Stu's house was at the end of a long winding dirt road lined by gnarled, overhanging trees; the moonlight was casting eerie shadows on the windshield.
The entire ride to the house, Sidney felt a gnawing feeling in the pit of her soul telling her that this was a terrible idea.
Another part of her was telling her that she would be completely safe with all the people there as well as Dewey right outside to protect her.
The two parts of her were at war, screaming back and forth at each other the entire ride to the party, and it was killing her.
Just stop Sidney... Have a good time tonight... She kept telling herself. You may not know when you'll get another time to have some fun considering the next few days were going to be constantly living in fear of a psychopath.
She didn't have to let her life become one big scary movie. Should she just let this sicko control her and rob her of her teen years and strip her of the parties and the times shared with friends?
Fuck that. Sidney was ready to let go, forget about all this crazed killer bullshit, and have fun.
The trees cleared and a huge, three-story, Gothic style farmhouse loomed over them. It was in the middle of a large field, surrounded by a rickety wooden gate, not a neighbor in sight.
Despite the dead and spooky exterior of the house, the inside was full of horny, drunk, teenage life. There wasn't a light off in the house, music was blaring from inside, cars were parked all out front, and kids were everywhere.
They were hanging out the windows, scattered all around the property, laughing and having a good time.
Tatum cheered loudly and piled out of the Jeep, grabbing some groceries out of the backseat.
Sidney came from the other side as Dewey called out the open window.
"You girls have fun! Not too much fun or I'll bust ya," Dewey joked.
"You'll be sitting out here, right?" Sidney asked, her eyes wide with worry.
"You'll be perfectly safe, Sidney," Dewey assured.
"Yeah, Deputy Doofus will protect you," Tatum teased and gave Sidney a nudge.
Dewey rolled his eyes and sat back in the seat, pulling the Jeep off the road slightly and parking in the grass a little ways off from the house.
Sidney hesitantly followed Tatum up to the house. Tatum looked back.
"You'll be fine, Sid. Safety in numbers,"
She's right, Sidney thought. Just chill... You'll be totally safe.
Sidney and Tatum walked through the open front door, stepping by a group of kids who whispered quietly about Sidney.
The house was even bigger and fancier on the inside than it looked.
A huge staircase with an intricate wooden banister spiraled up to the second floor. In the center of the foyer was a large mahogany table with a potted plant sitting on top as a centerpiece to the mansion.
The ceiling was high and wooden beams stretched across it. Branching out from the foyer was a kitchen, where bowls of food, pizza, a cooler full of liquor and other assortments of snacks covered the counters and kids were all standing around, drinking and cutting up. Sidney recognized a few; some she'd never seen before.
Stu and a couple of other guys were taking turns guzzling alcohol from a funnel and seeing Tatum, they waved.
Across from the kitchen was an eloquent dining room and from there was a huge living room with a couple of sofas and a television where Randy was standing holding up different horror movies to see which one everybody wanted to watch as music blared from a high tech stereo.
"Here ya go, boys," Tatum said, placing all of the bags full of food on the counter.
Stu wrapped her in his arms and swept her off her feet as she laughed.
Seeing just how many people were there, Sidney began to relax. She was actually smiling and laughing and she felt herself slowly began to forget about everything...
The tan news van screeched to a stop and parked unobtrusively under a large tree, a short distance from the house.
Gale sat in the passenger seat, eyeing her surroundings nervously.
"Do you think we were spotted?" Kenny asked from the driver's seat.
She shushed him.
"No I don't think so," she replied.
She could see the huge farmhouse through the trees.
God, she thought. If only she'd grew up with a family as rich as that. She wouldn't have to work as hard to get where she was.
This would be the perfect spot to catch a killer. Spooky, isolated... Gale felt like a story was about to come and she would finally get the break she rightfully deserved. She could feel it in her gut.
All journalists had it. It was the excited knot twisting in your stomach that just told you that this was your chance.
"Ok, Kenny. Let's hop in the back,"
Gale and Kenny clambered into the backseat and turned to face a small, hokey control panel fixed with a computer monitor.
The screen was synced up with a video camera that Gale would prop up somewhere in the house to record tonight's festivities.
"Is it ready?" She asked, her heart pounding with adrenaline.
"Yep. Control board is glitched though. It won't be a live recording," Kenny said, adjusting the wiring.
"Shit," Gale frowned. "How long is the delay?"
"About thirty seconds," Kenny said.
"As long as it records, that's fine," Gale said, checking out the window again.
Kenny handed her a small, handheld video camera and she concealed it in her jacket. Gale stepped out of the news van, slid the sliding door closed, checked her appearance in the rear view mirror, and started down the road towards the house.
Gale began to envision the headlines.
"Local reporter catches killer... Local reporter saves wrongfully convicted man... The thought of it made her tingle with ecstasy.
She could go national... Top Story was amateur hour compared to some of the other huge media conglomerates she could get signed on to.
Her future was endless...
She could see it all in front of her. This killer, whoever he or she was, paving her way to fame and fortune.
Who could it be? Was it Neil Prescott? Unhinged by the anniversary of his wife's murder? Or Billy Loomis, Sidney's boyfriend? Or Sidney herself? Or just some random psychopath on a killing spree to finish what he started when he killed Maureen?
But why kill the others if the target was Sidney? Maybe the target wasn't Sidney?
It was too much of a coincidence that the murders started one year after Maureen's death. And Gale knew from her years in journalism that coincidences that inexplicable didn't happen. They just had to be connected.
Just then, Gale's thoughts were broken as her eyes adjusted to the dark... And she saw a shadowy figure standing in the middle of the road.
"Hello? Who is that?" Gale asked. No reply.
The figure began to rapidly approach her and Gale felt her heart began to beat faster.
She had no time to react or scream. He was right in front of her and suddenly, she was blinded by a flash of light.
Gale flinched, letting out a scream.
"Stop right there!" A voice called, and she heard a gun click.
"Don't shoot!" Gale cried, putting her hands up in protest.
She saw who it was. It was Dewey, aiming a flashlight and his gun at her.
"Oh sorry... Didn't mean to scare you," Dewey said, lowering his weapon.
"Jesus Christ," Gale muttered, feeling her heartbeat return to normal.
"I thought you might have been the killer," Dewey said.
"I thought the same thing about you," Gale replied with a chuckle.
"So what brings you out here?" Dewey asked.
Maybe Gale could still have fun with him. After all, she still needed some information about the killer and Dewey could tell her anything she wanted to know.
Gale smiled flirtatiously.
"You never know where a story's going to break," she said, leaning in to him.
"Not much of a story out here. Just a bunch of kids cutting it loose," he said.
"Then what are you doing out here?"
"Keeping an eye on things... You know, in case the killer shows up. I'm about to head into the party,"
This was her chance. What better way for a cover to get into the party then by police escort?
"Mind if I join you?" She asked, batting her eyes at him.
Dewey blushed.
"Sure," he said.
Gale grabbed onto his arm, and the two walked down the long country road towards the farmhouse.
The party was going strong into the night.
A couple of kids had gone upstairs to the bedrooms to make out and explore the house, some were out in the field cutting up, and most were inside sitting on the couch deciding a movie to watch and chowing down on pizza and beer.
Sidney, Tatum, Stu were sitting at the kitchen table playing strip poker with a bunch of other kids from school.
Sidney couldn't believe she was actually having a good time. She was actually genuinely laughing at Stu and Tatum's antics and having a blast.
It was the first time in days she actually felt safe…relaxed and happy, and it was such a release.
After two or three rounds, they all went into the living room to watch the movie, which Randy was still trying to choose.
"I thought every horror movie was checked out," Stu said.
"I had these hidden away," Randy replied.
"Who wants PROM NIGHT?" Randy called over the crowd of kids scattered around in the living room.
There were a few boos and a few cheers all over the room.
Randy placed it on the coffee table, and held another video up in the air.
"What about TERROR TRAIN?"
Some louder, drunken cheers erupted.
Sidney was curled up on the couch and Tatum was on the adjacent sofa, Stu's arm draped around her. She casually picked up the movies and perused the back cover.
"How come Jamie Lee Curtis is in all these movies?" Sidney asked.
Randy put his hands together as if were praying to an idol.
"She's the Scream Queen," he said.
Stu grinned mischievously.
"With that set of lungs, she should be," Stu said, lustfully gazing at Tatum's chest.
Tatum rolled her eyes and turned to Sid.
"See, they're just all about tits," Tatum said, as Stu kissed her neck.
"What about HALLOWEEN?" Randy exclaimed, holding up the tape.
The loudest cheer of all erupted.
"Well, I think that's a winner," Randy said, and popped the tape into the VCR.
Just then, the doorbell rang, and Stu leapt over the back of the couch to answer it.
He opened the door to see Dewey and Gale standing on the porch.
"Holy shit, guys!" Stu said excitedly, running back into the living room. "That chick from Top Story is here, Gale Weathers!"
Several of the kids gasped in astonishment as Gale walked into the room, her flashy newscaster smile lighting up the room.
Sidney felt a white-hot rage swelling inside her and she gave her a death stare.
Tatum frowned, turning to give a similar stare at Dewey.
She saw Sidney stand up and retreat into the kitchen.
Gale was being swarmed by the kids, asking for autographs and drunkily hammering her with questions.
"I watch your show religiously!" one girl exclaimed.
Tatum rose from the couch and angrily yanked Dewey to the side by his elbow.
"Dewey, what the hell is she doing here?"
"She's with me," Dewey said, grinning like a little schoolboy. "I'm just checking on things,"
Dewey snatched a beer out of a guy's hand.
"Hey, are you underage?" Dewey asked, his eyes pointing daggers at him.
The kid froze in fear and then Dewey's straight cop face broke and he laughed.
"I'm just kidding, have fun tonight. No driving!" Dewey said, handing him the beer back.
"Well, hurry and get your girlfriend out of here," Tatum said in disgust and walking towards the kitchen to find Sidney.
The drunken group of teens was still fascinated by Gale.
"Do you want us to do an interview?" Stu asked.
"Nope, I'm just dropping in to say Hi tonight," Gale said, discreetly scanning the room for a spot to put the camera still hidden in her coat pocket.
"We can totally pretend to be grief-stricken students," one guy joked.
"I can cry on cue," Randy said, his eyes starting to well with fake tears.
The group roared with laughter.
Gale wasn't paying attention. Her eyes made a beeline for the bookshelf under the TV. It would get perfect view of the party.
"Well, you know what, I'll get a few words with one of you," she said.
Gale moved to the front of the room and stood in front of the TV.
"Any volunteers?"
One girl excitedly raised her hand, and bounded up towards Gale.
"How do you feel about these killings?" Gale asked, pretending to hold a microphone in her face.
With the other hand behind her back, Gale covertly slid the video camera into the bookshelf, and clicked it on.
Gale hadn't even heard what she said.
Dewey walked into the kitchen where Sidney was leaning against the counter, talking to Tatum.
"Hey, Sid. Sorry about her, but she's just keeping an eye on the party too,"
"No, it's okay," Sidney said. "Have they found my dad?"
Dewey thought of what Burke had told him, and tried to act like he knew nothing.
"Not yet," he said.
Sidney sighed with worry.
"We'll find him Sidney," Dewey said, and then Gale came into the kitchen, grabbing Dewey's arm.
"Ready to go?" she said, conspicuously avoiding Sidney's hateful glare.
The awkward silence pierced the room as Gale and Dewey walked out the back door together, leaving Sidney to give Tatum a look.
"I don't know what the hell she's doing here, I promise,"
"She's probably here to try to keep ruining my life," Sidney said spitefully, grabbing a potato chip.
"Just forget about that media muff," Tatum said, putting a comforting hand on Sid's shoulder.
Sidney couldn't help but feel that Gale was up to no good.
"Hey, Tate, beer's running low. Can you go out to the garage and get some from the freezer?" Stu called from the living room.
Tatum frowned.
"What am I, the beer wench?" Tatum said dryly.
Sidney laughed.
"There's that sense of humor. Now go have fun," Tatum said as she headed for the garage.
Sidney would try to do just that, but she still had that gnawing, irritating ache in the pit of her gut that wouldn't stop telling her that something terrible was going to happen.
Gale and Dewey strolled peacefully around the side of the house, looking up at the starlit sky.
"It's a pretty night," Dewey said, shining his flashlight up at the stars.
"It sure is," Gale said, pretending to be interested. But her mind was racing with other thoughts.
Dewey was thinking some thoughts of his own.
He was dumbfounded that his gorgeous woman was actually interested in him. A celebrity, for Christ sake.
Nobody had ever taken him seriously before. Not the other police on the force, not Sheriff Burke, not his sister, even his mother doubted him sometimes with his clumsiness and propensity to mess things up.
Last year, it hit him hard when he let a suspect get away in a very important robbery case, and Sheriff Burke had yelled in his face, telling him to pull his shit together.
From then on, he had hated himself. His whole life he had wanted to be a police officer. Was he just not cut out for it? What was he cut out for? He wasn't good for anything except maybe a mall cop in some beach town, or maybe a security guard for a big office somewhere.
And now, this gorgeous girl was actually paying him attention and fawning all over him. He couldn't believe it. It was almost too good to be true.
All of a sudden, as they reached the dirt road, Dewey's radio buzzed. He picked it up and spoke into it.
"This is Deputy Riley, out at 361 Turner Lane, over,"
"Yeah, Dewey, we got a call about ten minutes ago that said there was an abandoned car out by the sawmill. Said it looked about the same color as Sidney's dad's car," the radio said.
Gale lit up with excitement, her ears perking up like a dog.
"Yes sir, copy,"
"Looks like we got a lead," he said. "Would you like to come with?"
What kind of stupid question was that?
"I'd love to," she said, her interest piqued. "If you're sure that it's alright,"
"M'am, I'm the deputy of this town," Dewey said, puffing out his chest again and standing on his heels.
Gale rolled her eyes in her mind, but on the outside she kept the same flirty fake smile.
She started to head for the Jeep, but he stopped her.
"I thought we could just walk, it's not far," Dewey said.
Gale smiled again, but she began to feel a pit in her stomach.
Great, was he trying to get her alone? Maybe to try to pull a move on her? Oh brother, she thought. Another thought was in the back of her mind.
What if he was trying to get her alone to dispatch her like the others?
Oh, stop it, Gale. This dork couldn't be the killer, what are you saying?
Besides, she had to see this. Sidney's dad's car parked out by the sawmill? No fucking way.
"Alright, let's go, but I have to stop by the van on the way," Gale said, and arm in arm; they started walking down the winding country road.
Tatum sauntered down the darkened path towards the garage, which was in a separate building a short distance from the house.
Dewey was such an idiot bringing Gale here. Did he want to see Sidney get in another catfight? That was the last thing Sidney needed.
Dewey had always been so insufferable; sure, maybe she gave him a hard time, but the people that thought that didn't have to live with the guy. He could drive her crazy, but at the end of the day, he was her brother and she knew she needed to treat him with more respect.
Even if he did try to justify his dumb actions with the badge in his wallet and the gun on his belt.
Tatum really tried to feel sorry for Sidney; truth was that Tatum wasn't the most sympathetic person. What could she say to someone whose mother was just brutally murdered?
The best thing she could do was try to lighten up Sidney with some of her humor or just let Sidney talk and Tatum would do her best to listen.
After the murders, Tatum was pretty much Sidney's live-in therapist and she sucked at it.
Now, that all of the murders were starting up again, Tatum didn't know what to do. Tell her it was all going to be okay? With a fucking psychopath on the loose?
She just simply didn't have words to say.
Tatum knew one thing. If that sicko tried to even touch Sidney, she would go apeshit crazy on that asshole.
She had been kicking herself ever since last night when Sidney was attacked.
If Tatum would have been there a few minutes before, she could have had that bastard on the floor in tears.
Tatum pushed open the door to the garage, and her nose scrunched up in disgust. It smelled old and musty, and was cluttered and cramped.
The garage was scattered with cardboard boxes, old work-out equipment, furniture, a row of bikes, and some lawn equipment.
Tatum hit the light switch, and the dim overhead light flickered on.
Tatum crossed the garage towards the refrigerator letting the door close behind her. She pulled open the refrigerator door and grabbed a few bottles of beer, cradling them in her arms, humming softly to herself.
As she closed the refrigerator door, a loud crash came from behind her and she spun around, screaming.
It was just a stack of garden tools-a rake, hoe…they all had fallen onto the concrete floor.
Tatum sighed with relief sheepishly.
"Calm down…its ok, Tatum," she said to herself, chuckling.
Guess the murders were getting to her too, she thought. Tatum went back to the door, tried the knob, and frowned when she discovered it was locked.
"Oh shit," she muttered.
Tatum wriggled the doorknob again. It wouldn't budge.
Just great, she thought.
It was probably Randy and Stu on the other side of the door blocking her in.
"Hey shitheads! Let me out!" Tatum cried, banging on the door.
No answer. The door still wouldn't open.
"Great joke, guys" she said through the door, and hit the garage door button. "You know there's an automatic door right?"
The automatic garage door started to rise, a mechanical hum emanating from the equipment at the top.
As she started for the opening door, still holding the beers, it suddenly started to close again and it slowly lowered to the ground.
What the hell? Tatum thought and turned around to face the door, jumping back at the dark figure standing there, his hand on the button.
He was wearing the white ghost mask.
Tatum scrunched up her face in confusion.
"Is that you, Randy?" she asked.
The masked figure stood still, staring at her blankly.
"Real cute, Randy. You'd better lose that costume, Sidney will flip," Tatum said, walking up to the figure.
Tatum reached for the door with her free hand, but the figure stepped to the side blocking her.
Tatum sighed, annoyed.
"Randy, cut out the horror movie shit. What movie is this? I Spit on your Garage?" Tatum joked.
The figure continued to stare blankly.
"Do you want to play psycho killer?"
The masked figure nodded.
"Can I be the helpless victim?" Tatum teased, mock-afraid.
The figure nodded again.
She rolled her eyes, laughing. She pretended to get into character.
"No Mr. Ghostface, don't kill me. I want to be in the sequel," she said in a fake high-pitched voice.
Tatum laughed again, and moved for the door, but he blocked her again.
"Cut it, Casper, that's a wrap," Tatum said firmly.
As she reached for the button, the masked man grabbed her arm and yanked her towards him. The beers fell on the floor and shattered.
"What the fuck, Randy?" Tatum cried out, struggling to free herself from the ghost's grasp.
Then, there was a flash of silver and with his other hand, the ghost pulled out a razor sharp bowie knife.
Tatum's eyes widened with fear.
"Randy, stop!" she screamed again, fighting, kicking…
Her eyes watched in horror as the blade of the knife slid across her arm, and a thin line of blood formed.
Tatum yelped with pain and reeled backwards away from the ghost-masked figure, clutching the gash in her forearm.
Tatum quickly processed the terrifying realization that it was the killer in front her, and staggered backwards into a lawn chair.
He came towards her, the knife raised in the air and Tatum jumped to her feet and dove to the side, grabbing the freezer door and flinging it open.
The door bashed him in the face and the killer went flying backwards.
"You fucker!" Tatum screamed, blood dripping from her arm onto the floor.
She bolted across the garage towards the door, jiggling the doorknob as hard she could, and it still wouldn't budge.
She spun around to see the killer lunging at her again with the knife soaring towards her heart, and she saw the shattered beer bottles on the floor.
There were a few that were intact. In a panic, Tatum snatched up one of the bottles and hurled it at him.
It smashed against his mask, sending beer flying and the killer growled with anger.
She threw another one, and it shattered against his chest and he staggered backwards again.
Tatum reached down to see that there were no more bottles, and when she looked up, the killer was lunging at her again.
Tatum screamed in horror and ducked down. He went soaring over crashing onto the steps, and Tatum scanned the room for any kind of escape while he was down.
The only way out was the automatic garage door and she didn't have any time to hit the button. The killer was hurriedly standing to his feet.
Panicking, Tatum noticed the pet door in the garage door. It was tiny, but it was her only shot.
Tatum scrambled for the pet flap, and started crawling through it.
She squeezed her head and shoulders through, and her heart sank as she realized she was stuck.
She tried to force herself forward and backwards and she couldn't budge.
Her shoulders were too wide to fit through.
And then she heard a mechanical hum.
Tatum felt a surge of terror and panic course through her body as the automatic door began to rise.
She screamed in terror, hoping someone could hear her cries, but there was no way anyone could hear her over the blaring music inside.
Tatum's neck and shoulders were getting closer to the top of the garage door as it rose higher and higher, her legs kicking frantically, shrieking…pleading for help….
Her screams were cut short when her neck hit the top beam, snapping it instantly. The door began to malfunction, sparks flying, and the door shaking erratically.
Tatum's body stopped shaking and her legs began to dangle lifelessly.
The killer took his hand off the button and left the darkened garage.