Since their friends wouldn’t be there for a while, Mark started playing Left 4 Dead in his living room and Lindsey wandered to the guest bedroom. She started setting things up the way she wanted them, and mentally prepared herself for the fact that she might not even make it through the night.
Her cell phone sat on the desk, right next to her suitcase and she wondered if it might ring. This would be the perfect time to terrorize her, she was all alone and secluded from most of the rest of the world. As if reading her thoughts, her phone buzzed violently, making her jump. The call was from restricted.
“You have perfect timing,” She snapped into the phone.
“I’ll have perfect timing when I-“
“Let me guess… cut a bitch? The bitch being me of course. You’re terrible at death threats, it’s rather pathetic,” Lindsey said. She didn’t feel too scared anymore, because whoever this was didn’t seem to know what they were doing.
“Listen to me you little whore, this isn’t a joke. You and all your friends will be swimming in your own blood tonight, understand?” Ghostface yelled.
“No you listen, you pathetic little excuse for a horror villain. I know more about this genre than you could ever wish to. I know the rules, I know how it works. You die, I live. Understand?” She asked back.
“If you know so much, why don’t we try our hand at a little game? You answer the questions correctly, or I kill the next person I see,” Ghostface offered. Lindsey laughed.
“If I didn’t think I would win, I’d tell you to keep a mirror handy.”
“First question. What was Wes Craven’s inspiration for Freddy Krueger?” Ghostface asked.
“Well it depends on whether you’re asking about the inspiration for his powers or the inspiration for the character himself,” Lindsey pointed out.
“The powers are too easy, how about the character himself?”
“Well there was a kid named Fred who bullied Wes when he was younger. And then there was a man that Wes saw standing outside his window. He smiled at Wes with a kind of sick joy that he was scaring this little kid. Freddy had that kind of joy while killing children and a very unsympathetic background story, making him a rather viscous villain,” Lindsey explained quickly.
“Take that much time again and I’m not even going to bother with the questions, I’ll just kill. Question two, what kind of car is Christine?”
“While Stephen King must have gotten his facts mixed up while describing the car, I’m going to go with what was said and not seen. It was a 1958 Plymouth Fury,” Lindsey said.
“Name 5 horror films that came out in 1981.”
“The Funhouse, Graduation Day, The Burning, My Bloody Valentine, and introducing an iconic horror figure, Friday the 13th Part Two,” Lindsey said, feigning boredom.
“Who provided the voice of the demon that possessed Regan in The Exorcist?”
“Mercedes McCambridge,” She answered, “Are you finished? Because this is slightly embarrassing.”
“How about we get more modern? Who stars in the American remake of a Japanese film, Pulse?”
“Veronica Mars and Damon Salvatore. Or, the answer you probably want, Kristen Bell and Ian Somerholder.”
“What throwback to-“
“Hatchet, The House of the Devil, Piranha? I’m owning your shit right now, you might wanna quit. And you don’t have to warn me, I know. Tonight I die and it’ll be gory and you have a knife, blah blah blah. Goodbye now.”
She hung up her cell phone and stuck it in her pocket. She walked to the living room and sat down next to Mark.
“Hey buddy,” She said, bumping her shoulder against his.
“Hey there darling,” He said in an odd voice. She smiled at him.
“If anything happens to either of us tonight, I want you to know this. I love you,” She said.
“Well that’s very flattering, but I have a girlfriend,” He joked.
“You know how I love you; I don’t have to explain it.”
“So if I was the killer, you’d pull a yellow crayon speech?” He asked.
“Nice reference, but no,” She said.
“We’re going to live through this,” He said.
“We’ as in our friends as a whole, or “we” as in you and me?” She asked.
“You and me,” He said.
“BFF’s,” She said in her squeakiest voice. He laughed at her and turned off his Xbox. They both stood up right away when the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it,” Officer Groff yelled from the front of the house.
“I forgot he was here.”
“Me too.”
“That’s probably Jonah and them,” Lindsey said, “We should go see them.”
Mark sighed and followed her to the front door of his house.
“Hey, I’m just here to see my friend and my possible girlfriend. If I’m a murderer, she’ll never love me back,” Jonah explained to Groff.
“But what if I’m into that kind of thing?” Lindsey exclaimed. Jonah winked at her.
“Well then I’m Michael Myers, Linds,” He said. She smiled and pecked him on the cheek.
“Yay, zombified boyfriend,” She smiled.
“Um, hi you guys.”
“Hey Nicky,” Jonah said.
“Oh shut up,” Nicky said to him. Lindsey hugged her.
“It’s good to see you,” She said.
“How was being held prisoner?” Mark asked, giving her a hug after Lindsey.
“Well the great escape was exciting. I’ve never snuck out before,” Nicky said excitedly.
“Whoa, snuck out?” Officer Groff said. We all turned and looked at him.
“No, yuck pout,” Mark said.
“Duck snout,” Lindsey said.
“Fuck trout,” Jonah smirked. Officer Groff shook his head in confusion and walked out of the room muttering about how he used to be like us or something.
“Gosh, it’s been hell. My mom hasn’t even left the house to shop,” Nicky said.
“That sentence says loads about your home life,” Lindsey joked.
“Must be hell, staying at home, swimming in money bags,” Jonah said. Lindsey laughed but Mark and Nicky looked offended.
“Oh, would you like my mom? Because you can have her, I’m sick of the overprotective bullshit,” Nicky shot back.
“Good point,” Jonah said. The doorbell rang again and in walked Eric and Jessica.
“Hey,” Eric said, nodding at all of them, but looking at Lindsey last. She shook off her creeped out feeling.
“Hey red herring,” Jonah said. Lindsey glared at him.
“What? It’s not like I’m saying he is the killer,” Jonah said.
“Good because he isn’t,” Nicky said, “Eric couldn’t hurt a fly.”
“Well, we all go a little mad sometimes,” Jonah said.
“So who wants to play Yahtzee?” Mark said loudly.
“Nobody fun,” Jessica said.
“Look, I just wanna know if there’s booze. Tonight can’t be perfect without booze and sex,” Jonah said.
“Wait, what?” Jessica said, “Since when do we have heavy drinking and sex at our get-togethers?”
“Since we’re gonna die tonight, so why not try everything?” Jonah said. Lindsey and Mark gaped at him. “Of course I figured out that it was tonight, this is the perfect set up. Marks parents are gone, the closest neighbors are an acre away, and we have very unimpressive police protection.”
“Then why did you invite everyone over?” Lindsey exclaimed. Jonah shook his head.
“I didn’t invite everyone, Nicky did,” He said.
“I did not! Eric did,” She yelled.
“Jessica invited me,” Eric said calmly. Everyone looked at Jessica.
“I got a text from Mark,” She said, with a crazed look.
“Um, I haven’t touched my phone since lunch,” He said, “It should still be in my bag.”
“What a twist,” Jonah snarked.
“We should all go check,” Lindsey said, “That way we know Mark’s not lying.”
“Gee, thanks for having faith Linds,” Mark said sarcastically.
“I’m just looking out for you,” She replied. Jessica grabbed Mark’s hand and led them to the den where Mark left his school bag. They all followed and when they got there, they agreed Lindsey should go through his bag.
“Bad boys, bad boys,” Jonah sang. Lindsey checked every pocket and opening in the bag.
“It’s not here,” She said, “Are you sure you left it in here?”
“Positive,” He said, “Wait, check the pocket on the back.”
Lindsey opened this zipper and looked inside. Her eyes widened and her mouth formed an “o” shape.
“What the fuck?” She yelled, pulling a bloody knife out of Mark’s bag.