by Kasie West
“How would you feel if I shared the following statement on my social media?” He cleared his throat. “‘Grant James, helped by many over the years, doesn’t believe in helping others. He watched from the sidelines as his costar’s reputation got trashed’?” Donavan’s face showed no emotion. He had asked the question in the same measured calmness he had asked the one before.
Grant’s face, on the other hand, became stone.
Amanda let out a startled cough and I just stared at Donavan. I couldn’t believe he was doing this, and doing it so well. I knew it must’ve been hard for him.
“That’s a great question,” Amanda said.
Grant crossed his arms over his chest. “What do you expect me to do? I’m not exactly in a good position to help anyone else.”
“You still have millions of loyal fans,” Donavan said. “A few nice posts about Lacey online would go a long way.”
“My publicist tells me exactly what and when to post.”
“I don’t believe you.”
Grant didn’t respond, meaning Donavan was right, Grant wasn’t told what to post. At least not all the time.
“Nobody tells me when or what to post either,” Donavan said. “So I guess I know what I’ll be posting today.”
“I’m sure you and your hundred followers will find a post about me shocking.”
“Between all my platforms, I have two hundred thousand followers,” Donavan said.
“What?” I asked in shock.
“I had a review go viral,” he said. “So most of my followers are very specific ones. Ones who would appreciate this new bit of information about Grant James.”
Amanda laughed a little next to me. “Let me guess. Can I guess?”
Grant looked at her. “Am I missing something?”
“‘Grant James Goes Down in Flames,’” she said.
Grant’s head whipped back to Donavan so fast that I was surprised he didn’t black out. “That was you?”
Donavan handed his phone to me as if he knew what was coming.
I stepped in front of him. “Don’t do anything stupid,” I said to Grant.
“Are you all blackmailing me?” he asked.
“Just giving you a little motivation to be a good person,” Donavan said. “I have a different, much better statement I’d rather share with my followers: ‘Grant James breathes the life into Lacey Barnes’s career and revives his own along with it.’ Together they are power.”
“You’d say that?” Grant asked. “To your mob of Grant James haters?”
“And I would actually mean it. I could throw in something about how Lacey said you were an excellent kisser too, if you’d like.”
I almost scoffed at that, because I said nothing of the sort, but I clamped my mouth shut. Donavan was seconds away from succeeding at this.
Amanda chimed in. “Can you imagine the praise you’ll get forever if you help launch a career? Lacey will do big things after this, mark my words. And it will be because of you.”
It was obvious that everyone in this group knew that the way to appeal to Grant’s mercy was through his ego. Except him, maybe.
“It’s not that I don’t like you, Lacey,” he said. “You’re cool. It’s just that I need to prove myself with this movie, and if you don’t hold up your end, I kind of want to distance myself from you.”
“I know,” I said. “I’m not a fan of things going wrong either.” I looked at Amanda, waiting to see if she was willing to confess yet.
“It wasn’t me,” she insisted. “And if it wasn’t me. And I’m assuming it wasn’t you,” she said, pointing at Grant. He shook his head. “Then whoever it was is still out there trying to ruin things.”
“Hopefully, I can work around that. I want this movie to be successful just as much as you do. And I think if we work together as a team, it will only help all of us.” I met Grant’s eyes.
His eyes went down to the phone that I realized I was still holding out, recording. “I turned it off.” He let out a long sigh. “Fine. I’ll post some awesome things about you.”
“You will?” I asked.
“And . . . ,” Grant said, “I can expect a viral campaign about me breathing the life into Lacey or something? You can help me win over some Grant haters?”
“Yes,” Donavan said.
Grant pointed between himself and me. “We good? You still going to be able to work with me after this? We have lots of time left.”
“We’re good,” I said. “And thank you.”
Grant put his arm around Amanda. “Are we good?”
“You’re completely selfish, but I might be willing to overlook that. We’ll see.” She steered him back toward the trailers.
I watched the two of them go, then tried to hand Donavan’s phone back to him but he sank onto the nearest bench of the amphitheater.
“You okay?” I asked.
His hands were shaking and his face was pale.
“You’re not okay,” I realized.
“I’m fine,” he managed to get out. “Just give me a second.”
“You are a rock star. Thank you for that.”
He nodded, but his eyes were still on the ground in front of him.
“You have more online followers than I do, by the way, which I am insanely jealous about.”
He smiled a little. “You’ll pass me soon, I’m sure.”
I put my hand to his forehead, which was cold and slightly damp. “Come on, let’s go get you some water and some sugar. I have both in my trailer.”
He let me lead him to the trailer, where he laid on my couch. “I feel so stupid right now,” he said.
“Please don’t. You just suppressed your flight instinct to face down someone you’d skewered on social media and who totally would’ve punched you in the face if I hadn’t been there. That wasn’t supposed to be easy, but you did it brilliantly.”
“Brilliantly?”
“That’s the right word, yes? The one we use when we are completely in awe of someone?”
“Yes,” he said. “That’s the all-encompassing compliment.”
I retrieved a water from the fridge and brought it over to him. He scooted toward the back of the couch and pulled on my hand so I’d sit on the small bit of space at the edge. I complied.
“I did it for you,” he said.
I stretched out alongside him, laying my head on his chest. “I know, and I love you for it. I just hope you don’t hate me after you have to actually compose and post that statement on all your social media.”
I could hear his soft laugh through his chest. “I could never hate you. And if all it takes is a couple of showdowns with some enemies for you to love me, just make me a list and I’m on it.”
I propped my chin on his chest and looked at him. “I think you’re set for a while.”
“So are you.”
I smiled, happiness coursing through my chest. “You know, I always thought this is what being famous would feel like. This happy, content, amazing feeling.”
“Yeah?”
“Maybe it’s even better,” I said.
“Let’s not get crazy.” He twisted one of my curls around his finger.
“You’re right. Let’s wait until I’m actually famous and then I’ll decide.”
His eyes traveled over my face. “You are beautiful.”
“So are you.”
“What now?” he asked.
“Now I work hard and set a trap.”
“You don’t think it’s Amanda anymore, do you?”
“No. I don’t.”
“Neither do I.”
“Okay, I need to go turn this face into a zombie’s.”
“You make a pretty good zombie.”
I bared my teeth and lunged for his neck.
Dancing Graves
EXT. FOREST—NIGHT
SCARLETT hunts her former friends and family one by one. BENJAMIN, who she thought she had killed in the lab several nights ago, knows she’s out of control and h
e must take her down. He stalks her, weapon at the ready, hoping he can do what he knows he needs to do. He comes upon her after her latest kill.
BENJAMIN
Scarlett, what have you become?
SCARLETT
Exactly what I was meant to.
There is a fight between them, Benjamin is weakened from his recent injury, but eventually he overtakes her. He watches her die, mixed emotions taking over.
EXT. CEMETERY—MORNING
Scarlett is lowered into the ground, and Benjamin—the only surviving mourner—watches, then drops a bloodred rose on top of her casket before she is covered with dirt.
EXT. CEMETERY—NIGHT
Camera, pointed at Scarlett’s headstone, slowly zooms out. The loose dirt over her grave begins to shift. A hand emerges from the soil. The formula she took minutes after being bitten has made her nearly invincible.
Thirty-Five
The campgrounds were dark. We had filmed today’s scenes in the early evening and night. Scarlett’s hunting scenes. Hazy lights had been set up, so I didn’t realize how dark it was until I was several hundred feet beyond the lights. My phone sat on the table in my trailer, bait for a troublemaker, but not helpful for me in this moment. I slowed my walk, trying to stay on the foot-worn path. The voices behind me faded with the lights, and soon I found myself in the middle of a group of trees unable to see more than three feet in front of me.
Crickets chirped, and a flapping noise sounded from above. I put my hands out in front of me so I wouldn’t hit anything and kept walking. If I just walked straight, I’d eventually emerge from the trees . . . if I remembered right.
It sounded like another set of footsteps joined mine, so I stopped to listen. The other noise stopped as well. Maybe it had just been an echo. Or someone farther down the path. I proceeded, only to hear it again.
“Hello?” I called. “Grant? Is that you?”
Nothing.
I picked up my pace, and after ten steps my hands met a tree, forcing me to stop. I turned a full circle and pressed my back up against the trunk. I’d somehow gotten off the path. Time to swallow my pride.
“Hello!” I yelled. “I’m stuck out here and need a flashlight!” I waited, but nobody answered. I cupped my hands around my mouth and yelled the same thing again. This time in my silence I heard the footsteps, as clear as day. And they were close. Obviously the person had heard me yelling, and if they were purposely not answering, then their intentions weren’t good. I felt around on the ground for something. Anything. My hand met a decent-size rock. I picked it up.
“What do you want?” I asked.
“Justice,” a voice whispered back.
I screamed and chucked the rock I held toward the sound of the voice. A light appeared down the path to my right, and the rustle of someone running away rang out to my left.
“Lacey?” That was Grant holding the light.
“Over here,” I said, and then the light was shining on my face, in my eyes.
He let out a small grunt, then laughed a little. “You shouldn’t hide in the dark with zombie makeup on. You look extra creepy right now.”
“Someone was just out here, telling me they wanted justice.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know. I couldn’t see them.”
“Are you okay?”
“No!”
He walked to my side and held out his elbow. “Can I walk you to your trailer?”
“Yes. And pick up a rock or branch. Your fake sword won’t do anything for us.”
“It’s actually pretty sharp.”
“Rock!” I demanded.
He laughed and aimed his light at the ground, where he found a large rock. “Is that good enough?”
“Yes. I’ll hold the light.”
“Wow, you’re spooked.”
“Of course I’m spooked. There is someone out here.”
“Who do you think it was?” he asked, picking up the rock.
“I have no idea. It was too dark to see anything.”
“Was it a guy or a girl?”
“A guy . . . I think. They were whispering, it was hard to tell.” We took several more steps. “I might be able to find out though. I was recording my trailer today. I’m going to go watch the footage now.”
“You were recording your trailer?”
“With my laptop, to see if I could catch someone messing with my things.”
“I’m totally there for that. Let’s grab Amanda.”
“This is so boring,” Amanda said as she, Grant, and I sat huddled around my computer, watching a recording that so far consisted of my cell phone sitting on the table undisturbed. I’d sped up the video but it had been recording all day, so it was taking forever. I didn’t want to risk missing something by skipping forward.
“Look!” Grant said, tapping the screen. A figure had come into the shot.
I tapped on the play button so it went back to normal speed, then skipped it back thirty seconds. We all watched as Faith came into my trailer carrying some green pages. She dropped them on my table, then left.
“So it’s not Faith,” Grant said.
“That doesn’t prove it’s not her,” Amanda said. “That just shows she comes into your trailer when you’re not there.”
“Like everyone else,” I said.
“I don’t come in when you’re not here,” Grant said.
“I do,” Amanda said. “To hide in your shower.”
“You’re still evil,” I said, and sped up the video again.
We all proceeded to stare at it. I wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but there was a knock on the door. I jumped, and Grant laughed.
“Come in,” I called.
Donavan poked his head inside.
I smiled. “I didn’t think you were coming back today.”
“I got done at work early.” He looked between the three of us. “What are you doing?”
“We’re watching the video of my trailer.”
“Any activity?”
“None.”
Grant didn’t give up his seat next to me, so Donavan slid into a chair at the table. We stayed this way until the recording ended.
“Huh,” I said. “Guess I’ll have to set it up again tomorrow.”
“I will not be watching that again tomorrow,” Grant said.
I stood and set my laptop on the table. Donavan grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze.
“You know what we need to do?” I announced. “We need to set a trap.”
“What do you mean?” Amanda asked.
“Someone intercepted me in the woods earlier, tried to scare me.”
“They did?” Donavan asked. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. But maybe they’ll try again tomorrow night.”
“Why would they try again?” Grant asked.
“Because they succeeded. I was terrified, and they knew it. If I give them the opportunity to do the same thing tomorrow, I have a feeling they would. I’ll make a big deal about forgetting my light. I’ll ask you to walk me, Grant, and you’ll say no.”
“That would make me seem like a jerk,” he said.
“You are sometimes,” Amanda commented.
“Thanks,” he said.
“And then I’ll walk down the same path I did tonight and hopefully draw the person after me, and you’ll all surround them.”
“The three of us will surround them?” Donavan asked.
“You’re right. We need more recruits we can trust.” People not involved with this movie in any way. “I’ll take care of that part. You guys just get ready to catch the culprit.”
Amanda let out a low laugh.
“What?” I asked.
“Did you just use the word culprit?”
“Shut up.”
Grant stood and stretched. “This is like a real-life movie. Except that whole watching an hour’s worth of video on your computer would’ve been edited out.”
Amanda stood as well. “Good thing
we have America’s favorite action hero, Heath Hall,” she said, taking Grant’s hand and leading him to the door.
“I’m not America’s favorite right now, but I will be soon.” He winked at me, and they both left my trailer.
I turned to Donavan. “Hi.”
“Hi.” He pulled me down onto his lap and into a hug. “Is this the exciting life I can hope to lead when dating an actress?”
“No, most of the time it will be really boring. Just me. And occasionally you needing to fake a British accent to help me with my lines.”
“Sounds perfect to me.”
“Give me one second. I need to text my friend, and then we are going to make out.”
He laughed. “I like how you give me warnings when we are going to make out as if I need to prepare myself.”
“You do.”
I grabbed my phone and texted Abby. Are you still coming to see me tomorrow?
She responded almost immediately. Yes!!
Will you bring Cooper?
I can see if he’s available. Why?
We’re taking down a bad guy.
Thirty-Six
We were on our dinner break the next day, and I had gathered my band of vigilantes in my trailer. I didn’t want too many people in on this or suspicions would arise, but I needed enough to trap the perpetrator. Hopefully five was the lucky number—Donavan, Abby, Cooper, Amanda, and Grant.
“Thanks, everyone, for coming. For believing me.”
Abby kept giving Grant sideways glances. I’d introduced both her and Cooper to him earlier, and both of them were beyond starstruck. Especially now, with him in full costume, leaning against the wall, hair perfectly coiffed, neck scarf neatly tied, and sword dangling from his waist.
“What’s the plan?” Grant asked.
“After our final scene of the day, I’m going to start walking back, just like yesterday. I’m going to say something about how I forgot a light again. I’ll pause and pretend like I’m going to turn back but change my mind. Donavan, Amanda, Abby, and Cooper will be hiding ready to intercept from the far side. Grant, you’ll come up from behind, since you’ll have been on set with me.”
“And if the person never shows up?” Amanda asked.
“Hopefully they will.”
“Let’s catch the bad guy!” Amanda said, standing up.