Hello, all. Thank you for continuing to read and for all the reviews. I'm sorry for the delay in posting this chapter. I was busy with various stuff and things, but now I'm not. So here is the next chapter. I hope you like it:

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Sidney stared across the room at Randy who was snoring softly on the couch in his family's living room. He had offered to stay up with her rather than going to bed, but was seemingly much more exhausted than he realized. Sidney didn't mind. She actually appreciated very much that her friend had even offered to stay with her instead of leaving her alone to dwell on her own thoughts. Obviously he was very tired, and he could have easily told her that, and she wouldn't have blamed him at all if he had opted to go to bed. But he hadn't done that. He'd stayed up with her, or at least had attempted to, and for that she was very grateful. She was so lucky to have a friend as loyal as Randy.

She smiled as she watched him. He certainly was a strange person, but at the same time he was one of the best people she had ever met. Randy stuck with her no matter what.

Sidney sighed as she leaned back against the recliner she had been sitting in. Maybe she should try to get some sleep too... Though that was most certainly easier said than done. Her mind, of course, was still racing.

Now Sidney could factually state that she was an orphan. Losing her mother was awful enough, and now she had lost her father as well. It simply wasn't fair. When she was a little child, Sidney would sometimes worry that her parents would one day die. Sometimes she would lie awake at night wondering what she would do if they were gone. She never imaged they would go so soon, or like this.

She glanced over toward Randy again as he shifted onto his side. He looked so peaceful, but his mind was probably clouded with worries, dread, a feeling of being cheated over, and grief, just as Sidney's was. Martha was only fourteen. He probably never dreamed he'd be attending her funeral at all, much less while he was still only in college. And Martha was such a sweet girl. She couldn't have possibly done anything to deserve what had happened to her.

Looking toward the window, Sidney inhaled deeply. Randy's family had taken the liberty of closing all their curtains, as many families throughout Woodsboro probably had tonight. People were scared, and with good reason. Sidney wondered if the person who murdered her father and Randy's sister, and all those other unfortunate people was outside somewhere. Whoever it was seemed to always know everyone's business. He or she probably knew Sidney and Randy were here. The killer surely wouldn't strike while they were with Randy's family, and there were probably police keeping a watch on his house too. It was quite likely that Sidney and Randy would live at least until tomorrow.

Would the killer go after someone else tonight then? Three people had been killed the first night. The following evening, two more people were murdered. Tonight, it had been Sidney's father - and he may have even died sometime during the day. Was the killer done for tonight? Or would Sidney wake up to hear that someone else in town had been killed? Were Dewey and Gale safe? Dewey was working. He probably wouldn't be left all alone, right? Gale left with her camera man, Xavier. Would Xavier make sure Gale was alright? Were they friends enough to look out for each other? Or was their relationship strictly professional?

Sidney frowned. Maybe she should call Gale and check in. She always told herself that calling Gale was the last thing she'd ever want to do, but for some reason she felt like she might just never fall asleep if she didn't make sure the reporter had made it to her motel safely.

So she picked up the phone that had been laying on the end table next to her chair and dialed Gale's number. Hopefully Gale wouldn't be annoyed if Sidney woke her up.

As the phone rang, Sidney occupied her mind by glancing around Randy's family's living room. The walls were covered in school pictures of both Randy and Martha, dating back from when they were each in Kindergarten. Sidney smiled. Randy was adorable as a five year old. She tapped her fingers on her knee as the phone continued ringing without an answer. She was beginning to get worried. Gale seemed to always have her cell phone on her. Why wouldn't she pick up?

Finally, the ringing stopped.

Sidney paused as she waited to hear Gale's voice. But she never did. Someone had figuratively answered the phone, in the regard that they had pressed the talk button and were connected now to Randy's phone, which Sidney now held up to her ear, but they hadn't said anything.

"Gale?" Sidney finally asked, "Gale, it's Sidney," she spoke, trying to keep her voice relatively quiet so as to not wake Randy, "can you hear me?" maybe the motel didn't have good cell phone reception.

"I hear you, Sidney," a voice spoke. But it wasn't Gale's.

Sidney set her mouth in a straight line as she sat up in the recliner, "who is this?" she asked with a very serious tone. She knew who it was, of course, because the speaker on the other end of the phone spoke in the same voice as the murderer who had called her father's phone earlier tonight.

"Who do you think it is?" the killer asked in an amused voice, "you got any suspects in mind? Who do you think I am?"

Sidney frowned, "where's Gale?" she scowled at nothing in particular as she spoke.

"She's here with me, of course," the voice spoke, "as is your good friend Officer Riley."

"Did you kill them?" Sidney spoke in a very matter of fact tone. She wasn't interested in playing games with this person.

For a moment, the killer didn't answer. Sidney was about to ask again when he finally replied, "not yet."

"If you hurt them," she began a threat she knew she couldn't possibly deliver on.

"You'll what?" the killer mocked, "what will you do if I hurt them?"

"I swear, I'll kill you myself," Sidney growled.

"Well, you'll have to come and get me," the other person laughed, "I'd like that, actually. Maybe we can make a deal," he spoke, "you come meet us at Gale's motel room; you know where it is, right? The only motel anywhere near scenic Woodsboro."

"I know where it is," Sidney frowned as she spoke.

"Excellent," the killer had a smile in his voice, "you come to the motel, and you come without any police. If I even so much as suspect there is a cop anywhere near here, other than your cop friend who's already here, of course, I will slit both of their throats. You've got fifteen minutes before I start breaking fingers."

Sidney swallowed a lump in her throat.

"You better get a move on, Sidney," the voice spoke again, "and remember, no cops."

With that, the line disconnected.

Sidney felt her breathing becoming frantic. What was she supposed to do? Of course she couldn't leave Dewey and Gale to die, but should she tell the cops? Maybe she could tell them to hang back and only come in when the opportunity was right. But would they consider catching the killer the biggest priority? What if they were okay with Dewey and Gale being necessary casualties for the greater good?

Honestly, she felt like breaking down and sobbing. She had already lost her parents, her best friend, her first serious boyfriend she'd ever had... Dewey was like a big brother to her, and Gale was... She didn't really know for sure, maybe like an older sister who she didn't always get along with, but who she cared about and respected at the same time. She couldn't bear to lose them too. She didn't have time to feel helpless or to break down right now. Her friends were counting on her. So she in took a deep breath and felt around in her pockets for her car keys.

As she walked slowly across the living room, she was startled when Randy said something from behind her.

"Where you going, Sid?" he asked in a half-asleep voice.

Sidney froze, "Just... I'm going to my car," she didn't know what to say, "I left something in my car," she lied.

"I'll come with you," Randy yawned as he stretched his arms and started to stand.

"No, no, it's fine," Sidney shook her head, "I'll just be a minute. Go back to sleep, Randy."

"Hm um," he refused, "the killer could be out there. No way am I letting you go outside in the middle of the night all by yourself," as Randy walked toward her and finally was fully awake, he seemed to notice something in her demeanor, "what's wrong, Sid? What's going on?" he wondered.

Sidney hesitated. She really didn't want Randy involved in this if he didn't have to be.

"Sidney, what is it?" he asked with wide, concerned eyes.

She remained quiet. How could she convince Randy to let her go on her own? No way would he allow her to go meet up with the killer all by herself. But it seemed he didn't even want her walking ten feet to her car without a chaperon. There was no chance that she was going to get out of this house in the next few minutes without him following close behind. And if what the killer had said on the phone wasn't a lie, Dewey and Gale didn't have the luxury of time. She couldn't just wait for Randy to fall back to sleep. They could be dead by then.

"Sidney," he spoke again, "you've gotta talk to me, Sid," Randy was frowning and his eyebrows were knitted together with worry.

"I called Gale's cell phone to check in on her," Sidney finally answered. There was no way she could keep this from Randy. He knew her too well and could spot her lies better than anyone. She also was wasting precious time. The killer told her to be at the motel in fifteen minutes, "the killer answered. He told me to meet him at the motel where Gale's staying."

"That's a terrible idea, Sid," Randy shook his head as though completely confused, "don't do that... Why would you do that?"

"He's got Gale and Dewey," Sidney frowned, "he says he'll kill them if he sees any cops. And he says I've got fifteen minutes to get there. I can't just let them die, Randy."

"They could already be dead, Sid," Randy stared at her with wide eyes, "I think the cops need to deal with this. What are you going to do? If you go, he'll just kill you too."

"If the cops try to save them, they'll end up dead. This is Gale and Dewey we're talking about, Randy," Sidney frowned, "I can't bear to lose anyone else. I've got to do this."

Randy shook his head, "I guess I've got to go with you then."

"No, Randy," Sidney demanded, "I can't ask you to do that. He didn't ask for you. If I get killed, it's on me. If you get killed, I'll never forgive myself."

"The feeling is mutual, Sid. If I let you go alone and you get hurt," he closed his eyes and shook his head, "it would be too much for me to handle... Way too much. I already lost the other girl I care about most on earth. I can't lose you too."

Sidney couldn't help but smile, "Alright," she exhaled, "well, we don't have time to waste."

Randy nodded, "Let's go get this guy."

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