Final Girl (Scream 4) BillyxOCxStu

Chapter Six: "The rules of a horror remake."

Once we got to the high school, we started making our way inside, going through a side door that was closer to the principal's office. We checked in with her before she led us to where the meeting was being held.

Mark and Perkins were about to follow us inside but Gale and I exchanged looks. "I think cops should stay out here," I said.

"Why?" Mark asked.

"It's a bunch of teenagers. They're not going to admit anything that could be even remotely incriminating in front of the law," Gale explained.

Mark looked at me and I nodded. He sighed. "Fine. I'll be right out here."

I smiled, following Gale into the room. There was a pretty full room and Gale gave me a look before we made our way towards the side of the room. A boy with long curly hair gestured to a chair in the front row, "We saved this for you," he said.

"Oh, uhm, thank you," I said, sitting down.

"Right. Okay. Cinema Club is now in session. Welcome," he said as he walked down the aisle. "For anyone new here, I'll tell you a little bit about ourselves. My name is Charlie, that is Robbie," he pointed to the boy with the weird headset from last night. "We're a sanctioned after-school activity, one rung below the Glee club, two above Nintendo Wii Fit and let me just say to our guest," he paused once he made it back to the front of the room, standing next to Robbie, and looked at me, "Hazel Kincaid, it's an honor."

Robbie spoke up, "Beyond Jamie Lee Curtis, forget Linda Blair, I mean, this is the ultimate."

"Uhm, thanks, I guess," I said awkwardly. I gestured towards his headset. "That uhm, thing, you record your entire high school experience and do what? Post it on the net?"

He chuckled. "Everyone will be doing it one day."

"It's kind of the one component the killer is missing," Charlie said.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Gale asked, stepping closer.

"Well, if you want to be the "new version" the killer should be recording the murders," he explained.

"That's like the natural next step in the psycho-slasher innovation. I mean you film 'em all real time and then before you get caught, you upload 'em into cyberspace. Making your art as immortal as you," Robbie said.

Then both of them looked nervous, pointing at each other and adding, "Not to implicate him."

I nodded, "So who do you think is behind the murders?" I asked.

"Well it's a Stab fanatic, clearly," Charlie started. "Working on less of a Screquel and more of a Screamake."

"Copyrighted terms by the way!" Robbie said as he started walking around the room.

"Cause all there are now are remakes. Only horror the studios green-light." I looked away from Charlie. Kirby got my attention, holding up her cell phone for me to see a live feed of what Robbie was seeing. I raised my brows, slightly impressed. "I mean, there are still rules, but the rules have changed. The unexpected is the new cliché."

"Yeah, you gotta have an opening sequence that blows the doors off done with some flashy music video direction. And the kills gotta be way more extreme," Robbie said finally coming back to the front to stand next to Charlie.

"Modern audiences got savvy to the rules of the originals, so the reversals became the new standard. In fact, the only surefire way to survive a modern horror movie, you pretty much have to be gay," Charlie explained and I thought back to the rules Randy was always going on about.

"So, why are you so sure that the killer is working by the rules of a horror remake?" Gale asked.

"Well, the original stab structure is pretty apparent," Robbie mumbled.

"Two kids killed in a house while their parents are away. And then the school's "hot chick" savaged beyond recognition. We all know where it goes from there..." Charlie trailed off.

"A party," I said.

He smiled, "Exactly. A party. Guaranteed third act main cast bloodbath."

Robbie smirked, "Fingers crossed for some nudity for a change."

Gale and I looked at each other. "Okay, so do you know of a party that is happening tonight?" she asked.

"Well, Stab-a-thon," Charlie muttered.

"Stab-a-thon?" I asked.

"Uh, It's a movie marathon. All 7 Stabs back to back. We do it every year."

"It's tonight? There's a killer out there patterning his kills off of the original movie," I stated, standing up and coming to stand in front of them, beside Gale.

"I know, it's pretty wild," Charlie smirked.

"Well you have to call it off," I said sternly.

"Uhm, ok, I mean, it's Friday. I am sure we're not the only party that's going on in Woodsboro," Robbie scoffed.

I clenched my jaw and Gale huffed. "Okay, where is this circle-jerk gonna take place?" she asked.

They exchanged looks before Charlie pushed past her and looked out to the club, "So who's ready for the Q&A?"

"No, really, I want to know the location," Gale said.

Charlie frowned, "You know, it's kind of an underground thing. Email invites. Pretty secret."

Gale let out a humorless laugh, "What, you're not gonna tell me? Really? We're working together. Remember?"

He looked at her for a moment before smirking once more, "So you're ready for the Q&A?"

"Fuck you," she snapped. "Let's go," she stormed off and I followed behind, not missing the harsh glare Trever had pointed my way.