UNMASKED.

chapter 8.

the next day the group was all scattered around the park, settling into various spots. carter took a seat beside chad and tara. sam was sat next to quinn and anika while mindy was in front of them all, standing up. carter noticed elena seated a bit further away from the rest of the group, looking lost in her thoughts.

the subject of the incidents were a tense one for the group. everyone had been affected by it in some way, but there was one exception. tara had opened up to elena once, talked about her relationship with her sister, revealing details and they'd grown closer since then since elena helped.

"the way i see it, someone's out there, trying to make their own sequel. a requel, if you will." mindy explained, her eyes focused.

anika's hand went up, a puzzled expression on her face. "what's a requel?" she asked, her brow furrowed in confusion.

"you're beautiful, sweetie." anika chuckled and blushed at mindy's compliment. mindy then spoke up, "let's save the questions for the end."

sam began discussing the events as she pointed out, her eyes fixed on mindy.

tara chimed in, sounding puzzled. "so, you think the killers trying to copy the movies?"

mindy extended her arm for emphasis. "that's a real possibility. hero's now in college? check. suspicious new character brought in to round out the suspect list and or body count? check, check, check and check..."

carter interrupted, looking down. "i don't like this."

mindy continued, "but it's not just about stab two."

tara's brow furrowed as she asked, "why not?"

mindy answered, "it makes sense if this were just a sequel... but we're not in a sequel, because nobody simply makes sequels anymore." she paused for a dramatic effect before continuing, "we're in a franchise..."

everyone listened intently as mindy went on to explain her theory. "...and there are certain rules to continuing a franchise." mindy stated, looking around at the group.

carter glanced at elena, noticing that she had been fairly quiet so far. she seemed lost in her own thoughts, her eyes fixed on mindy. he wondered what she was thinking about. he took a moment to study her. her expression was neutral, but there was a hint of something in her eyes. uncertainty, maybe? carter couldn't quite put his finger on it. he wanted to approach her, to find out what was going through her mind. but with the group gathered around and mindy's words still hanging in the air, now didn't seem like the right time.

mindy started saying rules, mindy's tone was just as dramatic as before as she began listing all the rules and talking about beheadings.

chad's voice echoed in confusion, "... beheadings?"

mindy nodded firmly, confirming chad's confusion. "beheadings."

carter leaned over to chad, noticing that he had his trusty notebook out and was scribbling something inside.

"hey," carter said, getting his attention. "what are you writing?" chad looked up from his notebook and gave him a smile. "oh, it's nothing. just notes for this whole meeting. mindy has a habit of talking fast, so I like to write things down."

they all looked up to mindy, listening intently as she continued her "rules for continuing franchises" lecture.

chad chuckled, setting his notebook aside to listen to mindy. he smirked slightly and joked, "this is the part where she tells us the worst part." mindy let out an exaggerated sigh before revealing the worst part of it all.

mindy's words hung in the air, the realization sinking in. they all exchanged uneasy glances, understanding the words of what she had just said. some of the most iconic characters in cinema history had gotten killed to keep their franchises alive.