Page 251 of Primal

A dead girl in the woods.

I whirl—

And slam into something hot, soft, alive.

“Damn, Red. You tryna knock a bitch out or what?”

Black latex. Killer curves. Her tag gleams in the moonlight: #4.

“Va-Vanessa?”

“Mmmhm.” A pink bubble blooms between plum-stained lips. Pop. “That’s me, baby. Scream Queen Supreme in the flesh. You lookin’ like you just seen a ghost.”

I grab her arm. “He killed her. He killed Jessica.”

“Hold up. Say that again.”

“I saw him. Ghostface. He—” I stop short.

Kristy’s not the only one who snuck in her phone. Vanessa has hers, too—aimed right at me. Hell, is she recording?

“Give me that.” I swipe for it.

She sidesteps, smooth as a cat in six-inch heels. “Uh-uh. This?” She wiggles the phone. “This is premium content, boo. We about to go viral.”

“Call 911. Now.”

“Oh, we callin’ the cops now? Over Mr. Ghostface doin’ his job?”

“He killed Jessica. Killed her. It’s not a prank. She’s dead.”

Vanessa freezes—then bursts out laughing. “Aww, shit. Y’all got me! Okay, that delivery was good, Red. Little shaky on the ‘dead’ part, but I see you. Horror improv, let’s go.”

“This is real.”

She waves me off. “Girl, please. You think they lettin’ some random-ass Ted Bundy sneak in here? This shit’s curated. Scripted. There’s NDAs longer than my lashes.”

“There was so much blood and—”

“Exactly. Premium package, duh. That’s that West Coast FX, babyyy.” She grins at her phone. “You hearin’ this, fam? Red just hit me with a monologue. We got ourselves a Final Girl in the wild.”

Something snaps in the woods. Closer now.

Vanessa gasps. “Oh, shit. That him? Where he at?” She spins toward the trees, flicking her hair. “Y’think he’ll stab me if I ask for a selfie?”

“No! I mean, yes.”

She strikes a pose. “I’m tryin’ to get murdered and moisturized, don’t block my shot.”

“Jessica’s dead.”

“Okay, you sure you ain’t been microdosing?”

“Please … I’m not kidding.”

Vanessa’s bubblegum grin slips. Then she laughs again. “Alright, Red. Let’s say I believe you. There’s a real killer out here, yeah? And he’s dressed like Ghostface?”

“Yes!”