IF LOOKS COULD KILL
xvii. Insult to Injury

scream vi,
chapter seventeen

✸

          Maybe there was a chance that Chad Meeks-Martin was alive, the boy Starr saw as a brother, the boy Tara Carpenter was in love with, maybe they shouldn't loose hope, but every racing step they took was just another lose of hope for them.

They were trapped when they'd ran back towards the stage. Ghostface blocking the pathway to the upper exit while the other blocked the gates.

As this was happening, a recording played on the movie screen.

Tara sobs, her eyes swelling.

Sam grows tougher, her skin turning to leather. She grabs three bricks, handing one to Tara and the other to Starr. "Ready?"

Tara and Sam turn their backs on each other, eyeing a Ghostface on each side. Starr stands outside the middle of the two, looking both way, "which one of you fuckers wants to die first?" She hisses.

They just kept standing there.

Why we're they still just standing there?

"Come on motherfucker!" Tara antagonizes one of them, taking a bold step forward.

Suddenly, three shots fired in the air. The three duck as they felt the bullets ricochet off of the things around them. 

They look towards the shooter. Kirby.

"Stay the fuck back!" Sam orders, standing in front of Starr and Tara.

"We know it's you, Kirby." Tara confesses.

Starr shakes her head, eyes hardening. "Is it you? Why are you doing this?"

Kirby staggers her way down the stairs of the stage, her head bleeding. "No—one of them knocked me out."

Starr turns her head at the next voice she hears.

"Kirby, stop! Get away from the girls!" Detective Bailey points his gun at Kirby, eyes squinted. "Did you kill Quinn? Did you kill my daughter?!"

"Jesus," Kirby's gun shakes in her hand, "whatever he's been telling you is a lie, he's probably the killer."

Starr didn't know who to trust, two peoples she'd believed she'd somewhat bonded with.

"Behind you!" Kirby warns Detective Bailey, only for him to smirk and shoot her twice. She fell to the floor. The two Ghostface killers took a stand beside him.

Starr gasps, before her eyes moved to Detective Bailey, "I think I know who the killer is guys."

"Great job...both of you." Detective Bailey looks between them.

"You?" Tara's lip quivers from her overwhelmed nerves.

Detective Bailey shrugs, "of course me."

"Although, I expected more from you after what you did to us." Detective Bailey glares at Sam.

"Us?"

The first mask was revealed. Ethan Landry smirked while taking off his mask. Starr rolls her eyes, "I knew it."

Ethan laughs, "Mindy was right, it's easy to juke the roommate lottery. All I had to do to meet you is room with a conceited—condescending alpha, literally named Chad. Fuck it felt good to kill him!"

Starr felt her fingers twitch at his confession. Her anger was boiling to the surface. "...I'm gonna kill you." She says in the most calmest voice ever.

This made Ethan chuckle, "what you gonna decapitate me like you did your friend?" He pouts, "or are you gonna kill me the same way I killed your brother?" He smirks.

Starr smiles back, eyes dull, lingering with an unknown fire.

Detective laughs, ruffling his hair. "Atta boy."

Sam'a lips parted, looking towards the last masked Ghostface, "and that just leaves...Mindy?"

Starr's eyes moved at the sound of her name.

It can't be.

When the Ghostface took off their mask, seeing the strawberry blonde hair was enough to figure out it was Quinn Bailey.

She smiles, waving, "hey, roomies. Didn't see that one coming, did you?"

"Yeah, because you died." Tara raises her voice.

"Kinda didn't," she rocks back and forth in her feet, "it was a good way to get off the suspect list, stab Gale Weathers, Stab Mindy on the train."

Starr takes a deep breathe.

"Yep, and I just made sure I showed up early on the scene so I could switch out her body with a fresh one."

Ethan and Quinn make their way around the theatre, circling them.

"a little fake blood, a prosthetic...you'd be amazed at what a grieving father can get away with."  

"I got Stu Machers mask," Quinn fiddles with the old and worn mask, "he was my favorite and in my opinion, one of the hottest."

"This only leaves one left," Detective removes a mask from his coats inner pocket, showing it to Sam, "your fathers...this is what we've been counting down to Sam."

Tara and Starr watch Sam examine the mask.

Sam smacks the mask away, "fuck you!" She insults.

Ethan came around, slicing Sam's arm, causing her to flinch back. Starr came around, sending a massive strike straight to his cheek with the brick she held. "Little bitch!"

Ethan stumbles back, letting the blood fall from his lip. He smirks at Starr, looking her up and down before raising his hands in defense.

Quinn comes around, glaring at Starr.

Starr turns to her, "you're really not as scary as you think you are, you strawberry headed clown!" She gets the brick prepared to strike Quinn if she came her way.

Sam turns to Detective Bailey, "what is this? You did this as a family?"

"Oh, yeah, Bitch, you should know better than anyone." Quinn walks forward, holding out her knife.

Ethan laughs at the confused looks on everyone's faces, "they're still not getting it."

Sam shakes her head frantically, "look—I don't know what you believes, but I didn't commit those murders in Woodsboro, it wasn't me!"

Detective whines slightly, "We know that, what? You this this is based on some bullshit conspiracy theory?!" He laughs, "who do you think started the rumors in the first place?" He points at Quinn, who raises her hand, obviously proud.

"Do you know how easy it was to turn Sam from the hero of Woodboro into the villain?" Quinn quizzed, "how easy it is, to convince the world to believe the worst in people? Rather than the best?"

Ethan adds on, "it's not enough to just kill someone these days, you have to assassinate their character first." He raises his knife, "so when dad here discovers your horribly mutilated bodies..."

Quinn jabs her body forwards, making Tara flinch. Starr continues to stare at her, her knuckles turning pale white.

"Posed with Sam wearing her fathers mask," Ethan laughs at the thought, "he'll say that some poor old bastard read on the internet that you're the real Ghostface and took matters into their own deluded hands."

"Exactly. The perfect alibi and it shows the truth about you, Sam, you're a killer just like your father." Detective scowls.

"No I'm not!" Sam yells in reruns.

"Yes, you are you motherfucker, you killed our brother!" Quinn screams.

Starr's eyes widen, "holy shit."

"You said your brother died in a car accident." Tara remembers.

"No—no, you sweet dumb things, he did in Woodsboro at the hands of your bitch sister." Ethan admits.

Sam looks back at Detective Bailey, "...you're Richie's family."

Ethan takes the moment to stab Sam in the shoulder,  "Ding, Ding, Ding— I think she's actually starting to get it." He jumps in excitement.

The three hurriedly step back, but Quinn and Ethan only follow them.

Detective Bailey began ranting about something, but Starr drowned out his words. Her eyes set on Ethan, she wanted him dead, brutally torn apart.

"Real great parenting job by the way." Tara sasses, only to get shoved by Quinn.

Starr turns around, sending a hit to her skull, making her groan and stumble to her knees.

Ethan jumps in, stabbing Starr in the side of her back, just slightly missing her spine.

Starr screams at the feeling of the blade twisting, Tara and Sam hurried towards her, pulling her away.

Detective Bailey slowly walked near the stage, "I know I don't win The Best Father award, maybe I overindulged Richie's love for these movies."

He turns to the screen that was playing a recording of Richie, speaking to a camera, "Richie really loved them. He even made a few of his own. Did you know?"

"There's a very special bond between a father and his first son." Detective Baileys voice breaks as he watched the screen. He looks at Sam, "which is why I helped him build this collection."

Starr laughs dryly, "hear that, Ethan? You're still not his favorite, even after all the killing you did for him. Must suck to suck."

"Shut the fuck up before I stabbed you again!" Ethan threatens.

"This was all his?" Sam ignores Ethan, too stunned by Detective Bailey.

He nods, an admiring smile on his lips, "he's a very passionate collector and he inspired others, like those two wannabe film students we had to kill because—well," he shrugs, "we had to kill you first, Sam."

"I put the theatre in their name and good ole' Detective Bailey would've just stumbled on it, " he starts explaining, "but I didn't have too because that Gale Weathers is one hell of a journalist."

"I built a tribute for my some, which is why this is where you have to die, surrounded by all the things he loved the most." Detective looks around the theatre.

Starr was starting get annoyed with all his ranting. "Dear, God." She mumbles.

"What happens next?" Sam seethed, "after you're done with us, you just disappear?!"

Detective Bailey walks off the stage, "No! We have to hurry to the hospital and make sure Mindy and Gale don't pull through."

He raises his gun in the middle of Sam's chest, "because everybody dies, Sam! Everyone who had anything to do with the death of my son, suffers and dies!"

Quinn and Ethan momentarily cheered along with him.

"Now put on the mask."

Starr looks to her, "Sam." She mumbles her name, waiting for her next move.

Sam looks down at the mask, "you're son was...so pathetic."

Starr grins.

Detective denies it but Sam reassured him, "yeah, your son. He was a man baby who made his girlfriend do all the killing."

Starr wanted to laugh at the mention of Amber, but doesn't.

"He was a strong, virile, young man!" He argues.

"He was a limp dick little fuck," Sam's eyes darken, "who cried before I slit his throat."

Quinn felt a yell erupt from her throat, "Shut the fuck up—"

Tara hits her in the mouth with the brick, making her fall to the floor.

Kirby appears feets away, shooting three shots in Detective's direction.

Ethan goes after her.

"Go!" Sam pushes Starr towards Tara's direction so they could make it to the exit door."

"No! I'll be right behind you," Starr only spared Sam a short amount of her time before turning it all than. "Get the fuck off her!" Starr kicks him hard in the ribcage, making him groan and fall back.

Kirby takes the knife out of her stomach, hissing as she does, "Here—Get your justice."

Starr takes hold of the knife, the sensation was a new feeling, an unknown one. She looks over to Ethan, the bit of light in her eyes disappearing before ruthlessly stabbing Ethan in his upper body.

She groans at the feeling of the knife running through his flesh. She rips the knife out, doing it again and again and again. She felt blood splatter across her face but she smiled.

Ethan glares at the look in her eyes, ruffly shoving her backwards and causing her to hit her head on the wooden podium.

Starr blinks rapidly as she felt her vision go black for a second.

Starr hears a gun fire, Tara's scream soon to follow. She looks up, seeing Tara hanging from the Mezzanine level of the theatre.

She then turns to see Quinn stumbling to her feet, walking up a flight of stairs to get to the sisters.

Wobbling, Starr stands, grabbing a brick to go after the girl but a stab wound from Ethan was enough to make her fall to her knees again.

Ethan wraps his hand in her hair, pulling on it to make Starr forcefully look up at him. She whines and groans at the uncomfortable pulling on her scalp.

"You really thought you could beat me? Just like your weak brother?!" Ethan rages.

"Funny coming from the boy who's brother quite literally cried while getting their throat slit." Starr risks the sarcastic toned response.

"I'm gonna kill you just like I did your brother, at least you'll both have the same legacy." Ethan raises his knife but he hears a gunshot fire in the air. He looks up, seeing Quinn drop to the ground with a bullet between her eyes. "No!" He cries.

Detective Bailey had made his way up to the top as well. Sam pulls on the trigger only to realize there were no more bullets left in the gun.

Sam drops the weapons and runs after them, their strengths pushing on another's, sending them both over the Mezzanine and crashing into glass.

Ethan was too alarmed to acknowledge he'd let go of Starr's hair.

Starr clutches the brick she'd dropped and slammed it over his head, causing his vision to go black.

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word count: 2209

SIREDNOTES !—
This book is coming to an end! Nooooo