HAUNTED

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ANIKA FALLS TO the ground as Quinn's corpse is thrown on top of her, and she releases an ear-piercing scream when she sees the clean slice over Quinn's throat.

"Oh, shit!" Chad yells, grabbing onto Tara's hand and beelining for the front door.

Mindy and Sam drop to Anika's side, pushing Quinn off of her and trying to pull her up. The brunette is in a shocked state, barely able to move by herself. However, Marjorie's petrified gaze is locked on the masked figure that steps out of doorway and into the living room.

Ghostface tilts his head menacingly, staring directly at Mindy as she finally looks up at him in realization. "Oh, fuck."

He lunges at her, slashing his knife across Mindy's upper arm and towering over her. Marjorie bolts from the area and down the hall, rushing to her bedside table and searching through all of the drawers.

"Mindy!" She hears Anika cry out, followed by grunts. "Stay the fuck back!"

Marjorie's trembling fingers eventually find the pair of sharp, hair-cutting scissors in the third drawer, and she hurriedly snatches them before racing back to the living room where Anika's screams are becoming louder.

The killer now has Anika pinned against the fireplace, one hand gripping her throat while the other holds the knife. He's impaled it into her bare stomach, spinning it around within her abdomen and then driving it upward. Red spills out of the wound.

"Fuck you!" Marjorie shouts, running at them and jabbing the scissors into Ghostface's back. It cuts through the black robe, staining the metal in the process, and he exclaims as she pulls them out.

Sam appears from the kitchen, holding the empty wooden knife block as she cries, "Hey!" and swings it into Ghostface's head when he whips around to her.

The collision is hard enough to knock him to the floor, but the killer hurriedly finds his footing and staggers to the front door, slamming it shut. The three girls are given no choice but to grab Anika and usher her into Quinn's room. Unfortunately, before Marjorie is able to make it inside, Ghostface swipes his blade over her leg and creates a wide gash on her thigh.

"Fuck—!" Sam yanks Marjorie inside, just in time for Ghostface to try to slip through and lunge at them. They manage to shut the door and lock it before he can follow.

Anika and Mindy sit at the edge of the bed, clutching their bleeding wounds. Marjorie's eyes go wide at the sight of how much fluid is pouring from Anika's stomach. "No, no!"

The blonde takes hold of a piece of discarded clothing on Quinn's floor and stumbles over to Anika, removing her blood covered hands and apologizing profusely as she presses the cloth on the laceration while the girl whimpers. "We—We need to stop the bleeding, okay?"

"Your leg," Anika sniffles, eyeing the slice on her jeans and the red that seeps through the denim.

Marjorie suppresses the tears that flood her waterline. "No, I'm fine. Just hold on, alright?"

Her concern increases when the crimson floods through the shirt, soaking it almost completely. The blood is wet on Marjorie's fingers, and she has to find all of her self-control to keep them from shaking more than they already are.

Although she's only recently started studying pre-med, Marjorie knows it doesn't take a graduate's degree to realize anybody who loses this much blood has a low chance of survival. She knows that she could lose another friend within the next few minutes if they don't get the fuck out of the apartment.

Strained groans come from Mindy and Anika's mouths, both of their bodies desperately wanting to double over in agony. Meanwhile, Sam tries her best to keep the door closed as the killer on the other side bangs on it with force.

Then the thudding ceases.

Sam and Mindy exchange a confused look, but the woman's dreadful gaze soon drifts to the two open entries that connect to the bathroom and Tara's bedroom. "Mindy, bathroom door! Hurry!"

The girl somehow gets off the bed and hastily makes it through the first door, until she screams, "Oh, fuck! That guy's dead."

Ghostface emerges in front of Mindy, causing her to shriek in alarm as she uses the door to try and block him, only to no avail. He continues to shove at the frame until it swings open, and he slices the knife through the air in hopes of injuring Mindy further.

"No, Mindy! Look out!"

Marjorie attempts to get to her feet before Sam runs to assist Mindy. The pair backpedals into Quinn's room and slams the door, Ghostface kicking at it with his boot. The bolts on the lock fall apart, and Mindy and Sam push a dresser against the door while Ghostface continues trying to break through.

They lean their spines on the drawers, but Sam leaves her position when she sees the guy from yesterday at his window. She slides it open, and somehow, they start to move a ladder across the gap.

Marjorie reluctantly stands up to help Mindy, the pain in her thigh making it more difficult than it should be. "Keep putting pressure on it, okay?" she tells Anika, who can barely manage a nod. She meets her friend's side and uses all her weight to keep the dresser in place.

"You guys go first," Sam orders as she looks back to the three girls. "Mindy!"

"What? No, someone needs to hold the door. We'll get Anika next. Go!" Mindy yells back.

Sam glances at all of them, a guilt-ridden expression formed on her face at the thought of crossing before them. But she knows they don't have time to debate this. The woman swivels on her heels and begins climbing on the ladder.

"She's losing a lot of blood!" Mindy shouts.

Anika groans, tilting her head back. "Say something more positive!"

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Marjorie shakes her head at the unstable exit. "There's no way—"

"Help me move the dresser," Mindy says, moving to the side of the furniture and pushing against it with her good arm.

Marjorie obliges, and they successfully shift the dresser to the middle of the crack in the door. By now, Sam is in the other apartment and yelling for Anika to go across.

The girl rushes to Anika, trying to pull her arm over her shoulder and lead her to the window, but she refuses to go before Marjorie and Mindy. "No! Mars, you need to go! We'll come after you, okay?"

"Anika, no. You're going first!"

"Marjorie, fucking go! I'll get Anika next!" Mindy demands, struggling to press her body to the dresser for much longer.

She grunts, clasping the injury on her thigh tightly. Marjorie can hear the desperate cries from Sam and the guy, and she briefly pulls Anika into an embrace with one arm. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, I'll be okay. You need to go!" Anika ushers Marjorie to face the other direction and uses all her strength to help the girl climb out.

The distance from the ladder to the ground is a long drop, and fear overwhelms Marjorie as she stares down at the alleyway below her. The voices of Mindy and Anika, and their neighbor and Sam, become background noise while Marjorie is practically frozen in place.

"Sam," Marjorie's voice trembles, the tears staining her cheeks as the wind blows lightly. "Sam, it's really fucking high."

"Marjorie, you need to move!" Sam yells, "Danny, grab the ladder."

"Hey!" Danny raises his tone slightly, only to get Marjorie to avert her eyes from the height. "Don't look down. I got you, alright?"

Marjorie nods sharply, closing her eyelids momentarily and breathing in and out, muffling the whimpers that vibrate inside her lips as she presses them together. "Okay, okay..."

Her palms grasp onto the bars of the ladder firmly, and she finds the will to move her knees forward and to the next rod. Eventually she crawls far enough for Danny and Sam to lift her off the ladder, and Marjorie thanks the man repeatedly as her shoes meet the wooden floor.

"Okay, come on, Anika!" Sam shrieks.

Mindy rushes to her girlfriend, yanking an arm across her shoulders to support her and over to the open frame. Anika collapses on the bed once more, and she tells Mindy that she won't be able to, pleading for Mindy to go first.

"No, Mindy! No. I'll be right behind you, I promise!" Anika assures Mindy, gritting her teeth to keep herself from releasing more cries.

Items on the flat of the dresser are forced over the edge, and it occurs to them that the killer will be in the room with them in a few moments. Anika and Mindy connect their lips one last time before Mindy gets on the ladder.

"That's it, Mindy." Danny and Sam encourage her, telling her that Anika will be right behind her as promised. "I got you," Danny says as he pulls Mindy through the window once he can reach her.

"Anika, come on!"

The girl covered in blood pulls herself up, until she stops and looks down. "Oh, God! I can't do it. I can't do it!" Anika sobs, shaking her head.

"Yes, you can— Anika, please!" Marjorie begs for her friend to crawl, and Sam, Mindy, and Danny do the same as they hold the ladder tightly in place. "Please!"

Anika finds the courage to start moving forward, the blood from the slash in her stomach still dripping. She's halfway across the ladder when Ghostface finally breaks the hinges off of the door completely.

Their shouts disappear into silence, their dread taking over as the killer rounds the bed and stands in front of the window. Anika fails to realize that the thudding has stopped.

"What?" she questions through her sobs.

"Anika, you have to move right now!" Mindy keeps her horrified eyes locked on the girl.

Anika twists her neck, and another shriek comes out of her mouth. "Oh, God! Please, no!"

Ghostface pauses and watches the scene through the glass, until he pierces the blade of his knife into the windowsill and grabs hold of the other end of the poles. He hurls the ladder in all directions, and Sam, Marjorie, and Mindy's screams blend into Anika's.

Marjorie looks at Ghostface, and her lips part as she watches helplessly while he practically taunts Anika with the rapid movements of the ladder. He's fucking enjoying this.

"Baby, I don't wanna die!"

The killer slams the ladder up and down violently, and their screams get louder. Sam extends her arm, reaching for the girl. "Anika, give me your hand! I got you!"

Their fingers connect, and Mindy and Marjorie's faces light up for a short moment before the ladder is thrown one more time, and Anika slips from Sam's grasp. Her body descends to the alleyway, her blood-curdling scream being the single sound ringing through their ears, and then her head smashes into the dumpster below.

Marjorie forces herself to whirl around and stagger away from the window at the crack of Anika's neck, her hand covering her mouth as she muffles her own cries and sobs.