Chapter Text
Coldness. The feeling of his skin chilling as his blood rushed to his vital organs and away from his fingertips. The sound of his frantic breathing as he stood in front of death. A person with a ghost-like face on their mask, and a long black cloak with a clean and shiny chef’s knife in hand, their head tilted and shadowed eyes that peered through Danny’s soul, as the fear set within him. He didn’t know whether to run or continue to be paralyzed with terror running through his veins, enacting his fight or flight response. The masked figure pointed past Danny as if to insist that he run.
Backing away, Danny felt the coldness run down his spine, his nervous system firing so that he could run away as fast and long as he could before his legs cramped and gave out. He quickly turned and bolted off, trying not to look back to see if the figure was still there. Doing his best to keep his eyes forward as he ran through the open, dimly lit park. His thoughts were going faster than he could process, and the only word recited was “Fuck” as he tried to make it to the street. Danny’s lungs burned with the lack of air reaching them, his chest tightened, causing dizziness to set in, making him spot and hide on the side of a brick-walled public restroom.
Close to his peripheral vision, a dark figure was walking closer towards him, but the feeling of his head spinning made him disoriented, the glint of silver shook the dizziness from him, and replaced it with the familiar fear he previously felt, as Danny tried stumbling away with his back turned to the individual, a searing sharp feeling hit is back causing him to scream and fall face first in pain. It was a full moon tonight, and all Danny wanted was to catch fresh air, but here he was, lying out in dew grass.
It was peaceful in the sense that he accepted death already; this was out of his control, but before he could have a second thought, the sharpness pulled out of his back, then replaced with body weight on him. He couldn’t move; someone, no, that masked person was seated on top of him, rendering him immobile. Then the sensation returned, this time hitting his shoulder blade. Danny could feel his heart pounding in his chest, the pain being replaced with adrenaline. How did his killer even catch up with him? What could’ve possibly led to him being killed in cold blood?
He felt the tug of his curly hair being pulled up as the mixture of blood and spit pooled from his lips, dripped down his chin, and reddened the strings connecting to the now bloodied grass. A flash in front of him, but not his life flashing before his eyes, the sound of a Polaroid camera clicking, and the soft buzzing of a photo being printed. The person stood up, dropping Danny's hair, and his head fell into the grass again. He weakly looked up, trying hard to focus on the person now squatting in front of him. The blurred wave taunted him; they knew he was dying, and there was nothing that could stop them from ending it all. Still, they just looked down at Danny, as if they were enjoying this, all of it —the chase, the stabbing, the blood. It was sickening.
“Who are you?’ Danny wheezed weakly, feeling the blood starting to run up his throat.
Some of the final words he managed to get out. The knife was still in his back, causing his legs to lose feeling. Tears ran down his red-stained cheeks as he cried in his final moments. A small Polaroid was set on the blood-soaked grass, and he slowly jerked his head down. It was a picture of him with his hair being pulled, and the masked person staring into the camera. The silly expression on the ghost-faced person tilted their head slowly as Danny looked back up at them. They slowly wrapped their fingers around the inside of the hood and pulled the mask back enough to reveal a person with the sweetest, most genuine smile, a smile that Danny recognized instantly.
“Oh, you know, pretty boy.” The sweet, feminine voice spoke.
Her voice sounded like honey, light and sweet, but not overwhelming to the senses. His eyes widened as he realized who it was.
“Zoey?” His voice cracked.
“Hm.” Her smile faded.
She quickly reached for the knife in his back, pressing it down until it pierced the other side. Danny's body finally went limp, and his eyes glossed over. Pulling the knife out of his back, she stood up and wiped it through the sleeve of her cloak. She fixed the mask to hide her face again, followed by her walking away across the street and into the darkness of an alleyway.
“Zoey, you're going to be late to meet up with your friends, remember?!” A voice yelled from outside her room.
“Thanks, Faith! I’ll be out soon!” Zoey sighed, putting on a colorful, oversized shirt with a local band's logo and black shorts underneath.
Faith sighed as she watched her scramble to grab her bag and almost forgot her keys before leaving their apartment. "That girl is so unorganized," she said as she went back to her desk and resumed her drawings for Halloween.
The exterior sign of the Honmoon bar glowed iridescently; the small queer, owned bar was a safe space for anyone who had a hatred for the big bars where heterosexual men would try to push themselves on anyone who breathed in their vicinity. Zoey frequented this bar with two of her closest friends, Mira and Rumi. The two women waited for a sign of life from Zoey as they hadn't heard from her in hours, which was abnormal for her.
"I wonder where that girl could be, Ru. It's unlike her to be super late."
"Well, to be fair she said she had business to take care of, Mira."
Out of Rumi's peripheral vision, an out-of-breath Zoey appeared, holding her hand to her chest, but recovered once she looked over to the pair sitting at a booth. Rumi's eyes met Zoey's, letting out a gentle sigh of relief, finally feeling content with seeing Zoey was still of this earth. She got up and walked to greet Zoey, who pushed past a group of men in her direct path to Rumi.
"Rumi!!!!" Zoey practically lifted Rumi off her feet as she embraced her with a tight, long hug. It had been a busy September for all of them, and now that it was the start of October, they had more time to spend together because of their university's fall break.
"Hey, cutie, how are you?" Rumi's smile glowed as they released from their hug.
"I'm good, I apologize, I had to take care of something at home. I apologize for being late…"
"You're good. Besides, it must've been important."
"Yeah… I'll tell you all about it later when there are fewer ears." Zoey's smile beamed; she really missed her friends.
"Hey! What the hell is your deal, dude?" Mira's pushed two men back off of her. They approached her after Rumi went to greet Zoey. Weren't these the men that Zoey pushed past when she came in?
"We just wanted a closer look at you." The tall, buff guy smirked.
Both of them had pink hair, though the one that approached her first was buff, and the persistent one looked like a twig with a fucked up widow's peak on his hairline, almost like a heart in a weird way. They introduced themselves as Abby and Rom, oblivious to Mira's growing annoyance with them both.
"Yeah, we see you on campus all the time and can't help but stare."
Mira's disgust grew; she despised men. She was fuming. It didn't matter if there were people around; she would strangle them; she had a reason. "Let's see how long you'll be able to stare after I stab this straw in your eye."
The buffer man of the pair huffed and eyed Mira, "Alright, Rom, let's go. She's not worth it. So pretty on the outside, but problematic everywhere else."
"Hm.." Zoey crossed her arms, tilting her head in a newfound interest.
"Hm indeed." Rumi watched from afar, alongside Zoey, examining the features of the two men. She made mental notes of potential weak points for each of them for later reference.
Zoey and Rumi walked back over to Mira, who was seething with irritation. She was shaking with anger. When she realized her girls were back by her side, she sighed with minor relief, "Hey guys…"
"You good, mir?" Rumi hugged Mira's side.
"Men and their audacity are so annoying. Ugh!" Zoey sighed, rubbing Mira's back.
If it weren't for her girls' comforting presence, she would've probably been in jail for stabbing two idiotic men with straws, no joke.
"They are pathetic. I want to see them suffer." Mira's anger was building; she needed to make it go away, she needed them gone.
Rumi tilted her head. Her curiosity was immediately piqued. "Oh, that can be arranged if you want it to happen."
"Oh, I need it to happen." Mira huffed.
"Let's relieve some stress then." Rumi's telling smirk meant she already had a plan in mind. "First we need to get their numbers."
"Hey, Rom! Come here." Mira smiled.
The streets were quiet, considering it was a Friday; only the sounds of car engines and birds chirping were noticeable. Mira mentally noted the layout of their path before her thoughts were interrupted by Rom.
"I see you had a change of heart." Rom grinned, looking amused.
Mira sighed and gave a forced smile, talking through her teeth, "Mhm, something like that."
"We're so glad you're here, Mira." Abby purred, wrapping his arm around Mira, bringing the woman closer to his side.
She was overwhelmed by the smell of green apple-scented deodorant. She cleared her throat, slightly pulling away from him, "Right. How far out is your apartment?"
"Just a few more minutes walk." Rom smiled, giddy about being with such a beautiful woman, as if she wasn't just writing to harm him.
"Hm, noted for next time to Uber, hah!" Abby snorted, patting Mira's shoulder.
"If there is a next time," she muttered quietly enough for them not to hear.
The three of them reached the outside of a decent-looking apartment building, not as nice as Mira's place, but that wouldn't matter in what was to come soon. Abby grabbed the door after Rom swiped his access card, unlocking the security door and motioning for them to enter. Mira made a mental note, she looked down at her vans and came up with a quick idea, then up at the ceiling, noticing there were no cameras. Perfect.
She cleared her throat, "Hey you to head up, I gotta take a call real quick. Rom, can I borrow your card for a moment, I don't wanna get locked out, this hallway has too much of an echo. Not trying to air out all my business, you know?"
Rom and Abby shared a look of confusion before Rom shrugged and handed his card to her. Perfect. Mira smiled innocently.
"Thank you." She held her smile.
He nodded. The two men turned and walked to the elevator, entering it. As soon as the door closed, Mira's smile dropped. She opened the door and stepped outside. She walked a few steps from the door and put up a thumbs-up, signaling that it was time for the plan to start. Mira unlocked the door and left the card in between the crease of the door, carefully closing it behind her. She walked to the elevator and faced the door, seeing two shadowy figures approaching it. She smirked and watched them step inside as the elevator doors closed. Perfect.
Checked her phone for the apartment number, huffing, mumbling the words "Let's get this over with" as soon as the elevator chime for the fifth floor. She put on a fake smile as she knocked on the door. She could hear the rush of footsteps and the clicking of locks being turned. The first thing that greeted her when she saw Rom behind the door was the scent of alcohol and weed. She huffed, clearing her nostrils of the smells, and walked inside, making sure to look at the type of locks on it. Deadbolt, bottom lock, keycard on the outside. Perfect. The front door disappeared out of view as she rounded the corner, walking into a very open living room and kitchen area.
"Mira!! Mi casa es su casa." Rom smiled, walking backwards into the couch. "Oof."
"Bro, since when do you know Spanish?" Abby gasped.
"No, I just like the phrase." Rom shrugged proudly
The guys laughed as Mira slowly made her way around the shelves lined with manga and figures. Rom took notice."Feel free to look around! Drinks are in the fridge, food on the counter if you're hungry,
"or on the couch if you're having a special craving," Abby smirked, raising his eyebrows pointed to himself and Rom.
Mira rolled her eyes as she walked into the living room. She tuned out their voices. Mira looked around, not wanting to touch anything, just because it would be important that she didn't leave fingerprints. She nodded, turning her head towards the movie shelf, her attention switched from the guys to all of the memorabilia of the "Stab" movies."Right special cravings." She thought to herself.
"Oh? You like horror movies?" Abby turned on the couch to look at her.
"Yeah. These are my favorite slasher films." she pointed to the 12-inch replica of Ghostface's blade, nodding in approval.
"It's real. I got it off eBay in an auction from 'Stab' movies." Rom was trying to show off, but was interrupted by Abby's laughter.
"Dude, you're such a fucking nerd." Abby joshed.
"You think it's cool, right, Mir?" Rom smiled nervously at Mira.
Her expression changed, as if a switch had been flipped, and she became immediately angry. She turned, walking to him, "What did you just call me?"
"Uh, Mir?" Rom, who was caught off guard by her.
"It's Mira to you. That does for both of you." She practically growled.
"Whoa, calm down, babe. It's just a nickname." Abby placed his arms between his friend and Mira.
Her rage boiled, and she huffed, "It's reserved." That name held so much meaning; only her girls could call her that—only them.
"Oh."
"Oh indeed," she retorted, her eyes fixed on Rom's. She could see the terror starting to build.
Rom cleared his throat, unprepared for the sudden change in Mira's body language and tone. It was unnerving, so she snapped back at him. There was a thickening tension in the room, and the only noise was coming from the TV—a movie marathon of the "Stab" playing. Mira looked over towards the TV and smiled, but then received a call before she could sit down. She sighed, excusing herself.
"Which way is it to the guest bathroom?"
"By the front door."
"Perfect, will be back shortly."
Mira went to the bathroom, and looking at herself in the mirror, she looked at the greyscale color scheme of the shower curtain and decor. A hand appeared, wrapping itself around the shower curtain. The dark figure stepped out behind Mira, causing her to freeze in place. She smirked and nodded. Perfect timing.
Meanwhile, Rom and Abby are on their phones, and a stomach-turning scream comes from the bathroom, causing them both to shoot up and panic.
"What the fuck? Was that Mira?"
"Shit, that had to be her!"
They rushed to the front of the door. As they turned the corner, an all black hooded figure with blood dripping off the blade stood before them. Their head slowly lifted, revealing a freshly bloodied purple mask with demon horns.
"Ghostface?" The pair looked at each other in confusion, then back at Ghostface, who stood still before them.
"If this is a fucking prank, I swear to god—" Before Abby could finish his sentence, he felt a sudden excruciating pain in his abdomen. He touched the handle of the blade, his eyes widened as he watched it be pulled out of him. he dropped to the floor in a ball.
It was too quick, unreal. Rom couldn't even process what happened. Ghostface turned their head towards Rom and pointed the knife towards his neck.
"No no no no no," he chanted, pleaded as he was pushed into the abbey, falling on top of him.
Abby grunted loudly in pain. His vision was fading in and out of focus. Then the second one appeared with the parody "Stab" mask. Rom jumped to his feet, backing farther into his apartment. The second walked slowly to Abby, who had gone unconscious from the bleeding, but was still alive, for now. Rom back into was felt like another person. His heart sank as the purple asked ghostface continued approaching him and stopped a few steps in front of him. he gulped, feeling something, no one, tapping on his shoulder from behind. He slowly turned to see a third Ghostface. He dropped to his knees, starting to cry hysterically.
"Why are you doing this? Why me? Why Abby? Fuck what did we do?" He sobbed, his tears flooding down his face.
There was no response, just dead silence. There was silence that was cut off by Abby screaming and Rom looking over to see him being stabbed in the chest by the second ghostface, hearing the sound of his friend choking on his own blood. It was horrific.
The third Ghostface, who stood behind, Rom leaned down and tapped his shoulder again. The deep, chilling voice asked one question, "Who am I?"
"What? How the fuck am I supposed to know? Are you serious? Is this a fucking guessing game?" Rom screamed, looking up at the two ghostfaces.
They both were looking down at him, and he was frozen in fear. The third ghostface pulled his hair back, pressing the razor-like side of their razor on his right carotid artery. Rom's breathing quickened, he tried not to move or even think about he fact that he was so close to death, that there was a knife pressing against him.
"Who am I, Rom? I know you know. We're so close, you even gave me a nickname."
Rom's eyes widened as he looked up at her masked face. She let go of his hair, then slowly lifted her mask off, simultaneously pressing the blade into his neck. he reached down to fight off the knife, but she persisted. He fell onto his side, gripping his neck, doing a poor job at controlling his bleeding. His body twitched as his blood ran between his fingers, down his wrist, and pooled on his hardwood floors.
The second Ghostface walked over and wiped their knife in tandem with Mira. Mira pulled her mask back down, the trio nodded and walked out of the apartment, leaving the men's bodies there. The purple ghostface closed the door. The Ghostfaces left everything that belonged to the two men. Even the set knife was tempting for Mira to take it, but she knew it wasn't a good idea.
Sunday, 31st of October, 2010.
"Mira, you should not concern yourself with such demonic practices." Mira's mother spoke, scolding her daughter for wanting to dress up for Halloween.
"But Mom, I wanna dress up for Halloween!" Mira protested.
"Listen to your mother. You know better. You are a Kang child, act like one." Her father backed off, as if Mira would ever win them over.
She was only eight. What would an eight-year-old know about "demons"? She just wanted to be a normal kid like the commoners; she was a problem, neither a commoner nor normal.
Monday, 29th of October, 2018
Mira took a deep breath before pulling the glass doors, holding her breath until she laid her eyes on a girl about her age working at the register. Her hair was almost lavender, one of her two favorite colors.
The girl walked over and greeted Mira, who was still contemplating her decision of being here, "Hey, welcome in, I'm Rumi. You look a little lost. Can I help you look for something in particular?"
"Uh, yeah, yes, please. I'm going to be totally honest, this is my first time at a Halloween store. I was recommended to come here to look at those stab movie masks. I tried buying one online, but they were sold out everywhere I looked."
"Oh? You got some good taste! What's your name? Uh, so I know who to yell for if we have some in the back… After the remake came out, people are raiding the stores across the city for masks." Rumi laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her neck.
"I'm Mira. I assume you like them too?"
"I love them, walk with me since there's no one in the store right now, I want to show you something cool.
Mira smiled brighter, a faint blush forming on her cheeks. She followed Rumi to the back of the store. Rumi stopped and turned around to face Mira. She was holding a purple demon ghostface mask, with the biggest grin plastered on her face.
"This one is mine!! I got it here during a raffle!"
"That's so cool." Mira's first genuine smile towards her in a long time felt warm and comforting.
"Oh! Here is yours before I forget. I'm gonna use my employee discount, so you get it for free. "
"Wait, that's not how those work…"
"Well, I can't let my new friend leave the store empty-handed, right?" Rumi held out the classic Ghostface mask.
Mira looked at it, her blush grew, and she hugged Rumi instead of taking the mask first. "You're the first person who's let me enjoy Halloween. Thank you, Rumi."
Rumi melted into the hug, "That's what friends are for, Mir."
Mira's first nickname.
Monday, 1st of January, 2024
"I'm done. You can't control me. I've already moved out, you can't revoke my savings accounts, I have a lawyer on standby, and you know this will look bad if anyone found out that you can't control your daughter, so act like your 'picture-perfect' family is fine." Mira finally put her foot down to her father. Her mother didn't even bother looking at her. It hurt inside, but she knew this was the moment to cut ties.
"You will regret this." Her father's warning was nothing but an empty threat to make her stay.
"I have no regrets with anything I do."
Slamming the door shut, Mira held it together, though she was breaking on the inside; she knew that her family was the person sitting in the car waiting to take her to her real home. Mira sniffled, walking to Rumi's car, pressing her wrist against her nose, trying to hold herself together. Rumi got out of the car and walked to Mira's side, embracing her. She looked through the slightly shaded glass of the house and shot a bitter, resentful look at Mira's parents.
Rumi walked Mira to the car and helped her sit down. Once they were both inside, Mira broke down in tears. Rumi isn't a mind reader, but she is empathetic enough to feel the gut-wrenching feeling in her stomach when it comes to her friend. A week or so after the confrontation, they had finished unloading and unpacking Mira's belongings in their now shared apartment.
It was Mira's home, a home that she shared with her new family.
Wednesday, 2nd of October, 8:30 pm
"Breaking news tonight! We are providing a graphic content warning now due to the severity of this tragedy. Local authorities have made gruesome discoveries after two young men were brutally murdered. They were discovered by a security person who smelled a stench that could only be described as 'rotting' coming from the apartment. The two victims' identities will not be released at this time because of the ongoing investigation into this truly heinous situation. The pictures of their bodies were so gruesome as one of the young men was stabbed an astonishing 32 times in the chest, neck, and shoulders. The other victim's neck was slit from ear to ear. This has to be one of the most passionate crimes that have happened in 10 years. almost reminiscent of the 'Stab' movies… The City Commissioner of Health and Safety advises that you be vigilant and keep a lookout for suspicious behavior and confrontations. There is no suspect in custody at this time. While this is an ongoing investigation, there are no connections that have been made to progress the killings of the two young men. The final question we must ask ourselves is, 'Who are they targeting, and who is this mysterious threat to our community?' Have a good, safe night. Your favorite news anchor, Bobby Jeong, signing off."