𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐖𝐀𝐗 // house of wax (2005)

006: the missing ipod and the haircut

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CHAPTER SIX OF ??

❝ the missing ipod and the haircut ❞

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THIRD-PERSON POV. THE JANUARY OF 2005. LOUISIANA, AMERICA.

(NAME) ANDERSON WAS NOT A MORNING PERSON. This was evident, as she groaned when she heard Blake yelling for everyone to wake up. It was 2:30 in the afternoon, which means they'd all overslept. (Name) yawned and got up, but then her heart almost stopped. Her iPod was its headphones were both gone. Taken. She panicked.

She went to try to feel it around the back of her neck to see if her headphones were there, hoping her mind wasn't tricking her as she'd freshly woken up, but then she became more scared. Between her fingers was a portion of her hair that had been cut. Now, now, she was terrified. She quickly changed from her night clothing to a white tank top, a grey hoodie, dark grey jeans and white sneakers.

(Name) had tried to ask anyone if they'd seen her necklace anywhere, but she was mostly ignored as Wade, Blake and Nick were loading things into the backs of the cars and Dalton was asking if anyone had seen his camera. It was so weird. How had both Dalton's camera and her iPod gone missing in one night? She brushed it away, as she joined Paige and Carly behind some bushes, answering nature's call.

The three girls laughed and talked, as each took their turn. They mostly discussed Carly and Wade's tension, which revolved around how Carly had to move to New York for her internship. "You're supposed to bury it," (Name) casually replied, as Carly stood up from peeing. Both girls gave her looks, "Common knowledge, just saying,".

"I'm guessing you didn't take your meds again," Carly deadpanned, as (Name) casually began to whistle and look away, "You have to take those meds, (Name), they're medically prescribed for you!".

"It's not my fault I can't swallow pills!" (Name) tried, but her expression morphed quickly to one of disgust when the foul stench that burned her nostrils from last night returned, "Jesus Christ! That smell! It's back...I'm gonna go find the source,".

(Name) turned on her heels and began to walk in the direction of the smell, with Carly and Paige following behind her. "(Name), no!" Carly called, to which (Name) turned her head to look at Carly and mused: "(Name), yes!". "Sure, yeah, let's go follow the smell," Paige sarcastically muttered.

(Name) continued to absentmindedly walk through the thick, green wildlife of the forest surrounding the clearing, casually humming Toxic by Britney Spears, whilst Paige and Carly trailed behind her like lost puppies, trying to convince her to turn around. It'd been that way since all three of them were little girls playing Red Rover on the street with the other kids.

(Name) had been a firey tornado of pure rage when playing Red Rover, mostly fuelled by the hyperactivity from ADHD. And the bonus diagnosis of autism. (Name) described it as a buy one get one free type of discount. Or a two-for-the-price-of-one deal. Then, (Name) slipped on a weak patch of earth and Paige and Carly freaked out. (Name) shrieked in a high-pitched manner when she fell forward...into a rotting, foul-smelling pile of roadkill.

(Name)'s arms were lodged inside a dead deer, and its bodily fluids, like rotting flesh and blood, were coating her skin and staining her hoodie and tank top. The sudden change in sensory touch was making (Name) freak out, desperately trying to free herself. The smell was purifying and (Name) felt the urge to vomit. "(Name)!" Paige yelled, "Are you okay?!".

"My arms are stuck in a fucking deer corpse!" (Name) screamed in response, struggling to free herself and freaking out, "And I've covered in blood and deer remains, do you think I'm okay?! Can you run back to the campsite and get my other white tank top, that pink hoodie I have and the denim jacket?! Oh yeah, and get help!".

(Name) heard Carly running back to the campsite and (Name) looked up, seeing what appeared to be a human hand, sticking out from beneath the large pile of roadkill remains. (Name) screamed, desperately trying to free herself. (Name) shut her eyes and breathing erratically, trying to calm herself down. She heard the mixed yelling of her six other friends as they arrived to help her.

Blake went to comfort Paige, whilst Wade stuck with Carly. Nick and Dalton were quick to go down and help (Name) free herself from the roadkill. The smell only made her gag more and she struggled to not cry. (Name) stood up, mortified, as she eyed Paige with the three items of clothing she'd asked her to grab. Paige Edwards was a godsend and a brilliant friend. "You know...having my arms stuck in a dead deer has made me want to go vegan," (Name) blanched.

A Chevrolet truck pulled up by the roadkill pit, it wasn't the one from last night. It was painted silver with red doors and backed up to be parked by the roadkill. "Is that the truck from last night?" Blake questioned. (Name) quickly cleaned her hands with some of Paige's hand sanitiser, scrubbing until all of the stains were gone. "Not unless he fixed his headlights," Wade said.

The truck stopped and (Name) watched in a sort of fascination as she saw the driver exit the truck. He stood at about 5'7" and had an unkempt appearance, like the stereotypical redneck. He wore a green hat with a grey wife's beater tank top and a reddish-orange overshirt. He opened the back of his truck and hauled animal corpses and threw it onto the roadkill pit.

(Name)'s nose wrinkled at the stench of the roadkill, but she thought the guy was pretty cute. She handed Paige back the bottle of hand sanitiser, shivering in the blood-soaked clothes, which were cold to the touch. "Hey!" Wade yelled, catching the guy's attention, so they could now see his face. Wow, he's kinda hot for a redneck is what (Name) thought.

"Don't you see that?" Carly said in a rude, snappy tone, as (Name) cast a sharp glare at her. Carly was always intolerant to people and came off as rude to anyone she didn't know. Carly jabbed an index finger at the hand poking out of the roadkill pit, "What is that?".

"Are you dumb or just special?" (Name) muttered beneath her breath, as Nick let out a low laugh at her comment. Strangely, the man began to walk through the roadkill pit, as (Name) let out an "ooh" in disgust as he got closer to the hand, slowly reaching down to grab it. The whole group just stared, but to everyone's surprise, the hand popped off. It was a mannequin.