Maddie stayed silent for as long as she physically could. Her and Kate were running interference, ducking between aisles and checking the few windows they could see. About three minutes went up before she spoke up. "So... you and Josh?"

Kate rolled her eyes, but her cheeks burned. Just before they'd all split up, Kate had marched up to Josh in front of everyone and pulled his face to hers. Josh stood there and let her kiss him, but when she pulled away and walked off like nothing happened, he looked like he was about to pass out.

Maddie had a wide smile on her face, and she patted his arm gently, giving him a squeeze before running after her.

"Don't," she warned, smile fighting its way onto her face. "What about you and Simon, huh? Since February?"

"We hooked up once or twice," Maddie shrugged. "It stopped when we became friends,"

Kate raised an eyebrow and Maddie relented. "Fine, it was more than once or twice. But we did stop,"

"All that time Simon had a crush on you, and I thought you had to be the most oblivious person to not notice him," she said. "He's loud, he's bright, he's everywhere and everything and yet you would always act like you didn't know he existed,"

"Says you!" Maddie shoved Kate gently. "You've known Josh for what - ten years? You know nothing about him,"

"That's because he was just the little brother of my friend," she admitted quietly. "But he's..." she struggled to find the words, but Maddie knew.

"I know, Kate," Kate pulled her into one last hug before the two of them split off down different aisles. The smell of Sam's blood wafted through the air, smeared over all of them. The killers would be there soon.

The store was silent, aside from the distant sound of footprints. Kate was a few aisles down from her, Josh was over in the frozen foods section and Simon was in the stockroom, checking the doors.

Sam and Deena were crouched behind the counter, Sam downing the first pile of pills.

Maddie heard her shoes, a pair of boots she'd pulled from the lost and found that barely fit her, echoing out as she walked down the produce section. It was a small store compared to others, but they had a lot of ground to cover.

She hated the silence. Every creak the shelves made, every breathe she took reverberated around the store. But once she reached the bakery section, she would have given anything for the silence again.

Deena screamed, Sam was spluttering as best she could after having just vomited, and Ryan Torres, skull mask killer raised his knife to attack.

"Go! Go!" Maddie heard Kate yelling and, over the top of the shelf, what looked like a small explosion before it went quiet again, aside from heavy breaths and terrified footsteps.

Not just terrified footsteps, though. Angry ones too. The vengeful footsteps of Ryan Torres, going towards the bakery section.

As he came around a corner, she ducked beneath a shelf, knowing he could sense Sam's blood painted on her sweater. He would find her even if he couldn't see her. She held her breath. She couldn't hear any footsteps, but that didn't stop her hands from clamming up.

Her eyes were clamped shut and she had to force them open. She needed to be aware of her surroundings. Maddie scanned the area in front and on either side of her as best she could. He wasn't there.

Because he was right behind her.

Kate heard Maddie scream, but before she could run towards her, another noise filled her ears. "You always hurt the one you love,"

She felt Ruby before she saw her, the blade of her weapon coming down on her shoulder. Kate cried out in pain, and she ripped the closest thing off the shelf and pegged it at her attacker. Ruby was hit in the face with the bottle of laundry detergent, and she staggered backwards. She balanced herself against the wall, face twisted in it's usual sultry smile. "The one you shouldn't hurt at,"

Kate scrambled back, trying to run, in front of her was the charred remains of a fallen aisle that Skull Mask had knocked over when she'd set him on fire earlier. She'd have to go another way.

But the only other way was towards Ruby Lane, sweet voice filling the store. "You always take the sweetest rose" Kate looked around for something else to throw, but Ruby grabbed her before she could.

She thrashed in Ruby's grip, screaming. Simon and Josh had to be nearby, right? They would hear her. She'd heard Simon yelling earlier, that had to be him seeing Ruby. The blade was inches from her neck, and Kate was yelling as loud as she could.

Her screams bounced back through the store and she could hear them echoing around her. No, not her screams.

Maddie's screams.

She froze at the sound, Ruby taking the opportunity to bring the razor down, Kate coughing wildly as she began to lose consciousness. Ruby's face was blank, as it always was, and once she was satisfied with the amount of harm she'd inflicted, she stood up and walked away, swinging her hips and singing.

It was blurry, she could make out Maddie's screams still, then another yell, before it all went silent. Ruby Lane turned the corner and left Kate Schmidt on the floor, dead.

Simon swore he'd never moved so fast. Even after Maddie stopped, he could hear her terror in his head over and over again. Josh split off from him when they heard Kate yell, but Simon was determined to find Maddie.

He heard a whirring noise and a clatter, so he ran in that direction, noticing Deena pull a struggling Sam up on a small fridge beside her.

When Kate had saved the two girls from Ryan, they'd knocked the plate of pills away, so Deena had the idea to use the lobster tank. She shoved the blonde girl's head down, Sam thrashing wildly as she spewed bubbles from her mouth.

Simon didn't stop though. Maddie has quietened but he could still hear her. He needed to find her.

Maddie had knocked the control switch to the bread slicer when Skull Mask shoved her. She had to stop herself from calling him Ryan in her head. This was not Ryan.

It was Sarah Fier. She would avenge Ryan, and Heather, and Beddy, and everyone who had died in the earlier massacres. She just needed to stay alive. She would destroy Sarah Fier.

His hand was around her throat, and her vision blurred. Ryan- Skull Mask lifted her off the ground with one arm, and she struggled in his grip.

With his other hand, he gripped the knife as he plunged it into Maddie's abdomen. She gasped, momentarily distracted from the lack of oxygen. She could barely feel it, the only sensation she had was the feeling of the world slipping out from underneath her.

With a final burst of adrenaline, Maddie shoved him off, trying to wrestle him into the counter. He flipped them, hand still around her throat.

She started screaming, an infuriating amount of tears mixing with the sweat on her face. From above her, she could hear another noise. The bread slicer.

They both seemed to have the thought at the same time, Maddie shrieking both in pain and fear as he forced her along the conveyor belt towards the blades.

Simon could hear her, he just needed to move faster. He ran into Josh who had narrowly escaped Nightwing, and the two of them reached the bakery section just in time to see Ryan Torres, the Skull Mask Killer, step away from the dead body of Madeline Holt.

Simon stopped. His vision went white, the crimson of her blood staining his retinas. Everything was cloudy, and he couldn't bring himself to move, let alone mourn the loss of the girl he loved. Josh stared in disbelief. He'd seen Kate, but now there were two bodies.

Simon had only one thought, she's fucking dead. Josh turned to him, knowing that he would break down later, but right now they didn't have time.

Simon turned to his left slowly, a blank look on his face, licking the salt from his lips. Simon wasn't like that. He couldn't push his feelings away like that, not these ones.

He didn't have long to mourn, though, when Nightwing finally caught up with the two boys, burying his axe into Simon's head.

Josh only saw the face of his blood soaked friend for a split second before he was running again, this time a little bit harder than before.

Then, he fell. Skull Mask towered over him like he had with Maddie, and Josh looked up to see his sister, eyes wide as she tried to kill her girlfriend. Nightwing was behind her, ready to strike, just like he had with Simon. Ruby sauntered through the plastic flaps that separated the back rooms from the rest of the store, Kate's blood dripping from her blade.

Josh looked around helplessly. Kate, Maddie, Simon. Sarah Fier had claimed so many lives just in one night. Josh was not going to be one of them.

There would only be one more death that night.

Sam's hand wrapped desperately around Deena's wrist, but the older girl didn't let up. She couldn't tell who the screams were coming from, Deena, Josh, Sarah Fier, all the voices blended together. No! No! Her movements began to slow, and in one sickening motion, Sam felt limp into the lobster tank.

And, just like that, the killers were gone.

Deena got to work, hauling her out as fast as she could until Sam was lying on her back on the floor of the grocery store. Josh reached her just as she sat up.

The two of them set to work reviving Sam, first trying the epi pens, then Deena giving CPR when those didn't work. For a few horrifying moment, Sam didn't stir.

Josh sat back, biting his lip, but Deena wouldn't give up. Hands working so roughly on Sam's chest like she was trying to physically push the life back into her.

Josh was about to tell Deena it was over, to stop, when Sam lurched forward, water tumbling from her mouth. He rushed to her and together, he and Deena moved Sam so she wouldn't choke. He sat back as Deena clutched Sam, smoothing her hair down repeatedly.

They were alone, the neon lights of the empty grocery store flickering over their heads as Sam breathed heavily. The curse was gone. The killers were gone.

Maddie, Kate and Simon were gone.

The next day passed by in a blur. The three of them were interrogated separately, Sheriff Nick Goode begging Deena to tell him what really happened. But Deena was stonefaced this time.

She'd told him about Ryan Torres after the hospital, and he hadn't believed her. Now three more people were dead.

"I'll tell you what the facts tell me," he said. "The junkies-"

Deena. "Kate, Maddie and Simon?"

Josh. "They weren't junkies,"

Sam. "They were my friends,"

"They're to blame for all this," Goode continued. "That feels too easy to me. But that's the story the department will go with. Unless you can help me see it differently,"

"Another Shadyside tragedy," Deena said bitterly, not looking at him. "An underprivileged overachiever with bright prospects. A guy who's been supporting his family alone since he was 15. A girl who gave up her childhood to take care of her siblings. All succumbing to the quick cash of drugs," she sniffed angrily and looked up at him. "Fits the narrative, right? Nice and neat,"

They walked out, Sam's mom grabbing her roughly away from Deena with a chiding "Come on Samantha," before Sam had pulled away.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" Deena had said hopefully.

Sam pulled out of her mom's grip, walked over to Deena and kissed her. "I'll see you tonight," Sam couldn't even hide her smile when her mom was lecturing her on the way home.

Sam knew that Nick Goode would do it, but she felt it only right that she be the one to tell Andrew about his sister's death. It was her fault, afterall.

But, by the time she'd escaped the sheriff, then her mother, the whole family had heard the news. Andrew was a wreck, his hair skewed, eyes rimmed red, still wearing last night's clothes.

"Hi," she stammered. "Uh, my name is Sam Fraser,"

"You were one of Maddie's friends, right?" he said quietly. "The one who moved to Sunnyvale,"

Sam nodded. "Yeah. Uh, I was there. Not like, there, but I was there when Maddie died. I just wanted to say I'm sorry," she said, not being able to look him in the eye. Maddie and Andrew were everything to each other, and she was the reason Andrew had to live the rest of his life without his little sister.

"It's not your fault," He said. "I don't, I don't know what happened last night, but I don't believe what Nick Goode had to say," he shook his head. "What? Am I supposed to believe that Kate, her best friend would kill her? Or Simon? I saw how that kid looked at her. So I guess she must have shoved her own head into the bread slicer," he squeezed his eyes shut. Jack and Sydney were playing in the backyard, Andrew didn't know how to tell them. "No, what happened last night wasn't their faults and it wasn't yours either,"

Sam could only nod. "She cared about you three a whole lot. She'd do anything for you,"

Andrew forced a grateful smile, not because he was ungrateful, but because he couldn't muster up one on his own. Sam left and Andrew went back to his previous position, sitting on the sofa with his head in his hands. Beside him on the couch lay a framed photo he'd moved from her bedroom, the only thing he could bring himself to touch.

Sam, the blonde girl he'd just met was sitting there with a radiant smile on her face, sitting on a large pile of logs. Another girl, dark skin and an unruly amount of long dark curls leaned back onto the logs, standing beside Sam. Simon sat up next to Sam, and beneath him was Kate, Maddie's best friend. She had her arms around his little sister, who was half sitting on one of the middle logs, her hand on top of Sam's.

Andrew blinked away tears and turned to look out at his other siblings. Sydney and Jack were happily playing on the grass, and he sighed. How was he supposed to tell them?

True to her word, Sam came over to the Johnson house that same night, the two of them lying on their backs on Deena's bed. Hey by The Pixies drifted through her speaker as their legs tangled together.

Josh was downstairs in the basement, chatting with someone on AOL. A lot has been happening, he typed with shaky hands.

I KNOW. The girl on the other end responded. Tweakers went on a murder spree - at the hospital and the grocery store. Pretty sure it wasn't Sarah Fier this time. It was those druggies. Kate, Simon and Madeline.

Josh sucked in a sharp breath. No, that's a lie. That's not who they were. I knew Simon. He was funny and brave. I knew Maddie. She was caring and loyal. And I knew Kate. She was smart and kind and.... Fearless. I miss them.

He sat back in his chair. Sam leaned her head against Deena's shoulder. The three of them were alone in the house, but this time they were safe.

On the other side of town, a woman shakily stood and walked to her kitchen. She dialled the number she'd scribbled on her hand, and she waited. "Hello?" The woman didn't respond. "Hello? Alright, listen asshole. Don't call here aga-"

"You're still alive," she remarked.

"Who is this?"

"You called me, wanting to know how I survived the Camp Nightwing Massacre,"

Deena inhaled. "C. Berman,"

"Did you touch the bones? Did you see her face?" Deena rolled her eyes at the voice on the other side of the call.

"It's over,"

"Over?" she could have laughed. She remembered being that naive.

"Yeah. But thanks for your prompt reply," Deena said, sarcasm evident through the line.

"It's not over," she pressed. "It's never over,"

"We ended it. We stopped the killers," Deena said, increasingly pissed off. They'd called her for help but now that they'd done all the work she calls back and says it was pointless?

"But you didn't stop her. You can't. She makes the rules,"

"Who?" Deena almost didn't want to know the answer.

"The witch," There was a thump behind her, and Deena spun around. She let out a sigh of relief, lips twitching upwardly into a smile. "Sam," Then, Deena looked down and saw the blood soaked broken drumstick Sam was pulling out of Deena's stomach.

She collapsed.

────────── ⋆˚✿˖° author's note
!!!!!! ahhh !!!!!! and with that, fear street 1994 is over! i am aware that people will have some. 🤠 opinions on this chapter, but just know that it pained me to kill maddie just as much as it pained her to die. i gave kate's death to maddie because i wanted the moment of simon seeing maddie's corpse because i'm just silly like that 🤭🤭 

there's gonna be a little bit of a break between this chapter and the next one, i want a little bit of time between act 1 and 2, i high key struggled with fs 1978, because cindy truly deserves the lesbian arc she never got. 

like, emily confirmed that cindy is a lesbian so idk what you expect. emily and ryan spoke at length with leigh who wholeheartedly agreed that there was something there. anyway, essay over. 

i will be continuing to use the 1994 gif that i made because i did attempt to make a 1978 one but it did not work out so. 😇😇

thank u for reading this far, i truly love u all mwah 🫶🫶🫶