The party had died down. Most of the drunken teens had left, stumbling out into the night on a stupid, reckless mission to see their principal’s body hanging from the football goalpost.
Perfect.
Stu and Michael exchanged a knowing glance. The house was nearly empty now. Just a few stragglers left behind. And Sidney.
Time to finish what they started.
From the hallway, Randy appeared, his voice slurring slightly. “Guys, something’s seriously wrong. Billy’s dead. We need to—”
A loud BANG echoed through the house.
Randy collapsed.
Sidney screamed.
Blood pooled beneath him, and Sidney’s entire body went rigid with fear. She turned, her breath coming in ragged gasps as she bolted for the door.
She slammed into a solid chest—Michael’s.
Her hands grasped at him desperately, her voice cracking. “Michael! Oh my God—Randy—he—”
Michael’s arms wrapped around her, steady, warm, safe. She clung to him, breath hitching, panic overtaking her.
“Shhh,” he murmured, rubbing slow circles on her back. “I’m here.”
Sidney trembled against him, nodding rapidly, trying to catch her breath. But then—
She felt it.
The slight tremor of his body. Not from fear.
From excitement.
She pulled back slightly, looking up at him.
And that’s when she saw it.
The smirk.
Not a reassuring one. Not a comforting one.
A slow, creeping grin—one that twisted his entire face into something wrong.
Michael let out a low chuckle, tilting his head. “You really thought I was your knight in shining armor, huh?”
Sidney’s stomach dropped.
And then—he lifted a small, black device to his lips.
The voice changer.
He pressed the button.
And when he spoke, it wasn’t his voice anymore.
“Hello, Sidney.”
Sidney’s breath caught.
Her entire body locked up in shock, in realization, in horror.
Michael had been Ghostface all along.