CHAPTER ONE
Sidney Prescott sat bolt-upright in her bed. She quickly reached over into her bedside table and grasped a kitchen knife, sliding out from under her covers and crossing over to the closet. She yanked it open, knife at the ready. The closet was empty. There was the scratching noise again. It was coming from the door. Sidney flung the door open, yet no one was there. She stepped out into the hallway, looking each direction. There was no one there. Sidney turned to the stairs again, and then she got hit. A man rammed into her and the momentum knocked her off her feet, sending her slamming into the wall and then rolling down the stairs. Sidney hit the wall at the bottom of the stairs, knifeless. She flipped her head up just as Ghostface came at her, knife raised. "No!" Sidney screamed, rolling out of the way.
The knife buried itself into the wall, but Ghostface yanked it back out again with no struggle. Sidney stumbled to her feet, backing away. And then she bumped into someone else. Startled, she spun around, facing another ghostface. Sidney backed against the wall, the two Ghostfaces facing her. She looked from one to the other, and then darted towards the stairs, shoving the first Ghostface out of her way. He went crashing into the front door. "Dewey!" Sidney screamed as she raced up the stairs. She grabbed the knife from the hallway and locked herself inside her room. "Dewey! Help me!"
The Ghostfaces began using their knifes to hack at the door, sending splinters everywhere. One of them was kicking at the door, rattling it. "Dewey!" Sidney screamed, sinking to the floor. The door suddenly flew open, and the male Ghostface rushed her. He grabbed her arm and pulled her forward, sending her crashing into the hardwood floors. Not letting go of her, he swung her back onto her feet and sent her into the wall in one swift movement. A knife buried itself into her spine, and she screamed out in pain. "DEWEY!"
Ghostface pushed her onto the bed, face-first. He yanked the knife out and then turned her back onto her back. The second Ghostface, who seemed feminine, held Sidney's arm to the bed. "NO!" Sidney screamed, succeeding in getting out of the woman's grasp. She kicked out at the male Ghostface, hitting the right place. She rolled backwards and off the bed, hitting the ground. Sidney grabbed the pencil cup on the computer desk beside her and grabbed a pencil out of it, throwing the rest of the cup at the female Ghostface.
Using the second-long distraction, Sidney jumped to her feet and threw her arm down, aiming at the female's heart with the tip of the pencil. The male Ghostface stopped her, slamming into her and sending her into the bookcase. Shelves and books crashed into the floor as Sidney was shoved into the female killer, who grabbed her around the shoulders and threw her into the hallway. They pinned Sidney against the wall, and their knives glistened with blood as they brought them down into Sidney's stomach. The male Ghostface slammed his fist into Sidney's right cheek, sending her to the ground. Sidney rolled onto her stomach to see the Ghostfaces removing their masks.
She was speechless.
Billy knelt beside her, and stroked her hair. Jill stood above her, smiling, arms crossed. "You don't think it's over, do you, Sidney?" Billy abruptly stopped stroking Sidney's hair, and then smiled.
"It's never over, Sid. You should know that by now."
With that, he brought his knife straight down into Sidney's heart. Before she left the world of the living, Sidney seen her mother standing beside Billy. And then Sidney sat up, screaming. Once she realized it was a dream, she rested her forehead on her knees, trying to calm herself. "Sid!" Dewey screamed, bursting into her room. She quickly lifted her head as Dewey began scoping out the room with his gun. No one was there, so he crossed over to her and sat on the bed in front of her. "Sid?"
"I'm so sorry, Dewey. It was a dream, but it felt so real." Sidney buried her face in her knees, letting the tears fall. Gale crawled onto the bed to sit beside Sidney, grabbing her hand.
"I know it's hard, Sidney, but you have to let it go. Me and Dewey have," Gale said, trying to reassure Sidney. It didn't work. Sidney raised her head.
"How? How can you say that to me? I can't let go of this. My family is dead, Gale! My friends! Everyone that has ever been important to me is dead!"
Gale and Dewey shared a concerned look. "I know, Sid, I know. But you won't ever be able to be yourself again if you're thinking about this all the time. We can live, Sid. If it happens again-"
"Which it won't," Gale quickly inserted.
"Then we will survive. We've survived this long. And you kick ass, Sidney. We can live. You've got to believe that it's over. That it really is over."
"But it's not, Dewey, don't you see that? It's never over. It will always come back! Always! Maybe not this year, maybe not next year, but some day we will not make it. Something will take us down!"
"Gale, no," Sidney refused, pushing the cart forward. Gale stepped in front of the cart, not budging.
"Come on, Sidney. You can't be alone forever. You have to try and find someone."
Sidney rolled her eyes and shoved Gale out of the way, continuing down the aisle. "Every time I let someone in, every time I get close to someone, they die. Have you noticed that everyone I've ever loved is buried in a cemetery somewhere? My father, my mother, Billy, Tatum. God, the list could go on forever!"
Sidney continued on. "You think I don't know that, Sidney? I was there when it happened! But you have to realize that it isn't your fault. It was Roman's fault, and he's been dead for years!"
Sidney spun on Gale. "Was it Roman's fault when Jill decided to try and kill me, and all of those innocent people? Was it Roman's fault when aunt was killed? Was it Roman's fault when you were stabbed in the fucking shoulder?"
Sidney left Gale standing there, speechless, but she soon caught up. "Roman began the cycle, Sid. But since there's no one left to want to kill you, you can relax! You know you like Kincaide, Sidney. You went on one date, it was great, and now you're just giving up?"
Sidney paused, and then looked at Gale. "It's better to not have love than to love and have it be taken away." Sidney started away again, and this time, Gale didn't follow.
"Dewey, I need you to help me here. Sidney won't listen to me. I think she'll listen to you," Gale pleaded, following Dewey around the police station. Dewey handed a file to a worker and turned to her.
"If she doesn't want to do something, she won't, Gale. You know that just as much as I do. Wait for her to come around," Dewey advised, turning away and retreating into his office. Gale put her hands on her hips, sighed, and then raced out of the office as she got an idea.
"Sidney, there's someone here for you!" Gale called up the stairs as she let Mark Kincaide inside the house. Sidney came down the stairs, pausing at the last step as she saw Mark. He smiled at her, flashing his pearly-white teeth.
"Hey, Sid," Mark greeted, hands in pockets.
Sidney flashed a death glare at Gale, who bit her lip and walked away. "Mark, what are you doing here?"
Mark's face twisted in confusion. "Gale told me that you wanted to go on a second date."
Sidney crossed her arms. "Uh, Mark, could you hang on for just a second?" Sidney left Mark standing there in the entrance hallway, bursting into the kitchen. "Gale!" she exclaimed, making Gale jumped and nearly cut off her finger as she sliced carrots.
"What?" Gale exclaimed, acting irritated that she was interrupted from cooking.
"Why did you set me and Mark up? I told you I didn't want to go on a date!"
Gale set the knife down and grabbed Sidney's arm, leading her back to Mark. "You like him, Sid, and he likes you. Take a chance and try to find love. You haven't had a boyfriend in more than a decade, Sid. You need someone other than me, Dewey and your dog."
Sidney let her arms fall to her sides, and she sighed. "Fine. Fine, I'll go. But if he drops dead, I'm going to kill you myself."
Gale, ignoring Sidney's comment, shoved Sidney out of the kitchen and into Mark. "So, are we leaving?" Mark asked, gesturing to the door.
Sidney glanced at the kitchen door, and then back at Mark, and she nodded. I'm going to kill Gale for this, she thought as she left the house.
As Sidney sat in the car beside Mark, she stared out the widow, searching the shadows for a costumed, knife-wielding killer. No such luck. Despite hoping that this relationship would work out, Sidney couldn't help but hope that it wouldn't. She didn't want another person to die because of her, and that always seemed to happen to the people she was closest to. As they pulled into the parking lot for a chinese restaurant, Sidney cast a glance into the backseat to make sure no one was lurking there, waiting to strike. When they got out of the car, she continued to check for killer maniacs. "Sid, it's over. You don't have to worry anymore," Mark reassured her as she double-checked the locks on the car and even looked under it.
People were staring at her as she circled the car, constantly re-checking the same areas. Mark grabbed her arm, snapping her out of her cycle. "Sid, come on." Sidney glanced back at the car, and then reluctantly, and some-what willingly, followed Mark into the restaurant.