as she unlocked the car door and started back towards the party. Instead of the front door she decided to approach from the rear. Upon getting to the back door she noticed the window had been broken out. The glass still hovering in the air. An amazing site she had to step back and smile at until she noticed blood in the air as well. A trail of blood leading inside the building and down the hall. The pools of blood hovering in place. Making a terrifying, ghostly blood trail leading to an open bathroom door. There stood frozen in place a man in his early twenties. Tears frozen on his horror struck face. One last blink acknowledged that he had seen her before he expired.

“Must’ve freaked out and punched the window. Was this his first time? I could’ve helped him!” she cried as the cloud of blood quit growing in size.

“I just wanted to stay home!"