Chapter 52: So Light Em Up
Characters:
Emma Morgan (Sam and Jason)- 17
Gabe Morgan (Sam and Jason)- 16
Maddie Morgan (Sam and Jason)- 16
Katie Morgan (Sam and Jason)- 14
Selena Morgan (Sam and Jason)- 4
Morgan Corinthos (Carly and Sonny)- 29
Josslyn Jacks (Carly and Jax)- 22
Courtney Jacks (Carly and Jax)- 17
Connor Jacks (Carly and Jax)- 16
Bella Jacks (Jax and Brenda)- 15
Jacelyn Jacks (Carly and Jax)- 14
Chloe J Hunter (Maxie and Matt)- 17
Christian Hunter (Maxie and Matt)- 17
Lukas Spencer (Maxie and Lucky)- 16
Leah Zacchara (Maxie and Johnny)- 15
Ava Jones (Maxie)- 14
Daniel Zacchara (Olivia and Johnny)- 17
Mia Webber (Olivia and Steve)- 16
Mason Zacchara (Olivia and Johnny)- 15
Allie Webber (Olivia and Steve)- 14
Izzie Zacchara (Claudia)- 23
Zack Corinthos (Sonny and Claudia)- 17
Hunter Corinthos (Sonny and Claudia)- 16
Brittany Corinthos (Sonny and Brenda)- 16
Brenna Corinthos (Sonny and Claudia)- 15
Jazzie Corinthos (Sonny and Kate)- 14
Lola Zacchara (Claudia and Nikolas)- 14
Lindsey Scorpio-Drake (Robin and Patrick)- 23
Nate Scorpio-Drake (Robin and Patrick)- 17
Noah Scorpio-Drake (Robin and Patrick)- 16
Spencer Cassadine (Nikolas and Courtney)- 28
Aiden Cassadine (Nikolas and Elizabeth)- 22
Paige Cassadine (Nikolas and Emily)- 17
Nattie Cassadine (Nikolas and Brook Lynn)- 15
Colton Cassadine (Nikolas and Elizabeth)- 14
Haley Lovett (Ethan and Lisa)- 16
Ben Lovett (Ethan and Lisa)- 15
Logan Davis (Ethan and Kristina)- 15
Livvie Davis (Ethan and Kristina)- 15
Molly Lansing Webber (Ric and Alexis)- 28
Addie Lansing (Ric)- 16
Cameron Webber (Elizabeth and Lucky)- 29
Jake Spencer (Elizabeth and Lucky)- 24
Brendan Webber (Elizabeth)- 17
Stella Hunter (Elizabeth and Matt)- 16
Liam Drake (Elizabeth and Patrick)- 15
Aubrey Crowell (Nadine)- 16
Alec Barrett (Brenda and Aleksander)- 23
Matt Zacchara (Lulu and Johnny)- 17
Joey Falconeri (Dante and Brenda)- 17
Ashlyn Falconeri (Lulu and Dante)- 15
Lila Rae Alcazar (Skye and Lorenzo)- 28
Jamie Quartermaine (Dillon and Georgie)- 17
Trevor Alcazar(Skye and Lorenzo)- 16
Tanner Quartermaine (Dillon and Lulu)- 16
Julian Quartermaine (AJ)- 15
Grace Quartermaine (Skye)- 14
Tyler Drake (Lisa and Patrick)- 17
Ian Niles (Lisa)- 14
Rachel Janacek (Theo)- 23
Clay Janacek (Theo)- 22
Wes Janacek (Kiefer)- 16
Sophia Janacek (Rachel and Kiefer)- 4
Carrie Corinthos (Michael and Abby)- 15
Taylor Corinthos (Michael and Abby)- 14
Parker Ruiz (Manny)- 16
Ryan Rosco (Faith)- 17
Dominic Rosco (Faith)- 14
Prue Webber (Molly and Cam)- 0
Henry Spencer (Lindsey and Jake)- 0
Corey Spinelli (Spinelli)- 15
Bailey Spencer (Lucky and Siobhan)- 15
Kailey Franco (Franco)- 16
Max Franco (Franco)- 15
Violet Mir (Leyla)- 27
Gabriella Worth (Maggie)- 23
Reed Worth (Maggie)- 16
Lily Mir (Leyla)- 15
Funeral
Brenda Barrett looked around the large church she had booked. Her business associates, many of the same ones that had come to Bella's funeral, were spread around. She was surprised when she didn't see any of the teenagers that her son had associated with at PCH.
She spotted her oldest son (now only son) and went over to him. "Alec, have you seen Brittany?"
Alec sighed. "She's not coming."
Brenda raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
"I talked to her this morning, and she said she wasn't going to come."
"This is unacceptable. Joey was her brother. She should be here."
"Just leave her alone. She's been through a lot." Alec tried. He understood why Brittany didn't want to come; he had to listen to Josslyn rant about how Joey had beaten Emma up for over an hour. Honestly, he didn't feel that great about his younger brother either, but he knew he had to come.
"There's barely anyone here! Just us, my business people, and Dante, Lulu, and Ashlyn. Where is everyone, Alec? Why isn't anyone here for him?"
"I don't know." But he did. His brother had made a lot of enemies by going after Emma Morgan, and he knew no one from PCH (besides Ashlyn) would show up.
"He deserves better than this." Alec stayed quiet. "I'm going to go talk to people, okay? I'll see you later."
"Okay." Alec watched her walk away.
Josslyn and Lindsey came over. "Hey." The blonde greeted. "How you doing?"
He felt terrible about it, but he knew he shouldn't lie. "I'm fine." He tried to think of the best way to explain. "I never really felt that close to Joey, and after hearing what he did to Emma, I think he kind of deserved it. Maybe not getting killed, but getting beaten up by all of the guys." The girls were quiet, but he already knew their feelings on the subject. "My mom's freaking out. She doesn't understand why no one showed up. Plus, Brittany's not here."
"Can you really blame her?" Lindsey asked.
"No, and I completely understand why she's not here. But my mom isn't going to let her off so easy."
Brittany
The sound of the doorbell echoed throughout Greystone. Brittany, who was sitting on the couch wearing yoga pants and a t-shirt and eating a bagel, turned her head lazily towards the door leading to the front entry way, knowing that the guards would answer it. She and Claudia were the only ones home; Zack and Hunter were still in lockup, Sonny was at his office, and since they had never been withdrawn from PCH, Brenna and Lola decided to go to school that morning. Brittany was surprised when her mother came storming in.
"Brittany Julia Corinthos!" Brenda shouted. "I can't believe you! You couldn't show up to say goodbye to your own brother? Do you have any idea how rude and disrespectful you are?"
"How rude and disrespectful I am? My 'brother'," she used air quotes around the word 'brother', "beat a girl, a girl that happens to be one of my best friends."
"Emma Morgan ruined his life. He didn't beat her, Brittany."
"Really, he didn't? So Emma and my brothers and Gabe, Connor, and Nate and Chloe J and Courtney are all liars?"
"Yes. He wouldn't do that."
"How would you know! He hasn't lived with you since he was a little kid, none of us have because you were always more concerned with traveling and your job than you were with being a mother! You barely know any of us!"
"You will not talk to me this way, Brittany!"
"Yeah, well you know what? I wish you would stay far, far away from Port Charles. And you know what else? I'm glad that Joey's gone."
Brenda slapped Brittany across the face just as Claudia came into the living room. She came over, pushing her stepdaughter behind her and getting into her husband's ex's face in less than a second.
"Get your hands off of my kid." Claudia growled. "Get out of my house."
"Sonny wouldn't let you…"
"No, Sonny wouldn't let you hit his child. Everything Brittany has said is true; your son was an abusive pig who got satisfaction from watching his girlfriend in pain. Did he deserve to die? No. But he did deserve to get beat up."
"I hope your sons rot in jail."
"Get out." Claudia shouted. Brenda didn't move. "Max!"
Max Giambetti walked into the room. "Yeah, Mrs. C?"
"Could you please take this trash out of my house? And let her know that she is not welcome here, and not to contact Brittany again."
"She is my child! I will do what I want with her!"
"Really? What's her favorite color?"
"Pink."
"No, it's purple. Do you know what her shoe size is? Seven and a half. Or her boyfriend's name? Trevor Alcazar. You know nothing about her. You may have given birth to her, but that doesn't make you a mother. That just makes you a donor." Claudia nodded towards Max and he grabbed Brenda's arm, leading her out of the house. She turned to Brittany. "I'm sorry. I may have gotten a little carried away."
Brittany threw herself into Claudia's arms, hugging her tightly. "Thank you."
"You're welcome, baby." Claudia kissed her forehead. "You know that I love you, right? Just as much as Izzie, Zack, Hunter, Brenna, and Lola. You are my daughter, even if I didn't give birth to you."
"I know, and you're my mother. Thank you for standing up for me."
"I'll always stand up for you, Britt. Family sticks together, no matter what."
Katie
Katie stared blankly at the chalkboard, trying to figure out what her boring teacher, Mrs. Reed, was saying. Even though she was a freshman, she was in geometry, which was usually a sophomore class, but she (and a couple other people her age, including Taylor, unfortunately) had tested into it.
The bell rang and she started to grab her stuff, getting ready for her last class of the day. She heard Mrs. Reed's voice.
"Lola, Bailey, Katie, Ben, Taylor, Trevor, and Liam. Hang back for a second."
Everyone else left, and once they were alone, Mrs. Reed closed the door. "It has come to my attention that all of you are in danger of failing the quarter. After careful consideration, I have decided to give you all a chance to make it up, since I know some pretty crazy things have been happening lately."
"How?" Taylor questioned.
"After school tomorrow, you all can come to my classroom and I'll give you the opportunity to make up a few assignments. If you need help with anything, I'll be able to teach you how to do it. I don't want you to get a bad grade for your first quarter, so this is a pretty good chance for you to make things right."
None of the teenagers even had to consider it; they all quickly agreed, especially Trevor, who had failed the class last year and had to take it again, which made him the only junior in the whole class.
"Thank you, Mrs. Reed." Katie smiled at her before leaving the classroom. Things with school seemed to be mellowing out a bit, and she hoped that things at home would start to do the same.
Cheerleaders
Emma walked into the school gym, a piece of paper in her hand and an annoyed expression on her face. She hadn't wanted to go to school today, but her parents had forced her (along with Mia, and the rest of the Dream Team girls, with the exception of Brittany and Maddie, had been forced into going by their parents) and her day just kept getting worse.
"What's that?" Katie wondered, gesturing towards the paper in her sister's hand.
"Oh, this?" Emma threw it down on the table in the corner of the room. "This paper says that Maddie is kicked off of the cheerleading team because of her suspension."
"Maddie got suspended?" Aubrey asked.
"You didn't hear? She got in a fight yesterday." Nattie told her half-sister. It was still weird for her to think about Aubrey in that way.
"Wow."
"She was standing up for Mia, and she did the right thing." Emma said, effectively closing the subject.
"Since they're back, Lola, Brittany, and Brenna are on the team again, right?" Katie wondered.
"Lola isn't eligible; she's failing geometry. And so are you. You're off the team, Katie."
"What! That's not fair! I'm going to make up some assignments tomorrow!"
"It's not my choice." Emma sighed. "It doesn't really matter, because the squad is done. This is our last practice." Aubrey, Nattie, Jacelyn, Ava, and Kailey all looked at each other in shock. "We can't do anything with only six people. We've all got a lot going on in our lives anyway, and we need to focus on that. We've lost nearly our whole squad."
The girls finally accepted that their cheerleading team was done. For the five girls left, there was always next year. They could re-audition next August, and things would be okay for them. But for Emma, it was the end of an era. After cheering since her K1 cheerleading team, her senior year would end with having to quit because of her squad being ripped apart.
"So, I guess this is it." Emma gave them all a small smile. "Kailey, Aubrey, I'm so proud of both of you. You've both come out of your shell, and you were both really good. Next year, I want you guys to try out again. I guarantee Maddie or Britt will be the captain, and they know how good you are."
"Why not Mia?" Ava asked in curiosity.
"She'll have a baby to take care of; cheering becomes second priority when you've got more important things going on." Emma looked at Nattie. "You were good last year, and this year, you've just gotten better. You've definitely got the cheering gene, Nat." she turned to her best friends' little sisters. "Ava, Jace, I know this was your first year cheering for the high school, and it sucks that it had to end like this, but you've shown that you've got what it takes. You stayed with this squad until the end, and that takes a lot considering everything we've been through. I know you guys will be just fine at auditions next year."
"It won't be the same without you." Jacelyn told her.
"No, it won't. But you always knew that was going to happen. I've gotta graduate, and you've gotta keep doing what you love, and if that's cheerleading, then stick with it. The two of you are a little Chloe J and little Courtney if I've ever seen one, and I know that when you guys and Katie are seniors, you're going to dominate this team, just like we have." Emma smiled. "You guys are free to go."
The six girls (counting Katie) took half a second before pulling her into a group hug. They broke it after a few seconds passed.
"Bye." Kailey waved before walking away.
"It was so much fun cheering with you guys. Thank you for accepting me and being there for me." Aubrey smiled and then left the gym.
"We're all going to Ava's house, so I'll see you at home." Katie told her oldest sister.
"M'kay." Emma watched as Katie, Jacelyn, and Ava left, and she knew that the three girls were the carbon copies of their older sisters. She hoped that things wouldn't be as screwed up for them when it was their senior year.
Emma looked around the gym one last time. It finally hit her that this was her last time coming to cheer practice. She smiled sadly and flipped off the lights.
Brittany
Brittany turned the heat up higher in her car. She was parked near the docks and waiting for her boyfriend to meet her. She hadn't talked to him since the day after he asked her to run away with him; the day after she was attacked.
Trevor knocked on the passenger's side window and she unlocked the doors, letting him get inside. He smiled at her. "Hey."
"Hi. I'm surprised you met me."
"Why?"
"Things were kind of awkward where we left them." Brittany sighed. "I'm sorry for not running away with you, Trevor, but you have to understand that I just can't leave my family behind. They mean everything to me."
"I know, Britt, and it's okay. It was stupid for me to expect you to drop everything and run anyway." Trevor leaned forward and kissed her cheek. "I love you, you know that, right?"
"Yeah, I know." She looked at him in confusion. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Why?"
"I don't know, you seem…different. Distant."
"I'm the same way I've always been."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure." Trevor smiled. "I've gotta go, my mom doesn't know that I left. But I want to thank you."
"Okay…for what?"
"For giving me a chance. You didn't want to date me when I first asked you."
Brittany laughed for the first time in a while. "I thought you were weird."
Trevor laughed too. "Yeah, you told me that I would ruin your 'popular image'. I'm glad you decided to try though."
"Me too." Brittany agreed.
"So thank you. I love you, Brittany Corinthos. Always."
"Love you too." Brittany frowned slightly. For some reason, it felt like he was saying goodbye. She wondered if maybe he was planning on running away without her. "See you tomorrow."
"See ya." Trevor got out of her car and went to his own. As Brittany put on her seatbelt, she wondered why it looked like her boyfriend was limping.
Connor
As soon as she walked into the questioning room, Connor could tell how tense Maddie was. She was shaky and her hair looked like she hadn't washed it. She sat down and put her hands on top of the table and he immediately noticed her bruised knuckles.
He frowned. "What happened to you?"
"Nothing." Maddie moved her hands to her lap and out of his view.
"Madelyn, you know I'm not just going to drop it. What did you do to your hands? Who did you get in a fight with?"
"Michelle Scott."
"That snobby blonde girl in our grade?" Maddie nodded. "Why?"
"She called Mia a whore and said she asked to be beat up by the TMK, and then she said the baby would grow up to be a killer just like Daddy."
Connor's eyes darkened. Gabe and Mia were two of his best friends, and he wouldn't tolerate anyone talking about them. "Did you do damage?"
"Broke her nose."
"That's my girl." Connor gave her a small smile. "How's everyone else?"
"Who all has visited you?"
"My parents and Courtney. They didn't want Jacelyn to come here, so Josslyn's been staying with her when everyone else is here. And I told them to keep Michael and Morgan away; their tempers will get in the way."
"Did Courtney tell you anything about what's been going on?"
"Not really. She said there hasn't been much."
"Haley was attacked yesterday. She got off pretty easy. Emma told the cheerleaders that the squad is finished, and today was their last practice. Courtney told Tyler that Selena is his daughter; apparently he never knew."
"Whoa, back up on that last one. Has he done anything? Do your parents know?"
"My parents still don't even know that we know. Tyler hasn't approached them or anything, but it's only a matter of time. Could you go on knowing that you had a daughter and just acting like nothing ever happened?" Connor shook his head. "Exactly."
Connor knew it was best to change the subject. "Have you talked to the other guys?"
"Gabe. He's still just as furious as he was on Sunday. Emma saw Zack, and she said that he did nothing but worry about her the whole time. Patrick and Lindsey have seen Nate, and Sonny and Claudia saw Hunter, but I'm not sure what happened in either of those conversations."
"In case we don't get out of this…"
"Stop. Don't talk like that." Maddie interrupted.
"Just let me get this out, Mads." Connor took a deep breath. "In case we don't get out of this, I just want to tell you that I love you. You've been my best friend for longer than I can remember, and you mean everything to me. If I had the opportunity, I would be the best boyfriend you could ever ask for, but I won't ask you to do that because I don't want to hold you back."
Maddie stared at him in surprise. "What about Aubrey?"
"We broke up."
"Connor, I don't know what to say." She smiled. "I love you too."
"Then when I get out, if I get out, we can work on this."
Maddie nodded. "Okay."
Gabe
When the door opened, Gabe looked up. He was expecting to see his parents, but was happily surprised when it was Mia instead. He could see that her face was pale and she had bags under her eyes, and he knew she was really stressed out. She sat down.
"You need to go home and get some rest."
"Stop. You don't need to worry about me right now. How are you?"
"Fine."
"Gabriel."
"I'm nervous." He admitted. "I don't want to go to prison. I don't regret standing up for Emma, but I didn't think this could happen."
"They'll find out the truth." Mia said, hoping that it was true.
Gabe knew she was keeping something from him as soon as she looked down at her lap. "What's wrong?"
"Huh?"
"What happened that you're trying to keep from me?"
Mia met his eyes. "Maddie got suspended from school."
"What? Why?"
"She got into a fight with Michelle Scott. Beat her up, too."
"What was the fight about? It's not like Maddie to just attack people."
"Michelle called me a whore and said that I asked to get beat up."
"Mia." He sighed. "Are you okay?"
"Oh, that part doesn't even bother me. What really got on my nerves was when she said that our baby was going to grow up to be a killer, just like Daddy."
Gabe shook his head. "I'm sorry."
"Why? You have nothing to apologize for."
"Have a lot of people at school been bothering you?"
"No, school's fine."
"I've seen the way they treat Ashlyn because she's pregnant. Have they been that way with you?"
"Of course. They're all a bunch of petty teenagers, but I don't care because I've got Britt and Court and Emma and Chloe J. I don't need them."
"Our baby's going to be just fine, you know."
"Yeah, I know." Mia rested a hand on her flat stomach. "This baby has a father that's a hero, not a killer. He or she will be perfect." She bit her lip. "My parents are getting a divorce."
Gabe looked at her in surprise. "How'd you find that out?"
"My mom called and asked me to meet her. She's moving into a new apartment and Allie's going to move in with her. She wants me to move in too."
"Did you tell her about the baby?"
"Yep."
"And…?"
"I'm not really sure how she felt. She was surprised, and she was worried about how you would be in the baby's life, even if you're not the father."
"Biology doesn't matter to me. There's a chance the baby could be mine, and even if there wasn't, I would still step up. You're my best friend, Mia."
"I know that, but she doesn't understand." Mia sighed. "I've been thinking it over, and if, God forbid, things don't work out with you getting released, then I might do it."
"You know you don't have to feel obligated. You're part of my family."
"Yeah, but it would be weird living with them if you're not there."
"Why? You've still got Maddie and Emma."
"I know. I'm just saying that I'm considering moving in with her."
"It's good to think over your options." Gabe agreed.
"Time's up." An officer came into the room.
"I'll see you soon. Love you, Mimi."
"Love you too." She watched as he was taken away.
Emma
Thursday morning was just as boring as the rest of them had been. School seemed to drag on all day, and by lunch, it felt like the day should be over.
Emma, Courtney, Chloe J, Paige, Mia, and Brittany all sat at the seniors' lunch table. Since they were the only members of the Dream Team that were in school right now, they had been sticking together.
A group of sophomores walked by, giggling and staring at Mia. Emma glared at them, which made one of them squeak as they all ran away. It seemed as if all of PCH had lost respect for the Crew after all of the TMK attacks and the pregnancies, but Emma was still in charge of the school and everyone was terrified of her.
"God, I'm so sick of this." Chloe J groaned. "They act like we're in a zoo or something." She looked around and saw all the eyes on their table. "Can I help you with something?" she yelled loudly, forcing them to redirect their attention. "This is so annoying."
"I don't even know what to do anymore. Saying that I can't wait until it gets better won't help anything because it never seems to get better." Courtney said.
Paige sighed. "We can't give up hope, Court."
"It's kind of hard when you've got nothing left to hope for."
"You can hope that my baby gets Aunt Emma's dimples." Mia offered, earning a small smile from the rest of the table. "Or that sweet and innocent Maddie Morgan doesn't get into anymore brawls."
"Who would have thought it would be her." Brittany said with a shake of her head. "It's crazy how much things change."
"If only we could fast forward to when this mess is over."
Jason
Jason knocked on the door of his old business partner's house. Spinelli opened it quickly.
"Stone Cold! Thanks for arriving so quickly." He moved aside, letting the much larger man enter.
Jason looked around and felt a pain in his chest at all the pictures of Spinelli's son spread around the house. He had lost his only family, and that was just one more reason to motivate the father of five (soon to be six) to find this TMK.
"What did you need, Spin?"
"I just wanted to let you know that Emma has asked me to work on the case of the Text Message Killer. Apparently, Corey was doing so before he was killed, and he had found who it was."
"Then can't we just look on his laptop?"
"That's the problem. His laptop was with him when it happened. Luckily, he backs everything up onto a flash drive, so I'm just waiting to see if it will load onto my laptop."
"Do you think it will?"
"It's hard to tell. The flash drive had been in Corey's bag, and it was left out in the rain, so I'm just hoping it will recover something."
Jason watched as various codes and letters appeared on the computer screen. He was guessing it had to be good, considering Spinelli's "yes, yes, yes!" that he was currently chanting.
"What is it?"
"This is all of the information from the flash drive. It seems that only a small amount of data was affected…and it looks like that had nothing to do with the TMK."
Spinelli began to type and click around, trying to find whatever he could. Jason kind of zoned out, until he heard his name.
"Stone Cold!"
"What?'
"There it is."
A paused video was sitting on the screen. There, plain as day, was Jason's nephew Trevor Alcazar with a black mask and cellphone in his hand as he left the scene of Stella Hunter's attack.
Jason immediately sprang into action, hoping that he could help before it was too late.
Katie
"Oh shoot!" Mrs. Reed said in the middle of explaining one of their concepts to Bailey. "I'll be right back, kids. I've got to go get my phone charger!" she hurried out of the room.
"Let's take a bathroom break." Trevor suggested. "Hurry before she tells us that we have to stay in here the whole time to get credit."
The seven teenagers went out into the hallway, Katie and Lola leading the way. Liam, Bailey, and Ben were right behind them, Taylor was behind the three of them, and then Trevor brought up the rear.
As they got closer to the front doors, Trevor took the lead, going over to them and pulled out a set of keys, locking the doors quickly from the outside, effectively shutting them all inside.
"Uh, Trevor?" Liam questioned. "What are you doing?"
It took a couple seconds for him to turn around, but once he did, he had a big smile on his face and a match in his hand. All of their phones vibrated at the same time.
Katie looked down at the message and she immediately knew.
Time 2 crash and burn.
"Oh my God. It's you." She whispered, grabbing onto Lola's hand.
"Yep." Trevor grinned. "I'm surprised it took someone so long to figure it out. Oh, wait. Corey Spinelli did, but then I killed him."
"Trevor, how could you do this?" Taylor asked her cousin. "Why?"
Trevor shrugged. "Why not?"
The other teenagers looked at each other for half of a second before turning and running in the opposite direction. Trevor followed behind them with a loud laugh.
Ben reached the backdoor first and pulled on it, but it was locked. "We can't get out this way!"
"You can't get out any way." Trevor corrected. "All of the doors are locked, and the top of the school is already burning. It's only a matter of minutes before you all burn to death."
"What do we do?" Katie asked in a whisper, looking at the others.
"There's nothing you can do, Katiana." Trevor told her.
"Aren't you going to be killing yourself too?" Liam wondered.
"It's all just a sacrifice. You know, after I kill all of you, that will be fifteen people."
"Just let us go." Bailey begged. "We're all kids. We're too young. Just let us go."
"Sorry, Bailey. That's a no can do." Trevor smiled. "I would like this game a lot more if you would run."
"It's not a game!" Taylor spat. "These are people's lives you're talking about! You've killed people, Trevor!"
"I know."
"You don't have to do it again."
"But I do."
"Come on." Katie commanded. She grabbed Lola's hand and pulled her down the hallway. She could hear footsteps and knew that Bailey, Taylor, Ben, and Liam were following. She just hoped that Trevor had changed his mind and stayed behind.
Then, there was a loud crash. Katie went to turn around, but Liam pushed her forward.
"Don't turn around. Just keep walking."
"What happened?" Lola demanded.
"The ceiling fell." Ben explained.
Katie managed to turn enough to see that only Ben, Liam, and Taylor were behind her. "Where is Bailey?"
Taylor whimpered slightly. "The floor hit her."
"What! We have to go back!"
"Katie, if the ceiling didn't kill her, then the fire has. We have to keep going." Taylor told her.
"Where are we even going to go?" Lola asked. "There's nowhere. We're trapped."
"Here I come!" Trevor sang out from somewhere behind them.
Katie's eyes were watering from all of the smoke, and she felt like it was getting harder to breathe. Her hand was clasped tightly in Lola's, and she reached back, grabbing Taylor's hand with her free one. Ben took the lead and he stopped them halfway down the hallway.
"You're all going to go in here." He stated.
"What about you guys?" Lola wondered, looking at the two boys.
"We're going to hold him off for as long as possible." Ben opened the door and saw the window in the corner. "Do everything you can to get out of that window, and hurry."
Katie looked at the two boys, hoping that this wouldn't be the last time she saw them. Ben was technically her step cousin, and she had known Liam for forever because his older half-brother is Nate, and Emma had been close to him for her whole life.
"C'mon, Katie." Taylor pulled her into the room and Lola shut the door, effectively blocking them off from the serial killer that was out in the hallway.
Lola examined the window. "We're going to have to break it. I don't think we can just open it up."
"Back up." Taylor grabbed a mop that was sitting in the corner and jammed the handle of it into the glass, shattering it easily. She put it around the edges to clear off any remaining pieces. "Katie, you're the smallest. I don't know if any of us can even fit, but if we could, it would be you."
"I don't wanna go first." Katie objected, shaking her head. "I can't."
"You can do this." Taylor assured her. She hugged her cousin for the first time in years. "You're going to get out of here, and if we can't get out too, then you need to get help. Run as fast as you can, scream, I don't care what you do. Just hurry."
Katie pulled back and studied Taylor, remembering all of the sleepovers and secrets they had shared when they were younger. The two girls had been best friends up until middle school, when they both developed feelings for Dominic Rosco. Katie's had been platonic, while Taylor liked him as more, but neither girl could stand the other's presence in the boy's life, which ultimately ended up tearing them apart.
Katie hugged Lola. "I love you guys, okay? You're going to get out of this."
Taylor and Lola lifted Katie up, giving her just enough leverage to reach the window. They were on the ground floor, so it wasn't a far drop. Katie made it through the window and landed on the ground, stumbling slightly. She looked up and saw Lola, but right as she made it over the edge, she was pulled back down.
Katie could hear their screams echoing as she ran to get help.
Sam and Jason
Jason raced down the road, hoping that he could make it to the school in time. After Spinelli told him what was happening, he had gone home and grabbed Sam, who he quickly explained everything to. She started to panic, saying that Katie was at the school right now with Trevor, Taylor, Lola, Patrick and Elizabeth's son, Lucky's daughter, and Ethan's son.
"Go faster." Sam urged. She was bouncing in her seat anxiously.
Jason pulled into the school at the same time as an ambulance, police officers, and fire trucks. The parents watched in horror as the entire school collapsed in a big heap of flames.
"Oh my God." Sam cried, getting out of the car. "Jason, our daughter."
Jason hugged his wife, holding her close as he tried to get the image of Katie burning to death out of his head.
"Mom? Dad?" they looked up at the same time.
Katie walked over to them, covered in black with tearstains down her cheeks. She was coughing, and looked so much smaller than she ever had.
They ran forward, hugging her and Sam started crying, which made Katie cry even more, and Jason was just happy that his daughter was okay.
"Someone needs to help them." Katie sobbed. "They were all inside."
"It's okay, baby." Sam whispered.
"But I know who the TMK is! It's…"
"Trevor." Jason interrupted. Sam looked up at him, thinking he was talking to them, but his attention was on the front of where the school had been.
Covered in soot, Trevor Alcazar stood with a big smile on his face and a gun in his hand.
The police officers, some of which the Morgans recognized to be Cameron and Lucky, stood together, their guns trained on the sixteen year old.
"So you've all figured it out, huh? I guess I've got Spinelli to thank for that one. I should have killed him when I killed Corey." Trevor said.
"Why, Trevor?" Jason demanded. His nephew turned his attention to him. "Why would you do this?"
"Some of them were just for fun. Like Emma, Maddie, Mia, and Courtney. They didn't even have a chance of escaping!"
"So you like to go after girls?" Sam asked. "You're just like your father."
Trevor smiled. "That's all I ever wanted. I just wanted to be like Lorenzo, and like Diego. They both had so much power and I had always wanted that."
"You didn't have to kill anyone to have power!" Cameron shouted. "You could have had the power to say no!"
Trevor laughed. "Wow, that would have been fun."
"What are we supposed to tell their parents? All the kids who died." Lucky said. "Do we just tell them that their children were killed for fun?"
"Hmmm, let me think. I pushed Mason off of the Port Charles bridge because it was so easy, and it was even easier to pretend it wasn't me. I warned Max, and he didn't leave, so then I went after him, and I meant to kill Maddie after she witnessed it, but people were too close. With Jazzie," they could all see his face change, "Jazzie never wanted me. I had asked her out over and over again, and she always said no. She said she couldn't betray her sister like that." Trevor rolled his eyes. "Bella practically asked me to kill her. Who goes out in a storm and just stands there? And then Matt," Trevor laughed slightly. "Matt's attempt at getting free was just pathetic. I had to take care of him, and it was too bad because I was going to make Emma watch while I killed him, but instead, I just buried them together."
Sam and Jason had to hold in their rage. He had gone after their daughters and there was absolutely nothing they could do now to erase that from their minds.
"I tried to kill Maddie again, but her stupid boyfriend got in the way, but her watching him die ended up being a lot more fun. Corey practically gave me a death wish. He saw me attacking Brittany, which I did because she wouldn't listen to me when I asked her to run away with me, and then I found out that Corey knew who I was. Lily was just for fun, and Joey was payback. I knew that the boys would all go after him after he beat Emma up, and I paid someone to say they saw them leaving the scene. And now, I've got all these people to add to the list." Trevor motioned towards the school.
"You're a disgusting, sick person." Cameron spat. "Boys, get him."
But before anyone could react, Trevor had the gun to his head. "Hey Uncle Jason, tell all those people I attacked that they're lucky. After the fire, I was gonna come back and kill them, all in the order they were attacked. They got off easy."
Trevor pulled the trigger.
Hospital
"Come on, we have to hurry!" Emma shouted to Maddie and Mia as they got out of her car.
"What even happened?"
"I don't know, my parents just said to get to General Hospital because it's an emergency. Since we're all here, it has to be Katie or Selena."
"Or Gabe." Mia voiced what they were all thinking. "What if he was attacked in lockup?"
"Hey!" they all turned as Courtney shouted, coming towards them quickly. "Why are you guys here?"
"My parents asked us to me here."
"Mine too." Courtney agreed. The four girls walked quickly towards the hospital together.
"Emma!" they turned around again and spotted Chloe J. "Let me guess. Your parents asked you to meet here?"
"Yep. Come on."
As they entered the hospital, they were quickly met by Epiphany. She stopped them. "Go to the third floor conference room." She smiled. "I'm glad you're all okay."
"Thanks." Emma said, wondering what she was talking about. They all stood in silence on the elevator, hoping that nothing major had happened.
When they got to the third floor and saw members of the Crew spread out all over the place, they knew that something bad happened.
"Everyone to the conference room!" Cameron yelled, pointing in the direction. The girls followed the crowd. "I think we've got all of you, so we're going to start."
"There are still a couple of people missing." Emma corrected.
"We know, they'll be here soon."
"What's going on, Cam?" Maddie asked.
"The investigation of the Text Message Killer has finally come to an end."
"Oh no it hasn't." Mia objected, coming forward. "Gabe, Nate, Connor, Zack, and Hunter had nothing to do with any of this and…"
"Mia, relax." Cameron said to his cousin. "The TMK was Trevor Alcazar."
"No." Grace Quartermaine, Trevor's younger sister, immediately objected. "It couldn't have been."
"We got a full confession. I'm sorry, Grace."
"Where is he?" Courtney demanded. "I'd like to see him." Every other person in the room who was attacked nodded their heads.
"You can't." Cameron took a deep breath. "He committed suicide after killing five more people and burning down PCH."
"Oh my God." Chloe J fell back into a chair. "This just gets better and better."
"Who was killed?" Emma wondered.
"Bailey Spencer, Liam Drake, Ben Lovett, Taylor Corinthos, and Lola Zacchara."
"What?" everyone turned to the door as Brittany and Brenna came in.
"I'm so sorry to break it to you like this, but Lola was killed in a fire that burned down the school."
"No." Brittany shook her head. "We already lost Jazzie. We can't lose another sister."
"I'm really sorry, Britt." Maddie whispered to her, hugging her. "There's more."
"What else could there possibly be?"
"They got a confession for the TMK." Emma answered. "It was Trevor."
Brittany didn't react. She stayed silent in Maddie's arms for a couple of seconds, and then pulled away and sat next to Chloe J. Everyone was waiting for her to cry, but it never happened.
"…and she was the only one who survived." Sam finished telling Emma, Maddie, and Mia.
"Wow." Maddie said quietly. "Did he say what made him do all of this?"
"He wanted to be like his father and his older half-brother, Diego. They were both really crazy, and he achieved his goal." She sighed. "He also said that everyone attacked got lucky because after the fire, he was going to come back and kill all of you in the order you were attacked."
"Which means I was going to be killed in a couple of days." Mia realized. "First one attacked, first one killed."
"Is Katie okay?" Emma asked.
"Physically, she's fine. They were worried about smoke inhalation, but it seemed like she didn't breathe in much smoke. Emotionally, she's a mess. She didn't actually see anyone die, but Lola was climbing out the window and she saw her get pulled back down, and then she heard Lola and Taylor screaming."
"Can we see her?"
"Yeah, your father's in there now." Sam opened the door and led the three teenagers into her fourteen year old's exam room.
Emma took the lead and went over, pulling her younger sister into her arms. She stroked her hair gently.
"It's gonna get better, Katie. It's all over now."
Katie started to cry as she clung to Emma. The oldest Morgan pulled back, making room for Maddie.
"You're so brave, you know that?" Maddie wiped away her tears. "I wouldn't have known what to do."
"But I left them behind." She cried. "Why did I get out, but they didn't?"
"Don't question it." Mia told her. "It's easier not to ask why. Just be glad you're alive, Katie. And just live your life right, for them."
Should Brittany have gone to the funeral? Was Claudia wrong to jump into the fight between her and Brenda?
Cheerleading team is done. Kind of sad since it was one of the major storylines in the beginning.
Connor finally admitted his feelings for Maddie. What do you think will happen between them?
Do you think Mia and Gabe will have a boy or a girl? And will they ever start dating?
The TMK is revealed! Did you guess it? How do you feel about how everything with the reveal happened?
