TATUM'S HEART RACES AS SHE ANXIOUSLY WAITS FOR ANY SIGN OF ETHAN. She feels like throwing up, her stomach churning with worry. As they all meet up with Kirby outside the abandoned movie theater, her anxiety only increases.
They weren't that far behind them when the train left. What the fuck was taking them so long?
''I cleared the whole place before you got here.'' Kirby announces, but it doesn't serve to calm Tatum down at all.
She locks the gate, and Tate feels like a lamb ready for slaughter. Just like Ethan said. ''So, this is the only way in or out. He steps in through the front door, both doors lock automatically, trapping him inside. We turn it into a kill box.''
Sam nods, but Tatum can see the uncertainty in her eyes. ''Weapons?''
Kirby is firm. ''One gun and I hold on to it. I'm the only one with a badge and that's the way it's gonna be. We're safe here.''
Tatum had a difficult time believing that, and by the way Chad and Tara looked at her, arms crossed and lips quivering, she wasn't the only one.
Sam swallows down an obvious complaint like a brick and adds, "I'll go check on Mindy, see if they're close. Tate, you heard from Ethan?"
She's been checking her phone every few seconds, hoping to see a message or a missed call from Ethan, but there's nothing. It's not like him to go radio silent for this long, especially in a situation like this.
She bites her lip nervously and shakes her head in response to Sam's question. Her heart is pounding as she speaks up. "No, no sign of him since before we left the station."
Tatum's mind races with possibilities, each one more terrifying than the last. She can't help but feel like something is terribly wrong, and the thought of losing Ethan is almost too much to bear.
She's lost too much. She's given too much of herself away.
Please, not again.
As Sam heads off to try to call Mindy, Tatum's eyes dart around the theater, searching for any sign of danger. She can't help but wonder if Ghostface is watching them, waiting to strike. She takes a deep breath and tries to calm herself down, but the fear and worry are too much to ignore.
Chad puts a comforting arm around Tatum's shoulder. "Hey, I'm sure they'll get here soon. We'll figure this out together, like we always do."
Tara nods in agreement, trying to reassure her friend. "Yeah, they're probably just caught up in something. No signal, maybe."
Tatum takes a deep breath and nods, trying to push her worries aside for the moment. She knows she can't let her fear get the best of her right now, not when they're all in danger. And this fucking place is not doing her mind any favors.
Her heart beats faster as she steps into the abandoned movie theater for the first time. She looks around and sees that the place is filled with memorabilia from the Stab movies and the real-life Ghostface killings that inspired them. The old Ghostface costumes are all lined up, each belonging to a different killer. Tatum can feel her stomach turn as she recognizes the costumes of the people who hurt her in the past.
She takes a step closer to the glass cases, looking at Richie's costume. It's the one he was wearing when he attacked her, leaving her with scars that she still carries to this day. Tatum shudders at the memory and clenches her fists, feeling a surge of anger rise within her.
Her eyes move to Amber's costume, the one that her former best friend wore while breaking Tatum's heart. The one she had on when she murdered her dad. Her dad, who was always happy to give Amber rides before she got her license. Her dad, who bought Amber birthday gifts every year. Her dad, who made waffles in the morning whenever Amber slept over even though him and Tate were more of pancakes type of people. Tatum's chest tightens, and she takes a deep breath to steady herself.
As she looks around, she sees drawings of Dewey, his old badge, his favorite gun and the clothes he was wearing when he died. Tatum can feel tears welling up in her eyes. She wants to break the glass and take everything, to claim what rightfully belongs to her.
Her dad doesn't belong underground, and he definitely doesn't belong in a shrine of everything he hated.
"This is insane," she says, her voice shaking with emotion. "A murder museum, seriously?"
Sam nods in agreement. "It's fucking sick," she says. "But we can use this place to our advantage, Tate. Remember that."
Tatum nods, trying to push her thoughts aside. She can't let the past consume her. They need to focus on surviving the present.
The girl watches as Sam picks up her ringing phone and answers the call, hoping that it's Mindy telling them that her and Ethan are right outside. But when Sam mouths "Detective Bailey" and her expression changes to one of shock, Tatum's heart sinks. Sam quickly runs towards the gated door, trying to open it, but it doesn't budge. Tatum feels a sense of panic rising in her chest.
"What the hell is going on?" Tatum asks, her voice trembling with fear.
Sam turns to her, her hand gripping a knife. "It's Kirby," she says, her voice urgent. "We need to get out of here."
Tatum feels a cold shiver run down her spine. Kirby? Her mind races as she tries to process the situation. Kirby, their friend and ally, had betrayed them? It didn't make sense.
"No, no, she's on our side," she says, hoping for an explanation.
Sam's eyes narrow. "Or she's just been playing us this whole time."
Tatum feels her heart drop as she realizes the gravity of the situation. Kirby, the person they trusted to keep them safe, was actually the one behind the mask. She looks around at the room filled with Ghostface memorabilia and feels a chill run down her spine. This was not a game anymore.
"There has to be another way out," Tatum says, her voice firm. "Even old shitty buildings have emergency exits, right?"
Before Sam can respond, all the lights in the theater suddenly go off. Tatum's heart races in her chest, and she feels a sense of dread wash over her. Then, a home-made movie starts playing on the old screen. It's a recreation of the original Ghostface killings, featuring Casey Becker being stabbed by the masked killer.
Tatum feels her throat constrict with fear as she watches the gruesome scene unfold on the screen. She can't believe what she's seeing. "What the fuck is going on? Who's doing this?" she asks, her voice trembling.
Sam looks just as terrified as Tatum feels. "I don't know," she says, holding her knife tightly in her hand. "But we need to get out of here. Now."
Tatum nods, feeling a sense of urgency creeping in. She tries to push open the gated door, but it still won't budge.
She looks around, trying to think of another way out. ''Shit, fuck, we should get Chad and Tara.''
Sam agrees, ''Go, go, I'll keep trying the lock.''
She hurries to the door where she last saw Tara and Chad entering, but as she opens it, she sees that both of them are breathing heavily and clearly shaken up. Suddenly, she spots Ghostface lying on the floor, apparently hit but not dead.
Tatum's heart races as she pulls Chad and Tara by the hands and screams for Sam. "We've got a big fucking problem!" she yells.
Chad and Tara stumble behind Tatum as she leads them towards Sam's voice. She can hear Sam's footsteps echoing in the darkness as she searches for the emergency exit. Tatum's eyes dart around, scanning the shadows for any sign of Ghostface.
"It's Kirby," Tatum says, her voice shaking with fear. "Don't make any questions, I don't know the answers."
Chad nods, his eyes wide with terror. Tara clings to Tatum's arm, her fingers digging into her skin.
As they approach Sam, she turns to them, a look of panic etched on her face. "She made the whole place a kill box," she says. "For us."
Tatum's heart sinks as she realizes they're trapped. "What do we do?" she asks.
Tara looks up, points and says ''We go up. There's fucking light coming through, see?''
Tatum follows with her eyes the direction Tara's finger was pointing at and sees what appears to be an exit sign. The four of them make a silent agreement to climb the old, weird looking ladder up to the other floor and start running towards it.
As they get closer, Tatum feels a small sense of hope. Maybe they can make it out of here after all. But before they can reach the exit, Ghostface jumps from behind the screen where the movie was playing and slashes Tara's arm. She falls to the ground with a thud.
Chaos erupts as Ghostface turns his attention to Chad, Sam, and Tatum. In the midst of the frenzy, Tatum feels a searing pain as the cold metal of the knife hits her face, but luckily, Chad pulls her back just in time and the only damage is to her brow. She can feel the warm, sticky blood flowing down her face, and it covers her eyes, making it impossible to see. She stumbles back, disoriented and blind.
She stumbles back as Chad confronts Ghostface with a huge camera, giving Sam and Tara a chance to run for cover.Tatum uses the sleeves of her shirt to clear the blood from her eyes in time to see Chad dealing a heavy blow to Ghostface. It was the opening they needed.
Chad helps Tatum up, and they follow Sam and Tara behind the curtains, running as fast as they can. She can feel the pain throbbing in her head, but she pushes through it.
Her heart pounds as they sprint through the narrow corridor, their breaths ragged and panicked. She can feel the hot breath of Ghostface on her neck as he chases after them, his knife glinting in the dim light. Chad throws objects at the figure in a desperate attempt to slow him down, but it seems to do little to deter him.
As they reach the room where Chad and Tara were before, Ghostface is right behind them. Chad tries to fight back, but it's clear that Ghostface has the upper hand. Tatum can see the fear in Chad's eyes as he fights for his life.
Without thinking, she jumps on Ghostface's back, hoping to distract him. But he quickly retaliates, plunging the knife into her thigh. Tatum cries out in agony and falls to the ground, clutching her bleeding leg.
Sam and Tara rush to her aid, holding off Ghostface as Tatum removes the knife from her thigh with shaking hands. Chad stays back to fight the killer, hoping to take him down once and for all.
But as the boy prepares to land a final blow, another Ghostface appears out of nowhere and stabs him in the waist. Tatum watches in horror as the two masked killers repeatedly stab Chad, his body convulsing with pain.
"Run," he orders, his voice weak and strained. Sam and Tara pull Tatum to her feet and they race towards the exit, tears streaming down their faces as they hear Chad's screams of agony behind them.
They burst through the door, gasping for air as they stumble out into the main room. Tatum's leg is throbbing with pain, but she knows she can't stop now. They have to get out of there.
The girls barely have time to process the third Ghostface jumping from behind the curtains before they are surrounded, each of the killers with a knife pointed at them. Tara and Tatum are crying and screaming, but Sam remains mostly calm. She looks around and spots three bricks on the ground, picks up one and hands the other two to Tara and Tatum.
The Ghostfaces seem ready to attack, and the girls raise their bricks in defense.
''Are you ready?'' Sam asks, a familiar edge to her voice. ''I need you two to be ready, are you ready?''
Tara quickly nods her head, hand gripping Sam's arm. Tatum takes a deep breath and screams out, "Come on, you motherfuckers!"
The girls freeze as they hear a loud shot. They turn around to see Kirby, battered and bruised, standing tall with a smoking gun in her hand. The three Ghostfaces, who were about to attack, run and hide.
Kirby cries out, "It's okay, it's okay!"
But Tatum and her friends are cautious. They pull back, with Sam shielding Tatum and Tara behind her.
"Stay the fuck back," Sam warns Kirby. Tara adds, "We know it's you, Kirby."
The blonde's face falls at the accusation, "One of them knocked me out." she explains, hurt and defensive.
Before the girls can even begin to process the situation, a male voice comes from behind them. Detective Bailey steps out with a gun in his hand, pointing it at Kirby.
"Stop. Step away from the girls." he says, his voice low and urgent.
Kirby raises her own gun in defense and demands, "What are you doing, Detective Bailey?"
Bailey's face contorts with emotion. "Did you kill Quinn? You killed my daughter?" he asks her, the gun still trained on her.
Kirby looks appalled. "Jesus Christ," she says, her voice shaky. "Whatever he's been saying to you, don't listen to him. He's probably the killer."
As Kirby finishes her sentence, a Ghostface emerges behind Bailey, knife raised. Kirby tries to warn Bailey, "Behind you!" she screams, but he doesn't react.
Bailey pulls the trigger and shoots Kirby three times. Tatum and the girls watch in horror as Kirby falls to the ground, blood pouring out of her wounds.
The girls cling to each other in terror as they try to process what's happening. Bailey is joined by the third Ghostface, who appears from the shadows, completing the trio. The two other masked figures stand behind him, like obedient puppies awaiting their next command.
"Good job," Bailey praises one of the Ghostfaces, then looks at the other for a moment before adding, "Both of you."
Tara's voice trembles as she asks, "You?"
Bailey's eyes gleam with malevolence as he responds, "Yeah, of course it's me. Honestly, I expected more from the three of you after what you did to us."
Tatum's mind races. What could he mean? She can feel a lump forming in her throat as she asks, "Us?"
Bailey's gaze lingers on one of the Ghostfaces, as if waiting for him to make a move, and Tatum can feel the tension building in the air. He slowly removes the mask, revealing a smiling Ethan.
Tatum's heart sinks as she recognizes the smile. It's the same smile Ethan had when he ordered cupcake pancakes and when she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him in her room.
She can feel her legs giving out beneath her as she crumbles to the ground.