#terrorsmade

  it's been one hell of a day. difficult days aren't exactly a novelty in this place, but tabitha's pretty sure this one has managed to slip its way into the top five, at the very least. it's as if this entire day has been one gigantic flashing sign: failure. it seems no matter what tabitha does, she's failing her children — not just in this lifetime, but in every other one as well. worst of all, she feels powerless to stop it.

  the walk back to the house with ethan is quiet. she can guess what's on his mind and wants nothing more than to reassure him that nothing is going to happen to them, but her own head is a jumbled mess and she needs time to think. once they arrive at the house, ethan silently heads up the stairs and into his bedroom, closing the door behind him. predictably, julie is nowhere to be found.

  tabitha takes a moment at the bottom of the stairs, drawing in a long breath and letting it out slowly. then, with a hasty pass of her hand over her forehead, she heads up the stairs as well, though her path takes her to jade's room instead. she raps a knuckle against the door before slowly opening it. " how are you feeling? " tabitha asks, leaning against the doorframe. she hopes the weariness isn't too obvious in her features, but that seems like wishful thinking. " what did kristi say? "

  the trek back to town is tense, the silence broken only occasionally by ellis and donna checking in with patty. tabitha doesn't say much, just holds tightly to ethan's hand and tries to ignore the weight of patty's gaze on the back of her head. already, she can guess the other woman's thoughts: how had tabitha known about the dangers they faced? how had she known how to fight back? and what about her ramblings in the hut?

  and truthfully, tabitha has very few answers (certainly none that will appease). for that reason, she's relieved when the group finally goes their separate ways (donna and ellis taking patty to kristi, ethan going with donna in the hopes of telling victor about their trip afterwards). she knows she should probably track julie down, tell her about everything that had happened, but her mind wanders to jade. had his attempts to remember yielded any success?

  tabitha stops by the makeshift sheriff's station but, seeing no one inside, reroutes towards the bar. even if jade isn't there, she figures she can take a much needed break to process before returning home. with a steadying breath, she steps into the bar, gaze sweeping slowly over the inside. she senses him more than sees him. " jade? " she calls, arms gathering around her torso in an attempt to soothe.

  she's been feeling out of sorts all day — for a few days now, actually. every day, that feeling that she'd forgotten something important becomes stronger, more difficult to ignore. and try though she might, lydia can't silence that nagging sensation. something is wrong, something is missing ...

  then she hears it: the eerie humming, the muffled words that shortly follow. her eyes dart around the living room, taking in everyone there; nobody's acknowledging it. it's not the first time lydia's heard something that others can't, but this ... it immediately fills her with a sense of dread.

  " even the cable in this town is shit. " kaitlyn's voice sounds far away as she gestures to the television screen where static has replaced whatever show they'd been watching. she doesn't seem to notice that lydia's pulled herself to her feet. " think there's anything good on netflix? " kaitlyn reaches for the remote control, only to stop as lydia holds out a hand.

  " wait. " lydia appears to be oblivious of the weird look kaitlyn gives her (and then jake) as she steps closer to the television. she closes her eyes, trying to mentally narrow in on what she's trying to hear. if you give this man a ride, sweet family will die. " killer on the road, " she finishes, brow furrowed. as she falls silent again, the tv screen flickers, the earlier show resuming as if nothing had happened.

  " you're pretty graceful for a hockey player. " one corner of her lips pulls upward as she glances teasingly at him. any other guy might bristle at the insinuation, but lydia has a feeling that jake won't take any offense to the observation. she leads the way back to her car, setting her ice skates into the trunk. while she waits for him to follow suit, lydia leans near the tail light, arms crossed. " so ... am i taking you home? " the question is innocent enough, but it's clear in her expression that she has other intentions. " or you could come by my place for a bit ... my mom's gone for the weekend, " she adds, waving her hand dismissively. " some faculty retreat. "

  it gets worse every time — the fear, the grief, the desire to simply give up and allow this psychopath to win. their friend group is dwindling, being picked off one by one by some freak in a mask, and the whole situation feels hopeless to those who are left behind. to make matters even worse, there's the ever present question in their heads: who's next?

  brooke tries not to think about it as she steps through the door of the fitzgeralds' home, but the concern lingers there all the same. still, there's something far more pressing at the moment: the reminder that jake had very nearly been the answer to that question. every time brooke thinks about jake, pictures that knife in his chest, her stomach twists unpleasantly. she hasn't bothered to stop and ask herself why that is, why almost losing him had felt even more devastating than she would have expected. she tells herself it doesn't matter because she hadn't lost him. he's still here.

  " jake? " his name is spoken tentatively as she gently taps a knuckle against his partially opened bedroom door. brooke waits a long moment, in case he needs to take care of anything, before she pokes her head in. " hey ... " her voice is much gentler than usual, perhaps too gentle, but mrs. fitzgerald had warned her that jake's mood had been a bit unpredictable since returning home. the last thing brooke wants to do is make things worse. " can i come in? "

  full moons have never been lydia's favorite, but it's the day after that always seems to be worse. despite managing to get a few hours of unexpected sleep, she still finds herself feeling fairly tired the next morning (though it's likely nothing compared to how a handful of her friends are feeling). as much as she'd love to stay in bed, maybe try to catch a bit more sleep, there are things to be done and people to check up on.

  once she's gotten confirmation from scott that malia's on the mend, and from allison that nothing else of note had happened the previous night, lydia makes her way over to jake's apartment with a quick pitstop on the way. by the time she makes it to jake's door, her hands are so full that she has to use her boot to make some semblance of a knocking sound. it's kaitlyn who answers the door, looking less than thrilled at the idea of company.

  " good morning, " lydia greets brightly (too brightly), not waiting for an invitation to step inside. she sets the carrier of four drinks on the kitchen counter, the extra cup held in the crook of her arm finding a spot beside it before she turns back to kaitlyn. " i figured after last night, everyone could probably use a little caffeine, " she remarks, taking a sip from her own cup as she steps aside.

  kaitlyn looks a little bewildered (borderline suspicious, really), brow furrowed slightly as she shuts the door behind lydia. " a little caffeine might be an understatement. " then, angling her body slightly, she yells, " jake! visitor! " kaitlyn waits a second, listening for movement. when she finally hears it, she pulls two coffees from the drink carrier, lifting them in a cheers gesture. " thanks. " and then she's retreating back to the sanctuary that is the room she shares with mike, leaving lydia alone to wait.

  " so, should we take bets on who makes the first move? " there's a mischievous smile on emma's face that doesn't quite match the vibrant, almost innocent tone of her question. she comes to a stop next to jake, resting her hands on his shoulder and her chin atop her knuckles. " because i know sexual tension when i see it, " emma continues, turning her head so that her cheek takes up the spot her chin had just occupied. " and that display? that's practically the poster child for it. "