Hey guys, here we're kicking off season two of MTV's Scream with some small recaps and moving through the full first episode in this first chapter. I hope you all checked out the sneak peaks and trailer I posted and will enjoy this story. As is obvious, I own nothing but my OC and her whole backstory. Without further ado, read up! And as always with this story, it's also posted up on Wattpad under the same title with pictures, trailer links and cast lists.

CHAPTER ONE

WELCOME BACK

Athena stalked through the brush at the dock, hearing the crickets underscore Piper's villainous monologue as she raised her hands to stab Emma. She raised her arms up and shot without hesitation, nailing the monster right in the forehead.

She heard Emma's whimpered thanks as she raced back to the dock, turning Piper over onto her back to make sure she was really dead. But it wasn't Piper's dead body she overturned – it was Elena. Athena recoiled back as she saw Elena's sliced throat and a new bleeding bullet wound in her forehead. Athena cried out in horror, "Elena?"

Athena screamed, the sound muffled by her pillow as she woke up with a start. She groaned, but perked up when she saw that it was nearly eight in the morning. She was used to waking up much earlier to these nightmares. She had about an hour before she was supposed to meet her Aunt for breakfast at the coffee shop. So, she got up and got ready pretty quickly before heading over.

"Another nightmare?" her aunt Abigail asked in concern towards her niece. "They aren't going away." Athena would always be thankful that her aunt moved to Lakewood to be closer to her, even if they weren't blood related. But being related to the woman who kidnapped her from her real parents as a toddler didn't make her any less of family in Athena's eyes.

Gretchen Contos was one the run and Alonzo Contos was in jail. That was good enough for Athena and she had her real family back now. Abigail was always there for her and now she had her parents, her older brother Ian, and her younger sister, Lana.

"Definitely not," Athena quipped. "But, what can you do?"

"Talk to someone," Abigail hinted.

"I talk to you all the time," Athena pointed out, taking another sip of her coffee.

"I meant a professional," Abby said. "It's good that you're willing to talk to me about these things but I can't help you the way a psychiatrist may be able to. There's no shame in getting the extra help. Emma has and she's coming home, isn't she?"

"Yeah, tonight's the big welcome back party. I'm supposed to bake a cake," she said. "But that's not me. The therapy part – not the cake part."

"Just keep it in mind if things get worse, all right?" her aunt asked her. "What happened here before, it doesn't matter. What matters is how we deal with it, okay?"

"I'm dealing with it," she shrugged. "That's all I can do."

"Right," Abigail smiled. "Just focus on being a normal teenager, welcome your friend back to town and get good grades."

Athena rolled her eyes as her phone dinged. She pulled it out and frowned at what she saw – from an Unknown number.

Emma's coming home to steal the spotlight, killer. No more hero treatment for you.

Only three months had actually passed since everything happened. Slowly, Athena changed things about herself to make a new person. She cut her long dark hair to her shoulders and put in streaks of red highlights. She started going to the gym, continuing her training if only to vent. It was her way of coping, beating the shit out of a gym buddy or a bag hanging from the ceiling.

Sometimes one of her friends went with her. Audrey accompanied her once in a while. Mostly, Will went, if only to regain the strength he lost sitting on his ass – his words, not hers. She tried to talk Brooke into training with her so she could defend herself. But she refused, throwing herself into her new relationship with Jake and being a better Brooke 2.0.

Athena had also taken her mortality to heart and truly became part of her family. She talked Ian, her brother, into going back to school for the spring semester and refocus on his education. He fought her on it, but she insisted that she didn't want her situation to hold him back. She assured him that he could visit on breaks and she'd keep in touch with him. She'd grown closer to Lana, helping her come to terms with her sexuality. She'd gotten along more with Diana and let herself forgive her for lying about knowing Gretchen from High School. She even spent more time with Till, her father. He took her to the batting cages to further vent her frustrations. He also made sure to make her a vegetarian dinner when he cooked – and he cooked more than Diana.

Emma didn't really go her direction of self-improvement. Shortly after everything went down, she had a breakdown. Where Athena got angry and lashed out, Emma collapsed in on herself in nervous tears. So, she left to get the help she needed and move on from what happened. Three months ago.

But tonight, she was coming back to town. Athena was getting ready for the party they were throwing at Kieran's house, pulling a freshly baked cake out of the oven that she had made. Brooke sniffed the cake and hummed, "Smells good. Can't wait to decorate it."

"That's all you, I don't work well with icing," Athena laughed.

"She does know her way around a paint brush though," Will chimed in, walking in from the living room.

"Will, sweetie, the girls are talking," Brooke hinted.

A hint that he heeded, "I'll check on the beer," and walked out of the room.

Athena started cleaning up the various cake ingredients she had cluttering the counters. Brooke pulled out icing and gave her a bit of playful side-eye, "So, you bat for both teams, right?"

Athena chucked good-naturedly, knowing Brooke didn't mean anything offensive, "Yeah, very well I might add. What of it?"

"Well, just seeing what shot Will has in all of that," the blonde hinted again.

"Will?" Athena was actually surprised by this. "And me? No way."

"He and Emma have been broken up for months," Brooke defended herself. "And while things with her and Kieran are complicated – there is still a thing between her and Kieran. No harm no foul. Girl code does not have to be incited unless she has a problem with it."

"And assuming I even like Will like that, you think she wouldn't have a problem with it?" Athena questioned her.

Brooke shrugged, "She's got a lot of therapy under her belt now, I'm sure she'd be totally mature about it."

"It doesn't matter, anyway," Athena said as her phone chimed, distractedly picking it out of her pocket. "Will and I are just friends."

"Sure," Brooke drawled as she started spreading pink icing on the cake.

Athena looked at the text she got and nearly gasped out loud but held back.

You love ruining everything, don't you?

Remember, I don't forgive.

Before she could even think to respond, more messages kept flooding in after the previous one.

It was just too easy to get to Audrey.

And I don't hate her as much as I hate you.

I'll show the whole world what you really are, bloodletter.

She ignored them after they finally stopped, deleting the messages and quickly swiping through her contacts to find Audrey's number. It had no answer so she called Noah.

"Hey, did you hear about Audrey?" Noah's voice answered her, making her pause as an angry, indignant heat washed over her.

"What the Hell happened?" she growled into the phone.

Noah quickly reassured her, "She's fine. Some douche bag put on a Brandon James' mask and pranked Audrey at the theater after closing. She's fine though. It's just blowing up on the web."

"Hurry here," Athena ordered. "Now."

"Yeah, we're on our way," he told her before hanging up.

Athena let out a long sigh and cleaned up the counter of her baking supplies before excusing herself from the kitchen to the dining room, making sure they had enough plates and such on the back porch for food and cake.

"Hey," Will greeted her, standing awkwardly by the cooler. "Did Brooke grill you about something?"

"When isn't she?" Athena quipped, sitting on the steps and breathing the cool air.

Will gave a slight laugh, "True, it's just her style. Also her way of showing she cares."

She nodded along as he sat down next to her, "So, are you happy Emma's coming back?"

He shrugged, "Yeah, as a friend. I just want her to be happy and okay."

"Even if she's happy and okay with Kieran?" Athena asked him, cocking her head.

"Yeah," he gave her a bit of side-eye, keeping his face impassive. "I think we're all just focused on moving on."

There was a lull of silence before Will reached back to scratch his neck and asked, "Have you talked to Sam lately?"

Athena had to think about it, "It's been a couple weeks since our last video chat. He got some interest from the Mills Police Department so they're waiting for him to finish his AA degree."

"Do you miss him?"

"Sometimes," she answered honestly. "But I'm happy for him. He's doing what he wants to do, finding his purpose."

He nodded, "You applied to that summer art workshop, right? You promised you would."

She rolled her eyes playfully, "Yes, dad, I did. It took a few sleepless nights to pad my portfolio but I got it done."

"Did you include those water colors?" he asked her, having seen a lot of her work at school or in her car.

"Just a couple, I focused mainly on the charcoals and digital pieces," she told him. "I also found some art colleges. To apply to when the time comes. Did you apply to that scholarship I told you about?"

"Yeah, I sent in the essay last week," he smiled. "Though my dad's been warming up to cosigning for loans for Duke now."

"Nothing butters a parent up like their child nearly getting butchered by a serial killer," Athena joked lightly. "At least you have the opportunity now."

"And I didn't have to blackmail the Mayor for it," Will joked back.

"Guys!" Brooke called out to them. "Noah and Audrey are here!"

"Shall we?" Will asked, standing up and offering his hand.

She took it and let him pull her up. They walked in as Noah cheered, hugging Audrey's shoulders, "Hey! I've got our internet hero.

"That was awesome bi-otch. Up high," Jake held his hand up for a high five.

Audrey didn't accept the high five but did accept Athena's hug as the girl asked, "Are you okay? Those cunts didn't shake you up too much, did they?"

"I'm good," Audrey answered her. She looked at Jake and gave him a warning, "There's no post-gaming when Emma gets here."

"Not a word, Jake," Brooke added. "Not a word."

Kieran walked in with a couple drinks, "She just texted. She'll be here any minute."

"Sandalwood, a hint of citrus..." Brooke smirked, sniffing around the tall boy. "Someone's very excited to see Emma this evening."

"Leave him alone," Athena chided.

There was a knock at the door and they knew Emma had arrived. Brooke picked up the cake and hissed to Jake, "Come on, get ready. Light the candles."

He did as told as Kieran let Emma in. Everyone clapped and greeted her, Brooke walking to the front with the lit up cake. "Welcome home, girl interrupted," Jake joked, earning an elbow from Brooke. He protested, "No, it's a compliment 'cause Angelina's hot."

Emma just smiled at everyone, "Guys, it's okay. I had some issues and I dealt with them. And, now, I'm back here because I want to get back to normal. Okay? So, it would really suck if you guys started acting all weird around me."

Her friends agreed and welcomed her warmly back to town with a big group hug. They ate, drank, were merry. Athena felt awkward. Over the past few months, she had built up a resentment for Emma. She didn't want to. She understood what Emma went through that night – it was hell. But she went through something too, and then Emma broke down and left town without a word. She always felt like Emma anchored herself to Kieran and left her behind.

The night of their school's Halloween dance, Piper had crashed the dance, killed the Sheriff, killed Grayson, and trapped them all at Brooke's house during her party. She had lured Emma to the docks where she had Maggie tied up and hurt, plotting to frame Mr. Branson for the murders after killing Emma and her mom. But Athena had seen Emma sneaking away and followed her with Brooke's dad's gun. She set Branson free to warn the others and went to the dock. She shot Piper dead on in the head and killed her instantly.

"Daddy's little girl..." had been her last words, directed to Athena. And in an instant, she had become a killer of a killer.

Afterwards, Emma had had a complete and total breakdown in front of the whole school. Athena could remember it like yesterday. They had just been walking up the stairs in the front of the school towards their lockers and Emma freaked out. She collapsed down the stairs a bit and folded in on herself, sobbing. Audrey had gotten to her first and wrapped her arms around the girl to try and calm her down. Athena had gotten to her second and knelt in front of her, trying to coach her through breathing. They ended up having to call for an ambulance. The next thing she knew, Emma was off to some treatment center, and she hadn't heard from her in months.

It just wasn't like Athena to run away. She was a fighter, hence the training constantly. And while she was in town, she had gotten closer to Audrey, Brooke and Will. And then Emma comes back like she never left. Athena had shit to overcome too. She had killed someone that night. She had aimed a gun at Piper's head and shot without a moments hesitation or remorse.

She barely looked at her own reflection because all she saw was Piper's shocked and smug face in the mirror. Her only escape was training with Will or movie nights with Audrey and Noah. She couldn't even bring herself to go on Noah's podcast and talk about what happened. It was too awful to say out loud, so she didn't.

She was sitting on the couch by the back room, knowing that Kieran and Emma were cuddling outside in the night air. She chugged some fruity drink Brooke made her and looked up when Will called her name and sat down next to her, "Why are you off here on your own?"

She shrugged, "I'm not in a party mood. The prodigal daughter is back-" she cut off, instantly regretting where her mind was going. "I'm sorry, I don't mean that. I'm just—drunk."

"You're not drunk," Will said, sliding closer to her and put an arm around her shoulder to comfort her. "It's okay to feel the way you do. I get it. Everyone focuses on Emma, and Noah sometimes because of his podcast. But people often forget what you had to go through that night."

"I wish I could forget," she muttered.

"I don't think that's possible," he told her. "But it probably shouldn't be either."

"Right," she murmured before she saw Noah walking past them to the back. "Noah!"

"Yeah—yeah," he stammered, stopping in front of them.

"Did you text me earlier?" she asked him. "Some kind of prank?"

"You're the second person to ask me that," he quipped. "No, I've been busy thinking I had to save Audrey from a returned serial killer."

"Okay, as you were," she dismissed him.

"What was that about?" Will asked after he left. "Texts?"

She shrugged it off, "It's nothing. Just a couple texts to mess with me. They didn't succeed. It's probably just a troll."

"What if it isn't?" Will asked, seeming worried. "You're the one who says that Piper wasn't working alone."

"Someone attacked you with her, didn't they?" she pointed out. "It's hardly rocket science. I just don't know what they're waiting for."

"This could be them," he retorted. "Just don't dismiss them completely. And please let me know if you get more like them."

She sighed, "Fine, Pretty boy."

"One of these days," he playfully replied.

"Noah Foster, killer of parties," Noah stated sarcastically as he broke up Kieran and Emma while dumping his glass bottles in the recycling bin.

Emma smiled as she headed for the door, "Well, at least some things are how I left them."

Noah easily smiled, "It's your first night back, so I'll let that one slide. If..."

"If what?" Emma asked.

"If you let me interview you for my podcast," he finished. "You're the only one of the Lakewood Eight who hasn't been on it yet. Well, and Athena – but she threatened to drop kick me if I kept bugging her about it."

Emma sniggered, "That sounds like her. Lakewood Eight?"

"Yeah, that's what everyone's been calling us recently," he filled her in. "I coined it, actually. It caught on pretty quick. It's not genius or anything, but it's catchy."

"Noah, I have to let all of that stuff go," Emma told him as politely as she could.

"I get it. It's just.. that was the biggest thing that ever happened to us," Noah justified.

"Yeah, and the worst," Emma said back. "You know, to be honest, I have never listened to your podcast. Sorry."

Noah didn't say anything as she left inside the house. He sighed and went in too, stopping when he saw Will and Athena still talking on the couch. He walked over to them, "Hey, Athena, what was this about texts?"

"It's nothing, just a prank," Athena dismissed with a wave of her hand.

"Thing is, Audrey got some texts too," he told them. "And there's some nasty comments on my podcast about showing the world that Audrey isn't a badass and..."

"And what?" Will asked, seeing the look on Noah's face.

"It's probably a prank," he tried to chuckle but it came out flat.

"Noah, and what?" Athena repeated.

"And..." he sighed, "and expose who you really are." He could see Will and Athena's faces drop drastically and rushed to add, "I don't know if that means your past or maybe just to try and take you down a peg, but I figured if you're getting weird texts you should know. It all kind of comes from these same three wackos, two of which were involved in the prank on Audrey at the theater. One dude didn't show up – even though he started it."

"You're gonna murder board this, aren't you?" Athena asked sarcastically.

"You know me so well," he hummed.

Athena panted as she smacked her fist into the bag hanging from the ceiling. She could dance to the rhythm of her fists bumping into the plastic fabric with how fast it was. But instead she punched and punched and took a break only to do a high kick a couple times. She felt like a pig but it didn't matter.

"Athena!" Will's voice broke through her concentration. He walked around and grabbed the bag to hold it steady, "How long have you been here? School doesn't start for another hour."

"I've been here an hour," she panted as she kept punching.

"You should really stop then," Will warned. "Don't you need to get home to change for school?"

"I brought a change of clothes, that's what lockers are for," she huffed as she stopped punching to lean against the bag, with him still holding it still. "What are you doing here so early?"

"I want going to do some weight training before you got here," Will shrugged. "Now, I don't feel like it."

"You don't have to babysit me, Pretty boy," she told him. "I can take care of myself."

"I'm sure you can," he answered easily. "But that doesn't mean you will."

She rolled her eyes and started taking the tape off her knuckles, "Fine. It's a good thing they have showers here."

"I'll go get coffee, since I'm sure you've had zero sleep," he quipped starting to walk away.

Athena stared after him for a minute before she grabbed her towel and headed towards the girl's showers. She hadn't made more than three steps when one of the double doors to the gym on the other side slammed open.

She gasped and whipped around, seeing the white surgical mask and black hood walking into the gym. Piper. She was brandishing a large knife, tilting her head inquisitively as she stalked closer to Athena. Athena let out another sharp gasp, "Piper..." and collapsed backwards until her back hit the wall and she fell into the corner. She felt something heavy in her hand and looked to see she was holding a gun, the Mayor's gun that she'd used to shoot Piper.

She looked up and watched as Piper pulled off her mask, grinning sadistically, "Daddy's little girl..."

Athena lifted up the gun and aimed, "Piper!" and shot. The shot rang in her ears, high pitched and reverberating, as she watched Piper's body fall to the ground.

"Athena!" Will's voice finally broke through her panic as she felt his arms encircle her and pull her close.

She was panting hard and holding her arm out as if still holding the gun that wasn't there. Her eyes widened as the scene fell away to reality and she caught sight of the boy in a big black hoodie that had just walked in, staring at her with disturbed confusion on his face. She slowly lowered her hand and let her eyes focus on Will's worried face, "Piper?"

"Piper's dead, Athena," Will told her. "She's buried and gone. You don't have to worry about her anymore. You're safe now."

Athena fought the tears building in her eyes and folded in on herself, "God, I'm such a mess."

"It was a panic attack, that's all," Will assured her. "They can be triggered by anything that reminds you of your trauma. Miss Lang told me that."

"So, what?" Athena led her head fall back on the wall incredulously. "Am I just gonna have a freak out every time I hear a loud noise or see someone in a black hood?"

"No, you can heal," Will told her, pulling her chin down so she met his eyes. "But it takes time. And sometimes, extra help."

She narrowed her eyes at him, "Subtle."

Will would have chuckled or laughed at her attitude if not for having just watched her collapse in on herself a moment earlier. "I'm serious. She really helps. It doesn't even have to be her. Just... think about it. Get ready for school, I'll get the coffee. Okay?"

"Okay," she breathed as she allowed him to help her to her feet. This time, she made it to the locker room and he made it out of the gym.

Will had gotten into a habit of looking out for her. They had grown closer seeing as they could relate to each other in their traumas. There was a kinship there that would have been there with Emma if she hadn't left. A kinship that wasn't there with the others. They hadn't been bound and left for certain death. They hadn't been tortured and kidnapped the way Will and Athena had. They were the only ones who could fully understand each other when it came to that.

But still, it made her wonder – about what Brooke had been saying. Was there something else between her and Will? She didn't feel it in an obvious way but she knew it could look that way, maybe even end up that way if she wasn't careful. While her feelings towards Emma were a bit of a mixed bag, she didn't want to sour it by breaking the girl's code.

She took a quick shower and braided her hair back. She didn't bother with makeup, just throwing on her jeans and yellow tank top and heading out to her locker to grab her psychology textbook. She walked in and immediately noticed that Emma was sitting in her seat next to Brooke. But Brooke wasn't saying anything. So, she just shouldered her bag and took the seat in front of Brooke, hearing the tail end of the blonde's words, "It was time."

"Time for what?" she asked, tilting her body so she was facing them. She figured she should at least try to hide her contempt. And try to get over it while she was at it. She saw Will give her an encouraging smile as he took the seat in front of her.

"Jake and I split up," Brooke answered, not caring. "Where were you this morning?"

"I went to the gym," she shrugged. She definitely didn't want to tell either girl about her panic attack earlier this day. It was a non-issue. Will had been there for her and she was fine now. There was no point to telling them about it now.

"New subject," Brooke turned to Emma. "How was last night with Kieran?"

"I haven't seen him all day. Does that answer your question?" Emma sagged. "I don't know. We fell asleep together, and then... I woke up and found him curled up on the couch."

"Kind of adorable," Brooke grimaced. "Kind of sad."

Emma nodded, "Yeah, more sad. And I texted him to apologize, and all he did was respond with, 'Ha-ha.' Then, nothing. I don't know. I guess I thought I could hit the reset button and start all over."

"Well, boys are not iPhones," Brooke drawled. "I wish they were."

Zoe, a dark skinned girl with multi-colored dreadlocks greeted Emma, welcoming her back. Emma greeted her back as Zoe as the teacher walked into the room and joyfully greeted the whole class, "Hey, Sigmund and Sigmunda Freuds!"

"Kill me now," Athena complained under breath.

Will half-turned to her and whispered, "Be nice."

"Anyway, did everyone enjoy the reading assignment?"

Noah smiled and raised his hand eagerly. Athena heard Brooke mutter to Emma about his little crush and share a laugh. The teacher looked shocked at Noah's hand, "Really? You liked it? I didn't. I thought it was dull. I mean, mesocortical dopaminergic pathways are fine and good, but how does psychology relate to our living lives? That's what turns me on, and that's what I want to turn you guys onto."

"Is this appropriate?" Athena sniggered.

Will wouldn't help but laugh and cover it with a cough.

"Let's think outside the textbook," the teacher continued. "Emma! Good to have you back. What part of psychology would be helpful to you in your life?"

Emma was startled but came up with an answer anyway, "Uh... dream analysis?"

"Excellent," she grinned. "Why do we dream? Why do dreams matter? Why would that psycho skill evolve with us? Phantasmata and dreams help us process our leftover fear and anxiety."

"It's, like, the garbage disposal of the psyche," Zoe smiled.

"Nice, Zoe," the teacher complimented. "Dreams are personal, right? So, let's make it personal. How about what this town has been through? Is it giving any of us nightmares? Scary but necessary. We are churning through what holds us back."

"Just like A Nightmare on Elm Street," Noah chipped in.

"Seriously, Noah?" Brooke sneered. "A movie about a knife-fingered psycho slashing kids in their dreams? Is that necessary?"

"The only way for Nancy to face Freddy and learn the truth is through her nightmares," Noah retorted.

"Scary, but necessary," Zoe supported from the seat behind him. He twisted to share a smile with her.

"But do we actually need horror movies like we need our dreams?" the teacher posed.

Noah answered, "They work the same way. Maybe that's why the dream motif is so constant."

"And here he goes..." Brooke muttered.

"Movies like Dreamscape, Elm Street, Bad Dreams..." Noah listed. "Taking subconscious fears and externalizing them is what horror is all about. You go the movies, it ends, the lights come up, and then, everybody goes home feeling better."

A boy who sat in the corner, staring at Emma in between pitching in, "Or they go home to the horror of their actual lives."

The teacher just smiled, "Now, this is the kind of dialogue..."

Emma looked uncomfortable as Brooke filled her in, "He's new. Sheriff's son. Super creepy. He scams on Athena all the time, so don't feel too victimized."

"I want you all to start keeping a dream journal," the teacher said. "Keep them by your bed." She stopped by Emma's desk and put a post-it note with a number on it, whispering, "In case you want to talk through stuff." She started walking to the front again, "So, when we're talking about dreams and we're referring to the id, ego, and super-ego, does anybody know which one of those three the dream analysis will fall under? Anybody?"

As class let out and Athena filed out after Will, Ms. Lang stopped her, "Athena, a quick word?"

Before turning around, she rolled her eyes and waved Will off before facing the teacher, "Yes, Ms. Lang?"

The teacher seemed justifiably nervous and gentle as she spoke with her hands clasped in front of her, "I was hoping, given time to think about it, you may have changed your mind about scheduling a one-on-one session. My office is always open and we can even meet outside school if that makes you more comfortable." She paused and let out a sigh, like all she wanted to do was meet with Athena. "I think it would be very beneficial for you to talk about what you and Emma went through."

"No offense, Ms. Lang, but what makes you think I'm the kind of person who changes their mind?" Athena asked her slowly. "I don't need a shrink, I need the whole town to forget everything that happened. And if I can't have that, then I'll forget for them. Now, I have another class to get to."

With her two cents tossed onto the floor, she turned around and headed to her locker. Athena had just switched out her books when she felt her phone vibrate. She pulled it out to see a text – another prank.

I don't forget. I don't forgive. You're gonna get your just desserts.

She sighed, knowing she should tell someone. She just picked the one who might be able to help without cops. She went to Noah, hoping maybe he's be able to link it to his internet troll and confirm that it's just a prank. She walked over to him at his Noah, "Hey, Noah-"

But as he shut his locker, the new guy, Gustavo, was on the other side and interrupting, "You're too focused on the ending."

Noah was startled, "I'm sorry?"

"I'm talking about your horror viewpoint from psych class," he elaborated, keeping his face straight. "It's too basic. You read Hack/Slash? Bedlam? Nailbiter?"

Noah looked confused for a second.

"Comic books," Athena filled him in, getting a nod.

Gustavo looked at her with appreciation, "Horror comic books. Take Madder Red from Bedlam. We're not sure if he's a hero or still a blood-lusting freak. Could be both. Every issue has a twist leading to a cliff hanger. The dramatic conundrum keeps generating bloodshed. And there's always another issue... and another... Kinda like Lakewood. Killing never ends."

Noah looked positively befuddled, "I agree. That is a broader perspective. That never happens to me."

Gustavo merely shrugged with a smug smirk and walked off.

"Moving on from creepozoid," Athena segued, showing Noah the text she just got. "Prank? Yay or nay?"

"No, that's passed a line," Noah frowned. "I think we've learned that these kind of things aren't exactly nothing. You should go to the cops. I'll take you."

Athena sighed, "On one condition; do not – do not – tell anyone about this. Not Audrey, not Emma, and not – especially not – Will. You got it? I've been coddled enough."

"Fine," Noah groaned.

Athena cringed at the whole situation she was in. The new Sheriff sat perched on his desk as she and Noah sat in chairs in front of him, "I get it. It's scary. You're a local hero."

"I'm a local pariah," she shot back. "This is just someone pranking me. But Noah made a good point – being cautious and law-abiding and all."

"This is not just a prank," Noah insisted. "They quoted what Piper said to you after you saved Will. Who else-"

"Hey," Sheriff Acosta cut him off. "Why don't you go get your friend a soda?"

Noah nervously took the hint and excused himself.

Sheriff Acosta picked up the report and sat next to Athena, staring at her intensely, "You're Athena Tyler right? Diana's daughter."

"Right," she replied warily, always wondering who knew about her past.

"You don't know this, but I actually met you when you were a baby," he told her. "Before my family moved away. Your mother, Maggie, we were all friends."

"Sounds nice," she commented.

He nodded, "Which is why I'm going to be frank with you. Your friend wants to file a report, but it's not up to him. If you feel unsafe, if you want me to look into this – I will. But only if it's what you want. Re-read this. If you want to file it, you sign it."

He excused himself to get a cup of coffee. She must have stared at the paper for five minutes before her phone buzzed. She fished out her phone and balked at the text on her screen.

YOU BETTER SHUT THIS DOWN OR YOU'LL SEE WHAT I HAVE PLANNED FOR YOU SOONER RATHER THAN LATER.

She shuddered, putting her phone away. She regarded the form for only a minute before she finally balled it up and dropped it in the trash can and walked out of the Sheriff's station. Noah saw her form the vending machine and raced after her, "What did you do? Did you file it?"

"No," she responded shortly.

He gaped at her, "What? Why? Athena, this could be the partner you're so convinced is out there!"

"I know!" she yelled. "But it's been three months. If he was waiting for a time to strike, why hasn't he? Or she?"

"Maybe they were waiting for Emma to come back," Noah theorized. "This is all about her."

"I know that too," she shot. "Everything's all about her – what she-" she cut herself off, keeping her face steel. "Forget it, Noah. I just want to forget it. All of it."

Brooke lounged on Emma's bed as the recently returned girl followed her shrink's advice to clean out the clutter of her room, getting out a box. She caught Brooke looking down and said, "You know you can admit that you miss Jake, right?"

Brooke huffed, "I'm pissed that he turned into the kind of guy that made me care. He's been MIA all day. He's torturing me."

Emma paused in her work, smiling sadly, "He really made you care?"

Brooke nodded emphatically, "He changed, Em. He stepped up. You were gone. My dad was going through all this legal crap. Jake was kind of my rock."

Emma put an empty box on her bed, holding a sharpie up, "It's hard to imagine Jake being anybody's rock."

"A lot changed since you were away," Brooke told her. "Life went limping on. You should be glad you have Kieran. He really missed you."

Emma smiled bitterly, "Yeah, I think my freak-out, really freaked him out. He's been dodging me all day. Last night, it was like he thought I was going to break or something." She let out a sigh, "I don't know. Maybe he just sees me as the broken girl, and he's just not up for it."

"We're all breakable, Emma," Brooke drawled. "At least you had therapy. The rest of us just partied the crazy away. Athena beat it away with her fists. But you're probably the strongest one of us all."

Emma wrote haphazardly on the box with her pen, scoffing, "Not Kieran. He's granite."

Brooke leaned in, "Trust me, he's breakable. Kieran doesn't go into his dad's room. That's how breakable he is. He just hides all that stuff. You both do. You're both a mess." She stood, swiftly changing the subject as she picked up a couple of teddy bears and tossed them at her, "Now, grab me a trash bag. You get one teddy bear. One! Because this is absurd. Take your pick."

Emma giggled as one teddy bear hit her, "Okay, I got the point."

Athena noticed Brooke's car parked at Emma's house when she got home but chose not to go and try to hang out with them, just wanting to be alone for the most part. She did check in with Diana, her mother, on her way upstairs, smiling when she noticed Lana added another poster to her bedroom door, and ambled into her room.

She dumped her school things on her desk chair and landed on her back on her bed with a slight huff of air. She felt utterly exhausted, pretending she was okay with Emma being back. Pretending she wasn't still angry and hurt. Pretending she wasn't aware of the looks she got and the things people whispered when they assumed that she couldn't hear it or it wouldn't get back to her. Pretending that she still didn't think about everything she went through every single day.

She sat up and went to her closet, pulling the doors open and pushed the clothes as far to the wall as she could, revealing her own mini-obsession board, that couldn't compete with Noah's. It had photos and profiles for Piper Shaw, Emma Duvall, herself and Alonzo Contos. She found herself staring at it when she got home to see if something finally jumped out at her and made everything make sense. Piper's last words were to call her daddy's little girl. And she figured Piper must have known her kidnapper, at least one of them, some way. And she wanted answers. If a serial killer knew enough to mock her for being Alonzo Contos' daughter, then what else could the man who raised her have been capable of?

"...people call me a final girl, but we're all final girls in Lakewood," Emma smiled, her first and only podcast coming to an end in Noah's bedroom. She had come around after finally speaking with Kieran about not hiding from what happened to them and moving on instead. This was her first step towards that plan.

"And final boys," Noah quipped.

"Right, because we survived," she nodded, turning into the microphone. "And, now, we're here to help each other find... find a way to get back to normal."

"The final thoughts of one of Lakewood's final kids," Noah took over. "This is Noah Foster and you're listening to The Morgue." After he finished the recording, he smiled brightly at Emma, "Holy frack! That was brilliant!"

"Good, because that's all you're going to get," Emma laughed, standing up. She frowned when she caught sight of the maze of a murder board he had set up on his wall.

"Uh, I didn't know what you would think about it," Noah said, nervously. "I hope it doesn't freak you out. Audrey... hell, everyone thinks it's kind of obsessive. Funny enough, Athena is the only one who's never commented on it. I guess she understands that we all have our way of dealing with what we went through."

Emma hadn't said anything until she noticed a black and white photo of a building – a barn – that she recognized from many nightmares she had growing up. One where she as a little girl wandered inside and played with opened up pigs. She pointed out the photo, "Noah, what is this?"

"That's a pig farm," he replied. "Pretty sure it belongs to Troy James, Brandon's brother."

"Weird," she murmured. "Where is it?"

"Okay, this is not the mall, Em," Brooke whined as they got out of the car, the sky above them dark and cold.

"Well, I wasn't gonna tell Noah that I was having nightmares about a pig farm that belonged to the James' family," Emma told her, facing the very same barn, "and I was not coming here alone."

Brooke shivered, "Yeah, but we couldn't have done this in the daylight? Or tomorrow? Or, you know, never?"

"I just need to figure this out," Emma insisted, walking towards the dark building. "I'm just gonna take a quick look. Make sure it's the same one from my dreams. And then, we can go. Promise."

As they girls approached the doors, about to open them, Brooke groaned, "Emma, I just..."

Emma turned to her, "Brooke, I've had nightmares about this place since I was little. I need to see it. Wouldn't you?"

Emma didn't hear Brooke whisper to herself, "No, actually," as she pushed the doors open, only to see a very vacant and dark inside.

"Why am I dreaming about this place?"

"Okay, you wanted to see the creepy barn. You saw it," Brooke called behind her. "Now, let's get out of here."

When Emma turned around, she was ready to leave. But she stopped short when she noticed a faint light coming from the house just across the field. "Is somebody living in that house?" She ignored Brooke's protests as she marched towards the house, noticing the side door was ajar when she went to knock. She pushed it open and walked into the now dark and empty looking house. "Is anybody home? Hello?"

She made her way throughout the house and ended up in a back living room, "Hello? I'm sorry to barge in. I'm looking for Troy James."

She stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed a small lamp on a table in the living room, and walked over to see the table and wall tacked and littered with photos of her, both as a little girl and recent, with articles about the murders and her.

She gasped when she heard a floor board creek and turned to peer down the hall, screaming when she saw a figure running across the hall.

So, what do you guys think? I hope you enjoy what I've messed with in regards to the real story. Let me know in the reviews. hint. hint.

REVIEW!

RegalGirl94