𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐒𝐢𝐱 ~ 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙖𝙢𝙚

"Billy, Stu and I will transport the body to Billy's car", the blonde explained. "Tatum and Randy will head back to the house, chat up some people, do some shit and return back to Billy's car", she continued.

"Sounds like a plan", Tatum agreed.

"What then?" Randy asked.

The blonde glanced at her paramour, waiting for him to explain the rest of the plan. Billy did not utter a word; all he did was glance at Stu.

"How many reaper get-ups are there?" Tatum questioned.

The blonde glanced at Stu and Randy.

"I got rid of it", Randy explained as he crossed his arms.

"How?" The blonde questioned.

"Burned it".

"Good idea. What about you Stu?"

"I've still got mine", Stu said. "It's upstairs". He glanced at Billy for a moment before he continued. "I kind of bought more than one", he explained.

The blonde gave him a perplexed look. "Why would you do that?"

"Guess I got a little too excited", he shrugged his shoulders.

"That's just dumb", Randy added.

"Maybe", the blonde said. "However, in this case, it's not such a bad idea".

"What do you mean?" Tatum asked.

"We could use it to our advantage", she turned to look at Stu. "How many do you have?"

~

Randy and Tatum left soon after, intent on displaying the image of two buzzed partygoers. They put aside their mutual loathing of one another. They needed to work together, to see this through, at least for just one night, they had to tolerate each other. Randy's confessions had forced Tatum to view him in a new light, maybe he wasn't so bad after all, maybe he wasn't the freak that she thought he was, he was more than that, capable of doing horrendous and twisted misdeeds. She wondered if the Randy that walked beside her now was anything like the Randy that she previously knew. Was it all a lie? Was he just putting on a good show, deceiving all of them along the way? Maybe he was just that good.

Tatum's eyes scrutinized the rest of the house, a great deal of circumstances had changed during the last hours. Stu was now a murderer and a mutilator, Randy was rocking the same boat, Billy had become unhinged and his paramour wasn't any better. Their little group had been pushed to the edge, they had turned on each other, fought each other and almost mutilated each other and now, they were preparing to dispose of a body, to frame somebody else, perhaps, someone who had deserved it more than any of them did.

~

"You're an idiot", Tatum commented as Max accidentally spilled the remaining bottle of liquor on the expensive carpet in the living room.

"Damn it! What the hell is the matter with you? That was the last of it! We're out!" Dylan yelled in frustration.

"What do you mean we're out?" Max questioned; his eyes were bulging out of their sockets. "But.. but.." He stuttered. "There's a whole beer keg in the kitchen, I saw it!" He yelled. "I saw it! You can't tell me that it's gone!" He begged. "No... it can't be.." He whispered. "No...!" He dropped to his knees; his head faced the ceiling. "Why?! Why have you forsaken me?!"

Tatum rolled her eyes at Max's melodramatic Shakespearean rendition.

"No beer?!" A partygoer yelled. "What the hell do you mean there's no beer?!"