CURSED; a fear street trilogy

Chapter six: Shadyside Killers

MY BLUE BUTTON UP SHIRT WAS NO LONGER TIED TO BE CROPPED BUT RATHER MESSILY HANGING DOWN MY TORSO. I had gotten out a first aid kit, wrapping a bandage around my hand quickly, not bothering to do it properly as we had bigger issues here. Simon closed the blinds, all of us gathered in one room.

"It's doesn't make sense. It's...it's not possible." Sam stated, "bullets didn't stop her." She sat down on the couch by Kate.

"Amazing observation." Kate retorted sarcastically.

Deena was pacing over to Simon who was locking the door. "Who the hell was that?" She asked him.

"How the hell should I know?" He exclaimed back, "she...I don't...she was hot! I don't know! The bitch seemed normal!" He paced to the other side of the room, veins popping out of his neck.

"Yeah well I hate to break it you, but normal bitches don't bleed black fucking blood!" Deena raised her voice.

The tensions were high, we were all scared and confused and none of us knew what do to about any of it.

"Well, she was hot and normal until she attacked me with a fucking razor blade!" Simon almost shouted back, throwing his hands down tensely.

Josh's head popped up from where he was sat. "Wait. What...a razor?" He queried.

"The kind that was used for old-timey shaving." I told him, my arms crossed over my chest as I leant on the doorframe that led to the other room. "Or, in her case, slitting her-"

"Wrists. She slashed her wrists." Josh finished, making us all stare at him in surprise and bewilderment. "Was she singing something? Was she singing a song, like an oldie...like an oldie song?" He asked, rushing his words.

"Jesus, Rain Man. How the fuck do you know that?" Simon asked the boy, looking at him as though he was crazy.

The lot of us went down to the basement where Josh had tons of photos and articles pinned up, one about different murders. I walked around, looking at each one.

As he pulled a certain article from the wall, I followed him to the table where everyone else sat. I knelt down beside Kate, opposite Simon. Not caring for the cups on the table, Josh pushed them away to clear space for what he was about to show us.

"This is Ruby Lane." He said, pointing at a picture of the girl that attacked Simon and I. "The girl who attacked you."

"Holy shit!" Simon exclaimed as he took a proper look at the photo.

"She sang as she murdered her boyfriend, her friends then she killed herself. Slasher her wrists." Josh explained to us all.

My fingers held onto the paper as I slid it over to Kate and I, having a closer look. "Jesus." Kate muttered, "yeah, why didn't I see this on the news?"

"Because it happened thirty years ago. 1965." Josh told us before pacing over to his wall, taking other articles from it. He rejoined us, placing all the papers on the table. "Ruby is one of Shadyside's killers, just like Skull Mask."

He handed the article on Skull Mask to Simon.

"I mean, Ryan Torres. Look, 1978. Sixteen years ago." He put down an article on the Camp Nightwing massacre. "'Masked psycho murders kids at-'" josh read.

"Camp Nightwing." Kate cut him off, finishing his sentence. "Yeah, my mum's sister was there. That screwed my family up for a long time."

"1950. Harry Rooker," Josh showed an article, "local milkman slashes a bunch of housewives. 1935, Humpty Dumpty killer." Josh continued slamming articles on top of articles. "1922, Billy Barker. 1904, Grifter guts girls, and on and on. It happens in Shadyside over and over. Normal people turn into psychos."

I looked an the different articles and pictures, one picture showing a drawing of a man with his eyes gone and what appeared to be blood dripping from them. "What the fuck?" I muttered under my breath at the sketch.

"That's the pastor, Cyrus Miller." Josh said, his voice calmer. I slowly looked up at him. "1666. He was the first one recorded. He, um... killed kids and cut out their eyes."

Sam looked tired, red bags forming under her weak eyes and her skin was pale, almost sickly. She hastily stood from her seat on the floor, leaving the room with no hesitation. Deena followed after her.

I picked up the Camp Nightwing article again, briefly reading over it. My ass sat on my feet as I let my body drop.

"My aunt and uncle from my mother's side were there too." I said out of the blue, the other three's eyes now on me. My head turned to look at Kate with sad at eyes. "At Camp Nightwing." Kate returned the sad look with a just as sad nod. "I'm not sure my mum ever recovered. It was brutal."

"None of this is random." Josh told us, pointing his finger on the articles. He ten placed a sketch of a hanging girl. "It's Sarah Fier. She's turning Shadysiders into Killers."

"Do you really believe that?" Kate queried the boy. "I-I mean no one actually things that this witch shit is real."

"Yeah." Simon agreed, "it's something babysitters make up to scare kids."

Josh placed a hand on Simon's shoulder. "No, no. Just listen to me. 1666, Sarah Fier was hanged for witchcraft, fact. But ever since she was executed, she's been possessing people, turning them into killers, to take revenge on the town. It's like the nursery rhyme."

"Yeah. Yeah." Simon nodded along.

Looking at the picture of a hanging Sarah Fier in my hands, I began to recite the rhyme. "Before the witch's final breath, she found a way to cheat her death. By cutting off her cursed hand, she kept her grip upon our land. She reaches from beyond the grave to make good when her wicked slaves."

"Yes, exactly. Don't you see what's happening to us?" Josh queried, "this is all proof. Shadyside isn't just some hotbed for psychos." He stood up, "all these massacres are connected to Sarah Fier. The witch's curse is real!"

"Fine, let's assume that the witch has been possessing people for some sort of messed up vendetta." Kate said, looking up at the boy. "This isn't the same as the mall massacre. Something different is happening to us. Something way worse. Okay, we have two of her killers after us and both of them are dead. Why is she so mad at us?"

"I saw her." Sam stated, now standing in the doorway with Deena. "Last night, I don't...I don't know, you know. I thought I hit my head...It was...it was her."

"I saw the witch."