The Riley Curse | Ethan Landry

14. Hello, Tatum

Sam's phone began to ring and everyone got closer to Kirby's computer to hear what Ghostface was going to say. Sam answered the phone.

"You're gonna die, you know," Sam said.

"No, you're gonna die, Samantha! Choking on your own blood while I hack up your sister," Ghostface said.

"Unless we find you first," Sam said.

"For a mastermind, you're not very bright. Waiting for me to call, desperately hoping I'm nearby so the police can grab me? But I'm not nearby. I'm a step ahead. I have a fun little game for you, Samantha," Ghostface said.

"What is it?" Samantha asked and everyone listened carefully. "Which Riley am I going to kill?" Ghostface asked and everyone in the van shared a concerned look with each other. "Don't you dare touch them," Sam said, Kirby got a location. "Chose wisely, Samantha," Ghostface said then hung up.

"Did you get it?" Sam asked.

"Yep. Geolocation coming through right now. He's on the Upper West Side. He's inside an apartment building, halfway across the city," Kirby said not realizing whose apartment it is. "On West 96th?" Tara asked.

"How did you know that?" Kirby asked.

"Gale," Sam said and the two of them ran off to Detective Bailey's car. "What about Tatum?" Mindy asked.

"The phone call didn't come from there. She's safe," Kirby said.

"We know there's two. What if she's not?" Mindy asked.

"Mindy's right. Maybe we should go and check on her just as a safety precaution," Chad said and Kirby looked back at the screen and was confused. "What the fuck?" Kirby said as she looked at the computer closer. "What?" Mindy asked and Kirby stood up grabbing her stuff. "The location changed," Kirby said.

"What?" Chad asked.

"He's near the hospital," Kirby said.

Then Ethan's phone buzzed in his pocket. He checked his phone and saw a text from Tatum. All it said was 'SOS'. "Guys, Tate just texted me," Ethan said.

"What did she say?" Mindy asked.

"All she said was SOS," Ethan said.

"Damn it," Kirby said as she got out of the van and went to the front of it to start driving.

~

Tatum sat in her room, waiting for her nurse. Soon enough her nurse walked into her room. "Okay, the doctor said he will discharge you if you take it easy. No rushed movements. You don't want to rip your stitches," the nurse said as she handed Tatum clothes that someone must've dropped off for her. "Thank you," Tatum said and the nurse left the room.

Tatum carefully changed out of the hospital gown and into the clothes. As she was looking through her things to find anything of importance, the lights in the hospital went out. Tatum froze in her spot, as her room went dark. She tried to stay as silent as possible. She could hear muffled yelling and then complete silence.

Tatum crept towards her door, still being as silent as possible. She quietly opened the door and looked into the hallway. She saw nobody. Not a single nurse or security guard. Nobody.