eight. for kate

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"AS THE mall's lead custodial engineer, I ensure that all retail establishments come equipped with the StoreSafe 250." Martin led the small group around the mall until they reached GadZooks, where the water guns were kept. Phoenix knew the place, because she once worked there for a few days as a freshman. (she screamed at a customer and got fired, that's when she realized that she wasn't really fit for the horrors of retail.)

"This is the Cadillac of store gates. Now, the 250 prevents your standard smash-and-grab, graffiti, all while complying with the 70% visibility ordinance. Best part..." the man bent down, unlocking and pulling the gate open to let the others inside of the store. "Easy to operate."

Simon leaned closer to Phoenix, watching as Martin grinned at them. "I don't think he's aware that we aren't joking."

"Yeah..." she mumbled in agreement, sightly tilting her head up to look at the tall man. She and Kate were the same height, and she always thought that they were a tad bit too short, but being beside Martin made her feel like she was a bug about to be squished.

"And we can rig them for quick release?" Josh asked, still uncertain.

"Little grease, these things go down faster than a Sunnyvale cheerleader."

Phoenix tried to bite the inside of her cheek to stop herself from laughing.

"So, Deena is the target now, so the killers will go after Deena's blood just like they did with Sam. And then we use that to lure them into the stores, and then..." Josh waited for Martin to close the gate again to continue.

"Welcome to the clink, motherfucker." Martin pushed the doors down, not missing a beat.

"The killers will be locked up, then it's us versus Goode." Josh smiled proudly. It was a plan that he and Phoenix discussed in the car while she was sitting on Simon's lap.

"OK, sure, awesome, but then what? Like how do we take out Goode?" Deena asked, being her usual pessimistic self.

"Are y'all serious about this?"

Nixie looked at him in the eye. "Dead serious."

"Once they're down, how quickly can we get the gates back open?" Christine questioned Martin, who seemed like he knew about everything about the Shadyside Mall.

"Depends, but—"

Ziggy glanced at Phoenix, as if recognition was flashing in her own eyes. When she finally thought of the perfect idea, she looked at the small group of teens. "We'll Carrie him."

"Why would we carry him?" Simon asked, confused.

"I think she's talking about the movie. Carrie. 1976." Phoenix pointed out, remembering how her father had the tape lying around.

"No, I was taking about the book." Ziggy pointed out with a frown.

"Oh, yeah. The book." Phoenix chuckled, taking Simon's hand away and dragging him into the store where the water-guns were held. "I was more kind of a movie girl."

Ziggy looked like she wanted to say something, hell, she was about to say something and explain why the books were so much better, but the girl disappeared into the store with Simon, already doing their parts of the plan discussed in the car.

But the woman realized something.

Niki liked the movies better, too.

....

"If we had a ton of guns," Simon started out, grabbing the water gun and aiming it at Phoenix as a joke. "The real ones, I mean. If we had those, this would've been so easy."

SCARLETT. fear street (1994, 1978, 1666 )Where stories live. Discover now