(Shoutout to Hollow Oaks! This is draft #12. Sequel to Deadly Assignment and Deadly Meeting.)

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“We need to write down as many details as possible from our stories,” Brielle commands, taking charge because someone has to. And none of them are stepping up.

“Why?” Anette asks, looking at her black painted nails, unimpressed.

Brielle takes a breath. She needs to stay calm and be confident. “If they changed any part of the story, that can lead to clues or hints or something about the person. We can compare them to the actual articles of these events.”

They need to think this through logically. All of them have to work together to find this perpetrator. If they brought their stories to life, who knows what other stories they’ll try to use.

Song hands out notebooks and pencils to each of them. It is quiet for a few minutes. Anette and Ellis were a bit begrudging and would give a huff of annoyance but did it nonetheless.

Her hand aches as she scribbles down important aspects of her story as fast as she can. It’s like her brain is a sieve and she’s afraid all the morsels of information will slip through with each passing second.

Soon her page is filled with her messy cursive. Peeking up from her paper, Song is calmly writing, in probably beautiful print. Her eyebrows scrunch together in complete concentration. Anette looks as though she is attacking the notebook with her wide writing and the pressure of the pencil. Ellis leans back and casually scribbling like it’s a grocery list, not for a teenage investigation.

With the extra time she has, she flips the page over and starts to write down facts that they know.

- they all wrote horror stories for Professor Tark’s class

- the police called them all in after the Warner’s Park attack

- someone would have had to tip off the police to the similarities of Ellis’ story and Warner’s Park attack (possibly Prof. Tark)

- only Ellis’ story is confirmed to have happened

- Officer Minton indicated that the rest of the stories may have happened

- all of them have alibis for the Warner’s Park attack

- the police sees them as suspects

“This person obviously has resources.” Brielle rips her gaze from her paper. Anette does have a point. To mass murder people at an amusement park and get away with it implies there resources. The plan, the weapon, and the getaway.

Ellis’ relaxed stance became rigid in an instant which does not go unnoticed by any of them. “That doesn’t mean it’s a rich person. Just someone with not so good connections. Which is not always people with wealth,” he defends quickly.

“Of course you feel like that,” Anette says with sarcasm deep in her voice. Song opens her mouth but closes it without a single noise. It’s like an angry tennis match between the two. Not something one wants to get in the middle of.

“Excuse me?” Ellis is now ticked off. His notebook slips from his lap as he sits up straight, leaning forward to look Anette in the eye.

She is not one for intimidation. As long as Brielle has ever known her, Anette doesn’t scare. At least not easily. “You’re an Allister,” Anette shoots back like it is the ultimate insult. Brielle isn’t sure what his last name has to do with what she’s saying though.

Song appears to know because she objects, “Anette, you shouldn’t be using that against him.”

The only male in the room ignores Song and addresses Anette’s words. “What’s that supposed to mean? Just because my parents have money means what? Newsflash, I can’t change that.”

It takes her a second to understand the situation. Ellis Allister’s parents own a hotel chain in the area. While she doesn’t care to keep up with the local wealthy people, she does recall hearing about their success before. What shocks her more is Anette’s reaction to it. While Ellis does act a bit macho at times, he doesn’t brag about money.

“That you can take risks,” Anette answers.

“You’re at this college too you know,” Ellis quips. He makes a wide gesture that almost hits Song in the face. She has to lean back as to not be swung at.

Anette scoffs. “Yeah, on scholarship.” That surprises Brielle. She’s also here on scholarship. She had no idea that Anette was too. She always appeared so self assured. Like she was just made for success.

As Song tries to mediate between the two glaring members of this suspect group, Brielle takes the time to retreat in her thoughts. Her notes of all the things that are known leave her with more questions than answers.

One of the bullet points that interests her the most is the one about another one of their stories being carried out. Ellis’ amusement park slasher came true. But what about the rest? Officer Minton indicated at least one of the others also happened.

Taking out her phone, she goes to local news and checks the headlines from the last couple of days. It could be a fruitless search. Now that the police suspect their stories being used, they may not put any details out, but it doesn’t hurt to check.

Most are about Warner’s Park, but one of the titles catches her eye.

HOME INVADERS PICK THE WRONG WOMAN

Clicking on it, she skims the information. A woman faced a home invasion where she killed the people trying to hurt her. Remembering back to when they each announced what they wrote about, it could be Song’s story.

Ellis and Anette have stopped arguing and quietly glowering at one another. Without a single word, she hands her phone to Song.

Song’s eyes rapidly devour the details of the article. Her eyes get wider as she reads.

“Oh god.”

“What?” Brielle asks. There must be something. “Is it your story?”

“Yes. But it’s slightly different.” Song gives Brielle her phone back and whips out her own. She sees that Song sent herself the article from her phone.

With the change of topic, Ellis appears to be a smidge calmer now. “Different how?” Confusion leaks into his voice. Different doesn’t make sense in line with this perpetrator. They followed Ellis’ words like a script.

Why change that with Song?

She appears to know. Brielle can’t describe it any more than to say Song is a living, breathing epiphany. Posture jolted up, eyes wide with disbelief, slacked jaw.

“They don’t know. It isn’t Professor Tark.” Song looks visibly shaken. She can barely hold her phone still as she pours over more and more of the news.

In the other hand, a roll of Anette’s eyes indicates her irritation. “That’s not very helpful Song. Without any context,” she says.

“How do you know? He’s our only suspect right now,” Brielle points out, a bit nicer than Anette. It doesn’t help anyone to be rude to the person with the answers. And Song literally doesn’t do anything that could cause such negative feelings.

She twists her hair in her fingers, making a curl a bit tighter. “Because I wrote a short story for another assignment. Then for this exercise, I wrote a continuation. There are inconsistencies between this article and both my stories. Whoever is using our stories obviously hasn’t read the first part. Because they don’t know there is one.”

A silence blankets over them as they process her words. What does this all mean? Does this eliminate Professor Tark? Since he would have knowledge of both parts of Song’s idea.

“So the Story Snatcher only knows these specific stories,” Ellis summarizes, looking at Song for approval of what he deduced. She nods in agreement.

Brielle squints at Ellis in confusion. “Story Snatcher?” She questions.

He shrugs but grins at his nickname. “Trying to find a cool name for our killer, like in the movies.”

Turning over a page from the notebook, he shows a couple names he was storyboarding. Brielle doesn’t catch any others before he closes it because ‘Story Snatcher’ is the biggest and circled on the paper.

“We are not calling them the Story Snatcher,” Anette deadpans. “It sounds like someone who checked out a book but forgot their library card.”

Even with how absurd and potentially dangerous the situation they are in is, Brielle bursts out laughing at that. Soon, the other three join in and they don’t stop.

They laugh until their have tears coming down from their faces. Anyone passing by the room might hear and think they are nuts. But who cares? It feels good. To not think. Even for a moment.

“Fine, not the Story Snatcher. I’ve got other ideas!”

Brielle wipes the tears that trickled down her cheeks. While this meeting may end with smiles on their faces, she knows what they should do next.

They need to face the only person who for sure had access to their stories. Song’s epiphany may have cast doubt on him, but they need to officially rule him out.

Professor Tark.

Good thing they still have class tomorrow.

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(This is the last draft from the numbers people commented. Thanks to everyone that selected a draft number. It always helps when I have writers block. It forces me to revisit a draft and finish it!)