You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight

by Kalynn Bayron

I slowly turn around and look the last two dudes directly in the eye. I smile. It’s never easy at the end. I’m trying so hard to hold in my laughter, I can’t help but chuckle a little as I make the announcement. “I am the final girl,” I say. The floodlights click on, washing the entrance in a bright white light. “And you two have survived a night at Camp Mirror Lake. You win!”

I only play a final girl at Camp Mirror Lake; I don’t actually want to be one. I turn my Black ass right around and book it back to my cabin, where I close and lock the door. For now, my face full of fake blood is going to stay just the way it is.

KYLE: Me, you, and Tasha are the only Black folks here. Horror movies say we should be dead by now. ME: I’m the final girl, boo. I will survive no matter what. It’s my job.

A good final girl always makes sure the generator, no matter how ancient, has fuel and is in good working order.

“I see you, Porter! Your little hoochie-daddy shorts are real cute! You looking for a boyfriend out in these woods?” Porter sticks out his leg, flexes his chiseled thigh, and grins. “I was tryna get Javier, but I think he’s still stuck on you,” Porter calls back.

She shoots Kyle a smug little smile. “At least somebody around here knows what they’re doing.” She and her friends leave, and I turn to look at Kyle. “Pencil in the brunette to die in the woodshed,” I say. “That’ll scare the shit out of her.”

I grasp Bezi’s hand in mine. “I’m the final girl. I’ll keep you safe.” She grins. “If you’re the final girl, what does that mean for the rest of us?” “It means we’re all dead,” Tasha says, grinning.

Bezi leans close to my ear. “Are the straights okay?” I have to cover my mouth to keep from laughing. “Absolutely not.”

“Oh, honey. You’re going to die out here, and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.”

The man lifts his hand and points toward the lake. “Her blood soaks the ground and her body lies at the bottom of the lake, as does the boy’s, as do the bodies of the ones before. Feed the land with blood and the lake with flesh, and anything you could ever want can be yours.”