Chapter Text
Jessica Rabson was a 19-year-old college first-year white rabbit student with blue eyes while dressed in some blue jeans and pink blouse. She was currently in her small rental house cooking some small dinner for herself.
Today, she didn’t have to go to work or college, so she decided the best way to spend the night was to cook a meal and have a movie night for herself.
Ring Ring Ring
Jessica’s ears perked up as she turned to the house’s wireless landline phone that was connected on the wall between the living room and the kitchen. She immediately turned off the stove, walked over to the phone and answered it.
“Hello?” She greeted.
A deep male voice answered on the other line. “Hello, is Christie there?”
“Um, she is not here now, but I can send a message. Who’s this?” Jessica asked while checking on her food.
“Oh, this is Kirk from her film group. I just wanted to know if she was there.” The voice replied in a nervous tone.
Jessica snickered and put the pot away from the hot tray. “Well, like I said, she’s not available right now. What did you want to tell her?”
“Wait a minute. You must be Jessica, right? Her roommate?” The voice asked again.
“Roommate AND girlfriend. Just to clarify.” Jessica corrected while getting her phone to text Christie.
“Right, right. She talks a lot about you. You wouldn’t believe it.” Kirk replied.
“Oh, really?” Jessica asked with a raised eyebrow as she went to go check the mail at the door.
“Yeah, she said that you’re a nice, attentive, hardworking, and very smart girl. She also mentioned you loved movies just as her.” Kirk said while Jessica’s walked to the living room.
“Well, duh. Everyone loves movies, don’t they?” Jessica playfully quipped while putting away some books into the cabinet.
“Right, but she said you and her shared a passion for… scary movies. That’s what brought you two together.” Kirk said.
Jessica slightly blushed. “Yeah… we do. That was our first date together. She took me out to see Talk To Me when it first came out. It was awesome.”
“Yeah, she told me about that too. That’s why she said she loves you so much. Because you share and understand the same passions she has.” Kirk added.
Jessica halted and felt a bit emotional for a second. “Really? She said that???”
Kirk continued. “She did. That as silly as it sounds, the horror movie genre is what makes you two inseparables. Which makes me wonder…”
“What’s your favorite scary movie?” Kirk asked with a tone that could send shivers done someone’s spine.
Jessica, oblivious as she was, took a second to answer. “Hmm, I don’t know. I’m not much of a picky person, you know?”
“Well, you gotta have a favorite. Don’t you?” Kirk asked again.
“Right. I guess… I’d have to go with Hereditary. That was a really scary movie, but also a story about tragedy and loss while at the same time implementing complicated family dynamics.” Jessica answered.
“Ha, why look at you. Quite the movie analyst, aren’t you?” Kirk joked.
Jessica slightly giggled. “Well, I am studying film too.”
“Really?” Kirk asked with interest.
“Yeah. I want to be a screenwriter. It’s been my dream since I was a kid.” Jessica confessed while walking back to the kitchen.
“Well… how about you and I make a movie?” Kirk offered.
Jessica raised her brow. “Make a movie?”
“Yeah, make a movie together. Are you into the slasher genre?” Kirk asked again.
Jessica rubbed her chin. “Eh, not really. I find them really dumb, honestly.
“Is that so?” Kirk persisted.
“Yeah. Even the ‘classic’ ones, as you would call it, are so lame and generic. It all follows the same campy and predictable formula.” Jessica explained while getting a spatula and mixing her food in the pot on the stove.
“Oh, is it the one where the main girl is home alone at night and answers the wrong number with the killer on the other line that makes her play a game?” Kirk asked with a slightly creepy tone.
Jessica froze for a second. “Yeah?…”
“Well then… would you like to play a game? Jessica???” Kirk asked again, this time, sounding a lot more menacing and malignant.
Jessica immediately hung up the phone and laid it on the table. She looked at the phone for a minute before narrowing her eyes and shaking her head.
“Creepy asshole.” Jessica said to herself before texting Christie again.
Suddenly, the phone rang again, making Jessica gasp in surprise. Her phone vibrated a second later, making her look down to see it was a text from Christie’s phone.
Jessica widened her eyes in horror at the final text as the phone kept ringing. She knew in her heart what was happening, but still hoped it wasn’t true.
Jessica’s heart skipped a beat and felt like it was going to burst out of her chest as soon as she read the last incoming messages.
She deluded herself into believing that this one of Christie’s pranks and that this was all a big sick joke, which happened a few times in the past.
Completely overwhelmed, Jessica finally reached over to answer the phone. “Christie! Knock it off, this isn’t funny!”
“I told you. I’m not Christie.” Kirk, or whoever it was, answered from the other line.
Jessica widened her eyes in shock and anger. “Who are you!? And how did you get her phone!?”
Suddenly, her phone received a MuzzleTime request. Morbid curiosity got the best of her, and she responded it immediately.
Jessica gasped in absolute shock and horror to find Christie, her grey furred rabbit girlfriend, tied up to a chair with her arms behind her back, feet strapped to the legs of the chair and her mouth duct taped shut.
Christie looked up at the phone with eyes full of despair and tears while her head had a huge bloody bump as her screams were muffled by the tape.
“Silly Christie. She really shouldn’t be wandering outside this late at night. For a horror movie fanatic, you’d think she would know the rules?” The voice asked rhetorically while Christie squirmed and screamed on the chair.
Jessica gasped and immediately went to dial 911 on her phone with the MuzzleTime call still on.
The voice called out. “Ah, ah, ah. I wouldn’t do that if I were you. You call the cops, she dies. You hang up, she dies. You try anything else, she dies. Believe me, I’ll know.”
Jessica started tearing up in fear and despair while holding her phone in front and the other phone on her face. “H-How?!…”
“I have my ways. That’s all you gotta know.” The voice answered.
“Y-You’re bluffing…” Jessica said while tears started streaming down her cheeks.
“5709 East Conway Street. IP address NK4727427. Does that sound like a bluff to you?” The voice asked.
Jessica widened her eyes even further as she started looking around for any hidden cameras or anything that would stand out.
“W-What do you want?…” Jessica asked, trying her best not to trigger any further trouble.
“I told you. I wanna play a game. Horror movie trivia. Come on, you should know this.” The voice said with a sadistically cheerful tone.
“N-No…” Jessica trembled.
“THEN SHE DIES!” The voice slightly raised.
“NO!” Jessica started sobbing.
“Then? What’s it going to be?” The voice asked.
Jessica kept sobbing while looking at Christie through the phone as Christie muffled and shook her head at her.
“What’s it going to be???” The voice asked more sternly.
Not having any other choice, Jessica decided to comply after seconds of agony. “Okay… I’ll play your stupid game. Just please, don’t hurt her.”
“That will all depend on you. Three questions. You get them all right, Christie lives. You get one wrong, she dies. Simple, right?” The voice asked.
Jessica’s closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm down before looking back at Christie. “Right…”
“There you go! That’s the spirit!” The voice mockingly cheered, making Jessica grit her teeth in anger.
“Now, first question. In The Howling Room, who’s the actor that portrays the villain, Norman Kilgrave?” The voice asked.
Jessica immediately knew the answer, as it was some stupid slasher movie that Christie made her watch one day.
“A-Alex Synther…” Jessica stammered.
“Correct! See? And you said the slasher genre was not your thing. That was pretty quick, if you ask me. Wouldn’t you say the same?” The voice teased.
“Fuck you!” Jessica exclaimed.
“Ah, ah. No need to get so feisty. You might just make me nervous and cause me to accidentally do some stabbing, now.” The voice slightly threatened, making Jessica shut up immediately.
“Second question. What was the motive behind Norman Gates in Hotel Elle?” The voiced asked again.
Jessica froze for a second, trying to think of the right answer. “Um… umm… something with… something.”
“Something with something? Is that really your answer?” The voice teased.
“I’m thinking!” Jessica shouted at the voice.
Jessica closed her eyes and shook her paws, trying to remember the plot element from the movie. She swore she remembered, but it has been a while since she’s seen it.
“Tick tock, Jessica.” The voice said.
Jessica then widened her eyes. “I got it! H-He was sexually abused by his mother! T-Then he killed her and started to lure women he found attractive from the hotel he owned and killed them as a form of dissociative identity disorder!”
The phone went silent for a few seconds, making Jessica worry that she might have gotten it wrong.
“Correct!” The voice happily exclaimed, making Jessica let out a sigh of relief.
“There you go! Look at you, acing it like a champ! Maybe Christie might live to see another day!” The voice added.
“Now, final question. Who was the actress that played the original main character on Nightmare In The Precinct?” The voice asked.
Jessica widened her eyes again. “Oh, I know this one! Neve Ample! She plays Cindy! The main character of the movie and the sequels! I got you, motherfucker!”
Jessica smiled brightly with tears streaming down her face, feeling victorious as she got the answer right.
“I’m sorry… but I’m afraid that’s incorrect.” The voice rolled, making Jessica’s smile slowly fade.
“N-No! No! That’s right! I got that right! I’ve seen that movie a bunch of fucking times!” Jessica shouted.
“Then you should know that Neve Ample was not originally the main character. That was supposed to be Drew Bearymore but was switched due to scheduling issues, so she was killed in the opening! Therefore, that was incorrect.” The voice stated.
“NO! NO! YOU TRICKED ME!” Jessica shouted through the phone.
“I’m sorry, but it looks like Christie is now out of the game.” The voice said.
The camera from Christie’s phone then turned dark as some stabbing and squelching noises were heard through the phone while Christie’s screams of agony were muffled by the tape as Jessica cried and covered her mouth in horror.
The phone was then lifted and Jessica cried harder at the sight of her now dead girlfriend with her eyes open and her stomach completely carved out as her intestines were sprawled all over the place.
Jessica sobbed and fell to her knees at the sight while the voice on the other line laughed sadistically, seeming to gain pleasure from this whole ordeal.
“Hey… we’re not done playing, yet.” The voice called out.
Jessica kept sobbing and was too choked up to answer, as all she could do was listen to the voice.
“Now… it’s your turn. One question. You get it right. You live. You get it wrong… well, you already know.” The voice said.
“N-No…” Jessica choked out.
The voice then asked. “Where do you think I am? Am I in Christie’s house? An abandoned building? … or in the shack on your backyard?”
Jessica widened her eyes and immediately got up to grab a kitchen knife before rushing straight to the back door. She ran to try and lock it before the person could enter.
Suddenly, as soon as she reached the door, she was met with a person in a white ghost mask with a black robe while holding a knife.
Jessica screamed in horror as the person then stabbed her on the side before she instinctively kicked the figure in the stomach, making them fall back on the ground.
Jessica fell to her knees as held her bleeding wound, before immediately getting up to shut the door. The figure got up too and rushed to the door, preventing her from shutting it.
She screamed and cried as the figure kept flailing the knife around as they were stuck in between the doorway while she pressed herself against the door to prevent them from getting in.
The figure managed to stab Jessica in the shoulder, causing her to scream again as she fell to the floor. The figure stumbled through the door and fell on top of Jessica.
Jessica kicked him off and rushed to run towards the front door, which was just across from her in the hallway that led from the back door to the front door.
Suddenly, the figure then grabbed her ankle to trip her, causing her to fall hard against the floor. The figure then stabbed her on the calf, making her let out a bloody shriek.
The figure tried to get on top of her, but Jessica screamed and kicked them in the face. The killer then fell back on the floor on their back while Jessica turned and crawled on the floor, desperately trying to reach the exit.
The figure then slowly got up to their feet as they started walking towards Jessica. They then stabbed her in the back repeatedly, making her scream once again. They grabbed her by the ears and slammed her head against the ground.
Jessica was then hazed and severely wounded as she was turned around by the figure, who was now kneeling on top of her. She wheezed and panted as her wounds were losing a lot of blood while she looked up at them.
“You failed to answer the question, Jessica. You lost. Game over.” The figure said before slashing their knife at her.
SLASH
The next morning, 23-year-old Sydney Rabson was in her college dorm with her roommate and best friend hanging upside down from the top of their bunkbed.
“Come on, Sydney. You know you want to.” The roommate teased.
Sydney, a brown furred rabbit wearing some jeans and a flannel on top of a tank top was sitting in front of her desk, trying to get some assignments done, but her roommate kept pestering her.
“I already told you, Riley. I don’t do blind dates.” Sydney said while still typing on her laptop.
Riley, a black furred rabbit with green eyes wearing pink pajamas, got off the bunkbed and leaned next to Sydney on her desk. “Girl, you work too hard in both school and work. When was the last time you had a date?”
Sydney stopped typing and pretended to think for a second. “Gee? Let me think? I think that would be the time a guy turned out to be a complete pervert and wanted to take me to his place to have sex and move on to the next one?”
Riley rolled her eyes. “Oh, my goodness. That was already like 2 years ago. Let it go already. Don’t you get tired of living behind that wall of yours? Don’t let one bad experience ruin the whole thing! Live a little, will ya?”
“Right, I’ll live a little. As soon as I’m done with this essay.” Sydney said before turning back to her laptop.
Riley shook her head and went back to the bunk bed. “Ugh, you’re so uptight. No wonder you’re still a virgin.”
“Okay, that’s uncalled for.” Sydney pointed at her while still typing.
Riley snickered and just shrugged her shoulders. “It’s the truth, though.”
Suddenly, a knock came to the door, making both does perk their ears at the sound.
“Can you get that, please?” Sydney asked.
“You’re already close to the door.” Riley said while typing on her phone.
“Ugh.” Sydney groaned in frustration before getting up and answering the door.
She opened it, revealing two officers standing outside, a fox and a rabbit. Sydney was slightly taken aback to see them both outside of her dorm.
“Sydney Rabson?” The rabbit asked.
“Yes?” Sydney responded.
“I’m officer Judy Hopps.” Judy demonstrated her badge.
“Officer Nick Wilde.” Nick followed suit.
Sydney was just confused. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t do anything. I don’t know what you’re-”
“We’re not here because you’re in trouble.” Nick reassured, making Sydney halt mid sentence.
Judy then had a look of sadness and guilt. “We… have some very unfortunate news.”
Sydney narrowed her eyes in both worry and anxiety as Riley looked up to see who was at the door, only to be shocked to find two police officers at their dorm.
Nick and Judy then drove Sydney to the ZPD, who was now sitting with a horrified and heartbroken expression. As soon as they arrived, Sydney immediately hopped off and started marching through the department with Nick and Judy following behind.
“Sydney, wait.” Judy called out.
But Sydney didn’t listen and kept walking. Nick walked faster to catch up next to her as he then guided her to where she needed to go.
“Right over here.” Nick said while pointing at another door.
Sydney just walked to the door and tried to open it, but it was locked. She kept rattling the door in an angry manner before Nick came to unlock it himself. Sydney then barged through the door and walked down the hallway that led to her destination.
She opened another door that led to the morgue with a medic antelope standing next to a medical bed that had a covered dead body on top of it. Her sudden intrusion caught the medic off guard, making him slightly jump at Sydney’s approach.
“Let me see her.” Sydney said in a cold and angry manner.
“Miss Rabson, I would strongly recommend-” the medic tried to suggest.
“LET ME SEE HER!” Sydney nearly yelled.
The medic let out a small sigh and uncovered the body. Sydney gasped and slowly walked over to the dead body. It was Jessica. She was laying dead and naked on the bed as her eyes were wide open, and she was covered by the sheet.
Sydney immediately started sobbing and held Jessica by the chin as she let her tears fall on top of her face. Nick and Judy were just behind her and saw Sydney crying and holding her dead sister.
“JESSICA!” Sydney sobbed out while holding Jessica close to her.
Nick and Judy just stood there in silence, doing absolutely nothing as they wanted to let Sydney mourn her loss, for they knew that this was a tough moment for her and was going to need all the time in the world to get through this.
A few hours later, Sydney was in the interrogation room. She was looking dead down at the table with absolutely no emotion as the feelings of loss and grief was evidently eating her alive.
Nick and Judy came to the room with Judy holding a cup of hot coffee a small breakfast plate for Sydney.
“Sorry about the wait… we had to.” Judy tried to apologize, but Sydney just kept looking down at the table.
“We brought you some breakfast in case you’re hungry.” Judy offered with a small smile as she set the food on the table.
Again, no response. Nick shook his head at Judy, making her sigh and sit down in front of her.
“Alright, Sydney. I know you’re hurt right now, but we-” Judy said.
“Hurt?” Sydney interrupted, making Judy stop mid sentence.
“Hurt??? How about you try heartbroken? Devastated?! Gut wrenched?!” Sydney exclaimed.
Judy slightly lifted her paws. “Sydney, please calm down.”
Sydney got up from the chair. “CALM DOWN!? FUCKING CALM DOWN!? I JUST LOST MY BABY SISTER! DON’T YOU FUCKING TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!”
Judy was a bit taken aback while Nick just stood there with his arms crossed.
“What’s next!? You’re going to give me the whole spiel of ‘I’m so sorry about your loss’ ‘I’m sorry you feel that way’ ‘I understand what you’re going through’. Is that it!? Huh!? If so, then fucking spare it, okay!?” Sydney kept ranting.
Nick and Judy said nothing, allowing her to let out all of the rage and desperation that was surging within her.
“That’s right, let it out.” Nick suddenly said.
Sydney turned to him with an angry but confused expression.
“It helps, doesn’t it? To scream and let it out? Go ahead. Scream, yell, pound all you want. We’re not going to stop you. That’s what this room is for. You can take the chair, slam it against the window behind you and we won’t say a thing.” Nick said while keeping a calm composure.
Sydney gasped at his words, not believing he was actually suggesting and offering a way for her to unleash her anger.
Nick crossed his arms and sat back in the chair. “Go ahead. We’ll wait.”
Sydney gritted her teeth with anger and just lost it. She grabbed the chair and started slamming it against the window as hard as she could while yelling with anguish.
The window was completely unscathed as it was plexiglass, allowing for Sydney to slam it as much as she wanted. Judy looked at Nick unsurely, but he just remained silent and looked at her.
Sydney slammed the chair against the window a few more times before slowly sliding down the wall and sitting on the floor, becoming a sobbing mess yet again.
Nick got up and slowly walked towards her as she hugged her knees while sobbing against them. He knelt in front of her, catching the attention of Sydney.
“That’s right… let it all out. No one is going to tell you anything. Just let it out.” Nick reassured in a soothing tone.
Suddenly, Sydney just lunged herself at him and caught him in a deep tight hug while sobbing in his shoulder. Nick was a bit surprised by the sudden affection but didn’t mind returning the embrace while gently patting her back.
Judy was impressed at how Nick managed to diffuse the situation. Then again, Nick had more experience with this sort of thing than her, so that would be more radical.
Nick gently helped her up and lead her to sit back on the table after getting it back on its legs. “Now… are you willing to answer some questions?”
Sydney just sniffled and nodded.
“Alright. Now, first off. Did your sister have any enemies? Anyone who would wish her harm? Someone that would resent her presence?” Nick asked while Judy was prepared to take notes.
Sydney shook her head. “No… she was the kindest and sweetest soul you could ever meet.”
Judy then asked. “What about your sister’s partner? Anyone who wanted to harm her.”
Sydney sighed and leaned her face into her paws. “I don’t know… as far as I know, they were completely harmless.”
“I understand, but we’re just asking these questions so we could narrow down our suspect list and try to find out who did this. Otherwise, we have no leads.” Judy explained.
Sydney scoffed and shook her head. “So, they just get to get away with this?”
“We never said that. It’ll just make it more difficult to narrow it down.” Nick corrected.
Sydney took a deep breath and sighed. “I know… it’s just. Really impossible for me to believe someone wanted my sister dead…”
She sniffled and shook her head while looking down at the table. “She was everything to me and I was all she had. Ever since she was kicked out of home.”
Judy leaned in with interest. “Who kicked her out and what was the reason?”
Sydney just looked at her a bit bewildered. “Okay, they may have had their differences, but I highly doubt they really wanted to kill each other. I don’t think Jessica would have been killed by our own-”
Suddenly, the door opened, revealing a middle aged grey furred rabbit in a casual business dress and a stern expression.
“Mother…” Sydney finished as she made heavy eye contact with the rabbit, causing some tension that Nick and Judy could sense from a mile away.
This was not going to be pretty.
To be continued…