• • September 22, 2022 • •

THE BELL RANG and the last of the students entered the classroom. Eighteen-year-old Y/N sat near the back of the room scrolling through his phone. He also had his AirPods in listening to 21 Savage.

He looked up upon the arrival of one of his friends, Wesley Hicks. The teenager sat at the desk next to him as Y/N paused his music and put away his earbuds.

"Hey." Wes greeted him.

Y/N gave him a nod. "Late again."

"Yeah, well...he's used to it."

Their history teacher, Mr. Warren, got off his laptop and stood up. He looked at his students and was ready to start the last class of the day.

"Okay, so...before we begin, the faculty is asking students about what senior class activity we should do for next month." Mr. Warren said and crossed his arms. "Any of you got ideas? I sure don't."

"Senior prank day." One student blurted out.

The teacher nodded and went over to a sheet on his desk, jotting the ideas down.

"Okay."

"Senior skip day." Another said.

"Oh, you'd all like that, huh?" Mr. Warren chuckled.

One boy spoke. "We should make tees or something."

"That's wack as fuck." His friend butted.

"Language." Mr. Warren scolded, his eyes still on the paper.

There was a moment of silence as the teacher waited for any more suggestions. One senior, who had just transferred, raised her hand.

Mr. Warren called on her. "Yes?"

"My other school had this senior lock-in, where they'd spend the night at school. I always thought that looked fun."

Mr. Warren didn't respond. The class was so quiet that a pin drop could be heard. The girl felt like she said something wrong.

"Uh..."

The teacher finally spoke. "As fun as that sounds...um...we don't think—"

"That's sorta banned now." One student told the oblivious senior transfer.

"Why?" She asked.

Mr. Warren replied. "That can be explained another—"

"Almost six years ago some psycho murdered his bullies at the senior lock-in they had here. Wearing a Ghostface costume." The student interjected.

"Mister—"

"And get this. He was related to Mickey Altieri. Another Ghostface!"

"Enough." The teacher finally got the boy's attention and got him to stop.

The student let out a sigh and turned around, seeing Y/N just staring at him. He knew who he was and forgot that the teenager was in his class since the semester had barely started.

He turned back around and mumbled. "Sorry."

Mr. Warren gave him a stern look before glancing at Y/N, who looked to the side and crossed his arms. Like most of the people at Woodsboro High, they knew about the teenager's relation to Dylan and how the events affected him and his twin brother as well.

"Okay..." Mr. Warren began. "Unless we have any more ideas, we should move on. I'll make sure to hand these off to the staff. Thank you."

As the teacher started his lesson, Y/N let out a quiet sigh and looked out the window he was by. He could see the quad, the lawn, and the parking lot of the school. That's all he expected to see, but something caught his eye...

It was Ghostface.

The figure stood by the tree and stared at him. He blinked his eyes a few and rubbed them before looking back out...and the figure was now gone.

Wes heard his breathing get heavier and looked at his friend, nudging his shoulder. He whispered to him.

"What's up?"

Y/N looked to him at and then back outside, seeing that Ghostface was still gone. He took a deep breath in and shook his head.

"Nothing." He reassured him. "It was nothing."

Their final class concluded so that meant the school day was over. Wes and Y/N made their way down the hall and toward the exit, where they expected to meet their other friends at the quad.

"You wanna run some FIFA or Madden later tonight?" He asked Y/N.

"Don't think I can." Y/N replied. "After practice today I gotta work on that project Mrs. Brunson assigned me and Tara. I told her I'd come over."

Wes chuckled. "You got partnered with your girlfriend?"

Y/N simply shrugged. His friend kept laughing.

"How is that even allowed?" He added.

"I don't think Mrs. Brunson cares as long as the assignment gets done. A part of me thinks she doesn't even know about us anyways."

"Right. Honestly, I don't think she knows anything." Wes replied. "Or cares. She just goes straight home."

"Don't blame her." Y/N said.

As they walked, the two ran into Y/N's brother, Anthony. He had just come from a meeting with his wrestling coach.

"Whaddup?" Anthony cheerily greeted them.

"Hey, Tony." Y/N greeted him back and dapped him up.

Wes clasped his hand as well. "Doing all right?"

"For sure, man. Went to talk to the coach about the tournament next month." Anthony clapped both his hands. "Bringing home the gold, baby."

"I'll believe it when I see it, bro." Y/N replied with a chuckle.

"Fuck you, man. I know the third-string wide receiver ain't talking."

Y/N opened his arms and scoffed. "I'm a starter."

"I'll believe it when I see it." Anthony mocked him back.

They both laughed and Y/N playfully shoved his brother. Wes, Y/N, and Anthony made their way outside and were on their way to their usual spot.

Suddenly, they ran into Carlos and a couple of his buddies. The fellow senior would often pick at the twins.

"Hola, loquitos." He called out with a grin.

"Shit." Y/N muttered, annoyed at his presence.

Carlos heard his reaction. "What? Not happy to see me? I thought we were friends?"

"Oh, no. You're right. The bestest." Anthony replied sarcastically.

Carlos chuckled, still eyeing the two. Wes stood there and he knew the kind of things he'd say to them.

"You know what anniversary is coming up?" He asked them, specifically looking at Y/N.

The teenager didn't answer as he knew what he wanted him to say. Carlos kept prying.

"Come on, I know you know. It hits close to home."

Anthony tried to be cheeky. "The release of the first Stab movie?"

"Oh, your family surely knows about that, huh?"

Wes spoke up. "Okay, man—"

"No one's speaking to you, gringo."

Y/N didn't like his tone toward his friend and stepped up to Carlos.

"I'm gonna need you to back away." He warned.

Carlos wasn't deterred. "Or what? You gonna cut me up like your hermano did those kids. It's about to be six years this coming Saturday."

Y/N didn't respond. Carlos was still face-to-face with the young man.

"I know you want to. You Altieri's always got that itch you need to scratch."

The mention of the last name caused Y/N to shove Carlos. The man laughed and shoved him right back.

Before a scuffle can ensue, their other friend, Chad Meeks, arrived and pushed one of the bullies back.

"You'd be smart if you walk away now." He told them.

Still, Carlos wasn't backing down and kept on his verbal assault toward the twins.

"Oh, I forgot about your football buddy. What'd your hermano say in that movie? You two jerk each other off?"

"You fucking—"

Y/N lunged toward him but was held back by Chad, not wanting him to waste his time on the bully. Anthony just stood there, staring daggers at the chuckling Carlos but not acting on his current anger.

Carlos kept laughing. Suddenly, he was nudged on the shoulder and turned to the side. He saw a petite Latina before him. It was Tara, who glared at him.

"Aye, chica. Looks like you missed the fun."

"Oh. No, I didn't." Tara replied.

Carlos arched a brow, wondering where she was getting at. Tara continued.

"Because I'm about to hit you in the dick."

Immediately, she kneed Carlos hard in the groin. He doubled over and ended up falling to the floor. His two friends were caught off guard and everyone around them looked on while expressing ooohs.

"Ugh!" Carlos groaned. "Puta!"

Anthony decided to finally taunt the man on the floor as he was hurting.

"How's that feel?" He exclaimed.

Carlos seethed his teeth, ignoring Anthony and looking straight at Tara.

"I'll fuck you up, perra."

Suddenly, Anthony reacted with a hard stomp to Carlos's leg, where he cried out in pain. It came out of nowhere and Tara went over to hold the twin back. Carlos's friends went at him but Chad came over.

"Whoa!" He forced them back.

Anthony muttered. "You better tell him to watch his mouth."

Y/N went over and held his brother back. At the same time, some faculty came over to see what was going on.

"Enough!" One staff member shouted.

Carlos was helped up. Students still looked on but started dispersing on the instruction of the teachers.

"On school property? I'm gonna need everyone involved in the office now."

The ones who were involved in the physicality were Y/N, Carlos, Tara, and Anthony. Before anyone could speak up, Anthony did first.

"I kicked him after he put his hands on me."

The teacher looked at Carlos. The young man thought about ratting out Tara, but his pride kept him from admitting that the girl got the best of him. So he agreed with Anthony.

"Come on, you two." The staff member said.

Anthony looked at Tara and then at Y/N, giving them a nod. He walked off with Carlos and the teacher, leaving Y/N, Wes, Tara, and Chad there.

"Fuck..." Wes breathed out.

Y/N turned to Chad. "Thanks, man."

"Not a problem. Guy was being an ass like always." Chad replied then looked at Tara. "Good hit, by the way."

"Five foot one and I still could pack a punch." She said.

Y/N turned to her and chuckled. "You didn't need to. I would've handled it."

"I know. But I wanted to." She admitted. "Besides, he was a bitch and it felt good."

Y/N smirked, putting his arm around her and giving her a side hug. He rubbed her shoulder.

"Glad I got you on my side then. Otherwise, I'd be scared shitless. And you sure knew where to hit."

"Amber gave some pointers in case Vince were to try something on me." She replied, mentioning Vince Schneider, a coworker of her's from last summer.

"Ah. Good." He simply replied, letting out a breath. "I hate that guy."

• • •

PRACTICE WAS OVER and it was time to go back home. Y/N bid his teammates and friend, Chad, farewell and waited for his brother to get out of his wrestling meeting.

They went back home using Y/N's car. Anthony had his own but to get to school and back they usually just used one.

"What did they tell you?" Y/N asked Anthony.

"What?"

"In the office? For stomping on Carlos."

"They let me off after I told them the reason for my reaction. That he brought up...well...Dylan."

Y/N exhaled. "Okay."

"They understand it's a sore subject right now, especially for us. And with the anniversary coming up."

"Yeah."

There was a moment of silence. Anthony spoke up once more.

"You know, Carlos ain't the only one..."

"I know that." Y/N interjected. "They're just not as vocal as him."

"After that whole clusterfuck of a trial, his ass being acquitted because he was insane, and don't get me started with that mid Stab spin-off they made based on him."

The eighteen-year-old kept quiet. The last six years have been crazy for his family. It was so much to list off...

The revelation of his father, Marco L/N, being the brother of Mickey Altieri, the Ghostface from the Windsor College murders in 1997.

The outcry after Dylan was found not guilty for reason of insanity. He was put in a mental hospital about an hour away from Woodsboro.

His parents divorcing after all the hoopla. Their mom ended up moving away late last year back with their grandparents.

And then every year nearing October 1st, it was always a hassle to get through. Everyone knowing what happened that very day...it was tough for the L/N family.

They had Altieri blood but Marco tried his best to cut that out of their lives. It was why he changed his last name after the college murders. He didn't want to be involved with the older brother who committed those atrocities and even tried to kill him too as part of his plan.

The only survivors today from that time are Marco, Sidney Prescott, Gale Weathers, and Dewey Riley. You could also count Chad and Mindy's father, Joel, but he had gotten out of there before Mickey's final act.

"Shit..." Anthony mumbled, breaking Y/N out of his thoughts. "I could've made a better movie."

Y/N glanced at him. "What?"

"What? I meant like...from a screenwriting standpoint. Like I said, that movie kinda sucked."

His brother shrugged. Y/N didn't know what he was talking about since he never could get himself to watch the Stab installment based on Dylan.

Slasher movies in general, after what Dylan did, were not something Y/N found himself enjoying as much anymore. And he couldn't have himself be caught seeing them in public or else people would suspect he'd become a killer too.

Anthony spoke again, changing the subject.

"So...Tara really got Carlos back there, huh?"

Y/N nodded. "Yeah. It was funny, really."

"Lucky guy. Having a gal like that." He replied, taking a glance out the window and pausing for a moment. "You hit it yet?"

"Bro..." Y/N let out a quick chuckle.

"I'm just asking."

Y/N turned to Anthony and then back on the road he was driving on. He shook his head.

"You're fucking with me." Anthony replied.

"When we're ready." He replied.

"Is she ready?"

"I—I don't know. I guess?"

"Are you ready?"

Y/N didn't respond. He kept looking out on the road when Anthony suddenly laughed.

"I can't believe it." He said.

"What?" Y/N asked.

"You're the one with cold feet!"

"Shut up."

"You are!" He laughed again. "This is gold."

"I'll throw you out of this car right now."

"All right. All right." Anthony raised his hands. "Maybe it's a good thing, you know? Scary movies always say losing your virginity marks you for death."

Y/N brushed it off. "Whatever, man."

The brothers made it back home. They parked the car and went inside the house, where their dad was already in the kitchen.

"Hey, y'all." He greeted his sons.

"Ciao, Dad." Anthony cheerfully greeted him and put his things down.

Y/N nodded. "Hey."

"School was all right?" Marco asked them.

"Yeah." Y/N replied with a shrug, still holding his bag.

Marco then looked at Anthony, whose smile fell upon seeing his dad's stare.

"You?" He asked the twin.

"Yeah. Good."

"Hmm." Marco made his way to the fridge and continued. "School called. They said you got in some trouble."

Anthony sighed. "It was just some asshole messing with Y/N and me. You know how it gets once it gets closer to—"

"I do know." Marco interjected, letting out a sigh. "That's why I prefer that we don't get into altercations and lay low during this time."

"Yeah." Anthony rubbed his neck. "Sorry, Dad."

Marco gave an understanding nod and then smiled, speaking to the two boys again.

"Anyways, how was practice?"

"Like usual." Y/N responded then gestured up the stairs. "I gotta put my things away."

Anthony turned to him. "When you get back down why don't we heat up some food and watch something on the TV? Get your mind off what happened today."

"I can't. I'm gonna freshen up and then go to Tara's. We gotta work on this project..."

"Oh." Anthony said lowly, then put up his hands and smiled. "Hey, can't ruin my bro's potential chances."

"Yeah, yeah." Y/N brushed him off and started going upstairs.

Marco looked up the stairs and then at Anthony as he opened one of the containers of leftover food.

"Hey, I'm not that old where I don't get your lingo. Long as he's safe with it."

Anthony chuckled at his dad's remark and then went to go put his own things away.

• • •

THE TWO TEENAGERS stood around the island in Tara's kitchen. They had been working on their Literature project for about an hour now. Some snacks and drinks were on the counter beside them and there were even some tunes playing in the background coming from the stereo.

It was just the two of them since Tara's mom, Christina, had left that morning on her business trip. It made things less complicated, her daughter having a boy over and all. That boy being her boyfriend of all people.

"I could see the similarities." Y/N said, talking about their current assignment on the book East of Eden.

"How so?" Tara asked from across the island, typing on the laptop.

"Both are brothers. Similar names to Cain and Abel. Both had a sort of rivalry...and ended in disaster."

Tara somewhat agreed. "There wasn't a girl in Genesis that they both loved though."

"If there was...then the story would've been way more interesting. I would've picked up a Bible way earlier."

They continued for a few more minutes until Tara closed her laptop. She reached over and took a puff of her inhaler before leaning on the counter, facing Y/N.

"We should take a break."

Y/N chuckled, still looking into his book. "We're like...barely a quarter of the way through."

"And we still have until next Friday." She butted. "Come on, let's watch a movie or something."

He finally looked up at Tara, smirking. "What's on your mind?"

"I'm feeling a little jazzy. There's that one called In the Heights. Musical with the same guy who did Hamilton."

"Ah. The one that takes place in New York?" Y/N nodded, watching as she started coming over to him on the other side. "I do love New York."

"Then you'll love it." Tara grabbed his arm and started taking him to the living room. "Come on."

They ended up sitting on the couch and Tara turned on the television where she tuned into the streaming service. She laid against the armrest and lounged her legs over Y/N's lap.

While she was looking through the catalog for the movie, Y/N ran his hands across her leg. He let out a quiet laugh which caught her attention.

"What?" She asked.

"Just something that Mindy told me."

"What is it?"

He shrugged. "That Tarantino has a thing for feet."

"Oh, yeah. I know that." She replied. "What? You do too?"

She tried putting her foot by his face but he swatted it away. He laughed at his girlfriend's playful antics.

"I'm not that weird." He responded, but she kept trying to touch his face with her bare foot. "Chill out before I actually bite it off."

Tara laughed and ultimately put a stop to her attempts. She kept looking for the musical drama but couldn't find it.

"Damn. They must've taken it off. I know I waited too long." She said. "All they got front and center is that new SAW movie and Stab 8."

Y/N simply nodded. After a couple of seconds of silence, he finally spoke up.

"We—We could watch a scary movie. I'm fine with that. Even...Even Stab if you want."

Tara could see by the expression on his face that something was wrong, and she knew what it was. She sat up from her lounging position.

"Nah, that's not my kind of flick." Tara said and then caressed the side of his arm. "I get that this time of year gets pretty hard for you."

"I get nine months of some normalcy before I'm reminded the rest of the year that the uncle I didn't even know I had was a serial killer and that my older brother carried on the legacy." He shrugged. "Yeah...it kinda sucks."

"Well, you don't have to go through it alone. We're all here for you. Me especially."

Y/N's dejected expression slowly dissipated and was replaced with a warm smile. The young man nodded, appreciating her words.

"I know. Thank you."

The couple looked at each other in silence for a moment before Tara leaned in. Her lips met her boyfriend's and Y/N leaned in himself, adding more pressure to the soft kiss.

Their embrace became more needy as the girl wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in. She laid back on the armrest of the couch with Y/N on top still kissing her.

Although Y/N was the one previous times hesitating on going to third base, he felt like now was the time.

He continued their feverish kiss and reached under her pink top. Tara stopped kissing and let out a breathy chuckle.

"So we're doing this?" She asked.

"Uh...yeah? I guess."

"Okay. Um...did you bring condoms?"

The teenager mentally facepalmed, closing his eyes and letting out an exhale. Tara snickered at his reaction.

"Well, I don't have any." She added. "Do you have some back home?"

Y/N got off of her and stood beside the couch, looking down at the petite Latina.

"Not sure. And I don't really want to ask my dad or Anthony." Y/N looked toward the door. "I guess I can go buy some."

"You're really gonna go purchase rubbers at almost 10 PM, alone, with your own money?"

"I can get some other things. Like more snacks or something for the movie." Y/N went over to get his sweater and made his way to the door. "You want anything? Ice cream or something?"

"Just you back here as soon as possible." She replied with an attempt at a teasing voice.

"Heh. That was corny." Y/N opened the door. "Loved it though."

He left the house. Tara let out an exhale and sat back on the couch rubbing her face. She mentally cursed herself for not having any contraceptives with her that night. She wasn't even sure if by the time Y/N came back that they would still be in the mood.

Tara got up from the couch and went into her kitchen. She pulled out her cell phone, seeing a text from her friend, Amber, who was simply asking what she was up to. Amidst all of this, the landline started ringing.

She started texting back, reaching for her inhaler and taking another puff out of it. Tara ignored the ringing coming from her landline, but after a couple of more rings, she decided to answer it.

"Hello?" She answered, rather annoyed.

"Hello." The man on the other end greeted. "Is Christina there?"

"No, she's not available. May I take a message?"

"Uh, yeah, well, um...sorry, I'm a friend of hers from group...Oh, shit."

"From her shit?" She shot back, walking through the house.

"Look, just tell her I'm from group. I'm Charlie. She's got my number."

"She goes to your group?"

"I shouldn't have...just tell her that Charlie called."

"I will do exactly that, Charlie, once you tell me what kind of group we're talking about. Is it AA? NA?"

Tara kept texting Amber, letting her know what was going on with the conversation. She assumed it was a boyfriend of her mom.

"You sound exactly like she describes you." Charlie said.

"She talks about me in group?" She asked.

"I don't think I can really talk about that."

"What does she say about me?"

"She loves you very much."

"What does she love about me?"

"She loves that you're creative. You love art and TV and movies."

"Lots of people love movies."

"Yeah, but she says you love scary movies and that you guys have that in common. She's proud of making a fan out of you."

"She is?"

"Yeah. She told me the other day, she wonders...what's your favorite scary movie?"

"The Babadook." She replied confidently. "It's an amazing meditation on motherhood and grief."

Charlie chuckled. "Isn't that a little fancy pants?"

"Well, it's elevated horror."

"Uh-huh. What does that mean, Elevated horror?"

"It's scary but with complex emotional and thematic underpinnings. It's not just some schlocky, cheeseball nonsense with wall-to-wall jump scares."

"Sounds kind of boring to me. Have you ever seen Stab?"

"Once, I think." Tara leaned on the counter, fiddling with the kitchen knife in the wooden block. "At a sleepover when I was, like, 12."

"You live in Woodsboro and you don't know Stab? Your mother loves that movie. She talks about it all the time in group. How well do you remember the original?"

"I don't know. I mean, it was super '90s. It was really over-lit and everyone had weird hair."

"Do you remember the beginning?"

"Not really. It started with a kill scene, right? They always started with a kill scene."

"Yeah, that's right. That's right. It's a girl at home, alone. She answers a wrong number and starts talking with the killer who makes her play a game."

Tara stopped in her tracks as the man's tone become more menacing. Charlie continued.

"Would you like to play a game...Tara?"

She immediately hung up the phone and put it down.

Tara breathed heavily as she looked around before using an app on her smartphone to activate the security system.

"Systems armed."

Tara looked through the window for a moment before closing the curtains. She kept texting her friend and was about message Y/N next, but the ringing of the phone startled her.

At that moment, she got another text from Amber. She gazed at it in shock.

You shoulder answer it

She responded to Amber, asking her how she knew her landline was ringing. She texted back seconds later.

This isn't Amber

ANSWER THE PHONE BITCH

Tara went straight to calling 911. But before she can finish the dial, she got another text from Amber's phone.

ANSWER THE PHONE OR AMBER DIES

She quickly ran to the phone and answered it. "This isn't fucking funny, Amber."

"I told you, this isn't Amber."

Tara got a video message on her cell phone. She opened it and it was a clip of Amber in her room doing her makeup. Whoever taped it was right outside her window.

"Amber's looking particularly fetching tonight. She really shouldn't leave her phone lying around for anyone to clone."

"What do you want?" She asked.

"I told you, I want to play a game. Stab movie trivia, three rounds. You call the cops, she dies. You get a question wrong, she dies. Her parents aren't home. I can be in that room in 15 seconds. You want a warmup question?"

"I told you I don't know these movies! Ask me about something I do know. Ask me about It Follows. Ask me about Hereditary. Ask me about The Witch."

He ignored her pleas. "In the first Stab movie, what Woodsboro native was introduced as the franchise's main character?"

After a moment, she answered. "It's Sidney Prescott! It's Sidney Prescott and she lived on Elm."

"Correct. You see, you're gonna do great at this. Okay, question one..."

"No, I got that one right. It should count."

"Anyone could have gotten that one right. Sidney's in every movie but the last one and the Dylan spin-off." He butted. "Question one: Who wrote the original book that the Stab movies are based on?"

Tara took a moment to think. After some mumbling, she blurted the answer.

"The—The chick from TV!"

"The chick from TV is not gonna cut it, Tara."

"Gale Weathers!" She finally clarified. "It is Gale Weathers, you motherfucker!"

"Correct. Amber might live to see the sunrise. Question two: Who played the dumb bitch at the beginning of Stab 1 who answers the phone and gets carved up by the killer?"

"Fuck you."

"Is that the answer you're going with?"

All Tara could do was sob. She didn't know the answer by heart, so she resorted to using the internet on her smartphone. Charlie waited for her answer.

"A non-answer counts as a wrong answer, Tara. Time's running out. Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock..."

After some scrolling on IMBD, she successfully found the name of the actress who played Casey Becker.

"Heather Graham!"

"Correct! You pulled that one out. Now for the final question: Who was the killer in Stab 1?"

She halted her crying and sniffled.

"I know this one, you fuck. It's Billy Loomis! He was Sidney's boyfriend, and he was played by Luke Wilson, and I got you, asshole!" She started laughing. "I got it! I got it right!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Tara, but that's just not correct."

"What? No, no, it is. It is. That is right."

"The correct answer is Billy Loomis and Stu Macher. There are two killers in the original Stab. I'm afraid someone's got to die now."

He sent another clip, showing the killer with a knife in hand and still at Amber's window.

"No, no, no. Amber, I'm coming!" Tara exclaimed, putting down the phone and grabbing a kitchen knife.

She ran toward the front door and opened it....where she was now face to face with the figure in the Father Death costume.

Ghostface.

Tara screamed as the killer slashed the side of her abdomen. She countered with a punch across their face before attempting to shut the door on them. Ghostface grunted as they tried to get through, but the teenager was ultimately successful in closing it.

Tara locked it and breathed heavily, whimpering as she held her bleeding side. She rearmed the security system using the app and called the police as well.

"Systems armed."

She picked up the knife from the floor and shouted toward the door.

"The police are on their way, asshole!"

Ghostface continued banging on the doors. After some time, they stopped and Tara kept backing away.

"All systems disarmed."

Tara looked down at her phone and saw that the security system was unlocked. She frantically tapped her screen and rearmed it.

"Systems armed."

It was soon disarmed yet again.

"All systems disarmed."

"Oh, my God. No." She sobbed fearfully, trying to rearm the system every time it would disarm.

"Systems armed."

"All systems disarmed."

"Systems armed."

"All systems disarmed."

"Systems armed."

The back and forth finally ended. Tara kept backing away with the knife still in hand. The landline suddenly rang, startling her.

The sobbing Tara went into the kitchen and picked up the telephone from the island. She reluctantly answered it and put it to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Tara."

"Please stop." She pleaded. "My—my boyfriend is on his way. He...he'll—"

"Tara, Tara...I wouldn't trust an Altieri."

She didn't get to process their response before Ghostface appeared from behind Tara and grabbed her. They plunged the knife into her stomach and she let out a pained yell.

They let go of her and she leaned against the island. Before they can land another attack, Tara spun around and hit them in the face.

Unfortunately, she couldn't get far before the killer recovered and grabbed her by the back of the head, throwing her to the floor.

Ghostface tried to drag her but was kicked by Tara. In retaliation, they stomped on her foot, breaking it. She cried out in pain.

They got on top of Tara and tried stabbing her. She put her hand out to block it, and the blade went through her palm. She cried out again but kept keeping the killer back.

Tara kicked them off of her and Ghostface fell against the island, hitting their face. They groaned on the floor as the maimed eighteen-year-old tried dragging herself to the door. Ghostface soon got up and towered over the girl.

"Help!" Tara exclaimed.

Before she can reach the door, Ghostface dragged her toward them and stabbed her twice more in the back. They turned her around, raising their knife over their head.

"No, no, no!"

Ignoring her pleas, Ghostface brought the knife down one final time.

• • •

Y/N WAS ON his way back from the store. He recalled the small exchange he had with the clerk when he was buying the condoms. At least he bought a few snacks to make it less awkward.

His phone rang and the teenager saw that it was a call from Anthony. He put it to his ear and kept one hand on the wheel.

"Aye, man." Y/N greeted. "You good?"

"Yeah, sorry I didn't pick up earlier. Dad and I were out back fixing up the shed. What you wanna tell me?"

Y/N let out a quick chuckle. "Just...wanted to let my bro know I'm about to reach home plate."

Anthony took a moment to get what he meant. The twin let out a laugh.

"Shit! That's what I'm talking about."

The two shared another laugh. Anthony continued.

"What are you calling me for then? Go on!"

"Well, you were bugging me about it earlier today. I thought—"

As he pulled into the block where Tara's house was, all he saw were ambulances and police cars in front of the home. He was confused.

Anthony was still on the other end, calling out as he wondered why his brother stopped talking.

"Y/N? Hello? Hello?"

Y/N kept looking on in shock. Flashes of the night when the authorities pulled Dylan out of Woodsboro High after his killings popped into his head.

But what was unfolding wasn't happening in front of his school...it was his girlfriend's house. And with that...the feeling of dread was coming to him.

He slowly lowered his phone and muttered.

"What the...fuck?"