#plot drop 05

tuesday september 8th, 1987

The Shrike Heights summer carnival of 1987 turned out to be a huge hit. It was exactly what the townspeople needed in such a dark and devastating time. Just for a little while, everyone seemed to forget that their beloved town was being plagued by threatening killers who had killed, and no doubt would kill again. It gave everyone a sense of normalcy - even if just for a little while. So mid-carnival week, after seeing its success, the town officials decide to extend the carnival for an extra week. For now, nothing bad has happened so long as the carnival has been running, and it keeps the townsfolk from pestering them about the status of the investigation. It’s a win-win situation, they find. 

So far, the night has been full of fun, laughter, and the sound of screams from those brave enough to go on some of the more adrenaline-boosting rides. Children have eaten too much candy, won too many cheap plush toys and have accumulated so much energy that they’re able to stay awake for the long-awaited firework show that is set to go off at midnight. There aren’t many people attending the carnival who are allowing themselves to feel the eerie anxiety that the recent events have brought them outside of this environment. It’s the most normal anyone has felt in a long time, and most wish that it didn’t have to end. For this reason, it’s the busiest that the carnival has been since its opening.

Gemma Cameron and Celeste van Dievoet had both found themselves towards the entrance of the carnival, where most of the food stalls were held. Most of the stalls have closed for the firework show – so once they finish the last snacks of the night, they figure they might as well join the rest of the crowd in watching the dazzling display. As they make their way down the gravel path, however, the duo can’t help but feel some kind of change in the air – and the sudden feeling that the two of them are no longer alone.

Celeste finds herself instinctually looking around them. The bright lights are still flashing, regardless of the emptiness of this side of the carnival. She subconsciously finds herself taking a step closer to Gemma. Gemma welcomes the closeness, struggling to feel that the lights make the atmosphere and empty space anything more than absolutely terrifying. Just as they approach the unattended game stalls, they hear a crunch in the gravel behind them. Both heads snap around to see what created the noise. Neither of them are pleased with what they see.

It’s one of the animal killers. The green rabbit. Their hand settles on the sheath of their sword, and it seems to be looking in their direction. “Come on, we’re not taking any chances,” Gemma says seriously to her companion. Celeste nods, anxiety tugging at her insides. Gemma is the first to pick up the pace, and Celeste follows, the two of them breaking into a sprint, away from the rabbit. They can hardly hear the rabbits footsteps over their own, along with their heavy breathing. Neither of them even know that they’re being chased at an unnatural speed until Gemma feels something catch the back of her blouse. The fabric is torn, and the shock causes her to trip onto her knees.

“Get up!” Celeste demands quite breathlessly, helping the blonde to her feet. The rabbit has unsheathed their sword – and they’ve made it very obvious they have the intention of using it. Gemma’s eyes examine their surroundings, desperate for anything to give them a stronger chance of surviving. Her eyes spot something. Beneath the table of a small stall, beside several racks of cheap, mass-produced plush toys, there is a metal rod. She ducks, reaching out for the object. The rabbit is fast. They move quick, sword raised and ready to deliver a brutal blow – but Gemma has other plans. She swings the metal pipe around, and the sound of metal against metal rings through the air.

Celeste watches in fear as Gemma moves the pipe down the length of the sword forcefully, the metal of the rabbit’s weapon nearly grazing her cheek before she hits the perpetrator in the hand. The Rabbit winces and pulls back, their grip on their sword loosening, sending it several feet away with a flick of her wrist. Despite the lack of facial expression, they knew that the killer was fuming. With a quick shove, the rabbit sends Gemma flying into the toy rack behind her. She hits it with enough force to knock it over, and she lands on top of it, her wrist spraining as she struggles to keep herself in a proper position. She cries out in pain, quickly shifting to her good wrist to prevent any weight on the now bad one. It isn’t until moments later that she realises a piece of metal has impaled her thigh. “Fuck-“ she winces as a combination of sharp stinging and dull aching radiates from the wound.

The rabbit finds themselves occupied as they go to fetch their sword. Celeste crouches beside the injured blonde, grasping onto the metal pole that has impaled her leg. “Oh god that’s bad,” she struggles not to cringe at the sight. “Hold still… I’ll pull it out for you. Just take deep breaths.”

“Okay, okay,” she says, voice shaking from the pain. She closes her eyes and takes deep breaths. Celeste rips the pole from the wound as quickly as she can, and Gemma groans as her leg starts to bleed quite profusely.

Before Celeste can even say another word to her friend, she’s hit in the head. It takes her a moment to realise that a toy rack has been pushed on top of them. She can feel movement around her, unsure of where, exactly. It isn’t until she sees the silver sharpness of the enemy's blade stab into the ground mere inches away from her thigh that she realises they need to get out and get out now. The two of them are lucky enough to crawl out from the mess, and away from the rabbit, Celeste supporting Gemma physically as they try to make it to the crowd to call for help.

Meanwhile, Jude Graham and Valentine Ortiz have decided to try their shot at the fun house. As they approach the bright, colourfully decorated entrance, Valentine pauses. “You alright?” Jude asks, a little concerned about the hesitation. Valentine assures him that what he’s feeling is the excited kind of nervous – and that he’ll be just fine. Valentine goes first as if to prove a point, stepping through the spinning tunnel and walking through to the other side. Jude waits until Valentine is all the way through before he follows. He almost can’t believe that he’s been talked into doing this – but he doesn’t protest – they must finish it quickly before the firework show.

Jude notices through the corner of his eye that someone follows them in – probably someone who is also in a rush to finish the ride, probably in case they miss the fireworks. Once they’re on the other side, they’re met with a platform that shakes from side to side. “You think you can handle it?” Valentine asks playfully, stepping onto the platform. He takes it slowly, step by step. Jude follows close behind, worried more than anything that Valentine might fall and hurt himself. On cue, Valentine finds himself losing his balance. He spins around and Jude catches him. Jude doesn’t have time to ask why Valentine’s face drops.

Valentine is hit harshly in the side, so hard that a crack can be heard above the thud. He cries out in pain, eyes filling with tears as he stumbles backwards. Jude ushers him to the safety of the next, stable platform. He turns around to see the red dog mascot killer, mallet in hand. Before the dog can swing again, Jude pushes Val into the next section of the fun house, “Keep moving!”

“He got me…”

“I know, just keep moving, we need to get out,” Jude holds him by the shoulders, guiding Val towards the ground that resembles a fast moving treadmill. “You’ll have to move a little faster for this part, but you’ve got this.” He was quick to reassure the younger man, who in turn ended up being even quicker to fall to his knees half way through the section, the increased pace causing a sharp pain in his chest that prevented him from moving further. The platform sends Valentine screaming in pain in the direction of the killer, who’s rapidly catching up.

It feels as though there’s a lump in the back of his throat as Jude’s panic is starting to set in. He feels a responsibility to get Valentine out of this alive, and doesn’t hesitate to step closer to the dog in order to lift Valentine back up onto his feet; he screams in pain once more, but manages to get through the obstacle this time, relying heavily on Jude to guide them through the rest of the funhouse without further injury. The dog follows close behind, hitting the bat threateningly against the obstacles as they make their way through, the loud noises almost becoming too much for the ex-cop.

When they finally reach the end, they push through the curtain and their hope is shattered. Instead of meeting the end of the fun house, they are met with a mirror maze. The lights are glowing dim, cycling through the colours of the rainbow, making it even harder to see. Valentine’s brows knit together as he tries to decide which way to go. “Here, this way,” he says, taking off to the left. Jude follows, but it only takes a moment to lose him. Valentine looks behind, and feels immediate panic at having lost him. “Jude?”

“Valentine! Stay where you are, I’ll find you-“

Valentine doesn’t stay put, however. He feels as though he remembers the way he came, so he retraces his steps. Only, the maze proves his memory to be unfaithful right now as he gets himself lost further inside the maze. He calls out again and again, but he can hardly hear Jude every time he responds. Tears are spilling from his eyes, and the pain is getting too much to bear. He leans against the mirror, taking deep breaths through the agony.

Jude moves fast. His mind is set on the task of finding Valentine, and he’s going to make sure he does it before the dog does. He tries to keep himself level-headed, but he finds himself tense with worry. He turns corner after corner, desperately calling for Valentine when he reaches dead end after dead end. When he finally sees the younger man, relief washes over him. “There you are!”

“There you are!” a menacing voice mocks. Somehow, the dog has followed him. The killer takes a stride forward, and they swing their mallet, aiming right for the already injured Valentine.

Jude instinctively puts himself in front of the other man, placing a hand either side of Valentine’s head in order to shield him from the blow. Valentine wraps his arms around Jude’s body as he’s wracked with sobs. The mallet misses both of them, and shatters the mirror behind Valentine. Both of them close their eyes in anticipation, waiting to see what will happen next. But the dog doesn’t swing their mallet again. Instead, they curse under their breath and flee. 

“Jude- pumpkin!” Val brings attention to the new perpetrator.

In the mirror beside them, Jude catches the jack-o-lantern killer raising his knife, ready to strike. Before he can bring the knife down to meet flesh, Jude spins around and blocks the blow, his arm colliding with the killer’s wrist. Immediately, Jude becomes aware of the almost inhumane strength of the killer. They struggle against each other for a moment, Jude giving it his all in order to protect Valentine and himself from the sharp blade. Then he has a spark of an idea.

Jude reaches for a broken piece of mirror with his spare hand, wincing as the sharp glass cuts into his palm. With all of his strength, he plunges the shard into the killer’s neck. Thick, black liquid spurts from the wound in his neck, splattering over Jude’s face as the killer retreats, slinking away into the maze. They’re not invincible… he thinks to himself. Jude turns back to Valentine, dropping the broken mirror. Valentine lets out a painful, shaky breath, reaching his hands up to wipe the black blood from the older man’s face. 

“Are you okay?” Valentine asks. His breathing is shaky, and he seems to wince with every breath.

“I’m fine, Valentine. Are you?” 

“I think… something is really wrong. I feel like I’m going to die.” 

“No… no, we’re okay. We’re okay,” Jude reassures him as the younger man continues to cry.

Julien Durand is making his way to the gathering area, hoping that he might get a good spot to see the fireworks from. (Though when he thinks about it, he doesn’t doubt he’ll see the fireworks from anywhere he stands.) As he walks by the unattended booths, he can’t help but see someone from the corner of his eye. The carnival seems so empty that the figure throws him off guard. He turns to face them. A person with a purple bear mascot head. At first, he thinks nothing of it – it’s a carnival after all. There are people who dress to entertain. But it doesn’t take him long to realise that the Bear is holding what appears to be a gun. With no knowledge of it being a BB Gun, Julien feels his stomach drop. Fear sets in and he turns on his heels to run as fast as he can. In the distance he hears the shots go off – and he’s lucky that none of them hit.

The ferris wheel in particular is one ride still open as they prepare for the firework display. After all, the top of the ferris wheel is the best seat in the house for the show. Those with tickets have gotten to their seats, and the wheel starts turning. Eilonwy Finch has barely made it off the ground before the ferris wheel stops. She’d been looking at the crowd gathering for the show instead of focusing on the ferris wheel operator – who had seemed to disappear entirely without a trace. Her intuition tells her something is wrong. She looks to the ground, and tries to calculate the height in her head. She’s never been much of an athlete at all, so there is a nagging fear that if she jumps, she might hurt herself. But her instincts tell her that if she doesn’t jump, she might regret it. She slides underneath the bars, and drops to her feet. A sharp pain shoots up her legs, but it’s nothing serious.

The others on the lower levels of the wheel have jumped too, and they make their way to the large gathering of people, possibly in an attempt to find an official who can tell them what has happened to the operator, and whether or not they’ll be able to get a refund for their tickets. Because of the last few dwindling people, Eilonwy doesn’t notice that someone more sinister is approaching her.

The slayer gives her no warning before he readies his crossbow and fires into the back of Eilonwy’s thigh. She screams out in pain and collapses, hands grazed from the gravel. Just when she thinks she can adjust to the pain, she feels a tug. Her head turns to see the chain that is attached to the arrow. Her stomach sinks. The killer pulls on the chain, beginning to drag the helpless girl against the ground. Eilonwy screams out in pain as she’s dragged across the gravel, the pain in her leg so unbearable that she barely realises that her arms are scraped and bleeding. She desperately grasps at the ground in hopes that she can keep herself away, but she doesn’t have the strength.

She kicks and she screams, and tries to pull herself out of his reach, but her efforts are useless. The slayer pulls a stake from his belt and plunges it into Eilonwy’s back. He had been aiming for her heart, but her thrashing made that considerably difficult. Instead, it punctures her lung. He pulls the stake out, prepared to make the final blow. Before he can strike Eilonwy in the heart, Julien courageously steps in. They hold the slayer's arms, shaking with the amount of pressure they exert in order to keep him at bay. “I’ve got you. Move!”

Eilonwy struggles to move herself out of the way, desperately gasping for air as the pain in her chest increases. It’s so awful that it makes her dizzy. The killer is growing more and more infuriated by the minute. He pushes harder against Julien, until he can move his arm and hit them in the temple with the blunt end of the stake. Julien falls to their hands and knees, blood dripping down their forehead and onto the gravel below. Within seconds there’s a sharp pain in their back as an arrow is stabbed into their flesh and dragged downwards, ripping the skin. Julien gives a powerful kick to the slayer’s ankle, sending him toppling to the ground. The slayer lets go of his stake, which rolls towards Eilonwy. “Julien!” She grasps it with a shaking hand and passes it to Julien, who forces it into the killer's shoulder. The slayer needs a moment to recoup, acting truly stunned as he rips the stake out of his shoulder and holds the bleeding wound. Julien helps Eilonwy to her feet, and supports her as they lead her to the gathering. “Why can’t I…” she exhales shakily, “I think my lung is punctured. I feel like I can’t breathe.”

“Hold on, Eilonwy, we’ll get you some help,” Julien promises. 

Meanwhile, the Tunnel of Love appears to be operating, despite there being no operator to supervise. “Hey, Briar, won’t you go on this ride with me? It’s the only one I haven’t been on - and it’s the last night of the carnival. It’d be a shame if I had to go alone,” Blossom suggests. She feels comfortable enough with her coworker to ask such a question. If it were anyone else, she wouldn’t have bothered. 

Briar thinks it over for a moment. “Well, it is the last ride open - and it’s not one of the scary ones.”

“Who could say no to that?” Blossom smiles softly, taking Briar’s wrist and pulling her towards the ride. She climbs into the swan boat, and Briar follows suit, pulling the door closed after her. 

The ride starts immediately. As the boat enters the tunnel, the air seems to get colder, and despite the promise of romantic atmosphere, Blossom can’t say she’s impressed. The music is quiet, and it’s not particularly good, and the imagery is boring. Blossom leans into Briar with a frustrated sigh. “Well this is an awfully drab way to end the carnival. People don’t actually like this shit, do they?” she asks.

Before Briar can answer, the boat slows quite suddenly. The music stops, and the spotlights shut off completely, leaving only the hot pink ambient lighting. Briar and Blossom seem to be holding their breath for a moment. There are other boats in the river – empty ones. But there seems to be movement in the water behind them that is much too loud to be coming from a boat. Blossom immediately feels her survival instincts kick in. “You’re not gonna like this, but we have to get out, now.” The urgency in Blossom’s voice prompts Briar to comply. Blossom climbs out and over the side of the swan boat, wading through the water to open the door for Briar to exit. “We need to-“ 

There is a sharp thwip, and Briar whimpers, quickly holding her hand against her arm. Blossom pulls at her hand to see the cut underneath. The water they’re standing in is freezing, but Blossom pulls Briar down into the water, holding a finger to her mouth to tell her to keep quiet. Briar wants to protest, but she nods. Blossom immediately starts to search the area for the thrown object, which she finds moments later, lodged into the side of the swan boat they were riding in. She pulls it from the wood and inspects it. A throwing knife. She holds it securely in her hand, poking her head around the corner of the boat behind them to see a person with a yellow mouse mascot head standing upright in the water. The lack of real eyes is unsettling. She feels as though she doesn’t know whether or not the thing is looking right at them. “Stay here,” she whispers, “Down low. Wait until I’m at the second boat behind ours, and then shout. Distract him. But stay low, be careful. I think I know what to do.”

“Blossom- please do be careful,” Briar wants nothing more than to tell her to stay, but she knows that Blossom is too stubborn to listen to her.

Blossom sneaks to the appointed boat with bated breath. When Briar screams, Blossom pays close attention to the killer. The mouse lurches forward, struggling to move too quickly in the water. Blossom grasps their leg, and using the throwing knife she had secured, she cuts the tendon at the back of their foot. The mouse screams in pain as the water fills with blood. Blossom doesn’t hesitate. She climbs onto the killer's back, and with a lot of effort, starts to cut into the neck of the perpetrator. She holds onto them with a fierce grip as she attacks, but she only lasts moments before she’s thrown into the water. When she resurfaces, she can see she’s done a decent amount of damage, and the mouse hobbles away, past Briar and towards the exit. Blossom stands staring, covered in blood, but proud of herself.

She doesn’t have too long to celebrate before she’s gripped harshly by her ponytail, forcing her to bend backwards to relieve the pressure. A hunter's knife is drawn across her lower abdomen, slicing her open. Blossom screams out in agony, and the panic makes her freeze as her blood is turning the water around her a deep, deep red. The killer draws his hand back to make another cut, but much to Blossom’s surprise, Briar tries to pry the man off her. The killer turns around and his blade slices into Briar’s arm quite deeply. Despite this, Briar uses all her strength to pull a wooden cut-out of a swan down and onto the head of the hunter, knocking him down and into the water. Blossom is just missed by the heavy decoration.

“I think… I think I’m gonna die,” Blossom whimpers, unbuttoning her blouse and removing it entirely so that she can tie it tightly around her abdomen, “There’s so much blood… I think I’m going to die…”

“We have to hurry, I don’t know how long that thing is gonna keep him down,” Briar says, her voice slightly panicked. She puts an arm around the smaller girl and leads her towards the exit. Blossom is losing blood fast. She’s so weak that she slips into the water, though she desperately tries to get herself back on her feet. Briar lifts her up and supports her, leading her out one careful step at a time.

Rowan Grey too finds herself heading for the gathering point. She finds herself feeling a little more relaxed than her previous trip to the carnival. Nothing particularly bad had happened then, after all. She was beginning to feel a little more comfortable with it now. Up ahead, the girl can see a group of friends laughing and talking amongst themselves. The fact that she’s not alone also helps to make her feel a little safer. Another couple of friends somewhere in the distance behind her are laughing too, a little too wildly. Though she doesn’t feel uneased by it at first, that feeling soon changes. The laughter doesn’t stop, but continues for an unreasonable amount of time. And it seems to be getting closer.

She turns her head in a nonchalant manner, acting as if there might be something else she’s looking at other than the people behind her. But when she looks behind her, she feels in her gut that she was right to be nervous. Two roller skaters, one pink and one blue, are half skating, half walking over the tough terrain. The worst part of it all was their clown-like makeup. Not only did it make Rowan shiver, but she knew immediately that these were the killers responsible for the death at the grocers.

Rowan speeds up to a jog, and she’s thankful that the skaters aren’t very agile in this environment. It doesn’t take her very long to shake them. The last thing she hears from them is, “I don’t think we thought this plan through…”

Lila Bhatt hadn’t had a particularly successful streak when it came to the carnival games. And god were the snarky booth owners getting on her nerves by the end of the day. As an act of revenge, she’d decided it was only fair for her to steal something from their booth while it was unattended. After all, it is incredibly stupid for a business to leave their goods unattended, out in the open where anyone might be able to snatch something. When she finds the booth of a particularly rude person, she takes her pick of the toys that she’s going to bring home with her. For free, of course. (Though was it really for free? With all the money she spent on the game without walking away with a prize?) Lila reaches over the counter, arms up, ready to pull the cat plush toy down from the hook. But her plans were rudely interrupted.

Lila is hit in the back so hard that it sends her toppling over the counter. She lands in an awkward position, her body aching in protest. She can feel the cool night air on her back, her shirt having been torn, scratches accompanying the already darkening bruise on her back. She groans and pushes herself up, climbing back to her feet. She’s dizzy with pain, her body screaming at her with every movement. She tries to find the perpetrator in the dark, and she sees them when they swiftly leap over the counter into the booth with her. A person wearing an orange cat mascot mask with a nail-covered baseball bat in their hands was standing before her. “What the-” she doesn’t even finish her sentence before she tries to climb back over the counter, out into the open. The cat grabs her by the hair and pulls her backwards, holding her still while she thrashes for a moment before they swing the baseball bat into her abdomen. Lila is winded, but she knows immediately that it’s much, much worse than that. She coughs up blood into the grass below them.

As Rowan escapes the bubblegum twins, she comes across the scene of the cat, who had decided to beat Lila near death. Her instinct to help others takes over. Her eyes dart around the area, looking for something – anything, to distract the cat from their attack. Her eyes laid on a toy that resembled a puppy of some sort. She rushed over to the booth across from the attack, pulled it from the hook, and threw it at the perpetrator. “Come here, you stupid cat!” she coaxed. “Come and get me!”

The plush toy hits the cat with more force than the killer had expected. Immediately, they’re filled with rage. They leap over the counter with much less grace than before. They swing their bat around in a flashy display before making a heavy swing towards Rowan. The girl ducks, but the nails on the bat graze her cheek ever so slightly before the bat hits the table behind her with an aggressive thump. The cat tries to pull back, but the nails are stuck in the wooden table. They growl with frustration as they try to free it. Rowan immediately rushes for Lila, who is in the middle of climbing back over the stall. “Are you okay?” Rowan asks immediately, helping Lila over the table. “I saw them hit you pretty hard-”

“I need to get to a hospital,” Lila says, her voice laced with frustration. 

In the distance, the dazzling display of fireworks is set off, lighting up the sky with all sorts of colours and patterns. The crowds can be heard cheering and celebrating the brilliant show. Those who were struggling for their lives found it rather difficult to enjoy the beautiful moment - and their experiences at all future fireworks shows were likely to be tainted by these memories.

Somewhere towards the middle of the carnival, the group of victims finally unite. Eilonwy and Julien almost run right into Lila and Rowan. They’re relieved to see each other, and not more threatening faces.

“Thank god you made it out,” Eilonwy says breathlessly. The sharp pain in her chest was beginning to be too much.

“There’s no time for this, we have to move,” Lila winces as she talks, the movement of any muscle in her abdomen causing her immense pain.

“This way, towards the viewpoint for the fireworks show, there’ll be people who can help us there,” Julien tells them.

The four of them make their way ahead, different members of the party moving at considerably different paces, all of which were quite slow. Somewhere ahead of them, they see Briar and Blossom heading in the same direction, Briar with her arm around Blossom, who seems to be struggling to move. Rowan immediately winces as they get close enough to see the state of Blossom’s injury. “We need to get an ambulance here immediately, some of you are in real danger.”

Celeste and Gemma are the first to reach the crowd, Celeste supporting Gemma as they scream for help. Jude and Valentine are not too far behind, Jude supporting a weakened Valentine. As the rest of the group approach, they’re thankful someone else has gotten there before them, knowing that help will be on its way sooner than they thought.

plot drop 005 features ten of our muses encountering the hunter, the slayer, the jack-o-lantern killer, the bubblegum twins and the animals.

blossom serrano is left with a stab/open wound to the abdomen.

briar khan is left with a shallow cut on the forearm and a deep cut to the upper arm.

celeste van dievoet is left with a bruise to the head.

eilonwy finch is left with scrapes and cuts to the arms and palms, a deep wound to the back of the thigh and a stab wound resulting in a minor punctured lung.

gemma cameron is left with a small open wound to the thigh and a sprained wrist.  

jude graham is left with a cut across the palm.

julien durand is left with a split on the head and a large open wound to the back.

lila bhatt is left with severe bruising to the back and internal bleeding.

rowan grey is left with minor grazes to the face.

valentine ortiz is left with a broken rib, two fractured ribs and severe bruising to the chest.