scary movie.
chapter two
THE FIVE STAGES OF GRIEF were often experienced by those suffering a great dolefulness. The heaven-sent soul awarded to her by some higher consciousness had been shattered from the inside— out. Cherry had only fell victim to two of the stages, Bargaining and Depression.
Bargaining, a phase of bliss. The brain is controlled by a temporal moment of clouded judgment, to wish that the moment of pure agony had been washed away with the sand and the ocean. In the moment of life's questioning comes the capture of the space between both the imperial realm and the eclipse of the burning sun, more simply known as Heaven and Hell. One's common sense is confided to that similar of the void, limbo, dependent on neither the sadness or the acceptance. Limbo keeps a firm hold on the souls lost in an incomprehensible way, crossed between the safe heaven, in one case acceptance, and the damnation, and the other pain.
Then comes the dreaded level, Depression. It appeared, from the redness that coated the whites of her eyes, that the loss she suffered had taken a heavy toll on her heaven-sent soul. Cherry had endured torture from her weighted heart since the news story. After the pained stage of Bargaining, the brain shifts from its stage of self-administered state of Limbo and moves into the present realm of being. The hole left behind from the unknown is replaced by the grief. A victim of heart-break experiences similar feelings, the lack of love left behind creates a gaping black hole needing to be filled with something tragic, unadulterated sorrow. Though it might seem the agony and depression is immortal, like a recurring dream too vivid to escape from. Eventually, when the tears have all dried out and your chest falls due to the intense weight, the sorrow ends and you can't cry anymore.
Cherry Valentine was all cried out, she had spent the entire night moulded in the comfort of her mattress with empty chip packets surrounding her. The dish of heart-shaped suckers now replaced with opened wrappers.
The girl wondered into school with her bag tucked firmly on her right shoulder, thankful that the heavy amount of concealer she'd applied to her reddened face hid the damage of the night before. News vans and reporters littered the campus, they were like leeches, sucking as much information from grieving and naive teens as possible.
"Cher!" A voice called out from somewhere behind her, the voice belonged to Sidney, and beside her was Tatum.
Cherry smiled as Tatum threw her arm around the girl, "Do you believe this shit?" She asked, her question directed at both the girls.
"What happened?" Sydney pondered.
"You— You don't know?" Cherry questioned and her voice cracked in between her sentence, a familiar prickling feeling in her eyes.
Tatum pulled Sydney away from the herd and Cherry followed in pursuit, "Oh god! You don't know?" Tatum repeated, the girl shook her head, "Casey Becker and Steve Forrest were killed last night."
"No way!" Sydney exclaimed, the blonde girl nodded her head along with her words.
"And not just killed, Sid!" The blonde continued, "We're talking splatter movie killed-split open end to end." Her enthusiasm made a strange feeling brew in the others stomach.
"Casey Becker? She sits next to me in English." Sydney told them, turning to her other friend, "Cherry, weren't you guys friends?"
The brunette went to answer, her mouth already opened when Tatum interrupted, "Not anymore! Her parents found her hanging from the tree— Her insides on the outside."
Cherry shook her head, pulling a heart-shaped sucker out from her pocket and unwrapping it, "Do they know who did it?"
Tatum had an older brother who was on the police force and if there was one thing everyone knew about the blonde girl, it was that she couldn't keep anything from her friends. Especially important police business.
The friends headed up the steps, Tatum answered, "Fucking clueless-they're interrogating the entire school. Teachers, students, staff, janitors—"
"They think it's school related?" Cherry interrupted, "Everyone loved Casey!"
"They don't know." Tatum shrugged, the three of them now stopped at the top of the steps, "Dewey said this is the worst crime they've ever seen, even worse than—"
"I think I hear the bell!"
Cherry liked to follow routine, nothing left behind or out of place, she attended class and made sure to arrive on time and never fall behind. As cheer captain, her schedule shifted often but she made sure to catch up. Everything was normal, aside from the police interview and void presence in cheerleading practice.
As tradition, her friend group coupled around the water fountain on the corner of campus. It was expected of them to be spotted there, so like clockwork that's where the friends crowded. Cherry sat with her head rested against the shoulder of Billy Loomis.
"Hunt? Why would they ask if you like to hunt?" Tatum asked her boyfriend as she popped a grape into her mouth.
"Becuase their bodies were gutted." Randy answered, simply. Both Cherry and Sidney flinched at the mention of the murder.
Billy had felt the girl jump from her skin when he spoke, "Thank you, Randy!" He noted, rubbing the skin of her upper arm.
"They didn't ask me if I like to hunt." Tatum pointed out.
Stu looked to the rest of the group, "That's because there's no way a girl could've killed them.
Tatum scoffed at her boyfriend, "That is so sexist! The killer could've easily been female— Basic Instinct!"
Cherry felt the the bile that formed at the bottom of her stomach which threatened to rise up through her throat. She lifted her head from his shoulder, her palm pressed against the bottom of her midriff. "How do you gut someone?" The words slipped from her mouth.
Stu stared straight at the girl, Billy watched him intensely, "You take a knife and you slit them from groin to sternum." His girlfriend punched his shoulder, "Ow!"
"It's called tact, you fuckrag." Billy glared at his blonde friend and threw his around the girl leant against him.
"Hey, Stu. Didn't you date Casey?" Sydney asked.
The boy shot his attention over to her, "Yeah." He admitted before continuing, "For about two seconds."
Cherry felt her annoyance grow through her veins,
as her warmed blood traveled around her body.
The thought that someone would discard someone they use to know, the very same person who suffered a terrible demise. A tragedy.
"Yeah, before she dumped you for Steve!" Randy laughed.
Tatum dropped her jaw and hit her boyfriend on the arm, "I thought you dumped her for me!" She accused him.
"I did!" Stu defended himself though it was clear he was lying straight through his teeth, he turned to Randy, "He's full of shit."
"Are the police aware you dated the victim?" The boy fought back.
Randy Meeks was the biggest horror fanatic in Woodsboro, he knew every possible loophole and rules needed to survive the genre. Often, his over-excited mind would race and over-stimulate itself. In other words, he lacked the ability to think before he spoke.
"What are you saying?" Stu asked, "That I killed her or something?"
From a young age Cherry had always been sensitive, it rooted from the kindness that plagued her heart from birth. Never once had her heart been tempered with, her father made sure of it, he was her miracle. As the talk of the murder of her old friend continued, her irritation concerning the people that surrounded her grew, as did the stinging in her eyes.
"Could you cut it out?" Her face was still kind -hearted, just eager. The boy smiled, apologetically.
Before the situation turned to awkwardness, Tatum spoke to clear the name of her boyfriend, "Stu was with me last night!"
"Was that before or after he sliced and diced!" Randy attempted at a joke, Cherry scoffed.
She sat up from against Billy, the agitation won over her conscious and she threw her bag over her shoulder. The friends looked at her in question, watching as she stormed away from them without another word.