Slash or Pass (Final Girls)

by Tylor Paige

Don’t talk to anyone. Don’t look back. Just run. “Eisley, we need to go. Get up!” Kansas pleaded and pulled me upright. My bare feet slid in the thick mud of the forest. I was tired, but terrified. I had to listen to Kansas, my only remaining friend, and move. “Run!”

“I’m scared,” I said, as a bright clap of lightning lit up the sky. We’d been in the woods for ages, and with the moment of light, it didn’t look like we’d gotten anywhere. “Kansas, where are we going?” “Anywhere but there. Come on, Eisley, we’re almost out.” Despite his words, he was slowing down too. The strong wind continued to push us back. I tripped and fell, losing my grip. My hands scraped against a fallen log. “Come on, Eisley, please. I can’t leave you.” “Just go. Get somewhere safe.” “No!” He pulled off his suit jacket and tossed it aside. “Here. Take my shoes.” He slid the loafers off his feet.

I knew what he was thinking. We’d already lost Constantine; he couldn’t lose me too.

His glasses were fogged up. I managed to sit upright, and as I always had, I pulled them off his nose and cleaned them as best as I could. While he was only eleven, like me, he always seemed older. Kansas was smart and cunning, and I trusted him with my life. Without him and Constantine, I’d be dead already. I had to get back up. Kansas slid them back over his beautiful sea-green eyes and wiped his salty cheeks. “Come on, we can do this. We’ve got to be close to the town. Someone will be there to help us. We just have to keep moving.”

A loud bang jolted us both. A gunshot. He was coming. “Kansas!” I cried out and reached for his hand again.

“I want to go back.” “We can’t!” True fear shone in Kansas’s eyes. “Eisley, they’ll⁠—” “What about Constantine?” I reached for the necklace I wore around my neck. A thin golden ring with a small diamond hung on it. “We shouldn’t have left him..” Hot tears began to fall down my filthy cheeks. “We need to go back. He’s waiting for us. We need to save him.” He squeezed my shoulders, forcing me to look at him. “Constantine is dead. If we go back, the Minister will do the same to us. Come on.” A loud whistle came from behind us, and we reacted. We stumbled down a hill and onto a road.

He put his arm around my shivering body and pulled me into him. “I saw. It’s okay. None of them can get us anymore. We’re safe. I won’t let them get you.” “And what about Constantine?” Our last moments before we fled the church flooded my vision. Whether I wanted to accept it or not, Kansas was right. Constantine was… “We’re going to make everyone involved pay for what they did to us,” Kansas swore and curled his fingers around my tiny arm. While I wasn’t sure how, I was confident that Kansas was right. One day we would.

“I think your pumpkins give us a whole aesthetic.” I waved over our two plots. Most everyone else was growing vegetables and sunflowers, but not Emi and me. I’d convinced her to grow a small pumpkin patch for October. “We’ve got spooky vibes for days. Your porch is going to look so cute.” “I can’t have spooky vibes. I have a roommate, remember? Soleil would kill me if I did anything but put these on our stoop and add gourds and daises next to them.” “You guys are so basic,” I teased. “Next thing you’re gonna say is you’re headed to Starbucks for some Pumpkin Spice Lattes.”

“What does it do? Is it poisonous?” “It’s not edible, but it can be used for some stuff. Right now, it’s just for the Halloween vibes.” She rolled her eyes. “It’s October first. Calm down, you’ve still got a few weeks.” “Uh, I’m behind on stuff, thank you very much!” I gasped. “For a town named after the woman who wrote Frankenstein, Shelley Vale is painfully basic this year, and I need to start gothing it up before Christmas takes over.”

“Hard pass.” I went back to misting my newest beauty. “I started these in June. Do you remember?” I sighed, admiring the black flower. “I remember. You weren’t sure it’d even bloom. What’s it called again?” “Tacca chantrieri is the scientific name, but it’s most commonly known as the bat flower.”

“Ugh, don’t get all influencer on me. I hate it when you do that.” “What?” I laughed. “I was into this stuff long before I started my business.” “Take a day off, will you? We miss you.” “No, you don’t.” I eyed my friend suspiciously. “You want something. What is it?” “Don’t be mad.” She put her hands up in innocence. “We all decided to sign up for the documentary.”

My stomach dropped, and I blinked rapidly. “What? I thought we agreed⁠—” “I know. I told Soleil how you felt and I was on your side, but then Therese told us they upped the money and⁠—” “Of course they did!” I threw my hands up. “Because who would ...

We’d had this argument several times since May when Shelley Vale announced that a film crew was coming in the fall to shoot a documentary about what happened here ten years ago. The entire idea disgusted me, and m...

“All the victims are dead,” Emi...

Not true. Two escaped. “Whatever. Do what you want.” I dropped my mist bottle into my bag and untied my apron. “Don’t be like this.” She sighed. “It’s over. The crimes are all ten years old, and the Sinister ...

“You shouldn’t make fun of them. They were victims, too.” “Sorry not sorry, but I don’t consider any of the people living inside that underground bunker church thing victims. You’ve seen the videos and books people wrote about him.” I put my hands up to cover my ears. “Yes, yes, and I don’t want to hear about it again.” I zipped my bag up and gave my newest flower one last look. “Look, go for...

“That’s easy for you to say, Miss Half-a-million-followers!” she yelled after me as I stormed off. I turned back to my friend. She was wonderfully kind and caring and supported me when I quit my boring day job last year to try my hand at streaming. This was the only thing we’d ever dis...

Emi threw up her hands. “Soleil and I are barely making rent every month. Her dad cut her off and my parents stopped helping after I quit school last year.” A twinge of guilt seeped into my chest. I knew that. “I get it. I’m sorry for making you feel shitty.” Emi hurried over to me and looped her arm through mine. “Thank you. I knew you’d understand. I’ve been pulling double duty at the bait and tackle store for tw...

I pointed my keys at my car. “Can’t. Kansas is coming to visit this weekend. I need to get my place ready.”

“Isn’t he the one you used to date? The one in all those pictures in your living room?” My face flamed and I looked away guiltily. “Yes and no. Kind of. I mean, yes, that’s him,” I rushed out. “It’s a long story, but he’s been away at school and I miss him and he’s coming to visit so I need to go get ready.” “I see. Well, if you don’t want him, is he single?” She wiggled her eyebrows and laughed. A scowl slid onto my face for a split second. No. Kansas was mine.

“He is, I think. But that doesn’t matter because this weekend he’s all mine.” We reached our cars, then hugged each other. “Plus, you’re with Micah.” “Yeah, but who wouldn’t want two hot men fawning over them?” She nodded, and when I gave her a blank face, she rol...

“Fine. Maybe Saturday night. I want a little time with him alone first to catch up.”

It was getting dark and I was ready to go home. I drove back to my two-story house I’d inherited from my foster mother. We’d grown close and when she passed away, I was left everything. I pulled into the driveway and parked. I reached for my seatbelt and then froze. Someone was sitting on my porch.

Eisley’s maroon, rust-covered, hatchback pulled into the driveway. She parked and stared at the porch. I stood and started down the steps. A huge smile spread across her face and she threw open her car door. “Kansas! You’re early!” She ran across her lawn and launched herself at me. I wrapped my arms around her and spun her. “I wanted to surprise you.” “Well, it worked!” Her giggle made my mood soar.

God, she was so beautiful. Time had only made her more desirable. I leaned down and tried to kiss her, but she turned her head and my lips touched her soft cheek. Both of us tried to pretend that the blunder didn’t happen. I let her go and reached for the back of my neck, rubbing it awkwardly.

“I like the new glasses.” She tapped her nose. “And the septum piercing? Where is the man I waved goodbye to last year?” I tapped the side of my glasses. They were large, with half wire, half thick black frame on top. “I’m an educated man now.” “I see that. And you’ve bulked up. You’re huge!” She squeezed my forearms with a grin.

“Why don’t we go inside? I can give you a tour of the house. You haven’t seen it since I redecorated.” “I can only imagine how spooky you’ve made it.” I took her hand, and we walked back to her house. The walls were brilliant maroon, and everything on the wall was black, creepy, or both. “It looks like The Addams Family moved in,” I teased her as she pointed out a few items. “Good! That’s the aesthetic I was going for.”

I paused near a picture on the wall. It was us at senior prom. We had worn black and red and looked every bit the gothic couple everyone thought we were. Only we knew the cold, hard truth of our relationship.

If it’s not too cold, I want to show you my garden,” she added. “It’s getting kind of dark. We might have to wait for me to appreciate anything outside.” Eisley and I knew better than anyone that being outside in the dark was dangerous. You never knew what was out there.

Her eyes flicked nervously over me and nodded. “I forget how early the sun goes down in the fall. First thing in the morning I’ll take you outside, we’ll pluck some tea leaves, and prep them for drying. By the time you leave, I’ll be sending you home with a jar!” She bounced on her feet as she continued through the house, finally leading me into the kitchen.

“How did you find all this stuff?” I walked around the room, admiring all the black and green vintage appliances and decor. “A lot of it was custom-made. Some of it, I did myself. I’m really proud of it.” “You should be. This is all impressive, Eisley. I’m proud of you.” “Thanks.” She swept a tendril of her dark lazy curls behind her ear. “I know people don’t really get it, but⁠—” “Who cares? I love your videos. And if it’s paying for you to live your best spooky life, more power to you.” “You watch my videos?” Her chestnut-colored eyes lit up. I nodded and then couldn’t resist teasing her. “The ‘suited for work’ ones.”

“Stop!” She laughed and came over to me to smack my chest again. Her hand lingered on my pectoral. “They aren’t that bad. Mostly a lot of talking.” “Just talking?” I raised my eyebrows skeptically. I had actually seen her NSFW videos, and they were a lot more risqué than just talking.

“You watch Witchful Drinking? I’m hoping to be at a million followers soon.” “How could I not? I need to be up on all the hot new tea in the tea world. How would I know what was in season and what wasn’t without your streaming channel?” “Right? That means so much to me that you watch my stuff. I feel like we haven’t really talked much since you’ve been away at school.” “I think we’ve both been pretty busy.” I leaned on her island, and she walked to the other side and did the same, looking into my eyes.

“Well, now that I have you here all weekend, I want to catch up. What have you been up to?” I snickered. Oh, the stories I had for her.

“Friends?” I lowered my gaze, and my glasses slid down the bridge of my nose. I stared until she broke eye contact and looked away. We both knew what she was actually asking. “I have been dating, a little.” It was better to rip the bandage off now than to have a great weekend with her and then tell her. She stood up straight, then turned her back and went to a cabinet, pulling out jars of various tea blends. “Oh, anyone serious?” Her voice was high-pitched and tight. “Yes and no. I met someone when I first got to school. We dated a few months. The rest have been a lot more casual.”

“What happened? Between you and her?” She spun around. Her eyes were large, and I could see the jealousy flaring behind them. “I met someone else. I’d rather not talk about it.” I put my hand on the back of my neck and looked to the ceiling. “It didn’t end well. It was kind of messy.”

“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that.” She frowned, but her eyes didn’t reflect what she was saying. It was always her eyes that spoke more than her lips. She wasn’t sorry. She was glad. “I’m gl...

My expression darkened. “I thought we talked about this.” I went over to her, pulling her against me. Desire coursed through my bones. “Just say the words, and I’m yours…” There was so much more to it than that. I was already hers. We both knew that. I’d been hers since the day we’d been taken by the Family and tossed in a...

I didn’t like asking about the gifts men gave her as much as she didn’t like me fucking other women.

My eyes traveled up her legs. She wore the same skimpy goth dresses and skirts she had in school. She looked way too sexy for a girl who didn’t like to be touched. My cock grew hard the longer I stared at her perky ass. I wondered if she was wearing panties.

Her eyes drifted over my toned body. “My little Eisley, if I didn’t know better, I’d say you’ve been checking me out.” “Maybe…” She gave me a sly grin. There was a flush in her cheeks that made her look even sexier. “You’re finally giving me something to admire.” I laughed. “Is that smack talk?”

I caught her as we rounded the opening into the living room and tossed us onto the couch. I dug my fingers into her sides and began to tickle her. “Oh! Oh! Stop! Kansas!” She kicked and howled with laughter as I continued tickling her. I rolled so I was on top of her, and our cheeks were flushed. Her breasts were rising and falling as she tried to catch her breath. I stared deep into her powerful brown eyes. So deep, yet playful. And her lips… I leaned down and tasted her. Our lips pressed together, and she was only hesitant a moment before her mouth parted.

Wasting no time, I ran my finger up her panties. Soaking wet. “Remember when we were younger?” I breathed into her ear. “When we’d play boyfriend and girlfriend? That we were like all the other kids. And you’d let me…” I pushed her panties to the side and ran my hand over her smooth pussy. Eisley’s

“Why don’t we play some more? It doesn’t have to be real…” She turned her head, and I bent down, running my tongue from her collarbone up to her chin, finding her lips again. “You’ve missed me, haven’t you, princess?” I pushed my finger past her lips and swirled her wetness around. God, she was dripping. “Ah…” she gasped. Her back arched, and I moved deeper, enjoying the way her body unraveled because of my fingers. “Have you let anyone else touch you like this?” When she didn’t answer, I nipped her lobe and asked again, more demanding. “No. And we shouldn’t be doing this now, Kansas.” “Then stop me,” I growled and pinched her clit. I took my time, getting her close and then drawing back, only to do it again.

My cock pressed against her thigh. I rubbed my thumb along her clit, moving faster and faster. Was she going to let me finish her this time? She was squirming and whimpering so much I thought she’d allow herself to come, but right when she was about to go over the edge, she shoved me off of her and sat up.

“Kansas, we shouldn’t be… we’re not…” She brushed her hair back quickly and pulled her legs up to her chest. Her face was flushed, and I could only imagine the ache her body felt as she came back down.

“We can’t. You know this. Not anymore.” “Not ever,” I muttered, standing as well. I shifted my jeans and willed my cock to go down. The familiar deep ache in my balls returning with a vengeance. “What does that mean?” She crossed her arms, making her tits look even better.

I looked toward the ceiling. She wasn’t making this any easier for me. “You know what it means. Tell me, are you still pretending that you don’t want me as much as I want you?” I reached out, pinching her chin. With my other hand, I grabbed her hip and pulled her against me. My cock throbbed, sending my message home. “It doesn’t matter. You know that.” She pushed me away and ran her hands through her hair again. “I should go get you that drink. Bourbon, right?” She didn’t wait for me to answer and fled to the kitchen.

“Eisley!” I followed behind her. “I’m sorry. I thought we were⁠—” “Were what?” she snapped. Standing at the island, she slammed a tumbler down and poured dark amber liquor into it. She reached for a thinner bottle of purple liquid and added it to my drink. “We’re not anything.” She slid the drink ov...

She shook her head. “You don’t get to come back and pretend like… like—” She stumbled over her words. “Like things are different. Nothing’s changed.” She fingered her necklace—a slim chain with a ring on it—as she swa...