chapter six: catch me if you can

TUESDAY: October 15th, 2026,
10:30am (woodsboro police station)

The air felt warm, aside from the light breeze that would enter the room every time the door would open. It almost felt suffocating sitting alone inside a dark room, with the only source of light above you. The metal chairs dug into your flesh making you wanna scream. The thirst that rested along your throat coated your very being until never was left but the urge to grab ahold of the coffee cup in front of you.

The clock kept ticking, an hour; an entire hour of waiting in silence. All that remained was the hope that they'd set you free and you'd go home, but instead the clock kept ticking and the questions got more pointless. Why on earth would you drive a knife through your best friend's eyes, let alone try and kill him? Slitting the throat of a girl seemed outrageous and even having the time to do it.

The questions piled up and the thirst kept rising along the surface of your throat. The light grew darker and no amount of begging made the door open, but you felt the stare. The deep dark stare of the madmen who had done those things you were accused of, no one said anything and no one confessed.

The seal tethered along the lips of the killers, it was a thick red thread that held the drama club together. Every secret and moment was all held together by this one single thread that could snap at any second. The knife was already sinking into the backs of the innocent and the weak were falling into the flames.

"Where were you on the nights Benjamin Crowell and Vivian Everglass were attacked?".

Alexandra seemed to snap back into reality when the question arose into the air. She blinked and pressed her hands along the table, the metal was cold and soothing as she looked at the officer in front of her. He looked almost annoyed by the mere presence of her, and she knew the others were all inside another room likely answering the same questions as her.

"Well I was the one who came here the night Benjamin was attacked, I almost got attacked that night too, but he stopped them".

"What about the night Vivian was attacked at the school, so far we have three eye witnesses who say they found her on the main stage of the theater. So your current whereabouts that night are unknown".

Alexandra felt the man's stare as she held onto her hands "I was at volleyball practice, which if you ask any of the girls on the team they'll confirm this is true. After practice I went straight home for the night so I doubt it was me who attacked Vivian".

"Who do you think harmed your friends?".

That question lingered on her mind for so many hours it made her head spin with such intense energy. Every waking hour and she'd see that mask, it was engraved into her soul and no matter how many times she blinked it never went away. She could hear the crunch of Benjamin's eyes seeping away into ashes and the loud screams he let slip out the cracks of his lips.

A constant nightmare, one that was haunting her mind until she figured out who had been running around trying to kill everyone. She felt her lips open to respond but nothing came out, not a single name and yet she knew who it was, at least she hoped.

She shrugged her shoulders "no idea, but it'd be nice to have them caught so I can leave my house without feeling unsafe all the time. I can't even go to the store without someone staring at me". The door opened and Alexandra felt relieved at the sight of the sheriff "gotta borrow the girl for a second, found some evidence at the crime scene where Benjamin was attacked and I believe you'll be of some help".

Alexandra stood up and groaned at the stiffness of her body as she followed the sheriff out of the room. He walked so cautiously as he held onto a small pile of plastic bags, she saw the bolded words of evidence written on the side. The man looked so miserable as he walked into his office and pushed the door shut.

"You're the only one I've shown this too, I have reasons to believe someone is trying to frame you for these crimes". Her eyes widened "what!" she looked at the pile of plastic bags in the man's hands as he set them down onto his desk. "It's almost too perfect, fingerprints were found on the weapon used to harm Vivian, the following goes for Benjamin's case. The only issue is your alibis for those nights are both within the timeframe of the attacks. You couldn't have attacked Vivian while being with an entire group of kids from the high school. You were always present with Benjamin the night was attacked, we received security footage and you're not seen holding a knife".

The girl felt so stuck as she looked at the knife that rested along the wooden desk. Her fingerprints were somehow on it and that thought frightened her "why would someone want to frame me? I don't understand". Her gaze couldn't leave the knife as she sat down, she felt sick as she held onto herself.

"You're not the only one" the man pushed another knife onto the table "this is the one used at the hospital when your classmates were attacked. Fingerprints match perfectly for Andy Williams, it doesn't make sense, he was one of the few who suffered injuries that day. We also find another knife at the school where Vivian was attacked but the finger prints haven't come back. I have reasons to believe the killer's fingerprints are on that knife and they used these two as a way to get the attention off of them".

"Wait, can I look at that for a second?" she pointed to the first knife. It slid across the desk so smoothly as she picked up the plastic bag "that's nail polish, or maybe some type of makeup smudge". She turned on the small lamp that rested on the desk and her eyes looked down at the small smudge.

"Glittery pink nail polish, I know only one person who's always wearing that shade". She looked up as she felt her insides twist with nerves "Claire".

—

The inside of the theater was filled with students running back and forth along the stage. The bright lights shone down perfectly at the center of the stage. The large stain of blood could still be seen from a distance and most of the kids stepped over it without even acknowledging it. The soft clack of Claire's high heels could be heard as she walked through the stage, her gaze looking down at the clipboard with annoyance as she looked up at the tech booth.

She bit harshly down into her cheek as she angrily walked towards the booth. "Who changed it! Who changed the songs for act four, I didn't give anyone permission to change anything. I have the final say not any of you amateurs".

She pulled open the door of the tech booth and Andy jumped at the sight of her as the headphones on his head were pulled down harshly. "Did you change the songs Andy? I told you not to touch anything when it involves the music!". The boy let out a heavy breath as he grabbed the headphones off the ground "uh no, I've just been working on the final track for act six like you told me. Gwen is in charge of the music since she's working on the choreography".

Claire let out a heavy breath "and where exactly is she? I need to have a word with her about what's not hers, last I knew this play had my name written at the bottom of the page. Not hers!".

"Claire I think you should back off, Andy's just doing his job" the girl turned and she sneered angrily at the sight of Benjamin. The boy was holding onto two plastic bags of sandwiches and the sunglasses on his face were on the verge of falling off as he let out a loud sigh. "Well Andy needs to do a better job at it, the songs were changed and last I knew you weren't even in the play anymore. Who gave you permission to step foot into my theater".

Benjamin chuckled "your theater, last I knew Vivian's parents funded this theater and if it weren't for her you wouldn't even be in the drama club. You can't quit me off, I've been here long before you".

Claire huffed "at least I didn't pay my way into it, your mommy and daddy didn't waste a single second to pay the school so you could get your little role. Well newsflash the role isn't yours anymore so you can leave and don't let the door hit you on the way out! You're useless without your eyes".

Benjamin clenched his fist angrily "you're the useless one! And at this rate you're probably the one who did this to me and Vivian! You're insane!". Claire scoffed "how dare you! You know I'd never hurt Vivian, and even if I did I wouldn't hide behind a mask to do it. Only a coward does that and I'm not a coward!".

"Claire I think you should just leave" Andy's voice cracked when he spoke and he was nervous as he stood up in front of the girl. Claire angrily pushed past Benjamin "whatever have your stupid boyfriend protect you for all I care. This isn't over".

Benjamin let out a light breath "I should go apologize to her, I didn't mean what I said. She didn't deserve that at all, I was just upset". Andy looked at the boy "it's not worth it Ben, she'll realize her mistake sooner or later and she'll apologize in her own way".

Benjamin heard the door open behind him "Claire, if you're back to yell at me there's no point". Andy turned and his eyes widened "no!".

Benjamin didn't flinch when he felt the warmth of blood splatter onto his face. He felt frozen in place as he heard the loudness of cries enter the atmosphere. The world felt like it was spinning as he heard the loudness of Andy screaming "Ben!".

Benjamin let out a heavy breath as he cried out at the sting of the blade sinking into his flesh. His body was thrown into the wall and he felt the sting of it digging into his back. Andy looked at the figure with such fear as he moved back "stay away!".

Benjamin inhaled so sharply as he stood up, he couldn't focus on anything except the loud sounds that surrounded him. He touched the wall behind him and he knew where he was based on the long tour Andy gave him when they first showed up.

He heard the figure walk past him, he felt the wind and he knew what he had to do as tears ran down his face. Andy screamed as the figure stabbed his arm and before he could process what was happening he watched as Benjamin ran forward.

His entire body wrapped around the figure as he screamed out. He kept repeating inside his head window and he had prayed he was right. For once in his life he had hoped he was right. That he wasn't useless, saving Andy felt right. It would always feel right, no matter the situation; it felt right.

With the last of his strength he screamed as he pushed the figure straight through the window. The last thing he heard was the loud aching sound of Andy shouting. Then the world went so silent as his body smacked onto the stage and he felt the knife sinking into his leg as he gasped for air.

His mind was spinning as he ripped the knife out of his leg. He screamed as he swung it around "fuck you!". "You're a fraud! You don't belong here Benjamin, you'll never be perfect enough, you'll never belong with us".

He let out a loud laugh as blood ran down his nose, he heard the loud sirens and he knew he was trapped regardless of where he was. "You're the coward" his voice cracked as tears ran down his cheeks.

"Drop the weapon! Drop it!" The sheriff's voice was so loud. Alexandra ran into the theater so fast she almost felt herself faint as she looked at the stage. Ghostface looked so taunting as they lifted Benjamin upwards.

The boy groaned as the knife was pressed against his throat "Claire don't! We know it's you! Just leave him alone, no one else has to be hurt!". Alexandra walked forward slowly "you're not this person, you don't hurt your friends, you'd never hurt me... or Vivian".

She kept walking "You can't get away with hiding who you are anymore". She kept walking slowly towards the stage "Claire just let Ben go".

"What the fuck?" Alexandra turned around and her eyes widened at the sight of Claire, the girl stood right beside the doorway "you think that's me! I'm crazy but I'm not that goddamn crazy!".

"If you're here, then who's that?" She looked at the figure on the stage and Benjamin groaned as held onto himself tightly. "A little help would be nice!".

"If it's not Claire... then who the hell is it?".

—
authors notes:
and just like that act one is complete! Gosh writing this chapter was exiting, I was gonna add more but it just felt right leaving it on a cliff hanger. Gonna keep this authors note short just because I wanna start writing the next chapter already. Not gonna lie I absolutely hate the end of this chapter but it's whatever, I couldn't really figure out how to end it so I sorta rushed a bit so it's shitty.

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