what a ghostly scene - kate schmidt

(10)

kate and lisa's hands stayed glued together, as if a magnetic force had determined it. lisa felt sick in ways she could never have imagined; her vision was blurred, and palms were sweaty. her body was possessed by pure anxiety, and she wasn't even the one who was about to die.

the group had collectively decided to lure the killers to a new location in order to finish the job – grab & bag supermarket, aka simon's humble workplace. the place was large enough for a fight, but small enough to keep checks on each of the maniacs.

the group was greeted by a haze of neon lights and signs, which flickered upon their arrival. aisles and aisles of items cascaded further back into the store, it was almost jungle-like. the group began to cautiously scope out the arena, wondering what could be lurking behind each shelf.

after quickly running a safety check of the new base, they gathered in the pharmacy, buzzing with nerves and waiting to put their plan into practise.

''a few months ago, my brother, timothy, had an unfortunate experience in which he ingested too much of a certain substance,'' simon explained breathlessly, as he rushed around collecting supplies, ''he was dead for two minutes''.

''but...'' simon hit his nail polish-clad hands on the table, mimicking a drum roll, ''we got him back!''

''kate'', deena interrupted simon's theatrical show, ''its time for your close up''.

kate wore a determined look on her face as her amateur drug knowledge was finally coming in handy. she gave lisa's hand a comforting squeeze before stepping forward and organising mountains of pills, which sam would be instructed to take, according to their place in the plan.

she shakily created a pill cocktail, with the intentions that sam would kill the curse along with herself, before being quickly bought back by the rest of the group.

simon began to narrate the amateur chemistry lesson, those two really were partners in crime.

''you need to take these in order. pile one takes the edge off. you're gonna feel like you're being fucked by a unicorn''. sam raised her eyebrows.

''pile two is gonna bring your core temp way down, you may feel slightly sick''. sam and deena locked eyes. things were getting real.

despite simon passionately explaining the importance of a five minute interval between pile three and four, lisa could only see kate. her eyebrows were knitted together as she focussed on the task, hands slightly shaking. the brunette took in the sight, as she was unsure how long it would be until their peace was interrupted.

''how many of these do we have?'' kate gestured to a stack of epipens, ''tons, like thousands'', simon confirmed.

''wait. epipens?'' deena expressed her confusion.

''epinephrine, also known as adrenaline. this is what brings her back'', simon explained, ''this is jesus!''

lisa noticed that sam had turned ghostly pale, and was beginning to breathe rather heavily. although nothing could compensate for whatever she was thinking, lisa offered her hand a comforting squeeze, which was gratefully accepted.

show time.

''sam's blood marks the spot'', deena muttered, as each member of the group received a shirt upcycle, sam's blood smeared in a cross on their chests. they didn't hesitate before deciding that if sam was willing to sacrifice herself for them in the school hall, they should all have an equal chance at survival, this time around.

lisa's breath was caught in her throat as kate delicately applied the red bait to her chest, her fingers lingering for slightly longer than necessary. the two held eye contact, communicating a thousand words, before breaking it off to give and receive some 'good luck' embraces.