traitor | Ziggy x Nick

21: the other side of paradise

Bye bye baby blue
I wish you could see the wicked truth
Caught up in a rush, it's killing you
Screaming at the sun, you blow into
Curled up in a grip when we were us
Fingers in a fist like you might run
I settle for a ghost I never knew
Superparadise I held on to
But I settle for a ghost
-
glass animals

>>>

"Hello? Hello? Alright listen asshole don't call here."

"You're still alive..."

"Who is this?" the familiar voice asks me.

"You called me," I answer, eyes drifting to the open phonebook sitting on the table. "Wanted to know how I survived the Camp Nightwing massacre."

"C Berman," Deena breathes through the phone.

I'm nearly thrown back from the sound of my name before I snap back into focus. "Did you touch the bones?" I ask, needing to know what she did. "Did you see her face?"

"It's over."

"Over?"

"Yeah," she tells me and I scrunch my face. "But uh thanks for your prompt reply."

"It's not over," I whisper, all the memories of Cindy and Camp Nightwing flashing in my head. The death, the truth I learnt from Nick, knowing it might never end. "It's never over."

"We ended it. We stopped the killers!" She raises her voice in defiance.

"But you haven't stopped it. You can't. They make the rules."

"Who?"

I pause for a moment, heart palpitating in my chest. She's just another oblivious Shadysider who got caught up with the devil. She doesn't know who was behind it - not Sarah Fier, the Goodes. But this time...I didn't know who could've summoned the devil, but someone resurrected them.

"The devil. They'll do whatever it takes. You're not safe. They'll find a way. They'll come for you."

When I don't hear an answer from the other side, I go to end the call when I hear a faint yet familiar sound of skin getting sliced.

"Hello?" I shout desperately into the phone. "Hell-"

And the line goes dead.

>>>

"Killer capital, USA. After a week of terror, Shadyside continues to live up to its twisted name. Clad in a halloween skull mask, Shadyside high graduate Ryan Torres kicked off the days of terror with a massacre at the mall. And now an already mourning community is plunged into horror yet again, as the sheriff's department reports more carnage at east union medical. Police believe the murders were fueled by amphetamines. Local teenagers nate Schmidt and Simon kalivoda are the primary suspects. The scene of the final carnage was the local grocery store. Sheriff nick Goode found the grab and bag soaked in blood and broken dreams-"

BRRRRR

I'm shaken from the news anchor's monotone voice as an alarm in my home rings loudly. Getting up from the couch where I leave Major, I take a thin box of frozen Mac and cheese from the refrigerator and throw it in the oven. As I wait, I grab my bottle of whiskey and pour a generous glass to mull over all the events that happened. Someone got their hands on the book and summoned another killer. And the one I suspected the most? Nick Goode. We weren't friends anymore despite his note; for all I knew he was trying to manipulate me through our past.

Sighing again, I grab my food from the oven as it dings and stare at it, playing around with it for a few minutes. Eventually I take a bite of the max and cheese, groaning at its plastic taste. I take another few bites as a clock rings again. Walking to my bench, I turn it off and go to lock all my windows and doors. In the background I keep hearing Major Tom barking ferociously at me, setting me on edge. Soon enough however, my 8:30 pm alarm goes off and I walk over to major.