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𝙑𝙊𝙇𝙐𝙈𝙀 𝑰𝑰. ── CASUALTY OF YOUR DREAMS!

❛ 𝒌𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅, 𝒎𝒖𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅 ❜
─── chapter eighteen! ❫

018. ╱ ✹ ⠀⠀ ❝ dug yourself a grave,
no surprise. . . should've known better,
so now, it's time that you die in it. ❞

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     THE SOUND OF HEAVY FOOTSTEPS POUNDING AGAINST THE STREETS OF NEW YORK CITY WAS ALL KYNLEE MANRAL COULD HEAR. Nothing else mattered now except getting to the theater before Ghostface did— if they weren't there already. Kynlee was praying that she and Ethan wouldn't be too late.

     The pair was bobbing and weaving through the flooded sidewalks. New York was always crowded, but it felt exceptionally claustrophobic tonight. That was likely due to how panicked she was feeling.

     Losing Chad, Sam, and Tara wasn't an option. She didn't know how to live life without Chad and Tara, specifically.

     The original High Five included Kynlee, Chad, Mindy, Wes, and Tara. They had all met in a daycare group a year after being born. For almost their entire lives, they didn't know life without one another. Then Wes was taken far too soon last year, and Kynlee hadn't fully moved past it, and she didn't know if she ever would. None of them truly had, and no one could bear to lose another friend.

     Mindy was already sidelined, so it was up to Kynlee to ensure Chad and Tara made it— Sam, too.

     Out of breath but holding onto sheer determination to get to the theater, Kynlee propelled forward. She could do this. It didn't matter if her body was burning and she couldn't feel her legs. It didn't matter that she could feel a warm liquid slowly trailing down her back. She can do this. It didn't matter that her head was pounding, likely from the mild concussion she got last night. She will do this.

     Ethan was surprisingly keeping up, considering he hardly made it two feet in the subway station. He was pink in the face, and his backpack continuously smacked against his backside.

     The moment the theater came into view, she gasped for air. "T-Thank fuck," she wheezed, darting into the familiar alleyway. She jumped over a pile of rocks and continued. The black-and-white spray-painted mural of Ghostface was a blur as she ran past it.

     "Kyn, wait up!" Ethan called breathlessly.

     "Hurry it up, E!" Kynlee shouted back before coming to a skidded stop at the back of the tall, worn-down brick building. It still looked like it could fall apart at any second. Immediately, she grabbed the metal-fenced door and yanked at it. This was the only way inside, but nobody was there to let them in.

     Chad knew they were coming. Why wasn't he, or anybody else, there to let them in?

     Joining her, the brown-haired boy was now breathing normally and didn't look strained in the slightest. He was holding his phone and seemingly reading something. "Hey, Chad texted me," he placed a hand on Kynlee's shoulder and squeezed it gently. Kynlee stopped tugging on the fence and turned to him. "He said that Kirby left a keycard for us and Bailey underneath a big rock next to the door."

     "¡Gracias a Dios!" Kynlee spun her back to him again and crouched down. There were piles of rocks all over the place, and most of them near the door were large. She dug through them all, but the keycard was nowhere to be found.

     While she'd been searching, she failed to notice that Ethan was no longer wearing his backpack. It'd been placed aside and he'd picked up a brick that'd been leaning on the side of the building. His eyes were narrowed and a small smirk was dancing on his lips.

     "Are you sure Chad said under a big rock? I can't find anything," the tattooed girl said, raising her voice so he could hear her. "Also, he hasn't texted or called me back on Mindy's phone. Why would he—"

     The sentence was never completed for something collided with the back of her head. It was sudden, blunt, and harsh. It was something she never saw coming, and she was out like a light.

────

     THERE WAS A PULSATING PAIN SPREADING OVER KYNLEE'S HEAD WHEN SHE FINALLY CAME TO. Her head wavered back and forth as she stirred, eyes slowly fluttering open. "¡Ay, Dios mío!" A groan reverberated and she slowly pushed herself into a seat position. The world spun for a few seconds until it balanced itself out.

     "Ow," she mumbled, holding the back of her head. It felt like she'd been hit with a goddamn brick. "¿Qué mierda?"

     Gradually, she observed her surroundings to see that she was somehow inside the theater. Someone had placed her in the long, narrow, and dimly lit hallway she'd hidden in earlier that day. She'd been trying to pull herself together after seeing that drawing of Amber and the knife she'd used to murder and attack people. She'd also been alone until Ethan showed up and tried to be—

     Ethan.

     "Chingada madre," she hissed, getting to her feet as quickly as possible. Everything swayed and blurred. Instinctually, she pressed the palms of her hands to the wall to steady herself. A sharp pain sparked in her right hand and shot up her arm. Groaning, she tried to focus on letting out slow and even breaths. She blinked rapidly.

     Eventually, the world came into focus and the pounding in her skull lessened.

     "I fucking knew it," she grumbled, marching down the hallway. The aches she felt were nothing close to the suffering she was ready to give Ethan. He'd murdered Anika and Quinn. "I'm going to kill him."

     The idea that he had also been knocked out didn't cross her mind— she wasn't stupid. She could read things for what they were.

     And never once did she question why the Landry boy had spared her and hidden her unconscious body in a hallway. She didn't reflect on the countless times where he'd been watching her or Chad. She didn't think about how attached he was to the couple and how he spent most of his time with them instead of anybody else. She didn't linger on the fact that he consistently looked to her to defend him when he'd been one of the people behind this all along. She didn't recall how he'd told her hours ago that he would never hurt her.

     She never once entertained the idea that Ethan hid her for protection because he liked her.

     Exiting the hallway, she approached a set of double doors that led into the theater. As she reached for the handle, she heard voices coming from inside. It wasn't clear what they were saying, but she identified the voices as belonging to Sam, Tara, and Kirby.

     Where was Chad?

     Ethan was likely lurking somewhere and planning on when he was going to strike. That meant she needed to be careful and not draw attention to herself. She needed to be smart about this; especially if she wanted to protect her best friends.

     Quietly opening one of the doors, she peeked her head out and looked to the left and to the right. Nothing. Nobody. The lights were slightly dimmed and sobbing in combination with multiple female voices were audible. Kynlee stepped into the theater and soundlessly closed the door behind her; she couldn't give away her presence.

     Placing one foot in front of the other, she inhaled deeply. There was fear and anxiety trailing up and down her body. In the past, every part of her would have wanted to turn back around, but not anymore. After last year's events and what happened in the last seventy-two hours, she had to suck it up and do what it took to end this.

     The endless love she had for her friends had always driven her to do a lot of things in life. She was loyal as hell, and one day that might be her downfall, but not today. Nothing anybody said or did would stop her from helping her friends. It didn't matter how far she had to go or what she had to do, she was going to be there and fight for them no matter what. That included ending Ethan's life and whoever his partner was.

     Kynlee inched forward, taking in her surroundings. She was at the back of the room where the gated staircase was. It was where the group, including Gale, Kirby, and Detective Bailey had entered hours ago.

     To her right was the rest of the theater. Two sheets of dark grey tarp with rips and holes hung from the second level, dragging on the floor and hiding the rows of red velvet theater seats. She was concealed from sight and couldn't see the stage. All she could see was the center aisle and a bit of the open space between the tarps that led into the Ghostface shrine.

     Hide.

     There weren't many places to hide where she'd be able to get a look into the scene unfolding on the other side of the tarp. Her eyes landed on the rows of seats and sighed.

     Well, it was better than just standing there.

     Kynlee tip-toed down the right side of the room, still hidden. She entered the sixth row and ducked. It was a humbling experience as she crawled across the dusty, dirty, and grimy theater floors. Her hands were already painted in dried blood, so a little dust and mildew couldn't hurt. At least that's what she kept telling herself.

     She stopped when she reached the middle and could see through a rip in the tarp. Crouching a bit lower, she squinted to get a better look.

     From where she was positioned, she could see Sam and Tara standing with a brick in each hand. They were facing Kirby, who was bleeding from an open gash on her forehead and limping. The F.B.I. agent was holding her gun with tears in her eyes. The three were talking, but Kynlee couldn't hear them that well.

     Where was Chad?

     Suddenly, a figure came barrelling through the back of the room and toward the shrine. Kynlee hastily pressed her body to the ground, flattening herself as much as possible. She held her breath, praying the dimmed lighting and her dark clothing and hair were working in her favor.

     "Kirby, stop! Get away from the girls!"

     Shit. It was Detective Bailey.

     "What are you doing?"

     Kynlee pushed up and shifted into an extremely low squat, peeking over the back of a velvet chair. The detective's backside faced her.

     "Did you kill Quinn? Did you kill my daughter?"

     "Jesus Christ! Whatever he's been saying to you, don't listen to him. He's probably the killer."

     There was movement in her peripheral vision, and Kynlee glanced to the left. Ghostface had appeared out of thin air and was running down the aisle toward the man, knife raised in the air. Her eyes widened, but she made no effort to move or warn him. The killer didn't appear to have seen her. Also, she still suspected the detective to some degree. Something in her gut was telling her things weren't what they seemed.

     "Behind you!"

     Unexpectedly, Bailey raised his gun and fired it three times. The thud of a body hitting the ground echoed, and Kynlee flinched.

     Things weren't what they seemed. She was fucking right.

     Between the small tears in the tarp, Kynlee could scarcely make out the image of Sam and Tara gaping at the floor. Pure shock was etched into their faces, and they were speechless. From where she was hidden, she still couldn't tell if Chad was with them without exposing herself. She didn't want to compromise her position yet. Not until she had a better idea of what was going on and figured out when to intervene.

     "Great job. Both of you."

     Silently, she moved over a foot and remained crouched. From her new spot, she could see that there was a masked murderer on each side of the detective.

     Huh. Two wasn't enough anymore. Three killers were necessary this time around. Interesting.

     "You?" Sam almost couldn't believe it. One of the killers had been one of the people helping them. Honestly, she should have seen it coming.

     Bailey laughed and waved a dismissive hand at her. "Yeah, of course me. Frankly, I expected more from the two of you after what you did to us."

     "What do you mean, "us"?" Tara questioned, growing even more disoriented.

     The Ghostface on the man's left moved their mask, revealing themselves to be Ethan Landry. He wore a sinister smile and it was the first genuine one Kynlee had ever seen. It was disturbing, but also enlightening. This was the person who'd been hiding behind the dorky and shy facade.

     In response, Tara and Sam simply blinked.

     This had to be the most obvious reveal of all time. Nobody in the room was shocked in the slightest.

     "Duh," the tattooed girl murmured, keeping her voice so low that she hardly heard herself. Who else would have ambushed her from behind when she and Ethan arrived together?

     Bailey chuckled gleefully and did jazz hands. "Ta-da!"

     "Mindy was right," the brown-haired boy laughed. "It was easy to juke the roommate lottery. I mean, all I had to do to meet you was room with a conceited condescending alpha literally named Chad."

     It took everything in Kynlee not to say something.

     Before he could continue, the other Ghostface raised an index finger in the air. They were signaling for everyone to pause. All became silent and all attention went to them.

     "Ah, yes," Bailey hummed, breaking into a mischievous smile. "Go get our surprise guest." It was a small surprise, but it was nothing compared to the plot twist coming.

     The Carpenter sisters had no clue what was meant by that, but if there was a fourth Ghostface, they were fucked. Four against two wasn't promising. Perhaps he was referring to Mindy since Ethan had been with her. He was here, so where was she?

     Ghostface walked away in the direction of the dark grey tarp hanging at the back of the theater. They soon disappeared behind it.

     "By the way," Ethan smirked, holding up the decaying mask he'd been wearing. "This was your grandmother's, Sam." His blood-coated blade tapped against the plastic. "Nancy Loomis? Really runs in your fucking family, doesn't it?" There was a dramatic pause before his face lit up with delight. "Speaking of family..."

     Bailey glanced at him, still smiling. "Let's wait for a second. Let's see if they can figure it out for themselves." This was the moment they'd been building up to for nearly a year.

     Sam darted her eyes between the two, trying to piece it together. Tara was doing the same, but she was drawing a blank. Nothing made sense.

     Meanwhile, behind the tarp and a row of seats, Kynlee instantly locked eyes with one of the killers. It was the one who had yet to be unmasked. Her countenance turned solemn and she simply stood up, rolling her shoulders back.

     Ghostface stopped at the end of her row and motioned with their knife for her to come closer. It was a gesture that made her feel sick, but she complied. Whatever the killers were leading up to involved her, even if it was just in the slightest, and she'd rather go along with it to get closer to her friends. That way, she could do her best to protect and defend them.

     The moment she reached Ghostface, they seized her by the upper left arm and yanked her forward. The force of the pull was so strong that she stumbled, but was promptly picked up. "Que te jodan, perra," she grumbled, casting them a cold glare. No response was given.

     "Kynlee!"

     "K!"

     At the sound of Sam and Tara shouting her name, Kynlee looked ahead. She and Ghostface were walking down the aisle to join everyone else. A scowl was on her lips, and she was visibly pissed. There was blood covering the tape and gauze on her right arm and hand, and stained both of her palms. The stab wound under her collarbone was bleeding and the bandage was bright red.

     Once she reached the small group, she was shoved at the Carpenter sisters. This time she didn't stumble and spun on her heel, trudging backward. She held up both middle fingers, directing one at each of the cloaked killers.

      "Thanks, by the way," she growled, talking to Ethan, "for the second concussion, fuckhead. The one I got last night wasn't strong enough."

     Ethan's face darkened and he opened his mouth to retaliate, but Bailey stopped him. "Not yet. We still have the... you know," he jabbed a thumb at the remaining Ghostface.

     Sam reached out and grabbed onto the tattooed girl, spinning her around and bringing her into a brief hug. "Thank God, thank God," she murmured, smoothing out her wavy and tangled black hair.

     Tara was the next to pull her into an embrace, kissing the side of her neck. "I'm so glad to see you," she whispered hoarsely.

     Drawing away, Kynlee kissed their foreheads and gave a small smile. "Where's—" Before she could ask where her boyfriend was, she was interrupted.

     "Clearly, nobody figured it out for themselves," Bailey stated bluntly, gesturing to the three women. "You can continue now."

     Kynlee pivoted to face the trio, eyebrows furrowing. Out of her, Sam, and Tara, she felt like she was the only one who was beginning to understand this.

     Perhaps Detective Bailey didn't kill his own daughter. Like Mindy said, having a cop dad is a great cover in horror movies. Quinn could be the one under the mask. However, why would Ethan be involved in such horrendous acts if he only met the Bailey family in August? Unless...

     The realization sank in and Kynlee's eyes rolled. Wow.

     Mindy's comment the other night about how Quinn and Ethan acted like two siblings who blatantly hate each other could be more true than anyone knew.

     "My name's not Ethan Landry, is it, Dad?" Ethan asked, looking at the detective with a proud smile.

     Bailey broke into a cackle as if what the brown-haired boy just said was the funniest thing he's ever heard in his life. It wasn't, but good for him.

     "Dad?" Tara echoed incredulously, darting her eyes between the two. She almost couldn't believe what she was hearing. There was no way, right? Surely not.

     "Wait," Sam said, stepping up. There was a lump in her throat and her thoughts ran wild. "If it's you two, that just leaves..."

     The final Ghostface swung their gaze to the eldest Carpenter and tilted their head. In a way, it appeared as if they were silently mocking the woman. It was infuriating.

     Sam was about to utter Mindy's name since there were no other suspects left, to her knowledge, but somebody beat her to it.

     Kynlee clenched her jaw and spat venomously, "Quinn." There was betrayal laced in every letter of Quinn's name, and she prayed that the redhead heard it. She was convinced it was her and wanted Quinn to know that her actions hurt.

     Stunned at the mention of their dead roommate, Sam and Tara exchanged glances. It wasn't possible. The killer had to be someone else.

     A dramatic pause and tumultuous silence filled the room. Everyone waited with bated breath to see if the Manral girl was right. The last mask was removed painfully slow, and a sea of red hair tumbled out.

     "Well, at least he had a stupid little crush on someone smart," Quinn Bailey sneered, gesturing with her bloodied knife to Ethan. Detective Bailey nodded in agreement, hands folded and hanging in front of him.

     The comment caused Kynlee to pause, and she looked at the brown-haired boy. When they first met, Chad suspected that Ethan had a crush on her. It was primarily due to Ethan's awkward and odd behavior and consistent blushing whenever she spoke to him. Eventually, though, the couple figured out that he did that with Chad and others, too. After that, they never thought anything of it.

     But maybe they should have.

     "Hey, roomies," Quinn greeted arrogantly, tossing the disfigured mask in the air and catching it. "You didn't see that one coming, did you? Unfortunately, beauty and brains over here did."

     For a second time, Kynlee flashed her the middle finger.

     "Yeah, because you died!" Tara gasped, unable to believe her eyes. The image of Quinn's mangled and bloodied body had been haunting her since last night. She thought that she'd lost another friend again, and it broke her heart. Yet, here she was, alive with not a scratch on her.

     Quinn tilted her head in the other direction, humming. "Kind of didn't, though," she said, twisting her lips and sliding off her gloves. "It was a good way to get off the suspect list. Stab Gale Weathers, stab Mindy on the train. That sort of thing."

     Out of the corner of her eye, Kynlee could see Ethan fixated on her unmoving figure. He was checking her out and gripping his blade the same way he gripped onto his backpack— like someone was going to steal her.

     "Yep, and I just made sure I was nearby so I could switch her body out with a fresh one while Ethan was attacking all of you. Little fake blood, a prosthetic."

     Bailey's confession made Tara gasp. He'd been there the entire time and allowed young adults to be attacked and murdered. Not only that, but he encouraged, participated, and enjoyed it. Meanwhile, Sam was shaking her head in denial. She saw Quinn's dead body when she was taken to the living room by a police officer while paramedics tended to Kynlee.

     Well, did she?

     From what she could recall, she saw that the redhead's body was covered with a plastic tarp, but that was it. Somebody else with pale skin and red hair could have easily been under that.

     "You'd be amazed at what a grieving father can get away with."

     As he spoke, his children split up and walked in opposite directions. Each of them was on one side of the shrine.

     "I got Stu Macher's mask," Quinn told the three, holding it proudly in the air. Tara and Kynlee moved their bodies to keep an eye on her figure. "He was my favorite."

     Kynlee scowled. "You're fucking sick."

     Directly behind her, Sam watched Ethan place her grandmother's mask on the mannequin that wore her infamous white suit. There were splatters of blood trailing down the left side of it.

     "Nice. That's number three," the detective pointed at his son, referring to Nancy Loomis' mask. "That's two." He motioned to Stu's mask right as the three survivors faced him. "Oh, and before we get to one... Kynlee."

     Kynlee narrowed her glare even further, wishing that looks could kill. "What?" Just like when she was talking to Pa, Malik, and Ibrahim, it was taking everything in her not to snap. At least not yet.

     "Sorry about your pretty-faced boyfriend," he apologized, shrugging lightly. "But my kids did what had to be done. He was in our way."

     Chad.

     Opening and closing her mouth, she shakily swept her gaze to the Carpenter sisters. "I don't, I'm not following," she said, not wanting to acknowledge the underlying message the detective's words held. It wasn't true. It couldn't be true.

     But he wasn't there, and he was nowhere in sight.

     Neither Sam nor Tara knew what to say. Neither wanted to be the one to break the news to Kynlee that Chad Meeks-Martin was dead. Once the words left their mouths, they couldn't take them back.

     "We killed Chad," Quinn eventually sighed, annoyed that the women wouldn't tell the tattooed girl. "Sorry not sorry."

     Kynlee met the redhead's smug smirk, and her heart stopped. All the color drained from her face and she swallowed harshly. "Where is he?" she asked, taking a step toward someone she once considered a friend. If this was true, she would kill the entire family without hesitation.

     "Bleeding out and dead," Ethan sneered, lunging forward and poking her left shoulder with the tip of his blade. Instantly, blood appeared and she winced. "Are you not listening?!"

     A wave of rage washed over her and Kynlee balled her fingers into fists. She was ready to throw a punch when someone tugged her backward and obscured her vision. Sam had shielded her and Tara from view as much as she could, standing in front of them protectively with her jaw set.

     "Fine!" Kynlee shouted from behind Sam, speaking loud enough so everyone could hear her. If he wanted her to listen, she'd listen. "If you're going to villain monologue, then by all means, get it over with," she pleaded, throwing her arms out to her sides. "I'm fucking bored."

     "Fine," Quinn growled, gripping the blade in her hand tighter. "Have it your way then."

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❝ you know i'm 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 at 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒔,
you know that you're my 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔. . .

and i'll 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 repeat 𝒊𝒕! ❞

╭⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀╮

¡Gracias a Dios! ━━ Thank God
¡Ay, Dios mío! ━━ Oh, my God
¿Qué mierda? ━━ What the hell?
Chingada madre ━━ Motherfucker
Que te jodan, perra ━━ Screw you,
bitch

╰⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀╯

     TWO MORE CHAPTERS LEFT!! &&& a mini cliffhanger for everyone, but the next chapter will be out soon!!

     we're reaching the end of the story and i don't want it to end :( i say it so often, but i truly do love this book so much.

     i hope everyone is enjoying it so far!

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˒⠀𝑹𝑬𝑴𝑰𝑵𝑫𝑬𝑹. . . ▬⠀⤸

Thank you all for taking the time out of your day to comment on this story. It means a lot and helps the story be spread to a broader audience &&& allows me to grow as an author. All I ask is that people vote on each chapter, please. As a creator, it takes time to write and develop stories. So please, vote on every chapter. It means a lot more than I could ever express.

Don't forget to vote & comment!

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˒⠀𝑪𝑶𝑷𝒀𝑹𝑰𝑮𝑯𝑻. . . ▬⠀⤸

❝ All Rights Reserved.
No part of this publication may be
reproduced, distributed, or transmitted
in any form or by any means, including
photocopying, recording, or other
electronic or mechanical methods,
without prior permission of the author,
except in the case of brief quotations
embodied in critical reviews and
other noncommercial uses permitted
by copyright law. ❞

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