chapter sixteen: lights, camera, action!

nothing is what it seems
seems seems seems....
seems seems seems

SUNDAY: October 27th, 2026,

Everything was a lie, a bit endless loop of never ending lying and at the very end of it was Andy Williams and Nadia Montgomery. The group had been shocked to have received word of the two teenagers being revealed as the killer. They had all gathered inside Corey Beckers house as they thought about what they should do. For the most part they knew what to expect but at the same time they didn't.

Vivian who had just revealed she could talk this whole time sat on the couch as she looked down at the files on the small wooden table. "So let me get this straight, you and Benjamin both faked your injuries this entire time? Just so you could catch the killers?".

Vivian chuckled "yeah, we've been sending each other Morse code messages so no one could figure it out. I did lose my voice for honestly a good week after my attack, but then it just came back on its own. I just acted like it wouldn't come back just in case it was something we could use against the two asshats who are running around killing us".

"Honestly it just makes Nadia hotter in my eyes, like there's something about serial killers". Alix hit Claire's shoulders and the girl chuckled "kidding".

"I'm not kidding" Vivian looked up at everyone "I mean we can handle two people, what's the worst that can happen?". Alex scratched at the back of his head "well we could die for starters".

Vivian stood up off the couch "they're awol right now, and quite frankly a lot smarter because of it. They're in the shadows hiding so they're not caught, They're playing outside the box and trying to trick us, it's not a rewrite. It's a damn remake! And they're messing with us! It makes so much sense!".

Claire sat down on the couch as she pushed her hair behind her ears "so where exactly would they even be? Wait... what if it's Ben? I mean the guys always gave me loner serial killer vibes. I mean I know we said it Andy and Nadia, but Ben is cute and it's always the cute ones that are psychos".

Vivian looked at Claire "why would he give up that it's Andy and Nadia then? That wouldn't make sense, the killers never snitch on each other, that's like one of the big rules on stab or just in general".

Alix sighed "Ben doesn't seem the type, besides the guy fake being blind just to catch Andy and Nadia. I'd say he's dedicated to stopping them just like us".

Everyone's phones went off making them look down "am I the only one who finds it weird they have Ben captive at the theater? It's obviously a trap". Claire smirked at Kieran's words "then we'll be prepared, we've got an advantage! There's five of us and two of them so we just kick their asses".

"Make it six, I'm going with you kids" Corey cocked his shotgun as he grabbed his car keys out of his coat pocket. "I hope you boys were practicing your shooting the other day. Cause you're gonna need it".

Alix smirked "let me handle the gun, us girls are always saving the boys around here. We can blindside them, go in groups of three. One goes from the main entrance of the theater and the other sneaks in through the back stage door. They'll never see it coming".

Claire grabbed her purse off the couch "so what do you say we go kick some ass?". Everyone was hesitant as they stood up "come on you guys, we're obviously the superior ones of the drama club. We've made it this far for a reason, we're the final girls".

Alex frowned "but I'm not a girl" Claire looked at him "not with that attitude honey". She walked towards the door "Viv and Alix will go with me while you boys go with Mr.B. Try not to die".

Alix grabbed a gun from Corey as he looked down at the girl "remember go for the head kid". Alix smiled "don't worry sir, I've seen the stab movies" the man groaned "I'm not that old, seriously I'd rather you guys call me Corey then sir... makes me feel old and ancient".

Claire chuckled "but you're all of those things Mr.B, but you're also extremely hot so that makes up for it". Alix looked at Claire "dude he's like almost 40, don't be weird. I swear I can't take you anywhere".

Claire smirked "age is just a number, Mr.B could totally get it" Corey looked at Alex and Kieran the boys both shrugging "it's her thing man. You get used to it after a while. Just tune it out, it's what we do".

—

Woodsboro Highschool Theater
2:00 PM

The walk into the school was easy, Claire stood beside Vivian and Alix as they pushed open the doors of the stage door. They stayed silent as Alix pushed her head into the room slightly, she held tightly onto the gun as she nodded and Claire and Vivian both walked in after her. The three girls heard the loudness of music blasting through the whole theater making them look at each other "could they be anymore mental?".

Alix shrugged "it's kinda catchy" they turned the corner and approached the stage. They saw Kieran and the boys all snuck up towards the stage by crawling through the rows of seats. "Gosh boys are idiots, no one's even here they could've walked through the damn door and been fine".

Claire walked onto the stage as she approached Benjamin, the boy's head was bleeding as he looked up at her. "About time you guys showed up, Nadia jumped my ass and tied me to this stupid chair again. Her and Andy are up to something, they kept saying your name Claire, they wanted you here".

Claire pulled the ropes off of Benjamin as the boy stood up and groaned. "My damn head is killing me" he rubbed at his temples as he hugged Vivian slightly. "You alright?" the girl nodded as she looked at the cut on the boy's head. "We gotta get you out of here, you might need stitches so that you don't get infected".

He winced when the girl touched the cut "stings like crazy". He turned when Kieran and Alex walked onto the stage, Corey stayed behind the boys as he looked around in caution. "Why's it so damn dark in here? Not to mention what the hell is this music?".

Benjamin chuckled softly "honestly I've had to listen to it for the last six hours. I was hoping one of you knew what it was". They all gasped when the stage lights turned on "well that was oddly helpful".

"Kieran, now's not the time for jokes. That means they're in the damn tech booth". Vivian sighed "Claire it wasn't even a joke, besides he's right. We can see if anyone runs at us". Everyone stood around as Corey and Alix both held onto the guns.

"Wish I had a gun, all I have is a headache and a broken shoe" Benjamin sighed as he pushed his shoe off his foot. "You could throw it at Andy's face? How exactly did you kiss the guy? He literally murdered our friends".

Ben shrugged "had to play the part, besides I didn't know fully it was him until the cabin. So can you blame me? Besides, Kieran kissed Nadia and I don't hear you yelling at him". Kieran rolled his eyes "nice man, why don't you tell me another reason my life's ruined. Andy's batshit crazy he probably dragged Nadia into this anyways".

Corey groaned in annoyance "stop bickering! You're acting like my kids when I steal the remote. I'm gonna go check out the school, just in case they're hiding. Stick close to Alix, she's the one with the gun".

The man walked off the stage and Claire sighed "honestly we should just leave, we got Ben back and he's not like fully dead so that's a bonus. We can just camp out in my house and tell the cops who the killers are. The rest is history".

The lights turned off "what the..." everyone's screams were muffled as they were grabbed a hold of. They were pulled back roughly and shoved onto the ground "hey! Watch the hair bitch!" Claire hissed when she was punched. "Try that shit again and I'll cut out that tongue of yours!" Claire struggled as she was dragged forward and pushed into the others.

The lights turned on and everyone winced at the brightness of it "everyone's all together, you're just in time for the finale of our play!". The figure walked forward and pulled their mask off, Andy smiled brightly "all of this is for you Claire! Can't you see we put all of this together just for you!".

Claire struggled as she pushed back at the figure who was holding her down. "All of you are playing your roles perfectly, the scared helpless victims. The villagers who will perish at the hands of the villains".

Andy moved back "the stage is set, and we're all ready to finally put an end to this nonsense". Everyone looked at each other "it's just you and Nadia, what does that even mean".

Andy laughed softly "did you really think we were gonna follow the rules of a stab movie. This is a play, the script had to be true, down to the little details, I mean convincing everyone to join the cause was easy. We all hate you Claire, so we thought why not kill you and your little fan club".

The lights flashed brightly as the figures walked in front of everyone. One by one they pulled off their masks and the world had gone silent.

"Gwen" Alex looked at the girl with such a confused expression as she threw the mask onto the ground. Beside her stood Nadia the girl pushing her hair back as she let her mask rest in her hands. Then lastly at the end of the girls stood Angel the girl smirking as she pushed her mask atop her head.

Andy walked forward "the five angels of death, just like in the play Claire. I would've thought you'd be smart enough to pick up on that clue!". Claire sneered angrily "you're insane! All of you are!".

Kieran frowned deeply "wait there's only four of you. You just said five which means.....". The lights turned off and the loudness of Claire screaming entered the theater.

—
authors notes:
I spent all day working on this, ya girl has work tomorrow so unfortunately I can't be great and get the last two chapters out until I'm out of work. Sob!!! Anyways enjoy!