Song of the chapter is
You Should See Me In A Crown by Billie Eilish

-63-
-Kartik Malhotra-
-Present-

___________

St. Maud Theatre
22 December, 2030
12:01pm

As we stood in front of the three-storeyed building, all of us had one thought in mind.

This was it.

All of us knew, but it was too scary to acknowledge it with words spoken aloud. A certain weight was always added by the symphony when those words slipped on tongues and rolled over lips.

And so, we decided to not speak a word at all.

Our footsteps echoed in unison as we walked towards the empty building. Dark clouds loomed over the midnight sky, impeding a storm. The leaves rustled as the wind swept past the abandoned property.

The door was unlocked, so we stepped in without having to open the loud clangy door and awake any monsters that lay in shadows.

Although, the monsters seemed to already be moving us like puzzle pieces in their little fucked up game.

As we stepped into the loft area of the abandoned theatre, Zoya spoke for the first time. "Why am I getting so many deja vu's all of a sudden?"

I swallowed the lump forming in my throat for a while as I responded, "Touche."

"Officer Ravi is nearby, right?" Siya asked Zoya. She nodded in response, saying, "Yeah, he's a block away to avoid suspicion. He said he'll alert his force after we give him the signal."

"But won't Detective Gomez be suspicious if all of a sudden half the police force is out on a secret duty?" Siya asked.

"Well, considering we're suspecting that he's the actual culprit, I highly doubt he'll be busy managing the police force right now." Zoya replied.

"What if he sabotages it in some way?" I asked.

"Enough with the negativity, Malhotra." Came her response.

"I'm just thinking of the worst case scenario." I reasoned.

"Okay, but now what?" Saina asked no one in particular as she clung on to Zoya's arm.

"I'm pretty sure we're being watched." Himanshu said, his eyes scanning the place. "So the instructions should arrive within a few-"

Our phones chimed at that very moment.

"-seconds." Himanshu completed, fishing out his phone from his back pocket.

As I clicked on the notification, Siya read out loud,

'Welcome, sinners! Follow the red light to get to your first destination.'

"Red light?" Zoya questioned looking around.

"That." Veronica said, pointing to the bright red neon light that spelled enter.

"What is this? A video game?" Zoya asked, her tone explicit of the ridiculousness of the situation.

"Let's just follow the instructions for now." I said as I lead the group towards where the sign pointed us to. Siya intertwined her fingers with mine as we took steps towards the narrow lane-like hallway to the right. I looked at her and saw her face crumple up in fear. I squeezed her hand tighter and gave her a reassuring nod. She inhaled a shaky breath as she returned the same.

As we reached the very end of the hallway, a door appeared in front of us. The rust on the hinges were enough evidence of its ruins. I looked back at the others before unbolting the door and walking in.

A huge projector sheet stood to my right, our pictures flashing over the screen. The rest followed my suit as I looked around the room for any clue as to what was happening.

"It's a projector room." Himanshu said, pointing to the small square sized window that was emitting the light towards the white sheet.

"So you think the killer's up there?" Saina asked, her eyes filled with fear as she kept looking at the window.

"Highly doubt it." I said, walking to the centre of the room to get a better look at the window. But the light being emitted blocked my vision. "I think it's just a projector."

"Why is it playing our pictures though?" Siya asked.

"Probably another game of that sicko." Zoya sneered.

"I don't know. Seems too simple-" Veronica began but before she could finish, the picture on the screen changed and a video started playing.

A dark almost empty road stood in front of us, with a few of the street lights blinking once or twice. A guy walked over from the sidewalk to cross the road when a car swerved past in full speed and hit the guy. The body thudded to the side of the road a split second later.

Shocks jolted inside my heart.

My gaze immediately went over to Siya who stood in her place, her hand over her mouth as her eyes remained glued to the screen. Tears streamed down her face fiercely.

"Siya..."

"Oh my god." A whisper echoed out of her. Her distraught voice was enough evidence of the fear that the video had instilled in her heart. "Kartik.... it's....that was..."

"I know." I nodded, running up to her and enveloping her in an embrace. My heart broke to pieces at that very moment.

"How did they get a video of this?" Saina asked out loud.

Before any of us could answer her question, another video started playing. This time it was from our house, from the day we had shared all of our secrets in the living room.

This sicko had made a recording of it all.

As Saina's voice echoed over from the screen, she took two steps back. "Why...are they playing all of this?"

"Yeah, asshole! We already know you recorded us, what's the point here? Trying to induce nostalgia?" Zoya said out loud.

The next video was a security camera recording of the hallway of what seemed like a white building. A second later, the silhouette of a woman passed by the corridor. As her face became clearer, I realised what this was.

"This is from the psych ward I was admitted to." Veronica said, her voice not quivering even once as her eyes remained glued to the screen. Himanshu and I exchanged a glance before he looked at her.

"Ronnie..."

"It's fine." Veronica said, looking at him. "It doesn't bother me anymore."

He gave her a reassuring nod.

"What's the catch here though?" I asked as I looked at the rest.

As I said that, the video stopped playing and another took over. This time, it showed the footage of a dark room, the only light being emitted was from a ring light that seemed to be placed in front of the video camera. A rotating chair was placed in the middle, with its back towards the camera and by the looks of it, someone was sitting on the other side.

The mechanical voice of the killer then began,

'For 11 years, I've dreamt of this moment, every single day.'

"What the fuck is happening?" Zoya said, moving away from the screen.

'The moment I'd get to see your faces again.'

"Okay, I'm officially creeped out." Zoya commented.

'The moment you'll see me... again.'

"Is this live?" Zoya asked.

'My apologies for making you guys wait for so long.'

I inhaled a shaky breath as I waited for the voice to speak again.

'You guys truly outdid yourself. You finally became what I always thought you were. Beyond the plain, nice image that you had so carefully constructed in the past, you finally emerged out of it all and became your true unclean selves.'

"Are we supposed to be glad?" Saina questioned.

'I wanted take this moment to tell you guys.... I'm so proud of each and every one of you.'

"What the fuck is this?" Siya asked, her tone laced with anger and frustration.

'Don't worry, you'll get all your answers in a minute. But first, let me show you something fun.'

Seconds later, a video started playing parallel to the other video. It was a recording of what seemed like a basement.

And in that place, sat four people, gagged and bound up to their chairs, with a black cloak on their heads, coveting their faces. They weren't moving at all.

"This looks like the basement." Himanshu verified my guess.

Slowly, a person wearing the same ghostface mask made their way towards the chairs and slowly and gradually, started removing the cloaks from their heads. And as their faces came into view, gasps echoed through the room.

"Oh my god."

"What the actual hell-"

Sat in those four chairs were:

Zayn.

Dhrashti.

Officer Ravi.

And Detective Gomez.

"No, no!" Zoya screamed on top of her lungs. "What have you done to him?!"

As soon as she said that, the video cut off and the previous video resumed again.

'Relax, Zizi. Getting all hyped up about a guy is so not you.'

"What the fuck did you do to them?" I questioned as if the person on the other side could hear me.

"They can hear us." Siya confirmed my suspicion. "They're watching us right now! They know-"

'Of course, I know, little miss perfect.' The voice chuckled softly. 'I've been watching, listening..... lurking everywhere....since the very beginning.'

"Then why don't you show your face?" I demanded. "Are you that much of a coward?"

"Kartik, don't provoke him!" Saina warned.

'Yeah, bro.' The voice said. 'You should listen to S.'

As she said that word, my heart dropped in its place. Saina and I exchanged a knowing glance. "What did you just call her?"

The voice chuckled once more.

'Come on, you should've figured it out by now. Haven't I given you enough hints already?'

"This isn't a fucking game!"

'Oh but it is. And it is mine.' The voice responded, sending chills down our spine. 'And now you are all pawns in it.'

"We refuse to play anymore." Veronica stated, her voice as calm as always. "Whatever you think you're doing, you won't succeed in it."

'We'll see about that.'

"Show your fucking face or I swear to god-" I began, my voice quivering with rage.

'You'll do what?' The voice asked, mockingly. 'Throw me down the stairs again?'

Silence distilled in the room.

My mind went several places at once and I couldn't figure if what I was hearing was right.

"What did you say?"

'Don't tell me you don't remember, Kartik?' The voice asked in a mocking tone.

"No,....no it can't be. It can't....be you-"

Before I could complete my sentence, the chair slowly and gingerly swivelled towards the camera and a face came into view.

And as it did, the world around me stopped in its track.

'Did you miss me?'

_____________

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