Y/n walks up to her stall, a box in her arms. She sets it down in front of Laura, whose indulging in the county newspaper.

"Hey, you know that meat factory you measured that guy in two weeks ago?" She asks.

"Yeah. What about it?"

"It closed down last week from poor health regulations. And- get this- the night of the closing, the owner was found in his office with his head smashed in."

Y/n's eyes widen. The man she talked to before measuring Thomas, dead only a week later. She didn't like the guy, but it didn't mean she was going to celebrate.

"That's crazy. Hope that Hewitt man's alright."

Laura looks up at her from the top of the paper.

"Oh, they didn't find him anywhere."

Y/n meets Laura's glance. She grabs the paper from her and throws it aside.

"Don't go pointing fingers, Laura. Now help me with this last box."

"I mean, he's huge man, you told me so! His face is all messed up, and he has somethin wrong in his head, right?"

Y/n glares at her.

"My hands are ugly and disfigured. Does that mean I'm automatically to blame for a murder?"

"Oh come on, Y/n. Don't make this shit about you and your own insecurities."

"Just help me with this box, damn it!"

Laura sighs, pulling a string of lights from the box. Together, the two of them string them around the stall. As the sun begins to set behind them, y/n flips the switch on the remote.

The lights spring to life, illuminating the large sign at the top.

(L/n) Mask Emporium

Laura whistles at the sight.

"Just in time, too. People are starting to arrive."

Y/n turns to see a few groups of people running around. Several have started lining up for the sketchy looking rides. A rusting carousel, a small ferris wheel, and a little kiddies roller coaster that screams louder than it's passengers.

Laura points over at a clown blowing up balloon animals.

"I'm gonna go buy one, okay?"

"Fine, but be right back when your done!"

She runs off towards the clown. Y/n chuckle at her. A voice startles her. She turns to see a policeman, watching her with arms crossed. His tag reads Sheriff Hoyt.

"Whatcha got over here." He asks.

"Masks. You interested in any of them, Sheriff?"

He smiles at her, as if enjoying the title.

"No. Just passing by, and couldn't help but stop when I saw a lovely lady like you." He winks at her.

"Uh huh. . ." She gives him a fake smile, before turning to tend to a mask that was missing a feather.

He stands there for a few more moments, watching her, before turning and leaving.

throws the county newspaper down on the table in front of Luda Mae and Monty.

"Look at this!"

Luda pulls it closer to her, reading it aloud.

"Local meat company shut down due to low health condi- "

"Not that!" Hoyt points at a section next to it. Above it is a big picture of a brightly lit carousel.

"The County fair's in the town next to us! Ya here that, Tommy? We got loads of fresh meat!"

Thomas looks up from his new chainsaw. He sits in the corner of the kitchen, silent and unacknowledged until now.

"Put the rest of those teenagers in the stew tonight, we'll refill on meat tomarra'."

"Hold on, Charlie!" Luda interrupts.

"How the hell do you expect to not get caught?"

"Simple! Surprise attack! After the fair closes, there'll be some stragglers packing up their stalls. We'll pick em' off and take em' home!"

Monty groans from his chair, a cloth covering his legs.

"Hush up, Monty!"

Hoyt throws the blanket off of him, revealing two, fresh stumps where his legs used to be. The white bandage is poorly wrapped around his legs, likely to get infected.

"We'll get you some new legs tomorra', right Tommy?"

Thomas looks up again at his name, nodding slowly.

"Haha! We're set for life, here!"

Present time

rests her head on the table. Laura ruffles up her hair, setting down a tray of corndogs in front of her.

"We're just about closed down for the day. All the guests have left." Laura says through a mouthful of food.

"Thank God, I'm exhausted."

"How many masks did you guys sell?"

Y/n Looks up to see the cotton candy guy- Laura's new boyfriend.

"All but 4. You want one?" Laura asks him.

He shakes his head, eyeing the hotdogs in front of her.

"I know somewhere better we can go. Somewhere with better meat than that."

She smirks at him.

"Oh yeah?" She stops and turns to y/n, who gives her a thumbs up.

Laura leans over the table and kisses y/n on the cheek, before following after her boyfriend.

With a sigh, y/n lights a cigarette. She blows out a puff, watching the smoke curl up into the night sky, illuminated by the lights of the stall.

She must've dozed off, because she jumps awake when she hears a scream and glass breaking.

She freezes, her heart skipping a beat before ramming in her rib cage. There's silence for a good three, four, five seconds, before another scream is heard.

With shaky knees, she slowly gets up and peeks around the stall. There's nobody in sight. Several of the Stalls, though, have been ransacked. Things have fallen to the floor and broken. But not a single owner in sight.

The night is silent. Not a footstep, not a whisper, not even a Texas cricket. It's too quiet. Something's wrong.

Y/n steps back slowly, clutching her arms to her chest, trying to calm her shaking body.

She's not watching where she's going. She trips over a box and falls to the ground. When she looks up, a man looms above her. The lights from the stall across from them flicker, revealing the Sheriff Hoyt she met earlier.

"Thank God you're here sheriff. I heard screams, and I don't know where everyone i-"

A violent slap lands across her face, startling her. It sends electric pain on her cheek, making her gasp.

Sheriff Hoyt puts the toe of his boot under her chin, lifting it up so she's looking at him.

"You know smoking's no good for you, right?

drags the last body over and throws it into the back of the truck with a grunt. He wipes his bloody hands on his clothes, thinking he's done for the night.

A scream piercing the still night air proves him other wise. He decides to join up with Hoyt and help him with the last one.

As he approaches, the buttery smell of popcorn fills the air. He steps over scattered glass, broken off from a cotton candy machine.

The only light illuminating the end of the stalls is a string of flickering lights. He pulls back the curtain and sees Hoyt crouching over a woman. He's got a fistful of her hair in his hand, lifting her up to the light.

Thomas freezes.

Blood pours down her face, but it's clear even in the flickering light that it's none other than the mask maker.

"Look at this one, Thomas. It's a pretty one!"

His sight flashes red. Before he knows it, he's closing the distance between himself and Hoyt, pushing him out of the way and grabbing y/n into his arms.

"Hey, watch it! What the fuck was that for?"

Hoyt stops and grins wide, revealing his yellowed teeth.

"Oh, someone's got a little crush?"

Thomas doesn't respond. He pulls her tight against his chest and starts walking towards the truck. Hoyt follows behind.

"Tommy got his first crush! Woo hoo, I'll teach ya how to be a man, boy! A real man!"

Thomas looks down at y/n. Blood is pouring from a wound on her head. He starts to feel a sense of urgency, not wanting her to die on the way there.

As he lays her in the back seat, he folds her arms across her stomach softly, afraid he might hurt her further.

His big hands linger on her soft skin, tracing up her arm and up her neck to her cheek bone. Her lips sit partially open. He considers running his fingers across the soft skin, but decides not. His attention instead turns to her gloved hands. From this close, he can see how some parts are tighter around the swelled skin. One finger ends shorter than the others, also something he didn't see in the gloves until now.

A deep, animalistic feeling sits within him, burning slowly. He almost forgets Hoyt is there with him.

"Get in, Tommy. She'll still be warm when we get home."

Thomas does what he's told, getting in the front seat. His eyes keep falling on her unconscious form, worried she might wake up and try to jump out at any time.

But she doesn't. She lays there the whole time, silent. They make it all the way back home to the house.

"Come on, Tommy. We got work to do."