LEGENDARY

Drake’s phone woke him before sunrise.

“Priya gave me your number.”

Like a sleepy Klondike prospector, Drake let the girl’s words pass through his groggy brain pan, but he couldn’t sift out a nugget of meaning. “Who is this?”

“Tonya. I hope you don’t mind.”

“It’s 5:30 in the morning.”

“Talk to the Ninjas for me? I don’t have their numbers, and this is urgent. The art show is canceled and so is the bonfire.”

“No, it isn’t. We’re set to start in twelve hours.”

“Priya promised.”

“When?”

“Last night.”

“Funny, we were on the phone past midnight, running down her checklist. The installation opens tonight.”

On the other side of the room, Zain groaned. “What in the name of Bruce Campbell!?”

“It’s Tonya.”

“How dare she wake me! I was dreaming of zombies.”

“Go back to sleep. It’s a mistake. She thinks we have to cancel the installation.”

On the other end of the phone, Tonya’s voice shot up. “You have to stop people from going. There’s something evil in the cemetery air. It made Professor Rudolph sick and Marta and the diving team. If you go into those woods, you’ll get sick too.”

“I walk by the cemetery all the time without even sneezing.”

“I’m not talking allergies. Stay out or you’ll end up like Professor Rudolph.”

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If he hadn’t seen Rudolph with his own eyes, Drake would think Tonya was crazy. Cute but crazy, and prone to strange headaches, but he had seen Rudolph, which made Tonya’s early morning call seem less insane.

“I get that you’re worried, but Priya isn’t. The Ninjas aren’t.”

Zain staggered over and grabbed the phone out of Drake’s hand. “What’s this about?”

Zain listened, eyes widening with every word until Drake got so curious he wanted to snatch the phone back.

“You can’t cancel the movie.” Zain started doing his Godfather voice. “It would kill Priya and then I’d have to kill you, and all your little friends, except you won’t have any friends because you want to kill our movie!” Zain handed back the phone and flung himself on his bed.

“Zain! Zain?” Tonya shouted into his ear.

“It’s me again. I agree with Zain, except for the killing part. Are we done here? I want to go back to sleep.”

“Sorry. Go back to sleep. I’ll come see you later.”

Drake was concerned about recording Priya’s event, but not for Tonya’s reasons. The university installed surveillance cameras without student protest, so Zain argued that nobody would mind a harmless recording of Halloween hijinks. He swore he would only use footage of people disguised by their costumes. It was already an ethical gray area, but what if Zain got too enthusiastic and crossed the line? He could jeopardize everything.

“Hey Zain, you awake?”

“No.”

“I was thinking. Maybe we shouldn’t film people in the cemetery tonight. Tonya says Professor Rudolph visits his wife’s grave there all the time.”

“So? We won’t run into him Halloween night.”

“It isn’t respectful.”

“You can’t change your mind now. Screaming students and Priya’s monsters will make priceless footage. This is our chance to make the Great Canadian zero-budget horror movie we’ve always wanted.”

“But—”

Zain got up and started pacing the room. “This is our big break.” He conducted invisible orchestras with his hands. “Priya’s concept is brilliant. Using a centuries-old graveyard will give our movie a look you can’t find anywhere else.”

“Or residents could complain, and the cops could take our cameras.”

“Don’t be stupid. Tonight will launch our careers like a rocket, leaving YouTube stars moping in the cinders as we rise into the galaxy of pro film. Want me to leave you behind, or will you be flying Ninja Spaceways?”

“Beam me up, I guess.”

“Good.” Drake clapped him on the shoulder. “When I’m big in Hollywood I might need a pre-fame friend.”

Hours later, Drake finished loading his car with cameras, tripods, and brackets. He also had spare pieces of wood, clamps, an electric drill (sorry trees) and rolls of duct tape. It might take hours to rig, but people’s reactions would make it worthwhile. Zain was right. By daylight, Priya’s animatronic monsters were fascinatingly creepy. Tonight, when they leaped out of hiding in a centuries-old graveyard, the students would feel legendary terror.