Hullo. Thank you, everyone reading this, for coming back for the next chapter, and for all the reviews you've been leaving. Even the confusing ones... I love and appreciate every single one. Sorry I've been updating somewhat slowly again... I've been writing a monumentally wonderful Hobbit story and it has stolen my focus. But I do have this story finished and will keep working on posting the new chapters as I proofread and edit them. So not to worry. :)

I hope you like this chapter. It's kind of a huge one. Huge in size and in content. Enjoy:

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Clutching at Dewey's sleeve, Gale gasped and flinched as she heard a loud, echoing gunshot from on top of the motel's roof.

By this point, they had made it back to where Sidney and Randy were waiting, but they'd only been there for less than a minute. The gunshot sounded so close. That meant the killer was likely right above them. But what did the gunshot mean? Had Cotton tackled the killer and claimed the gun? Was the killer dead? Or was Cotton? Or maybe neither? Perhaps the gun just went off while the two fought with each other.

"We've got to help him," Gale urged in a panicked whisper as she looked nervously and uselessly above them. Cotton had never done anything to deserve to get shot, and he certainly didn't deserve to be abandoned, left to be shot again.

"That was a gunshot, Gale," Randy whispered back, "just one... and with so screaming or begging afterward... I'm sorry, but if the killer shot him, I think he's already dead."

"Maybe Cotton got the gun. Maybe he shot the killer," Gale hoped.

Randy shook his head, "I think he would have yelled down to us... told us what was going on."

Gale bit her lower lip and felt tears coming to her eyes. Randy was right. The silence after the shot all but confirmed it was Cotton who had been hit, "then let's all go hang out by the ladder. The killer's got to come down eventually. We'll corner him, and between all four of us, we'll be able to get the gun away from him."

"That's awfully risky," Dewey looked uneasy, "it's a gun. One wrong move and one of us will end up dead."

"Would you rather him pick us off one by one anyway? I think it's time to show this fucker what we're made of. There are four of us, and only one of him," she whispered as softly as she could, "we've got to stop him," she turned toward Sidney and Randy, "for your dad... and for your sister. Their justice warrants a bit of risk."

Sidney nodded, "she's right, Dewey," she turned toward the cop, "we can't keep hiding like this. Running away doesn't solve things with this killer. It's a temporary fix, but if we want to stop him, we've got to confront him."

Dewey sighed, "I guess so..."

Randy nodded in agreement and the four of them made their way back toward the back of the building.

Gale led the way as they made their way past the pool and around toward the laundry room. The ladder was right next to the laundry room's door. Gale gestured for everyone to quietly file into the laundry room so that the killer could not see they were there before he made his way down the ladder.

"How are we gonna go about this?" Randy wondered in a hushed whisper, "are we just going to tackle him or what?"

"Whatever it takes," Gale shrugged as she peered out the tiny crack she left between the door and its frame so that she could see when the killer found his way back down to the ground.

"I have pepper spray," Sidney offered, "let me go at him first. I'll spray his eyes and then we can work toward getting the gun away from him."

Gale glanced back at her. The thought of allowing Sidney to go after their killer in front of everyone else made her feel extremely guilty - a feeling she was not at all accustomed to, "I can take the the pepper spray," she offered, holding out her hand.

"No, Gale," Sidney shook her head, "you can't do this all on your own. The reason we all agreed this idea might work is that all four of us will be here working toward the same goal."

"But... Sidney," Gale shook her head, but she didn't know what else to say.

"We'll be fine," Sidney forced a smile as she joined Gale at the door, "if we can get to him while he's still going down the ladder, we'll have an advantage."

Gale nodded and everyone grew silent so they could listen for the killer's footfalls on the ladder's rungs.

The wait seemed excruciating. They all wanted this to be over, but at the same time, they dreaded the possibility that they would fail and that their lives may soon be over. Going after an armed killer was certainly not a failproof plan. This was going to end tonight, for the four of them at least, either with the killer dead, or with them dead.

After much too long, and yet somehow also not long enough, they heard the sound of feet coming down the ladder.

Gale stared with wide eyes at Sidney, who nodded back toward her to signify that she was ready. And with that, the four of them rushed out of the laundry room at toward the ladder...

Gale couldn't see where the killer had stashed the gun. She could see Randy's tire iron somehow hanging off the killer's waist, but the gun was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps it was on the other side.

Without any further delay, Gale ran up behind him and grabbed the back of the dark cloak he was wearing. She tugged him down off the ladder so that he fell right on top of her.

They were both on the ground within seconds, but fortunately the killer didn't have time to turn himself around and kill her. Dewey pulled him up off her and shoved him away while Sidney sprayed him, as best as the mask would allow, with her pepper spray, while Randy gripped toward the tire iron which he had given to Cotton earlier. Obviously the killer had taken it from him.

"Fuck!" the killer's disguised voice growled as he stumbled backward and produced his gun from somewhere, "get the fuck back!" he demanded, "all of you! I will shoot every damn one of you!" he growled.

Gale stepped back, as did everyone else. But none of them knew what to do. Should they try to get the gun from him while he was partially vulnerable? Should they run while the killer was unable to see well? Or should they just hold still and hope for the best?

Gale was about to dive toward the killer when, with a frustrated growl, he began shooting indiscriminately in front of himself.

She heard a collective scream from everyone as three shots were fired toward them. Dewey instinctively ducked down as he reached his hands out toward Gale and Sidney in an effort to pull them downward as well. Gale contemplated running, but didn't want to be shot in the back for her efforts.

After those quick three shots, it seemed like the killer had gotten the urge to fire his weapon wildly toward them out of his system. But they hadn't all been lucky enough to escape this terrifying moment unharmed.

"Ah," Randy groaned, "fuck!" Gale stared toward him. He was clutching at his arm. Blood was seeping from between his fingers. He had been hit, but fortunately only in the arm.

Sidney pulled him back against the building's wall and pressed her own hand down on top of his, "Oh my god," her voice shook, "you're going to be okay, Randy," she assured him.

Gale glanced back toward Dewey, who seemed unharmed. Only Randy had been hit, and his wound didn't seem fatal. She then brought her gaze back toward the killer, who continued to swear under his breath as he yanked his mask off and rubbed his eyes with his gloved hands.

Gasps could be heard from all four of them as they finally saw who had been under the mask.

It was Xavier, Gale's camera man.

Shaking her head, Gale stared past the gun still pointed in their direction and at the man she had been working with over the past months, "Xavier... why?" was all she could come up with. He had seemed so easy-going, "why would you do this?" she shook her head as she continued to stare at him. She couldn't believe this.

"I knew it," Randy groaned between pained breaths, "I knew that guy was up to something. No one willingly works with Gale without some sort of ulterior motive."

"To be fair," Xavier laughed, "Randy's right. I've had an ulterior motive all along, Miss Weathers."

Gale frowned. She couldn't understand this. Xavier always seemed to like his job, and sure, they weren't best friends or anything, but they got along okay. Why would he kill all these people?

"Now, which one of you fuckers sprayed me with the pepper spray?" he growled as he stared at them. His eyes looked very irritated, but he wasn't rubbing them so much anymore. Instead, he just blinked them more often than normal, "hm? Which one of you?" he asked again, shaking the gun in his hand for emphasis.

No one spoke up.

"Why are you doing this, Xavier?" Gale asked again. She felt Dewey's hand gripping her arm tightly as the officer took a step forward so that he was partially in front of her.

"Because, Gale," Xavier stared bitterly toward her, "I'm tired of this, all of this. I'm tired of being your glorified errand boy. You have no respect for me. No one does. I see all the things you see. I'm there at all the news sites, all the crime scenes, all the disasters. I go to the dangerous places where all the news is, and I get jack shit for it. I'm tired of being behind the camera. I deserve respect, fame, notoriety... I'm sick of being hidden."

Gale shook her head, "that's the job, Xavier... That's the job you applied for. Camera man... Did you think you'd be doing anything other than filming from behind the camera? You knew you'd be hauling equipment around and you'd have to come along with me with only a moment's notice... You knew all this... and you never complained... I don't understand where this is all coming from..."

"I just want my fifteen minutes of fame," Xavier sighed, "just like anyone else. You all got yours. It's my turn."

"You're going to be in prison, Xavier," Gale spoke as though explaining this to a child, "you'll get your fame, but you'll be behind bars for it. Why would you want that?"

"You're confused, Gale," Xavier said in a mocking tone, "I didn't kill anyone. I'm just the only living witness."

"They'll know it was you," Dewey spoke.

"Why were half the victims killed with your gun, Officer Riley?" Xavier smirked.

"No one's going to believe that," Sidney growled from behind them. Her voice shook with worry. She was still sitting against the wall, applying pressure to Randy's arm wound, "Why would Dewey, one of the most kind-hearted people anyone in Woodsboro has ever met, kill his friends, his co-worker, and his girlfriend? Why would he kill innocent teenagers?"

"Why wouldn't he?" Xavier countered, "no one takes Officer Riley seriously," he mocked, "you can do everything right, Dewey, do everything by the book, and yet everyone still sees you as a dumb rookie. But for a brief period, people saw you as a hero. You were one of the only survivors of the Woodsboro massacre. Out of everyone there that night, there were four to survive, and you even survived after having been stabbed. People adored you. And then they forgot you. But you didn't forget the feeling of fame, and the feeling of respect. So you lured back your friends, the other survivors. You killed Randy's sister so he'd return, and you knew Sidney would come with him. And of course Gale, being the vulture she is, would return for the news story. You killed the 911 operator when she leaked the recording of your voice. You even killed your friend Marcus, maybe just so there would be fewer cops to take your spotlight."

Gale glanced toward Dewey, who stood with his fists clenched and a scowl on his face as he listened to Xavier's lies.

"I suppose you killed Sidney's dad just to spite her. I don't know how your crazy mind works. But he did technically survive the first massacre. The media just didn't care so much about him," Xavier laughed, "and then, Dewey, you lured everyone here and finished the job so that you'd be the soul survivor. But you didn't realize that Gale's camera man would be so saddened at the loss of his good friend and coworker, Miss Weathers. You didn't realize how much fight I had in me. And I stopped you, too late to save these people, but quick enough to save everyone you could have killed later. I'm the hero."

"There's no way you'll get away with his," Sidney spoke up, "the police aren't blind. They've been gathering evidence from every crime scene. They'll link something back to you. They'll find inconsistencies in your story. Dewey probably has an alibi for the times several of these murders took place. You can't blame it all on him when people can vouch for his presence elsewhere."

Xavier nodded, "so Dewey wasn't working alone... I wonder who his accomplice was... We may never know. I myself live in constant fear that Dewey's co-conspirator will one day return. The vision of this demented cop killing my friend Gale will always haunt my nightmares, and knowing that his partner is still out there someone gives me chills," he grinned, "that'll sound beautiful on the news."

"You're sick," Randy growled through clenched teeth. He was obviously in pain from the gunshot he took to his arm.

"Hush now," Xavier gestured with the gun in his hand, "let's all start making our way over toward the pool," he ordered, "Slowly, and no sudden movements. I will shoot anyone who I think is going to try something."

Gale inhaled shaking breaths as the four of them did as they were told and began walking toward the motel's pool. How were they going to get out of this? It seemed their best chance would be to run or to overpower Xavier and get the gun from him. But either of those options would probably involve at least someone dying or getting seriously injured.

As they walked onward, she felt Dewey's hand grab hers. She glanced over at him. He looked nervous, but stoic at the same time. She wondered if he was planning an escape.

When they reached the pool, they stopped. That's where Xavier had told them to go.

Gale turned around slowly and stared at her camera man, "I'm sorry if you thought I wasn't very nice to you," she began, "I never meant to make you feel disrespected. I spent a lot of time when my previous camera man, and he was killed. That hurt more than anyone could realize. I guess I was just keeping my distance from you subconsciously, but I never meant anything by it..."

"Gale," Xavier shook his head, "I don't care about that at all. Sure, you weren't always the best person to work with, but I knew what I was getting into when I was hired. I knew we weren't ever going to be best friends. And for all your snarky comments and lack of appreciation shown, you weren't really that bad. Your flaws were more along the lines of not being friendly enough than actually being rude. This isn't about revenge against you specifically. This isn't really even about you at all. Or Dewey, Sidney, Randy, or anyone else. This is about me this time. I'm the survivor. I'm the one who was almost killed, but who survived."

Gale frowned and stared at him. She couldn't believe she never suspected him. She supposed she just never knew him all that well.

"Alright, everybody turn around. I'll make this quick," he held the tire iron in one hand and the gun in the other.

Dewey squeezed Gale's hand again, but then let go and pushed her gently away from himself, "run!" he called out to his friends as he lunged forward toward Xavier.

Gasping, Gale stumbled backward where the cop had shoved her as she saw Dewey struggling with the black-clad camera man. The police officer grabbed at the hand in which Xavier held the gun, but the camera man had two more weapons than Dewey did. He swung his other hand at the cop, hitting him quite harshly with the tire iron so that he stumbled backward.

Gale glanced back at Sidney and Randy, who seemed stunned, "get him out of here, Sidney," she urged. If Sidney and Randy could get away, then Gale and Dewey would only have to worry about themselves and each other. If there were to come an opportunity for some of them to escape, it was now, "Go!" she insisted.

Sidney reluctantly pulled Randy along with her as Gale rushed to Dewey's aid, but not soon enough to really be of any help.

Xavier growled in frustration as he hit Dewey with the tire iron again, against the side of his head this time. Gale watched as the officer stumbled backward into the pool with a huge splash. Dewey did not flail around. In fact, he didn't move at all in any attempt to stay afloat. He was unconscious.

Gale flinched as Xavier fired a few shots in the direction Sidney and Randy had run. She looked toward the direction they had gone, but didn't see them. They had gotten away. Before she could celebrate that fact, she needed to help Dewey. Without a second thought, she dove into the pool and dragged his body with her to the edge, being sure to keep his head above the cold water.

With her arm wrapped around Dewey's chest, she could feel that he was still breathing. Her other hand gripped the edge of the pool to keep them from sinking. She couldn't possibly drag both herself and Dewey up out of the pool, and didn't see much of a point in trying considering that Xavier was now staring down at her and pointing his gun directly at them.

All she could do was grip Dewey tightly as she stared up at her former camera man. Talking to him hadn't worked, and they had no chance at escape considering that Dewey was unconscious and Gale couldn't possibly get him out of the pool fast enough to also escape without Xavier firing the two shots that would end their lives. It looked like she and Dewey weren't going to be lucky enough to get out of this this time. At least Randy and Sidney had gotten away...

Xavier breathed in heavy breaths as he stared down angrily at the reporter and cop, "I wish I could stay and chat, Gale," he muttered, "but I've got two witnesses I'm going to need to get rid of. It's been an interesting ride..."

Gale held her breath and squeezed her eyes shut as she hugged Dewey with a trembling arm.

She heard one shot, then two, then a heavy thud, and then silence...

Gale's eyes shot open. She hadn't been hit. But had Dewey? She looked over him as best as their position could allow. The water wasn't red around them. He didn't seem to have been shot either.

With confusion clouding her mind, she looked over to where Xavier had stood. He was lying on the ground now. Gale furrowed her brows as she looked back toward the parking lot. Who had shot him?

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:O So there you have it. You now know who the killer is... or was... But the story isn't over yet. Stay tuned, and please review. :D