Cat and Mouse: 1982

VII: suspicion and guilt

Chapter Seven: Suspicion and Guilt

Twisted secrets amongst friends split the college group apart as their unknown assailant blackmails them into distrust, Leslie and Jenny search for records of the lodges history, meanwhile, Marnie and Morgan commit breaking and entering.

Rickys perspective

Logan and the hicks twins wound the corner into the tool shed where Wanda and I were examining Brittany's body so fast that they practically almost fell right on top of it. "Dana, stabbed, badly" Logan stutters out, I swing my gaze to meet Wanda's shocked expression. "Where" I ask as Wanda immediately begins packing up the med kit as Marnie practically pulls her towards the lodge. "Isabelle is dead" Morgan Says blatantly. "WHAT?" I shout in response, taken aback by the nonchalance of it, "she was taking a bath, he was in the closet, stabbed her to death, tried to kill Dana when we broke in but she fought him off!" As we run down the hallway we are finally reunited with the rest of us survivors, at long last in one room together. And it was clear that if our trust was bad before, it was nothing compared to now.

Wanda's perspective

As I sprint down the hallway, nearly slipping and smashing into the end of the hallway face first, i rush over to Dana, who exhausted, is collapsed in Jennys arms. "What the fuck happened" I ask, leaning down to check on Dana, who gives me a strange look. "Where the fucking FUCK were you!" She screams at us, "I'm so sorry Dana, we were doing an autopsy on the bodies to try and find any evidence, fuck, one of should have been with you guys" I look up to Ricky, who is just as lost as i am. "Wanda was working on examining Brittany while I was examining Mr and Mrs young" Ricky affirms. "Can you move your arm? I ask Dana, noticing the stab wound to her shoulder, hoping it didn't tear any major muscles or tendons. "Barely" she replies, giving it a pathetic wiggle to confirm.

Leslie's perspective 

"Ricky why weren't you and Wanda together" I ask suspiciously, finding it odd that the two trusted each other enough to be left alone. He seems somewhat hurt by this, "because we are state troopers who went through two years of school to get these jobs, and we trust eachother" i smirk. "Two years? Like, say, if you started in 1979 after the fire you would've graduated this year?" Ricky's face goes white. "Yeah I know about that" I admit t him finally, "it's not what it looks like, you need to believe me-" I cut him off sharply. "Than what is it? Ricky? What did you DO?" That's when Blake busts into the room, his hands caked in blood and tears in his eyes. "They fuckingg killed her, they grinder her up into a pulp" marnie walks over to comfort him and listen to his story.
"I told you I can't disclose that information" I chuckle. "Seems awfully fucking convenient" i retort. I shift my gaze to wanda. "As for you redhead, you seem to show up at just the right times" she gawks in amusement. "I've been doing ACTUAL detective work instead of getting my friends killed" that hurts. She's right though. We didn't believe Isabelle and she died for it. "Fuck you both" i stammer out and charge up to my room followed by Jenny, jerry, and Dana.

Dana's perspective: 

We all collapse on the velvety sheets of Leslie's bed, all of us pooped, torn up, and just done with this. "We should have gone to fucking Florida" I tout sarcastically, prompting a laugh from Leslie which quickly turns into a cry. I sit up and me and Jenny embrace her as jerry just sits in stunned silence. "We're sitting ducks" she says defeatedly. "The longer we are trapped in here the more time they have to blackmail us into not trusting one another, which makes it all the easier to pick us off" and he knows that" tears drip from her face and splatter on the bedsheets. "He will only keep finding us"

Jerrys perspective

"Than let's let him" they all turn to look at me in shock. "What the fuck are you talking about" jenny asks. "Your right, he keeps coming to us when we aren't prepared, so let's be prepared this time." Finally I seem to catch Leslie's attention. "Like a trap?" I nod. "Like a trap." I continue, "if one of us stays here in this room out in the open, while another hides with Jenny's pistol in the closet, we can ambush him when he tries to attack us." Leslie looks skeptical. "Seems risky" she says. "Is it any riskier than letting him continue with the same shit?" Jenny nods. "Your right" "I'll be the bait" my heart sinks a little, but I know I need to trust my sister. "I'll be the sniper" Dana says, "I did practice at the NRA as a kid" I smile. Perfect. Me and Leslie will wait elsewhere and prepare for a fight if needed" I look to Leslie who nods in agreement. "Let's get this sick son of a bitch"

Morgan's perspective

After everyone has fled the room, me and marn are the last two standing. And Marnie tears up for the first time I've seen her Cry in years. "I killed her" she whispers through hyperventilated tears, "I accused her first and now she's dead" I grab her up in my arms and she gives in, allowing herself to be vulnerable for once. "We all did" "but we didn't kill her, they did, and if we don't stop them, more of our loved ones will die" she looks up to me, "what the fuck are we supposed to do? I smile wryly, "we take the fight to him" she sits up and wipes away her tears. "How?" "We don't even know who it is?" But we do. "It's gotta be one of the rangers, or both" according to Leslie and Jenny, they were attacked by TWO people" Marnies eyebrows raise. "So the killer would be pretty upset if someone were to break into the rangers cabin huh?" I hold out my fist and she gives it a bump as a smile replaces her tears. "Bad da boom" we say in unison.

Marnies perspective

"We need keys" i say, "otherwise they'll know we broke in, killers or not" he agrees, furrowing his. Brow in the dorkiest way. He always does that when he's in thought. "Not necessarily" he suggests, "there's a hatch above the carport, I think it's an attic access point" I can get up and into the house that way, than find a pair of spare keys in the house to unlock the door for you, leave no trace!" I actually hate to fucking admit it, but it's a solid plan. "Once we're in, we wait, and see who comes a knocking." I smirk. "Look at us, a regular Sherlock and Watson" he smiles, and we put on our raincoats and head out the doors.

Morgan's perspective

As I run through the bushes, I ask marn to stay in the shrubs behind me to keep watch, I bound across the cabin lawn, the moonlight illuminating the white snow around it, framing it. All the lights are out, nobody is home, the rangers are undoubtedly still examining the previous victims, theirs or not. I climb up on the hood of the ranger truck, and with a prayer and a hard shove, I push on the attic door, and it pops right open! As I crawl through the insulation, my flesh itching feverishly as I do so, I come soon another hatch, and with all my might, I shove it open. Revealing the hallway inside the house below me. I drop down, and walk over to the window, motioning to Marnie to come to the back door. She disappears around the side of the house just in time for me to get the bit of an axe to the head, knocking me out cold.

Marnie's perspective:

Shit. Where is this dork? I don't know why we can't just break a window, I know we can't leave any trace" or whatever, but I don't wanna die out here. But oh well, The air is crisp, dry actually. As if all the moisture from the snow has been sucked away by how sinister the vibe the shadow of the dark cabin is. Rounding the porch I see something which peaks my interest. Leaning against the west side of the cabin is a carport, and a large tool shelf sits underneath it, and suddenly I recall Ricky's words "if you need me theres a key under the mat in the carport" sure enough, a plain green Mat sits in front of the door. As I walk over to it, I think for a second that I hear a second pair of footsteps in the snow behind me, but upon turning around, I see nothing, and no one. Don't loose your gourd girl I think to myself assuredly as I walk beneath the shelter of the carport. As I lean down to lift up the mat, my stomach drops as suddenly the sound of footsteps begins rushing from behind me, I spin around just in time to see the killer running at me, I duck, their knife slamming into, and sticking in the door, narrowly missing me, I have to get Morgan's attention somehow. I sprint through the snow, it builds up in my boots as I kick it frantically all about as I run around the side of the cabin, as I turn the corner, the killer does too in the opposite direction, attempting to ambush me, I skid to a stop as he swings his knife at me, the whooshing of the blade intelligible by by ear, I spin around and run back towards the carport, there's a screwdriver there I may be able to defend myself with! "MORGAN" I scream out as loud as I can, to no response, suddenly I catch a rock in the snow with my boots and face plant, I flip over, spitting snow off my face as suddenly an excruciating pain erupts in my stomach, I scream as I force my eyes open to see the killer looming over me, his knife buried to the hilt in my gut. I kick him, landing a solid hit to the face, as I pull myslef to my feet using the support pillar of the carport, MOR-GAAANNN!!!" I scream, tears now rolling down my face as I hold back tears of terror, I stumble over to the carport and wrap my hands around the screwdriver, turning back around just in time to receive a second impact from the knife to the stomach, the already blood soaked wound now pouring like a waterfall and I feel my flesh rip apart as the knife is yanked out once more. They grab my arm and wrestles the screwdriver out, and as I stare into their eyes through their pair of ski goggles, the only thing I can do is scream as they shove the tip of the screwdriver up my nose and into my brain, my vision going white, with the sound of squelching brain matter the last sound I ever hear.