Tara was only one exam left to complete her fifth semester. She was anxious for the summer holidays to begin and to be able to forget about university. She still didn't tell her sister Sam about her plan to go with Chad to enjoy the sun and beach of Florida. She had it very well kept to say it at the right time. She had already shown Sam that she could defend herself very well on her own.

A year and a half had passed since what happened in the theater by the hands of the Kirschs. Tara had already done her social work for what happened, but not her sister Sam. As recurring victims of the Ghostface attack, it was a relief that a psychopath no longer haunted them or their friends.

Sam woke up Tara, who using her Organic Chemistry book as a pillow in her bed.

"It hadn't been a good idea to stay in bed studying. Your exam wasn't before 7:30 am?! It's going to be 7 o'clock!"

"Shit, it can't be!" Tara cursed, grabbing her things that were spilled everywhere and going to get ready.

Sam just rolled her eyes and stuffed Tara's books into her backpack, as well as the taser and pocketknife she always carried with her. They must always be cautious. They couldn't predict if some idiot wearing the Ghostface mask might stalk them again. Tara ran to the kitchen for a poor breakfast. Sam, simultaneously, grabbed the keys and her sweater to go to the session with her psychiatrist. She had already complied with the sessions recommended by the judge but decided to continue going for the sake of her mental health. She was afraid to admit it, but she was increasingly dependent on drugs to control her father's visions and memories of the murders she had committed.

"I'm not going to make it!" Tara complained as she brushed her teeth and half-arranged her tangled hair in a ponytail. "Dammit!"

"The teacher has a rule to let you pass up to fifteen minutes after the exam begins. Besides, I don't think it's always punctual," Sam objected, trying to reassure Tara that she was dropping things because she was so stressed. "The worst thing is that you forget everything you studied yesterday for this exam because of this moment of stress. So relax... "

"You say it as if everything were simple. You haven't been to college. You don't know what it's like".

"That's true," Sam looked a little offended. "But I do the best I can"...

Tara stopped her hair arrangement when she realized that her words had hurt Sam.

"I'm sorry. Stress makes me say stupid things".

"I know. I checked it before".

Tara giggled slightly. They both laughed. They were closer than ever. But it wasn't uncommon for a sister's fight to happen every now and then.

Seeing that Tara was ready, they both went out and Sam left the house locked. Tara asked Sam the usual question. "Do you bring it with you?"

Sam smiled. As if Tara didn't know her well. From her bag she showed him the gun hidden among her things. What had happened had made her learn certain things. "I always do...

"Good.

Tara then said goodbye to her sister and went to take the bus to the university. She looked at the clock tirelessly, hoping that time would flow slower. She got off at the stop to start walking to the next one. It didn't even occur to her to take the subway, even if it was daytime. What happened more than a year ago had generated a certain phobia of the subway. She never took it alone, she always had to go with someone. It was true that a masked person alone wouldn't stand out on Halloween night, but the trauma persisted.

With headphones on and listening to R&B music, Tara waited for the bus with two other people. Those people got on the next line and left her there at the stop, alone. She was stressed by the weather and the music was loud enough to stun her a bit. That stop was somewhat desolate.

She hadn't noticed that someone was stalking her. Passing the street, a man in a Ghostface suit stared at her. Tara was so focused on her music that it took her a few minutes to realize that another Ghostface was watching her. Fear invaded her. It was too early to disguise himself for Halloween. Her pulse accelerated and she reached her pockets in search of her aid kit for these cases. She couldn't carry a gun like her sister because she wouldn't be allowed to do so in college, but she could defend herself with her small knife and taser. There she realized that it was at the bottom of his backpack, under her books. The Ghostface had started running towards her, and Tara started running with the backpack in her arms still looking for a way to defend herself.

The tears of terror wanted to run down her cheeks as she ran for her life. "Please help me! She shouted as she scurried down an alley into a nearby street.

She bumped into a burly man who was upset when he hit her.

"He's coming to kill me!" Help! She said breathlessly, clutching the man's shirt.

Indeed, Ghostface didn't think twice and sketched the knife from between his black robes. He did not give the man time to react when the knife was stuck in his chest. A second knife stabbed into his abdomen. Blood fell to the floor and Tara walked away from the man who looked at her before his eyes darkened. She shrieked in horror and trembled with fear and helplessness.

Ghostface approached her with both bloody knives pointed at her. "Get away from me," she said, activating the taser. And don't even think of going after my sister, you motherfucker!

Ghostface turned his head slightly, as if he took in what had been threatened. And he slashed with the knife of his left hand, surprising Tara, who managed to dodge the first attack by centimeters. She tried to electrocute Ghostface, but Ghostface dodged too and with his right hand slashed her in the arm that caused her to drop the taser to the ground. Instinctively, she punched him directly in the face and ran away in terror, sobbing in panic. Ghostface was much taller than her and managed to reach her in a few short strides and pinned her down with his arms. She groaned in fear as the blade edge was placed on her throat. Ghostface activated his voice modifier and the gangly voice that characterized him began with a malevolent giggle.

You thought you got rid of me, didn't you?

He stuck the tip of the knife into the girl's neck and a trickle of blood ran down her neck. Ghostface delighted in mentioning her name in a honeyed and disturbing way.

Taaaaaa.

"You should know that the others of your kind who messed with us didn't end very well," Tara faced herself, enduring the slight pain in her neck. The blood gradually stained her white collared blouse red.

Trust me, Tara. I'm not like the others.

Then Ghostface dragged her into an alley. He took a handkerchief from his robe and put it over her nose and mouth. She was startled and tried to wriggle out of his grip.

Move a little and I'll slash your neck once and for all.

Tara began to cry in desperation as the drug began to take effect. Little by little she felt sleepier and stopped moving in her captor's arms. It was a matter of minutes for Tara to fall drugged into the arms of the killer in the mask.

Meanwhile, inside classroom 5D, Alfie Gunner, the boy in her class who had helped Tara study yesterday via video call, sent the sixteenth text message to Tara's phone. The teacher was already giving the indications of how they should take their exam. He was worried because his friend did not appear.

"Did Tara fall asleep after studying with you all night?" Erin asked, she was sitting next to Alfie when she saw his worried face.

"It seems. I'm going to ask Chad if he knows about her," he said as he quickly texted Chad. The professor continued to explain the guidelines. "Although it would be better to ask Sam, his sister".

"Why don't you ask Chad for Sam's number?"

"You're right!"

The professor finished his explanation and announced to the class: "Put away computers, notes and phone numbers, the exam is about to begin!" "At that point, he began to distribute the sheets one by one to the students.

"Right now? What the fuck. It was time to do it after the exam," Erin said.

"I'm worried... "

"Right now, worry about the exam. I'm sure she'll have fallen asleep, and she'll figure this out soon.

"Well...

And the teacher handed the exam to both of them, giving them a warning look. "With the sheet of paper on the desk, they are silent until the end of the two hours that the exam lasts..."

Dr. Kobach's office was almost always empty at that early hour. It was almost always empty when Sam arrived. Lately a girl a little younger than her had been going, who spent a different book every week and with headphones on. When she arrived, the doctor was seeing a patient so she decided to wait in the waiting room, in front of that girl. Since Sam was quite observant, she noticed that she was reading a romance novel. Sam heard the typing of the computer inside the office. Her phone vibrated twice. They were messages from Danny with whom she was having relationship problems recently. Danny was showing somewhat unpleasant possessive signs and they had fought about it a few times. However, they managed to keep their differences aside and wrote to each other from time to time.

7:18 a.m. Are you okay?

7:18 am. Yes, don't worry. Everything is fine.

7:19 am. Are you with the psychiatrist?

7:21 a.m. Not yet. He continues to see other patients.

7:21 am. Oh, I see...

Sam answered no more. She didn't want to talk to him anymore. She had other things to worry about. She wondered if Tara had made it to her exam on time. She longed to hear her complaining when she returned. In addition, she had planned to cook a meat lasagna for when Tara returns, as it was one of her favorite foods, to celebrate that she had done excellently or to cheer her up in her failure.

She waited calmly for about twenty minutes in the waiting room until the psychiatrist ushered her.

"Thank you, doctor," she said as she sat in the chair in front of the doctor.

"Well, tell me. Have you had visions or nightmares this week? He put on his glasses and prepared a pen and glasses to write down the most important things.

Sam sighed in defeat. "That nightmare is getting very recurring, doctor".

"The one two weeks ago? The one with the black hole? "

"No, not that one. The one I see myself in the Ghostface suit..." She didn't want to go on because she was disgusted just by remembering it. "Stabbing my sister... "

"Are you sure it's Tara you're stabbing?"

"I can't see her face, but I KNOW it's Tara. I know it's her.

"Ok, I understand. And did you enjoy it?

"To be honest? Yes, and quite a lot. Well, that may be a trait of my experience in the flesh. But it's horrible. "

The doctor continued to write down in the notebook. He took off his glasses, very astonished. She had been prescribing Sam for a while and didn't see much progress in her.

"I don't see my father in mirrors much anymore, but I do sometimes feel that I act without thinking. As if it entered autopilot. Like a switch that tells me that I'm aware of things or not.

He continued to score. Sam continued how she felt her mental health falter.

"Doctor, I'm afraid that there will come a point where I can no longer flip that switch and I'll stay in my other self."

"Look Samantha. Just keep taking the medication I prescribed and add the latter to control those nightmares. The other week you tell me how you are doing. Remember not to exceed the dose or forget to take it every day".

"Yes, doctor".

"Well, you can tell me anything by a call or message. See you the other week. Take care of yourself, ok?"

Sam said goodbye to the doctor with the prescription in hand. The girl with the headphones came in after her. She checked his cell phone to see the time: 8:45 am. She still had forty-five minutes left before Tara finished her exam.

First she went to buy the missing medicines, then she returned to the apartment and threw all the things on the sofa. Without realizing it, Sam fell asleep there. She had gotten up too early and insomnia was slowly killing her. When she came to, it was already past 10:30 a.m. on the wall clock in the living room. Her phone vibrated and vibrated. An incoming call. She was so sleepy that she couldn't answer. The call log was cluttered with calls from Mindy, Chad, and Danny. Then her senses sharpened and she panicked. She didn't even finish counting the number of calls and messages from them when a call came in from Mindy.

"Mindy?"

"Sam!" The black-haired girl sounded a little agitated behind the receiver. "Tara isn't there with you?!"

"What?! She should be in college taking the Organic Chemistry exam".

"Oh fuck... "

"Mindy, what's going on?" Sam's heart was pounding.

"Tara didn't go to take the exam, Sam. Her classmate Alfie called Chad to ask about Tara because she hadn't made it to the exam. She never went, Sam..."

Sam was speechless as she understood what was being said. Her voice threatened to break. Chad's voice was heard in the background of the call. "Sam, turn on the TV on channel seven. Chad says there's something."

Sam felt like the world was collapsing for her. She didn't want to see her sister's name in the crime report. She hesitated whether to turn on the TV or wait for Mindy to tell her what it was. She opted for the first option and turned on the device. In the report they mentioned a brutal murder of a man with knives, a few meters from the bus stop that Tara frequently used. The attacker had vented his anger or madness on the man. In addition, at the scene of the crime they had found traces of blood later along with a taser. Both pieces of evidence were to be sent to the laboratory to obtain DNA samples.

"I have to go to the police station to clear up any doubts.

"But it's the murder of any man, Sam. Something common in New York.

"That's the work of Ghostface, Mindy.

"But... No way... Once again...

"I'll take some of Tara's clothes. I have a bad feeling about this.

Chad cursed with fury and helplessness in the back pf the call when he understood what Sam meant. Mindy was breathing heavily on the phone "Do you think Tara was kidnapped by a new Ghostface?

"I hope I'm wrong, Mindy...