Fiery Pen

1994

“What’s your favorite scary movie?” Billy Loomis laced his hands behind his head as he reclined long on the red couch.

Stu Macher knelt before the television in front of Billy, shuffling through video cassette tapes. At Billy’s question, he stopped and turned with tapes stacked in his gangly fingers.

“How could you ask me something like that, Billy?” Stu said. “You know it’s A Nightmare on Elm Street.”

“You can tell a lot about a person by their favorite scary movie.” Billy cast his eyes toward the ceiling.

Stu turned back to the TV stand and continued to sift through tapes.

“Don’t start on that shit again,” Stu said. “You’re starting to sound like Randy.”

“Don’t compare me to Randy.”

Billy lifted his head from his hands and stared into Stu until Stu acknowledged the hard edge in the gaze. Stu immediately shrugged sheepish and focused on his task. Billy looked down his nose at Stu as he replaced his head on the pillow and resumed studying the ceiling.

“Aha! Found it!” Stu finally called, lifting the black rectangle over his head in victory.

“Took long enough,” Billy muttered as he pressed himself up to sit.

“I was going to find it. I knew it was here.”

Stu slid the tape into the VCR. The machine sucked it in, and the television screen above flickered before the movie played. The iconic and familiar notes of the theme song tinkled through the room. Stu lowered himself onto the second sofa, casting his eyes to gauge Billy’s approval.

“Halloween.” Billy smirked as the jack o’ lantern flickered onto the screen.

“A classic. Pure slasher.”

Stu leaned forward and gathered up the heaping bowl of popcorn, shoveling sloppy handfuls toward his wide mouth. Kernels bounced from his lips and littered around his feet on the hardwood floor. He chewed loud and open-mouthed, the butter slicking his lips. On the screen, slasher vision peered through young Michael’s mask as he lifted the knife over his unsuspecting older sister.

“Do they ever say why Michael offs his sister?” Stu asked between chomps.

“They don’t really say, but you can also assume it is because she is fucking her boyfriend instead of taking him trick-or-treating.”

Stu nodded and continued chewing.

“The best reason is no reason, though. It is the scariest with no motive. Just a teeny, tiny psychopath.” A light flickered in Billy’s eyes, beyond the reflection of murder from the screen.

“I showed Casey this movie the other night.”

“Oh yeah?” The light dimmed in Billy’s eyes. He continued to watch the movie.

“Yeah.” A grin slithered across Stu’s buttered lips. “Went down on her when Jamie is in the closet. Scary movies always put girls in the mood.”

Stu vibrated on his cushion, waiting for Billy’s reaction. Still entranced by the scenes, Billy coolly slid toward the edge of the couch.

“Are your parents gone for the night?”

“My parents are gone for the week, man.” Stu lay along his couch, popcorn bowl perched on his belly.

“Again? Think they’ll miss a couple of beers from the garage?”

The idea broke across Stu’s face slow before his eyes beamed with mischief.

“Nah, my old man never keeps track.”

“Go grab us a couple,” Billy commanded.

The smile faltered on Stu’s face and flickered for an instant before he stretched it tighter.

“Yeah, man, I’ll be right back.”

Stu placed the popcorn on the table and vaulted over the couch toward the kitchen. Billy watched him move toward the garage door before leaning forward to pluck a couple kernels from the bowl. He chewed them slow as he watched Laurie Strode and her friends wander down the fall street in Haddonfield.

“So, Sidney Prescott, man.” Stu tumbled over the back of the couch and spilled beside Billy.

“Yeah.” Billy snatched a beer bottle from his hand.

“How’s that going? She seems a little…uptight.”

Billy turned cold eyes to Stu. Then the corner of his lip turned up.

“Just getting started. She’s like Laurie here.” Billy tipped his beer at the screen. “Inexperienced, shy, like any good final girl. Just needs someone to break her in.”

Stu laughed, stretching his tongue out past his chin as he did. Billy granted him a chuckle in return. They clinked bottles and turned back to the screen. The Shape moved through a dark Halloween night, stalking foolish teenagers.

“So, everyone knows Michael is the killer in Halloween. No mystery there,” Stu said. “And if the sequels are any indication, it’s pretty clear that Michael can’t die, so there has to be something supernatural at play.”

Billy shrugged and nodded as he took a swig.

“He could never pull it off in real life, though. It would be roadblocks, cops with guns, and back to prison or dead.”

“And what fun would that be?”

“Exactly!” Stu threw out his hand to punctuate the point.

“Anonymity would be the key in real life.”

“Yeah, man. Michael wears the mask, but everyone already knows it’s Michael.”

“The mask should really conceal your identity. And if you really wanted to throw them off, there should be more than one of you.”

Billy turned to Stu to watch his reaction. It blossomed across Stu’s features. His eyes widened first, below furrowed brows. Then his lips parted before twisting into a perplexed grin.

“More than one?”

“Think about it.” Billy leaned toward Stu and tilted his head to the side. “What if there was more than one Michael? The cops would never know what was going on. They could have him in one car, and he could be killing someone somewhere else. Laurie would never be able to get away.”

Stu’s eyes grew with his grin. He crouched toward Billy and propped himself on his knees.

“Multiple killers,” Stu mused.

“Posing as one killer,” Billy finished.

“Oh, man!” Stu slapped his knee and threw himself back against the cushions. “It’s brilliant. Why hasn’t it been done yet?”

Billy broke the stare, smacked his lips, and pushed back against the cushions.

“The slasher genre is dead. Everything just became endless, ridiculous sequels. One more ridiculous than the next,” Billy answered, pressing his bottle against his lips.

Stu mirrored Billy and leaned into his couch.

“Well, someone needs to do it. Bring the genre back!”

“Yeah, they do.”

A thin smile graced Billy’s lips as he turned his gaze back to Halloween.

“Oh, sick, I love this part!” Stu exclaimed. “When he hangs the guy from the fucking knife.”

Stu popped his eyebrows at Billy, goading a reaction. Billy flicked his glance over them and back to the television, beer bottle resting against his chin. Stu released a slow breath and watched Billy a beat longer. Stu looked down at the popcorn then back at Billy.

“How are things with your folks?” Stu asked in a quiet voice.

Billy’s jaw flexed as he closed his eyes.

“Why the fuck would you ask me that?” Billy narrowed his eyes on Stu.

Stu shrank back, raising his hands in surrender.

“Sorry, man. I just know it’s been….” Stu hesitated as Billy’s glare intensified. “Rough. You can stay here tonight if you don’t want to listen to them. You want another beer or something?” Billy remained immobile. “I’ll get you another beer.”

Stu fled Billy’s smoldering stare back to the garage. Billy’s eyes trailed him before swinging back to Michael Myers carving through Laurie’s friends. He glared at the television screen, almost through it, seeing the scenes more in his memories than through his eyes. His lips twitched along with the memorized screams and dialog.

“Where’s my beer?… Cute, Bob. Real cute… Come here, you fool…. Can’t I get your ghost, Bob? All right, all right. So, where’s the beer?”

Stu pounced over the couch again, sneakers slapping the hardwood in his landing. He planted the fresh beer bottles on either side of the popcorn bowl.

“OK, Billy,” Stu started, the wicked grin replaced on his cheeks. “I want to play a game.”

“Don’t be stupid.” Billy smirked. “What kind of a game?”

“Truth or dare.”

The curl dropped from Billy’s lips, and he leveled his face with Stu’s.

“I thought you were going to say movie trivia. Truth.”

Stu beamed and threw out his arms in excitement. Then he settled back to perch on the cushion.

“If this was your scary movie,” Stu started, “who would you kill?”

Continued on… Father Death (2)

Welcome to my Billy/Stu retelling of Scream (1996). Stay tuned for additional chapters to be released here! Obviously, I have no affiliation with the franchise. This is free, totally not for profit fan fiction.

Christina Bergling

https://linktr.ee/chrstnabergling

Like my writing? Check out my books!

• Followers – You never know who is on the other side of the screen. Followers is a mystery and thriller that blends women’s fiction with horror.
• The Rest Will Come – Online dating would drive anyone to murder, especially Emma.
• Savages – Two survivors search the ruins for the last strain of humanity. Until the discovery of a baby changes everything.
• The Waning – Locked in a cage, Beatrix must survive to escape or be broken completely.
• Screechers – Mutant monsters and humans collide in the apocalyptic fallout of a burned world. Co-authored with Kevin J. Kennedy.
• Horror Anthologies