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Chapter 5
"Jenilee, slow down!" Brenda exclaims, trying to understand what her friend is saying on the phone.
"Oh my God Bren! What am I going to do? I feel so guilty!" Jenilee says in a rush of words filled with tears.
"Wait! What's wrong?"
"Ann… She's… She's dead!"
Brenda feels all of the blood in her face drain. "What? That can't be!"
"Brenda it was so terrible! I left to get myself some food and a souvenir and when I was back, Ann was on the ground, dead! No one saw her die!"
"Wait, at the concert?"
"Yes!"
"But how could that have happened with everyone standing around?"
"We were in the last row of our section. No one remembers seeing anyone weird looking and the people next to us said they were too busy screaming and drooling after the boy band to even notice."
"How could anyone not notice someone being murdered?"
"I don't know! All I know is that I need you to come to my house. I'm calling everyone else in our group so that we could be together right now."
"Sure, I will be right there."
"Thanks Bren. I'll see you in a few," Jenilee says before Brenda hangs up the phone.
'First Gail and now Ann? What is happening to our group of forever friends?' Brenda wonders as she starts searching for her car keys, wiping away the free falling tears.
"Brenda? What's wrong?" Brenda's mom asks here, entering Brenda's room.
"Oh Mom!" Brenda says, rushing into her mom's embrace.
"What's wrong sweetie?"
"That was Jenilee. She told me- She told me that Ann was murdered tonight at the concert!"
"Oh my God… You poor thing. Where do you think you are going with those keys right now?"
"To Jenilee's house. The whole group, or what is left of the group, is going over there."
"I'm not letting you go drive in the state you are in right now. Maybe John will take you. He is downstairs, ready to take you out."
"I totally forgot! Thanks Mom, I will beg him to take me to Jenilee's."
"Okay. Just be careful and be strong. I will be here as always if you need to talk."
"Thanks Mom," Brenda whispers as she hugs her mom before heading down the hall and down the stairs to find John.
"Oh John! We need to go to Jenilee's house. I'm sorry but we can't go out. Can you drive me there though?"
"Wait, what happened? Why do you look like you just cried?" John asks, panicked by her tears.
"Cause I did. Ann is dead. Someone killed her at the concert tonight. I'll tell you more in the car. Can we go now?"
"Sure. Come on," John says, wrapping an arm around his girlfriend to guide her out of the house and into his car.
Once at Jenilee's house, he couldn't stand to just let her go in there without him. He had listened to her whole story of what happened to Ann and felt sick that some person could be that cold blooded. "Do you think I can go in with you? I don't want to leave you alone right now."
"Sure you can! Thank you John," Brenda says, kissing him lightly before getting out of the car.
"Brenda!" Melinda yells, just getting out of her car. The two immediately embrace, giving each other some silent support. Melinda pulls away and says, "This is Colin by the way. He came in a while ago but we finally met today."
"Nice to meet you Brenda," Colin says, extending his hand.
Brenda takes his hand and shakes it. "Good to see you too. I wish this could have been a better situation though."
"I understand."
"Why don't we head inside now?" Melinda suggests, grabbing a hold of Colin's hand and leading the group to the door of Jenilee's house.
As they enter, Brenda feels an immediate sense of depression and death fill her senses. 'God, what is happening here?' she wonders, noting that Jenilee is sobbing on the couch with Missy and Phil sitting with her.
"What is Phil doing here?" Melinda asks.
"I don't think it's time to get into that right now Melinda," Brenda warns.
"Of course. I just can't believe he is here. The nerve!"
"Missy probably asked him to come with her. You know how inseparable those two are."
"True. I guess we better join them."
"I think so."
"You made it!" Jenilee exclaims, getting up and giving Brenda and Melinda each a hug.
"I feel so bad for you having to find Ann that way," Melinda says.
"It definitely was something hard to swallow. I still can't believe Ann and Gail are both gone now though."
"I'm sure that you will never forget that boy band concert," Colin says, earning an elbow in his side from Melinda.
Jenilee finally looks at Colin and says, "You must be Colin. I'm sorry that I had to meet you at such a bad time. Why don't all of you come in and sit down?"
Melinda takes the seat farthest from Phil but can't block out the glare he is giving her.
Brenda could feel the immense tension that exists in the room between all those present. 'As if two deaths weren't enough to bury this tension temporarily. What is there to be done about this group? It seems as if we're falling apart, each person either severing a relationship with another or being murdered. Could there be a common killer?'
"It seems to me that there is a common killer," John says from his position next to Brenda on the floor.
"Don't say that John! You'll give me nightmares!" Missy exclaims.
"Well it's true. First Gail dies at a club and now Ann dies at a concert? That's a little too closely related for my comfort."
"John! I mean it! Stop it. Brenda, can't you stop him?"
"He does have a point Missy. The killer could be anyone and there does seem to be a common thing going on. The killer must be within our high school's walls," Brenda says, finally voicing out a fear she has had since John's yearbook teacher was killed.
"But who? Why? How do they figure out who they will target next?" Melinda asks, intrigued and frightened at the same time.
"No one here would know. If he or she did, I would suspect them in an instant," Colin says.
"Well perhaps it's you Colin. You are new to this place and no one here knows much of you. What right do you have talking to us and accusing us like that?" Phil asks.
"I am simply expressing an opinion. What is your problem? Oh, you must be Phil, Melinda's ex. That would explain that coldness you have been exhibiting for the past few minutes."
"Stop! We are here because a dear friend has passed away. Argue about who is Melinda's man later. This is more important, at least to me," Jenilee exclaims, bursting into a new set of tears.
"Jenilee," Brenda says, going over to her friend and giving her a big hug. "Listen, things will be okay. I know this is scary but we have each other."
"Yea, but for how much longer?"
"Don't think that way, any of you. We don't know if this is linked or not. We all need to pull together if we are going to have any chance of surviving this. Perhaps these are just some random incidents. I don't feel that way but it just may be that. We can't conclude anything until something is proven. In the meantime, can everyone please put differences aside?"
Silence fills the room, which Brenda takes as agreement. "Good. Now, what are we going to do?"
"I say we all stick together," Missy says.
"No, that would make us an easy target if someone was going after us," Jenilee argues.
"Wait a minute, who said anything about this killer coming after us? I mean, come on! A teacher was murdered who was unrelated to our group of friends," Brenda objects.
"True. However, she was John's teacher. Maybe the killer is one of us," Phil says.
"I don't like the way you sound Phil," Melinda states.
"What don't you like Melinda? That people could possibly be dying at the hands of people they trust? People that they knew as their friends? I think that is something to dislike even more."
"What the hell is wrong with you? You are suggesting that someone in this room is going around and killing people. Would you like to identify a suspect Phil while you are at it?"
"Simply put, I think everyone here has a motive. Jenilee would like her intelligence to finally be recognized, Brenda was at odds with both Ann and Gail, John would do anything to keep Brenda happy and protected, and Colin, not much is known about him but that he has been around for some unknown amount of days. I think you all could be the killer or killers."
"If your theory is right, shouldn't you be worried about something happening to you tonight?" Brenda asks, angered by what one of her former best friends accused her of.
"Well if something does, it proves that my point is very right. If I do in fact die tonight, Missy will be able to go to the authorities and tell them all about this little discussion of ours."
"I think you just put Missy in harm's way if what you are saying turns out to be correct. Besides, what is to make us believe it isn't you or Missy? I mean, you both have motives."
"That is insane Brenda!" Missy exclaims. "I would never hurt anyone."
"Think back Missy. I can recount many occasions where you countlessly said that you would kill someone for something they did, etc. Just because you haven't been caught doesn't mean that you have gotten away with it."
"What the hell are you talking about? I would never hurt anyone!"
"She's right. Maybe it is in fact you, Brenda. Everyone here can testify that you did not like any of those people who are dead now," Phil accuses.
"You don't know anything Phil. You are one to talk anyway! You are the one that has been caught lying to people and swearing that you are trustworthy. Besides, you were never really friends with our deceased friends so what gives you the right to accuse me of all of these things? You have no right whatsoever!"
"Oh ouch, that really hurt. That defense was so wimpy, it is easy to see now that you are the one who has been going around murdering our friends."
"Our friends? That's ridiculous! Phil, you never belonged to this group. You only became an outsider of it because you were Brenda's friend and we all felt sorry for you!" John exclaims, breaking his attempt of holding in his temper.
"Oh yea? I'm so sure of that one, really. If anyone was accepted out of pity it was you, John. No one saw you as valuable or worthy of attention until you started going out with Brenda. No one would have even given you the time of day, which is shown by how even an easy cheerleader wouldn't accept your invite to a dance!"
"That's enough Phil!" Brenda yells.
"That's it! You are so going down for that!" John exclaims at the same time, making a lunge for Phil.
The two end up wrestling on the ground until Colin, Brenda, and Jenilee pull them apart. John comes out of it with a bleeding nose while Phil has a split lip and is clutching is right eye. "That was your free shot John. Next time, you are dead!" Phil explodes. "Come on Missy, we are out of here. I don't feel like spending my night with losers like him and the rest of this stupid bunch."
"But Phil…"
"Come on!" he says, pulling Missy out of the room and out the door, slamming it behind him.
"John! Are you okay?" Brenda asks, frantically nursing his wound.
"Yes, I'm fine. I always was suspicious of him. He never seemed on the level to me. That just confirms the fact that he is rather untrustworthy and unstable. I am afraid of Missy being alone with him."
"Nothing will happen to her. Phil would never hurt her, right?" Jenilee says, looking around at her friends for reassurance.
"Sure. Although, I did get the feeling he would slap me a few times when we were going out but that's as far as that idea goes," Melinda says. "It would be stupid of him to do that though, since we all can testify that she left with him."
"Do you really think he is the killer?"
"Only God knows the answer to that Jenilee. I only wish that we would find out soon before every single one of us is dead," Brenda comments, trying to get rid of the sickening feeling she was developing in her stomach.