IN WHICH Cynthia Archer attempts to escape the grasp of a killer whilst discovering her feelings for her two best friends

PRESENTING

THE 'INNOCENT'

CYNTHIA GRACE ARCHER

( emily alyn lind )

THE PSYCHO

WILLIAM 'BILLY' LOOMIS

( skeet ulrich )

THE JOKER

STUART 'STU' MACHER

( matthew lillard )

SUPPORTING CHARACTERS OF KILL SWITCH

SIDNEY PRESCOTT... Neve Campbell

TATUM RILEY... Rose McGowan

RANDY MEEKS... Jaime Kennedy

DEWEY RILEY... David Arquette

GALE WEATHERS... Courtney Cox

PROLOGUE

CYNTHIA ARCHER exited the school hall behind her two best friends. She had something to tell them and wanted them to do something for her. The three took a seat at the curb and Cynthia sighed. She glanced to her left as Stu Macher pulled a tin of blunts from his suit pocket, then to her left as Billy Loomis pulled out a shiny silver lighter.

She took the blunt from Stu and let Billy light it for her. As the smoke entered her system she stared at the parking lot filled with student cars. The moon shone brightly overhead, casting a pale glow over the area. The school dance was something she didn't necessarily want to go to, but she had to for what she wanted to do, it was her alibi. Her little sister was at a friend's so she had her own alibi.

She exhaled deeply. She'd contemplated telling the two boys of her plan for a while. She needed an alibi when the police would question why she'd been gone from the dance for over an hour. So she turned to her two best friends. The three had met in kindergarten and had been inseparable since. As they grew older, their trio expanded, yet she still remained the one person they could trust with their life. And she trusted them with hers.

Stu broke the silence first, "So... why'd you drag us out here?" He was a tall and lanky boy with a constant goofy grin. His height made him perfect for playing basketball and he'd been appointed captain earlier that year. Cynthia loved him dearly. He was the joker of the trio, always finding some way to make the three laugh.

Cynthia sighed, "I need to do something and I need you two to back me up."

"Of course," Billy responded immediately. While Stu was the joker, he was the realist. Billy always made sure they were acting rationally and was the first to say something when Stu was being an idiot. He was slightly shorter than Stu but still a head and a half taller than Cynthia. While Stu had taken up basketball, Billy had opted for football, much better suited to it with large shoulders and muscular arms.

"No. Just wait, please. I need to do something bad. Something really bad and I need you to be my alibi for why I left the dance," Cynthia stated. If Billy was the realist, Cynthia was a dreamer. She did multiple things around the school like the school council and eco-committee and she'd gotten chosen as the soccer team captain a few days ago. But right now, Cynthia wasn't a dreamer. She was a sinner.

"Thia... what's going on?" Stu questioned, looking at her in concern.

The blonde sighed once more and looked toward the sky. Her eyes were not able to settle upon either of them as she told them of her plan, "I'm going to kill my parents."

Stu sent Billy an alarmed look over her shoulder. The usual calm boy was stunned into silence. Finally, he muttered, "Oh... okay?"

"Dammit! I knew I shouldn't have said anything and just figured it out myself," Cynthia complained and began to stand, "You know what? It's fine, don't worry about it. No one's going to die. I'll just have to endure it."

She began to walk back to school and the two scrambled after her. Cynthia cursed herself for even saying anything. You see, though her parents were the top surgeons in Woodsboro, they had their fair share of issues. Behind the perfect mask, was a cracked family.

It all started when her older sister died a few years ago in a car accident. Since then, nothing had been the same. Almost two years later, her parents' secrets had started to unravel. Her father was having an affair with one of her friends' mothers and her mother had found out. Though Jenna Archer had been beyond angry, she stayed with Michael to keep up their brilliant reputation. However, as Jenna became bolder with her arguments, bringing up Maureen Prescott at every turn, Michael became more violent. His one drink a night had turned into multiple and he'd become an angry drunk, inflicting abuse upon unseen spots on both women's bodies.

Now a year later, Cynthia had enough. Enough of both of her parents. Clearly, her mother was in the same position, seeing as Cynthia had found a plane ticket to New York due to set off next week, in her mother's favourite hiding spot for weed. Her mother was planning to leave without her and her sister, leaving them in the hands of her abusive father.

So she was going to kill them. For the pain, they inflicted upon her.

Cynthia was brought back from her spiralling memories as Billy gripped her arm, "Hey! Cyn, you're our best friend and we love you. We don't know why you want to do it, but we'll help you."

"Really?"

Stu pulled her into his arms, his larger body engulfing her like a blanket, "Of course, sweetheart," he pressed a kiss to the crown of her head.

"Then I have to go now. The dance is almost ending, and we've been out here for fifteen minutes already." Cynthia pulled out of Stu's hold.

"Uh, uh, we're going with you," Billy replied. She looked up at him panicked, "Yes, you're not going to kill your parents on your own." She sagged in defeat and nodded. Before leaving, she made sure they changed into something else, seeing as they couldn't have blood on their clothes. And then, she made them get into her car, before tearing out of the parking lot.

She parked in a secluded spot a few minutes behind her house before getting out. Cynthia opened her trunk and dug around in her cheer bag. She pulled out a large hunting knife and a gun. She twisted the knife in her hand as she tucked the gun into her pocket.

"So what are we supposed to do?" Stu asked her, watching as she pulled on gloves.

Cynthia shrugged, "I didn't exactly plan for you to be here with me. So... you'll probably just help me move the bodies to it's desired position."

They followed her as she approached her house. They entered through the back and Cynthia made them quietly take off their shoes. She could hear her father's snoring come from the study and her mother's footsteps from upstairs.

"Shit, she's upstairs. I kinda hoped they'd be arguing," Cynthia stated. She quickly adjusted her plan and slowly crept into the study, with the two boys hot on her heels. As she opened the door, she caught sight of her father, head tilted back against the back of his favourite chair, snores escaping his gaping mouth.

Cynthia pulled the knife she'd hooked in her belt and twisted it in her hand. She made sure not to look up at the family photo above the fireplace before she put the metal to her father's neck and slid across deeply. Her hand was immediately coated in blood and her father reached up in shock as he tried to form words. Cynthia watched as he bled out a moment later with an unwavering expression of boredom.

"Um... Billy, could you scream for me?"

"Why?"

"Well I need my mother's fingerprints on this, knife and then I need to shoot her in the head with the gun from the safe and put her fingerprints on that."

Billy nodded. She had worked all of this out to a tee. He did as told and a moment later, Jenna's footsteps were heard coming down the stairs. Cynthia made them slip into the shadows as her mother searched the other rooms of the house. The door creaked as it opened slowly and Jenna peaked her head in, "Michael?"

With no response, she came in further. Her mother shook as she stepped in front of her husband. "Oh my God!" She attempted to close the wound, blood gushing over her hands. Her mouth opened in a scream but she had no time as Cynthia shot her point-blank in the head. Jenna sprawled at her husband's feet, her blood soaking the cream carpet.

"Well that was easy enough, she basically did half the work for me," Cynthia stated as she came out of her hiding spot to look at the two. She took the knife carefully setting it beside her mother in a way that clearly shows she had dropped it in shock. She then cautiously placed the gun into her mother's dominant hand before stepping back to admire her work.

"Why the right hand?" Stu questioned.

"My mother's right-handed. So she killed my father with the knife, in her right hand and then killed herself with the gun in her right hand."

"That's... genius," Billy replied.

"You probably think I'm crazy."

"We all go a little mad sometimes," Billy responded, wrapping his arms around her shoulder and kissing her head.

"Alright..." Cynthia checked her watch and frowned as blood splattered on it, she wiped it clean with her other wrist, "We have 30 minutes till the dance ends. It's ten minutes from my house to the school so we have 20 to change and bury these clothes before getting back where I expertly act like I'm high. We have been outside smoking weed for exactly 35 minutes now."

"Ok, then, let's do this," Stu clapped. They exited the room into the backyard. Cynthia grabbed the hose and rinsed her hands out in the flowers her mother grew. She knew the police could test the inside of the drain for blood, she wasn't stupid. They changed back into their original clothes before Cynthia dragged them out to a hole she'd dug in the forest behind her house. It was right beside her dead dog's remains, so any police dogs would be more attracted to that scent than her bloody clothes. She'd planned this meticulously since last year and had every detail down worked out.

After burying their clothes, she drove them back to school and parked in the same spot. They entered the gym and Cynthia caught sight of Sidney and Tatum dancing a bit away. She faked stumbling toward them and giggled as she reached them, "Hiiiiii."

"Jesus, what the hell is wrong with you?" Tatum questioned.

"I'm kinda high," Cynthia giggled, "The boys gave me weed. Shhh, don't tell anyone."

Sidney looked at the two disappointed, "Really? You know she's a lightweight."

Cynthia mentally rolled her eyes. The innocent persona she'd created had always gotten on her nerves. But it was times like this when she wanted to scream.

"Ok, darling, let's get you home," Tatum stated.

Cynthia pulled out her keys, "I can drive."

"No!" Both girls yelled as Sidney made a grab for the keys, "Tatum and I will get you home," the two led her out of the dance and she made a bold wave to the two boys behind her. Cynthia lay across Tatum's back seat as the girl drove toward her house. She wondered how they would react upon seeing her parents dead. Because that's what Cynthia had planned. She would make them come inside with her and then they'd find them together, where the blonde would make a show of being horrified.

As they pulled up to her house 10 minutes later, they helped Cynthia out of the car. Tatum unlocked her door and Cynthia called out for her parents, "Mom? Dad?"

"Shhh!" Sidney hissed. The girl knew Cynthia's parents would be disappointed that she was high and she'd most likely get in trouble.

"That's weird, their car is in the driveway," Cynthia faked a frown. She moved away from the girls and began to check in different rooms. They approached the open door of the study, "Mom?" Cynthia paused as she saw the leg of her mother sticking out.

"Cyn, don't," Sidney made a grab for her but Cynthia pulled out of her grasp. She slowly stepped forward before letting out an ear-shattering scream. The two girls hurried forward to console their friend. They spoke quietly over her head as she stared at the bodies of her parents. Tatum hurriedly called the police and when they showed up, announcing a murder-suicide, Cynthia knew she'd achieved her goal of killing her parents.

PLAYLIST

001. little dark age by mgmt

002. nightmare by halsey

003. two sweet by hozier

004. somebody's watching me by rockwell

005. why'd you only call me when you're high by arctic monkeys

006. maneater by nelly furtado

007. doin' time by lana del rey

008. decay by nessa barrett

009. jennifer's body by plvtinum

010. murder on the dance floor by sophie ellis-bextor

DISCLAIMERS

All rights go to the creators of Scream. I only own Cynthia Archer and her plotlines.

This book contains; violence, swearing and sexual content

ESTABLISHED — May 5th 2023

PUBLISHED — October 21st 2024

STATUS — Ongoing

COPYRIGHT © CHERXE 2023 — 2024