The Riley Curse | Ethan Landry

11. New Place, New Rules

"Gale Weathers," Tatum said and Ethan just had a wide-eyed look. "Oh," Ethan said, now understanding the hostility and Mindy stood up. "Glad we got that out of the way," Mindy said.

"Says you. You didn't have to see her," Tatum said.

"Oh, I wish I did so I could watch you yell at her. Was it entertaining?" Mindy asked to Sam and Tara. "Yes, it was," Tara said.

"I assumed. Okay, everyone needs to listen up! As terrifying as this all is, I'm actually glad I get a chance to redeem myself for not calling the killers last time. It's fine. Okay. The way I see it. Someone is out to make a sequel to the requel," Mindy said, now changing it to the subject at hand.

"Um, what's a requel?" Anika asked while raising her hand. "You're beautiful, sweetie. Let's hold questions until the end," Mindy said.

"Stab 1 took place in Woodsboro. Stab 2 took place in college," Sam said.

"So we think that the killer is trying to copy the movies?" Tara asked.

"That's one possibility. Heroes now in college: Check. Suspicious new characters brought in to round out the suspect list and/or body count: Check, check, check, and check," Mindy said while pointing at every new person in front of them.

"I don't like this," Ethan said.

"But it can't just be about Stab 2," Mindy said.

"Why not?" Tatum asked.

"It would make sense if this were just a sequel. But we're not in a sequel, because nobody just makes sequels anymore. We're in a franchise! And there are certain rules to a continuing franchise," Mindy said.

"I had a feeling," Sam said.

"Here we go," Tatum said and Mindy shot her an annoyed look, Tatum reacted just by smiling at her. Mindy rolled her eyes and continued talking.

"Rule one: Everything is bigger than last time. Bigger budget, bigger cast, bigger body count. Longer chases, shoot-outs, beheadings. You got to top what came before to keep people coming back," Mindy said.

"Beheadings?" Chad asked.

"Beheadings. Rule two: Whatever happened last time, expect the opposite. Franchises only survive by subverting expectations. If the killers last time were whiny snowflake film nerds with Letterboxd accounts instead of personalities, you can bet the opposite will be true here. And rule three: No one is safe. Legacy characters? Cannon fodder at this point. Usually brought back only to be killed off in some cheap bid for nostalgia. It's not looking too good for Gale and Kirby," Mindy said.

Tatum started to get worried about what Mindy was saying. The last original legacy character is her mom. As much as she dislikes her right now, she didn't want her to die. Then there's Kirby, which she didn't want to die either. Then Mindy looked at Tatum. "Sorry, Tate. But that's not even the worst part!" Mindy said.

"This is the part where she tells us the worst part," Chad said while taking notes.

"The worst part is franchises are just continuing episodic installments designed to boost an IP. Which means main characters are completely expandable now, too. Laurie Strode, Nancy Thompson, Ellen Ripley, Sally Hardesty, Jigsaw, Tony Stark, James Bond. I mean, even Luke Skywalker, all died so their franchises could live on. That means it's not just the friend group. Any of us could go at any time, especially Sam, Tara, and Tatum," Mindy said.

"Fantastic," Tatum said sarcastically.

"Wait, any of us?" Ethan asked.

"Yeah," Mindy said.

"Am I in the friend group?" Ethan asked.

"Yeah," Mindy said.

"Am I, like, one of the targets?" Ethan asked and Mindy nodded. "Am I gonna die a virgin?" Ethan asked and Tatum tried to hold back her laugh. "That was a weird overshare. But it brings us to our current suspects: Ethan. The shy, dorky guy who no one suspects because he's so shy and dorky," Mindy said.

"Why am I on the suspect list? Because I'm randomly Chad's roommate?" Ethan asked.

"Roommate lotteries can be juked. Which leads me to my next suspect: Liam. Classic jock stereotype on steroids and Vicky's boyfriend. Quinn. The slutty roommate. A horror movie classic," Mindy said.

"'Sex positive.' But thank you?" Quinn said.

"Mm-hmm. How did you come to live with Sam, Tatum, and Tara?" Mindy asked.

"I answered their ad online," Quinn said.

"Okay, say no more. You've already implicated yourself enough," Mindy said.

"It was an anonymous ad, Mindy. And you know we vetted her. Plus her dad is a cop," Tara said.

"And that makes it more likely that she's the killer because having a cop dad is a great cover. Do you not remember how these movies work, Tara?" Mindy asked.

"Is she always like this?" Quinn asked and Sam shrugged. "And finally Anika," Mindy said and Anika blew a kiss at Mindy, who returned it. "Never trust the love interest," Mindy said.

"Okay! So, we have our rules and we have our suspects," Sam said and she was cut off by Ethan. "Wait, wait. What about you guys?" Ethan asked.

"I mean, I think it's pretty safe to rule out the six of us who went through this last year in Woodsboro," Mindy said.

"Agreed," Chad said.

"Uh, not agreed. What if the trauma you all went through caused one or more of you to snap?" Quinn asked.

"Yeah, or the fame you got from the killings made you thirsty for more. I mean, let's be honest here, some of the theatrics online about Sam are-" Before Liam could finish Tara cut him off. "Don't you fucking dare," Tara said.

"Okay, she's right, though. I mean, face facts, if we're all suspects, you're all suspects," Anika said.

"She's got a point. If it is a requel to a requel, whoever is doing this could be any of us," Tatum said as she realized that some of the people she's closest to could be the only people who could get Sam's license.