Chapter 7 (The Wrath of Francis)

Chapter 7 (The Wrath of Francis) is the seventh chapter of The Clearwood Murders: Episode I - The Wrath of Francis and the seventh chapter of the overall Clearwood series. It was written by Donald Newton and was published on May 23, 2020.

Plot
As the new friends get to know each other, the Stalker and Zero make a deadly declaration.

Full Chapter
INT. CARTER RESIDENCE - BASEMENT

Andrew and Alice are on the couch and making out.

ANDREW: I'm very glad that our friends have come together with Scott's friends.

ALICE: I know. I love it. Oscar has become good friends with Chuck and Cheri. And I just find Jeremy and Iris so adorable together. Now you and Scott are closer than ever. And I am so happy about that. I can see a change in you over it.

ANDREW: I just love that Scott and I don't have to go to the Beamer once a week for a weekly catch up. We can do anything, anywhere, at any time.

ALICE: Hell, we can all go to the Beamer together as a group.

ANDREW: Exactly.

They continue to make out.

ANDREW: Are you ready for it?

Alice smiles. She knows what "It" means.

ALICE: (nodding) Yes.

They continue making out, getting hot and heavy. They proceed to rip each other's clothes off. However, before this turns into sex, we CUT TO:

EXT. LIQUOR STORE - DAY

Chuck, Cheri, and Oscar are together outside the liquor store.

CHUCK: Just do it, man.

OSCAR: You look over twenty-one. Why don't you do it?

CHUCK: That worked until they found out that I'm underage. They won't even sell anything to anyone twenty-one and over if they know I'm with them. They're strict as fuck. Just get your ass in there (giving him fake ID) and use this fake ID.

Oscar caves into the pressure.

OSCAR: Alright.

Oscar walks inside the store.

CHUCK: I like this guy. He's pretty dope.

CHERI: For a preppy boy with ties to the jocks, he's not a douchebag.

CHUCK: Exactly. He's tight. He's one of us alright.

INT. LIQUOR STORE

Oscar walks around the store and looking at everything. The clerk eyes him, suspicious of his age. Oscar finds a bottle of Scotch-Whiskey. He looks at it and nods with approval of it. He goes to the counter with the bottle.

CLERK: (stern) You got some ID, kid?

OSCAR: Of course.

Oscar pulls out the fake ID that Chuck gave him. The ID looks so authentic that it's hard to tell if it's fake. The Clerk goes through all the procedures to determine it's authenticity. But everything appear to be clear. And with that, he hands him back his ID and charges him up for the bottle, which Oscar pays for.

EXT. LIQUOR STORE - DAY

Oscar comes out with the bottle, which gets Chuck and Cheri cheering him on.

CHUCK: YOU DID IT!!!

CHERI: GO OSCAR!

They both hug and thank him, which Oscar nervously chuckles over.

INT. JEREMY'S BEDROOM - DAY

Jeremy and Iris are making out on his bed. It's getting hot and heavy. Jeremy moves his hand towards her pants. But she stops him.

IRIS: Please. No.

JEREMY: I'm sorry.

IRIS: It's okay. It's just that...I'm not ready.

JEREMY: Okay. We don't have to do anything that you don't want to.

Iris feels bad.

IRIS: I'm sorry. I know that you want to...

JEREMY: Don't be sorry. I want more from you than that. We don't have to have sex until you feel ready. Okay?

Iris smiles. He is good to her and so patient with her.

IRIS: Thank you.

Iris makes up for not having sex by putting his hand under her shirt and allowing him to touch her breasts.

IRIS: We can do this for now. Okay?

JEREMY: That's good enough for me.

They continue to make out as Jeremy grabs her breasts.

EXT. CARTER RESIDENCE - DRIVEWAY - DAY

Lorraine and a MALE LOVER (20s) go outside to the Lover's car. They kiss each other goodbye.

LOVER: Will I see you again?

LORRAINE: I don't know. Maybe. Depends on if I get a hold of my stupid boyfriend or not.

LOVER: Are you sure he's not going to find out?

LORRAINE: He's too stupid to notice shit.

LOVER: Okay. Well, text me sometime.

LORRAINE: Okay.

The Male Lover gets inside his car and starts it. Lorraine just stands there to watch him leave. Because he's just a lover and not a boyfriend who she has genuine feelings for, she doesn't smile or wave goodbye to him.

As the Lover drives off, Lorraine notices Zero across the street, standing by his tricycle. She stares at him for a moment. Perhaps she wants to talk to him. But instead, she turns her back on Zero and walks backs inside the house.

Zero is hurt by this. Lorraine just rejected him without even speaking to him. Why would she do this to him? What has Zero done for Lorraine to turn him away? He starts crying as he walks away with his tricycle.

INT. LORRAINE'S BEDROOM

Lorraine enters her room and shuts her door. She sadly walks over to her desk and opens the drawer. She pulls out -- A SONOGRAM. A sonogram of a baby she gave up -- 5 YEARS AGO. Lorraine begins to cry as she asks herself if she regrets giving up her baby. Does she regret it or not?

EXT. NEIGHBORHOOD - DAY

Zero is still crying as he walks through the sidewalk across the neighborhood. He feel rejected, neglected, unloved, and unwanted. Suddenly, Lorraine's Male Lover's car approaches him. Zero turns to the car. However, instead of the Lover, it's THE STALKER.

STALKER: Get in, Boy!

Zero does as he's told and gets into the car. Upon getting in the car, Zero looks behind his seat in the backseat only to find Lorraine's Male Lover, the one who owns the car, dead with his throat slashed.

STALKER: Did she talk to you?

Zero doesn't respond. He stays silent as he continues to cry. By his tears and lack of a response, the Stalker knows the answers.

STALKER: Of course, she didn't. She's a selfish bitch. She only cares about herself.

ZERO: Why is she like that?

STALKER: Because, she's heartless. She doesn't care who she hurts. She is a fucking whore, who would rather fuck around than love us...who loved her. She hurt you by turning you away. And she hurt me by leaving me. She hurt us both. But we're not going to let her hurt us anymore.

Zero, no longer the adorable child we first met in Chapter 3, has darkness in his eyes and in his demeanor. He feels nothing but hate now.

ZERO: No. We're not.

STALKER: We're going to make her pay.

ZERO: Make her pay!

Now it's clear to us why these two killed Keith Curtis and Lorraine's Male Lover. They're targeting Lorraine for hurting them in the past. The Stalker is someone from Lorraine's past. As you might have already guessed by now -- ZERO IS LORRAINE'S BABY. And, yes, The Stalker and Zero are FATHER AND SON. Now teamed together to hurt the woman who hurt them both.

Deaths

 * CD = Chapter Death (Deaths in the chapter)
 * SD = Story Death (Overall deaths in the story)

Trivia

 * First chapter to feature an off screen kill. Lorraine's Male Lover leaves the house in his car alive. Later his car reappears with the Stalker driving it with the Male Lover's body seen by Zero in the backseat. Though, his murder wasn't seen, the story states that Zero saw that his throat was slashed.
 * This chapter reveals that Lorraine and the Stalker are Zero's parents. The Stalker is a jealous rejected former lover who is obsessed with Lorraine.