Slasher Summer(23)
“Fuck.” She pulled out her boot, noting the van’s worn back tire had also sunk into the mud. “Is the van gonna be able to drive out of this muck?”
“Sidney can do anything,” Freddy said loftily. “She’s a survivor.”
Jen rolled her eyes. Of course Freddy had named his shitty van. She prodded the tire with the toe of her Doc, frowning at the unexpected give.
She pointed her flashlight at it, the hairs on her arms rising.
The tire hadn’t sunk. It was flat.
“Shit. We’re not going anywhere.”
“What?” Freddy came around and gawked at the flat tire. “I’ve got a spare.”
Jason’s face had gone as blank as the mask Patrick still held. “Do you have two?”
“Huh?” Freddy said, confused.
Mikey twisted around in the passenger seat to glare at them. He held a plastic-wrapped paper plate piled with homemade brownies on his lap. “What’s taking you all so long? I thought we were going.”
A feeling of foreboding scoured Jen’s gut like gravel. She ignored the cold puddles that splashed up her fishnets and practically flew to Tiffany’s Jeep.
The tires were also flat.
Jen didn’t need to say anything. Her bewilderment must have been clear on her face as she turned to the others. Carrie raced to her hatchback and Patrick to his fancy silver car. Carrie’s gasp of dismay and Patrick’s low swearing told Jen all she needed to know.
Mikey climbed out of the van’s passenger side. “What’s the delay?”
“Someone slashed my tires,” Carrie called out in a panicked voice.
“Mine too,” said Patrick.
“See? The Slasher!” Freddy cried. “He slashes.”
“Do you still think all these things that have happened are random?” Tiffany said to Patrick.
Patrick said nothing, his jaw tightening.
Jason had the guts to state the obvious. “I don’t know about the other events, but it can’t be a coincidence everyone’s tires are flat.”
“What does this mean?” Mikey said.
If circumstances were different, Jen would’ve snarked how Squeaks was supposed to be the smart one. But she couldn’t wrap her head around it, either. Why were all these weird things happening? Who’d want to target them? They were just a bunch of dumb college kids at an old remote cabin—
Nope, she wasn’t going to go there.
“This can only mean one thing,” Carrie said, swallowing.
Jen shook her head. No. Carrie couldn’t say it. If their Final Girl said it, then according to horror movie rules, it would be true, and Jen wanted to believe a little longer that they were just a group of old pals hanging out.
“We’re not alone.”
Fuck.
A light flashed in the distance, flickering between the trees. Jen squinted at the sudden brightness and braced herself for a thunderclap.
It wasn’t lightning.
It was the oncoming headlights of a car.
They had another surprise visitor. Only this time, Jen had nothing to do with it.
8
Patrick
Patrick squinted at the beams of light cutting through the spitting rain, his fingers curling into frustrated fists. He wanted to yell and hit things. Throw a tantrum like he was three years old. This weekend was supposed to be perfect. A couple of days at the Slasher cabin, the ideal place to reunite with the Jumpscare Society. And now his plans were ruined. The bad weather and flat tires had conspired to keep them here, and yet his friends still wanted to go. After all he’d done for them.
Tiffany peered anxiously at the oncoming car. “Who is that?”
Patrick placed a hand on her arm to try to calm her down and felt goose bumps. Poor Tiffany was probably freezing in her damp T-shirt and bathing suit. They needed to get inside immediately, where it was warm and dry. He’d make a fire in the woodstove, break out the charcuterie board he’d prepared, and come up with a new plan in comfort. “Probably the park ranger checking up on us.”
“Or it could be Carrie’s ex,” Tiffany said.
“Or the Slasher!” said Freddy.
“Same difference,” Mikey muttered.
“There was that creeper I saw watching us from across the lake,” Jen said.
“That was probably someone from the summer camp,” Patrick said.
“It wasn’t a kid or a counselor.” Jen bit her lip. She was rarely afraid of anything, and her nervousness rattled Patrick more than the mystery visitor and the flat tires.
“We don’t even know if someone intentionally flattened our tires,” Patrick continued, seizing desperately onto logic like a lifeline. “There could be nails or broken glass on the road. Kids could’ve come up here to party and left crap all over the ground. We were once those kids.” Though he’d always made sure they cleaned up after themselves.
Mikey shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. We’re not expecting anyone, and Jen, Tiffany, and Freddy have all had weird encounters with strangers tonight. We’d better get back inside.”
He waved an arm at the cabin’s front door. Tiffany and Freddy were the first ones in, followed by Jen. Carrie threw a worried look over her shoulder at the oncoming headlights before stepping over the threshold.