e i g h t
___________
"YOU GUYS look awful," Ross jokes, teasing the three kids who by now had returned to the hotel to shower and come back.
"Oh, thank God," Alex hugs him tightly.
"How are you feeling?" Jamie asks.
"I've been worse. Leg's killing me though," he jokes. "Sorry. Not funny."
"No," Alex deadpans. "We're gonna go talk to Dewey. See if he-"
They all glance at her phone, alarmed by the quick ring of it as it lights up.
CHAD 🤞🏽
hey sam asked for you, eli and
jamie to come over to mine
ok still at the hospital
see you in a few
"Chad wants us to come over," she looks up. "Well, actually, Sam does."
"We should-"
"Go," Ross shakes his head. "You say Mindy's a verified film buff, right? I guarantee you she's gonna give a spiel about the rules."
"Rules? Dad, are we 5?" Jamie rolls her eyes.
"The rules aren't the important part. It'll give you a chance to really consider who's a suspect. And considering you'll all be together, it's better than if you stayed here in this creepy hospital," Ross assures.
"That means we have to leave you in the creepy hospital," Eli crosses his arms.
"How about this? You guys go, have your conversation, and come straight back."
"I'll stay," Eli volunteers. "I don't like your odds right now and I have a feeling the killer is gonna use the fact that all of us are gone to attack you."
"Okay. Fine. We need to talk anyway."
"Jamie, come on. Keys?" she glances at Eli, who tosses his car keys to her.
"Crash her and I'll kill you myself."
"Shut up," she holds up a middle finger, walking out of the room.
"What's wrong with Jamie?" Ross asks as soon as the door closes behind them.
"What?" Eli sits down.
"What's wrong with her? She's not all... bouncy."
"Nine hours ago, we thought you were gonna die. That tends to have a negative effect," he sarcastically remarks.
"Okay, smartass. You guys had an argument, didn't you? She had that "Alex yelled at me" look on her face. And don't pretend you don't know the look."
"Alex's voice doesn't go above a certain octave. She's like a mouse."
"Except for when you two piss her off, especially Jamie," Ross retorts.
"We didn't yell, we sternly reprimanded her."
"For?"
"She disappeared last night before you got stabbed. Went out with Amber. She doesn't get how serious this is, you know? It's just another one of her careless Jamie moments."
"She's not careless, Eli. She's afraid, just like we are. It's not her fault she expressed that differently."
"But what if Amber's the killer, huh?"
"Truthfully, none of you would be having this problem if you didn't come here in the first place."
"I know that, Dad. I am so aware of it that it kills me," he sighs. "I don't need another reminder."
"I'm sorry. I didn't want this for you. I know your mother didn't," he looks out the window, guilt in his tone.
"D-"
"It's true. I try my hardest to be as good for you guys as I can, but I guess I just need her. I'm not mad at you, I just... Wanted better."
"What... What would she do right now? If she were in our shoes."
"I don't know. When it happened at Windsor, she did all she could. She stayed alert, watched out for Sid, and fought. She always fought," he smiles fondly. "Even over the little things."
"I really miss her," Eli sighs. "I don't think I ever say it."
"You don't have to. I can tell."
He quirks his eyebrows at that, not expecting him to notice, most people didn't. Most people assumed he was just one of those cold, indifferent people by nature.
"When my parents died, I was a lot like you for a while. Mean, cold, unwilling to let anyone in."
"What changed?"
"I realized that it doesn't make it hurt less. That I could pretend I didn't care all I wanted, it wouldn't bring them back. And then I met your mom and things really went into perspective."
"You are such a cheeseball," Eli snorts.
"Only for your mother," he corrects.
A silence passes over them, which Eli breaks by saying, "I didn't shoot. I had the gun in my hands and I didn't get him."
"Don't beat yourself up about it. Lexi is okay. And it's better you shot the wall than accidentally hit her."
"I should've shot," he messes with his hands, eyes focused on the EKG next to his father's bed.
______
Soon enough, they arrive at the Meeks home, knocking on the door which prompts Martha to open it with a smile.
"Oh, Jamie, Alexandra, how are you?" she immediately pulls them in for a hug, a certain sweetness in her tone that's more than welcome.
"We've been better. How are you, Mrs. Meeks?"
"I'm alright. I hate what's going on in town, but I am taking life day by day."
"Join the club," Alex nods.
"So have you started looking at schools?" Martha questions. "I hear that brother of yours is a genius. What school is heading to again? Cornell?"
"Columbia."
"Columbia, right," she shakes her head in pride. "Your mother would be so proud."
"Yeah, yeah, she would," she smiles sadly, Jamie no longer meeting the woman's eyes. "Chad told us to meet him here...?"
"Oh, come on, they're right in the living room. Let me know if you need anything," she walks them in, allowing them to find a spot on the couch.
"How's your dad?" Amber asks, and everyone nods along with inquisitive looks.
"Um, he's awake. He's on bed rest though."
"Hey, Amber, did you see anyone suspicious walk into the hotel when you got there?" Alex narrows her eyes, hoping the girl saw something.
"Nope. It was empty, considering it was 4 AM," she snorts, making Alex sigh in frustration.
"Where's Sam?" they question, just as a knock sounds at the door.
Shortly after, she, Richie, and Dewey walk in much to the girls' surprise.
"How do you know so much about the Stab movies?" Richie asks Mindy, seemingly continuing a conversation from the door.
"Runs in her family."
"Dewey?" Jamie whispers to Alex, who tries to confirm their suspicions by glancing into the hallway.
"Randy was our uncle, RIP," Mindy explains, leading them to the living room. "You said to bring everybody."
They all wave at the woman, Alex and Jamie sending warm smiles Dewey's way.
They hadn't heard from him in years, really, except for the yearly gift box he'd send on each of their birthdays. Other than that, he was basically a ghost.
"Ooh, suspects," Martha comes back in with snacks, placing them down before turning to Dewey. "My brother would be so proud."
"Hey, Martha," Dewey hugs her.
"Dewey, hi! You look..." She gives a look of concern masked with politeness. "How's the wife?"
"Okay, Mom, we're good. Thank you," Chad cuts in, spotting the trainwreck beginning to happen.
"Alright kids, have fun," she walks off, giving Sam the floor to speak.
"I asked Mindy to call everybody here because I have something to tell you," the brunette sighs, leaving them completely unprepared for the bomb she was about to drop.
"Well don't leave us in suspense," Jamie leans forward.
"I'm Billy Loomis' daughter."
Alex then nearly chokes on the sip of water she was drinking, eyes wide at the revelation.
Jamie gasps as well, "You're what?"
"He was cheating on Sidney Prescott with my mom at the time of the murders. She got pregnant and kept it a secret for years. I found out when I was 13," Sam explains. "I've never told anyone and I think that's why the killer is after us. Oh, and you're all suspects."
"Nice little footnote there," Alex remarks.
"Wait, let me get this straight. You're saying that you're the daughter of Billy Loomis, and what, one of us is the killer?" Chad attempts to clarify.
"The killer told me he knew my secret. He attacked Tara to lure me back here," Sam continues.
"But then why immediately go and murder some douche-nozzle that was stalking Liv?"
"And why does it have to be one of us? What about Deputy Dewey here? Maybe he's the killer," Wes accuses.
"Dude," Jamie hits his arm.
"No offense."
"None taken, but what's my motive?"
"You got stabbed a billion times, got dumped by your famous wife, and crawled into a bottle. I think it's safe to say you're on the suspect list," he bluntly lists off.
"Well, maybe you're the killer. Because that cut deep," Dewey chokes up.
"Asshole," Alex shakes her head. "And the douche-nozzle is not some random, okay? I did some research last night. His name is Vince Schneider, AKA Leslie Macher's son. Stu Macher's sister."
"Who's Stu Macher?" Liv asks, earning several looks.
"He was Billy Loomis' accomplice. Also our mom's ex."
"Real loony tune," Dewey adds.
"Which means all the attacks so far have been on someone related to the original murders," Alex notes.
"Oh, my God. He's making a requel!" Mindy shouts. "Or a legacyquel. Fans are torn on the terminology."
"Please speak English," Chad sighs.
"Seriously," Jamie tilts her head.
"Remember the Stab movie that came out last year?"
"Oh, yeah, the one the Knives Out guy directed, right? I actually really liked that one," Liv smiles.
"Really?" Alex furrows her eyebrows.
"Of course you did. You have terrible taste," Mindy retorts.
"I hate you."
"The point is, the hardcore Stab fans hated it. You go on 4chan and Reddit and all they're talking about is how Stab 8 pissed on their childhoods. How they crammed in social commentary just to elevate it. How the main character is a Mary Sue."
"What's a Mary Sue?" Richie asks.
"You really don't wanna know," Wes shakes his head, Alex pointing to him in agreement.
"What's wrong with elevated horror? I mean, Jordan Peele fucking rules," Amber argues.
"Obviously, but that's not Stab. Real Stab movies are meta slasher whodunits, full stop."
"Come on, it's just a movie."
"Oh, here we go," Jamie grimaces.
"To some people, the original is their favorite thing in the world. The movie that made them love horror. The one that Mom and Dad showed them when they were ten that bonded them together. And God help anyone that slightly fucks with that special memory, who makes a movie they think disrespects that."
"I don't understand how anyone could be that attached to a horror movie of all things," Jamie shakes her head, making Mindy turn to her in shock.
"You don't like horror movies? Your mother is the final girl and you don't like horror movies?" she blinks rapidly.
"Sue me."
"Alex..."
"I don't mind them," she throws her a bone. "But they're not my favorites."
"You're killing me. Really, you are," she holds her heart dramatically, returning to the previous topic. "Our killer is writing his own version of Stab 8, but doing it as a requel."
"Which is?"
"See, you can't just reboot a franchise from scratch anymore. The fans won't stand for it. Black Christmas, Child's Play, Flatliners, that shit doesn't work. But you can't just do a straight sequel either, you gotta build something new. But not too new, or the internet goes bug-fucking nuts."
Alex looks around as Mindy gives her monologue, trying to catch anyone looking out of place or uncomfortable.
"It's gotta be a part of an ongoing storyline, even if the story shouldn't have been ongoing in the first place. New main characters," she points to the teenagers. "But supported by and related to legacy characters. Not quite a reboot, not quite a sequel. Like the new Halloween, Saw, Terminator, Jurassic Park, Ghostbusters, fuck, even Star Wars. It always goes back to the original."
That makes Alex a little uncomfortable because as far as it seemed, she and her siblings were as close to the original as you could get. And well, being targeted by a serial killer simply because your mom was the final girl was not a comforting idea.
"Are you telling me that I'm caught in the middle of fan-fucking-fiction?" Sam angrily questions.
"Not just in the middle, Sam. You're the star. Or they're the stars," she points to Jamie and Alex. "I can't tell yet."
"So, not to put too fine a point on it, but according to requel rules, who's next?" Liv sits up, a curious look on her face.
"Going by the pattern, whoever it was has to be connected to someone who came before," she responds, making everyone look at Dewey.
"I'm starting to regret coming here."
"Jesus, my mom was a character in one of them," Wes looks up in fear.
"No one cares about the shitty inferior sequels, Wes. You're safe. You two might wanna call your brother, though. And with Randy as our uncle, you and I are probably screwed," she turns to her brother.
"Wait, what?"
"Or you're the killer and this whole elaborate monologue is just to cover your tracks," Richie accuses.
"Oh, woah, new guy, pipe down," Alex glares.
"I think it's pretty clear who the killer is by now."
"Who?" Sam widens her eyes.
"You. It makes perfect requel sense," the curly-haired girl says matter-of-factly.
Jamie shares a look with her sister, and both of them begin to connect the dots a bit. It did make sense, if they really were the targets here, because who would want to murder them more than the daughter of the man their mom helped kill 25 years ago?
"That actually does make a lot of sense," Chad agrees.
"Fuck this," Sam scoffs, storming out of the house.
An awkward silence then casts itself over the group, as they all disband.
"Alright, um, we're gonna head back to the hospital, but Dewey, do you have time to talk?" Alex quietly asks.
"Of course," he leads them outside, where Richie was aimlessly standing around.
"I don't trust that guy," Alex narrows her eyes as they reach the truck.
"Me neither," he agrees. "There's a cafe down the road. We can go there."
"Great, we'll follow you," Jamie nods, unlocking the Jeep as he pulls out of the driveway.