Chapter Text
A loud screech of stifling air bursting from a pipe startled Sidney, blowing her nightgown around roughly. The air stank of rust, oil and machinery and the light was tinted red, straining Sid’s eyes. Her footsteps were slow and sluggish, bare heels scraping on the boiler grates. Sidney’s heart was pounding, which was strange, as she didn’t seem to be in any immediate danger. Another pipe burst and Sid jumped, constantly on edge thanks to the primal fear that had resurfaced in her brain. It seemed like her body was moving slower than her brain, which was trying to push her legs to pump and run.
There was a loud metallic wailing sound and Sidney span on the spot, chest heaving as her pupils shrank with fear. The noise grew louder and Sid’s blood rushed in her ears, heart echoing like thunderclaps inside her skull. Sid’s nose and mouth felt smothered by the humid, stinking air all around her and as she heaved in more laboured gasps of oxygen, her head still felt woozy. As another prolonged shriek sounded behind her, feelings returned to Sidney’s legs and she sprinted further into the dense tunnels formed by scrap metal and abandoned pipes. Soles worn raw by the jagged grates below her, Sid kept running as a horrible, crackling cackle sounded behind her. Sidney ducked behind a dirty cream sheet hanging from rails and crouched, hoping her shadow wouldn’t be seen as her calves began to seize up and her body flooded with a dangerous adrenaline rush.
‘Sidney…’ a raspy voice crooned from afar, echoes rebounding off shiny surfaces. Sid felt a shiver run down her spine as she heard clanking footsteps move closer. She was frozen in place, paralysed by fear and all she could do was hope her assailant was far enough away and that she was hidden well enough. The heavy footsteps moved away and Sid felt her muscles unclench slightly as the air she’d been holding in was exhaled in a shaky sigh of relief. Sidney took a moment to recollect her thoughts. Unfortunately, she took a moment too long.
Deadly sharp claws ripped through the sheet with an ugly tearing noise and Sid let out a scream as a mangled, burnt face leered at her from the newly opened rift in the sheet. Tiny beetles eyes winked at her from within the deformed crevices of that malicious face. Pushing to her worn feet, Sidney sprinted away, wrestling with the sheet that tugged and wrapped around her body as she tried to escape. When she untangled her limbs from the sheet she continued to sprint, hair whipping around her sweaty face, not daring to look back, just in case the attacker was right behind her, hot on her heels, poised to strike her down.
Sidney couldn’t die. She was young—only seventeen years old. She had friends, a loving father, a perfect boyfriend. Sidney couldn’t lose it all now. She turned a sharp corner, ending up in a narrow metal corridor, clouded by hissing steam and flashes of red light. When she finally turned to look behind her, Sid couldn’t see anyone following her, couldn’t hear the shriek of claws on metal. Walking briskly, Sid kept sparing glances over her shoulder. No one.
In front of Sidney’s face was a large metal panel with a hissing, spitting fire in a grate. The corridor had come to an abrupt stop. Shit. Sid thought, her heart picking up the pace again as she turned to face the entrance to the dead end. There was still no one there. Sid took a tentative step forwards, sweaty palms clenched around her nightgown. She felt dread claw its way up her spine, cold fingers brushing along the back of her neck.
Except the cold fingers weren’t fingers at all. They were needle-sharp points and they were tracing her shoulder and playing with the strap of her nightgown. Sidney shrieked, whirling to see a man with mottled, melted skin standing behind her, a monstrous grin stretching his hideous face.
‘Hello, Sidney.’ He whispered in her ear. His voice was raspy and it sent waves of terror down Sid’s spine. The man gripped Sidney, pulling her tight against his bony chest. He lifted his other arm into the air as Sidney let out a wail of horror when she saw that his hands ended in long, curved blades instead of fingers. These claws swung down towards Sid’s heart and she let out a final scream as they slashed through the thin white fabric of her nightgown, a hair’s width away from slicing right through her skin and plunging into her heart. The man drew back again, caging a screaming Sid against his body. He struck those claws down in an arch, and Sid could only sob and scream as cold metal meet warm skin—
‘Sidney!’
Sidney wailed, thrashing around in her bed covers as her father wrapped her in his arms, trying to restrain her erratic movements. Sid began to calm down, sitting stiller and crying into Neil’s chest, hot, fat tears streaming down her cheeks. ‘Sidney,’ her father crooned as he stroked her now tangled hair in an attempt to calm her. ‘Sid, it’s okay, you’re okay.’ He whispered over Sid’s gasps and sniffles.
‘Daddy,’ Sidney whimpered, still crying. ‘He tried to kill me, dad. I felt it.’
Neil Prescott shook his head, ‘It was just a dream, Sid. You were having a nightmare.’
Sid fumbled with the covers before she found the animal-like slashes just below the neck of her nightgown. Small pearls of stinging blood rested on her exposed collar. Neil shook his head again, sighing. ‘It wasn’t real, Sid. You need to cut your fingernails. Now try go back to sleep. I need to sleep too, you know I have my business trip tomorrow.’ Sidney let out a final sniffle and settled back down. ‘Sorry for waking you, dad.’ She said quietly, and Neil just patted her covered knee, offering a sad smile. ‘I’ll be right across the hallway, kiddo.’ He said as he closed the door. Sid turned, reaching to the wall behind her and pulled down her crucifix, hugging it to her chest as she squeezed her eyes shut, praying that she wouldn’t end up back in that red-painted boiler room.
___
Billy reclined against the back seats of the Maserati; legs spread in the footwell as Limp Bizkit roared from the tinny speaker. The air was much warmer than yesterday and the sun reflected off the red-painted bonnet, shining right into Billy’s closed eyelids. In the front seats, Tatum and Stu were bickering childishly while Randy crunched grapes loudly next to Billy’s head. They’d been sat outside the Prescott household in Stu’s new car for about half an hour, and Billy shuffled upwards when Sidney finally appeared in the doorway, shouting a goodbye to her daddy dearest. Tatum reached over to turn down the stereo, ignoring Stu’s protests.
‘Hey, Sid!’ The strawberry-blonde girl called as Sidney approached the car. ‘Hey,’ Sid said, but her response lacked the usual energy she possessed. Tatum looked over her shoulder and raised her fine brows at Billy. ‘What, why aren’t you saying hi, Billy?’ she asked, her voice bitter.
‘Hi.’ Billy greeted Sidney as she clambered over his legs to seat herself in the middle. Billy saw Randy inhale sharply as Sid’s knee brushed his and frowned, narrowing his eyes at the other boy. It wasn’t news to anyone that Randy had a massive crush on Sidney, but most of the time it was ignored. Somehow, Billy didn’t feel very hostile when it came to his girlfriend, but if he acted like he didn’t care, then someone would definitely point it out. Probably Tatum, that dumb bitch. Sid pecked Billy on the cheek lightly before leaning back. As Stu whooped, turning the music back up and Tatum and Sid began to talk, the car roared down the road at unnecessary speed. Despite being one of the hottest girls in their grade, Sidney was averse to anything more than some heavy kissing when it came to getting physical. Once Billy had attempted to grind on her leg and she’d jerked, accidentally kneeing him in the balls. Ouch. As far as Billy was aware, Randy was a virgin, while Stu had gotten to third base and further with almost every girl Billy knew. He also knew that his best friend was very sexually active with his own girlfriend, as Stu would recount nights with Tatum to Billy when they hung out sometimes, but always stopped after Billy seemed bored. To be completely honest, Billy wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to have sex with Sid.
Sure, she was hot, sweet, smart, but Billy just couldn’t get it up whenever he was alone, picturing her under him. He preferred to think about other things whenever he was jerking off.
Stu sharply pulled up outside Woodsboro high school and Billy jolted forwards, smacking his head against the back of Stu’s seat, teeth clamping together on his tongue.
‘Shit!’ Randy exclaimed as Billy pulled away, groaning and tasting rich copper in his mouth. Blood spilled over his lips and ran down his chin, staining the collar of his light blue polo shirt. ‘Stu!’ Tatum snapped, ‘This is what happens when you drive like a fucking maniac!’ She shoved a finger against her boyfriend’s sternum and Stu turned back to sheepishly smile at Billy, who glared at him from under heavy, dark brows. ‘Sorry, Billy.’ He apologised. Billy reached forward and slapped him hard on the side of the head, his other hand cupping his own chin. ‘Idiot!’ he snarled, leaning back as Stu whimpered. ‘I said I was sorry!’
Sid put a hand on Billy’s back, leaning in too close. ‘Are you okay?’ she asked softly. Billy grunted. ‘I’m fine.’ He said, pulling away from her as he wiped his chin and licked the blood from his lips. He saw Stu watching him, legs strangely crossed and scowled at him once more. ‘Idiot.’ He repeated as he climbed from the car. Sid and Randy followed, then Tatum, then Stu. Sidney linked his non-bloodied fingers with hers. ‘Are you sure you’re good?’
Billy sighed. ‘I’m fine, Sid,’ he held her hand tightly, giving it a reassuring squeeze. ‘What’s up with you? You’re quiet as hell this morning. Look like you’ve seen a ghost.’ He countered, watching Sid shuffle uncomfortably at his question. Her grip on his fingers loosened. ‘I…’ she began, trailing off as though she couldn’t find the words. ‘I just didn’t get a lot of sleep, that’s all.’ Billy nodded. ‘Nightmares again?’ he inquired. Sid had been plagued with horrible nightmares ever since her mother had been murdered brutally a year ago. Sid tilted her head. ‘Yeah, but not the ones about…my mom. This was different. It was so real, Billy, I could’ve sworn I was really there.’
Stu slung an arm over Billy’s shoulders. ‘Once I had a dream like that. Jamie Lee-Curtis was in my bedroom naked.’ He sighed dreamily. Billy shoved his arm away. ‘Shut up, asshole.’ he growled, before looking back to Sidney. ‘What was your nightmare about, Sid?’ asked Billy, aware that Stu was now listening in too. ‘I was in a boiler room.’ Sid said, ‘And there was this man chasing me. He wore a hat and a stripey sweater and his skin was all burnt up. But that wasn’t the scariest thing, Billy. Instead of fingernails, he had knives. Big, horrible sharp knifes and he nearly killed me with them.’
Beside Billy, Stu tensed. ‘Y’know, Sid, I had a dream just like that the other night. I just remembered now you’ve mentioned that weird knife dude.’ He said, leaning around Billy. Sid’s eyebrows shot up and her eyes widened to the size of dinnerplates. ‘Do you think it was the same guy?’ she asked, her voice trembling a little. Stu opened his mouth to speak, but Billy cut him off sharply, ‘No. You had a nightmare Sid, and now Stu’s just trying to scare you. Because he’s a dick.’ He said, giving Stu’s side a jab with his elbow. When Sid looked away, Billy realised she didn’t believe him. ‘Even if it was just a nightmare,’ she looked up at him, shaken, ‘can you come over tonight? My dad’s out of town, I would just feel safer if you were there with me.’ Any normal teenage boy would be thrilled at the thought of spending the night at his girl’s house while her dad was away, but knowing Sidney, she’d probably make him sleep on the couch. ‘Sure.’ He replied dryly. It was at least better than staying at home with his dad. ‘But Billy—’ Stu whined, ‘We were supposed to hang out tonight!’ he wore a pout on his face as his fingers brushed Billy’s wrist. ‘You can come over too,’ Sid said, ‘And Tatum, as long as you guys don’t have sex. We can all sleep at mine. The more the merrier, right?’ she continued, linking Tatum’s arm. ‘What about me?’ Randy asked Sid hopefully. ‘You’re not invited.’ Billy snapped. Sid nudged his shoulder. ‘Of course he is. You can come too, Randy.’ As soon as she’d finished talking Billy groaned. Sid nudged him again, harder this time. ‘Don’t be mean.’ She said playfully, making room for Randy to walk in their line.
The school day passed without any major excitement. Randy blushed furiously while explaining a catalyst to Sid in biology, in gym class, Billy hit Steve Orth in the face with a basketball and Stu nearly shat himself laughing until Steve threatened to wring his neck. When the final bell rang, Billy met up with Sid and Stu outside school. Tatum had to go home to help her brother with something first, and Randy had a shift at the video store until seven.
Billy felt a little prickle of uneasiness whenever he ended up at the Prescott house. It was moderately sized, bigger than Billy’s own home but smaller than Stu’s house, and was painted white and black. It had far too many rooms and a large, open balcony that an intruder could breach the house via with no problem at all. The windows were easy to access and even easier to climb through, as Sid had a habit of opening the one in her bedroom to ‘let in some air’ and then forgetting about it. Overall, the house was clean. Too clean for Billy’s liking. Whenever he went over to Stu’s, there was always an empty pizza box hurled on the floor in his room or a sticky playboy poking out from under the bed. Sidney’s room was just too pristine. No secrets on show, no personality whatsoever. Maybe that was why Billy climbed through Stu’s window more than he did Sid’s.
They sat in the living room for around two hours, eating and watching TV and talking about horror movies. Tatum eventually showed up with her boombox when the sun was beginning to dip below the horizon, painting the sky a neon orange. Billy, Stu and Tatum herself downed an entire freezer-full of Neil Prescott’s expensive beers between them and began dancing unsteadily to Stu’s Weezer tape while Sid giggled from the couch, where she sat, stone-cold sober, knees pulled up to her chest. After another hour of wild thrashing around, Stu was trying to convince Sid to let him and Tatum “sleep” in the same room, Billy had an arm slung around his girlfriend’s waist and was staring up at the ceiling while ‘Say it ain’t so’ played for the fifth time that evening. Tatum was preoccupied, explaining that she was sleeping over at Sidney Prescott’s house to her worried mother over the phone. As yet another hour passed, Tatum had moved to Stu’s lap on the couch and he was seemingly trying to eat her neck, hands splayed on her thighs. Billy wondered if he should show some more affection to Sid. He settled for slipping an arm around her shoulders so she could lean into his side and nuzzle her face into his collarbones while he stared at Stu and Tatum over her head. The way Tatum was laughing softly and whispering into Stu’s ear while he grinned against her skin and moved his face closer to her tits made Billy’s skin crawl as if dozens of bugs had wormed their way into his muscles and infested his tissues. He was almost grateful when Sid removed her body from under his head suddenly, peering towards the door. Billy shifted as her weight was lifted from him.
‘What?’ he said as Sid moved towards the door. She stopped to squint out into the night through the square windowpane.
‘I heard something outside.’ She responded, pressing her palms to the cool wood of the front door. Stu and Tatum had separated themselves and wore twin looks of confusion. Tatum clambered from Stu’s legs and walked to stand by Sidney.
‘What is it? Is there someone out there?’ She asked the other girl. Fear scrawled across her entire face, she turned to the two boys seated on her sofa, who glanced briefly at each other before she spoke.
‘Billy, I think there’s someone out there.’ She said, her voice shaky. She was probably still a little rattled from her dream last night. Billy’s eyes narrowed. He pushed up from the couch and walked into the kitchen area, pulling a cooking knife from the wooden block. When he returned to the living room, knife clutched in his steady fist, Stu’s eyes flashed with exhilaration as Tatum gasped. Moving past the girls, Billy threw open the door and stepped out into the dark night, the other three teenagers hot on his heels. The evening air was lukewarm and cicadas buzzed in the grass. Billy took a slow step, face set into a mask of predatorial concentration as he held the knife aloft, watching the dull flash of the metal.
‘Who’s there?’ He snarled out into the night. Stu, Tatum and Sid pressed close to him, Sidney’s cold fingers wrapped around his bicep, Stu’s chest brushing his back and Tatum’s shoulder nudging his own. ‘Come out before I call the cops.’ Billy tried to no avail. There were no noises. No movements. He dropped the knife to his side and turned to his friends with a sigh and a cocked eyebrow. ‘There’s no one out here.’ He told all three of them. Sidney’s eyes widened, whites flashing in the darkness.
‘Billy—’ she began before a hand clamped down on Billy’s shoulder. Billy erratically shoved his shoulder backwards and up as Sid shouted something incoherent. The meat of his shoulder connected with bone with a crack and Billy span, flashing the knife in the face of his shadowy attacker before plunging it forwards with a feral growl. He missed and felt the blade impale fabric. Shit. It was hard to see in this light. He drove his knee into the figure’s crotch, enticing a groan and a whimper from the other person as they doubled over. Billy delivered a solid boot into their chest, sending them sprawling onto the floor. Diving on top of them, straddling their thighs, Billy bared his teeth and prepared to thrust the knife into the thrashing person’s body, already picturing their dark blood painting his hands, the blade in his fist, his shirt, crusting on the toes of his boots until—
Arms wrapped around his torso and hauled him from the figure. Billy let out another growl, twisting in the vice-like grip of those arms as he was crushed to another body and warm breath panted by his ear.
‘Billy! Billy, fuck—ow! Billy, stop, man!’
It was Stu. Billy inhaled and smelt the comforting stench of that shitty cologne he always wore. The knife dropped from his fingers and his chest heaved with ragged breaths as Stu continued to exhale heavily by his ear. Billy felt his muscles unclench and Stu finally let him go, Tatum picking up the knife in case Billy were to reach for it again. Stu laughed nervously. ‘It’s Randy, Billy. It’s just Randy.’
Now his eyes had concentrated again, Billy could see that the person he had almost murdered was in fact, Randy Meeks, who was being helped up by Sidney. Billy was half expecting Randy to start swooning at Sid actually touching him for more than five seconds at a time, but instead, he was staring at Billy as Sid examined the new hole in his brown suede jacket and made sure the knife hadn’t grazed his side. It hadn’t. Instead of blushing and giving Sid fuck me eyes like he usually did, he was looking right into Billy’s face, eyebrows drawn up and lips pressed into a thin line. His pupils were reduced to tiny pinpricks by fear. It was the face that Billy saw in horror movies when the victim had just been attacked by the killer. It made Billy angry. He made to step towards Randy and Stu stepped with him, ready to grab him, muzzle him like a rabid dog. That made Billy even angrier. He turned on his best friend with murder in his dark eyes.
‘Back off! Fuck’s sake, Stu!’ he yelled, and Stu threw his hands up in faux innocence. ‘And you,’ Billy hissed, turning around and grabbing the front of Randy’s shirt with both hands. ‘What the hell is wrong with you, sneaking up on me like that? In the dark!’ he seethed, watching Randy’s eyes widen further with the new threat. ‘I didn’t know you had a knife!’ Randy replied frantically, as Billy yanked him closer until their noses were almost touching. He saw his own reflection in those ice blue irises. Jesus. He really did look like a psycho. He released Randy with a huff, turning to Sidney to see what she had to say about the situation, but her eyes were frozen in pure, primal fear. Billy didn’t care. He really didn’t.
Tatum had moved from Stu’s side to Randy’s, bombarding him with ‘are you okay’s and ‘he didn’t hurt you, did he?’, all while glaring at Billy. Great. Tatum already hated Billy for no reason. He’d once asked Stu about it and Stu had replied that Tatum thought Billy was pressuring Sidney to have sex with him. And now she thought he was a violent delinquent as well. Brilliant. Billy turned on his heel once more and stormed back into the house, slumping down on the couch like a sulky child. The others re-entered the house slowly, Randy keeping a fair distance from Billy. Sid surveyed the tense room before faking a yawn.
‘I think we should all get some sleep.’ She said with a brittle smile. ‘Tatum, you can take guest bedroom, Billy, Stu, you guys can take my dad’s room, Randy, you can have the pullout in my dad’s study. That good with everyone?’
Four heads nodded. Stu swept Tatum into a passionate goodnight kiss before she headed through the house to the guest room, and Billy stood in front of Sid as she refused to meet his eyes. He stroked her face with gentle fingers but she flinched away. Billy felt irritation curl in his ribs. ‘Goodnight?’ he tried softly, but she still wouldn’t look at him. ‘Night, Billy.’ She replied. Realising she wasn’t going to show any affection, Billy planted a dry kiss on her cheek that she immediately walked away from, rushing up the stairs, leaving the three boys in the living room. Normally, Randy probably would’ve smirked or made some snarky comment, but instead, he just cast one last jittery look towards Billy then followed Sid upstairs. The balloon of annoyance wedged in Billy’s ribcage swelled and he strode briskly away from Stu, who had just opened his mouth to speak.
Neil Prescott’s room was far from cozy or homey. It was stark blues and greys with a conjoined bathroom and nothing interesting in sight. No magazines of foxy ladies, no TV, no phone, not even any good books. Billy entered the bathroom—it was all smooth white tiles and clean surfaces. Billy didn’t think he’d ever been in a room with less personality. The mirror was spotless, and Billy peered at his own face over the sink. God, he looked a mess. Well, he always looked like shit, but with the amount of alcohol he’d consumed that evening, he looked like a trainwreck. His lank brown hair was even greasier than normal, the dark circles under his eyes were heavy and visible. Despite being considered one of Woodsboro high’s most attractive boys, having a gorgeous girlfriend and most of the girls in his grade drooling if he even looked their way, Billy didn’t think he was good-looking at all. Sure, he had a good body, he was told that a lot. Toned chest and stomach, notable muscles if he flexed his arms hard enough, and apparently—the best ass in school. But his face was awful. Randy had once told him that he looked like a starving racoon and Billy hadn’t been able to shake the image since. His eyes were too big and too dark, his hair was always greasy no matter how often he washed it, his forehead was at least two inches over average length and his teeth were crooked as hell. He really had no idea how anyone could want to look at a face like his whenever they wanted a romantic moment or a good fuck, never mind a banging hot person like Sidney or—
‘Hey.’
Long arms wrapped around his waist as a warm face nuzzled into his neck.
Stu.
Stu Macher was perfect. The most perfect person Billy had ever met, in fact. He had a perfect body and perfect lean muscles and perfect golden-brown hair that looked good however he styled it and perfect reptilian blue eyes and perfect straight, white teeth that he always showed whenever he made a stupid joke. He had rich parents and a big house and a cool sister and a popular girlfriend and was liked by pretty much everyone. Stu linked his fingers at Billy’s middle and started mouthing at the soft skin behind his ear. Billy let out an exasperated grunt and shifted away, moving out of the bathroom. Stu followed him.
‘What? What did I do?’ he asked, moving closer to Billy again. ‘Go away.’ Billy snapped harshly. Stu sidled up behind him again, sliding his arms back to their original position and inhaling against Billy’s shoulder. ‘Nuh uh,’ he protested as Billy squirmed half-heartedly against him. ‘You agreed to share a room with me, Billy.’
Billy rolled his eyes and moved his shoulder away from Stu’s stupid face. ‘I didn’t agree to being fondled by you, you homo. You’ve got Tatum for that, haven’t you?’ His voice came out more venomous then he’d meant, and he felt Stu droop a little against his back. ‘I don’t wanna fondle Tatum,’ he whined, ‘I wanna fondle you.’ Jesus. He sounded like a little bitch. Billy tried to shrug out of Stu’s grip again. ‘Should’ve thought about when you were trying to digest her on the couch earlier.’ Billy retorted, twisting to look Stu in the face. Big mistake. Those huge blue puppy dog’s eyes stared down at him, and Billy felt himself thaw a little. ‘’M sorry.’ Stu moped, looking over to the other side of the room. ‘And you yanked me off Meeks earlier.’ Billy added, fixing Stu with an intense glare. ‘Should’ve let me stab the creep.’ He continued. Stu met his gaze again. ‘I should’ve.’ He agreed, face splitting into that batshit crazy grin that made Billy’s heart speed up. ‘But…then Sid or Tate would’ve called the cops, and you’d be in a cell. And that would be shit.’
‘Yeah.’
‘Yeah.’
‘Wanna fuck?’
Billy shoved Stu away from him, sitting on the bed to undo the laces of his boots. ‘Pervert.’ He snapped in Stu’s direction and was met with a smirk. ‘You really do have a one-track mind, freak.’
The bed shifted as Stu flopped down on the covers. ‘Mmm, call me that again, baby.’
He received a knock to the head for that. Billy squinted at his open face. ‘Dickhead.’ He insulted the other boy. ‘Speaking of dicks, if we can’t actually fuck, can I just like, suck you off or something? Or you could give me a quickie.’ Stu suggested eagerly.
‘No.’
‘Aw.’ Stu pouted, yanking off his sweatshirt and belt so he could strip down to his vest and boxers. Billy pulled his own jeans off and tossed them across the floor before climbing into the bed, facing away from Stu. Predictably, Stu climbed in behind him and looped an arm over his waist, kissing the back of his neck quickly before properly settling down and pressing his face into Billy’s hair. ‘Get off me, asshole.’ Billy murmured, but they both knew he didn’t really mean it. Stu pressed closer. ‘Love you too, Billy.’ He said, and Billy could practically feel the smirk spreading across Stu’s face as he closed his eyes.
___
Sid opened her eyes. She sat up in her bed, suddenly not feeling very tired at all. The air around her smelt strangely sulphuric and was a lot warmer than she remembered. Almost humid. Her bedroom window showed that it was still night outside. Only she remembered closing the curtains before she went to sleep. It was crystal clear in her head. There was a tap, tap, tap noise. Sid groaned, it was probably Randy trying to talk to her through the wall.
‘Not now, Randy,’ she moaned, ‘tell me in the morning.’
The tapping continued. Sidney turned and realised it wasn’t coming from the next room over, but outside. Someone was tapping on her window. But how? It was a storey high. She could remember countless times that Billy had scaled the drainpipe and almost broke his neck trying to keep his balance as he climbed through the frame, but this wasn’t Billy. Billy was probably asleep down the hall. On the other hand, maybe it was Billy. Maybe he’d decided to go outside and then come back in via her window. He’d been unpredictable today. First, drinking all of her dad’s beer with Stu and Tatum—he barely ever drank—and second, the way he’d attacked Randy earlier had been quite frankly, terrifying. Sid had no idea her boyfriend, her considerate, calm Billy, could ever hurt someone the way he’d tried to in the front yard. It was scary.
‘Billy?’ Sidney called out, climbing from her bed to walk towards her window. ‘Billy, stop. It’s not funny. Just go to sleep.’
She looked out the window. There was no one there. Something creaked downstairs. Sid jolted and headed to the top of the stairs. She couldn’t see anyone from where she stood, but she knew she’d heard someone or something moving down there. Sidney descended the stairs quickly, spurred on by fear and adrenaline. When she entered the kitchen, there was no one. Sid checked the front door was locked. It wasn’t. She opened it and stepped out, propelled forward by some unseen force. A figure stood at the end of the drive, strawberry blonde hair still even in the breeze.
‘Tatum? Tate, what are you doing out here?’ Sid shouted, hoping the other girl would hear her. When Tatum didn’t respond or even move, Sidney walked from the doorstep, bare feet scraping against the ground. Her heart clenched and unclenched sharply with each step as she walked closer and closer to her friend. ‘Tate, c’mon!’ she implored, reaching out to grasp her friend’s shoulder.
‘Hello, Sidney.’ A voice crooned. It was raspy and distorted, and Sidney jerked her hand away, losing her breath. It was the same voice that had haunted her dream last night. She backed away as Tatum’s body melted and mutated into a grotesque twig of a man wearing a wide brimmed hat and ratty sweatshirt. The monster-thing turned to face Sid, black beetle’s eyes glimmering in the dark. He raised a knife-adorned hand and waved to her. ‘Watch this, Sidney.’ He grinned, before raising his other hand and slicing one of the fingers clean off with his blades. Yellowish, acidic pus squirted from the stump in a fountain and Sid tried to not to gag as she turned and sprinted for her life. The man didn’t run, only walked, but his arms stretched horribly and reached for her. The distance between Sid and the house only seemed to grow as she ran faster, whimpering in fear. It felt like she was sprinting through thick molasses, and the man was only getting closer. She could hear his horrible chuckles in her ears. Sid tripped on a rock as she finally reached the house again, screaming as she went down.
‘NO!’ she wailed as the man leaped on top of her, wrestling her wrists and her knees and plunging his blades into her thigh. She let out a hideous—
___
Scream. Randy turned from where he clutched his newly filled glass of water. The glass slid from his hand and shattered on the floor as he hurled Sidney’s bedroom door open, letting out a wail of terror as he saw what was inside. Sidney was screaming like a maniac, thrashing around like a fish out of water in her bedsheets, thick, dark, red liquid spilling from her body and staining the sheets. Her thigh had been sliced completely open, revealing raw muscle and fatty tissues that oozed as she contorted.
‘Jesus! Sid!’ he cried, throwing himself across the room to clutch at her convulsing body. ‘Sid!’ he repeated, crazed, trying to stop the blood flow from her leg and now her stomach with the bedcovers. Her lower abdomen had been slashed ruthlessly and Randy caught a glimpse of wet pink and brown intestines and nearly vomited. Her blood seeped onto his hands while Randy fought the urge to gag and hurl right there and then as his stomach turned at the sight of Sidney’s insides shifting beneath her split skin. Randy pulled his hands away momentarily, heaving in breaths, he tried to focus.
‘Tatum! Billy! Stu! Jesus Christ! God! Help!’ he yelled down the corridor. Suddenly, Sidney’s body fell from the bed. Randy leaned over, and the body was dragged by an invisible force up the wall and into the corner of the room. Sidney’s eyes were closed and now both teenagers were screaming. Why hadn’t anyone come running yet? Randy let out a choked scream as Sidney’s body spurted more blood, a grotesque fountain. Then she fell still, slammed down into the floor like a ragdoll. Her blood stained the white surfaces of her bedroom. ‘Sid?’ Randy whimpered. There was no response. Sidney’s body was limp and motionless. She was dead. And Randy was stood in her bedroom, just across from her dead body, covered in her blood. He had to leave.
___
‘Do you hear that?’
Billy’s eyes sharpened in the dark as Stu’s arm tightened around his midsection. The taller boy hummed against his hair. Billy pulled his body from Stu’s arms and sat upright, gaze darting around jumpily in the dark and ears picking up every noise of protest Stu made. ‘Shut up.’ He snapped, giving Stu a quick jab in the ribs. Down the hallways, someone screamed. Billy hadn’t imagined it because Stu grunted and sat up too, slumping over Billy’s shoulder, frowning.
‘Wassat?’ he slurred, still half asleep by the sound of it. Billy began to get up and Stu followed suit, clutching his wrist with warm fingers. Billy found that he didn’t mind. Another scream sounded. Sidney. And then another. Randy. That creep. That fucking freak. Billy was going to rip out his jugular. He ran down the hallway, dragging Stu roughly behind him. They skidded into Tatum, who had just bounded up the stairs as more screams sounded. Tatum practically slammed her body into the door and it opened instantly, all three teenagers piling inside frantically. Stu saw it first. He froze, blue eyes going wide and whispered— ‘Holy shit.’ Softly. Tatum followed his eyes to the other side of the room and screamed, long and loud, before bursting into hysteric tears and launching herself over the bed to shake the bloody heap of flesh on the floor. Billy saw last, not screaming or saying a word, only standing there in horrified silence. His brain couldn’t comprehend that the lifeless corpse on the floor was the girl he’d kissed goodnight only a few hours ago. Stu looked up at Billy from where Tatum was howling into his chest, getting snot all over his wifebeater and swallowed thickly.
‘Where’s Randy?’ he said.
Because Billy had heard Randy scream. And Sidney’s bedroom window was wide open, bloody handprints still sticky on the glass.