[ i zoomed to write this and idk why but i love this chapter so much. nothing special even happens but it's got some nice luca and isaiah moments (before his annoying cousin eats it lmao) and an indy and mark phone call.

anyway, it's my bedtime and i shall treat your comments like the morning paper over breakfast when i wake up as always ]

☆︎

TOMMY, NO! COME OUTSIDE. PLEASE, COME BACK OUTSIDE, TOMMY!

☆︎ FEBRUARY 3RD, 2000 ☆︎

"Have you learned nothing?"

"Evidently not," Indiana mumbled while throwing a t-shirt on and tucking it into her baggy jeans.

Sophia and Jackson were both in her bedroom with her, watching as she got ready to head out with the others to the gathering or whatever at Jennifer's house. The Martin siblings were the only ones to turn the invite down.

"I'm not going to have fun. I'm going to guard Luca and Zay with my life," she told them, letting out a huff. "I'd much rather be here, relaxing—"

"And calling up Detective Dreamy for another angry smush session?" Sophia asked, raising a teasing eyebrow.

"You know what?" she asked with a smirk. "Yeah. That sounds much more preferable than being stuck in a house with annoying actors, a potential Ghostface killer, and probably Gale because she follows Dewey and Virginia everywhere."

"So, like, Mark?" Jackson asked, flipping over onto his stomach and looking up at her. "I mean, you still like him? Or do you hate him? I can't tell. You're very wishy-washy about that whole thing."

"I hate him and I also think he's one of the killers," she admitted, grabbing her shoes. Then she sighed. "But he's also just... I don't know. There's this small part of me that hopes he's not a killer, but I learned a long time ago that hope isn't something you can count on."

"But you want him to not be a killer so you can date him, right?" Sophia questioned. "Cause it's not just about fucking him or you wouldn't have invited him to the concert or given him your number or even got so angry when you found out he was a cop. That warrants more than just-fucking feelings — real feelings."

"I'm sorry, did you two decide to ambush me before you came in here or something?" she asked the siblings, letting out a scoff.

"Just, ya know, if he's not Ghostface, then we support whatever you decide," Jackson told her. "Assuming you do the right thing and don't ignore your feelings and pretend like they don't exist because you're scared to be hurt again."

Indiana sucked on her teeth, feeling a little attacked. "Right, well, I really appreciate the advice from someone too scared to tell the girl he loves that he likes her and someone whose last relationship ended when her model girlfriend stole all the alcohol from the hotel minibar and ran off to leave it on Rod's tab."

"Now, that's not necessary!"

"Woah! There's a line."

Their dramatic protesting and complaining just made Indiana laugh as she moved to join them on the bed, just about ready to leave. "Stop bothering me about relationship stuff, please," she requested.  "Mark is the last thing on my mind and will continue to be the last thing until we stop the killer."

"Well," Jackson mused, "not the last thing given that you were fucking him less than twenty-four hours ago in this room."

"Yeah, on this bed. And I haven't changed the sheets yet, either."

In sync, the Martin siblings rolled off the bed and landed on the carpet, letting out loud and dramatic gags.

"Ew! God, I need to run through a car wash," Jackson said, holding his stomach like he was going to be sick.

Sophia was crawling toward the door like she was being chased. "Must get to clean air."

"See," Indiana said, grinning, "why would I want to go to Jennifer's house when I could be fully entertained here by the both of you?"

☆

"Tommy, do you have to blow your smoke right in my face?" Isaiah asked, a grimace on his lips.

Every seat in Jennifer's living room was occupied as she, Tommy, Angelina, Isaiah, Luca, and Indiana filled the room. Virginia was leaning against the wall next to Dewey, wishing that they weren't there at all. But like fucking hell she was gonna let Dewey be at Jennifer's house without her. Indy was bored out of her mind and close to just joining Stone outside, who was walking the grounds to make sure there were no intruders.

"Stop being so sensitive, Izzy," Tom told his cousin before taking another drag of the cigarette in his hand. He made a point to blow the smoke toward Isaiah, but Luca acted quickly and fanned it away from his boyfriend's face with some trashy magazine that was on Jennifer's coffee table.

"Stop being an ass, Tommy," Luca grumbled, throwing an arm around Isaiah's shoulder.

"Yeah," Indiana mumbled, looking at her chipping, glittery nail polish. "And what do you want to kill your quicker? Ghostface or the lung cancer?"

"Either as long as it gets me away from you," Tom said in a snarky tone.

"God, how did those two come from the same gene pool?" Virginia asked Dewey quietly, looking between the impossibly sweet boy and his not-so-great cousin.

"And Zay is the one that had the shit parents," Dewey mumbled in agreement. "Makes no sense."

"Is this a wrap party or is this a wrap party?" Tom asked sarcastically while throwing some of his torn script pages in the air like confetti. "Scene thirty-four: Maureen's murder Flashback."

Then he ripped the two pages out and tore them in half, knowing it was useless now.

"I never liked that scene," Jennifer admitted.

"That's 'cause you weren't in it," Tom said in a snarky tone. "Scenes forty through forty-seven: The Winger House Flashbacks."

Angelina stood up suddenly, clearly upset by Tom's uncaring attitude toward it all. "Tom, stop it," she pleaded. "You're scaring me. Two people are dead."

"Three," Indiana muttered offhandedly. Everyone, the media included, liked to forget about Cotton's girlfriend.

"Scaring you?" Tom asked, laughing at her. "Give the sweet, young ingenue act a rest."

"You're drunk," she told him in a soft tone.

"Yes, but that's not his problem," Luca said, rolling his eyes.

"I'm coping," he said as Angelina decided to leave, going out the side door that led to the backyard. Tommy went back to ripping more pages out while glaring at her retreating figure. "I bet she fought and clawed for that Sidney part. I bet she stepped on any poor girl that got in her way."

Jennifer eyed him, not looking very impressed. "So you asked her out and she said no?"

"That has nothing to do with it," he said quickly.

Virginia laughed, and she instantly regretted it because Jennifer looked at her with wide, excited eyes. "You laughed! I knew you didn't hate me."

"No, I only hate you when you're flirting with Dewey," she said pointedly. "Don't do that and don't act like Gale around me, then we're all good.

"Wonderful. I'm so glad to be friends with Indiana's sister."

Virginia's mouth hung open for half a second. "At what point did I use the term 'friend—"

"C'mon," Jennifer said, cutting her off and getting up from the couch. "Me, you, and Dewey. We're gonna have a party of our own away from Debbie Downer over there."

"When you say a party," Luca said, watching as Jennifer ended up dragging Dewey and Virginia away from the wall, "do you mean like? Like a...?"

"Like a threesome?" Indiana asked with a disgusted look on her face.

"Oh, my god, no, you Gremlin," Virginia said, glaring at her and Luca, who began giggling.

"I mean, I'm not opposed," Jennifer said, smirking at the other woman.

Virginia just rolled her eyes and pulled out of Jennifer's hold to leave the living room. And Jennifer and Dewey followed after her.

"Scene fifty," Tom then went on, ripping the page out. "Dewey saves the day."

"Yeah, 'cause that's realistic," Luca joked. Then he saw the frown on Isaiah's face and got up from the couch while holding his hand. "C'mon. I know for a fact there's cupcakes in the fridge. Cupcakes are much better than Tommy."

"Rude," the older man said under his breath. Of course, neither boy cared about being rude as they left him in the living room with Indiana, who he still feared a little bit. He eyed her wearily before moving on in the script. "Scene fifty-one: Indiana's betrayal."

"My what?" Indiana asked, tilting her head to look at him for once.

"It was in that newest rewrite," he told her while passing the crumbled pages. "There were plans to get Josh Duhamel back since people loved Mickey so much. Once he was revealed as Ghostface, Indiana has to choose between living on the run with him or saving Sidney a second time from him."

She nervously picked at her nails, not bothering to skim the words on the page. "Yeah? And what does she choose?"

Tom smirked at her, glad to see that she was the uncomfortable one for once. "There's a big fight. They both die in the end, and Indiana takes up the Ghostface mantle as the screen fades to black."

"Shit," she cursed under her breath. "That's a really good ending for a movie that full of shit leading up to it."

"Hey, Dewdrop!" Stone shouted from outside and loud enough for them all to hear. Indiana quickly forgot about the movie and watched as he came into the house, dragging Gale with him. "Got your girlfriend out here."

A moment later, Dewey scurried out, followed by Virginia and Jennifer. Angelina also entered the room once more to find out what the commotion was.

"Look who I found slinkin' around the yard. The nightly news," Stone said smugly.

"I wasn't slinking," Gale said defensively. "I was walking."

"You were eavesdropping at the bedroom window," he corrected.

"Yeah, a bedroom that seemed pretty invested in sharing the facts of this investigation without the lead investigative reporter," Gale said in a snappy tone, jealous that she wasn't ever included in things like this. She always had to force her way onto a scene.

"No one wants you here, Gale," Indiana said in a flat tone.

"None of that now," Dewey said, shaking his head at Indiana. Then he looked at Gale. "All right, let's talk."

Virginia rolled her eyes as Dewey led Gale off to talk about whatever she was so concerned with. And not wanting to be in the room with all the others, Indiana got up and headed for the back patio, the ripped script pages still clutched in her hand.

There were a few solar-powered lights hanging up, giving her just enough light to read over it. And Tommy hadn't been lying. The final scene had Mickey somehow coming back from the dead and working with some other made-up person from Sidney's past. But rather than be stunned and too shocked to do anything like in real life, this fictional version of herself had never been so happy to find out who was underneath the Ghostface mask.

It was when Sidney died in the script that she stopped reading, unable to even stomach the thought. She couldn't really stomach the thought of Mickey being alive either, not knowing how she'd truly react to such a thing.

As if the universe knew she needed a distraction, the phone in her pocket began to ring. And she almost didn't reach for it, part of her assuming it was the killer — it was a party after all — but eventually, she let it ring long enough and looked at the caller ID, seeing a name she wasn't expecting.

Indiana looked down at her ringing phone, chewing on her lip a little as she battled internally over the choice to pick up his call or not. But she'd said it once about Stu, and nothing had changed — she had a weakness for pretty boys.

"Hello, Detective," Indiana greeted as soon as she answered. "What have I done to deserve this call?"

"Maybe I just wanted to hear your voice," Mark replied smoothly.

She rolled her eyes and leaned against the railing. "Yeah, right," she scoffed. "What's the real reason?"

"We let Mr. Bridger go," he told her. "His phone records were clean. And the number that called Sarah and told her to come to the studio was the same one that called Cotton Weary's apartment. There's a chance her roommate mistook his voice for... someone else."

They both knew who he meant by 'someone else' even if he didn't say the name.

"Well, Roman is happy he was released today, I'm sure," Indy said, clearing her throat and moving on. "No one wants to spend their birthday in a holding cell."

Then she looked up toward the night sky — you couldn't see the stars like you could in Woodsboro. "Let me guess? I'm back to being suspect number one?"

"You're still definitely on Wallace's list."

"But not yours?"

Mark was silent for a second. "You're not a killer, Indiana."

At that, she laughed and shook her head. "Yes, I am, Mark. I've taken three lives and had a damn good time getting rid of the last two. Call me Honey all you want, but I'm not some sweet, innocent thing. You know that."

Knowing that he couldn't really argue on that point, he let it go for the time being. "Well, uh, with Roman out of the picture, we're scrambling for more information."

"Hate to break it to you, but I'm not exactly a psychic," she told him. "I don't know any more than you do."

"You know how to contact Sidney Prescott."

The night air was silent as Indiana tensed up, alarm bells ringing in her mind like they always did when someone wanted anything to do with Sidney. "I gave you my answer in the interrogation. My answer is the same now. It's none of your business."

Mark sighed and rubbed his forehead, knowing it would be difficult. "Indiana, you know that Sidney is somehow involved with the pictures of her mother—"

"I know she's involved!" she cut him off, raising her voice a bit. "And that's why she's staying fucking put and out of danger."

"But if she could help solve this—"

"I don't care if it gets solved so long as Sidney is out of harm's way," she again cut him off. "Fifty more bodies could drop, and the killer could swear to stop so long as they could lay eyes on Sidney, and I still wouldn't give her up. I will pick Sidney over everyone every time."

Mark huffed on the other end. "You are actively impeding this investigation, as is Mr. Riley and all of you that know where she's at."

"What can I say? We're a loyal bunch."

"Either be more forthcoming with Sidney's location, or I'll have you and Mr. Riley charged with obstruction of justice," Mark then threatened in a low tone.

Completely ignoring the fact that Indiana didn't fully understand what obstruction of justice was, she smirked and leaned further back against the railing. "It's hard to take your threats so seriously when I've heard you moaning in my ear, Detective."

Through the shaky connection, she could hear him take in a deep breath — either to try and keep his anger at bay or because he was thinking about all those times they'd been together. "It'd be wise not to test me right now, Darling."

"Oh, but it's so fun," she said, smiling. "Besides, you're usually the one to do the teasing. Maybe I want to try my hand at it for a while."

Her goal was to change the topic off of Sidney, and it worked. Because a second later, he was asking, "Are you at the house? I'm done at the precinct for the night."

"Sorry, Detective," she said, letting out a little laugh, realizing he wanted to continue the previous night's actions. "I'm a busy girl. Like now, I'm currently babysitting a few dumb actors and my best friends at Jennifer Jolie's house."

"Isn't a party where the third act happens?" Mark questioned. "It's not very safe to gather together like that."

She scoffed, already agreeing with him. "Don't I know it? But Tommy wouldn't pass, and so Isaiah wanted to watch him, and no way was I gonna let Zay go somewhere like this on his own. So, here I am, the first line of defense."

"Technically, Mr. Riley and Mr. Stone are the first line," he told her.

"That's so cute that you think that," Indiana said, laughing. "I could send Stone home crying with his tail between his legs if I wanted to. And don't get me started on Deputy Dumbass."

"Well, if you'd feel better with a second line, I could come by," he offered as casually as he could. "Keep an eye on things."

"You mean on me?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Then she shook her head. "And no, I don't want you here."

"Why's that?" he asked, sounding a little letdown.

"Because I don't trust you, Mark. You know that."

"I know. But I hope one day that's not the case," Mark said. "And I don't mind taking the time to earn that trust from you."

Indiana liked the sound of that — the admission that he didn't mind waiting for her until she was ready for more. But she was going to let him know that. "Then I hope you're a patient man."

"I've sat through countless stakeouts, and there wasn't even a perfect girl waiting for me at the end of those."

"Yeah," she grinned, "I am pretty perfect."

☆︎

"You're insane."

"I am not insane, Luca. Lots of people do this."

"No, I'm in love with an insane person," Luca said, shaking his head.

The couple was still in Jennifer's kitchen, ignoring Gale's presence and devouring the cupcakes that had probably cost far more than they'd typically pay for baked goods. But it was Jennifer's money, not theirs, so they were making quite a dent in the stash.

"It makes sense," Isaiah said, looking pointedly at his boyfriend. Then he demonstrated his moves with the next cupcake. "Pull the bottom off and squish it on the icing. It's a delicious sandwich!"

"No!" Luca said while leaning back against the oven. "You eat the icing first and then the cake."

"But then you're just eating bread. It's not as good."

"First off, bread is amazing," he told him, putting up a finger. "Second, no, it's just weird and messy."

Isaiah rolled his eyes playfully and held up the cupcake. "Just take one bite like this."

Luca childishly shook his head, and Zay moved closer. He curled his lips around his teeth to keep his mouth shut, still protesting the dessert.

"C'mon," Isaiah said in a soft tone, holding the food in front of Luca's mouth. He stood between his parted legs, pressing their chests together. "I will give you a million kisses and help you restring your guitar for the next year."

Slowly, the expression on his face loosened — Luca was really bad at stringing his guitar. And a million kisses didn't sound so bad either."

"Fine," he grumbled, the word a little muffled since he didn't fully open his mouth.

Isaiah grinned triumphantly and moved the cupcake sandwich to his mouth. With a dramatic grimace, Luca took a bite, blue icing smearing on his lips.

"Is that not the best thing you've ever tasted?" Isaiah asked excitedly, ignoring the cringe on Luca's face.

"I mean, it's not bad — it's fucking cake. It can't be bad," Luca said, talking and chewing at the same time. "But it just feels not right. I have to eat them the way I eat them."

"Well, the way you eat them is basic, and that says a lot coming from someone like me."

Luca rolled his eyes playfully. "You're not basic — you're classic."

"And you have icing on your lips," he told him, smiling sweetly.

Then Isaiah leaned in even more, this time something other than a dessert seeking out Luca's lips. He kissed him softly, both tasting the sugar from the icing on each other's tongues. Luca smiled into it, moving to grab Isaiah's hip and pull him closer as he continued to lean back on the oven — if it were something more stable like a counter or table, he'd already been sitting on it.

When they pulled away, Luca chased after Isaiah to get one last peck. "Nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine more to go."

"Make that ninety-eight," Isaiah said with a little grin before kissing him once more.

Before he could put a few more dents in that overwhelming number of kisses owed, a loud sound echoed around the kitchen that they couldn't identify, making them pull away.

"What was that?" Luca asked, quickly searching for anyone that might have stumbled upon them.

"I don't... I don't know," Isaiah said, growing a little nervous. He looked out the window over the sink, but it was too dark to tell if someone was out there and watching them. "Let's get back to Indy."

Luca nodded and intertwined their hands. "Don't have to tell me twice."

The two boys chose the perfect time to leave the kitchen because Dewey, Gale, and Virginia were all looking around the empty living room and wondering where the others went.

"Where is everybody?" Gale asked, not understanding how everyone cleared out so quickly.

"We were in the kitchen," Luca said, nodding to the way they came from.

Then the front door swung open quickly, hitting the wall with a bang and startling them. While the others flinched and screamed, Dewey pointed his gun only to see no one on the other side of the door. But the wind wasn't really strong enough to push it so forcefully.

"Jennifer? Angelina? Tom?" Dewey called out.

"Indiana?" Virginia said, not spotting her sister.

"Here," Indy called, having heard them shouting from the patio.

However, they couldn't focus on her for long, because Jennifer ran in from the side entrance, again making the more nervous ones in the group jump. And Jennifer screamed because they were. "Oh, my God! What happened?"

Before anyone could answer, Angelina and Tom appeared behind Dewey, who turned and screamed, aiming his gun at the younger man. Tommy let out a screech and put his hands up, not wanting to be shot.

"Oh, my god," Indiana said, taking the gun from Dewey's hand.

"That's for the best. I'm overreacting," Dewey said, trying to calm his racing heart. "But don't do that, Tom."

"Do you know how to use that?" Gale asked Indy.

At that, Indiana, Virginia, and Dewey all gave Gale a pointed look. "What? You mean do I know to point and shoot after making sure the safety isn't on?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Gale just rolled her eyes in response.

Before an argument could break out, a shuffling sound from the front door reached them. And Indiana was there, in front of them all and aiming the gun with a steady hand. Not that she had to use it.

Even if Stone was a threat, he was on his deathbed, so shooting him would be pointless. The bodyguard looked wrecked, pale, and covered in bloody marks as he stumbled closer, his phone still clutched in his hand.

"Dewdrop?" he managed to say, spotting the man while weakly pointing to his phone.

"Stone?" Dewey called in disbelief.

"Oh, my god!" Angelina said, covering her mouth.

"Oh, god, Stone," Tom groaned at the sight.

They all watched as Stone fell face first, revealing the knife sticking out of his back. Virginia rushed to check on him, and since she wasn't armed, Indiana followed, her eyes scanning the area to make sure no one would jump out.

"Virginia, is he dead?" Gale asked anxiously.

"What do you fucking think?" she asked in a hushed tone, finished with checking for the pulse that wasn't there.

"Everyone back inside!" Dewey ordered, already moving to pull Virginia in.

Indiana stopped to yank the knife out of Stone's back before joining them. And Luca shoved the front door shut and locked it as soon as she was safely inside. She handed the knife to Virginia so that she'd have something to defend herself with too.

"It's all right," Dewey told them all. "Don't panic."

Suddenly, the lights in the house went out, shrouding them in darkness. And of course, most of them screamed, panicking over it. Jennifer was the first to run for the door to the backyard, familiar with all the exits in her house.

"Okay, outside. Everyone, stay together and try to remain calm," Dewey told them.

But as soon as they all set foot on the back patio, a phone rang.

"Don't fucking pick up!" Indiana shouted as all the actors scrambled to check their devices.

"It's not mine," Tom said, looking to Isaiah. His cousin shook his head, looking at his own cell phone.

"I don't care whose it is. Don't answer!" Virginia said, backing her sister up.

Then a beep followed the ringing, which Jennifer recognized. "Shit! It's the fax."

Then the group ran right back inside. Indiana groaned and followed, staying with one foot out the door as she did so. Jennifer hastily grabbed the paper that was printed and found a small flashlight to read it with.

"'Interior, Jennifer's house. Living room, night.' It's a script page!" she told them, recognizing the style.

"W - What's it say?" Angelina asked nervously.

"With the bodyguard stabbed to death, the nine stand trapped."

"He's rewriting the movie," Tom stated.

"Yeah, well, it's nine verses fucking one, so I hope the ending accounts for that," Virginia muttered.

Jennifer then continued to read. "As the killer waits outside, suddenly the fax machine sends news of their fates."

"It's a trick!" Dewey realized. "Everybody, outside!"

"No shit, it's a trick," Indiana whispered, rolling her eyes.

"Outside where he can pick us off one by one—"

Isaiah was quick to cut his cousin off. "Don't be stupid, Tommy—"

"Shut up!" Jennifer snapped so that she could keep reading. "'The killer prepares to grant mercy to only one of them.'"

"Don't you get it?" Gale asked in exasperation. "The killer says he's outside because he wants us here inside."

"Which one is it?" Tom asked frantically.

"Oh, my god," Luca groaned. He then grabbed Isaiah and Tommy to pull them out of the house.

"Come on!" Gale shouted as another fax came.

And of course, Jennifer had to read it. "'Who will survive? Is it Jennifer? Tom? Angelina? Virginia? Gale? Luca? The killer will give mercy to—"

With no more to read and refusing to wait for more, Dewey grabbed ahold of Jennifer and forced her out. "Everyone outside!"

"He grants mercy to who?" Jennifer asked desperately, fighting against Dewey and Virginia as they kept her back. "I wanna know what happens! I wanna know what happens!"

"Wait for the fucking movie!" Gale shouted once they were all safely away from the house.

"I've gotta know!" Tom suddenly shouted. "I'm goin' back in!" He made a mad dash for the house before anyone could grab him.

"No!" Isaiah yelled, moving to go after him.

"Luca!" Indiana shouted.

But Luca didn't have to be signaled. He was already wrapping his arms around Isaiah's waist, using all his strength to keep the boy back and away from the house. Virginia came over to help, needing to keep Isaiah safe.

"Tommy! No!" Isaiah cried, tears welling in his eyes. "Come outside. Please, come back outside! Tommy!"

But not everyone was as concerned for his life as Isaiah was. "What's it say?" Jennifer asked loudly.

They could see through the window as Tom grabbed the sheet of paper and brought it close to try and read. "'And the... killer will give mercy to whoever...'"

"Whoever?" Jennifer asked as he trailed off, unable to make out the words. "Whoever?"

"Tommy! Come back!" Isaiah shouted, his voice cracking as he continued to try and fail to get Luca and Virginia off of him.

Rather than do as his terrified cousin asked, Tom moved further into the house and to the kitchen with a bigger window. When that wasn't enough, he pulled out his lighter and held it close to the paper.

"'Whoever... whoever smells the—"

Tommy went up in a ball of flames so rapidly that the others could barely turn and run. All Indiana could feel was the heat on her skin, the flying debris cutting into her, and the rough terrain as the blast threw her far from Jennifer's house and down a hill leading to the main road.

"Fuck! Fuck! Shit! God-fucking-damn — ow. Oh, fuck!"

Indiana hit a tree hard, which stopped her before reaching the asphalt. With a low groan, she grabbed the tree and hauled herself to her feet, unable to believe she kept ahold of Dewey's gun for the whole fall.

Looking around, she couldn't see anyone, which made her anxious. She needed to see Virginia to make sure she was okay.

"Virginia!" she shouted, panicking a little when there wasn't an instant response. "Virginia! Zay! Luca! Virginia!"

She wasn't the only one calling for the nurse. In the distance, Indy could hear Dewey yelling as well, and soon, they all got a response.

"Dewey, we're over here!" Gale called.

"Indy!" Virginia shouted. "Indy, are you okay?"

Indiana sighed in relief and moved further down the hill until she could see the two women. They'd gone all the way down to the road and landed together. They were helping each other stand next to a parked car.

"I'm up here!" Indiana said, waving at them. And she could see Dewey a little to her left. "Are you okay—"

"Virginia! Gale! Behind you!"

From his angle, Dewey was the only one to spot Ghostface creeping up behind the two women on the street. The masked killer grabbed Virginia from behind and ran his knife into her side, making her scream.

"No!" Indiana shouted, raising the gun. "Gale, get out of the way!"

Ghostface then let Virginia drop to go after Gale. But they didn't get a chance because Indiana started unloading the gun into his chest. Only one missed the mark, shattering the window of the car.

But rather than drop dead, Ghostface just dropped and rolled underneath the car.

"Shit, shit, shit," Indiana cursed, unable to see him anymore as she quickly ran down the hill. "Virginia! Virginia!"

She paid no mind to Gale or Dewey, who was moving a little slower than her to get to the street. Virginia was curled up on her side, her hand pressed to her wound.

"Dewey, take this back," Indiana said, carelessly tossing the gun to him so that she could put pressure on Virginia's wound. "Hey, it's gonna be fine. You're fine. It's just the side."

"Yeah," Virginia said, nodding and taking in a deep breath. "No major organs right here. Just hurts like a bitch."

"I'm gonna kill him," Indiana promised. Then she looked over her shoulder and saw Dewey checking the parked car, not seeing Ghostface anywhere. "He rolled under the car. Where is he now?"

"Just stay close," Dewey instructed. Though Indiana and Virginia weren't moving, so he was just instructing Gale.

"Is he back there?" the reporter asked as Dewey slowly looked around the side of the car.

"No."

"No?" Somehow, him not being there was worse because that meant the killer got away again. They all looked around the quiet street, waiting for him to pop out.

"He's fast. I thought I hit him," Indiana said with a frown.

"You did hit him," Virginia confirmed with a short nod.

"God, Virginia," Dewey said, coming over once he deemed it safe. "Are you all right?"

"I'm gonna be fine," she assured him. "You've certainly had worse, babe."

"True," he said with a sheepish smile, kneeling next to her and holding her hand.

"Gale, you're fine?" Indiana managed to ask, glancing at the reporter.

She nodded and took in a breath to calm down. But then she studied Indiana and began to smile. "What happened to you wouldn't stop Ghostface if I was attacked? I didn't hear you cheering."

Indiana just rolled her eyes. "I was shooting him for my sister, not you."

"Oh, no," she laughed. "You told me to duck. You wanted to make sure you didn't hit me. You don't really want me dead."

"Well, keep it to your fucking self," she grumbled.

"What the fuck happened to you?" Jennifer asked angrily while stomping over to finally join them. She had a few bumps and scrapes but was in good shape overall. And she wasn't happy with Dewey.

"Jennifer—"

"Who gave you a place to stay? Who are you supposed to be protecting?" she asked as he began to stand up. Her bodyguard was dead, and she expected him to make her a priority.

"Jennifer!" he exclaimed, unable to believe she expected him to choose to check on her over Virginia. "I—"

However, he didn't finish that thought because Jennifer punched him.

"Hey!" Virginia snapped. "Gale, get her!"

And all too happy to not be the one getting punched for once, Gale reared back and then punched Jennifer so hard that she hit the ground. Indiana couldn't help but laugh at the show of violence at a time like this.

Jennifer slowly rolled back over and glared at Gale, enunciating each of her words. "My lawyer liked that."

"Not as much as I did," Gale said, grinning.

"Okay, someone call an ambulance," Virginia then said, needing someone to do some delegating. "And we still have to find the boys and Angel—"

"NO!"

Indiana looked away from her sister's wound in an instant, looking back at the hill and the trees hiding away the view.

"I think that was Isaiah," she said, her voice shaking a bit.

"No! Get off - stop! No! ZAY - AH!"

A body rolled down the hill, hitting the asphalt hard and not moving once it stopped. The bright Hawaiian shirt made him easy to identify.

"S - someone take Virginia," Indiana said, scrambling to her feet and running to the boy. Jennifer was the one to drop to the woman's side and put pressure on her wound while Gale and Dewey followed after Indy.

Luca was face down, his head bleeding a lot from hitting the road so hard. And there was a shallow stab wound in his left shoulder.

"Lu," Indiana said, crouching by his side and tapping his face. "Luca. Luca, open your eyes. Please, please, Lu. Don't do this. Where's Zay? Come on."

Slowly, Luca's crystal blue eyes opened, looking devoid of color as he stared up at Indiana, blinking a few times as he came around. "Indy... Zay? Where's Zay?"

"Where is Isaiah?" Indiana asked him, not having an answer.

With some assistance from Dewey, Luca managed to sit up, crying out from the pain in his head. But then he became more alert and looked off at the hill. "Za - Zay. He had Zay. No!"

Luca scrambled to his feet and broke off into a run, Indiana keeping up with him easily. Dewey and Gale yelled at them to not go off alone, but they didn't listen. It took a moment for Luca to get oriented and find the way he fell from, but eventually, they got through the trees and found him.

Isaiah was on his back, hardly able to be seen in the dark lighting. But Indiana could see the light of the moon glinting off the knife protruding from his chest.

Her knees felt weak and she only managed to take about three steps before they gave out completely.

"No, no, no," Luca whispered, getting to Isaiah first. He grabbed the knife and pulled it out quickly, tossing it to the side.

Isaiah wasn't dead. Yet, at least.

But he couldn't speak, not with the blood filling his lungs and drowning him, spilling from the corners of his lips. His eyes fell on Luca above him, tears falling and mixing with the blood and the dirt.

"I'm sorry," Luca said, cupping the younger boy's face. Every inch of him was trembling as he began to cry. "I - I'm sorry. Please, I'm sorry. Zay, please, I'm sorry."

Isaiah's body shook and spasmed as he tried to say something. But only choked syllables and grunts came out. All he could do was form the beginnings of the L sound, trying to say Luca's name.

"What do I do?" Luca asked, beginning to struggle to breathe. "Indy. Indy, what do we do?"

He looked to the girl who was still several feet away on the ground, staring at Isaiah with hollow eyes. She just shook her head slowly, knowing there was nothing that could be done.

A sob broke through Luca's throat as he looked back at Isaiah, seeing that the boy's eyes were now closed. He leaned forward and pressed his forehead to his, already thinking his skin felt clammy and wrong — dead.

"Did you find him?" Dewey asked, running upon them. But he came to a sudden stop, seeing Luca crouched over the body. Gale covered her mouth and turned her head from the sight.

"I..." Indiana paused, not really having a coherent thought as she looked at Isaiah. "He... I'll tell V - Virg... call his paren... Jax."

"Indiana," Gale said, coming to help her stand up.

But Indiana ripped herself away from her touch, stumbling backward as she did. And she kept moving backward until she couldn't see Isaiah anymore, unable to stomach the sight. Her feet got caught and she fell back, rolling down the hill and hitting the asphalt hard.

But she didn't really feel it.

"What happened?" Jennifer asked, looking at her. She'd gotten Virginia into an upright position and leaning against the car.

"Zay," she mumbled, pushing up off the ground, feeling off balance. "He... he's—"

Indiana was speaking so quietly that they could hear the shuffling accompanying someone else coming over. It was Angelina who finally appeared, looking dazed as she stepped onto the street.

"Tom was in the house," she said, sounding on the brink of tears.

"How'd you end up way over there?" Virginia asked her, eying her suspiciously. No one else has taken that long to get back.

But it was like Angelina didn't hear her as she covered her mouth in horror. "Oh, my God! Tom was in the house!"

Indiana didn't really register her feet moving until she was coming up on Angelina, grabbing her shoulders in a painfully tight grip. "Where the fuck were you, huh? Hiding your fucking mask?"

"S - stop!" Angelina cried, scared of the feral look in Indiana's eyes. "What are you talking—"

"Cut the fucking bullshit! I'll hang you from a telephone pole by your goddamn guts—"

"Indiana!" Dewey shouted, running over and yanking her off the actress. Indiana fought against him, but Angelina ran away so that she couldn't reach her. "Indy, stop it! The police are on their way."

"To do fucking what?" she asked angrily, whirling around to face him. Tears welled in her eyes as she saw a numb-looking Luca being led by Gale to Virginia and Jennifer. "They don't do shit! They find the bodies! Isaiah's body!"

"I - I know," he said, wrapping his arms around her. Indiana tried to fight the hug, but he wasn't letting her go. "I know. Just... just come sit with your sister, okay? She needs you. Luca needs you."

All Indiana saw was red as Dewey pulled her further and further from Angelina. And he had to force her by her shoulders to get her to sit on the asphalt next to Virginia. Luca was on Virginia's other side, the three of them leaning against the car.

"He's dead?" Virginia asked in a quiet tone, her own eyes filled with tears ready to fall.

Luca took in a shaky breath and nodded before rubbing his eyes with the hem of his shirt. It was useless because more quickly replaced them.

"I know it's not... the most important thing," Jennifer said, eying the mourners warily. "But this was left behind under the car."

Dewey instantly grabbed the sheet of paper, seeing another image of a young Maureen Prescott. "Another picture."

"Turn it over," Indiana said, her tone void of emotion as she looked at it from the other side. It was a note from the killer — from Isaiah's killer. And the killer was just taunting them with the unbelievable claim.

I KILLED HER.