[  gonna take a few extra days to get the next portion of the book sorted as we shift to scream 2. didn't want to leave you on that cliffhanger for too long, so here it is! after, we'll have a bunch of fun, not at all dramatic or traumatizing chapters for a long while. and no, that's not sarcasm. i know i'm evil but i love mickey so much, and he deserves his time to shine  ]

☆︎

I'M NOT YOUR FUCKING FINAL GIRL.

☆︎ SEPTEMBER 28, 1996 ☆︎

Sidney and Billy still hadn't come downstairs, and Indiana was pissed off over it all. But she knew she had no right. There was nothing morally wrong with a boyfriend having sex with his girlfriend. She was the fucked up one for banging him the night before — and that morning, if they were getting technical.

Indiana moved to share the couch and stayed in the living room with a drunk Randy, hardly paying attention and silently stewing in her jealousy, hating herself and Billy more than she could ever hate Sidney.

She thought it was incredibly funny how Randy was yelling at the screen, as if Jamie Lee Curtis could hear him. As if he hadn't seen the movie a hundred times and knew what happened and that his warnings weren't necessary.

"No, Jamie. Uh, watch out. Watch out, Jamie," Randy rambled, clutching a throw pillow tightly. Indiana was leaned back against him, so she didn't appreciate the constant movement. "You know he's around. You - you know. Look, there he is!"

"He told you, Jamie," Indiana said, grinning as she copied Randy. He nodded vehemently, agreeing with her. "Shoulda listened to Randy."

"I told you — he was right around the corner."

Funny how neither noticed Ghostface coming around the corner coming from the kitchen. They hadn't heard Sidney screaming as she crawled out a window and found the bodies in the garage either. They were just focused on Laurie Strode walking toward the headstone.

"Jamie, look behind you. Look behind you. Aw, turn ar — behind you!" Randy shouted, getting more upset. "Behind you, Jamie. Jamie, turn around. Oh, God, Indy, make her turn around!"

"Turn around, Jamie," Indians instructed again, letting out a giggle.

Just as a scream sounded on the screen, a real one echoed it from outside, coming from Sidney as she ran toward the Channel Six news van, drawing Ghostface away before he could kill Randy right in front of Indiana.

"You act like she's not gonna live on to create the franchise," Indiana said, giggling. "Hey, do you know where Stu ran off to?"

"To fucking god knows where everyone else disappeared to," Randy said, looking around. "I'll go find him."

"Want me to pause?" she offered, leaning up so that he could get off the couch.

"Nah," he said, waving her off. "I've got the rental all weekend."

Then he scurried off, leaving Indiana in the living room on her own. All she could hear was the constant screaming coming from the big chase in the final act. At the very least, though, it wasn't so loud that she didn't overhear Dewey when he came in through the back door, shouting for Neil Prescott of all people.

Indiana sat up and looked over the back of the couch just in time to see Dewey run around the corner, pointing his gun wildly.

"Shit!" she yelled while crouching down and covering her head. "Put that away, Dewey!"

Hearing her sister, Virginia ran around the corner. "Indy!" she exclaimed, letting out a relieved sigh. She hugged her confused sister over the couch. "We have to go."

"What's happening? Why are you here?" Indiana asked, looking between the two.

"Let's just go!" she said, dragging her off the couch. "The killer is here."

Indiana dug her heels into the floor. "Virginia, we can't just leave. If the killer is here, I need to find everyone! Sidney, Sophia, Tatum, Billy, Stu, Randy—"

"We will round everyone up as safely as we can," Dewey told her. "Just stay with us. Gale is calling for help from her van."

Virginia intertwined her hand with Indiana's, keeping her close as they moved from the living room and toward the foyer. "We found Sid's dad's car."

Making sure his gun was still ready, Dewey faced the sisters. "Let's get back to the—"

Ghostface appeared behind him so suddenly that neither girl could do anything about it. He stabbed Dewey from behind, who let out a pained cry. Then Ghostface shoved him forward, and Virginia caught him.

"Indy, run!" Virginia ordered.

Though she didn't want to, Indiana did as told. Since the killer was between her and the door, she bolted up the stairs. Stu's house was massive, so she knew there had to be some other way out.

Had she stayed downstairs, she'd have seen her sister swing around, raising her leg to kick the killer in his mask-covered face, knocking him down. It gave her time to drag Dewey toward the front door, which was wide open. A terrified and traumatized Sidney ran to them from outside, just in time to see Dewey collapse and Virginia press down on his wound to keep him stable.

Indiana was looking all over for any kind of weapon. She already knew that Ghostface didn't want her dead, so she needed something to protect those that were left. Remembering that Leslie was on the softball team, she headed to her room first.

But as she moved down the hallway, she spotted drops of blood on the floor just outside the room belonging to Stu's parents. The one Sidney and Billy went up to.

"Sidney?" Indiana called out fearfully, terrified she was going to find them dead. "Billy? Is this blood?"

It was quiet for a moment, and Indy was close to turning and running because she wasn't going to just follow a blood trail into a room, not knowing what was waiting for her. But then she heard a breathless groan that sounded an awful lot like a cry for help.

With that, she ran into the bedroom and nearly cried out from all the blood that was covering everything. Half of Billy's body was hanging off the bed, his white shirt drenched in blood. But his chest was still moving, meaning he was alive.

"Oh, god," Indiana whispered, running to his side. She held the sides of his face, begging for a reaction. "Billy? Billy, open your eyes. Virginia is here. Okay, we'll get you to her. Just please, open your eyes."

After a moment, Billy managed to flutter his eyes open, looking up at her in a daze. "Y - you have to run," he told her. "I c - can't lose you to him."

"I'm not leaving you behind," she said, swallowing thickly. "You and me, right?"

"Yeah, you and me," Billy said, bringing up a hand to cup her cheek gently. His thumb caressed her cheekbone before moving down closer to her lips. It was covered in the red substance, but she didn't care, just glad he was still breathing. "I think I can try to move with your help."

Indiana nodded before getting him on his feet. It was a little difficult, as Billy was practically dead weight, but they got to the hallway and then to the top of the stairs. It was just in time, too, as Sidney slammed the front door in the faces of Stu and Randy, both claiming the other was the killer.

"Sid!" Indy called, getting her attention. She looked up at them, at Billy, in disbelief.

And Billy seemed to get ahead of himself, moving forward and losing his balance. Indiana lost her grip on him, and he was sent tumbling weakly down the stairs. Sidney ran to him quickly, and Indiana got halfway down before just taking a second to herself. She needed to find out what happened to Virginia.

"Oh, Billy! Are you okay?" Sidney asked, crouching beside Billy.

His body was thrown back against the stairs as he recovered from the fall, still weak and dazed. "I'm okay," he managed to say.

"I thought you were dead," Sidney told him.

"No, I'm like a stuck pig but I'm alright."

"Get up," she said while putting her arms underneath him to help.

Indiana continued down the stairs to help, but Billy pushed Sideny off, trying to stay up on his own. "I'm okay," he insisted, sounding like he definitely wasn't okay as he said so.

"You're bleeding," Sidney reminded him.

"A lot," Indiana added while pausing to run her hands over her face, trying hard to figure out what their next move should be.

As she did so, Billy's blood smeared over her mouth.

Except it wasn't blood.

No, it was sweet and sugary. Familiar. It tasted like a Halloween concert.

Indiana's knees buckled underneath her and she had to grab the stair railing to keep upright. It went unnoticed by Sidney as she led Billy to the door. And Indy was too stunned and overwhelmed as she suddenly put all the pieces together to stop Sidney from handing him the gun in her hand either.

"No!" Indiana shouted, seeing it in his hands.

Billy had his back to her and thought she was protesting him unlocking the door like Sidney was. He unlocked it, and Randy ran inside as Indy finished coming down the stairs.

"Billy's the killer!" she shouted.

Both Sidney and Randy looked at her with wide eyes as Billy shut the door, his back still to them. "No, it's Stu!" Randy insisted. "Stu's flipped out. He's gone mad."

Slowly, Billy turned to face them, a small smile creeping onto his face. "We all go a little mad sometimes."

"It's both—"

Billy raised the gun and shot Randy, the blast throwing his body back against the side of the stairs. He fell in a heap on the floor, surrounded by a broken table. Sidney rushed to his side while Indiana remained rooted in her spot, looking at Billy in horror.

"Anthony Perkins," Billy told them, scratching the side of his head with the barrel of the gun. "Psycho."

Something had shifted in Billy — like he'd been putting on an act for months and could finally stop. Indy once joked about having the soulless eyes of a killer, but in that moment, it wasn't a joke. The dark expression left her sick to her stomach.

Those eyes slid from Sidney's shaking body to Indiana. He brought one of his blood-covered — no, not blood — fingers to his lips, licking it clean with a glint in his eyes. "Corn syrup. Same stuff they used for pig's blood in Carrie," he said. "Thanks for the idea, Baby Girl."

Indiana shook her head in denial and side-stepped closer to Sidney, who grabbed onto Indiana's arm once she was close enough. Together, they slowly backed away.

"Stu's helping him," Indy told her, not looking away from Billy.

"Fuck, you're so smart, babe!" the very voice she didn't want to hear sounded from right behind them.

Sidney flinched and bumped right into Stu, who she turned to face. He stared back at her, his eyes wide and lips curled in a smile as he brought up a small, white, box to his mouth — a voice changer. "Surprise, Sidney." The low, smooth voice from the killer's phone calls came from the machine.

Sidney looked from Stu to Billy, then back and forth again, trying to make sense of it. Indiana stood still, her mind racing as she tried to figure out how to get out of this situation. She shared a calculating look with Sidney, and in sync, both girls bolted.

They headed in different directions, with Sidney pushing past Stu and going through the kitchen. Indiana got past Billy and ran to the living room, but he easily caught up to her with his longer legs, wrapping his arm around her torso.

"I know," he cooed gently in her ear while slowly walking her to the kitchen where Stu had Sidney cornered. "I know it's a lot, but you'll calm down."

Indiana pulled herself from Billy's grasp and ran to Sidney's side at the sink. Billy and Stu were on either side of the island, blocking their only paths of escape. As Billy pointed the gun at Sidney, Stu also tossed him the voice changer.

"What's the matter, Sidney?" Billy asked her, making her flinch from the different voice. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Why are you doing this?" Sidney asked him, beginning to cry.

"It's all part of the game, Sidney," Stu told her, clearly excited.

"It's called 'Guess How I'm Gonna Die.'"

"Fuck you!" she shouted.

"No, no, no, no. We already played that game, remember?" Billy spoke in an eerily calm voice. He handed the gun off to Stu, who traded it for a knife. He then began to back Sidney, and therefore Indiana, into the corner. "You lost."

"It's a fun game, Sidney. See, we ask you a question, and if you get it wrong, boo-kah!" Stu said, waving the gun around. "You die!"

"You get it right," Billy shrugged, "you die."

"You're crazy, both of you," Sidney spat.

Stu came up behind Billy, resting his chin on his shoulder. "Actually, we prefer the term 'psychotic.'"

"Someone's going to stop you," Indiana told them, finally breaking her silence.

Both boys perked up. If they weren't both mass murderers, Indiana might've thought they looked like entertained kids.

"Don't worry about us, Baby Girl," Billy said, reaching to cup her face. "We'll be just fine."

"Don't call me that!" she snapped.

"Hmm," he frowned, "you didn't have a problem with that name last night."

"Yeah, Sid," Stu said, giggling. "Did ya know Indy and Billy were playing that game last night? Did ya?"

Two hours ago, Indiana would've done anything to keep Sidney from learning Billy cheated on her. But now, it wasn't all that important to either girl who'd rather just see him behind bars.

"You'll never get away with this," Sidney muttered through clenched teeth.

"Oh, no? Tell that to Cotton Weary. You wouldn't believe how easy he was to frame," Billy said, watching the color drain from Sidney's face.

"Watch a few movies, take a few notes," Stu added, laughing. "It was fun."

Sidney cried out, realizing that on top of everything, they'd killed her mother. She tried to run again, but Billy easily stopped her.

"Whoa! Where're you goin'?" Stu asked with a smile.

"Why?" Sidney questioned, sobbing heavily. "Why did you kill my mother?"

"Why? WHY?" Billy shouted. Then he lowered his voice back down. "Did you hear that, Stu? I think she wants a motive. I don't really believe in motives, Sid. I mean, did Norman Bates have a motive?"

Stu shook his head, happy to play along. "No."

"Did they ever really decide why Hannibal Lecter liked to eat people? Don't think so!" he snapped. "See, it's a lot scarier when there's no motive, Sid. We did your mom a favor, Sid. That woman was a slut-bag whore who flashed her shit all over town like she was Sharon Stone or something."

"Yeah, we put her out of her misery, 'cause let's face it, Sidney, your mother was no Sharon Stone," Stu told her, far too giddy for his own good.

Sidney clenched her eyes shut, tears falling and streaking through the blood. Billy watched her cry, placing the tip of the knife to his bottom lip. "Is that motive enough for ya?" he asked in a surprisingly soft tone.

Something in his face shifted, and suddenly, Indiana was back in her home, a year ago. He looked exactly how he had all those times he climbed in her window after his mother left. He looked sad and broken and empty inside. She could almost sympathize with him in that moment — almost.

"How about this? Your slut mother was fucking my father, and she's the reason my mom moved out and abandoned me. How's that for a motive?"

With Sidney processing and Billy staring daggers at her, Indiana was the only one to see the excitement slip from Stu's face. His expression said it all — he didn't know that either.

And in a second, Billy's face shifted back to the dark, terrifying expression. "Maternal abandonment causes serious deviant behavior. It certainly fucked you up. It made you have sex with a psychopath," he spat at Sidney.

"That's right. You gave it up. Now, you're no longer a virgin," Stu said, snapping out of his momentary lapse of surprise. He squealed girlishly and covered his mouth as if it was a scandal. Sidney tried to run again, but Billy just caught her and held her from behind as Stu pointed the gun again. "Now you gotta die. Those are the rules."

"The rules?" Indiana asked, looking at Billy, her face full of hurt. "The stupid rules Randy always fucking talks about? That's why you slept with me?"

Billy shook his head, letting go of Sidney to move in front of her. Stu kept his gun trained on her to make sure she didn't try to run again. Indiana tried to back away, but Billy grabbed her jaw with his corn syrup-covered hand, the other settling behind her back. She cringed, feeling the metal of the knife scraping against the fabric of her overalls.

"No, no, baby," he said in a shockingly soft tone. "Fuck, no, that's not it. You're mine — you always have been." Billy leaned in, kissing her. Indiana clenched her eyes shut, fighting off the urge to shove him off. She couldn't risk it when the knife was so close to her. Once he pulled back, he whispered against her lips. "My final girl."

"Yeah," Stu said, laughing happily. "You're our final girl, Indy. The three of us, just like we said during the movie."

"Yeah," Billy said, backing away from Indy to return to Sidney, keeping the knife poised at her. "Just pretend it's all just a scary movie, Sid. Indy's our final girl, but how do you think it's going to end for you?"

Sidney refused to respond as Billy wrapped his arm around her, keeping her in place. Then he nodded to Stu, giving a silent signal.

Stu somehow perked up even more. "Oh! Oh! This is the greatest part! You're gonna love this. We got a surprise for you, Sidney," he said. Then set the gun down on a side table. "Yeah, you're gonna love this one. It's a scream, baby. Hold on a sec. I'll be right back!" Same as before when Randy went over the rules, Stu backed out of the door with his arms raised.

Indiana kept her eyes trained on the gun, wondering if she could move fast enough to get ahold of it. But she couldn't try it with Billy's knife hovering over Sidney's neck.

"You know what time it is, Sid?" Billy whispered in the girl's ear. "It's after midnight. It's your mom's anniversary. Congratulations. We killed her exactly one year ago today."

"Oh, god," Indiana muttered under her breath, staring at him. That night, when he came to her room, when they almost slept together, Billy had just finished killing Sid's mother, she realized. Indy wanted to crawl out of her skin while simultaneously beating the shit out of him for the disgusting and vile things he'd done.

"Attention!" Stu exclaimed, announcing his presence. They all looked as he dragged Neil Prescott into the kitchen. The older man was bound and gagged with duct tape, wearing the same clothes he'd been in when he tried to leave for his business trip. There was dried blood on his forehead. "Oh, what do we have behind door number three, Sidney?"

"Daddy!" Sidney shouted in horror, trying to run to him.

"Whoa, hold it," Billy instructed, keeping Sidney back. "That's enough."

"Guess we won't be needing this anymore," Stu said, dropping the voice changer. Then he got a cell phone out of his back pocket and stuffed it away too. "And, oh, look at this. Ring, ring. Won't need this."

"Assholes," Indy breathed out, realizing where this was going.

"Got the ending figured out yet, Sid?" Billy asked her, raising an eyebrow.

"Come on, Sidney. You think about it now, huh? Your daddy's the chief suspect. We cloned his cellular," Stu explained, pushing Neil over. "The evidence is all right there, baby!"

"What if your father snapped? Your mother's anniversary set him off, and he went on a murder spree, killing everyone," Billy said, spouting their fake story.

"Except for Billy and me. We were left for dead with Indy," Stu went on, grinning at the girl.

Billy pointed his knife at Sidney's chest. "Then he kills you and he shoots himself in the head. Perfect ending."

"I thought of that," Stu said proudly.

"I think there are about a million flaws with that plan," Indiana spat. "Starting with I'm gonna rat your fucking asses out as soon as the cops get here."

Not to mention the mess of corn syrup that covered them and the bedroom upstairs that would be impossible to explain to the police.

Billy whirled around to glare at her. "Don't - don't say that," he said, shaking his head angrily. "You don't mean that. You don't—"

"Yeah, I fucking do!"

"No! It's you and me!" Billy shouted. "You fucking promised!" Then he took a deep breath to try and calm down. "You'll see it our way when it's all over. We're all you'll need after this — not Sidney or Tatum or Sophia."

"What'd you do to them?" Indy asked, her voice shaky.

"They're dead," Sidney said, nearly choking on her words. "I saw them in the garage."

Indiana's knees almost gave out, not wanting to believe what she was saying. But from the look in Billy's eyes, she knew it was true. "And what about Virginia? What'd you do to her? Where is she?"

"She's alive," Stu told her. "She's on the porch, trying to keep Deputy Dipshit from bleeding out. We didn't kill her."

"And she didn't see our faces, so we won't have to," Billy said, his tone hard, "so long as you keep your sweet mouth shut when all is said and done. It'll be me and you."

"Don't touch my sister, Billy," Indiana muttered, clenching her fist. She wasn't pleading with him. She was warning him. "Selling some flimsy, clearly fabricated story to the police will be the least of your concerns if you do."

"Oh, it's not flimsy," Billy said, smirking over at Stu. They eyed each other. "Watch this."

Billy shoved Sidney toward Indiana, who quickly grabbed her hand. They watched as he moved closer to Stu, who was clearly antsy as he bounced on the balls of his feet.

"Ready?"

"Yeah," Stu said a bit hesitantly. But then he put his hands behind his head and started shouting, psyching himself up. "Yeah! I'm ready, baby! Hit it! Yeah, babe, get up! Hit it!"

"What are you—" Indiana cut herself off with a scream as Billy stabbed Stu in the stomach.

He stumbled to his knees, groaning in pain. "Good one, man. Jesus. Oh, shit," he cursed, managing to right himself. "My turn."

Stu got the knife from Billy, who looked at him pointedly. "Don't forget, stay to the side and don't go too deep," he warned. Then Billy reached back and grabbed Indiana's shoulder, pulling her to his side so that they wouldn't try to run while he was unarmed.

"Okay," Stu said, glancing between Billy and Indy with a somewhat unhinged look in his eye. "I'll remember."

Based on how loud Billy screamed, Indy felt it was safe to say that Stu didn't keep it shallow. Billy doubled over, bringing Indiana with him, who couldn't get out of his hold.

"Get off her!" Sidney shouted.

"Fuck! Fuck!" he shouted, his head falling in the crook of Indiana's neck. Billy then bit down on her collarbone, letting out a pained scream, trying to get past the feeling. Indy let out a whimper, feeling his teeth break her skin.

Seeing her in pain, Sidney tried to come over and pry Billy off of her, but Indy spotted her and shook his head. The boys were acting insane and unstable — she didn't want them to snap and kill Sidney before they had a real opportunity to run. And now that they were injured, Indiana was hoping that opportunity would present itself soon

"God damn it, Stu!" Billy yelled while leaning against the counter.

"Sorry, Billy," Stu muttered. "I guess I got a little too zealous, huh?"

"Give me the knife," he said, breathing heavily.

Stu frowned. "No."

"Give me my knife, Stu!" he snapped.

"Your knife. Your final girl," Stu muttered. He was getting jealous of all the 'you and me' bullshit Billy was spouting off. Billy had always been possessive, and Stu was starting to not appreciate it now that everything was boiling over.

"NOW!" Billy shouted, a furious look burning in his eyes.

Finally, Stu nodded and handed him the knife. Then he looked back at Sidney. "You see, Sid. Everybody dies but us. Everybody dies but us. We get to carry on and plan the sequel, 'cause let's face it, baby, these days, ya gotta have a sequel!"

As Stu was going on, Billy stabbed him again, this time on the opposite side. Indiana flinched, unable to believe they were doing this to each other.

"You sick fucks. You've seen one too many movies," Sidney said, shaking her head in disgust.

Billy looked back at her, a crazed look in his eyes. "Oh Sid, don't blame the movies! Movies don't create psychos. Movies make psychos more creative!" he exclaimed before slicing at Stu's arm.

Stu staggered backward and began to cry a little. "Stop it, Billy, would ya? All right? I can't take any more. I'm feeling a little woozy here!"

Billy pointed the knife in his face for a moment before nodding, deciding he was done. "All right. All right, you get the gun. I'll take care of Indy and untie Pops, okay?"

At first, he didn't move and just glanced at Indiana almost reluctantly. "What do you mean?" Indiana spoke up, her eyes wide. "Take care of me?"

"We can't have them thinking you're a suspect, Baby Girl," Billy told her, moving closer. "I'll be quick. They'll stitch you back up."

"No!" Sidney shouted. "Stay away from her—"

Billy pushed Sidney out of the way, making her harshly crash into the counter, getting the wind knocked out of her. Then he walked to Indiana, whose back was digging into the side of the sink, unable to get away.

"No," Indy whimpered, shaking her head. "Please, Billy. Please, don't."

He grabbed her hair harshly with his free hand, pulling her close. She closed her eyes tightly as he ran his nose down her temple and to her cheek.

"Just breathe through it," Billy whispered. "Breathe for me."

Suddenly, the knife was thrust into her side, just a few inches above the scar from the night her parents died. Indiana cried out and collapsed in Billy's arms, who was right there to catch her. He ran his hand through her hair comfortingly as if he wasn't the one responsible for the unbearable pain she was feeling.

"There. It's almost over," he murmured, kissing her forehead. Then he shallowly slices at her forearm, making her whimper.

"Uh, um, uh, Houston," Stu spoke up nervously. "We - we have a problem here."

Billy stopped caressing Indiana and looked over at him. "What?"

"Gun," he mumbled, tapping the empty table. "The gun, man! I put it right there, and it's not there."

Making sure to drag a bleeding Indiana with him, Billy rushed over to check the area. "Where the fuck is it?"

Suddenly, they heard a gun cocking sound and all looked up to see Gale Weathers standing in the doorway of the kitchen, the gun fixed right on Billy. "Right here, asshole," she said firmly. Gale looked a mess, covered in dirt and blood.

"Man, I thought she was dead," Billy muttered, cutting his eyes to Stu angrily.

"She looked dead, man. Still does," he muttered, eying the woman.

Indiana looked past Gale and through the front door that was hanging open. She could see Dewey, unmoving on his stomach. And Virginia knelt over him, her hands pressed against his stab wound. But she looked up at Indiana with genuine fear in her eyes, realizing that Stu and Billy were working together.

"I've got an ending for you," Gale said, glaring at the boys. "The reporter left for dead in the news van comes to, stumbles on you two dipshits, finds the gun, foils your plan, and saves the day."

For the first time in a long while, Sidney smiled. "I like that ending."

But Billy just smirked at Gale, making Indiana's stomach drop. "I know something you don't."

Billy stalked slowly toward Gale, who stepped backward, the gun shaking in her hand. She pulled the trigger, but no ammunition was fired. She tried over and over, but Billy kicked her in the stomach, which sent Gale flying back through the door. The gun clattered to the floor as Gale hit one of the posts on the porch and fell in a heap near Dewey's body.

"No," Indy whispered as Billy grabbed the gun and stepped outside.

"It works better without the safety on," Billy said to the unconscious Gale. Then his eyes slid to Virginia, who glared up at him, still keeping pressure on the wound. He cooed mockingly as she still tried to keep Dewey alive. "Awe, how sweet."

"Virginia!" Indiana shouted, trying to run to her. Stu caught her elbow and held her against his chest, keeping her away. "Get away from her!"

"Ya know, I promised my girl I'd let you live," Billy told Virginia, tilting his head. "But that was before you saw our faces. Shame, but I'll help her through the grieving process."

"You son of a bitch!" Indiana shouted, trying to elbow Stu off of her.

But he just wrapped his arms around her and settled his chin on her neck as if it was a hug. "It'll be okay, babe. After all, you got over your parents like it was nothing. This time, you'll have us."

Virginia met Indiana's teary gaze, looking past Billy. It took a lot to make the two girls cry after what they'd been through, but this was enough. However, Indy noticed when her sister's eyes slowly shifted to something behind her, and she almost looked relieved — Sidney was doing something, even if Indy couldn't turn around to see what.

Billy leaned against the doorway, panting heavily as he aimed the gun at Gale first, deciding to save Virginia for last. "This is Gale Weathers, signing off."

"Babe, you are gonna love this!" Stu exclaimed before looking back at Sid, making sure she had a clear view. Indy felt his hold on her loosen, all of his glee disappearing. "Shit."

Billy hesitated and looked back at Stu. "What?"

They all looked into the kitchen to see it completely empty. Sidney was nowhere to be seen, and neither was her father. Stu staggered into the kitchen, still bleeding heavily. Billy ran in as well.

"Where are they?" Billy asked frantically.

"I don't know, but I'm hurtin', man," Stu said weakly.

"Fuck!" he cursed, kicking the wall. Despite being upset, he still noticed when Indy tried to back toward the door and pointed his gun at her. "Indiana, don't you dare fucking move!"

Then suddenly, the phone rang, gaining all of their attention. Billy and Stu shared a surprised look — who the fuck could be calling?

"Should I let the machine get it?" Stu asked dumbly.

"No," Indiana said with a grin. "I really think you should pick it up."

Billy glared at her before moving to the phone, answering it hesitantly. "Hello?"

"Are you alone in the house?" It was Sidney, her voice modified by the voice changer she got from her father's coat pocket.

"Bitch! You bitch!" Billy swore, turning his head wildly as if Sidney would appear. "Where the fuck are you?"

"Not so fast. We're gonna play a little game. It's called 'Guess who just called the police and reported your sorry motherfucking ass?'!"

Indiana couldn't help but laugh, ignoring how her stomach ached, more blood seeping out of her. "Get fucked."

Completely exhausted, Stu collapsed to his knees next to the table. Billy pointed his gun at him, fuming and on the verge of losing it — well, losing it even more. "Find her, you dipshit! Get up!"

"I can't, Billy. You cut too deep. I think I'm dying here, man," Stu whined, beginning to sob.

With that, Billy handed the phone to Stu, keeping his voice down. "Talk to her. Talk to her," he ordered.

"Hello?" Stu greeted in a surprisingly soft tone once Billy handed him the phone. Billy ran off to try and find Sidney.

"Oh, Stu, Stu, Stu. What's your motive?" Sidney asked him in her regular voice. As he was distracted, Indiana slowly inched around the kitchen. "Billy's got one. The police are on their way. What are you gonna tell them?"

"Peer pressure — I'm far too sensitive," he insisted.

Indiana opened a drawer as quietly as she could, finding a long, sharp carving knife. But when Billy flew back into the room in a rage, she shoved it in the baggy cargo pocket in the leg of her overalls.

"I'm gonna rip you up, you bitch! Just like your fucking mother!" Billy screamed into the phone, completely flipped out.

"You gotta find me first, you pansy-assed mama's boy!" she shot back.

"Fuck!"

Billy threw the phone forcefully at Stu, who cried out. "Ow. You fuckin' hit me with the phone, dick!" he whined.

Of course, Billy didn't care. He ran to the living room and began flipping furniture and cutting up the couch in a fit of unchecked rage "Fucker, where are you? You fuck!"

As he destroyed furniture, Indiana kept an eye on Stu, who picked up the phone. "Did you really call the police?"

"You bet your sorry ass, I did," Sidney told him.

The boy was openly weeping. "My mom and dad are gonna be so mad at me," he cried, leaning his head on the table. And when he shut his eyes tiredly, Indiana took the chance to leave the kitchen, rushing to the foyer.

"Indy, run," Virginia ordered when her sister crouched beside her on the porch and looked back inside. They could hear Billy shouting.

"No," Indiana said, remembering the knife in her pocket. "He killed Sophia and Tatum! Randy! Sid is still in there. Just keep an eye on Dewey."

Virginia shook her head and started to stand. "Don't even—"

"Don't take the pressure off him," Indy told her, looking at Dewey. Stu had stabbed him in the back, quite close to his spine. "There's no telling what kind of damage they did."

"Indiana!"

Ignoring her sister, Indiana ran back into the house just as a figure in the Ghostface costume emerged from the hall closet, ramming into Billy with an umbrella. The sharp end stabbed him in the chest as it fanned out. He stumbled back before falling to the ground.

Sidney ripped off the mask, glaring down at Billy in disgust. She threw the mask at his body before reaching down to grab the gun. Then she ripped the rest of the costume off. Indy crept closer, staring at him darkly.

Suddenly, Stu stumbled into the hallway, setting his sights on the girls. He let out a roar and ran at them. Indy ducked out of the way, tripping over Randy's body, and Stu tackled Sidney. The two tumbled into the living room, where Stu punched her in the face. She got away from him, but he chased her and knocked her over the couch.

They crashed into the coffee table, and Stu got on top, pinning Sidney to the ground as he shouted in her face wrathfully. "I always had a thing for ya, Sid!"

A vase crashed into the back of Stu's head, who was caught off guard, his head pounding. He almost didn't register when he was tackled off of Sidney, but he certainly felt it as someone smashed a wooden serving tray, the one that'd been on the now broken coffee table, against his face. In between the constant assault that left him with many a broken bone in his face, he spotted who was on top of him.

Sophia Martin was covered in blood — not corn syrup. She was on the brink of bleeding out, but the constant screams woke her from the dazed state of pain she was in on the garage floor. As the door to the garage was attached to the kitchen, she heard all of the ridiculous plan. She managed to crawl her way back into the house just as Sidney came crashing through the closet, stabbing Billy.

She wasn't sure what asshole killed Tatum but she didn't care. Sophia beat Stu with the serving tray until the wood splintered. Then Sidney helped her off of him, both looking down at his unmoving body.

Between his stab wounds and the head trauma, Sophia figured he wouldn't be alive much longer. But she was angry and scared and in pain, so she grabbed the sides of the large, boxy TV and shoved it off the stand. It crashed onto Stu's head, and his whole body flinched and flailed as the electricity sparked.

"Sophia!" Indiana shouted, not really caring about Stu as she ran to her friend. She threw her arms around her, and Sophia weakly hugged her. "I th - I thought you were dead."

"Feel like I am," she said, coughing up some blood.

"Sid called the police. An ambulance should be with them," Indy told her.

"Where's my brother?" There were tears in Sophia's eyes, fearing the worst.

"He left before it started," she explained. While doing so, she and Sidney helped support Sophia's weight while leaving the living room, heading to the hallway. "He's safe."

Sophia nodded and shut her eyes, leaning heavily against Indiana's side. When they got to Billy's body, Sidney stopped to kneel at his side, picking up the mask.

A hand reached out and touched her shoulder, startling all of them. But it was just Randy, who was bleeding heavily from his shoulder but alive. "I'm sorry!" he said quickly, calming them down. "It's all right. It's just me."

"Oh, my god, Randy, we thought you were dead," Sidney breathed out.

"I probably should be," he muttered. "I never thought I'd be so happy to be a virgin."

"Yeah," Sophia said with a sarcastic laugh, her eyes still closed. "'Cause that's totally how this wor—"

"Fucker!" No one was expecting it as Billy shot up and punched Randy hard in the face. When he fell back, he knocked into Sophia and Indiana's legs, making them topple over.

Billy grabbed Sidney and wrestled her to the ground, wrapping his hand around her throat to strangle her. "Say hello to your mother!"

Thinking quickly, Sidney got her hand free and shoved her finger into the wound from the umbrella, digging into it. Billy screamed loudly in pain and raised his knife high over his head, ready to bring it down.

But then he was tackled off Sidney, the pair rolling through the hallway and to the entrance of the kitchen. The knife clattered from his hand. Billy turned his head up and saw Indiana on top of him. She looked just as crazed as he had since the moment he shot Randy.

The knife in Indiana's leg pocket was digging into her thigh painfully, reminding her that it was there. She pulled it out quickly and held it up to Billy's throat, silently daring him to make a move.

"You won't," Billy whispered, shaking his head. There were desperate tears in his eyes. "You said you'd always be there for me no matter what. You promised. You and me. You love me."

"Funny," Indiana said, her voice sounding hollow. "I don't recall saying that last bit."

"But you love me," he whimpered. He wasn't even struggling underneath her, not having the energy to fight her. "I love you. You're mine, Indiana. You always will be. You love me."

"No. I love Virginia. I love Jackson and Sophia and Isaiah. I love Sideny!" Indiana kept raising her voice. "I don't give a goddamn shit about you — just like your selfish bitch mother!"

A new kind of anger rose in Billy, who yelled angrily in her face. But as soon as Indiana felt his body shifting underneath hers, she brought the carving knife down, stabbing him in the chest.

She did it again and again, stabbing it through his chest, his torso, his neck until he stopped struggling. And even after he did stop, Indiana kept going, beginning to scream and yell curses at him, taking out all her anger for lying to her, sleeping with her, killing and hurting people she cared about.

Finally, when he stopped twitching and the pool of blood around them grew impossibly wide, she stopped her assault. The knife hung limply in her hand as she stared blankly down at his dead body.

"I'm not your fucking final girl," she spat.

The house was so quiet you could hear a hairpin drop, every single person looking at Indiana with wide eyes, having witnessed her butcher Billy. Even Gale Weathers woke up just after Stu was killed.

"Holy shit," Randy mumbled, the first to break the silence. "That was so goddamn badass. Holy shit!"

Indiana let out a deep breath and got to her feet. From the knees down, her overalls were soaked all the way through with blood from kneeling in it. Up top wasn't that much better — she really had made it look like a Jackson Pollock as promised.

"Indy?" Virginia called out, needing her attention. "Indy, are you okay?"

She swallowed thickly and turned to her sister. "I'm okay," she said, trying to catch her breath and also convince herself that was true. "I'm okay."

"Careful," Randy then warned, eyeing Billy's body. "This is the moment when the supposedly dead killer comes back to life for one last scare — Jesus H. Christ, Indiana!"

The girl took Randy's advice very seriously, it seemed, because the next thing they knew, the knife was sticking out of Billy's head. Gale had to turn around and empty the contents of her stomach in one of the potted plants in the foyer from the violent display — actually, from all the violence she'd seen that night.

Then they all heard a loud crash, and Sidney and Gale screamed. But it was only Neil, who fell out of the hall closet, still tied up.

"Dad!" Sidney exclaimed in relief, rushing to his side. "Randy, help me out."

"Virginia," Indy spoke up as those two began getting the tape off of Neil. "Someone else can cover Dewey. You need to look at Sophia."

Gale was the one to put pressure on Dewey's back as Virginia went to check on Sophia. She'd been stabbed three times, could barely move her right hand that was sliced while trying to help Tatum, she lost a lot of blood, and now that the burst of adrenaline was wearing off, she passed out in the hallway. Indiana helped Virginia as best she could, following the nurse's instructions as they waited for the first responders.

Soon, Gale was calling from the porch that she could hear sirens. A squad of police cars peeled down the dirt road, followed by several ambulances. And just a minute after that, a familiar van was there as well.

Jackson barely put the car in park before he was running out of it, covering his mouth in fear as he looked at the carnage. It was a terrifying sight to see his little sister being loaded onto a stretcher, the paramedics shouting instructions and attaching wires to her.

"What happened? What the fuck happened?" he asked, fighting off a panic attack in the middle of the blood-covered foyer. "Sophia!"

"It was Billy and Stu," Randy said weakly. The paramedics told him and everyone else seriously injured to sit on the steps and wait. Once Dewey and Sophia were stabilized and taken off, their injuries would be seen too.

"They'll let you in the ambulance, Jax," Indiana told him softly. "Go. I'll make sure someone calls your parents."

With tears in his eyes, Jackson nodded frantically. He moved to follow his sister as she was carried outside but he stopped and turned, hugging Indiana tightly. "I shouldn't have left."

"I'm glad you left," she admitted, worried that he would've been amongst the body count if he stayed. Stu and Billy would've wanted to take him out right away since he was the biggest physical threat. "Now, go."

Jackson nodded and ran after his sister, managing to get in the ambulance before the doors shut and they drove off, taking her to the hospital. Dewey was the next to go, managing to be semi-conscious as they gave him oxygen and loaded him on an ambulance as well.

Indiana knew Virginia wanted to go with him, but she wanted to stay with Indiana more. The older girl was seated on the stairs, helping wrap a bandage around Indiana's side. Sidney, Randy, and Indy would all have to go to the hospital for their wounds, but they just weren't as life-threatening as the state Dewey and Sophia were in.

"Hey, Sid," Indiana spoke up softly, getting the girl's attention. She looked at her from one step below. Indy's voice trembled slightly as she thought of everything that led up to this. "I'm so sorry for what I did. And I understand if - if you don't want to be around me even if he turned out to be a psycho killer."

Slowly to not agitate her wounds, Sidney slid onto the same step as Indy. "I don't care about any of that," she said, getting emotional. "He was a fucked up, manipulative creep and he used both of us. I'll never blame you for what happened."

The girls moved in sync, wrapping their arms around each other in a tight hug. "Fuck Billy Loomis," Indiana muttered against Sidney's shoulder.

Sidney let out a laugh and pulled back, pressing her forehead to Indy's. "Fuck Billy Loomis," she agreed. "He's not gonna get in the way of us when we need each other most. It's you and me."

Indiana grinned brightly, suddenly not hating that statement so much. "Yeah. You and me."