“A fabulous one!” His eyes widened, and he grinned wide. “What a story, don’t you think? A small crew comes to make a documentary, only to get caught up in a string of murders. I couldn’t write it better if I tried.” He laughed. “And I have you to thank for all of it.”I pushed my glasses up my nose.
“What are you talking about?”Dave rested his soggy ass on the small table and shrugged.
“I know Emi didn’t kill those people. You know it too. That’s why you framed her.”
“I didn’t do shit. Her computer was filled with shit between you two.”
“Yeah, but all of it is circumstance at best. Why do you think the police in this piddly-ass town let us go? They’ve got nothing. And neither do you, except a need to cover up what you did.”He clicked his tongue.
“You think I killed those people? I was halfway across the country.”I pointed to my chest.
“Yes.” He nodded thoughtfully. “I’m still trying to work that one out. If you were unable to do it, then someone did it in your place. Someone you care about enough to create a coverup for. Maybe…” He raised an eyebrow and snickered. “Someone you’ve bonded with through trauma? Someone who’s close to all the people who hurt you?”
Trauma bonded?Fuck him.
“Stop going to Eisley’s house,” I snarled. “You’re not welcome there, or here, or the rest of the town. Haven’t we made that clear?”
“Shelley Vale wants our money. The restaurants we eat from every day, the hotels we stay in each night. The amount of superstore trips we make for fake blood and new clothes. They’re begging us to stay!” He stood and put his hand on my shoulder. “Sorry kid, but we’re here for a while. And we have Eisley to thank.”
“She has nothing to do with this.” I shoved his arm off of me.
“Doesn’t she though? Her biggest client’s throat is slit the same week someone claiming to be her husband comes back to town. Then, at the funeral, she gets into a rather embarrassing scuffle with the girlfriend, who is then murdered too. Any decent detective would put two and two together.”
“You’re grasping at straws, trying to get a story,” I smirked. “Good luck. I want no part of it.”
“Oh, we’ll get a story; and I think in the end, you’ll be quite involved. You may even get a credit in the film.”
“Fuck off.” I spat and started back toward the stairs, and then I paused.There, resting on the couch, as if it were nothing important, was a mask.A Ghostface mask.
“Ah, you like it?” Dave strode across the trailer, picking it up and sliding it over his head. “12.99, same day shipping.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”Keeping the mask on, Dave stalked slowly toward me.
“Oh, I think you do. We bought these for our entire cast. We’re gonna make it an entire plotline. Who is Shelley Vale’s Ghostface?” A chill went through me as Dave reached behind his back.
“I’m really glad you came to see me today, Kansas. As one of the Sinister Minister’s last living victims, I thought it was important for you to know that we’ve switched gears. We’re no longer filming a documentary.”
“Good. Leave.” I stepped backward, reaching my hand back to feel for the door.
“You don’t understand.” His eyes peered out of the Ghostface mask, gleeful, yet soulless. “We’re making a horror movie.”
“No, I got that.” I gulped, and right as he pulled the knife from his back, I found the door handle and tumbled backward down the stairs. He swung and I turned, but not in time, and the knife went through my stomach and back out in an instant. I collapsed, holding onto the deep wound. I blinked rapidly, seeing spots. The blade had felt cold and tight and heavy, all at the same time.
“You gonna run?” Dave loomed over me and shoved the door open. “A quick kill is never any fun for the audience.”
What. The. Fuck.
I fell back, rolling out of the trailer and onto the damp dirt of the cleared forest. Blood was rising in my throat as I lay doubled over, holding onto my bleeding belly.It hurt so bad!
“Come on, Kansas. Don’t puss out on us now.” He climbed down the steps and kicked my back. My mouth fell open and blood spilled from it.I rolled onto my back and then, I saw shadows. Figures surrounded me, all wearing the same mask. I rolled back and closed my eyes. I braced myself for more excruciating pain, but no one else stabbed me.
“Do you need help getting up?” a female’s voice called, seeming genuinely concerned.I forced myself to my feet and stumbled forward, my eyes on the woods. It was a long trek, but I could get there.
“We’ll give you a head start, Kansas, but it won’t do much good. I have a vision for your death. With you going to school halfway across the country, no one will be none the wiser.”
“What did you put on the knife?” I gasped through the pain. Dave held the knife up to the sun.
“You like it? It’s my own concoction. Something the Reanimator can’t heal.”
