ProfNigma Stories #10: Schneider’s Island #1 free porn video

[Author’s Note: I do want to explain something. As I was writing, I realized that this chapter was going to be extremely dark and painful. It is not for the easily upset. And because of how tough this chapter is, I thought that my planned ending, my true ending, was a bit darker than I felt many readers would want after all that, so I decided to write two. And so you can choose which you want to believe. The 'happier' ending will go along with the story, and then after a break, for those that want to read it, I have the ending I believe is more realistic. Without any further ado, here we go...]

Schneider's Island, 1995

"Are you sure?" Robert Singer said, almost panting as he paced around his cabin, staring at his long-time 'secret' girlfriend, who held a small white plastic stick in her hands. "Those things can be very inaccurate, Sarah."

"That's why I used 3..." she muttered, sinking into his chair. "All came out the same way. Big shiny plus sign."

"Well, you can't..." Singer started, with a huff, realizing what he was actually suggesting. "Steven is going to know it's not his if that baby just suddenly appears. Doesn't take a friggin' math whiz to understand how long 9 months is."

"Plus, he's incapable." Sarah sighed, looking all around the room, which had been her safe haven and an escape from her lonely life when Steven was deployed, when Spencer was just too much to handle. Bobby had been her rock and she couldn't help but love him even though she could never have a future with him. "That's why we got Spencer."

"You know that boy is the spitting image of the two of you," Singer said, taking a seat opposite his girlfriend.

"I know..." she said, standing up to look out the window at the young boy chasing seagulls with some of the locals. "You can thank Steven's late br*ther Keith for that one, but that guy and his wife were assholes so it's probably for the best. I know we should probably tell him the truth one day, but he seems like such a happy k*d. Steven seems set on him being our son, and not ever worry about the truth or anything like that. But deep down, I just don't have that connection with him. I just look at him and see Keith, and I just don't care."

"Surely you don't mean you don't love the k*d after this long?" he said, sitting up straight in the chair to look at her, his mind racing with this development.

"You just implied I need to abort a ch*ld that I actually want, and you want to lecture me about love?!" she suddenly turned on him. "I'm not getting rid of this baby, so you might as well get ready to tell Marissa the truth. I can accept whatever Steven has to say. Maybe we can-"

"No..." he said, coolly, "Marissa's about as barren as it gets, and it would kill her to know that I not only cheated on her, but was having a baby with one of her best friends."

"Then let it kill her. We deserve this," she said, getting in his face. "I deserve this. To be happy. To have a f*mily with the people I love."

"And I'll just sit here and wait for him to come back from duty and put a bullet or 10 in me for sl*eping with his wife?" he said sardonically, throwing his hands in the air. "Either get rid of it, or never talk to me again. That's my ultimatum."

Sarah didn't know what took over her, but she lunged at the partner in her illicit affair, and slapped him as hard as he could, trying to scratch his eyes out, before he finally got her off of him.

"No!" he said, kicking her in the side and rising above her. "Get out, you crazy bitch!"

Sarah simply nodded, her composure returning as Singer watched her grip her side as she struggled to walk toward the door, crushed more by the emotional pain than the soon to be bruise forming just over her k*dneys.

* * *

"Did you ever truly care about him?" Carly asked, not making eye contact with her mother as they stood over her 'br*ther's' body.

"I don't believe so," the woman said coldly. "He wasn't my ch*ld, and I was just expected to treat him like he was when your good for nothing 'father' couldn't even give me one of my own."

"I think I loved him," Carly said, cocking her head to the side. "He practically raised me for half my life. Though I probably took care of him more... he was a good br*ther. That's why he was so much harder than any of the others. I tried to put on the brave confident face you showed me, but killing my br*ther was-."

"But he was not your br*ther," Sarah Shay snapped. "Never was. He only pretended, and that's all anyone has ever done in your 'f*mily'- pretend."

"Except for Freddie," Carly said, with a sigh. "I don't think he was pretending to care about me for so long."

"And look where that got you..." the woman sneered. "You cannot lower yourself to weakness. All Steven and this bastard ch*ld ever did was make you weak, to subjugate you like what they wanted you to be. He served his purpose, and now you need to finish the job."

"Are you ok, mom?" Carly asked, finally looking into her mother's eyes. "I know that escape wasn't necessarily easy. Did Andre-"

"The black k*d didn't embarrass himself, if that's what you're asking. Put up a brave fight... which is more than I can say about most of these overgrown ch*ldren."

"You can thank Jade for that then..." Carly said, rolling her eyes as she said the former Goth’s name. "Every other person she invited I thought might be a potential risk."

"Believe me, I intend to thank her..." her mother said. "Speaking of, we need to talk about Freddie and-"

"SPENCER?!"

The two Shay women froze for a few moments before Carly rushed to the important part of this meeting. "Pretty sure that was Freddie... Look, mom... the Coast Guard is on the way. They got through and we maybe have a couple hours to finish everything up."

Sarah nodded quickly before the two of them headed up the hill and out of sight of whoever it might be that was heading toward Spencer's body.

* * *

"Come on, sweetie... just a little bit further..."

Tori was doing her best to carry Savanna, but after quite a bit of running, the 4 year old had gotten significantly heavier. Now running together with Tori almost dragging the young ch*ld, praying that they would find this boathouse Spencer and Carly mentioned soon.

"But I'm tired... and my legs hurt..." Savanna whined, and while normally Tori would be in control of her emotions and relax the scared and tired girl, this was not one of those times.

Luckily for the small girl, she didn't have to face the fierce Vega temper, as the two finally saw the boat house, tucked on the very edge of the island, and they couldn't help but feel a deep relief that they were on their way to somewhere that was possibly safe. What Tori did not count on, however, was that barrel of a gun that would be pointed right in her face when she arrived.

"Whoa!" the singer exclaimed, as she nearly fell backwards from the scare that the blonde guard gave her, prepared for any threat that might emerge. "Sam?!"

"Oh..." she said, rolling her eyes and raising her weapon. "It's just you two. Get bored at the police station?"

"The lady got out!" Savanna exclaimed, still feeling a bit scared from Sam pointing the gun at her.

"Are you fu..." Sam caught herself, looking at the young girl. "Are you friggin' k*dding me, right now?"

"No ma’am..." Savanna said, hoping Sam wouldn't go off on her like she did the adults.

"I know..." the blonde muttered, looking to Tori for an explanation, but instead turned all the way around and punched a wooden beam in the boathouse. "How the hell did this exactly happen?"

"We don't know..." Tori said, dodging eye contact. "She just burst out. We think someone must be helping her."

"I friggin' knew it!" Sam said, punching the beam again. "Spencer has been in cahoots with the crazy b... witch since day one. I should have-"

"I don't think it was Spencer," Tori said, covering Savanna's ears even though it didn't exactly stop the damage of badmouthing her father. "He and Carly were in the woods together and he gave us directions to come here to you."

"What about Andre?" Sam asked, knowing the answer already, but when Tori offered nothing more than a shrug, the already temperamental blonde became livid. "That's all you can-"

"He held her off while we escaped. I don't know if he's okay or not... but it's thanks to him that Savanna and I made it out of there."

"This bitch has got to die." Sam's eyes were closed now as she sank down to sit on the floor. "Dude was the one decent guy left on this island, and he was sweet and funny, and... and he at least listened to my thoughts on putting that crazed cunt in the ground and-"

"Sam!" Tori said, her eyes wide due to the language, but Sam simply rolled her eyes and prepared to continue.

"HELLO... SCHNEIDER'S ISLAND, DO YOU COPY?" came the radio voice which stopped the blonde's tantrum.

"This is Schneider's," she said, leaping for the radio. "We have an emergency."

"WE KNOW, SCHNEIDER'S. WE ARE STILL FACING WEATHER."

"No," she said, shaking her head. "Things have changed. The killer we captured has gotten loose on the island, and we need you guys to really hurry it up over there. We need all the help we can get."

"ROGER THAT, SCHNEIDER'S. WE WILL SEND MORE LAW ENF*RCEMENT OFFICERS ALONG WITH THE RESCUE TEAM."

Sam sneered at the radio and considered smashing it like the ones in the police station, but she knew they needed it, even if the cops were going to be absolutely useless. Instead she pulled her fist back and slammed it into the same beam of the boathouse, which apparently knocked some-thing loose as the beam began to lurch and creak.

The three young women looked above them, as a large shape began to shift, revealing that it was actually a boat, and suddenly it began to fall to the ground, heading straight for Savanna. Sam managed to move out of the way, but as Tori pulled Savanna away, the bulky boat hit the pop singer's arm and a sickening sound emerged from amidst the dirt and debris created by the crash.

Once it was clear, Sam raced over to Tori, and it only took one look to see that the arm was broken. But Savanna was alright and, maybe it was the adrenaline, or something stronger, but that seemed to still be her only focus.

Once Tori's injury was accounted for, the other elephant in the room became the primary focus- this boat. It had a motor and as far as Sam could tell, it seemed to actually be fairly serviceable, despite only being big enough for a few people. For the first time, in what felt like years for the web sidekick, she felt a true glimmer of hope.

"Girls..." she said, looking Tori and Savanna in the eyes, as if to prep them for what would no doubt contain profanity. "We're getting off this fucking island."

* * *

"Carly?!" Freddie called out. "Spencer?!"

"Freddie..." Jade said, holding close to him with one arm, and holding her dress up with the other as they headed through the woods, trying to make as little noise as possible. "Are you sure we should be making this much noise?"

"We're just trying to find the others," he said, stroking her hair and kissing her forehead, knowing she was scared. "The woman is locked up. I've got my gun just in case someone else tries to kill us. We're ok."

"I know... but someone or something made those noises back at the inn, and I just-"

Jade stopped as she felt Freddie not only stop moving, but begin to pull away from her entirely, his focus honed in on something in the distance. It didn't take more than a few seconds to figure out what he was staring at.

Spencer's body.

"Oh no..." she said, her eyes widening as she moved behind Freddie as he slowly approached his long-time neighbours’ lifeless body. He leaned over to check for any vitals, but Jade pulled him back. "Don't get too close, babe."

"I have to see if he's got any signs of..." Freddie started. "The way we talked... the way I left things with him. The things I said..."

"You can't blame yourself, Freddie..." she said, seeing the tears begin to well up in his eyes. "It's o-"

"Don't you dare just say it's ok," he said, getting on his knees. "It's not. It never will be. I have to live with what I said and did. But mark my words... no one else is going to die here."

* * *

Seattle General Hospital 1996

"And you two are absolutely sure?" Marissa said, looking through the glass at the two babies closest to the window. She couldn't bear to look over at Steven, and she already couldn't bear to even make eye contact with Sarah, wherever she was in the hospital. Ever since she found out that her ex-boyfriend had not only cheated with her, but also fathered her babies, the nurse had a hard time even being around Sarah Shay. "It seems wrong to separate them."

"It doesn't matter what she thinks… I know it's for the best," Steven said, speaking for both him and his wife, whose opinion he really didn't care to bother with. He had seen that she paid for her transgressions, and he felt that she would not break their vows ever again. "We already have Spencer, so I don't need another boy. I don't need a girl either, but Sarah seems to think we should keep one of them. Given how much the boy favours Robert, I believe the choice was simple."

Marissa stared down at the twin babies and was actually surprised how much they looked like each of their parents, and figured it was best for it to happen this way. She sighed as she began to wonder if she would ever tell him the truth about his scumbag father or that his mother was the woman right across the hall. It didn't take her more than a few glances to fall in love with the tiny baby boy, and it didn't take much convincing either for Steven to talk her into formally adopting him right away. She had no idea how Sarah felt, and honestly, she didn't care. It was clear that she wasn't okay with this, but there was this stinging petty feeling inside the nurse that just thought 'Good... let her have to see her son grow up without her.'

"What if they ask questions?"

"Marissa..." Steven said, not losing his stern composure. "The k*ds will only know and believe what we tell them. I've already got a birthday in mind for Carly, my mother's, and she won't know the difference, because we will be the only parents she's ever known. Just like Spencer. Just make up a lie for him and that will be that."

"This just seems... wrong," the nurse said, watching the k*ds interact and hold hands. "I mean, I've already made the preparations, but seeing them now... I just don't know."

"Look," Steven said sternly, turning her body so that he could look into her eyes. "I don't want that k*d. So either you can take him, and I know you want a baby, and you've already fallen for him... or he can get thrown into the system with the rest of the unwanted k*ds. No muss, no fuss..."

Marissa closed her eyes for a moment, gathering her thoughts. "I guess so. But I reserve the right to tell him the truth when he's older."

"Do whatever you want, Marissa. We've been friends for a while, and I know you'll be a good mother, even if you can't seem to move out of that death-trap you call an apartment building over at Bushwell, and that's why I feel like this is the right thing to do." Steven narrowed his eyes, with a deep sneer and pointing his finger at her. "But let me be clear, if I ever see Robert again, I will kill that son of a bitch on sight."

* * *

Up above the grieving couple, Carly and her mother sat and watched them mourn Spencer, silently focused on figuring out the next part of the plan. Sarah knew what she really wanted here, but from the look on Carly's face, she could tell her daughter was beginning to have her doubts.

"Now is the time to act when it comes to splitting those two up permanently," the woman whispered to her daughter. "You know what you have to do if you truly want to be happy."

"I know, mom..." Carly said with a deep sigh. "I guess I was just hoping..."

"As I have taught you, though f*mily is important, love can blind us. Love makes us weak. To be stronger we must destroy the love in our 's no hope for him. I wanted us to be an f*mily, but he's made it abundantly clear he doesn't want that. He just wants her. And so he needs to know suffering..." Sarah's eyes flared with a fiery rage, clearly seeing so much of Singer in their son. "Then we can offer him a choice, but we can't exactly get our hopes up, can we, sweetie?"

"No, mom..." the former web star began to breathe deep, closing her eyes tightly, trying desperately to gain her composure. "I understand now... I will have to kill Freddie."

* * *

Schneider's Island 1997

Sarah Shay ran through the inn, her clothes caked with the blood of a maid that had unfortunately caught her in the act of slitting a rude guest's throat. The maid seemed like a nice enough girl, but there could be no witnesses for what she had planned for each and every person on this is-land. They would feel her pain. Specifically Bobby and Steven.

She knew that the life and rescue boats would be coming soon, but she had no idea that they would arrive so quickly. Silently she cursed herself for waiting until the winter for this, rather than the summer which made it hard to get in and out with all the fog and migrations. There was so much more carnage she wanted to exact on every person here. And she had yet to see that coward of a deputy.

Out the window, however, she saw something even more frustrating. Steven, Spencer, and Carly. Her 'f*mily.' She paused for a moment and saw them racing for the pier. She had planned to make an example out of Steven. To torture him and make him suffer, but as she watched him run with that baby carrier, she knew she didn't stand a chance. He was actually protecting the ch*ld, and she would never stand a chance. This strange moment of clarity caused her to freeze, feeling the sting of regret; not for the killing, but for how badly planned this was. If she wanted to really make people suffer, this was not the way- killing each and every one and then dying in a bloody shootout.

Sarah took a deep breath and knew that her grand scheme wasn't done. She needed to get away from here and out of the way if she ever wanted justice for her suffering. She stared down at the lifeless body of the maid, and quickly gathered her thoughts. She d**g the body down to the incinerator/furnace in the basement, and quickly undressed. Slipping her clothes, as well as all of her identification onto the dead maid, she then loaded her up into the furnace, before grabbing a spare uniform from the storage closet.

The young woman easily slipped into the crowd of frantic islanders, and made her way to the marina. As she walked by she saw Singer and Steven almost side by side, cornering a blood soaked foreigner that had gotten in her way. His wife or girlfriend was dead, but she silently cursed her-self for not finishing the job on him.

She was happily stunned when Bobby unloaded his gun on the European tourist, and that was the end of Sarah's loose end. She raced toward a quickly filling boat of survivors and put on her best scared face, as the boat took off, and she felt completely confident that she'd be back and strike where it would truly hurt them.

* * *

"I don't understand..." Tori exclaimed, trying to figure out how to put the adult life jacket on Savanna with just one hand, and without it negating the entire purpose for it, "why don't you just come with us?"

"Because..." Sam said, annoyed that her conscience was bothering her as she jerked on the cord to start the boat, "Carly and Freddie are both still out there somewhere, and I don't think I could leave, knowing that I abandoned them. Probably did that too much already."

"What about my daddy... or Miss Jade?" Savanna asked, looking helpless in the oversized safety vest.

"Well, if they're around too, then I guess I will help them too."

Tori shot a look of disgust for the way that Sam was talking, right in front of Spencer's daughter, but secretly she hoped Sam would find Jade too as the girls definitely needed to talk. "And you're absolutely sure about this?"

"I'm positive, Tori... and-"

"Then all three of us should stay..." Tori said, defiantly, feeling shame still from the last time she tried to leave the island risking the lives of the others. "It's only right."

"No, it's fucking idiotic is what it is..." Sam said, shaking her head at the newly brave singer. "You both are completely goddamn useless between your broken arm, and... well, Savanna being an actual baby."

"I'm not a baby!" Savanna screamed, clearly showing that this was quite a sore subject for the tyke. "I'm almost five!"

Tori stared at Sam, as if eye contact would change the blonde's mind, but as she ripped the cord one last time, and the engine fired up, the answer became abundantly obvious.

"Tell Jade I'm sorry..." Tori said, praying that she could actually deliver that message.

"Yeah yeah yeah... we all got regrets," Sam said, rolling her eyes and pushing the boat off as far as she reasonably could. The blonde waited for a few moments outside the boathouse taking several deep breaths, praying for their safety as they headed out into the open water, and praying that she had not just made a huge mistake.

* * *

"Carly?!" Freddie shouted, practically running through the woods now. "Carly?! Can you hear me?!"

Jade was doing her best to try and keep up with her fiancée as he rushed through the woods, much more interested in finding his long-time friend and former crush than anything else at the moment.

"We need to just go, Freddie..." Jade said, reaching to touch his shoulder.

"Carly's probably out here looking for Spencer, and she can't..." he stared into Jade's eyes, his distress so clear, it was almost haunting. "I can't just let her find him... not like that. She's gotta be out here looking for him and-"

"He's dead, Freddie!" Jade said, almost slapping him to make him face reality. "Whether she finds him or not doesn't change the fact that he's dead and we need to get the fuck out of here if that psycho bitch is back on the loose."

"But-"

"Look..." she said calmly, her temper starting to wither. "Let's just head back to the boathouse. Carly knows the way and she might have gone there looking for him. I'd just feel safer there."

Freddie really wanted to argue and keep searching, but he couldn't. She was right... "Alright... let's go to the boathouse. Worst case scenario, we can just wait for the others there."

* * *

"Coast Guard, do you copy? This is Schneider's Island..." Sam said into the microphone, silently cursing herself for not going with Tori and Savanna still. "Coast Guard, Coast Guard, do you copy?"

"COAST GUARD HERE, SCHNEIDER'S."

"Still pretty urgent you guys get here, but there's a small boat on the... west side of the island. Two of our injured are in there."

"ANY CRITICAL INJURIES, SCHNEIDER'S?"

"Nothing critical," Sam said, still shaking her head, and so, so focused on the conversation, she didn't even notice that she was no longer alone in the boathouse. "One's a small k*d, and the other has a broken arm. Two females."

Carly slowly slipped the knife from her pocket, ready to make this go as quick as possible, but hearing that Sam had gotten Tori and Savanna out completely complicated things. The former web star had to think fast if her plan was going to work out.

"ALRIGHT, SCHNEIDER'S WE'LL BE ON THE LOOKOUT."

"Thank God," the blonde said, rolling her eyes, and turning around slowly, just in time to see that she wasn't alone. "What the shit, Carls?!"

"Sorry, I-"

"WHAT WAS THAT, SCHNEIDER'S?"

"Sorry," Sam said into the small receiver. "Another survivor here, Carly Shay, snuck up on me. Was still holding the button down. My bad."

"Did I hear that Savanna and Tori were able to get away?" Carly asked innocently and inquisitively.

"Yeah..." the blonde said, tucking her hair behind her ear and putting her gun against the wall behind her. "Found an old boat, and after hearing that psycho bitch was out, I thought it was best. I told you guys we needed to put a fucking bullet in her brain and be done with this."

Carly put on her best stunned face at this revelation. "What?! How did she get out?!"

"I don't know, but I..." the former sidekick paused for a second, and thought back to what Tori had said about running into Spencer and Carly after they had escaped the police station. "I thought-"

"Why didn't you go off with them, Sam?" Carly interrupted, hoping to distract her from whatever info she had rattling around in her already practically empty head thanks to booze and depression, since she was so easily to get off topic. "If she is loose, why not get in the boat with them? Was there not room?"

"There was, but... I mean..." Sam said, shaking off whatever thought she had going beforehand. "Someone had to stay here with the radio... and in case you or the others needed any help. You are my best friend, you know, Carly."

"That has to be..." Carly said, offering an almost smile as she spoke, her eyes narrowing a bit, "the single dumbest thing you have ever done, Sam."

Carly delivered a soft punch to the blonde's shoulder, which threw her 'best friend' off a bit, unnerved by how calm, and almost a bit giddy, the dark haired girl had become.

"Carly, what-"

"SCHNEIDER'S, DO YOU COPY?"

"Yes, we do," Sam said, leaping toward the radio. "What's up?"

"MISS PUCKETT, WE HAVE A CHOPPER ON THE WAY TO PICK YOU GUYS UP, AND ANOTHER BOAT COMING IN SHORTLY AFTER. I'D SAY ABOUT AN HOUR OUT, POSSIBLY LESS."

"Fuckin' A," Sam said, now grinning ear to ear. "That's great."

"YOU NEED TO TAKE MISS SHAY, AND THE OTHERS TO THE MARINA WHEN THE CHOPPER LANDS THERE."

Unbeknownst to the suddenly happy blonde, Carly was going over the blonde's gun, and quickly swapped her gun for Sam's, putting it right back into its spot.

"Sounds great, Coast Guard. Thanks," Sam said, putting the receiver down, feeling unbridled hope throughout her entire body, but she still felt a strong pang in her gut. "Where's Spencer?"

"I don't know..." Carly said, taking a seat near the door. "We got split up in the woods when we were on our way back. I was kinda hoping he came back here."

"Well, if the bitch is on the loose, and your br*ther is missing too, than it doesn't take a genius to see the bad fucking juju that I, once again, warned you guys about." Sam took a second to find her gun again. "First thing's first, we need to find Spencer, and as soon as we do, we find the others and let them know the update."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Carly said, following her 'best friend' out of the boathouse, carefully planning when to make her next move.

* * *

"Spencer?!" Carly called out, slinking behind Sam. "Jade?! Freddie?!"

"Can anyone hear us?!" Sam called out, but still they were getting absolutely nothing for a response back after nearly 10 minutes of walking. "This is a waste of time..."

"No, it's not..." Carly said, her friend unable to see her slight smirk. "I just can't quite figure out how she could have gotten loose after all that rope and putting her in the cell."

"Hell if I know..." Sam mumbled with a slight shrug, raising her gun at anything and everything that moved, ready to fire the moment that woman entered her sights.

"Maybe you guys were right and she was getting help from someone in the group," Carly said, beginning to just chatter at this point. "Maybe they let her out."

"Yeah..." Sam said, not even attempting to look at Carly as she spoke. "I've been giving that some real thought. I don't really know if it could have been Spencer since he was never near her or her cell. I mean... I don't think he even saw the bitch."

"What if she had a k*d..." Carly said, almost taunting the blonde with the idea. "She looked old enough to have a grown up k*d."

"If she had a k*d, they'd have to be a fuckin' ghost..." she fired back. "That's only way they slipped through all the group and let her ass out."

"Or maybe they're someone inside the group." Carly said, just waiting for Sam to catch on so she could put an end to this. "Hell, I tied her up with you guys... maybe I slipped her something to set her free."

"Whatever, Carly..." Sam rolled her eyes. "Fine... let's say, hypothetically, you're right and she has a k*d. They'd have to be as fucked as her... and we'd have noticed; a fucked up and twisted piece of shit like that."

"Maybe they aren't crazy or anything like that... maybe they are just angry," the former web star said, her smile nearly evident in her voice. "I mean... if your mom was a murderer, and you were lied to about her your whole life... that would make you pretty mad. I'd be pissed."

"Give me a goddamn break, Carly," Sam said, now fully turned around for a moment. "We have just sat here for the last week watching every single person that we care about and love be murdered by some psychopath. We have a fucking reason to be pissed. Not some whiny little bitch momma's boy or girl."

"I don't know about that, Sam... all those lies and secrets about their mom, and a father who doesn't even know she exists, and being stuck with people who never really wanted her... or him... all that is enough to make someone go crazy. And if one day, the mom showed up and shined a light on this huge conspiracy, exposing the truth behind everyone's lies. If that were me, I'd certainly help get some revenge, and-"

"Can you fucking shut up with this shit?" Sam asked, looking back again, her eyes narrowed, showing that she was clearly done with Carly's word vomit. "You're freaking me the hell out, Carls."

"Sorry," the former web star said, almost in a monotone. "I guess I talk when I get nervous. I'll stop..."

* * *

"Where is everyone?!" Jade said, after she and Freddie burst through the boathouse door, utterly shocked the place was completely empty.

"I don't know..." he said softly. "Sam was supposed to stay here with the radio."

"And Spencer and Carly should have been back by now with the others," she finished. "I don't like this, baby..."

"Me either, Jade," he said, taking her hand. "But something happened here. That big thing blocking the roof is gone, for one. Plus, it looks like something big was dragged from in here."

"You don't think it was a body... or bodies, do you?"

"I don't think so," he said, getting on his knee. "There's no blood or anything. But whatever was dragged was big... bigger than a person for sure. Maybe a boat."

"You should try the radio..." Jade said, taking a seat near the door, still holding her dress above her feet so it wouldn't be damaged. "They may have sent out an update or something. Maybe Sam contacted them before she left with a boat."

"Whoa," Freddie said, his eyebrow raised. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. I would like to believe Sam wouldn't just bolt with a boat like that."

"But we can't rule it out," Jade shot back, her clear disdain for the blonde abundantly obvious.

"Hello..." Freddie said, grabbing the receiver on the radio. "Can anyone hear me... this is Schneider's Island."

"COAST GUARD HERE, SCHNEIDER'S. DO YOU HAVE AN UPDATE?"

"Actually, I was hoping you could help us with that," Freddie said, holding his breath for good news. "We got to the radio, and there's no one here."

"I TOLD THE OTHERS, SAMANTHA PUCKETT AND CARLY SHAY, THAT WE WOULD BE THERE SOON. ABOUT 30 MINUTES NOW. AND TO MEET AT THE MARINA. THEY MAY HAVE ALREADY LEFT. WE ALSO RECEIVED A REPORT THAT A BOAT WAS OUT THERE WITH TWO PASSENGERS."

"Thanks..." Freddie said, feeling a sense of relief that help was on the way, but with Tori, Andre, and Savanna still unaccounted for, there were still a number of issues. There was also the thought that Sam and Carly might be the ones in the boat, but why would they go if they knew help was this close? "We'll see you at the marina then..."

"We should make our way over there..." Jade said, trying to remember exactly where they were. "It could take a while to get to the marina. Maybe the others will be waiting there."

"Maybe..." Freddie nodded, as he pointed the way toward the door, grabbing a couple flares before he headed out the door. "I was feeling good but after seeing Spencer... I just can't help but feel like this isn't over yet."

* * *

"We should head by the sheriff's station," Sam said with a heavy sigh, feeling like she knew the answer. "Spencer might have gone there once you guys split up. Maybe to see if Andre's still there. He could help us."

"I doubt it," Carly said sardonically. "Andre's dead."

"You don't know that Carly," the blonde said, clinging to the hope he might still be ok. "I heard he fought the woman... there's a chance he could have made it and-"

"No... He’s definitely dead," Carly said with certainty, almost as if she was answering a question in class. "Spencer too."

"Look," Sam said, stopping short, her teeth gritted tight as she faced her friend, "I get that you're scared and things seem a bit hopeless, but this dark shit needs to seriously stop. You have no idea who is alive and dead right now, especially since you couldn't find Spencer."

"Actually, I do," Carly said with a smile. "I know he's dead because I killed him. I also killed that weird teacher."

"Carls..." the blonde reeled back in horror, still clinging to the idea that this was all some sick joke. "What are you doing?"

"I'm starting a new life, Sam," she said calmly, pulling her knife from her pocket. "A life free of all the binding lies that have kept me burdened and trapped in this life. And as my oldest, and closest friend... you deserve to know the truth before you die."

"What?"

"To be fair, I've only killed a few people. Some meaningless folks back home mostly, but there have been a few here. My mom did most of the heavy lifting... or killing, I guess I should say. Though she did lift a lot of-"

"Carly!" Sam said, feeling tears well up in her eyes. "We've been friends since we were out of diapers. Whatever this is, you don't have to-"

"But I do have to, Sam... That’s what sucks." Carly revealed the knife to her friend, toying with it, sliding her fingers across the blade. "To get what I truly want, I have to do all of this. And that includes killing you, I'm afraid."

"Don't..." Sam said, raising the gun, finger trembling on the trigger. "Don't make me do this... All this death... this isn't you."

"But you're wrong... and you're not going to shoot me," Carly smiled as she spoke, as if this was about a newfound religion. "I know all about death. I killed that psychic bitch to show her what real Death card looks and feels like. I rigged the bomb that killed Gibby too. And it should have taken out that slut of a s*ster-in-law too, but mom was more than happy to finish the job on Amy."

"No... you-"

"I knocked out that spoiled cunt Trina, and I almost got Jade in the pool that night too, but, of course... no luck there."

"Stop!" Sam screamed, her arms shaking as she prepared to shoot her friend. "If you don't want me to put buckshot in you... you need to stop right now."

"You remember that weird gangly k*d with the glasses and blonde curly hair? From Hollywood Arts? Little shit figured it out, snuck here, and..." Carly started laughing, as if the funniest joke in the world had just hit her. "And before he could tell literally anyone, I snuffed the life right out of him. It was a great moment."

"You're insane..." Sam said, pointing the gun at Carly's face and winced as she fired it.

And nothing happened.

"Told you..." Carly said, waving her finger as if to say 'tsk tsk tsk' before pointing at her own shotgun. "Can't exactly fire a gun without any ammunition. Guns are weird like that."

Sam shook from fear and rage that was filling her body, flipping the gun to use like a bat, and after a swing that missed, Carly smiled, looking past the on-edge blonde.

"Hey, mom."

"Seriously?" Sam said, shaking the shotgun like she was up at bat.

"You might want to turn around, Sam," Carly said, pointing with her knife. "The Slasher is right behind you."

"You think I'm stupid enough to fall for that?"

"I think she does." Sam's eyes widened, as she realized who that voice belonged to. "And you missed your one chance to leave... so you're pretty fucking stupid, I'd say."

Her reflexes going into overdrive, Sam swung the gun behind her hitting Sarah squarely in the chest, but before she could turn around, she felt a sharp pain in her lower back. Her strength slowly felt like it was leaving her body and the pain was excruciating. This doubled when Sarah re-gained her composure and shoved her own knife right into the blonde's chest.

As the life slowly drained from the blonde she heard her best friend, and most trusted ally in all her life, whisper something into her ear as blood poured from her mouth.

"You never should have fucked Freddie..." Carly pulled her soon to be lifeless friend closer, gritting her teeth. "He was all mine. We were supposed to be each other's firsts…"

Pulling their respective blades up a few inches, and then out from her body, the two Shay women looked down as Sam's body crumpled to the dirt below.

"You did great, honey..." Sarah said, stroking her daughter's hair. "The look on her face when she realized the truth is what true beauty looks like. Fear and regret."

"She made it easier than it was with Spencer for sure," Carly said, pushing Sam's body toward the slanted hill with her foot. "But I guess it's time for the big finale."

Sarah nodded and ran towards their destination, as Carly loaded the shotgun Sam had dropped before firing it into the sky twice.

* * *

"The shots...They came from that way!" Freddie said, almost dragging Jade along with him toward the sound of the gunfire. Both of them were beyond exhausted and an escape on the way was the light at the end of the tunnel they just couldn't seem to capture.

"What if she has the gun? What if this is a trap?" Jade said, clinging to Freddie praying that this nightmare might finally come to an end. "Wouldn't be the first time we were led somewhere just for that psycho to try and kill us."

"Maybe," he said, confidently. "But we have a gun too. And if it was Sam or Carly or anyone else, I don't think I could risk not coming to their aid."

"One of these days, Benson," Jade said, using his last name to show her annoyance, "your good Samaritan bullshit is going to get us killed."

As they ran, they tried to pay close attention, but as they rushed down a path, they came face to face with the butt of a gun. Freddie pulled Jade out of the way as the weapon slammed against his shoulder.

"Freddie?!" Carly exclaimed, seemingly horrified that she had hit him. "Ohmygod, I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine, I-"

"And why exactly are you swinging at us, Shay?" Jade asked giving Carly an intense glare.

"I saw the woman... I think she got free or something. I shot at her, but I missed."

"Fucking useless..."

"Jade," Freddie said, rubbing his shoulder while he gave a stern look to the former Goth "I'm glad we found you, Carly. We were starting to get worried we were the only ones left."

"Yeah, I can't find Sam or Spencer anywhere. Do you think they're at the boathouse?"

"Carly, I..." Freddie said, a lump growing in his throat. "I don't know how to tell you this but... Spencer. He's... gone. We found his body in the woods about half a mile from here."

"What?!" Carly said, falling to her knees, burying her face in her hands. "How? He was... We were only splitting up so he could check on Savanna... have you seen her? Does she know?"

"I don't know..." he said, rubbing her back and neck, unsure how exactly to comfort her. She was always the better person when it came to com-forting. "We haven't seen or heard from her either and-"

"I want you to take me to him," Carly said flatly. "I need to see him."

"Carly," Jade said, "you really don't-"

"I do. Please," she gave Freddie a pleading and desperate look, "for me."

Freddie looked at his former love then back to his current, and future, one looking for her thoughts, but Jade simply threw her hands up and shrugged.

"Alright..." Freddie said, offering his hand to help Carly up. "We'll go, but I'm telling you that you don't need to see this, and secondly, if you can't hit anything with it, just give Jade your gun."

Carly easily relinquished the empty shotgun to Jade knowing it was useless, hiding her happiness that this plan was going pretty well so far.

* * *

"He's right up here, Carls," Freddie said, grabbing her hand to warn her once again. "But really, take it from someone who saw both his parents killed in the last week, you don't want to see it. You can never unsee it."

"I know," she said back, and Jade couldn't help but feel like deep down, Carly didn't seem as affected by this as she should have been. "Where up here?"

Freddie began to point and speak, but he was instantly taken aback when he saw what was in the path: nothing. Spencer's body was gone.

"He was..." Freddie said, rushing ahead to the spot where his former neighbour’s body had lain. There were clear drag marks, and the blood was still there, so it was obvious he had been moved somewhere. "He was right here..."

"Then maybe he's ok," Carly said, hopeful. "Maybe he crawled to safety and you just didn't make sure he was dead."

"Carly, we checked," Jade said. "He was cold, and he was gone."

"How dare you say that?!" the former web star said, jumping into Jade's face. "He's my br*ther, and he might be ok. He has always been there for me, and been supportive and taken care of me. I'm sorry your parents are dead, but don't just assume everyone else is too because of that."

"Whoa," Freddie said, getting between them. "Look, Carly, I get it. But we both checked, and I hate it more than anything. Spencer was a good guy, but he's dead."

"Whatever..." Carly said, still showing that she was unwilling to face the truth, even though she knew the whole situation intimately. "Even if he is... gone... we should still follow these tracks and drag marks. We have to find him."

"What about Sam?" Freddie asked, with a sigh as he really didn't want to chase a ghost here and would prefer to focus on the living.

"Haven't seen her since we were all at the boat house," Carly fired back, moving ahead of the two of them. "I guess she's still back there at the radio. After this, we should go talk to her."

"Well, she's not there anymore," Jade said, feeling a pang in her gut that this felt wrong. "The place was empty when we got there..."

"Huh..." Carly said, not even looking back as she narrowed her focus on the trail. "It looks like this path leads to the church, guys."

While the web star strode forward, Jade pulled Freddie back a bit so they could talk.

"This doesn't feel right, babe..." she whispered.

"I know..." he fired back, "but Carly really wants to see her br*ther and get closure. We just need to be ready for what's probably a trap."

"Not about that," his fiancée replied. "It makes no sense why Carly and Spencer would split up in the first place. No matter how safe it seemed with the woman caught... splitting up is just stupid."

Freddie began to respond, but as he watched Carly enter the church, he quickly realized he didn't exactly have an answer for that concern.

"I never would have left you like that. No one would leave someone they cared about all alone in the woods like she did."

"Shhh..." Freddie said as they approached the door, not wanting Carly to be made aware of Jade's suspicions. "Let's just keep an eye out. But I don't think you're wrong that this feels off."

Freddie really didn't have to shush his fiancée to silence her once they entered the church as that job was done almost immediately. The two of them stared in horror at the sight hanging just above the pulpit, where Carly, standing in the center of the church now, was frozen in place staring as well.

Spencer's body had been hung like Christ, arms spread with hands bound to the cross's arms, with nails through them. His bare feet also had been stabbed through to keep him in place apparently. What was truly horrifying, however, were the even larger nails through each of his eyes. The flickering candles beneath him offered a terrible vision of true horror.

"Spencer!" Carly called out, dropping to her knees, knowing full well he couldn't hear her, but she tried her best to put on a show of tragic agony, and while most of it was acting, she really was surprised at how fast her mother had gotten the body posed like that. "Noooo!"

Freddie instinctively moved behind his long-time friend to comfort her, placing his hand on her shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Carly... I didn't want you to see him, and certainly to never see anything like this."

"I... I..." Carly bawled, placing her on hand on top of Freddie's, almost offering a half-smile at his comforting touch. "This is terrible."

Jade had kept her distance, planting herself by the door, knowing that something felt very wrong about this entire ordeal, but she could only pray that she was wrong, and that Freddie was right to trust Carly. A small chill shot up her spine, as if she had some extrasensory alert, and she swiftly moved left, unsure of the reason.

Her fears were well validated when a large knife narrowly missed her as the woman lunged from a side closet of the church. Jade attempted to scream, but the woman recovered from the miss and pushed the almost bride back into a hard wooden pew, knocking the air from her lungs. She recovered fast and began to rush the woman to wrestle her, knocking the woman so hard into an opposite pew that it cracked and fell with their combined weight and f*rce.

The commotion alerted Freddie almost instantly and the former tech producer left Carly to join the fight against their enemy, but before he could he felt an arm jerk on his.

"You can't!" Carly said, pulling him toward her as she got up. "You can't fight her, or she'll kill you both."

"The hell I can't!" Freddie shouted, pulling from Carly and jumping into the fray.

Freddie knew there was not time to waste to save Jade, and while he knew she could take care of herself pretty well, there was no way he was going to risk her life on that confidence. Especially when it involved the life inside her in such danger.

He lunged at the woman who was getting back on her feet and quickly smashed her up against the wall. But in his f*rce, he missed the woman's knife and took a bad slice to his left arm.

"Run!" he called out to Jade and Carly, as he tried to keep the woman in place with his one strong arm. "You have to-"

WHUMP WHUMP WHUMP WHUMP

The four of them suddenly froze as the sound rang out overhead, almost vibrating the building, signalling that the helicopter must be about to land on the island.

"That must be the Coast Guard!" Jade shouted out, getting her bearings back on her feet. She looked Freddie in the eyes as he tried to wrestle the woman into place as everything just stood still for a few moments. She knew he could see the hurt in her eyes, but the look in his told her that he was okay with this. Taking a breath to tell her that she was doing what she had to, Jade took off out the other side of the church.

"Carly!" the woman screamed at the stunned former web star, pushing a stunned Freddie off her and onto the ground. "She's going to get away!"

Carly suddenly snapped out of whatever funk she was in, and shook her head before rushing after Jade.

The horror of the situation hit Freddie like a ton of bricks. Carly, he thought, she was in on this all along. One of, if not the one, his most trusted friends. She did all this. It was as if something inside the long-time nerd just snapped completely and he completely lost himself to his rage.

Freddie grabbed a flare from his coat and struck it, lighting the darkened church once more. He slammed the lit flare into the surprised stomach of the woman, pushing to keep it there as he could smell her flesh burning.

The woman screamed like she'd just been possessed, and wildly swung at him to get the burning off of her, and after several struggled shots, she finally landed one and knocked the flare from his hand, sending it toward the table with the candles.

Now weapon less once more, Freddie tried to get up on his feet, but the woman was too quick and mounted him, ready to drive the knife into this throat.

Freddie managed to get a leg in place and launched the woman back several feet with a leg thrust, upsetting her balance and giving him a chance to regain his footing. It was at this moment, he finally noticed that the church was now on fire. The flare was completely engulfed now so he grabbed the closest thing to him, a Bible, and prepared to beat the woman with it, but a shout from behind him stopped him cold.

"Stop!"

Both Freddie and the woman stopped and looked toward the fiery front of the church where Carly stood with the shotgun in hand. The woman smiled at her daughter as she swiftly came behind Freddie with the knife at his throat.

Carly squeezed her eyes closed, hearing their voices, but all of it drowned out by the choice that she had to make. With a deep sigh, she threw her eyes open and fired.

* * *

Seattle 2010

"I can't believe this is happening..." Freddie said, taking a deep breath as he took in all that Carly had to offer. His body may have been killing him from the taco truck incident, but this... this was something truly magical. The girl he had spent years pining for, after being shut down, emotionally abused, and kept from her by Sam and his mother, was now inches from his face with lips that cried out to be kissed more. He shocked himself a couple times just to make sure this was truly real. "Wow," he smiled, never wanting to lose the taste of her lip gloss from his own, "this really is happening."

"It sure is," she said, leaning closer to him. "You want it to happen again?"

"Right now?" Freddie asked, panicking that his mom wasn't around, and what that kind of freedom entailed.

"Oh yeah," the web star said practically purring. "Right here, right now."

Their lips softly met once more, savouring the moment and tasting each other, and both were amazed and how good and how right this felt. He shifted upwards a bit to sit up so that she wasn't leaning down as she began to straddle his waist, not wanting to hurt him in any way.

Carly's body felt like it was on fire, and she wondered if kissing Freddie was this amazing, what would sex be like once they were married. Freddie's mind went to the same basic place, but with his ramped up hormones, he wasn't exactly focusing on the wedding being the time or place for their first carnal encounter.

His free hand moved up her back as the kissing intensified, and as his fingers moved across the impression of her bra through her shirt, he began to fantasize about what might be underneath. No longer was his mind on the kissing, as his body was just automatically taking care of that activity, and all her wanted to do was to make Carly his forever.

As Carly ground into the 15 year old, she began to feel a build-up of her own, and the stiffening happening near where she was planted did little to shake her body's desires.

"Hang on..." he said, pulling from her lips so that he could look her in the eyes. As his eyes truly saw her, her dark hair hanging down, seemingly dishevelled from how into the make out session she was, he silently cursed himself for interrupting. "This is getting..."

"It's too much..." she completed, looking down and feeling a bit of shame before trying to climb off him. "You're not into this like-

"No..." he said, trying to keep her there. "It's not that I'm not into this. Because clearly I am very into this. I just... I don't want things to happen too fast and just being with you like this is just... it’s too perfect, and I don't want something to happen that we might regret."

"You think you'd regret me if we..." Carly said, unsure of the words to say here.

"No." Freddie looked her in her beautiful brown eyes and saw the innocence and the desire battling in her mind, and knowing the same thing was happening to him. "We're just young, and I just don't want us to do anything we aren't ready for. We have time for that. We can have plenty of time for anything and everything together. Rest of our lives maybe..."

Carly smiled at him, and felt a tear building up. She leaned down and kissed him softly and innocently. "Fine... we can just lay here and kiss... nothing else..."

The way she said it, almost sounded like it was to taunt him, but Freddie shook his head. "Let's just enjoy what we have... to have exactly what we've always wanted."

Carly leaned down one last time before climbing off his lap and whispered something into his ear, which made him grin before gripping her waist with his one good hand.

"I've never wanted anything more," he whispered back kissing her lips once more as the two began to drift into a blissful, but fairly innocent kissing session, unaware that this moment was going to change everything.

* * *

After a quick sprint, Jade had lit her flare as well, but thanks to the thick trees and a terrible sense of direction, she wasn't having much luck at all signalling the chopper or finding the best way back to the marina. It didn't help that every fibre of her being wanted her to go back to the church, but she knew she couldn't. Freddie gave himself up for her and it would be a waste of his sacrifice... if something did happen. She had to keep telling herself that he was alright- that he was strong and smarter than anyone she'd ever met- and that he'd be meeting her soon at the marina. But when she heard that gunshot a few minutes before her fears and hopes reached a breaking point.

"Jade!"

The former Goth suddenly spun around to see Carly running down the hill after her. Jade had no idea what to make of this but she seemed like she was ok... but she was also alone.

"Where's Freddie?" she quickly asked her suspicious wedding planner.

"I'm... sorry," Carly managed, offering her strongest acting ever displaying layers of sympathy. "She got him... I tried to save him but I wasn't strong enough to. He told me to run."

"Yeah..." was all Jade could say, her tears long used up, and knowing that she would grieve as soon as her and the baby were safe again. "We just need to those helicopters."

"Any idea where we're supposed to meet them?" Carly asked, making Jade's hair stand on end.

She should know that... Jade thought. The radio mentioned her by name as being with Sam when the instructions came through. Her mind flashed back through the last week and she suddenly realized that Carly wasn't still here by accident.

"The marina..." she said slowly, seeing Carly pull a knife from her pocket, feeling the slow horror that she was about to be attacked.

"Get down," Carly screamed out, pushing Jade out of the way as the woman rushed her, and Carly winced as she drove her knife up through the chin of her mother, who was bleeding profusely from her new gunshot wound and the deep burns on her stomach. The woman looked completely stunned by her daughter's actions and shook violently before she hit the ground with a hard thud.

As Jade looked at the scene in horror, she finally saw the Shay women side by side, and everything just clicked, and there was no denying the truth of the situation now.

"You... it was you..." Jade said, backing away from Carly as she withdrew the knife and stared at Jade with a look that simultaneously showed menace and sympathy. "All of this... it was you... and that was your... mom?"

"Shh..." Carly said, putting the knife to her lips. "It's all over now. You don't have to fight anymore."

"Fuck that!" Jade screamed as she threw the flare at Carly and turned around, attempting to run from the former web star. She made it nearly 50 feet before her dress betrayed her, and she began to trip, luckily catching her balance on a nearby tree.

This was not completely fortuitous though as she quickly felt a pair of hands on her head and before she could struggle they thrust her head for-ward into the hardened bark, dropping the bride-to-be.

The last thing Jade saw as things started to go dark was the image of a white helicopter overhead, moving as if it was in slow motion.

* * *

Tori Vega had no idea how long she'd been sitting in the small white office of the Coast Guard. Her sense of time had been completely broken by this entire experience, as well as her memory. Savanna sat beside her, chowing down on donuts and orange juice from a nearby table. Tori barely remembered the girl being out of her sight, much less getting a pile of food. She still hadn't eaten, her stomach seemingly disappeared in the last couple days, and anytime she even thought of food, the images of her friends' fates appeared in her mind, and eating was out of the question.

"Excuse me, Miss Vega?"

Tori hadn't even noticed the door opening, and if the man in the doorway hadn't have spoken, she still might not have. "I'm sorry... yes?"

"My name is Agent Dunn, and this is Agent Mills," the well-dressed man said, pointing to the younger woman standing behind him. "We're from the FBI. And we'd like to ask you a few questions."

"I like questions!" Savanna said, clearly riding a sugar high "Did you find anyone else?"

"Could I borrow Savanna for a few minutes, the female agent said sweetly, but there was a clear look of trouble on her face. "We just need to have a talk about everything, and I'm not sure if she needs to be in here for this next part."

"I'm right here," the young girl said, earning a slight smirk from the two agents, but Tori was beyond a sense of humour and just nodded.

"Sure," she said, reaching to give the girl a quick hug before she joined the female agent in the hallway.

"He's gonna tell you everyone else is dead, Miss Tori," Savanna said with a sigh before taking Agent Mills' hand.

"Alright," Dunn said, closing the door behind them and shaking his head, placing a thick manila folder on the table. "Now, if-"

"Is she right?!" Tori exclaimed, a fire in her eyes, but the man offered no response to the question. "What about Jade, or Savanna's father?"

Instead, he opened the folder to retrieve a picture of a smouldering building that Tori quickly identified as the church. "This church was burning down when our people got there, and we found some bodies, but we're waiting on DNA to be sure about our findings and-"

"Just tell me..." Tori said, feeling her stomach twist up into an excruciating Gordian knot.

"We believe we found the bodies of Spencer and Carly Shay as well as Freddie Benson, and unfortunately, yes... Jade West as well, in the fire, but like I said they were badly burned." The agent cycled through various pictures of her friends, clearly pulled off Slap and other social media sites. "We've also discovered the bodies of over 20 other people, most of which belonged to your wedding group, throughout the woods."

Tori's eyes widened, and her head began to feel adrift in a sea of thoughts that she wasn't even able to comprehend at this moment. She took a deep gulp and looked the agent in the eyes, "So, were there any survivors?"

"The best we can tell so far, with the exception of some locals who have been stranded out to sea for the last couple days on defective or tampered boats," Dunn reached out and put the pictures back into the folder, "you and that little girl in there are the only survivors of Schneider's Is-land."

* * *

Freddie sat up in bed, fresh form a horrifying nightmare, and took several deep breaths, his brain cycling through what he had just been a part of, and when he realized he was comfortable in bed, he released a quick sigh of relief.

"Whew," he said, his eyes shut once more as he gripped the sheets around him. "Thank god that was just..."

His words trailed off, as his senses truly started to return to him. This room didn't smell right. It wasn't his room. Freddie was afraid to open his eyes again for fear of what he might see, but he eventually braved the task. No, this wasn't his room. Not his room at his apartment, or his room at the inn... this was somewhere different. Somewhere new. There was a mirror and a couple big paintings of birds, and a small window.

Pulling back the covers he found himself in nothing but boxers, but a quick scan of his body showed that all the battle scars he had amassed over the last week were in fact still there. In fact, not only were they still there, but they had been treated and bandaged. At first he thought he might be in a hospital... maybe someone found him and got him to a doctor. But this was no medical office or establishment. This was a home. And from the look of it, it was somewhere nice.

Freddie felt his muscles weakened as he attempted to climb out of bed, feeling a sense of atrophy from not moving in a while. His legs were wobbly but after a few minutes of holding himself up by the bed and nearby table, he finally found his balance once more, intense soreness rocketing through his very being. The former tech producer made his wobbly way to the window and peered out, seeing nothing but the vastness of the ocean from it.

He took several deep breaths as he looked around the room, afraid to even speak, for fear of whatever this was. Freddie felt even more concerned when he took a look in the mirror, the strain on his body inevitably clear and he looked like death warmed over. But the really chilling part had to be the folded clothes by the mirror with a note that read:

Freddie, Come downstairs when you're ready.

Freddie knew that handwriting well, and while his first thought was comfort that Carly was taking care of him, the weight of the situation took hold, and he remembered her role in all of this. He checked the clothes over twice before slipping them on, feeling a slight chill from the temperature of the house as much as the emotional tingles.

Opening the door, he faced a small flight of stairs which he carefully descended, but began feeling incredibly woozy with every step that he took until he reached the ground and his nauseous feelings ceased.

The cabin he was in seemed incredibly nice and well furnished. Whoever lived here was certainly well off, and part of him hoped that they were out of town for what had transpired on the island. As he turned around, hearing subtle noises, his feelings of dizziness returned and he found him-self gripping door frames and furniture as he moved around.

Though he was barely on his feet, he was still at the ready, arms up to attack whoever and whatever might be in the house with him. A louder scratching sound led him to a nearby w