Stygian means very dark. Thats how Ryia Stewart had always described herself. Others had used the words 'weird', or 'different'. But that's not fair.
She's always felt that way. That is until she met her best - only- friend, and everything became a...
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"Hey, we gotta go to that motel tonight." Elicia explained, jogging up to Hailey and Rowan with Ryia coming up behind.
"He sent you a message too?" Hailey asked.
Elicia looked away for a second without saying a word before dismissing the question and answering, "Look, we can't tell anyone."
"It's probably just a joke anyway." Hailey said, scared. "Right?"
"Right. We find who posted the video, then it'll be over."
"We'll be fine if we all stick together." Rowan replied.
"Let's just, uh, meet up at the hotel." Elicia said.
"Wait, is she coming too?" Hailey asked, pointing to Ryia who was behind Elicia.
"Yeah, she knows everything anyway." Elicia took Ryia's hand and was about to walk away when Hailey grabbed Elicia's arm, stopping her.
"Do you two need a ride home?" The blond asked.
"We're okay." Elicia declined, giving her a fake smile and walking away.
༼༽
Ryia and Elicia were conversing on the couch in Elicia's home.
"Never have I ever... broken a bone." Ryia said, holding her hand up with only three fingers left.
"You know this game is pointless without more than two people, right?" Elicia said, putting down her third finger. The two girls had gotten home a few hours prior to this moment, and were currently taking a break from their phones. And the awful knowledge that later they would walk down creepy back-way alleyways to meet up with a monkey-faced serial killer.
"Yeah, I just want to find out more about you. I don't like to pry, this way I'm not." Ryia replied.
"Cunning." Elicia put her hand down, getting the impression that the game was done. "That was a good plan, but you probably shouldn't have told me."
"Honesty policy. You know, if I ever have children I'm never going to lie to them. Especially because they would be adopted." Ryia explained.
"What, are you scared of childbirth or something? The pain?" Elicia asked, evidently confused.
Ryia had never told her friend that she was gay, and never imagined it going down this way. It wasn't that she was ashamed of herself, but she never knew how people would react. Poorly, like her parents. Excepting, like her brothers. It was one of her worst fears for the people she loved to reject her, just as her mom and dad did.
The girl was about to explain but could only sit there, gaping like a fish out of water. That is until she had almost worked up the courage, and the door to the living room burst open.
"Hey. Dinner." Elicia's cousin said whilst holding up a bag of takeout. "Spicy nuggets, honey mustard."
"I only like ranch." Elicia replied unhappily, getting up and beginning to drag her best friend into her room.
"Yeah, I got ranch too." Could be heard faintly as Ryia smiled sorrily at the older guy standing in the kitchen and continued down the hall.
"Okay, well it's time to get ready for tonight." Elicia explained to the shorter girl.
"Okay, what do we need?" Ryia asked, looking around the room for anything that would be of use to meet a killer at a motel on the wrong side of the tracks at midnight.
"I don't know, but let's just hope we don't have to use it."
༼༽
Walking to a secret meeting that no one knows about with an internet stalker is agonizing. And that was exactly what Ryia was rambling on about on their way through a neon-light lit alley. The shorter one of the two girls jumped when the sound of a second skateboard appeared behind them, while Elicia just shrugged it off.
"Stop following me." She said to Ash, who stuck a picture of an owl to the wall. Ryia took that as a cue to skate further ahead of the two, not wanting to be in the middle of their quarrel.
༼༽
"I wish this weren't happening." Ryia said for the hundredth time, clutching Elicia's hand in scared agony. The girls were approaching the awful motel, secretly hoping that there would be a party tonight and that M0nk3yM4nnn's plans had been thwarted by a bunch of stupid drunk teenagers.
"Shut up, I think I hear something." Elicia said, moving her other hand to muffle her friend's ramblings.
"Rowan? Hailey?" They both called out tentatively.
Suddenly footsteps echoed behind them and a gloved hand appeared over their mouths. The girl's hands were ripped apart and they were dragged away screaming bloody murder and thrashing violently. Both were thrown into the back of a truck, crying and kicking at the driver, who was wearing a monkey mask. Neither of the sixteen year olds realized that they could unlock the door and jump out before it was too late, and the car was moving.
Ryia and Elicia banged on the glass on the back of the truck relentlessly and they drove away. Rowan and Hailey ran after them, screaming while the serial killer drove away with them all at his clutches.
