It was a cool spring morning in San Francisco. The city seemed dead to the world, even at six in the morning; to the students of U of S, it really didn’t matter. Mostly because of the fact that it was Spring break, meaning they could party all weekend long. They didn’t have to worry about teachers using the strike system and suspending them, but all in all, the students really didn’t care; especially since the school year was almost over.

Emma Williams was already awake in her dorm, while her roommate, and best friend, Selene Rice, was still asleep. Emma was finishing up the final pages of her textbook, and finishing her essay. Her eyes were droopy and her head was pounding, as if it might explode at any second. Uh, this is going to be a long day, she thought to herself. I might as well start getting ready for later so I can have time for some shut eye.

She pulled out a Rock Band T-shirt and a pair of skinny jeans. She also picked out a pair of traditional black Chuck Taylors. She always dressed so plain, even though she wasn’t. Everyone complemented her on her big, beautiful brown eyes, and her long wavy dark brown hair that always cascaded down her back. Some say her eyes were like Audrey Hepburn’s. She could dress in frilly skirts and sheer collared shirts all the preps wore. Even colored skinny jeans. But she liked being comfortable, even though she wasn’t comfortable with herself. She didn’t really know how to show people who she really was. Only so many knew what she was really like. Not even Selene, her best friend knew her real well, even though they’ve know each other since they were in grade school. She had quite a personality. She wasn’t bland like she tried to show people. Few people knew how witty she was. No one really knew she even cracked a smile at the most facetious gag; one you heard in the eighth or ninth grade. No one knew because her nose was normally in a book when that facetious quip was told. She dropped into bed once she was dressed and relaxed and peaceful as she drifted to sleep.

She had a terrifying dream, one of which involved a younger version of her, her younger sister, Aly, and her youngest sister, Tegan. The trio was between the ages of fourteen through sixteen. The three sisters were stranded in an insidious place; there were bones scattered around the place, (one of which was a human head) also gallons of blood surrounded them, along with a variety of torture devices. Emma’s clothes were soaked with blood. She even thought she could feel the sticky substance against her skin. Tegan was covered as well. Emma didn’t know if her sister was injured or not. Tegan was trapped in a cage, of which had an intricate lock, hindering Tegan from escaping. Emma was struggling to unbind herself from the tight ropes, which nearly cut into her skin. Tegan was shrieking, while Emma gave her soothing words like a psychiatrist would give to a non-calming patient. Emma was glancing around to see if there was anything to free her or her sister. She glimpsed at a light figure coming toward her. The figure was about five feet and petite. The shadow turned out to be her youngest sister, Aly.

Aly scurried over towards Emma and attempted to unbind her, but with several attempts was unsuccessful. Aly grabbed for something sharp, which turned out to be a bone. She thought she could feel the bone tear at her skin, but it didn’t. Relief came second later, when she could feel circulation in her wrists. One after the other, several broke. Finally, one sturdy enough bone broke Emma free of the ropes. Emma was screaming, "We have to hurry, we need to free Tegan somehow." Aly scurried to rummage for something that would have their sister escape. Emma approached Tegan's cage and glanced at the lock, and realized something very strange about the lock. Emma studied the lock further and grabbed an object that could fit into the strange lock. She had tried many objects, but they would not fit. Eventually, a desperate Emma clutched a jagged bone, which fit perfectly.

Emma's face lit up. She examined the bone she had and saw a number on it, a thirteen, written in blood. She knew it would be difficult finding the code that would unlock the death trap. She knew numbers were infinite; her possibilities of finding the right code were slim.

"Please hurry Emma, please, I want to go home." Tegan cried, tears slipping from her watery blue eyes, and her fists banging against the dark bars. She even tried to kick at the bars, but that didn’t help any. Her frustration only increased. She wanted to scream until nothing else came out.

Emma ran as fast as she could to Aly telling her of the realization that she had just made. The two sisters each grabbed a bone, which read a variety of numbers: ones, threes, fives, sevens, nines, elevens, finally, they found two more of the number thirteen in a dusty area. They hurried back to their sister and struggled somewhat with the lock. They finally cracked it open and each sister hugged each other and ran. The reunion was short lived.


They came upon an eerie, shadowy figure. The figure came out of darkness and exposed itself. It had a skull for a head and a humanoid looking body. It let out a cringing cry, cry of joy. Whatever it was, it enjoyed the pain the girls were living through. The sadistic ways the girls were kept here, and felt as if all hope was gone.

The girls were shaking all over. They were paralyzed with fear, which is until the humanoid creature lunged forward, towards them, tackling Tegan into the dirt. Emma saw the knife, and without hesitation, clasped another sharp bone in her hand, piercing the creature. It yelped and hemorrhaging like a human would. The blood spurted on Tegan, after Aly and Emma rolled the figure off Tegan, the three sisters ran out of the wicked place.

"Emma, Emma, Emma, wake up all ready." Selene Rice called to her friend. Emma gasped; she awoke with sweat dripping down her forehead. Her eyes were even droopier then before, and there were dark circles under her eyes. She couldn’t move, it was as if she was still trapped in the dream land. Where had this even happened? She wondered to herself. Could it have happened? It all seemed so real. Emma really couldn’t recall memories as a sixteen year old. She tried to force herself into remembering, but it was all blank. She remembered being eight, but not sixteen. She always wondered if something had happened to her; something so traumatic she willed herself to forget; but nothing. She couldn’t ask her parents; they were dead. She couldn’t ask her sisters, either. Her aunt and uncle were scumbags she wished she didn’t have to call family. She wished she still had her loving parents. She had to accept the fact that they were gone. Four years to today. God, where has the time gone by?

"Emma, are you all right, you look as pale as a ghost." Emma blinked habitually, finally coming out of her nightmare world and back into reality. She slowly jumped out of bed. She stifled a yawn. She wiped the sweat off her forehead, and tried to act like nothing was wrong. She had to do this her whole life. Act like she wasn’t the sad girl who lost her parents in a car accident and had to live with her horrid aunt and uncle. She had to take care of her sister, and be like a mother figure more than a sister figure. She had to be the strong one, and she knew she wasn’t; Aly was.

"I am fine; I just had a very heinous nightmare, and I did not sleep but that hour. I'm just exhausted, but let's go."

Before the two friends left, they finished dressing and their hygiene. They grabbed there materials for their first three classes. They left for the mess hall, where they were reunited with some of their friends. Emma tried not to think of the nightmare. The images kept creeping back into her mind, glued there. They lingered there; not wanting to escape. They wanted to haunt her; make her feel chills run down her spine. All in all, just a coldness. A coldness that had been there all along; since 16, at least. She couldn't help but wonder, was it really a dream? Did this really happen? It did seem so real. But then again, what was the difference between reality and dreams?

Jared Red kissed Emma slowly and led her to one of the mess hall tables. He put his class books and other materials down and focused on her. It had been a quick kiss, but Emma felt something there. She had always felt a connection with Jared, and she knew that she always loved him. She felt her heart beat one- hundred times faster every time he kissed her; passionate or not. In all honesty, Emma felt he was the only one who really knew her. They began to catch up on some light hearted chit chat. Emma's mind was somewhere else, though; Jared could see that. Emma's eyes conveyed sadness, also exhaustion.

"Emma, you do not look very good, what is wrong?" Jared's blue eyes gleamed, and put a delicate and affectionate hand on her shoulder. She looked into his deep blue eyes and was crestfallen. She did not recognize her voice; it was someone else's. She closed her eyes and they fluttered open again.

"I just did not sleep too well. I had about an hours’ worth of sleep, and when I did sleep, I had a terrifying nightmare. It seemed all too real, even though it couldn’t possibly happen. The nightmare reminded me of Tegan. Which makes me think of my parents. I finally finished the DSM and my paper. I hope Professor Sullivan will be lenient on me, God, I am so tired. I'm so glad it’s spring break." She thought she was going to fall asleep right at that moment. Her eyes fluttered open immediately as Jared touched her gently.

"It's going to be fine, I promise. Don't worry about Tegan, you'll get to see her soon; maybe you, Aly and I can see her together." She didn’t know what Jared Red ever saw in Average Emma. He could have chosen any other girl in the room, but he had picked her. She smiled at something; a memory of when she was eight years old. Jared and Connor, his best friend had come to her house. Connor always teased Aly and Tegan, who were seven and six. Jared had asked her if he could talk to her, and she agreed. She’d always secretly had a crush on him, but she would never admit it to anyone but herself. He had taken her to her mother’s garden by her house and had kissed her. Then and there, they had been inseparable. He had told her how he had always had a crush on her, and that he wanted them to be more than friends. When they came back, everyone knew they were a “couple.”

“What are you smiling about?” she chuckled, not wanting to let go of the memory. She’d loved being eight years old, but her relationship with Jared had flourished. She remembered they had dressed up as bride and groom and gotten married. He had been her first kiss, and she wanted him to be her last kiss.
“I’m just reminiscing on you kissing me in the garden when we were eight and just memories of us in general. Remember when you and I married?” Jared chuckled, and so did Emma. Their voices were a harmonious dulcet.
She nodded, hoping that would be how she spent her break. Her heart shattered at the thought of not seeing her sister. "Thanks, you are such a great boyfriend." She kissed him once more, running her fingers through his light brown hair, and she deepened the kiss. This time, it wasn’t a quick peck, but one you saw in romantic movies when couples kissed in the rain and other scenarios that were fictitious. She liked it. It’d been a long time since Jared and she had really showed such affection in public. Jared would’ve kissed her like that every single second of everyday in front of everyone, but Emma hated attention. She never wanted to be the center of attention. They pulled away just in the nick of time.

The rest of their friends began to flood in. Carleigh's blond hair glistened under the fluorescent light, matching her bright, piercing blue eyes. Heidi was right next to her, as if conjoined to her. Her long brown hair shimmered almost as brightly as Carleigh's. Her brown eyes were close to a hazel color. The two looked more like models than they did cheerleaders. They didn't act like the stereotypical cheerleaders though. They were quite nice, but they did have a wild side. They took time out of their day to help anyone, even if they don't particularly care for them. No one knew if it was because they wanted to be idolized or because they felt it was necessary.

Selene followed in with her obnoxious boyfriend, Carter Penn. Carter was remonstrating about something petty, which Emma could not quite catch, and could care less. Carter was your stereotypical jock. He was the definition of narcissistic. Everyone in the group loathed him, and would tell you every second of the day. They would tell it to his face as well. Especially Robbie Schmidt. Since they were the only jocks in the group, you’d think they’d be best buddies; but they weren’t. They were far from it. No one really knew why he was a part of the group; he was too opinionated and rude. No one could quite understand why Selene had chosen him, especially Emma.

Emma glanced at her watch and saw it was eight-fifteen. To hinder a conflict to occur between Carter and her, she started for her classroom. But the real reason was she did not want to have a nervous breakdown in front of everyone. Every time she thought of Tegan it was like her heart was ripping out of her chest, and fell onto the ground; Even though Jared made her feel alive; and most of all whole. She couldn’t understand why she felt the way she did. Tegan had been the luckiest one of the three of the Williams sisters- well, maybe not. She hated that she couldn’t be okay without her sister. She wished having Aly and Jared around would be enough, but it wasn’t. She wondered if it ever bothered Jared that he wasn’t enough to keep her happy all the time. He wouldn’t show it to her, though.
Jared could be very mysterious at times. He was never an open book. He never showed how he really felt. He could empathize with Emma’s situation, but no one except Connor and Emma would know that. Jared had to keep that smile on his face, even when he didn’t want to smile. Without Emma in his life, he couldn’t go on. He had gone through tragedy and loss himself. Those made his connection with Emma grow stronger.

Jared followed her, while the others acted like nothing had happened. They had to do that; they couldn't quite understand her situation. Maybe Carleigh could, but she would never admit it. She really did want to help Emma, but what could she say? "Oh, I'm sorry your sister's in a mental hospital, I hope she is doing better. In time, you will feel better." The others always acted like she wasn't there, as bad at that sounded. Selene could tell something was wrong, she wasn't like the others; she wanted to help her friend, even if she made the situation awkward or even worse. She followed the two, annoyed at herself, but more particularly Carter, for making her best friend run off like that. She wished that Carter would not make Emma provoked or uncomfortable. Why can't he get along with anybody? She rolled her eyes even thinking of him. She saw them in Professor Krawford's room, she joined them.

"Emma, I'm sorry that Carter said what he had about you, just ignore him, he's a douche," she turned from Emma to Jared, who was comforting her. Selene looked at Jared and hated to interrupt the moment, but thought Emma would feel better talking to her alone.

"Jared, can you give us a moment, please?" she asked politely, not trying to be rude. Jared nodded, and closed the door as he stepped out in the halls. Selene turned away when she heard the almost inaudible shut of the door.

"Selene, I don't know what you are talking about, he didn't say anything about me, at least I don't think he did. Honestly, I don’t know anything right now." Emma sighed, sat down in a random seat and lied her head down.


"Emma, he said that you are a loser and that we should drop you. I would never do that though. Emma, you are my best friend. Look, don't tell anybody this, but sometime this week I am going to break it off with him; I am so tired of his rudeness and being so sardonic." Emma looked up and her face lit up with shock and glee. She could not believe it, she had been waiting for a while to hear those words. Emma forced a smile on her face. But, Emma couldn't quite understand why she would tell her what Carter had said.

She opened the door for Jared. "Selene, can I have some alone time with Emma?" Jared's angelic voice asked politely. She looked from Emma to Jared. She could see the connection between the two. She always made the joke that they were like Bella and Edward- inseparable- and even soul mates.

"Take as much time as you need lovebirds." She smiled. She shut the door behind her and headed back to the cafeteria, to catch up with her friends, for the few short moments she had left. It was already eight- and classes started in fifteen minutes. Around eleven was there lunch and free period. Around that time every student always took advantage of it. No one normally studied, but usually took something back to their dorms. Usually they got caught.

Jared was fixed on Emma; he held her hand and did not want to let go, afraid that if he did, he would break their communication, even though he wouldn’t. Nothing- or no one could ever break their bond or communication.

"Emma, I know why you are acting a little bit out of character, it's because of your sister, isn't it." He leaned into her, his light curly brown hair touching her cheek, and brushing her other cheek with a gentle hand.

Emma thought she would burst into tears, but did not. She managed to hold herself together. She nodded her head and looked intensely at Jared. She knew she could tell him how she felt. He would understand. Jared always understood.

"I don't know why, though; I guess I just feel guilty that Teg is in the hospital, and I am supposed to live this blissful, care free normal life. Teg has to live a white hell hole every single day of her life. She could be enjoying her life, but all she can feel is hopeless. She only feels that she is crazy, and all she feels is remorse anymore. She is so despondent when Aly and I visit her, this whole arrangement is burning me up inside. I completely loathe Aunt Constance and Uncle Jax, all I can think to myself is why; why do they do this to Tegan." She stopped and took a deep breath.

"Emma, it will all be okay, I promise." Emma looked at Jared as if he was insane. She shook her head. She hated to not believe Jared, but how could he be so sure? He wasn’t always right. He couldn’t always be right.

"How do you know everything is going to be okay?" She looked at the window in a dissociative manner. She didn’t feel the connection break, but she felt a coldness distancing her from Jared, even though they were only a few feet apart.

"I just know Emma." He brought her close to him and began to kiss her passionately. She laid her head on his chest, and in that moment, Jared was right. Everything was okay. She wasn’t sure if everything was going to be okay and perfect, but she knew they were. They always had been- and always will be.

***

Aly Williams was searching for her sister, knowing she would need comforting, with it being March 13. She knew she should not be back in the sophomore area, but could not resist. She stumbled into a room- thirteen-thirteen. She realized too late that she was in the wrong room-and then something horrendous happened.. She noticed blood dripping from a professor's arm. He seemed to be in his mid-thirties. He had the most unique blue eyes, and the darkest curly hair. He had a face that could enrapture anyone- especially a college student. She was about to exit the room when the alluring man approached her quickly.

"I-I'm sorry, I just realized I am in the wrong room." She averted away from him, but didn't want to; for some odd reason, he mesmerized her. She looked back at him and her stare lingered, as much as she wanted to look away. She wondered if he noticed her eyes lingering on him, searching up and down his body. Not knowing how to feel about the attractive, older man.

"It's quite all right, are you rummaging for something or someone?" The man retorted. Aly nodded.

"I'm looking for my sister; her name is Emma, Emma Williams. Do you know what room I can find her in?" His eyes lit up. Aly was a little taken back by this. Had Emma talked of this man before? If she had, she must’ve not been paying much attention. No one could forget such a man like him.

"Yes, she has Professor Krawford, he's in room twelve- eleven. By the way, I am John Sullivan; I am pleased to meet you." He proffered Aly a hand, and she took it. She stared at the blood running down his arm, and John noticed it.



"Oh, I'm sorry I frightened you, I have a rare blood disorder where I bleed very easily. I have dermatillomania, or at least I did when I was younger." Aly was shocked. She feared she had offended him. She hated offending people. It seemed like that was all she did anymore.

"Oh, I, I uh didn't mean to stare, I am so sorry." He shook his head, and seemed alright with it, almost like he was immune to it.

"No, it's quite all right, many people do the same, I am quite used to it by now."

"Thank you for helping me." He nodded and opened the door for her. She only wished he had showed her the way; followed her. She wanted to stand next to the man and talk to him all day. She did something she regretted instantly. She shut the door and turned back to the professor. She had connected lips with him. She gasped, and he was just as surprised as she was. She didn’t know what came over her.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I think you made me feel safe, unlike my actual uncle did.” He looked at her, and wasn’t in any way irate or provoked. He seemed sorry, and looked into her bright blue eyes.
“You were abused, weren’t you.?” it was more a statement than a question. She nodded, and thought the tears were going to run down her face, but they didn’t.
“Yes, I was only fifteen. My sister tried to protect me, but you can only do so much. College has changed me; it’s made me see the good in the world again.” He smiled, and that made her smile. His lips touched hers once more, and that made her smile even more.
“Have a good day and a good life Aly Williams.” She smiled and nodded. “I will, let the same be for you.” He opened the door once more and this time she left, with a smile.

Aly, dumbfound, rushed down the hall to room 1313. Aly couldn't stop thinking of John Sullivan, he was mesmerizing and eccentric. She thought he was quite interesting, but wondered what was in his mind, his deepest darkest secrets. Did she have a little infatuation on him? No, she couldn't possibly, he looked about thirty six, and she was only nineteen. Besides, that would be wrong. She felt a security with him though. Her relationship was failing with her boyfriend. She didn't know why her heart was fluttering so fast. Yes, he was attractive, but he was a teacher, and she was a student. Nothing was going to happen, at least not anything more. He felt sorry for her, and that was it. She tried hard not to think about him, but found it quite hard. She barged into the room and saw Emma. She hugged her sister and comforted her. All those thoughts disappeared.

"Are you all right, I want to make sure you are, we are going to go see Tegan Wednesday, okay." A bell rang and they heard booming voices in the hallways.

"I will see you later, I love you." Aly replied, and left for the crowded hallways. "Are you going to be okay, Emma?" Emma genuinely smiled. "Yeah, I will thank you for caring." He nodded and smiled back.

Connor entered into the room, his stare lingering on Emma. Emma didn't know what she thought of Connor, besides, he was the twin brother of Carter; what could she think of him? He was the opposite of Carter by far; he was nicer than Carter, and had a far better personality. To Emma, he was very charismatic. He seemed to not know his place, just as Emma wasn't entirely sure of hers. All in all, he was very mysterious. He smirked at her and down in his seat, which was right behind her. Emma had known him since preschool, but didn’t know whether he was a friend or not. Maybe they just talked because he was Jared’s best friend. Maybe they were friends. Emma could not get those haunting blue eyes out of her mind, or his dark short hair and darker look. He wasn’t Goth like Scarlett, another member of their group was, but he dressed in mostly reds, and greys; the occasional black as well. He wasn’t a jock either. Jared sat next to Emma, and hadn’t noticed anything.

She heard someone whisper in her ear, which made her spine tingle and her blood run cold. "I'm sorry." She turned around and faced Connor. She felt a chill between the two of them, and thought she would shiver.

"Why are you sorry, you didn't do anything to me, besides, it wouldn't matter if you did anything to me anyways?" She turned back around and her spine tingled once more when he spoke in a soft voice.

"I'm apologizing for my brother, and by the way, I really like you as a friend, and I think you are special. Jared is so fortunate to have you; it almost makes me jealous sometimes." He winked at her, and Emma turned to face him once more. Emma had mixed emotions on the statement, and she thought Jared did as well. He didn’t show them though. He acted as if he couldn’t hear them talking, like he was lost in his own thoughts. Emma knew he wasn’t, though. She knew he could hear every single breath they took.

"Thank you, you are such a saccharine person, I also like you as a friend." Emma smiled one last time and turned back around. Her heart no longer ached at the moment; she had finally realized that he had been there for her all along. She felt like hitting herself. Her cheeks turned a rosy red and shook her head. She knew that life was going to be all right, especially with two of the best guys in her life making it better, and with her friends supporting her. She was all eyes and ears to Professor Krawford, at least for a little while, until she was deep in her subconscious.

Before Emma knew it, the bell rang, and she was going to her third class of the day. She had not learned anything today, even though two hours had passed. Another few hours had gone by and she was at her final class of the day, Professor Sullivan's Psychology class. She stifled a yawn, and her eyes flutter open and closed.

"Class, today we will be turning our papers in and talking about one of my favorite topics- serial killers. Now, before we can learn about that fascinating topic- we need to turn in our essays." Sullivan collected and counted the papers, as if his intuition told him one paper was missing- which there was. He knew exactly whose it was- Carter Penn. He glared at Carter.

"Carter, where is your essay- everyone else turned theirs in- so where is yours?" Carter rolled his eyes, and began to be insubordinate.

"Where do you think it's at, Sullivan, I didn't do it. It is ludicrous, why would I write about something so screwed up? Why would I read a huge book like this," he held it up and continued. “I couldn't finish this in a year, let alone a month."

Mr. Sullivan said nothing further, knowing it would be needless to do so. He moved on to the topic of Serial Killers.

"Now, we will be watching a documentary entitled, "In the Mind of Serial Killers." You will take notes on every serial killer and at the end will pick which serial killer you want to do. This will be due of course after your break, are there any questions?"

Emma raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss Williams?" She hoped he would not become angry at her.

"Do you have to pick a murderer from the documentary, or can you do one they didn't mention?" He did not seem the least bit angry.

"Excellent question, no you do not. Do you have one in mind?" She nodded her head.

"John Charleston." Everyone looked at her.

"Well, that will be a difficult one, but by all means, and good luck." There were no more questions; hence he turned around to set up the documentary. Emma could hear a pen drop. She knew it was ballsy to attempt to write a paper on an infamous serial killer in the area. Between San Francisco and South Carolina, he was world famous. There was a wax figure of him in one of the wax museums. Parents even told children stories of him like he was the new and improved boogey man.

When Sullivan turned back around, Carter raised his hand.

"Yes, Mr. Penn?" He knew he would regret it.

"Can we do this essay on how much of a freak Emma Williams is?" He snickered while Jared and Carter started to argue with him.

"Hey d*bag, shut up, we could do the same for you!" Jared exclaimed, Emma smiled, knowing that Jared would do anything for her. He looked at Emma and smiled. He whispered to her. “Are you okay?” she nodded.

"Carter, you're the real freak, so maybe you should shut up!" She liked how Connor did the same. Emma was a little taken aback. That was his brother, but she figured they loathed each other. It showed then and there.

Several other people glared at Carter, but Emma knew Sullivan was not going to do the same. Emma’s cheeks turned a darker red, but she couldn’t help but smile. She had never had people backing her up like that before, well, no one besides Jared.

Sullivan twitched several times and broke his pen right in half; the ink flowed down his arm like black blood. He traveled over to Carter desk and slammed a hand down.

"Mr. Penn, I am tired of your diatribes, everything you do is ludicrous, and I am tired of it! GET OUT NOW!" Everyone was wide eyed, while Carter cursed Sullivan under his breath. The rest of class, Emma was focused, and now she knew why.

Emma, Jared and Connor were the ones most engrossed in the documentary. Jared decided he was going to do Ed Gein, Connor was going to do Albert Fish and of course, Emma was going to do John Charleston.

The bell rang and class was dismissed. The professor gestured for Emma to come over.

"Emma, I just wanted to check up on you, your sister came into my room, looking for you. I definitely wanted to make sure you were okay, especially after today. Also, there is website you can visit for your essay, it is called. WWW. THE LEGEND OF JOHN CHARLESTON.Com. It is very informative and even gives you a tour into what his lair might look like." Emma thanked him, but saw blood droplets run down his arm. Drip, drip, drip. She noticed it was a very odd crimson color.

"Professor, what is wrong with your arm, it is bleeding quite a bit." Mr. Sullivan just stared at Emma like she was a patient at a mental hospital. He looked down at his arm and did nothing.

"It is nothing, I just have a condition called Dermatrillomania, or what is now called Excoration. It is nothing I promise." Emma's eyes averted to the closet, which showed the same odd color that Mr. Sullivan's blood was. Emma wanted to go open the closet, but decided against it. Maybe it’s nothing. He does collect horror movie props, it could be fake blood.

He touched her and she looked at him with her warm chocolate brown eyes.

"Emma, I hope you, Jared and Connor enjoy your spring break, and Aly also. Your sister is such a very caring person, and must be a great sister. She’s lucky to have a sister like you to protect her. Don’t let anyone hurt her. I will see you after spring break, all right. Goodbye." She said goodbye and was glad to be out of the eerie setting. She loved John Sullivan, but thought he could be strange at times.

Jared, Connor and Aly were waiting for her. They started to amble outside of the building, and were glad to be.

"Emma, your teacher is really strange. He was bleeding and is just really eccentric. He seems really saccharine, but eccentric, which kind of fit him. He is a psychology teacher.” Emma nodded, while Jared and Connor were befuddled.

"What are you talking about?" Connor questioned."Oh, he has a condition where his arm starts to bleed. I think he said he has Dermatrillomania or Ecoriation." They both nodded."That's strange." Jared replied matter of factually.

Aly looked at the ground, and knew she had to tell her sister. “Emma, you know how my relationship hasn’t been the best right-“ Emma nodded, expecting her to say that her and Jinx had broken things off, but that wasn’t what Aly was going to say. “Well, I don’t know what came over me, but I uh, I kissed your teacher. That’s not the worst part, though. He kissed me back, and I had wanted him to kiss me back.” Everyone was a little stunned, but they weren’t going to judge her. Emma was a little taken aback- but she wasn’t disappointed in her sister.
“That’s not the wisest thing to do, but people make mistakes- it’s a part of life. Don’t feel too bad about it- he is pretty attractive.” She winked and Jared, who glared at her in a playful manner. Connor chuckled. Jared and Connor both comforted Aly as well.


Robbie made his way over, along with Scarlett, Carleigh, Heidi, Selene and Joanna. Robbie was also your stereotypical jock. He was a frat boy who only used his charm to get in someone’s pants. He had some good qualities to him, but not many. He always would stand up for any of the girls in the group when it came to Carter.

"Carter is screwed; coach said he was going to kick him off the team soon if he doesn't improve his grades." Robbie replied, rolling his eyes. He always had some sort of gossip about Carter, and sometimes he said he could kill him.

Carter was ascending towards the group, which made Robbie roll his eyes again.

"Oh great, here comes douche of the year." he whispered. Carter arrived at the crowded, pristine table, which was about the only one in the school. The sun was shining over Carleigh, Heidi and Joanna (as it usually did.) Joanna twirled her curly, long dark hair with her finger.

Carter began to speak," Hey, guys, I know what we can do over break; there's this place called Death Creek. It's a combination of a camp and a park; it's like a six hour drive though. It's somewhere in Nevada, and it's totally worth it. The place is free; the brochure says that a picture of us takes place of money. That's the best part. So, what do you guys say?" Everyone looked at one another and nodded. He held out the flier so everyone could see it.

Emma pulled Aly to the side, but no one noticed- besides Jared and Connor. They looked at them, but didn’t say anything. They pretended to listen to what Carter had to say- although it wasn’t anything interesting.

"Aly, we can't go, what about Tegan. She would be crushed if we did not visit her, besides, we don't even know what this place is. For all we know, it could be a practical joke." Aly had a solemn look on her face, and looked at her sister.

"Emma, I want you to enjoy your spring break, I can cover for you, trust me, Teg will understand." Emma though her brain was going to explode, ruminating whether or not she should go or stay behind. Jared and Connor eyes averted in their direction again.

"Okay, but you call me anytime; I want you to tell me how Tegan is doing." Neither sister said anything further and left it at that. Jared and Connor turned away once more. The sisters didn’t seem to notice.


It was the end of the day for the groupie and they were all packing and going home with their families.

Connor saw Emma amble toward Fifteenth Street, and he touched her somewhat forcefully.

"Connor, God, you scared me; why are you even here?" He stared at her in disbelief; he thought they were closer than this. His blue eyes appeared as if they melted.

"I just wanted to offer you a ride to your house, but I guess I will just leave you be." He had a solemn look on his face, which Emma thought would break her heart. She gently touched him, which drew Connor back. She hugged him gently and squeezed his hand.

"I'm sorry; I just have so much on my mind, I'm sorry I accused you of anything. I really do like you as a friend; it's just the fact that you're my tormenters twin, which is strange." Conner nodded and smiled that famous smile of his.

"Thanks, I understand like I said, Jared's really lucky to have you, I guess I will see you tomorrow. Jared and I are riding together, so we can pick you and Aly up. See you, tomorrow, bestie."

"See you around." Emma smiled and turned away. Did she have romantic feeling for Connor? No, I love Jared; I always have and always will. She couldn’t help but continue to think of him. Her head was pounding, even more by the second. She didn’t know what her head or her heart was telling her. All in time it would. She thought to herself.

She saw Jared's and ran next to his Jeep; she hesitated to enter the vehicle, wondering if he had seen her and Connor talking. What would it matter though; it wasn’t inappropriate, it was just two friends talking to one another? She had the right to smile at him without it being wrong, right? It wasn’t like she was cheating on Jared. She would never do such a thing. She loved him too much, and maybe that was a problem.

"Queen Emma, would you like a ride home?" They both smiled and laughed.

"Yes, I would." She threw her baggage in the back and hopped in shotgun.

"Jared, do you mind if I stay at your place, I really do not want to be around my aunt and uncle, it's kind of complicated?" Jared nodded and kissed her passionately, making her heart warm and melt. They pulled away after a few moments.

"Emm, if you love Connor and want to be with him, I understand. I would never love anyone again, but I would respect your choice, Connor's a really great guy." Emma eyes grew wide. So he did think it was more than it was. She understood; he wasn’t exactly jealous, just confused. So he had seen them talking, and maybe even heard the conversation that occurred a few seconds earlier. She didn’t need to think of what to say, she just knew she had to be honest.

"Jared, I feel something for Connor, but I don't think it's that. Jared, I really love you. I honestly just like him as a friend, nothing more and nothing less. Jared, I want to spend my life with you; to tell you the truth, I always have. I like the fact that you were the first to kiss me, and I intend on you being the last one as well. God, this is really embarrassing, but before Tegan was taken away, we would stalk you. It was our way of bonding I guess. ” Jared looked content, and snickered.
“Oh, so I have a stalker as a girlfriend, that’s not odd at all. Actually to tell you the truth, I would have Connor and I stalk your house. We had nothing better to do, and ever since the moment I laid eyes on you, I felt something.” Emma smiled, and kissed him passionately, not wanting to break their connection. She felt electricity course through her body, and didn’t want it to stop. He pulled away and continued to his apartment. “I felt something to. I always hoped we would be more than friends, and that happened. To tell you the truth, I can even feel our first kiss and every kiss after that. It’s like you linger with me; like you’re in my veins or something.” He smiled, and pulled her close to him. She could feel the heat from his body, and it made her comfortable and safe. “I feel the same way.” He continued to kiss her, whether it was on her neck or on her lips.
We arrived at his apartment a few minutes later. I knew there was going to be something good that was going to happen, but deep down, I felt there was also something bad that was going to happen, but I couldn’t say exactly what it was.

Jared turned on his side and faced Emma. She turned on her side and groaned. He gave her a passionate kiss, and he pulled her close to him. She rested her head on his chest. “Do we have to go? We could stay here and show our love for each other.” She smiled, and Jared did as well.

“That’s tempting, but let’s has a little adventure. You might want to go ahead and get dressed; today we are going to be heading to Death Creek." Jared stared at Emma a few short moments while Emma groaned even more, and a few moments later hopped out of bed. He did the same and quickly dressed, while Emma took her sweet time. He left his room.For a few moments she simply stared around the room. She thought it was a little too warm, which was a contrast to the cool decor, and the greens and blues shining brightly. Once she was dressed, she sauntered downstairs.

He turned and smiled at her, while she looked nonchalant. He held out a plate of chocolate chip pancakes, and she smiled. “You made me pancakes?” he nodded, and waited for her to take them. “You know I make the best pancakes. Remember when I won that contest at the fair a year ago?” she rolled her eyes and giggled. “You’re so full of yourself.” She took the plate and sat down. He sat down next to her and handed her a cup of coffee. She smiled, as he took a sip of his coffee. She took a sip of her coffee and felt the dulcet of tastes enter her mouth. She knew he could make coffee just the way she liked it; lots of cream, and a lots of sugar. She tasted the pancakes and smiled. Jared took one off her plate, and she glared at him. She almost took the fork and stabbed him. “That’s my pancake.” He chuckled, and ate it anyway. She chuckled, but her smile faded away.

Jared could tell something was bothering Emma. Her eyes conveyed concern. "Jared, why don't we just ditch this trip, I mean we could spend time together, I just have a bad feeling about this place. So, what do you say?" Jared, with coffee in his hand, sat down at the kitchen table.

“I think maybe you feel something bad is going to happen because it is around the time of your parents’ death, and your sister no longer being actively in your life. I think your intuition says some peril is going to happen because it has before. I doubt something is going to happen to us. Look, if the trip become uninteresting or eerie, we can leave and go to a hotel or something. I think we will be fine. If something does happen, I will always be there to protect you, I can promise you of that. What do you say?" A smile appeared on Emma's face, and then her heart raced for a moment, as if it might explode. Jared saw the worry on Emma's face, and was concerned. Jared took her into a hug and they stayed that way for what seemed like eternity; he kissed her and pulled away, even though he didn’t want to.
“Emma, I uh- I-” he was cut off. There was a honk outside and he tried once more.
“I- uh-”It was useless he could tell her any other time. And he would.
“Jared, what were you going to say?” The honking stopped and they grabbed their bags, and Jared shook his head.
“Oh, um I’ll tell you later. Emma, are you all right, you look as if you might throw up." Emma shook her head. "No, I'm fine, let's just go." Emma realized something, and stopped Jared from continuing." Wait, if we do go away, we would need to take my car or something." Jared shook his head. "No, we'll be fine, I promise. We could always borrow someone’s car." I only hope he is right, I have a bad feeling, but I don't know why.

They continued on and were outside, where Connor was. His jeep was glimmering, and in pristine condition. The three of them said their greetings and were heading off. Jared was riding shotgun while Emma was in the back. Emma needed some time to research something anyways. Besides, she was afraid that maybe if they were to sit together that they would do something they shouldn’t; they definitely didn’t want to deprive their friend of peace.

Connor had heavy metal music blasting on the radio; an infamous band called Device, one Emma had heard of. Emma was paying attention to the music until her phone bleeped.

She did not recognize the number, and did not see where the location of the phone call was. It was a text with a hyperlink, one that piqued her interest: WWW. Behind the Gore: The John Charleston Story.Com. She clicked on it and was on the gory website.

She read through all the information she could, and was surprised.

"John Charleston is the new millennium Jack the Ripper, excluding the prostitutes. He is believed to be between 5'6'' to 6’’. He supposedly has dark hair, but wears a skull for a mask, as if he is the Grim Reaper. The bodies were mutilated so heinously that the police department had trouble identifying the victims. The case files were so chilling, that the police could hardly handle it. Officer Brecker stated, "After seeing one victim, I slept with a gun under my pillow." If this wasn’t chilling enough, this will be,

The unsub's signature was very unique; he would leave behind chilling words written in blood saying: YOU ARE NEXT. He would leave behind a photo of another victim, but the police could never put all of the pieces together in time. There is one victim still alive, but you would not call her lucky; her name is Lillian Byers. Her whereabouts are unknown; some even say she was murdered by the infamous John Charleston, Master of Gore."











- Ryan MCGuffin

She scrolled down even more and saw a list of victims, which was very useful to Emma. She saw a total of twenty victims, but one stood out the most, Her name was Selma Darcy, she reminded her so much of a familiar face, one she could not quite place, She thought about it for a few moments and knew why she looked familiar. She realized it was her mother's friend when she was about fourteen years old. She realized how much she hated John Charleston, and was sort of glad she had the chance to write a paper on him.

Emma was stone cold, decided it was best not to speak of the information she had decoded to Connor or Jared. She felt her spine tingle each time she thought of the victims and of John Charleston. Bile rose in her throat when she recalled the images of the crimes. Lethargy waved over Emma, and she locked her smart phone and drifted back to sleep.

She saw beautiful greens and blues in a mesmerizing place. It was like a version of Heaven, but on Earth. There was a blinding white light, surrounding a deep, dark area in the woods. Emma was drawn to alluring and enrapturing light, as if her body wasn’t in control. She slowly descended towards the wooded area, creating a dichotomy of whether or not she should continue on deeper into the woods.

She approached the lit area and peered into the light, and into what looked like someone's lair. She ascended into the lair and saw horrendous and grotesque items, and intestines and blood. The items were scattered all around. She peered around and saw familiar corpses piled up in a corner as if they were discarded, like they were nothing of importance.

She stared towards the back of the vile lair and saw photographs of her, like she was a celebrity. She averted her eyes, and close to the photographs, she saw a dark shadow move, which resulted in Emma running, running for her life. She turned right in the eerie woods, and she heard footsteps. It was as if they were right behind her. She picked up the pace and made a left. She thought she heard the footsteps again and made another right. She tried not to expose herself by her breathing, but she knew it was difficult. She felt an adrenaline rush and felt her heart beating fast. She was trembling and her mouth was quivering. She stopped and hid behind a tree, and placed a hand over her mouth. She saw the figure coming her way, but continued on.

She waited a few moments waiting for it to feel like she was alone once again. She ran the opposite way that the man dressed in black, and stopped, feeling like she was safe, so she thought. She could not hear the footsteps coming up behind her. He grabbed her and she screeched. He then cupped a hand around her mouth to silence her. She felt paralyzed and her heart was like it was beating out of her chest. She fought against him, but there was not successful in escaping. She dug her fingernail close to his eye, drawing blood. He tried not to let her go, but screamed out. She ran as fast as she could, but he caught up to her quickly.

He struck her in the head, where she fell forcefully onto the floor, and he grabbed her legs. She screamed out in pain and fear. He began to drag her, and trying to stop him from doing so, she dug her fingers into the ground, but didn't help her. She stopped and felt blood flowing down her mouth onto her shirt.

The man finally picked her up gently and caressed her, Emma didn't try to fight back; it was pointless. He sat her down gently. She knew it would be pointless to try to escape; if caught, she would just put herself through more pain. She would rather die of being pushed off a cliff, and falling into the undertow, than be butchered to death or die a slow, and heinous death.

He exposed himself to the light, and Emma felt the tears coming. She felt betrayed and stunned. She knew the person well, all too well.

"WHY, WHH-Y WOULD YOU DO THIS T-O ME? I THOUGHT Y-O-U LOVED ME." She felt the tears sting her cheek, but did not hurt as much compared to the pain she was experiencing right now. It was someone she trusted, and loved- loved too deeply. The angelic looking person was- it was Connor Penn. The person who said that he loved her and would always is there for her that would never hurt her. The person who made her laughs when Jared couldn't. Her best friend, maybe even her next lover.

"Emma, now we can be together forever." He smiled and Emma could see the insidiousness behind his eyes, still loving him deeply. Emma flinched as Connor led her over to the cliff's edge. He held her by her neck and pierced her in the chest. He let her go and she fell back, into the black abyss, never to be found. He grabbed the knife and stabbed himself as well, and plunged to his death. He found his beloved Emma, and took her lifeless hand. They finally both passed through the murky water, into a different area, a pristine and beautiful area. An area Romeo and Juliet could only wish had the chance to have passed to another life right in that area.

Emma gasped, feeling like she had just come back to life. She sat back up in her seat, trembling. Jared turned around and whispered, "Are you all right?" Jared comforted her. He stroked her cheek, which calmed her tremendously. She tried to hide the fear in her eyes, but couldn’t. This dream was more terrifying than the one she had experienced a day ago. It was more personal, and seemed real like the first one. The only difference was she had seen who was behind the mask. She guessed it had been the same person from the dream- the all too real dream.

"I'm fine, I just had a terrifying nightmare, but I'll be fine." She smiled and she turned back around. This is going to be a frightening trip. I can't trust Connor, he could be really dangerous. But, I don’t want to hurt his feelings; I care about him too much. Maybe Scarlett could distract him or something, maybe replace me. No, wait, I could never do that to him, I have known him for eleven years. I just need some distance, that's all. But, can I really trust him?

"Jared, Emma, are you all starving?" Neither Jared nor Emma responded, and made the trip quieter, almost too quiet. Almost to the point you could drop a pen and could hear it. Emma already knew this trip wasn’t going to be pleasant- if only she could stop it.

The others were not so quiet. They were wild. Most might say they are the "fun ones". There your stereotypical frat- partying students. They always wanted a cigarette or a joint, and knew that a beer couldn’t hurt. Not all of them were that way though- only one didn’t know how to party.

The sports car was filled with Selene, Carter, Scarlett, Heidi, Carleigh, Robbie and Joanna. Scarlett was Carleigh’s twin sister. She was polar opposite of her sister; she was a darker person. Most of all she was Goth, even though she had golden blonde hair. She had that devil-may-care attitude about her, and could be condescending at times. In high school, she was voted most likely to end up in a mental hospital. She wasn’t the nicest person in the world, but she was far better than Carter. Most people would say Scarlett had a little something for Connor, but she would never admit it. Joanna was also something else. Everyone thought of her as a slut and some party girl. No one really knew what went on inside of her head. She had long raven hair and piercing blue eyes that pierced the soul. She really didn’t have good qualities. Heidi knew how to have fun. Some even thought she was stoned all the time. Her brown eyes almost looked bloodshot, but she tried to mask that with eyeliner and mascara. She and Carleigh were inseparable. Most thought they acted more like sisters than Carleigh and Scarlett did. Carleigh was the life of the party as well. She always seemed drunk and stoned, but no one really paid that much attention. Some found it ironic that Carleigh wore more mascara and eyeliner than Scarlett, the Goth did.
Robbie was your typical college student- he was a womanizer- a man whore. He played girls too easy. Girls could look into his sexy blue eyes and melt. Too bad he did melt them in the end- melt their hearts. Girls loved his hair as well. Its dirty blonde color attracted girls for some unknown reason, and everyone knew he had abs. He always wore muscle shirts that showed him off. In high school, he had come up with a virginity game- and had finally taken a hundredth girl’s virginity. He didn’t feel bad about anything he did. He loved play the women. Anybody could see that. He and Joanna were so much alike- no wonder they had something going on.
Selene, being the responsible one, thought it would be the best if she drove. In the passenger seat sat Robbie, one of the people Selene actually liked. But, she liked him more than a friend. Behind Robbie sat Carleigh, next to her sat a talkative Heidi. Next to her sat a quiet Scarlett, and next to her sat Joanna. Next to her was Carter, who was right behind Selene. He had a joint in one hand and a beer in the other. He passed the joint around, which everyone enjoyed. Selene felt uncomfortable, she had not really ever had the desire to drink or do drugs, but did not want to seem like she was uptight. She wanted this to be the best trip ever, but felt it would be the worse, all because of Carter.

"Selene, baby, do you want a beer or a joint?" Selene scoffed and rolled her eyes. She said nothing to him, just kept her focus on the road and tried to block him out.

A huge fight broke out in the back. Joanna and Carter were in an argument. Joanna slapped him and then punched him in the mouth. Carter started to curse her, and then all Hell broke loose.

"YOU CANNOT MESS WITH ME, I AM CARTER PENN. I WILL KILL YOU, I WILL KILL YOU!" He started to attack Joanna. Carleigh and Heidi tried to fight back. They were on top of Scarlett, but it seemed like she didn't even notice. Robbie undid his seatbelt and flung back there. He started to scream at Carter, and punched him a few times. Selene was yelling at them like a stage mom, but did no good. She pulled over onto the side of the road and started to scream.

"Guys, stop it, stop it, stop it. We are supposed to be having fun, not fighting. Carter, you come up front. Everyone put the pot and alcohol away, now!" Selene rolled her eyes at all of them, not quite understanding why they would like this drug and would want to mix it with alcohol.

"You're such a buzz-kill, babe, why can't you just have fun for once?" Selene glared at him and reciprocated.

"Maybe if I didn't have a boyfriend like you than I would be able to have fun." She started the car up and continued to the destination. Carter continued to be a nuisance to Selene. She turned on the radio to a Rock station. Carter made a comment, "Now I could really have a joint to this music." Everyone laughed, except for Selene.

"Carter, just shut up, I am so sick of you, I am about ready to make you walk for four more hours at least." Selene turned the radio up louder and shoved a beer at him, feeling tempted to try the cool, icy liquid that she had handed away. Selene brushed the thought out of her mind.

Joanna, Carleigh and Heidi were all flirting with Robbie. She wondered what Emma, Jared and Connor's car trip was like.

No one was too happy with Selene; she always had to take control, she could never go with the flow. She also was very uptight, almost like she was a crazy stage mom. Carter began to annoy Carleigh, which did not surprise anyone.

"Carter, screw off, no one even likes you. The only reason we let you be in the group is because you can score us some great pot." she giggled and could not recompose herself. Scarlett and Heidi could smell something riveting, as if they were not alone.

"Sel, can you smell something turgid?" Scarlett asked, covering her mouth so she would not throw up.

Selene could smell something disgusting in the car, but it was very faint. She decided to pull over once more. She knew there could only be one area that the odor could be coming from. She sauntered towards the trunk and carefully, twisted the key into the key hole, and delicately lifted it. She averted her eyes from the trunk and let out an "Oh my God." She screamed as loud as she could. Everyone traveled over to Selene and gasped in horror.

Carter threw up on the side of the road and wiped his mouth off with his hand.

"Who is this, where did he come from? God, Carter, it's your car. "Selene was shaking all over, and knew what the right thing to do was.

"Guy's, I'm calling the cops, forget the trip; we have a putrid, dead body in the trunk of the car, we are not going anywhere until we sort this situation out."

Carter snapped at this point, grabbing Selene by her neck and throwing her forcefully onto the ground. She hit her jaw on the ground. She touched her jaw and flinched. She was surrounded by the woods. She was afraid to stand back up. Instead, Carter threw her close to the body, with Selene screaming and trying to fight back. She punched him in the jaw and let her go. He gripped his jaw and cursed her. She returned back to the driver's seat of the car. Selene closed her eyes and prayed Carter would calm down.

"Selene, get out of the car now, God, you are so pathetic. I should kill you just like this corpse." She flinched once more. She was saved by Robbie and Scarlett hitting Carter several times.

"Carter, if you touch Selene like that again, I will torture you so heinously that you will regret you ever met me." Carter backed away and ambled towards the trunk.

"Who's going to help me dump the body, huh?" he scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Fine, I will do it myself, like I always have to do." He had no problem lifting the body out of the trunk and dragging the mutilated body into the woods.

Selene was beyond terrified. Her eyes showed that hint of fear, and her body was shaking like a leaf in autumn. She felt coldness in her core. She let out a slight whimper, and turned away from Carter and the corpse. He could do that to me. No one really knew how toxic the relationship was between Selene and Carter. For the past few months he had started beating her. Mostly it would be a “you’re so ugly, I hate you” remark, then a hard slap across her cheek. Sometimes he would punch her in her stomach when he wouldn’t fool around with her. He even once pulled a knife out on her when he wouldn’t give her sex. She had given it to him after that. Essentially, he had raped her- but she wouldn’t admit that. Besides, they were in a relationship- that couldn’t be considered rape- right?

"Guys, we can't let Carter back into the car, he could have been the one that killed this person; I say we drive off without him."

Robbie shook his head and started a dichotomy. "No, he would call the pigs on us, you know how they are, and they believe anything anyone says." They all nodded.

“Fine, but we aren’t going to talk to him; he could be dangerous."

Carter buried the body with leaves and forgot all about the body. He felt anger and saw a weapon lying in the light. He grabbed the knife and stuck it in his shoe. He made sure his pant-leg covered up the weapon.

Once he returned from the woods, all the girls were buckled up in the back, while Robbie was in the driver's side. Carter stood outside of the driver's side of the car. "We need to bleach the trunk." Robbie replied and Carter nodded, knowing that in 24 hours, the blood would disappear.

He grabbed the bleach bottle, and he poured a little too much into the trunk, causing the trunk to become a dull orange. He slammed the trunk and angrily hopped back into the car, The group drove ahead.



Connor had the car parked at a gas station, and he was nowhere in sight. Emma heard her phone bleep, which rouse her. She opened the text message and was startled by it. It was from an anonymous tip. The message was several pages long, but mostly contained pictures. The first picture was one of a mutilated body. It seemed to be a male; his hair was the color of a raven, matted onto blood. He had no face, and he was covered in slash marks, that would have come from a knife. He had a bashed in skull and one jet black eye; the other one was missing. Below the picture was a sinister message.

You may not want to go to Death Creek after all, at least if you don't want to end up like Johnny Boy."

She got the picture and the chilling message out of her mind and moved onto the next one. That one was also a photograph, but she knew this person, all too well. She zoomed in the picture to make sure it was the person she thought it was. It was the same tan skin, which could glisten in any light; and those dark, haunting eyes, which could mesmerize anyone; and that short, spiky hair. She was looking at a photograph of Carter. She was surprised; she knew he was a douche, but never considered him a killer. He was burying the body from the previous photograph. She saw that he had a bloody knife in his hand, which startled her even more. Below the chilling photo were the words:

You can't trust your friends, not all of them are who they seem to be.

Emma could agree with that. Was this person helping her, or were they just trying to terrify and taunt her? She wasn't sure at the moment, but knew maybe these messages would come in handy later on. She couldn’t tell Jared of the messages- even though she knew she could trust him. He might be the only one she has ever trusted and could ever trust.

Connor came back from the car, and she knew that they had to be close to Death Creek, but kind of hoped they weren't. She glanced at the beautiful scenery changing before her eyes; the bright, sunny blue sky, the radiant vegetation, and many more things that one could only linger at.

"Connor, where are we?" Emma questioned. Connor glimpsed at the GPS, bewildered at what he was seeing.

"Um, it looks like we are in Death Falls, fifteen minutes from Death Creek; it is close to Las Vegas, but not quite." Emma nodded and said nothing more. She would have a chat every once in a while, not an anecdote- like she tended to have with him.

Jared was half asleep upfront dreaming. Jared was running, running for his life. Someone was chasing him; someone who wanted him dead. He almost tripped over a thick, grey colored tree branch. He had a disadvantage in the area he was in, he did not know the dense, dark woods like the still hunter did. Jared turned to a left, and then to a right, Jared saw a bright light, not being the sun, which shined over a tavern, maybe even a lair.

He started quickly towards the unfamiliar area. He ambled to a closet in the lair, along the way he saw a bloody corpse, which he covered his mouth with his hand so he would not scream. He could hear footsteps approaching the closet-like area. Someone passed the area, and Jared did not make a sound. The figure sauntered to a shrine in the cave, covered with pictures of his beloved Emma, and other victims. The killer sauntered back to the closet and opened it quickly. Jared pushed him back forcefully, resulting in him being cut.

Jared ran to another area, which was by a cliff. He did not know if he was safe, but with Emma coming up to him and being there with him, he did feel safe.

"Jared, are you all right?" Emma catechized concernedly, holding his hand gently. Out of the blue, the killer came out. He had a mask on and unmasked himself; he had dark hair and the most piercing blue eyes. Also, he had a scratch over his left eye. Jared thought that his eyes were playing tricks on him; the person he was seeing can't be the killer. He realized that he was not imagining it- Connor, his best friend, was indeed the killer. "Connor, why are you doing this to us?" Connor sneered.

"Connor, why are you doing this to us?" He imitated, with a sardonic look on his face. He approached Jared even closer, holding the knife up. Emma touched Connor lovingly, soothing him with her tranquil voice.

"Why am I doing this to you, you really are a fool; you stole the love of my life, now I must kill you." Jared did not even try to reason with Connor, he knew he was going to die regardless of anything he could say.

Emma sneered insidiously. She passionately kissed Connor, while Jared turned away. He felt his heart shatter into a million, tiny pieces that Jared did not mind to die. There is no life without Emma. Jared thought.

Emma turned back to Jared. “Surprise, surprise; right baby. You should've known I could never love you, you are just too perfect, and Connor isn't. He doesn't want to be, either." Jared said nothing else. He was close to the cliff's edge, knowing he could easily jump and get out of this alive, but he didn't want to.

Emma turned to Connor and smiled wickedly, "We should kill him together, shouldn't we." Conner chuckled and nodded. Jared knew it was time; he was going to finally reunite with his father and brother, and his maker. Emma held Jared into place while Connor penetrated him with the knife. She let him go and he fell into the dark abyss, never to be seen again.

"Now it's just us, my love." Emma replied, as they left the heinous place, also never to be seen again.

Connor shook Jared habitually, but it did not seem to work. Finally, though, it did. They were at Death Creek, after six drudgery hours.

"Don't touch me." Jared replied forcefully, and shook his friend off his shoulder. Emma touched him gently, and he snapped and shook her off as well.

“And don't you touch me either." Jared slammed the car door and grabbed his belongings and hurried away from what he thought were the "Love Birds." Emma and Conner were left befuddled, and left with their belongings as well, to Death Creek.

The others arrived a few short minutes later, all pumped up- like nothing had happened earlier. Carter, though, was acting a little strange.

Emma noticed Selene was a little bruised; she had a busted lip and other injuries, maybe more than she could see. Emma thought it would be pointless to ask Selene what happened to her, she knew that it was Carter. Everyone knew what Carter could be like when he didn’t get his way. This could end ugly- and Emma guessed that they had. She just didn’t know how serious it was- that was until she saw the photograph of Carter covering something up. Could Carter be capable of killing someone?

Selene saw Carter disappear with a beer, and she took her chance and grabbed Emma to the side. Emma looked worried and Selene looked terrified. Selene looked like she was about to bawl. But she didn’t. She had never cried in front of Emma, and never would.

“Emma, I need to talk to you about the trip," Emma nodded and Selene continued. "Carter was awful from the get go; he was smoking pot and drinking and just causing fights, nothing new. He became a hundred times worse. I pulled over to stop all the conflict, but when it was resolved and we continued on the trek. Carleigh informed me of an odor in the back, and I could slightly smell something bad, but it was awful. I pulled over and there was a dead body in the trunk. He was mutilated and everything, he didn't even have a face. I said I was going to call the cops, and Carter freaked out. He started to attack me and I went to the car and buckled myself in, but it didn't stop him. He drug me out of the car and he pushed me si close to the corpse, then he threw me to the ground. He finally disposed of the body and bleached the car. Carter, he's changed, and I hate him, if only he would die." Emma didn't blame her, sometimes she wanted Carter dead as well.

Emma thought Selene was better now, and she left, looking for Jared. She looked at the main area of Death Creek, and she noticed it's beauty. It was grassy and filled with life, but she wasn't sure about the rest of the place. She continued on, and the woods were a different story. God, these woods remind me so much of death . She thought. Death Creek was like a combination of a park and a camp.

Something, or rather someone grabbed Emma and drug her into the woods. She was surprised by who it was- it was Jared. "Jared, God, what are you doing, you scared me?" All Emma could do was staring at Jared, she couldn't figure out why he was acting so strange.

"Emma, you were right, I have a bad feeling about this place. Em, it's like Deja vu; I had a dream of this place. In the dream, both of you killed me, and you two were lovers. I'm sorry about how I acted, it just felt so real. I'm not a perfect person, I make mistakes sometimes, and again, I really am sorry. I want to be the perfect boyfriend, but maybe I have to accept that I can’t be." Jared looked ashamed of himself, and he looked down. Emma lifted his head and kissed him passionately.

"You are perfect to me. You are the best boyfriend I could ever ask for." They both chuckled. “I understand what you are saying; I have been having some of the same experiences. Can we take a walk?" Jared nodded, wanting to forsake the dense woods.

They headed back to the main site and decided it would be nice to unpack, which they did. When everyone was also along the camp site, Emma started to ask questions.

"Guys, don't you wonder who led us here and what this place is? I mean, this place is really eerie, don't you just want answers?" Someone was hiding in the woods, where no one could see them.

"Don't you worry Emma, in time you will get answers." The person chuckled and ran off. Emma thought she heard a voice.

"Did any of you hear something?" They looked at her as if she was insane.

"No!" several of them shouted. Emma ignored them and followed Jared back on their personal trek. Emma looked behind her several times, wondering if there was someone following her. They were in a disclosed area, a beautiful area at that. Emma observed the different colors of green, along with other colors of spring. All Jared could think about was how fortunate he was; he had Emma, the love of his life, and he had Connor, a great best friend. Emma continued to stare and noticed something glimmering in a sandy area.

"Jared, I think we should investigate something over by the sand." Jared nodded and followed Emma, not knowing what to expect. Emma gleamed at the sky, noticing that the sun was not shining on the object. She dug at the sand, and lifted the object. She was amazed by the beautiful silver amulet. Emma knew exactly who it belong to, also. She stuck it in her jean pocket and stood back up.

"Let's keep going." Jared nodded and asked no questions, and continued on their little journey. He knew Emma would tell him what it was all in good time. He knew something was bothering her, he just didn’t know how serious it was. Emma didn’t know that something was slightly off-putting to him as well.


***
Connor and Scarlett were exploring the woods; they had images in their eyes.

"What do you think is out there, it is such an amazing place?" Connor lingered around.

"Yeah it sure is. Hey, what was Emma freaking out about earlier, God, she can be so weird. I guess she is better than Selene, though." Connor felt anger coursing through his body. He felt like he was going to snap at her, but kept his composure. He knew Emma wasn't weird or a freak. Scarlett took his hand and led him out of the woods and close to the cabins, to the left of them. She pointed to a dark building that piqued both of their interests. She led him to the building and didn't hesitate to go in. The inside was just as insidious as the outside was. All around the building were creepy dolls. Dolls the size of Raggedy Ann and Andy. Most of them had an eye missing, and the ones with both eyes looked like one of them was a person's eyeball.

"Connor, this one looks like Carter." She snickered somewhat while Connor smiled. Each one of the dolls resembled one of them. Connor clutched the one that looked like Emma. Her warm, chocolate colored brown eyes made him smile. She was in a red and black corset dress with a neck piece. She looked like the Emma Connor had deep feelings for. Connor grabbed Jared's and his as well. He handed the dolls to Scarlett, which she put in her bag.

They moved to another room in the building that looked like a prison cell. She ran over to the cell and sat down. There was a snap, which made Connor flinch.

"Ouch, my ankle." She lifted up her dark- jeaned pant leg and mas bleeding heavily. She liked some of the blood off her hand like a vampire would. She giggled and stood back up. She tossed her head back and laughed like a maniac. Her expression changed in little time. She screamed when she tried to walk on her left ankle. Connor noticed it and tried to help her. He helped her the best he could without a first aid kit. He gave her his shirt to wrap around her ankle tightly. He carried her out bridal style, and she smiled.

"You're such a good friend, I'm glad I have you." Connor smiled and nodded." I feel the same way.” Listen, it's getting late, we should return back to the cabins, I am going to fix you up better there." She nodded.

Joanna, Carleigh and Heidi were having a little too much fun. Joanna was beyond high; she fell on her face and could not stop laughing. Carleigh and Heidi were doing hand stands, chugging multiple beers. Joanna could not stand back up, which made her giggle even more.

Robbie and Carter came to join the girls around the bond fire. Joanna stopped giggling, but the girls did not even notice the guys' presence. When they did notice, they stopped chugging the beer, but instead were sitting by Joanna.

"Ladies, I don't really think you all should be chugging the beer that is more a man's job." Carter snickered. Robbie rolled his eyes, taking another gulp of his beer. The girls scoffed and stood up. They limped over to Carter and began more drama.

"You should just shut up right now Carter, or we will tell your little secret, you wouldn't want that, would you?" Carleigh taunted, pushing Carter back, His blood boiled and his impulsivity was high. He slammed Carleigh into the ground, along with Joanna, but a little harder. Heidi, with all her force, punched Carter in his mouth. He fell back and cursed her. He jumped right up as if he had not been touched and lunged at her. Robbie hindered that, though. He grabbed him by his neck and slammed him back to the ground.

"Carter, did your mother ever teach you not to hit a girl? Stay down!" Robbie and the girls cheered.

Carter groaned and his whole body ached. He rubbed at his mouth and ran his fingers through his spiky black hair. Blood ran down his shirt. He took off his shirt to stop the bleeding.

He took one last look at the group and ran off. He took a picture of himself out of his pocket. He was admiring himself (like the narcissist he was). He stumbled through the woods (which were very eerie), but he knew he could protect himself, especially since he had a weapon of his own. As he traveled farther into the woods, he could see a glimmer of light shining through the forest. He ambled toward the light to investigate it, but found that it was a cave of some sorts, which piqued his interest.

He entered and saw the most grotesque looking place in his life. It was as gory as a horror movie, but definitely worse. He moved around deeper into the cave and realized what it was- a lair. He looked around and grabbed what looked like a pseudo- eye ball. Once he realized that the bloody and squishy eye ball was that from a human, he yelped. He saw the different tortures of the place and knew he had to escape this place.

John Charleston could hear a yelp, and knew his first victim was here. He grabbed a scalpel and crept into the main room of his lair. Carter saw John Charleston approach, which he was frightened by him. He started to run but John Charleston caught him and threw him onto the ground. He grabbed a pair of shackles and bound him. He tried to move, but his cinnamon colored legs would not budge.

Carter's stare lingered on John Charleston. Instead of a head he had a skull, and not a normal one. His skull had a pentagram at the top and darkened out eyes. His skull was a greyish color as well. He had very little hair attached to his skull. The only thing normal on his face were his teeth. The rest of his appearance depicted him as the stereotypical horror movie serial killer. He had a black trench coat and black boots.

"Look Mr. Serial Killer, you really don't have to kill me, I could become your assistant or accomplice, and I have killed before. Please, I beg you mercy, do not kill me. I may not be the best person in the world, but you have no right to play God." Carter tried to cry, but tears would not come. John started to sharpen his scalpel.

"Look, I helped dump the body for you and take that knife, the least you can do is spare me of my life you freak." John flashed back to his childhood and how the children his age would banter him and taunt him. They pushed him down and continued to jeer at him; some children bigger than him kicked at him and made him feel weak, defenseless. This made him very angry. He was never going to feel that way again. Never again would he feel powerless and weak. Instead, he would make others feel weak and powerless, whether they deserved it or not. The killer snapped back into reality, infuriated at Carter.

"YOU FOOL! You really think I would do anything for you, never. Your whole existence is pointless, you make everyone sick. No one especially likes someone like you who beats up on women." John felt the scalpel and felt it was sharp enough to do the job.
John began to carve into Carter's cinnamon skin, turning his skin a crimson color. The blood gushed out. Carter cried out in pain, knowing he was never going to see anyone or anything again. Once John was finished carving into Carter, he moved on to another torturous way of death for Carter.

"You will never be able to speak again." Before Carter could speak another word, Charleston sliced his lips off and gently threw them to the side. He saw Carter's eyes roll into the back of his head and could see blood spurting. Charleston felt gratification, and then sliced his tongue out, which even more blood was spurting. The final task was to cut his eye balls out, which he did. He flipped Carter over and found one more photograph- one of his next victims. He grabbed the one from his hand and the one of his victim. He began to paste a picture of his next victim with blood from Carter, with a caption that read:

YOU ARE NEXT!

John threw Carter's body in his usual discard pile. He crept over to one of his other buildings and know knew he had a little project to finish. He entered the building and reorganized his doll collection. Some would say they were voodoo dolls, but he would call them his "beauties." He grabbed the one of an unfinished Carter and crept back to his tavern.

He began to finish the doll, placing the eyes of Carter gingerly into the sockets of the doll. He sewed Carter's lips onto the doll, and cut into the doll, where he could sew the tongue onto. He then enclosed the doll's lips. He added a few finishing touches to the doll and smiled while tilting his head.


John placed the Carter like doll on the shelf. He saw that three of his dolls were missing. He started to search around, but there was no sign of them. He started to kick his valued items around. He had to find those dolls, somehow. He started to pick up the dolls he had knocked over, less angry. Once he did so, he traveled to the back of his lair and knew he should rest up for his next slaughter.

Aly Williams was excited for the day; she knew she was going to see Tegan, whom she had not seen in a long time. Her aunt and uncle were making breakfast for her, which was lovely for her.

How are you honey?" her aunt Constance asked saccharinely, smiling. Her aunt was in her late thirties to early forties. She looked great for her age. She had curly blonde hair to her shoulders and sparkling green eyes. Her curves looked great in the Prada dress she was wearing. Her uncle Jax greeted her as well. He was tall and also great looking for his age. He had dark hair, longer than most men and the darkest eyes. He was dressed in Ralph Lauren polo and a pair of jeans, a lot simpler than his wife.

"I'm good, college is great. I am going to go see Tegan, and I am really excited to." Her aunt's smile disappeared and was replaced with a frown. Her uncle had the same expression. Her aunt dropped a glass plate that shattered near her feet, which made her flinch.

"What have I told you about seeing your sister, you are forbidden to see her. Alison, your sister is insane, why would you want to see her?" Aly was surprised by Constance's reaction.

Aly ignored her aunt and rolled her eyes. She headed upstairs; she knew she could not stay with her aunt and uncle if they could not accept Tegan. She traveled back into the room, but was upset with it. It made her feel melancholy with the brown wall coloring and pale decor. She realized that her aunt and uncle changed everything; they basically took over the house.

She packed her bags quickly and ran down the stairs. Her aunt and uncle cornered Aly. Aly pushed tried to push them aside, but it didn't work. Her uncle slapped her and she fell onto the stairs. Her aunt yelled in her face and began to rip her clothes. Her uncle tried to take them off and commence to rape her, but she hindered that from happening. She would never let him hurt her that way again. She was a survivor from being raped, and she wouldn’t let him take her innocence ever again. She kicked him in the gut with her foot and hit her aunt as hard as she could. She ran out of the house as quick as possible. She hurried into the Jeep and drove off.

She could finally breathe again, but was sobbing hard. She was thinking about what place she could go to; she couldn't go to a hotel, she didn't have that kind of money. She pulled over on the side of the road and sobbed even more. She called her boyfriend, Jinx, but he did not pick up. She remembered why; he was in Europe. She phoned Jared, who picked up on the second ring.

"Hello." Aly took a deep breath and sighed in apprehension.
"Jared, um could I stay at your place for a few days, I don't have any money to stay at a hotel, and well, my aunt and uncle didn't quite work out." She sighed and sobbed silently.

"Yeah, you can, I really don't mind you staying at my place, but I don't want you to be lonely or bored. There's also my mother's house, maybe she could pay you if you babysit my sister, then you could go to a hotel or something." Aly nodded, thinking of all her options.

"Thanks, Jared; I will just stay at your apartment, thank you so much." She said a goodbye and hung up. She saw why Emma loved him so much; he would give you the shirt off his back. She headed for Jared's apartment.

The next morning was quiet for everyone, mostly because Carter was not with them. Emma soaked in the tranquility and said nothing of Carter; his name was like an anathema .No one looked the least bit worried, which really didn't surprise her.

"Guys, did we bring food, because I don't think there is going to be any provided for us, is there?" Robbie asked, hoping someone brought something. Everyone shook their head, which disappointed Robbie. His stomach was growling.

"I think there's a mess hall around here, maybe there will be food." Scarlett interpolated nonchalantly. Everyone looked at her, though.

"But we're alone, right, so how would someone provide food?" Selene countered, which everyone agreed with. “Maybe we aren't alone, I don't know. Maybe someone knows we're here and left something for us." Scarlett countered as well. But who? Emma thought, looking at Jared.

They all made their way to the mess hall, which was close to the cabins. Robbie was the first one to arrive. There was something strange going on... very strange. Robbie thought nothing of there being food in the mess hall, nice warm and divine food.

Emma glimpsed at Jared. "Jared, there is something not right here; first there's the fact that there is hot food provided for us and the second fact is that Carter's missing. Yes, I know it's tranquil, but it's not like him. There is just something wrong, I can feel it." Jared nodded understanding and sensing her vexation.

"Emma, if you want to, we can go to a hotel in a few days; maybe it would be best to wait a few more days, you could be vexing about nothing." Emma nodded and kissed Jared.

After their breakfast, the girls had an idea that Emma hated. "Hey, why don't we go skinny dipping!" Heidi said, still a little on the drunk side.

Jared and Emma decided to go exploring some more, along with Connor and Scarlett, who were going to the doll - filled place they discovered yesterday.

Carleigh wasn't sure she wanted to go skinny dipping, she felt bad. Her phone bleeped, which she then read the text message. The caller was anonymous.

I know your secret; if you want to live, bring a picture of two of your friends.
Carleigh shivered. She realized something when she back to the cabins. She rummaged through two of her closet friend's luggage and found the photographs. When she was headed towards the woods she realized she had been living a lie, and was tired of it. She maybe even wanted to die; she knew she was better than this drunken druggie she would act like sometimes. She only did it because her friends did, which wasn't a good excuse.

There was another bleep, which interrupted her thoughts. It was the same message from the anonymous person.

"Deep in the woods, there is a light you will see it." She did not respond, instead she ditched her phone and started for the cave.

Connor and Scarlett were enjoying their adventure in the doll room. Connor glimpsed at the millions of dolls surrounding him. He noticed the one that resembled Carter was finished, unlike yesterday. He clutched the doll in his hand and showed it to Scarlett.

"Scar, these eyes, mouth and tongue were not on the doll yesterday. Feel how real everything is." Scarlett felt the morbid doll and threw up. Connor put a hand on her shoulder and comforted her. "Scarlett, are you okay, is something the matter?" Scarlett nodded, wiping her mouth off.

"Connor, I think I know what happened to Carter, whose eyes do you think they belong to?"

Connor stared intently at the doll's eyes, seeing that they belong to Carter. "Scarlett, this means that Carter is dead, right." Scarlett nodded a somber look on her face.

"I think so, I'm so sorry; even though I did not particularly care for your brother, but I am terribly sorry. Connor, I know what you are going through, I lost a sister, and I think Carleigh took it the hardest. Her name was Carter, and she was only ten when she died, they said it was suicide, but I didn't believe them, neither did Carleigh; maybe that's why I detested Carter so much, he made me think of my dead sister." Her voice cracked a little, and Connor looked into her eyes.

“In a way, I am so happy he's dead, but then again, he shouldn't have died this way." Connor threw the doll and nodded.

"I understand, actually, I'm sort of relieved he's dead, to; he only made my life Hell. But then again, he was my brother, and I will miss him and never forget him. I'm sorry about your sister." Scarlett nodded, and he held her hand, comforting her.

"Connor, I couldn't lose Carleigh to, I wouldn't know what to do. Connor, do you think we are alone here?" Connor shook his head, and look back at the dolls.

"I don't think so, it makes sense, though. Today, there was food, and it was like it was made this morning, then this happens. Scarlett, I think we need to get out of here, I think Emma and Jared are thinking of leaving, and I think we should do the same." Scarlett looked at him and realized something.

"Oh my God, I am so sorry I basically called Emma a freak, I think she may have heard the killer, but I'm going to find Carleigh then we are getting out of here." Connor nodded, realizing she might be right. She hoped that John Charleston or any serial killer was on the loose, but she had doubt.

"Do you want to continue to investigate other areas like we did yesterday?" Connor nodded, he needed answers, and he needed them now. Scarlett lit a cigarette and puffed on it, and they headed out of the obscene building.

Robbie, Joanna and Heidi were having fun in the water, cooling them off on such a dry, humid day. Heidi's thoughts turned to her best friend, though. She was worried about Carleigh though; she would never back out of skinny dipping unless something was seriously wrong. She brushed the thought away, though. She knew she did not need her best friend conjoined at her hip like a Siamese twin.

Heidi could not help but think of how eerie the woods were, if they were eerie at eleven-thirty, then what they like were at ten at night. She couldn't help but think of Carter's disappearance, which was very odd, especially for him. Maybe he's just playing a joke on us. She thought to herself. Heidi stopped thinking of the negative thoughts flowing through her mind and only thought of the positive. Joanna was having a little too much fun; she was too busy flirting with Robbie that she ignored Heidi. Heidi called Joanna's name several times, but she would not respond. She rolled her eyes and descended from the water. She grabbed her clothes and ran off.

Robbie didn't notice Heidi leave, instead all he could notice was Joanna. He noticed her curves, and could not stop staring at her. Before they knew it, they were making out. She ran her fingers through his dark hair. He pulled her long dark hair back and continued to kiss her. They had complications, though.

Heidi was disgusted with Joanna, knowing she shouldn't be. Stupid slut. She thought to herself. Heidi felt bad when she thought what she thought. She thought of nothing else and tried to drink a beer, but knew she didn't want or need one. She knew her life could be so much better than what it was. She didn't want to be a drunk or a druggie, she knew she needed a change and she was going to change. She put the beer down and traveled back to her cabin.

Aly made her way to St. Frances, which she really did not want to be at, but knew she wanted to visit Tegan. She always felt so sad when she left. She waited a few minutes in her car after she arrived, then she stepped out the car,

"Here goes nothing." She mumbled to herself. A sudden wave of nausea came over Aly, she knew she must ignore it. She made her way to Tegan's room, room 13, once she had gone through the process of entering the psych hospital.

"Dr., I am Aly Williams, Tegan's older sister, how is she?" she shook his hand, amazed by his grip. The Dr. was middle aged looking and was an average height and corpulent. He had a receding headline of grey hair and grey eyes.

"She has been better, she is no longer catatonic, but she is just not ready to be out in the real world; we diagnosed originally as Catatonic Schizophrenia, but now we are not sure." Aly could not comprehend why everyone thought her sister was insane, she loathed this, probably almost as much as Tegan did.

"What do you mean, she seems normal to me; she's been in here for three years, isn't time to let her go? Please, this is torturing my other sister and I, she is all we have left. She is not insane; she is a normal, teenage girl. Hasn't she been through enough; she saw her parents die, there are special and gifted people out there that do not mean she is insane." Aly thought she was going to begin bawling and would never stop, and maybe didn't even want to stop; that is unless she had her sister back. The Dr. shook his head, along with his smile fading.

"We cannot release your sister; she may be in here for the rest of her life." Aly was in awe, not knowing how to react.

"But why?" The Dr. had her file in his hands and reached inside and grabbed a form; he showed her the form, and Aly recognized the two signatures.

"Your aunt and uncle want her to stay in here, they said, and I quote, “is a wicked little girl, and should never be taken care of by anyone." Aly was beyond angry, absolutely loathing her aunt and uncle.

"Could I take her, you did say she has been doing much better. Please, I just want my sister back; I may never have the same sister again." The Doctor thought for a few moments, and then nodded.

"Yes, but you must be responsible for her; you must be at least eighteen." Aly nodded.

"I am, I'm actually twenty, I will be responsible for her, and can I take her home tonight?" The Doctor grabbed the form and she quickly filled it out. Aly had butterflies in her stomach.

"Thank you; I can never repay you, can I." The Doctor called for a nurse over the intercom. The nurse came quickly.

"Yes Doctor?" She asked nonchalantly.

"Will you bring Tegan Williams, with her things, she is going home today."

"Okay Doctor, I will bring her." The nurse traveled to the patient rooms. The Doctor gestured for her to take a seat. Aly could not believe this was happening, she had dreampt of this day for a while and it was finally happening.

The nurse came back with Tegan a few minutes later. She looked like Hell; her blue eyes were somber and her dark hair looked unhealthy.

Tegan smiled at Aly and mouthed, "Thank you." Aly nodded. She had several more forms to go through for Tegan to go home, but she would do anything to have her family back, anything. Nothing would stop her from having the happy family that had been ripped from her and Emma’s lives four years ago. Everything was going to be fine again.





Emma and Jared were exploring the park once again. Emma felt her jean pocket, making sure the pendant was still there. Emma made her way towards an area that piqued her interest, but did not know why. Jared followed her and noticed something that was off.

"Emma, there are two cars over there, maybe we should investigate them." Emma nodded, wishing that the middle of nowhere did not pique her interest. All that was around them was a small amount of wooded area and two desolate cars.

She thought she recognized the van and ran over to it, attempting to open the driver's side door. She wondered why the car piqued her interest so much. She grabbed a rock and slammed it through the glass of the driver's side door. Once the glass was shattered, she unlocked the door and began to rummage through the van. She had a flashback while she was in the car. Emma thought of when her mother and father first bought the red van, which her and her sister's eventually became used to; that was up until her parent's deaths.

Emma opened several compartments and found something that shocked Emma the most, that she thought she would cry. She realized that this was her parent's car, the one that they died in. She saw the identification cards. How was the car here, the last time I saw this car was four years ago, and it was being investigated, so how is it out here. Oh my God, could my parents have actually been murdered? She thought, and saw a newspaper article. It was dated March 30, 2010, exactly four years ago. She read through the article.

"The death of the Williams is a horrible tragedy to the community. Today, the police have concluded that the deaths were not an accident, instead, they were murdered. The police concluded that they were stabbed multiple times and that the car being hit was a cover up. It is a tragedy for the family because thirty-eight year old Marie Williams was thirteen weeks pregnant. The police reported that the car was stolen from the crime lab. The police ask if you have seen or know who stole the car, to report it. Constance Earnshaw, Marie's younger sister says she would give a reward to anyone who could identify what happened."

-Ryan MCGuffin.

Oh my God, why did I not know of this? Emma thought she was going to cry, but kept her composure. She traveled over to Jared and they rummaged through the other car.

Once they broke the glass of the other car, Jared rummaged through the compartments as well.

"Jared, that car over there was the one my mother and father died in, why would it be out here?" Jared had no idea, and he came to the same conclusion as Emma had, this was the car his father and brother died in. He found a newspaper article and read through it.

"Oh my God, Emma, everyone told us that our family member's deaths were ruled accidental, but the newspaper articles say that they were murdered. Emma, these cars are evidence, I can't quite fathom why they are out here." He and Emma could not believe what they had discovered.

"Jared, none of this makes sense; we have to get out of here, now. Jared, we can't just take Connor's car, it wouldn't be right."

He nodded.

"Do you think we can take this one over here," he pointed to the car he just discovered. Emma nodded, and then took it back.

"Is it covered with blood?" He nodded, and then knew they could ask Selene if they could take that car.

"Alright, we are leaving as soon as we can, we should have never come here, Em, I'm sorry I did not believe you."

"It's okay; I found it hard to believe myself. Jared, was your mother pregnant around the time of her death?" Jared nodded. "Yes, thirteen weeks." Emma felt breathless.



"Jared, how is this possible, the same thing happened to our parents, I don't think this is a coincidence, something is wrong." He nodded, feeling the same way she was. Maybe the reason they clicked so well was because they could understand each other's tragedy. They headed for the cabins.
***
Carleigh made her way through the woods, glimpsing around to try to find the place the anonymous person had texted her about. She thought she was lost, which was not a good sign when it was almost so late, and the fact that she was in the dense, eerie woods. It didn't really matter to her.



She traveled past the cliff area, seeing a dim light straight back into the woods. She slowly approached the cave-like area, having a gut wrenching feeling that something unfortunate was going to happen. It was close to six, which she knew that when she died, no one would hear her blood- curdling screams. Sighing, Carleigh ascended closer to cave. She entered slowly, and could not expect anything worse than what she saw.

Body parts were scattered all around, which, Carleigh thought were psuedo-body parts. Carleigh averted her eyes and to another area of the lair, seeing Carter's lifeless corpse; at least that's what she thought it was, but he was so mutilated it was hard to tell whether it was or not. A blood curdling shriek escaped Carleigh, but did not try to escape; she knew she deserved what came to her.

John Charleston approached Carleigh, grabbing her by her head, and flinging her onto the ground, right by Carter's deceased body. Carleigh was covered in blood as if she was Carrie White on her prom night. Carleigh did not weep; she just laid there with no emotion. John began to bind her like a prisoner.

"Thank you for this, I deserve every bit of this; I have lived with guilt for as long as I can remember, and I don't want you to kill me mercifully, I don't want you to show me any, either. I killed my sister, I killed Carter, she was only five years old and I killed her. I said that she killed herself in front of me; that’s why there was blood on me. I slit my own sister's throat because I didn't want to take my medicine, I was jealous of her, and now I deserve to die. I have made my life a living Hell, and I could have done so much better. If I had another chance to live my life again, I would change it all." She sobbed, and closed her eyes, trying to torture herself with seeing her life all over again.

John was surprised by this; he had never seen someone want to die like that, or at least not in such a long time. He had compassion for her, but he had to do it, just had to. For some odd reason, he wanted to grant her wishes; to take the pain away.

He limped into another room, grabbing a weapon that would do the job. He rummaged through several tools, finally finding the one he was looking for. He brought the chainsaw back into the room.

"I want you to make this one of the bloodiest deaths ever." Carleigh replied, opening her eyes, tears flooding down her cheeks. She looked at him and he nodded.

"You're just like me." He responded, and tried to put the chainsaw down, and wanted to unbind her.

"Please kill me, please; I deserve this, like you said." She cried harder, not knowing if she could stop. He did not want to do this; this girl was doing something to him.

"All right, but I do have mercy on you." He started the saw and was about to start when she stopped him.

"Wait, when you kill Heidi, please show mercy for her, she has told me she wants her life to be better, I think she wants to die, also, so she can start her life over in Heaven." He nodded and continued. He sliced her face off gingerly, so it would come out perfectly. The gore was all over his hands and some of it spurted on his skull. He made his way to the wall and applied more blood on the wall, recopying the phrase and putting his next victim's photograph on the wall. He almost wanted to cry, but didn't. This girl changed him, and he would never forget her; she maybe even showed him a whole new perspective. He grabbed her face and headed back to the work station. When he returned, he grabbed Carleigh's body and put her in his special work room. She was like a goddess or angel, at least to John Charleston.

Tegan and Aly were headed towards Jared's apartment. The whole time, all Aly could do was smile. They arrived a few moments later, and they both hopped out. They grabbed their luggage and made their way up the stairs.

"How's Emma?" Tegan catechized, glimpsing at Aly a few times. Aly thought about it for a few moments.

"Um, she is still guilt stricken that you were in the hospital, also she is a sophomore at the University of San Francisco. She is still with Jared, madly in love if I might add, and they are on a trip over spring break. She wanted to stay, but I insisted that she should go, and that you would understand. “She replied. Tegan nodded biting her bottom lip.

"So why exactly are we staying at Jared's?" Tegan questioned again, not as saccharinely this time. Aly glimpsed at Tegan for a few moments.

She looked around and saw a few people around, she and Tegan stepped in and continued. “Look, to put it lightly, Uncle Jax , Aunt Constance and I don't exactly click. To tell you the truth, they attacked me when I said I was going to see you and Uncle Jax tried to rape me and Aunt Constance ripped my clothes. I didn't have much money, so I asked Jared if we could stay here." Her last words hung in the air. Tegan could not help but ask questions, she felt she had a right to catch up on everything she missed and know everything.
Tegan asked one final question, one that Aly was expecting. "Aly, do you or Emma think I am a freak?" Aly's smirk dropped and stopped everything she was doing and turned to face her sister.

"Of course not, Teg, we have been apprehensive all week because of you; we love you sis, you are special. Just because you have a special gift does not mean you are weird or a freak." She cooed to her sister, bringing her into a sisterly hug.

"Teg, I am just filled with joy that you are back home." Tears of joy spilled down Aly's face, and she did not bother wiping them away. Tegan smiled at what she had just said.

"I am to Aly, I am to." Once the sisters pulled away, they gathered their designer bags and began to unpack in extra rooms, which was right beside each other. Tegan no longer felt with despair or exhaustion, but instead hope, blissfulness and energy. Aly felt the same, knowing she would not break down and burst into tears.

Scarlett and Connor were in the doll room, amazed by the craftsmanship of the dolls, especially by how creepy they look. Connor still was in disbelief and denial that his brother was actually dead. Scarlett continued to attempt to comfort him, but he did not want to be comforted. They heard the door creek open, which startled them.

"Scar, let's go hide over there." He pointed to a replica of the prison room, but smaller. They slowly sauntered over to the building and for the sake of time, hid behind it. They heard someone's footsteps, and they covered their mouths. It seemed like forever until the footsteps descended from their area, to the door and descended to the exit. The door was slammed shut.

The two could finally breathe again and sighed in fear and in relief.

"That was so close, there could be a killer here and we just need to get out of here." Connor replied, staring at the door, befuddled. He approached towards the door and studied it intently. He stared Scarlett and then back at the door. Scarlett was confused by Connor's actions.

"Scarlett, was there blood on the door when we came in?" Connor's eyes were like knives through Scarlett's. She shook her head seeing it was getting late. They both decided to leave.

Heidi still did not know where Carleigh was; she was getting more apprehensive, pacing back and forth in her cabin. “I need to go find her. "She thought aloud. She heard her phone bleep and realized she had a message, but she couldn't figure out who it was from. The message said:

Bring a photo of one of your friends or you will die, I know your secret, and I will tell.
She was scared at this point; she grabbed a picture from one of her friend's luggage and headed off to find Carleigh. As she traveled through the woods, she felt an eerie sense, but knew it was just the wind.

"Carleigh, Carleigh, where are you?" She called out, but no one responded. She continued farther out into the woods, ignoring the cold and numbing feeling she felt. Her body felt like ice, which was strange to her since she was in Nevada.

She saw the most alluring and peculiar light. The reddish- yellowish light amazed her and headed that way. As she approached the light, she realized it was a cave or something close to that. She hesitated to enter- but decided to. She saw blood all around her- along with photographs of several people. She glanced across the room and saw Carter's corpse- and saw Carleigh's body.

"Oh God, no not you Carleigh, you didn't deserve this oh God, but I do." She sobbed and fell onto her knees, numb. She thought of the secret she had been hiding for several years. She thought of the numerous times her step father beat her and raped her repeatedly. She was only ten years old, and her mother left her with this monster, this drunk. She finally could not take it anymore, one night, she was done. He tried to rape her and she put a knife up to his throat. He laughed at her, and he pushed her down, tried to do it again. She kicked him in the gut and grabbed the knife and slice his throat, and he was bleeding ot death, and all she could think was she was free, finally free. She cleaned up and left the house, never to be seen there again.

John heard cries, and quickly grabbed a tool that would finish this job. He ran to where Heidi was and realized that he was going to have mercy on this one as well.

She was talking to herself, not realizing he was there." I deserve to die, I deserve to die, I deserve to die!" She changed it all of the sudden. “I want to die, I want to die I want to die!' She noticed the man with the cleaver, and knew her wish would be granted. She gave him the photograph and smiled.

"You're the one who knows my secret, right; you know I killed my father because he raped me, and raped me, and raped me. He wouldn’t stop and I had to do it, and the worst part is I'm glad he's dead. If I could change it, the thing is I wouldn't. Just please kill me and I don't want you to feel sorry for me or have mercy on me. I could have made my life better, and I want it to be better. If I go to Heaven, it will be better." She smiled and was lying the same way Carleigh was.

He didn't want to, but he knew he had to. He knew he would never forget her, either. He took the cleaver and cut off one of her arms, and she didn't scream, instead she said a "thank you." Blood flew onto his skull and he cut her other arm off. He chopped her hip off. He felt tears run from his eyes. He took the photo and went over to the wall and did what he had previous times. He took Heidi's photo off the wall and hung the new victim's photograph. He knew he would not feel compassion for his next victim. He took all of Heidi's body parts and took them to his work station. He started on his little project and knew he would kill soon again. He knew that soon this would all be over.

Emma lied restless in her cabin bunk, with Selene above her. She called to Selene, but must've been deep into her sleep. Once she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, she could see Aly running, running for her life, like the wind. Aly fell on a tree root, and flew down a wooded area. She felt weak all over, and felt blood spill down her mouth. She could hear footsteps approaching. She slowly stood back up and clutched her shoulder.

Once she saw someone approaching with a knife, she continued to hurry away. She saw a cave and slowly entered. Aly almost tripped over a corpse- and saw what looked like a closet. She traveled over and entered the closet. She closed the door and covered her mouth with her good hand.

She heard someone's footsteps, and impulsively, opened the closet door and ran, ran for her life. She called out for help- and was trapped by a cliff like area. Oh my God, I am going to die, she thought to herself. She looked down and knew if she fell into the eddy, she would float away into the dark abyss. She saw someone approach and right then, knew she was going to die. The dark figure approached her, and she screamed, which made the person smile.

In one hand, the stalker had a knife and in the other was a head. She recognized the head and burst into tears.

"Oh my God; no." She recognized the head as her sister, Emma. She fell to her knees, and could not stand back up. The killer pulled the mask off his face and she knew exactly who it was, and she was in awe; her mouth gaped open, and she could not take it all in.

"Connor, why, why would you do this to all of us?" Connor laughed, and instead of responding, he threw Emma's decapitated head into the body of water, never to be seen again.

Aly saw Connor raise the knife over his head, and plunged it into her heart. He pulled the knife out and continued to penetrate her in several places. Once he was finished with her, he pushed Aly's corpse into eddy. He turned away and made his way out of the woods, knowing he would be getting away with murder once more.

Emma's eyes fluttered open, and she sat up in bed, sweating and trembling. She lied back down and could not fight her tiredness, and drifted right back to sleep. This time, her dream was less like a nightmare.

Jared was having the same difficulties as Emma. He couldn't understand how his father and brother's car was here, and why it was here. He also wondered who actually murdered them. He continued to stay restless, that was until he drifted soundlessly and dreamless of to sleep.

The next morning, Emma and Jared made a very important decision, they were going to go to a nearby hotel. Jared took his and Emma's luggage in the back of the car. Emma traveled over to Selene.

"Selene, have a great time here, okay. I will see you after spring break, okay. You are my best-friend, don't forget that." Emma hugged Selene. Selene nodded and said her goodbyes.

Connor could barely look at Emma; he wanted to leave, but he couldn't without Scarlett , but he was going to leave as soon as possible. Emma could understand, she was leaving him when he would basically have no one, and there could be someone dangerous there; he could be in danger, and she was going to be safe. Connor turned to face her, and he hugged her.

"Be safe, Emma." Emma nodded, hugging him back. She wanted him to come, but for some reason, he was in her dreams, and he was a murderer. He could be perilous; she couldn't risk anyone's safety.

"You to." Emma let go of Connor, and smiled apologetically. She reunited with Jared in the car, heading away from the heinous place they thought it was. They were on their way to Las Vegas Springhill Suites, thinking it was the nicest hotel to go to. Jared's knuckles were pale white from gripping the steering wheel so sternly. Emma noticed his apprehension.

"Jared, are you all right?" Jared nodded, thinking of how to respond but not causing anymore hurt to Emma.

"Emma, I've been thinking, do you think it is possible John Charleston killed some of our family members?" Emma thought about it, and she understood how he was thinking.

"Yes, but someone else could have; but it is a very high chance that he did." Jared nodded, not wanting to talk about it anymore.

Emma's phone bleeped. She recognized the number this time- it was from Carter, which was strange to her. She had a puzzling look on her face. She read through the message and saw another victim's body. She knew of two scenarios- one- Carter was the murderer. Two- the murderer killed Carter and obtained his phone. Either one explained his disappearance.

She could no longer isolate the situation from Jared. The couple pulled into the five star hotel. They hopped out of the car and grabbed their luggage. The exterior was very appealing to their eyes; Emma thought of it as her safe haven at the moment. Jared opened the door for her and approached the front desk and paid for their room.

She took her bag and headed for their room, room "1313". Once they approached the room, it looked nice. The interior was warm and welcoming, she definitely felt safe at this point. Emma gestured for Jared to sit, which he did. Jared could sense something was the matter, and addressed it with Emma.

"Em, is something wrong?" Emma nodded and showed Jared the messages she had been receiving since day one. Jared looked apprehensive and held her hand.

"Emma, why didn't you tell me sooner, this is serious? I think we're safe now, but I could be wrong. But don't worry, I will protect you." Emma and Jared lied in the bed together for the next few hours, discussing their feelings at Death Creek, and how serious the situation was.

"Jared, do you think Carter is dead, he has been missing for a few days, I fear the worst for the others if someone or something killed Carter." Jared nodded, stroking her dark hair.

"I haven't seen Carleigh or Heidi, either. I don't know how much danger they are in, though." Emma nodded. Emma locked eyes with Jared, and caressed his cheek. “Jared, I know this doesn’t seem like the right time to say this, but it’s what I want. It feels right. Jared, make love to me.” Jared stared at her. “Emma, what about tomorrow. I’ll make it like our first time was tomorrow. I think you’re exhausted.” Emma nodded and snuggled next to him. She thought she could feel his heart beating. After what seemed like hours of talking, they drifted dreamlessly to sleep.

Selene felt entirely forlorn; she did not have Aly or Emma; the others were too busy being their immature selves to spend time with her. She tried to call Aly on her cell, but she didn't answer. This trip really sucks. She thought to herself, still being the only one in her cabin.

She contemplated whether to work on her paper or not. She didn't have her notes or anything to really help her, so she decided not to. She was bored out of her mind. God, why did I come on this boring trip? Selene heard something, startling her. She decided to go explore around Death Creek.

Aly and Tegan were having quite an interesting time at Jared's apartment. Aly thought this was the best spring break she could ever have, and knew it would never end. Tegan was engrossed in watching Criminal Minds with Aly, who was beyond grossed out. Aly saw a pint of blood on a mutilated body, which made her want to throw up and she had to avert her eyes to the ground several times. A shiver traveled down her spine several times throughout the episode. "Tegan, ew, how can you watch this, it's disgusting." Tegan smirked, staring at Aly. "I guess we now know you’re the weak one in the family." Aly glared at Tegan then bursted out laughing.

"Teg, you really are sick, maybe I should have left you in the hospital." She replied sarcastically. Tegan laughed, not being offended one bit.

"Hey, when the Marilyn Manson movie comes out, you are so watching it with me." Aly did not know what to think of this, but she was worried about Emma, but didn't know why. Aly guessed she was trying to be the older sister she always thought of herself being.

Selene knew she was being too uptight, and didn't want to be. She usually wasn't this way, and she wanted Scarlett to hit her for it. She thought a nice good swim would be nice. She headed for the lake, which wasn't very far out.

She stripped down and dived into the water. She started to laugh and lay on her back, feeling the sun warm her tan stomach. She did not realize something was coming... until it was too late. Selene screamed when Robbie jumped into the water. She breathed and hit Robbie, who was laughing and could not stop.

"God, you scared me, what are you doing?" He leaned in and kissed her, something she had wanted for so long. Soon enough, they were making out. Joanna peaked around the corner of a tree, wondering where Robbie was. Her face morphed into an angry and jealous face, which was how she normally acted.

She grabbed a rock and traveled to where they were, her piercing blue eyes filled with anger and hurt. She became ludicrous acting.

"Robbie, what are you doing with that slut, you said you loved em, what happened to that?" Joanna appeared as if she might burst into tears, but she kept her composure. Robbie did not reciprocate; instead he descended in the opposite direction of Joanna. Selene, though, ignored her and traveled where Joanna was, rolling her eyes. She tried to walk past her, but Joanna followed her and began to taunt her.

"Where do you think you are going you little slut?" Joanna grabbed at her, but Selene fought back. She pushed her and reciprocated back, angry. Angry that Joanna thought she could call her a skank, as if.

"No, you're the whore, let go of me, I see why Robbie would cheat on you, if he even did. You're just a delusional, pathetic nothing." Joanna snapped inside, and impulsively hit her with the rock in the head.

Selene gasped, and fell onto the sordid ground. She tried to fight the will not to slip into her subconscious, but eventually could not fight it any longer. Joanna panicked, throwing the rock into the lake. She found a beautiful dress lying on the ground and put it on her. She covered her with leaves like a serial killer would do to their victim, and ran off. She wasn't sure if Selene was dead or alive, quite frankly, she could care less. Selene lay there motionlessly, but looking as beautiful as ever in her new black leather dress.

Joanna heard her phone bleep, and read through the message:
I know your secret, I know you killed little Selene. Poor Selene, she was special, unlike you. If you don't want you secret exposed, I suggest you bring two photos of your friends to a cave. See you then.

Joanna was terrified. She ran back to the cabins and grabbed a couple of photographs, and headed for the location. She couldn't risk someone telling what she had just done, but she couldn't help but wonder who knew of what she had done? Was someone watching her when she committed what she had? No, I didn't hear anyone. Joanna thought to herself.

She was deeper in the woods and saw an enrapturing and alluring reddish yellowish light. She tried to repel the beautiful light, but could not muster up the courage to do so. She saw the light threw her eyes and headed towards the cave, the place she realized, she needed to be at.

She hesitated to enter the cave, but entered. She immediately regretted it after entering. She shrieked as loud as she possibly could. She saw Carter, Heidi, and Carleigh's corpses right before her eyes. She dropped the photographs and knew she needed to get out of there. She was close to the exit of the cave when a door appeared in front of the cave. She hit at it and started to sob, knowing she might die; she didn't want to die, and felt she didn't deserve to. A grotesque looking person came out and grabbed her. She tried to fight back, but he was too overpowering.

She was too weak compared to the "Skeleton Man." She cried out when he struck her and threw her where her other friends' corpses were. She screamed and started to beg.

"Please, someone help me, please." She screamed as loud as she could, but she knew no one would hear her, they may not even care. She was bound and could not move a muscle, Charleston hit her to shut her up, but it did no good, she just screamed louder. He grabbed an axe and began to sharpen it right before her eyes. She was enraptured by the embers; her pleading continued.

"Please, don't kill me- please let me live. I could assist you in the killing, I just killed one of my own. Just let me go, please don't play God, please. She deserves to die- not me." She held up one of the photographs she brought, but it only angered John.

"You think you deserve to live, you are a fool. You are just another hypocrite in this world. All you are a party girl- a frat girl, who is a pathetic harlot. You are a liar most of all. I have no mercy on you, you deserve to die. Quite frankly, I hate begging. You deserve to die and burn in Hell!" Before she could say anymore, he raised the axe over his skull and cut her cranium in half like a watermelon. He wasn't finished though; he took a scalpel and slice from her left ear to her right ear. So much blood was on his skull, but it didn't bother him. He grabbed her slimy took it to his work room.

He discarded Joanna like she was trash- which she was to him. She was trash to many. Once he returned from the workroom- he took Joanna's photograph off the wall and instead put two victim's photograph's on the wall. He took the photograph of Joanna and placed it in his shrine of victims. He headed back to his work station and began putting finishing touches on his Joanna doll.

Robbie was back at the basis of Death Creek, where he grabbed a beer and chugged it down. He grabbed another beer and limped past Scarlett and Connor as if they weren't there. Scarlett touched him lightly on the shoulder, and he turned and faced her.

"Have you seen Carleigh or any of the others?" He shook his head, setting his beer down.

"No, but I have seen Joanna and Selene, that's about it, God, everyone is disappearing. This place is screwed up. Joanna was acting really strange, though." He said nonchalantly. He turned away and left the area.

"Scarlett, don't worry, we will find Carleigh, don't fret." Connor comforted her, and Scarlett nodded and turned away from him, leaving. This time, Connor did not follow; instead, he sat in his car and drifted to sleep. He had a terrifying dream, one where he was running, running for his life. He shortly died a tragic death by John Charleston, who was no one other than his brother Carter. He awoke from his terrifying nightmare and decided to have a little walk through the woods.

Robbie was back at his cabin- it was four-thirty, and he was utterly bored out of his mind." God, this place is so boring." He thought aloud. He received a message and read thoroughly read through it, befuddled by it. What is this? He was taken aback. He decided to go take a hike into the woods, where he ran into Scarlett.

"Hey Scar, I can help you find your sister, if you want me to." He smirked, and she did the same. He took advantage of her vulnerability and followed her to the other side of the lake area- opposite of where Selene's body was lying at. In all reality, he took advantage of everyone’s vulnerability. If Emma were not with Jared, he’d probably lay her to, definitely take advantage of her vulnerability.

They were silent for a few moments, and found a great area where she could be. There was a dark Victorian house at the other end of the lake. Once they were at the house, they doubted she would be in there. The shutters were flapping in the eerie wind; the house looked as if no one had lived there in years. The paint was peeling, the shrubs were overgrown and several shingles were missing from the roof. They thought it wouldn't hurt to look, though.

The inside was just as unappealing as the exterior was; there was tacky, musty, floral wall paper peeling from the walls. There was poor flowage in the decor as well. There was a different collectible from each era- starting from the Renaissance. Each room they approached was worse and worse.

They heard footsteps approach one of the most unappealing rooms anyone could ever see. They glanced at each other and hid underneath a dusty bed. They could barely breathe underneath the bed, but managed. When they heard the footsteps approach close to the bed, Scarlett clapped a hand silently over her mouth. Robbie remained as still as possible. The footsteps descended from the room- which was a good sign. They waited a few minutes so they would not be caught to disappear from the house, but were gone soon enough.

"Scar, what was that?" He thought they were all alone on this trip- but he figured out that they were wrong. Scarlett shook her head, with an apprehensive and vexed look on her face.

"I don't know but when Connor and I explored a building, someone followed us. Look, we need to find my sister and get out of here; I don't mind leaving Connor and Selene here do you?" Robbie was shocked by this. This was a new side of Scarlett no one had seen- a side many probably wouldn’t get to know. Everyone thought Scarlett and Connor would be the next Emma and Jared- just a little darker. Everyone saw how much Connor cared about Scarlett, how he loved her- maybe more than Emma.

"Wow, no, I couldn't; and here I thought you and Connor were dating." She scoffed, and smiled.

"No, I was only using him; you really think I care about him? No, quite frankly I don't care about any of you." Robbie shook his head and left her there. He turned around and pushed her up against a tree. “How dare you? You know, I may not be extremely close to Connor, but he is nothing but kind. You’re nothing but scum. You’re nothing like your sister. Don’t ever talk to any of us again.” He pushed her up against the tree and left her behind.

Connor watched them, and he heard everything she said. God, I am such a fool, I don't care what happens to her now. He thought. He didn't care about killing Robbie after all. Connor tripped over something, but was actually someone. He never would have thought it was Selene, shocked. He didn't know why she would be lying on the sordid ground, but didn't care why. He lifted her up and felt something wet on his hands, and knew right away it was blood. He could have been heartless and left her there, but he did not, instead, he carried her all the way back to his cabin. He grabbed the first aid kit and hoped she would not die with such a weak pulse. He cleaned the blood off her head and his hand. He decided he would stay with her for a while.


***
Emma and Jared were having a blast- by their definition. They were watching several documentaries on Serial Killers. They were engrossed in it so much that when it was over, they did not want to turn it off.

They stared at each other and did not say a word. They flipped to another channel, which had an episode of Criminal Minds, which engrossed them even more. Emma had to get something off her chest; she grabbed the remote and turned the television off, and turned to Jared.

"Don't you think we should be doing something besides watching TV, something we could be doing together?" Jared nodded and took her hand.

"I agree completely, I'm sorry, is there something you have in mind?" Emma thought about it and nodded.

"Before we do something, I think I know who the killer is; or at least I think I know John Charleston's identity." She whispered into his ear and he shook his head, surprised by her speculation.

"Emma, don't even think that, there's no way.” Emma nodded, feeling ashamed that she would think someone she was close to was the killer. She and Jared hopped up off the bed, and left the room. They headed outside the hotel and decided they were going to drive around a little bit- to drive anywhere but Death Creek. If Emma could, she would go home. Something was keeping her from doing so. Something she couldn’t quite put her finger on.


***
Aly was startled by the telephone starting to ring. She ambled towards the phone and hesitated to answer it. She felt like one of the girls from the Scream franchise, feeling someone would kill her immediately after she answered the phone. She regretted doing so once she did. Her aunt was screaming at her, but before she could hear any more, she hung up. How did she get this phone number? Aly didn't really care at this point, she was too exhausted to. She limped into the living room and turned the TV off. She traveled to one of Jared's guest rooms and fell on the bed, immediately drifting off to sleep.

Scarlett discovered another building, one with several rooms. She thought maybe she could find something that would be helpful in finding her sister. She opened the door to the first room she saw, and saw various boxed scattered about. The first box she rummages through had only photographs, the most gruesome photographs she had ever seen; nothing helpful there. The second box had newspaper clippings and headlines; she threw the box across the room.

Several boxes later, she had nothing leading her to her sister. She stood up and slammed the door and screamed, venting all her frustrations. She glimpsed around and picked a random room, one that was actually helpful. She saw a wrinkled piece of paper lying on the ground, and snatched it quickly. She studied the paper and realized it was a map of Death Creek. She stuck the map in her jean pocket and was about to move onto another room when something shining blinded her. She picked the object up and saw it was a locket, a delicate and intricate one.

Lines curved all around the golden locket. She opened it and saw a photograph of a young and beautiful woman. She had blonde hair and grey eyes. She smiled and shut the locket. She flipped it over and there was an engraving in it; 'a mon bien- aime' Holly Lafayette. She knew enough French to know that it translated to my beloved Holly Lafayette. Underneath the engraving were the initials J.C. and a J, but the other letter could not be read. She examined it closer and saw that it was not from this era; it was vintage looking and dowdy in a way, it looked as if it was around the 1800s.

She placed the locket in her pocket and decided to leave the house. She eyed the map and traveled through the dense woods, and entered another building.

Robbie was drinking a beer, hanging around the woods, about to go for a swim. He didn't have the chance to, though. He did not hear the footsteps approaching him- the sinister steps that would’ve scared anyone; the steps that no one could outrun. He was struck in the back of the head by John, and was dragged away. He was back in his lair, still passed out, and might be for a little while.

Scarlett was in a house that was descent looking, but not great. She realized the inside was different, though. The house had damaged objects lying around and putrid food. They were bones scattered about as well, along with dead animals. This house reminded her of the house in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but ten times worse.

She walked up to a door, but was afraid to open it; she did so, and covered her mouth. She smelled blood, and death, knowing something- or someone- did not die peacefully. She slammed the door and moved onto another room. This time, there was a corpse inside, but one that was at least a few weeks old. Thank God it's not Carleigh. She made her way to another door, and before she knew it, she was inside a cave. She saw Robbie, and tried to aid him, but she felt a hand cover her mouth- and before she knew it, she was out cold.

***
Tegan was lying peacefully in bed, which was until she had a riveting nightmare. She had nightmares like this before- but this one was ten times worse. She had these dreams for four years- but this one was even more personal. She knew something wasn’t right. Before Tegan could watch or endure anymore, she awoke and felt Deja vu all over again.

Aly could not stay still in her bed; she continued to toss and turn. She had the worst feeling in her heart- in the nightmare. Her heart beat like Hole’s bass solos. Before she could see anymore, she rose from her sleep, jumping out of bed- practically faltering in the dark. Aly feared the worst, but did not know why. It was just a dream, right? Aly stripped out of her night clothes and changed into a raven black tee, black jeaned shorts and a pair of Converse. Aly hurried out of the room and met with Tegan outside one of the guestroom doors.

"Teg, I've got to find Emma and the rest of her friends- I fear the worse. I want you to stay inside and lock the doors and stay safe. I know you can't sleep so try to do something else, okay, I will be back, I promise. When I get back, we can be a family again. I love you." Tears filled her smoky blue eyes and she hugged her sister, not wanting to let go.

Tegan's blue eyes became smoky as well. As Aly pulled away, Tegan touched Aly's hand, stopping her. She turned back to her sister.

"Promise me you will come back safe and sound, please- I can't lose both of you, you all are all I have left." Aly nodded, turning to face her sister, and didn’t want to lie to her sister- but she had to. She had to make her feel safe- even though Aly knew she wouldn’t be.

"I promise, everything will be all right." She smiled, wiping the tears away. The two said their goodbyes, and before Aly knew it, she was outside in the blink of an eye. Aly could not stand the eerieness right now. She hurried into her car and drove away as fast as possible.

Why did I promise her that, we should both know promises are easily broken? Aly drove into the midnight, not to be seen for the rest of the night in that town.




***
Emma was worried out of her mind; she didn't know why her friends and family weren't answering, it was unlike them not to answer their phones.

Jared was driving back to the hotel; they had gone to a small diner in town called the Little Dipper, one that was very well known in Nevada. Emma stared from Jared back to the phone habitually. Jared noticed her behavior, deciding to confront her.

"Em, are you all right, you seem vexed about something?" He stared from her to the road. With one hand, he took hers. A few minutes later, they were back at the hotel He carried her out of the car like she was his bride, something she enjoyed very much.

"Um, well I don't know exactly; you see, I have made umpteenth calls to my sister, but she's not answering. I'm just a little worried about her is all." Jared nodded, understanding what she was going through.

"I understand, the night Aaron died, I did the same thing. Within the next hour, I knew what had happened to him and my dad." Emma caressed Jared, lying on him to relax.

A few minutes later, they were back at the hotel. He carried her out of the car like she was his bride, something she enjoyed very much.

"It's probably nothing, right; i just like to worry myself." Jared nodded, kissing her passionately. Jared carried her back to their room. Emma knew what was going to happen next- and the thought delighted her. They were finally going to make love, something they had only done once- four years ago. They had both been in distress. They had both lost a loved one, and they both knew there was a strong connection between the two. They had made love, and it felt right to them, made them feel a little better.
“Jared, I’m ready.” Jared smiled, and slipped his shirt off. He pulled the condom out of his pants pocket and threw it down beside him. “Are you sure?” Emma’s eyes lingered with his for what seemed like forever when she finally said the words that had caught in her throat. “Yes, I’ll always want you Jared. It’s always been you and it will always only be you.” Jared smiled. He crushed his lips to hers, and finally, they were making love again. Emma had felt the passion that she had always felt, but was amplified. When it was finally over, they fell asleep, and Emma was in his arms; a place he wanted her to be in forever. This time, Emma had the most amazing dream ever; instead of being slaughtered, they were living the best day of their lives.



***
Scarlett and Robbie woke up like their hearts were pounding in their heads. Scarlett noticed the shackles, keeping her bound to the wall. Robbie was screaming for dear life. He was attached to a middle ages torture device called a rack. They were alone at the moment, but knew that they wouldn't be for long.

Scarlett started to struggle to break free from the shackled, but each time she tried, the shackles pierced her skin. She let out a sharp cry each time the pain coursed through her. Blood trickled down her arms and onto the ground.

Robbie could barely move, it was as if he was petrified like stone. He tried not to stare at his friend's corpses, but it was hard not to; seeing them like that made him want to throw up.

Scarlett looked the way Robbie was and saw a grotesque version of her sister.
"OH MY GOD, CARLEIGH, NO CARLEIGH! I AM SO SORRY!" She continued to weep, and soon the tears ran down her arms, mixing with the blood.

"Scarlett, we're going to end up like the others, oh God, I don't want to die." Scarlett looked down and remembered something. She had to release her hand from the bear trap shackles. She jerked her hand out as quickly as possible, resulting in flesh hanging off her wrist. She did the same with the other hand, and writhed in even more pain. She reached into her pocket and grabbed the locket, wincing when she took her hand out of her pocket.

She saw a dark figure coming, and she threw the object at him, distracting him. Her ankles were released and she tried to run, but he grabbed her.

He bound her once more; this time, he used smaller bear trap shackles, making her wince in even more pain.

"I may have spared your life, but not now." He smiled and laughed in her face. She tried to kick him, but he started to choke her."You're such a freak." John hit her once more, wanting to break her neck. He laughed at her comment.

"But what about you; what are you Goth? I don't think they want you. I know everything about you, how vindictive and manipulative you are. Carleigh I had mercy for, but not you. You caused your sister's death with all of your lies; you might as well be a killer. You lie about your first sister, then you have your sister so guilt-stricken that she wants to die; you're a really pathetic sister, you know it?" He chuckled.

Scarlet started to yell at him, and even spit at him. "You're lying, I did not do anything, I didn't, I didn't." She reiterated, but then she realized she was lying to herself; she was a killer, a vindictive and manipulative killer. Just like John was.

He turned to Robbie and smiled. He took a scalpel and turned the machine on once he approached him. Robbie began contorting; Robbie felt his shoulders dislocating and other parts of his body as well.

"Oh God, please, please stop now." Robbie's begging did not do him any good. He cranked the machine up to the maximum, resulting in even more pain for Robbie. Scarlett and John could hear his bones breaking, as if they might pierce through his skin.

John left the room for a few minutes, giving the two of them time to plot something.

"Robbie, we need to escape now if we are going to live." Robbie looked at her like she was insane, which she was. There was no way Robbie was going to move unless a stretcher was going to carry him away to the hospital.

"Do you think I can go anywhere, all of my bones are broken, and you expect me to walk?" Their conversation was cut off by John returning back to Robbie. He ripped his shirt and held the scalpel closer to his skin, but was not quite ready to finish him off yet.

"Stop, now please, why are you doing this to us?" Charleston turned around and lifted his trench coat’s hood off, exposing a bare and obscene skull. Scarlett noticed it was not a mask, that it was what he had for a head. Scarlett averted her eyes, too weirded out by him.

"Scarlett, you are such a unique person, I know exactly what I am going to do with you." He smiled menacingly, his deep voice sounding ever so insidious.

He turned back to Robbie and sliced through his skin. He removed Robbie's heart, and traveled quickly to the workroom. Scarlett threw up, not being able to wipe her mouth very well. She continued to struggle, but could not escape. She knew she was going to die, but she was not going to give up. She tried to pull the shackles out of the prison, but simply could not. She finally gave up and let out a cry.

"Someone help me, help me!" She could not move; all she could hope for was that her death would be quick.

"I'm sorry Robbie, I'm sorry sister, I'm sorry father, I'm sorry everybody!" She repented, meaning every word she said. She closed her eyes, knowing there was a reason she had to die; she didn't know what the reason was, though.

It seemed like forever before John Charleston came back. Scarlett opened her eyes, and wished she hadn't... She saw John taking Robbie's deceased, bleeding and broken body being taken off the rack. He discarded him like trash.

He approached Scarlett and grabbed the knife. Here it goes, she thought, closing her eyes tighter. He penetrated her skin three times with the knife, almost dying instantly.

He unbound her and gently placed her on the ground and continued on with his project, knowing everything would be all over very soon...

Tegan could not fall back to sleep. Instead, she decided to research something. Tegan reminiscence back to when Aly told her about Emma's eccentric professor named John Sullivan. For fun she typed in John S... and appeared John Sullivan. Maybe it's not the same one. She knew there was always one hundred of the same exact name out there, just different people. She glimpsed and clicked on one John Sullivan that fit the description Aly had given her. The man in the picture had raven black hair and the most intense and unique blue eyes. He had looks that could enrapture a person. Oh my God.

Aly's phone rang; she looked at the caller I.D. and saw that it was Tegan. Aly wasn’t sure if something had happened to her, she only hoped nothing had. She had to save one sister already. She only hoped she wouldn’t have to save Tegan, as well.

"Yes?" At this point, Aly was worried about two sisters at this point. She could not figure out what her sister was calling her for, but was scared. "Aly, you remember telling me about John Sullivan, right?" Aly thought about it and remembered yesterday.

"Yes, why?" Tegan let out a sigh and continued. She thought for a moment how to word this. "Emma, Connor and Jared could not have John Sullivan as a teacher, it's impossible." Aly was befuddled and taken aback by this.

"How?" Tegan sighed once more. She didn’t know if her sister was being melodramatic or not.

"Aly, he was born in the 1800 in London, and he died in 1835. That's not the only strange thing, though. He was beheaded, and the perpetrator was never found. Aly, he has been dead for two- hundred and eighty- nine years; it's physically impossible for him to be teaching." Aly's mouth gaped open.

"Do you think it was an ancestor of his and we could be talking about two totally different people?" Tegan shook her head. “No, I don't think so, i am almost absolutely positive we are talking about the same person." Aly was amazed and startled by the news. The only way she would know for sure is if she could see the person she was talking about.

"Tegan, can you send me a picture?" Tegan nodded.

"Sure." Aly hung up the phone and waited. She looked at the GPS and realized she wasn't anywhere near Death Creek, at least not yet. This could take days. Her cell phone bleeped and she pulled over and examined the photograph.

The photograph looked exactly like Emma's teacher. He had the same dark hair and the same blue-green eyes. Aly didn't know what to think at this point. She tried to remember the day she met this odd ball of a man; he didn't talk like he was English, but that didn't even matter.

She dialed her sister's phone number and started the Jeep again.

"Tegan, how is this possible, that's the same exact person; I swear, oh my God, Emma's in so much more trouble than I thought."

Connor was exploring the woods, even though he knew he shouldn't. He was at the doll building he and Scarlett were so interested in. He didn't need to think about Scarlett; she was the reason he was out in the woods, trying to forget about her. He slowly entered and noticed something he had not seen before. He saw a sewing machine and a simple black door, one that anyone could have missed.

He slowly turned the knob and entered into what seemed to be a lair. He looked around and was disturbed by the obscenity behind the place. He saw most of his friends lying lifelessly on the cement ground. Oh my God, I've got to escape now. Out of the blue, he saw a dark man with a knife notice him. He presumed that the man in the dark clothing was John Charleston. Charleston lunged towards Connor, but Connor put up a struggle. John had the knife close to his throat, but instead Connor overpowered him. He grabbed the knife from his hand and stabbed him in the eye.

Connor overpowered the man even more and kicked him in the gut. Connor pushed a heavy shelf onto John, and ran like the wind. He knew he couldn’t stop and catch his breath; if he did, he might as well sign his name on Death’s list. Connor knew he had to get out of here alive- and he knew he could- and would.

Connor knew his way around the woods by now and headed back to the cabins; where his jeep was. Once he was there, he was absolutely breathless. He wanted to take a break so he could catch his breath, but knew that John could easily catch up to him. He grabbed his keys from his pocket and jumped in the car, putting the key in the ignition. He started the car and it roared to life, as if it had been dead. He rolled the windows up and locked all the doors. He drove out as fast as he could; he wish he would have left this place of death sooner, but was only happy he was now doing so. He knew where he was headed, and only hoped he could help them; only hoped all of this would be all over soon. Sorry Selene, I hope you can save yourself. He honestly felt bad, and wished he could change it, but it was too late; there was no going back.

Selene awoke with a major headache. Oh God, what happened? Oh, that's right, Joanna happened. Selene felt a sharp pain course through her body. Oh God, I am going to kill Joanna. She could hardly stand up; her feet felt like knives, but she knew she had to go find someone.

She looked down and saw she was in a black, flowing, leather dress. She didn't care at this point. She needed something to drink. She grabbed a flashlight and stepped outside. She turned into the woods and found a water fountain. She felt the cold water trickle down the side of her face. She felt rebirthed and turned around, seeing a dark figure and screamed. She pushed him and ran for her life. She didn't know which way to go, but just kept running, not having time to waste. She turned a left, then a right. She didn't look behind her; John Charleston was right behind her.

Selene felt a sharp pain in her head; she was on the ground, and could not get up. She looked into the person's eyes and began to scream more; she tried to back away from him but her body betrayed her. She kicked at him and tried to stand, but could not.

He wouldn't let her escape; he grabbed her feet and dragged her the rest of the way back to his lair. Once they were there, he threw her onto the floor and bound her. He disappeared into another room. Selene's body felt raw; she couldn't move, it hurt too much to. She could only hope that if she shut her mouth he would spare her life. She averted her eyes and saw the corpses of her friends and screamed and sobbed. "Oh God, I am going to die." She continued to scream, hoping someone would hear her; maybe they would come and save her.

Aly was quite surprised that she had arrived to Death Creek in such a short amount of time. She glimpsed around and was affected by the eeriness, but knew she had to find her sister. She called out to her.

"Emma, Emma, where are you?' Aly continued to call out to her, and she ascended close to the woods. She tripped on something and took a great falter; she rolled deeper into the woods. She tried to lift herself up, but simply could not. She lifted her head, determined to try. She had to find Emma; make sure she was okay. She pushed all her fears aside and managed to stand up.

She felt an eerie presence, and decided it was a peril. She scurried away and felt like she was in one of her nightmares. Oh God, this can't be happening. She turned a left, then a right. She realized something at this point; she was maybe the only one there. She knew Emma wasn't here, she had to find her. She turned and saw a dark, shadowy figure. She picked up the pace and was closer to her car.

She tripped on something once again, and knew she wasn't going to make it out of this alive. She felt herself being dragged; the scenery changed all of a sudden. She screamed out, and could not fight back. The rest of the way, he carried her on his shoulder. She pounded as hard as she could on him, but it was no use, she was a prisoner to him.

She continued to scream all the way to the eerie place he was taking her. She saw a luminescent glimmering light, the most beautiful light she had ever seen. She could not resist staring at it.

Aly was in a cave a few short moments later. She saw gore all around her; the smell of rust filled her nostrils. She ignored the smell of blood and averted her eyes to her right. She saw the corpses of her friends, and screamed out and thought she would never stop sobbing. She closed her eyes tightly and wouldn't open them again. She was thrown on the floor, and bound. She heard a familiar voice.

"Aly, oh my God, you're here; you shouldn't have come." Selene continued on with nonsense she already knew. She could only hope her sisters were safe and sound. She didn't care what happened to her, just her sisters. She only could hope that this would all be over soon.

Jared looked to his left to see Emma was still in his arms, fast asleep. He sat up in bed, slowly and gingerly laid her on a pillow. He carefully got off the bed and opened his laptop. He had brought it along for a reason no one knew. He could barely believe he had found the evidence he had been looking for for nearly four years. He looked through the images on his laptop, and he nearly wanted to throw it a mile away. He knew the identity of John Charleston- and it was someone so close to him. He searched his father and brother’s name through the internet and found even more articles. He skimmed them and found words like murder, betrayal, funeral, etc. He had remembered something he didn’t want to. He hadn’t wanted someone at his father’s funeral four years ago, but they had been there anyway.
The articles didn’t give him much information, so he shut the tabs. He glimpsed back at Emma. She would probably hate him once she found out about all of this. He would lose the most important person in the world to her, and she would be gone; gone from his reach. He only hoped she wouldn’t. Maybe she would understand that he was doing this for her as well.

Jared shut his laptop and placed it back in his bag. He knew he wasn’t really going to get justice, but knowing was good enough for today. Jared lay back down next to Emma, and wouldn’t let the tears slip, even though he knew what was going to happen.
Connor approached room 1313. He knocked on the door, and Jared immediately answered the door. Connor stepped in and began to ramble on.

"Guys, everybody’s dead at Death Creek, they weren't simple slicing their throat deaths, it's like a torture movie deaths. We need to go home or something." Jared tried to quiet him down, but he wouldn’t. Emma awoke suddenly and backed away from Connor and averted her eyes from him. Jared and Connor were staring at her, and they looked at each other. Jared knew more than both of them, and he knew he had to explain.

"Emma, what are you doing? C'mon, did you not hear what I said; we need to get out of here." Emma shook her head and moved closer and closer to the door. Connor gently touched her and she freaked out.

"DON'T TOUCH ME! GET AWAY FROM ME! I KNOW EXACTLY WHO YOU ARE, YOU ARE JOHN CHARLESTON, YOU ARE THE KILLER, AND I WON'T LET YOU KILL ME!" She grabbed Selene’s keys and scurried out of the room and hurried to Selene’s sports car. She put the keys in the ignition and started the car, locking the doors and rolling the windows up.

She stopped when she heard her phone bleep. She glimpsed at the caler I.D. and like all the other messages, was from a mysterious number. She opened the message and saw Aly and Selene bound.

She dropped her phone. "Oh my God!" She made her way for Death Creek, feeling a bad omen. The place that was a bad omen.



***

Jared and Connor were stunned by Emma's behavior. They heard their phones bleep and opened the message. They saw the same photograph that was sent to Emma.

"Oh my God, Emma's headed for Death Creek." Connor looked worriedly at Jared. Jared sat down and put his head in his hands. 'You know what we have to do, right?" Connor nodded, wishing they didn't need to, but he would do anything for Emma. "Yes, we have to go back before it's too late for them. You know I'm not John Charleston, right?" Jared nodded. Jared knew what Connor was and wasn’t capable of; killing was something he wasn’t capable of.

"Of course, and I know you aren't a serial killer, either. It is impossible for you to be John Charleston; you would be in your fifties. “Connor nodded.

"There's always a copycat, though." Jared nodded, but he had a feeling it wasn't. He was going to have his Emma, and he was going to do anything to stop him; anything. Jared noticed something he hadn’t noticed before. He knew it came from Death Creek. So many clues to the puzzle wrapped up in his mind. He picked up the locket that Emma had on her bedside. He knew this would be the key to something. He followed Connor out and headed to Death Creek.

John was checking that everything was going according to plan. He felt it was too easy. He could always fool his victims, but this time everything was almost too easy. “College kids.” He muttered to himself. “Always so gullible.”

"You'll never get away with this." Selene spat, struggling to break free of the ropes that bound her. John approached her and laughed menacingly.

"Are you sure about that? Well, you would be wrong; Emma, Jared and Connor are coming, and they are going to meet their demise, trying to rescue you pathetic girls." He chuckled, while Aly struggled with the ropes as well.

"You leave my friends out of this, just take me, you can have me. Please, just leave them alone. What did we ever do to you?" Aly began to use a sharp object to cut the ropes. When he turned his attention to something else, she took her chance. She took the first thing she saw, a sword, and pierced it forcefully through his windpipe. Al that did was making him even angrier. He took the sword out of his windpipe and threw her and the object onto the ground. Aly saw that the wound she had made healed miraculously, as if nothing had happened.

Aly fought back at him and kicked him in his jaw. She tried to escape, but she was paralyzed. He grabbed her and through her near the shelf. She felt her whole body ache, and could do nothing else.
"You have what is coming to you." He snickered and turned his attention to the entrance of the cave, where he waited patiently.

***

Jared and Connor were close to death creek, the place they never wanted to be. “Connor, I’m sorry I dragged you guys into this.” Connor looked over at his best friend. “What do you mean?” he wasn’t sure what Jared had meant. He knew Jared wouldn’t hurt them, any of them. “Connor, I wanted to go to Death Creek to find answers to my dad and brothers’ deaths. Connor, I know who John Charleston is. I can’t explain everything right now, not without Emma.”


***
Emma deserted the car and made her way towards the woods. “Emma, Emma stop." Connor and Jared called. Emma looked frightened, and tried to run, but Jared stopped her.

"Emma, he's not John Charleston; he was attacked by him. Emma, there’s a lot I haven’t told you, and I’m sorry. Emma, listen, there's a legend behind John Charleston. He was murdered and can only be stopped when he slaughters all of us. Emma, we're going to die, but as long as I die with you, I don't mind it." He kissed Emma passionately, one last time. Emma hugged Connor.

“Connor, I am so sorry I ever accused you of being a murderer. I just don't know, it just made sense, I had dreams of you killing me, and I should not have." Emma felt ashamed. Connor nodded and hugged her tightly once again.

"I understand; and I forgive you. Let's try to kill him and go back home." Emma and Jared nodded, the three started towards the entrance of John Charleston's lair.

None of them were really surprised by the obsceneness; they had seen it one too many times in their dreams. Charleston turned and saw the trio standing tall and fearlessly. John approached and threw them near Aly and Selene. They unbound Aly and Selene and were huddled together.

"John Sullivan, we meet again." Jared replied, smirking, everyone looked at Jared, surprised he had said a name each one of them knew very well.
“Jared, what are you talking about?” Emma looked over to him, confused. “That’s what I was saying, Emma that I haven’t told you anything. He killed most of my family, and yours. I wanted answers. I didn’t know how dangerous he would be. I never meant to drag you into this.” Emma wasn’t mad like Jared thought she would be, instead, she was strong, and brave.

"Jared, that you are a smart one. If I may ask, how did you know that it was I that had commited the killings?"

"Well, for starters, I think we all saw the blood oozing from your closet before we came here. Also, you never speak in contractions, neither does the flyer Carter had showed us; I figured you must have written it. When Carter disappeared, I knew there was a killer, but I needed more evidence than just a gut feeling. Connor told me the words that were written in this place, the saying didn't use a contraction, either. Also, I found my parents car, and I found a clue that helped out a lot. I saw a photograph of you with my parents, so I only figured you knew them all too well. I remember clearly the night my parents were fighting over my aunt's death. My brother and father knew you were John Charleston, right; you had to stop them, couldn't have them have you arrested and locked up for the rest of your life, could you? Also you did knock up my mom; you made her lose the baby in the accident, couldn’t have people questioning what you were really capable of right. You wiped her memory didn’t you? When you went to the funeral, I never wanted you there because I knew something was wrong with you. You didn’t shed a tear for your best friend. Sullivan, I have never know you to be sloppy, what happened?" Jared smirked once more. Sullivan's smile faded, and turned to anger.
"You fool; I would watch what you say to me, if you know what is good for you."

Aly gasped, reminiscing what her sister Tegan, had told her. "But how can you still be here, you were beheaded almost three-hundred years ago?" John smiled, looking Aly in the eye.

"Ah yes, London, 1835. You see, I am what you could call the equilibrium to being immortal. Thomas James was the night stalker in London, much like Jack the Ripper. I was his unfortunate victim on a dark and frigid night. You see, he had a curse that was passed down since the beginning of time, and it stopped once he killed me. I have slaughtered an estimate of one- thousand human beings, and many animals. “He took a deep breath and continued.

"Three days after my murder, a local witch doctor taught me the craft of necromancy and sorcery; that's why you could not resist that alluring light. I have to tell you, it made my job so much easier. Tonight, you all end my curse." He chuckled menacingly.
“You wiped my memory from when I was sixteen didn’t you. I couldn’t remember anything about my parents or Tegan. Those dreams were memories, weren’t they?” John chuckled. “Yes, I did. I couldn’t risk you going to the police, and identifying me as a killer. Especially when I knocked your mother up.” There was anger in Emma.

"So, with your necromancy, you grew a skull as your head and could look like whatever you wanted to?" He nodded.

Jared lunged towards him with a knife, but did not have the chance to attempt to kill him. John stabbed Jared in the stomach with his knife, and Jared backed away from him.

"You fools, you cannot destroy me, I am like Lucifer, but I am better." Selene rolled her eyes and looked down to her feet and saw the perfect weapon, which could save them all. Selene lunged towards John and struck him in his skull, decapitating his skull. His original head came back in the place of the skull.

John was angry; he sliced her throat from ear to ear and began to mutilate her. Selene grabbed her throat and began to cough up blood. Emma came to her side and began to mourn.

"Oh my God, Selene no!" Jared hid Emma from Selene's bloody corpse. Emma cried on Jared's shoulder until he faltered back and lied on the floor. "No, Jared, not you to, please don't leave me." Jared began to break out in a sweat and could hardly stay awake.Connor came to their side. "Jared, please don't die; you're my only best friend, please.” Connor pleaded.

Aly knelt down next to Jared. "Jared, stay awake, you make all of our lives even more special." Tears were in her eyes. None of them could live with the fact that Jared had figured this whole puzzle out, and was trying to save them. Save them from the evil that had been in there lives for so long. Aly thought she was going to throw up. She had felt safe with a monster, and had even kissed him. She had kissed the man that essentially tore her whole family apart. The one that sent her sister away, the one that was behind killing her parents. She cried on Jared’s shoulder, and knew she was wrong. Everything wasn’t going to be okay. Nothing was ever going to be okay.

Jared thought he was hallucinating, but realized he wasn't. He saw his brother and father. "Jared, fight this, you need to live son." Jared stared at his father. "Dad, I can't; I'm in too much pain, I just want to stay here with you and Aaron.” Jared felt content with where he was.

"Jar, you have to fight this, you can beat John Charleston. You have the opportunity to, now do it." Aaron replied, staring sternly at his brother. "But he's unstoppable, I've tried. I'm just going to give up." His father tried to reason with him once more.

"Son, you can. You must pierce him in the most important place in a person's body. Take care of your sister and mother." Jared just stared at his father and at the most amazing place he had ever seen. It was a meadow with greens and blues. He also saw the most beautiful trees. The sky was a mixture of a blue and a whitish-gray.

Jared wanted to stay there forever, but knew being without Emma was even more excruciating than being stabbed by John Charleston, and even leaving his father and brother behind. Without Emma, there was no life he wanted to live. He had to live for Emma, for Connor, his best friend. He knew it wasn’t his time to go. He had to live without his father and brother, as many people had to. He was finally ready to move on. Jared returned to reality and knew what he had to do.

"Jared!" They all exclaimed and were elated, but that slipped away when two familiar people approached.
Emma could not help but ask a question of her own.
"Why did you kill my parents; what could they possibly have done to you?" Emma felt tears form in her eyes. Jared held Emma’s hand, to comfort her. He knew the details, too. All too well. He knew they would be pain for Emma, but she would be able to move on; to grieve. Aly would as well.

"Aww yes, Marie. She was a beauty. To tell you the truth, I had help in killing them. But the reason I killed them is I had been in love with her since you were about four years old. She would never love me, though. Your aunt was extremely jealous of her, hated she was always the prettier one, or the favorite one. She told me she would help me kill her. You won't believe me Emma, but we had a short affair about fourteen weeks before I murdered her. I asked her to live with me for the rest of her life, but she wouldn’t. She never wanted to see me again, I had impregnated, her, and I almost destroyed her family. I thought I couldn't live without her, so I killed her along with your aunt and uncle. They stole the car from the shop. And there they are." Emma and Aly were in awe; they stared at their aunt and uncle and could barely look at them.

"Emma, your parents were ruining my life, so yeah John here helped Jax and I get away with murder. We were never any happier than when that happened." Aly and Emma were in agonizing pain. They knew their aunt and uncle were insidious. Jared gave Emma the locket, which belonged to her aunt. “Good luck.” Emma didn’t want to let go of Jared’s hand, but she had to avenge her parent’s death somehow. She knew this was the only way.

"I knew you were in on this!' Emma shouted. Jared grabbed and sword and handed it to Emma and Aly. He knew he had no reason to kill them, this was there fight. He slowly stood up and stood beside Connor.

"I've always hated you both, I won't ever miss you." Constance and Jax stared befuddled at one another.

They each did the unthinkable... Emma took the amulet and jammed it through her aunt's left eye. Her cries did not satisfy Emma one bit. Aly took the amulet out and jammed it in her aunt's right eye.
Aly jammed the sword in both of Jax's eyes. She removed the sword. The sisters panted, but were relieved. Everything was almost over.

"I've made killers out of all of you, haven't I." John replied, satisfied by their actions.

Connor, Aly, Emma and Jared all made their way out of the lair. John chased them to a cliff, which they knew they might not make it out alive. They had all seen this cliff in their dreams. It was just another trap. Another way John could torture them.

"We're trapped, and now we're going to die." Aly replied, stepping as far back as she could without falling into the dark abyss. John approached with a knife in his hand, knowing this would all end now.

"You are right, Aly, you are trapped and will die easily now." He smiled, and stood looking at the sword for a few moments. He threw his head back and laughed. His laughter was so sinister and evil it almost made their ears gush with blood.

"Now, do you really think that will kill me; if Selene could not end my life with it, what makes you think you can?" Jared stared for a long time at him, and looked at the others. They knew he had a plan, they just weren’t for sure what it was.

"I give up, you win John; just kill us quickly. Please have mercy on us, just a bit." John glared at Jared and grew angry.

"Why would I have mercy on you all? Actually, I wanted to spare your lives, but Aly had to come to the rescue, maybe even be a martyr, and Connor had to discover my lair and enrage me." Connor was enraged at this point, and could not hold anything back.

"What are the dolls for? Are you going to control us, or are you going to keep us as trophies?" Connor was going to lunge at him, but decided it would not be the best to do so. Besides, there was another way.

"Ah yes, you and Scarlett were just so utterly fascinated by my dolls. You are right, they are my trophies, ones that are very unique." He snickered and crept closer to the group.

Connor pulled out a doll that looked exactly like John, but this doll was a voodoo doll. It was one he and Jared had made on their way there. It wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough. John Sullivan/ Charleston wasn’t perfect. He was very flawed. Worse than they were. He was nothing but imperfections.

"I like trophies as well, but I like to control my trophies." John lunged at Connor, but could not move from the ground. John grumbled in pain.

"So, you think this will kill me, well, you are wrong again; this only angers me more!" John tried to move, but struggling only put him in a worse position than what he was already in.

"While I was blacked out, my brother and father came to me; they said to pierce him in the most important body." Jared whispered.

Aly knew exactly what he was talking about. "The brain, right?" Jared shook his head, waiting for the others to answer. "The heart." Jared, Emma and Connor replied all at once. Jared grabbed for the knife in John's hand and handed it to Connor."Thanks."

Connor leaned down and lifted the knife over his head and pierced the doll's heart. John shrieked in pain, while Jared finished him off by stabbing him in the heart.

The group sighed... and should not have. They weren’t safe from harm. They would never be safe from harm, would they?

John rose from the ground and lunged toward Emma and Aly. Emma grabbed Aly and moved away from the cliff. Jared pierced John once more in what he thought would be where his heart was located. Jared left the sword in, and reunited with Connor and the girls.

They watched as John disintegrated into ashes and dust. They let out a final sigh and could almost put the nightmare behind them. They all approached the cave slowly. Aly grabbed John's original head, the one that caused Selene's death.

"Jared, I want all of them to have a proper burial; it's the least we can do." Jared nodded. Connor thought of something, though.

"We need to match up the dolls, too; their body parts will be attached to the dolls." They nodded. They brought the gruesome corpses outside and began to dig holes. Connor grabbed the dolls, which were most likely worse than the actual corpses.

Once Connor came upon Scarlett's lifeless, peaceful looking corpse, all he could think of was her betrayal; manipulation, vindictivism. He grabbed her doll from the doll collection and buried her.

"I'm sorry Connor." Jared, Emma and Aly all replied, with a solemn look upon their face.

"Don't be, she never cared about me. She told Robbie she was just using me, it doesn't matter; let's just get done with this, so we can go home." They nodded.

Connor and Jared were about finished burying the bodies, while the girls decided to go back to the cliff. They threw the ashes of John Charleston/Sullivan into the abyss, along with the voodoo doll and the decapitated skull.

The sisters hugged each other, knowing the evil was finally over. They shivered, and traveled back to where the guys. They were happy to forsake the evil.

Jared and Connor were finally finished with burying the bodies, and Emma had a little idea.

"Does anyone have a match on them and something flammable?" Connor nodded, he pulled the unused pack of matches out of his pocket and handed it to her. No one had anything flammable, but she ambled inside the lair and found gasoline. She poured it all over the lair and backed out as far to the entrance as she could. She backed outside .

"Does anyone want to do the honors?" She questioned, holding the matches in her hand. Aly gladly grabbed a match.

"I would; this is for mom and dad, Jared's dad and brother. This is for anyone who has died here, that didn't deserve it." And with that, she struck the match and threw it, feeling no hint of remorse or regret. No one was the least bit satisfied, though.

Everyone was back at their cars; Connor decided to leave his car there, wanting all of them to ride together. They had everything that they had come with, also. Each of them were silent on their way back. Aly broke the silence.

"Tegan's at Jared's, I sort of adopted her." Aly smiled, along with everyone else; they almost put behind the obscenity hey had lived through. ALMOST.

"That's great, how is she?" Emma stared out the back window, feeling she may never recover from this. But they had to. They had to put this in the past now. It was finally over. This had been a week from hell.

'She's not insane." Aly grew silent, not knowing what else to say. Aly knew her parents were never coming back. She and Emma had to finally except that Tegan was the last blood of the Williams family that they had.

"Jared, do you need to go to the hospital; how serious is your wound?" He looked at her.

"Oh, I completely forgot about that," He lifted his shirt and did not have a wound; it was as if he had never been stabbed."

"No, actually, I don't have a wound anymore; somehow it miraculously healed." They looked at him, but said nothing more. They were each glad, though. The thought that their friend was injured did not set well with them. Silence fell upon them. Connor was driving, and turned the radio up. It was quite strange when Connor did so.

It seemed like an omen or maybe just coincidence; Drowning Pool's famous song "Bodies" came on.

Let the bodies hit the floor
Let the bodies hit the floor
Let the bodies hit the floor
Let the bodies hit the... FLOOR!

Jared switched the station as fast as he could, but what came on was a famous Disturbed song.

Get up, come on get down with the sickness
Get up, come on get down with the sickness
Get up, come on get down with the sickness
Open up your hate, and let it flow into me
Get up, come on get down with the sickness
You mother get up come on get down with the sickness...

He changed the station once more, but a Mudvayne song called "Forget to Remember" came on.

What have I done?
Where have I come from?
When I burnt the backs with the sun through a glass did I seal the loss that's become me?

Feeling undone
What have I become?

He switched the station, this time Papa Roach's song "Blood (Empty Promises)" came on.

I will forgive but I won't forget
And I hope you know you've lost my respect

You better watch out cause you don't know what's going on around you
You better think twice before you fly off the handle and lose it...

"All these songs are either about us, Death Creek or John Sullivan/ Charleston." Jared was venting his frustrations and finally turned the radio off. Everyone sighed, and thought everything was going to be all right.

Out of the blue, "Your Betrayal" by Bullet for my Valentine blared once the radio turned back on.

Am I going insane?
My blood is boiling inside of my veins
An evil feeling attacks...
My body is aching, there's no turning back
So take your eyes off the trigger
I'm not to blame if your world turns to black
As your eyes start to blister
There's just no hope for our final embrace
So here we are... I'm in your head...
I'm IN YOUR HEART...

Jared removed the radio and threw it out the window.

"Is this ever going to be over?" Aly questioned, feeling a cold chill travel down her spine.

"I don't know." Emma answered; fearing that these were omens; that only meant the worse was going to happen. That John could never die, and would haunt them until they died. Died in heinous ways no one but a horror master could imagine. John Charleston was the master of horror. And everyone could see that now. Is this the end of John Charleston/ Sullivan for Emma, Jared, Connor and Aly... or just the beginning?

Ashes rose from the dark abyss, whirling in the wind, turning the water from a bloody- ashy color- back to a grayish- bluish color. The doll rose from the water and onto the cliff's edge. The ashes rose higher and higher into the sky; when lightning struck it; they solidified and fell onto the cliffs edge by the doll. The ashes glimmered in the light, solidifying even more and taking form.

This form was nothing like the original John Charleston, but was a restored form of him. The new John Charleston didn't have a single blemish or mark on his body. His scars were gone, and so were the markings on his body.

He pulled the sword ever so likely out of his chest and writhed in pain. He crept towards his burnt down lair. He raised his hands and the ashes of the cave rose and exposed his original lair. He entered the lair and was pleased; it was good as new. The shelf Connor had knocked over on him was pristine. He sat in his lair and remembered it one last time.

Something- or someone, crept behind him and turned him around. He was taken aback by who he was seeing- but didn't have long to react.

"You are supposed to be dead." John said- backing away.

"So are you, but you brought me back." The figure snickered and stabbed him. John vanished into thin air, while the figure sat in the lair- and felt a surge of satisfaction and power run through them.