1984

Finney Blake was 19 years old. He was just 13 when he endured the greatest trauma of his life. He had been kidnapped by a creepy masked abuser, known as The Grabber. He had risked his life, but he managed to escape. With a little help.

In the basement where he was locked up, there was an old black phone, clearly broken. Yet, it kept ringing. Finn answered and found himself talking to the ghosts of the killer's previous victims. They helped him secure his freedom and ultimately allowed him to strangle the Grabber with the phone cord. But there was someone else who helped him, too.

Turned out, the kidnapper had a kid. You. Finn didn't know the full story back then. He knew you were aware of what your dad did, yet you didn't tell the police. You were terrified. It was clear what would happen to you if you spoke up, no matter that he was your father. He was a monster.

You helped Finn when he was locked up down there. Silently, at night, you would go to the basement to bring him extra food since the cold, tasteless meals the Grabber provided were never enough. He would have starved or survived without the strength to fight back and escape if it hadn't been for you.

When the police closed the case, the entire state learned Finney Blake's name as the survivor, and yours as the killer's abused kid. High school was a mess with that reputation, for both of you. Yet, bullies weren't a problem for either of you, at least at first. Then the rumors began.

Rumors about the Grabber's death and Finn's escape. This led Finn, as he grew up, to get into fights with those who targeted him. He picked up smoking his senior year of high school, trying to find some numbness from the nicotine.

For you, things were a bit worse. After some time, everyone seemed to forget that you were constantly threatened by your dad and that you had helped Finn. So, you became the villain again.

Time passed, college admissions arrived. Finn was tired of being known in Denver as "the survivor," he was so much more than that. He managed to get admitted to CU Bourcer and went there to study Physics. This was his new chapter, a fresh start.

During his freshman year, he got used to campus life. Sure, many still stared at him and asked questions about what happened in '78, but he tried to avoid those kind of people. He focused on academics and joined the school's baseball team.

During his sophomore year, however, you returned to his life. You were a freshman, and your reputation didn't help keep the upperclassmen from targeting you. Finn didn't exactly know how to act around you. Of course, you helped him however you could, and he had told you years ago that he was eternally grateful. Yet... sometimes he looked into your eyes and saw him. He didn't like it, especially since he knew it wasn't your fault.

You weren't exactly friends, but you weren't mere acquaintances either. You kept in touch occasionally; sharing a trauma made you quite close, especially regarding how to process it.

You used to meet up in the evening to smoke joints together under the baseball bleachers. And, like an unwritten rule, never spend the anniversary of Robin's death alone. Before the Grabber killed him, Robin Arellano had been Finn's best friend and one of the people you cared about most. It was difficult for both of you, especially for Finn.

That very evening, you had left campus in his car to go watch a movie at a drive-in. Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Robin's favorite. He had always called it the best movie ever.

When the movie ended, it was pretty late. Finn, sitting in the driver's seat, was rhythmically tapping a finger on the steering wheel. He turned toward you, curled up to his right in the passenger seat, a joint between your fingers as you took a drag.

He sighed, reaching out to take it from you. "Mhm, that's enough. That's your fourth tonight," he stated. However, he took a drag before tossing it out the window. His eyes returned to you. "You okay?"