—NotPretty Woman
“Who’s to say John isn’t going to cut us down as soon as we try to clear the stuff blocking the door?”Lee asks, and it’s a fair question.Safety first and all that.
Wes performed a coded knock that sounded suspiciously like the bass line of Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust” when we made it to their hideout.After we heard something heavy being dragged—which I soon discovered was a tipped-over filing cabinet—the door opened to reveal all six of the missing people who escaped up the stairs at the beginning of the night.Scared and exhausted and covered in blood.Just like us.Except they all still had their name tags stuck to their chests.
“We’ve been here this long, and it’s saved us.I think we just need to hold out a little longer,” Lee says.He’s standing close to Nia, their bodies angled in toward each other in the same way I find myself standing when I’m next to Wes, and it makes me smile.I can’t helpit.I’m a romantic at heart.Though maybe Lee would be more willing to assist in our escape if my wingman services were still on the table.
“It’s only a matter of time before he finds us here,” one of the women says.When I look down at her name tag I spy the name Ellen.She’s standing closest to the monitor that displays the video camera footage of the club.I imagine the screen is usually a grid showing the main areas of the three levels, but the squares are all blacked out except the center image—black-and-white footage of the dance floor.It’s grainy, but I can make out the heart in the middle of it, a prone figure draped over the bar in the top corner.The dull light of the screen shines against Ellen’s face, the underlighting making her look of concern even more pronounced.
“Wes said he has an axanda machete?”She directs that question to me, and I nod.
John wasn’t armed when he caught me in the corner, but he’s been pulling weapons out of thin air all night, using his never-ending stash of deadly blades.There’s a good chance he just put the latest in a safe place to maintain the romantic atmosphere he was going for.
Ellen sucks in a breath.“All we’ve got is one knife between eight people.”
I can tell this conversation is one that’s been had a lot by this group.I can’t even hold it against them—not after everything that’s happened, and not after their current strategy has led them into the final act when so many others haven’t made the cut.John made sure of that.He’s directed this whole night to ensure nothing would come between us.He cast everyone in a role and all of them are disposable.And that’s when it hits me.Theyare all disposable… but I’m not.Not yet.
Billie said as much.
I just can’t kill you yet, but I’m sure you’ll be a disappointment, just like the others.
The others.The victims before this.The ones who failed the test.
I had to make sure you were the right woman for me.
I’ve been putting this whole night into the context of a slasher, using my knowledge of the formula to try to stay safe, stay alive, and make it to the end, but we’re notjustin a slasher.Like Wes said, this is a fucked-up rom-com.And rom-coms aren’t about playing it safe.They’re about taking risks.They’re about going big or going home.That’s what John’s been doing.I was right when I said the murders are just a means to an end.A way of getting closer to his happy ending.That’s why he’s been leaving all the roses and tokens of affection.Why he delivered his little speech when he had me cornered.He’s been playing out a different movie than the rest of us, and that’s why it hasn’t ended yet.Because his fantasy isn’t complete.
All night I’ve been wanting to avoid the final showdown between the Final Girl and the Big Bad, but rom-coms don’t end that way.I’ve been concentrating so much on not wanting to be the Final Girl I keep forgetting about what else he wants me to be.
The Leading Lady.
The One.
Taking on that role when I was stuck with him in the hallway, even just for a moment, seemed to work in my favor.It was like he thought we were the only two people in the club.The only two people in the world.So what if I did it again?
What if I make him feel like it’s just us?
Interrupting the murmured back-and-forth that’s started up between the group, I say, “What if I can guarantee he won’t go anywhere near the roof?”and the room falls silent.It’s a bold claim, but I’ve studied enough movies to know it’ll work.
When no one answers at first, the six hiding survivors share a look that speaks to the fact that spending the last few hours locked in a room together is the best bonding exercise there is.Then Nia shrugs and says, “Then, we’d—”
“Jamie.” Wes’s voice cuts into whatever Nia was going to say on behalf of the group, and I try to keep my self-assured smile for the benefit of the other people in the room.The ones who don’t know that while Wes may look calm, the tone of his voice is anything but.
I think it’s a good sign for our future relationship that I can pick up on it so well, and that’s why I’m still smiling when I tilt my head up and see Wes’s arched brow.
“Yes?”
“Can I have a word?”
We move to the other side of the room, the weight of the others’ stares heavy as Wes leans down and pins me with an unimpressed look.I think it’s another good sign for our future relationship that he knows what I’m planning.Not so much that he shoots it down immediately.
“I’m telling you now, as both a police officer and a man who wants to date you—youcannotgo up against an armed assailant.You’re a civilian.”
“I’m the Final Girl,” I whisper.“And the Leading Lady.Andthe all-around expert on this shit.”
“Jamie, there is no way—”
“You can’t clear the barricade by yourself.”I gesture to how he’s pressing a palm to his ribs, his jaw tense with pain, but even then he just lets out a restricted, frustrated breath and shakes his head as I keep listing reasons.They come to mind so easily now that I know what I have to do.“They are scared shitless.You’re the only one who can get them out, and I can buy you the time you need.I’ll go down to the dance floor.I’ll do something to draw him there and distract him while you clear the barricade and go up to the roof.You’ll be able to see when he’s there from the video, and then you can all get out of here.He won’t come after you if he has me—”
