Chapter 1: Far from Home
He sat on the beach, staring at the rising sun. Waves rolled gently against the shore, as if the world had no idea how much blood it had already seen.
For a moment, there was silence.
Click.
He pressed a button on the tape recorder.
“If you’re listening to this… it means I’m dead.”
A short, dry laugh echoed from the recording.
“In that case, everything falls on you. You have to finish what we started.”
The same calm pause.
“She’s still breathing.”
“Sidney has to suffer.”
“She thought she’d get her happy ending…”
A quiet, manic laugh escaped his lips.
He slowly stood up, brushing grains of sand from his hands.
“But things like that only happen in the movies.”
Behind him, the waves crashed against the shore. In the light of the rising sun, the Ghostface mask lay alone on the sand.
New York, 2028.
Two years had passed since the last murders.
Sam hadn’t taken part in those events. She disappeared from everyone’s lives, completely isolating herself from it all.
When she heard from Sidney about the new killings, it didn’t move her. She had seen too much to feel sympathy for strangers.
Still, she was glad the Prescott family was safe.
Except for her husband. He had survived in the end and returned to work at the station, still serving as chief of police.
Sidney felt it wasn’t over. Her entire life, every few years, someone came back, trying to hurt her family.
After a conversation with her daughter, she made a decision. Together with her husband, they moved to New York, as if deliberately putting themselves in the open.
“If you want me, I’m right here,” she once said half-jokingly, as if challenging the entire world.
Despite her daughter’s protests, she decided to send her to Sam, who lived in a small town several dozen miles from New York.
There, she would be safe.
As strange as it sounded, deep down Sidney knew Sam had inherited something from Billy.
Even after all these years, Sidney still couldn’t stop thinking about him.
Was he really evil?
Or could it have happened to any of them?
After all… how many people had she killed herself?
Too many to count.
Sidney sat at the kitchen table, her hands wrapped around a mug of nearly cold coffee. Morning silence filled the house, broken only by the ticking of the clock on the wall.
She was waiting for Tatum to come downstairs.
After a few minutes, a heavy thud echoed from above. Sidney lifted her gaze toward the stairs.
The girl appeared moments later, practically throwing her suitcase down the steps, as if she had no intention of wrestling with its weight.
Sidney slowly stood, pushing her chair back slightly. For a moment, she looked at the suitcase, then at her daughter.
“Do you have a weapon?”
The girl adjusted the strap of her bag and stopped by the suitcase.
“Yeah. Knife in my pant leg. I’ll be fine, Mom.”
She wasn’t happy about any of this, but deep down, she was glad she’d be staying with Sam for a while.
“Only if you’re in danger. I don’t want you growing up to be a serial killer.”
Sidney smiled faintly, trying to ease the absurd tension.
The girl responded with a cold look, then turned and headed for the car, dragging her suitcase behind her.
“I still don’t like that Ben’s going with you.”
Tatum rolled her eyes.
“He’s my boyfriend. He almost died trying to save me. And besides… I’m an adult.”
She winked at her.
Sidney opened her mouth to say something else, but the door slammed shut.
The boy stood by the car, twirling the keys in his hand, leaning casually against the door as he waited.
Tatum glanced back at the house. When she noticed Sidney watching from the window, she smirked.
She ran up to Ben and kissed him passionately, giving him a playful slap on the ass.
“What was that for?” he laughed, opening the car door for her.
Once they were inside, Tatum pulled out her phone. The screen lit up the car.
New message.
“If you come back pregnant, I’ll kill you myself.”
Ben glanced at the screen and immediately flushed. When their eyes met, he quickly looked away.
“Trying to get me pregnant, handsome?” she teased.
She leaned in and kissed him again. He returned the kiss but said nothing, just turned the key in the ignition.
“I don’t think your mom will ever like me,” he muttered.
“She better. I didn’t bring condoms, and Sam lives far from town.”
She winked, settling comfortably into her seat.
“Ah, a few hours in the car with my perverted girlfriend. Beautiful.”
She punched his arm.
“Be glad I’ve already ovulated, or you’d be making more stops than just bathroom breaks.”
Even she blushed slightly after saying it, which only made him laugh more.
“Alright, that’s enough. Or we will make a stop.”
She glanced at him.
He was already looking at her, his gaze drifting down her legs.
She smacked him on the head.
“Watch the road, idiot!”
He grabbed her thigh, squeezing lightly.
“Be glad you’re the one driving!” she shot back, mock-annoyed.
For the next hour, they rode in relative silence. Occasionally, he’d take her hand or tickle her, trying to lift her mood when she seemed distant.
For now, the road was calm.
Lost in thought, Tatum nearly jumped when her phone rang. She quickly pulled it from her hoodie pocket.
Sam.
She answered, resting her head against the window.
“Hey, babe. How long until you’re here?”
Sam’s voice sounded calmer than it had years ago.
“About three hours.”
“Did Ben come with you, or did he stay?”
“He’s with me. Took a year off from university. I told him it was stupid, but he insisted!”
She shot him an annoyed look.
“Put me on speaker.”
Tatum placed the phone on her thigh and tapped the speaker icon.
“Hey, handsome… if—”
“If you keep flirting with him, I’ll scratch your eyes out!” Tatum snapped, grabbing the phone.
“I need a strong man around the house. There are things to fix…” Sam replied calmly.
Tatum’s face turned red.
“Ben, we have trash bags in the trunk, right?”
He nodded, confused.
“Good. Makes getting rid of the body easier.”
“Relax, girls. There’s enough of me to go around,” Ben grinned.
Tatum slapped him instantly and crossed her arms.
“Jokes aside… we have to be careful. No one can know you’re here. Do you have weapons?”
“Gun, knife, and a baseball bat in the trunk.”
“So remember that next time you try to flirt with my boyfriend!” Tatum snapped, hanging up.
Tatum occasionally glanced at the trees passing by. It was getting dark as they got closer to their destination.
The headlights cut through a narrow strip of asphalt, beyond which there was only darkness.
She kept feeling like the phone would ring again. Like someone would try to scare them.
But ever since she changed her number, nothing had happened.
Of course, just moments after the call ended, her phone rang again.
She grabbed it quickly, checking if it was an unknown number.
She exhaled in relief.
Mom.
She declined the call, then reached over and grabbed Ben between his legs.
“Don’t say anything. Just drive.”
As she pulled him out of his underwear, he let out a quiet sound.
Minutes later, he had to pull over. His body tensed as he finished.
She licked her finger and winked at him.
He looked at her questioningly.
“No, you don’t have to return the favor,” she said casually.
He smiled, kissed her, and started the car again.
She picked up her phone with her clean hand and called her mom back.
When Sidney answered, she said calmly, “Sorry, my hands were busy.”
She gave Ben a teasing look.
Sidney hung up immediately.
Moments later, Ben’s phone rang.
He pulled over again and answered.
“Keep this between us, Ben. Tatum’s been through a lot. I know she’s trying to get back at me for being overprotective. Just… take care of her.”
“I won’t comment on what she says either. You’re both adults. But please… be careful. She’s more… intense than I was at her age.”
He lit a cigarette.
“I love her, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
There was silence.
“I assume… you’ve been intimate. I’d rather believe my daughter gave herself to someone who loves her.”
“I’d rather not discuss that with my girlfriend’s mother. But you don’t need to worry. I’d give my life for her.”
“Please… protect her.”
“I will.”
He took a drag, then crushed the cigarette under his shoe.
“If you’re going to sleep with my daughter, at least use protection,” Sidney said, hanging up.
He stood there for a moment.
“Did I just get Sidney’s blessing?”
He got back into the car.
Tatum sat with her arms crossed.
He slid his hand up her thigh and into her underwear, maintaining eye contact.
“What… what are you doing?” she whispered.
He didn’t answer.
“Don’t… don’t stop.”
When he sped up, she gasped, gripping his arm.
When he pulled his hand away, there was a soft, wet sound.
“That… was nice.”
He smiled.
“Not so confident now, huh?”
She rolled her eyes, hiding a smile.
They drove the rest of the way without stopping. The car moved along a narrow road through a dense forest.
The headlights illuminated only a short stretch ahead.
After a few minutes, they reached a small house at the edge of the woods.
A wooden building with a small porch stood alone among the trees.
A lake stretched nearby, its dark surface barely visible.
Silence surrounded them, broken only by wind and water.
The door creaked open.
Sam stood in the doorway, light from inside outlining her figure.
She wore a loose sweater and short shorts, her long dark hair falling over her shoulders.
A faint smile appeared on her face.
Ben stared, speechless.
Tatum noticed and hit him on the head before getting out.
Ben followed.
Sam walked straight past Tatum and hugged him.
He looked at Tatum for help.
She stepped forward, grabbed Sam by the hair, and pulled her away.
“Hands off.”
Sam didn’t react aggressively, almost amused.
“Next time hit me in the face, not the hair,” she said, laughing, then motioned them inside.
Tatum walked in while Ben grabbed the suitcases from the trunk.
As he approached the house, he noticed a faint light in the distance.
Probably nothing.
Maybe the moon reflecting off the lake.
He didn’t think about it any longer and stepped inside, closing the door behind him.
