Go Out With A Smile

TRIGGER WARNING: VIOLENCE, MURDER, BlOOD, SUBSTANCE ABUSE

Four teens huddled together in the kitchen around a phone. Natalie, Stephanie, Rachel, and Connor, Natalie’s boyfriend. 

“Come on dude, do it! Unless you’re scared”

Rachel taunted. Connor looked at the phone hesitantly. 

“I know the performance was bad, but is it really worth leaving a review? I mean this isn't even constructive criticism. It’s just nasty. I mean, one star? Really?”

Natalie smiled, Connor was always trying to be kind to people. That’s why she fell so hard for him; but it was just a review. She put her arms around his neck and looked into his eyes.

“Connor, you know I love you. But it’s just a review baby.”

She giggled, 

“Just a little fun to celebrate the last day of our senior year. Plus the clown really was horrible.I didn’t laugh once”

Stephanie laughed along with her. 

“Plus he literally ruined the first day of the rest of our lives. Come on, post it!”

Connor untangled himself from his girlfriend’s embrace and took her by the shoulders. He looked her up and down before taking a step back.

“Nat?”

She started twirling her hair and looked at him, 

“Hmm?”

“Are you high?”

She shook her head seriously before she broke down giggling again. Stephanie joined her and soon they were both a giggling heap on the floor. He looked at Rachel dumbfounded. She shook her head, looking equally confused. 

“Don’t look at me. I’ve got no idea where they got it.”

He looked at the girls. The giggling had resided and they were both sitting there, touching each other's hair. He sighed and pulled Natalie up. 

“Hey Rach, would you mind making some lemon water for them?”

Rachel nodded. Connor walked Natalie to the couch and sat her down. He walked back and helped Stephanie up. He got her settled on the other side of the couch. Rachel walked in with the water, cups, and his phone. She set the water down and handed him his phone. 

“Thanks.”

He looked down and saw that the review had been posted. He looked at Rachel and saw she was pouring the water for the other two. When she finished, he pulled her aside. 

“Really, Rachel? Did you have to post this?”

He whispered. She laughed, 

“It’s not that big a deal. I’m sure the guy won’t even see it.” 

She turned away to pour herself some water. Connor put his phone back in his pocket. He shook his head, but decided to ignore it. 

‘It’s just a prank right? It should be harmless.’

He grabbed the remote and sat next to Natalie. She curled up and put her head on his shoulder. 

“What we watching babe?’

He smiled, 

“Nothing much.”

About five minutes into the movie she fell asleep. Connor looked over at Rachel and Stephanie and saw that Stephanie was asleep too. The movie ended and Natalie was still sleeping. Connor tried to shift without waking her, which caught Rachel’s attention. 

“Dude, it’s been literally two hours. How are they still sleeping it off?”

He winced and rolled his shoulders. 

“Maybe a bad batch?”

She laughed, which woke Stephanie up. She groaned dramatically and struggled into a sitting position. Rachel regarded her apprehensively. 

“Stephanie. Where and when did y’all get the weed.”

Stephanie put a hand to her head and closed one eye, squinting with the other one. 

“We went to the bathroom and someone was using it and offered us some.”

Connor leaned closer to them,

“You mean some random girl in the bathroom offered you weed and you two thought the best idea was to take it?”

Stephanie paused for a second, contemplating the question. 

“No.”

Connor got up exasperated. He walked over and whisper yelled, 

“What do you mean, ‘No’, what the hell happened!?”

“It was a guy.”

“What?!”

“The person who offered us the weed? He was a guy.”

Connor paused. He looked at her incredulously. 

“Right. Because that makes so much more sense.”

Natalie woke up and Connor grabbed her a glass of water. He offered it to her and she took it gratefully.

“How are you feeling?”

She smiled and then winced.

“Headache.”

He refilled her glass and Rachel got up, saying that she had to use the restroom and to just play another movie. He nodded at her and looked back at Natalie. 

“Mind blowing idea. Maybe next time, don’t take weed from some strange guy you meet in the bathroom, okay?”

She looked at him weird, 

“Some strange guy in the bathroom? What are you talking about? I would never. Steph had some on her. We took it when we got home.”

Connor gave Stephanie a look and she shot it right back at him. He rolled his eyes in response. He threw on a random movie for the girls and disappeared to the kitchen to make himself some food. He turned on the popcorn maker and pulled out some bowls and started melting butter. A couple minutes later Natalie and Stephanie appeared in the doorway.

“Hey, Babe, Rachel still hasn’t come down. I’m a little nervous.”

Stephanie chose this moment to chime in, 

“Yeah, we heard her scream!”

Connor rubbed his temples before turning to face them. 

“I’m sure she’s fine. I didn’t hear anything.”

He studied Natalie before continuing, 

“Maybe the weed hasn’t worn off yet?”

She shook her head. 

“You probably didn’t hear because of the popcorn maker. Could you go look for her, please? It’s been like twenty minutes.” 

He nodded and moved the butter away from the flames before heading upstairs. He walked up to the bathroom and knocked, 

“Hey Rach, sorry to bug you, but Nat and Steph wanted me to check on you.:

He lowered his voice and added, 

“I think the paranoia started to kick in, they are seriously freaking out.”

He waited a couple seconds, but there was no response. He knocked again, and shouted through the door, 

“Rachel, if you don’t respond I’m coming in..”

He tried the door handle, and the door opened easily. He pushed open slowly and saw Rachel. She was in an upright position leaning against the bathtub. There was a vacant stare in her eyes, and blood was dripping down the side of her head. A smile had been painted on her still face. He took a slow step into the bathroom. Connor froze. There was a message written on the mirror.

“The show must go one”

A chill ran down his spine and he spun around, expecting to see the killer lurking behind him. He was met with the empty space of the hallway. He backed out of the room slowly before running down the stairs. He burst into the living room and his heart dropped; Natalie and Stephanie were nowhere to be seen. 

He crept through the living room, whispering their names. His feeling of panic grew with every passing moment. It was dead silent. He could hear the, 

“Tick, Tick, Tick” 

Of his watch, marking every second. He slipped into the kitchen and Natalie jumped in his face. 

“Boo!”

He scrambled back before realizing it was her. She laughed and Stephanie jumped out laughing too, 

“You should have seen your face!” 

Connor stood there, heart pounding, gasping for air. The two girls started to look concerned. Natalie stepped forward, 

“Hey, are you okay? It was just a prank.”

Stephanie nodded, 

“By the way, did you find Rachel?”

He shook his head, trying to alert them. The sound of footsteps came from the stairs. Stephanie tilted her head, 

“Oh, there she is.”

Natalie followed her gaze, but grabbed Connor’s arm, concerned that something was wrong with him. The contact snapped him out of the shock. He grabbed Natalie and Stephanie and ran for the door, dragging the protesting girls behind. 

“That’s not Rachel. Rachel’s dead.”

Natalie stopped. 

“Connor. What do you mean Rachel is dead?”

He looked at her, 

“Natalie, we have to go. Someone killed her. Someone killed Rachel.”

His own calm surprised him. He knew he should be freaking out. There was a killer loose. He should be screaming at them to run, but looking at their confused faces, he guessed that wouldn’t be the best plan of action. He pushed them towards the door.

“I’ll explain once we’re safe.”

Stephanie reached out for the handle, a sense of urgency in the way she was moving. She grasped it and tried to turn it. 

“I think it's stuck.”

Connor pushed past her and tried the doorknob. When that didn’t work he threw himself against the door. It still didn’t budge.

“Come on kids, leaving so soon? The show’s just begun.”

All three of them spun around, but there was no one behind them. No one moved. Everything  seemed frozen. The only thing that marked the passing of time was the ticking from Connor’s watch. They remained, frozen, for what felt like an eternity. Staying there felt dangerous, but moving felt lethal. 

Connor’s phone went off. He pulled it out of his pocket slowly. It was a private response to the review that Rachel had left on his phone. It read, 

“Watch your back”

At that moment the door opened. Connor tried to grab Natalie and Stephanie. He tried to push them away from the door. What he tried to do didn’t matter. The hand that reached for Natalie clutched at thin air. Just like that, she was gone. 

 Her scream echoed in his ears as he shoved Stephanie in front of him. They scrambled away from the door. Nowhere was safe, but Connor led her to the kitchen. They stood by the counter, gasping. Stephanie looked at him, tears filling her eyes. 

“He got Natalie.”

Connor nodded. He grabbed her by her shoulders and looked her in the eyes.”

“I swear, I will do my best to protect you. Do you have your phone on you?”

She nodded. 

“Call 9-1-1”

She fumbled for her phone and pulled it out. He could vaguely hear her on the phone as he turned towards the knives. He’d never had the need to defend himself before, but these seemed like his best bet. His shaking hand hovered over the knife block. Most of the knives were missing, so he grabbed a paring knife. He turned around, suddenly keenly aware of the silence in the room. Stephanie was sprawled on the floor, blood pooling around her body. 

He ran forward, cursing himself for not hearing the killer enter. He heard a shuffling sound and jumped back, taking the blow aimed at his head on the arm. In front of him, was the clown. The one Rachel had jokingly given a one-star review to. The one who killed her. The one who killed Natalie, and Stephanie. With a deranged smile, the clown walked towards him,

“What’s the matter, not entertained?”

Connor jumped towards him and stabbed him with the knife. He pulled the knife out, and stabbed him again. The clown looked him straight in the eyes. What Connor saw made him shudder. There was no humanity, no empathy, not even anger or rage. They were empty. It was a soulless stare, one he’d only read about in books or seen in movies. Then everything went black. 

When Connor woke up he had a massive headache. He felt blood trickling in his eyes. When he tried to wipe it away, he realized he was unable to lift his hands. He looked down and realized he was tied to an old chair. They were in the shed. Suddenly, a sharp pain bloomed in his shoulder. He cried out. The killer whispered in his ear, 

“It’s not that fun is it?”

He pulled the knife out. Connor grunted from the pain.

“Look man, I’m sorry, I swear I didn’t mean to upset you. I can delete the review if that’s what you want.”

The only response was another bright explosion of pain. The killer circled around and slashed his arm. Connor gritted his teeth. 

“Don’t worry, you’re not the only one suffering. Listen.”

Connor could barely hear anything over the rushing of blood in his ears. He tried to quiet his racing heart. Then he heard it. Someone was sobbing in the corner. 

“Nat! Natalie?!”

“Connor!?”

“What did you do to her?”

He asked, outraged. 

He felt cold steel on his neck. The blade cutting into his skin. 

“Water hemlock. She’ll be dead soon.”

Dread settled in his stomach. He couldn’t help her. She was dying and he couldn’t even hold her. The pressure on his neck increased. He could feel the blade slowly moving across his skin. His breathing became heavier. He was about to die. 

He heard a thud and the pressure disappeared. The killer crumpled to the ground. Natalie stood where he had a moment ago. She was clutching an old, disregarded garden gnome, shivering. She grabbed the knife and cut Connor loose. He jumped up and grabbed her as she collapsed.

Dead silence. 

“Tick, Tick, Tick”

Blood in his eyes.

“Tick, Tick, Tick”

His girlfriend in his arms.

“Tick, Tick, Tick”

A grotesque smile on her pale face.

“Tick, Tick, Tick”

He couldn’t protect her. 

“Tick, Tick, Tick

The girl he loved. 

“Tick, Tick, Tick”

Dead.