On the Fourth of July 1996 in Southport, North Carolina, just after graduation, my friends and I were driving to the beach. While driving along a coastal byway, we accidentally hit a pedestrian. My friend Max passed by us on the road. I reassured Max that everything is all right, and he left. After some arguing, we decided to dispose of the body, and dumped it in the water. We agreed to never again discuss what had happened.

A year later, I returned home from my college in Boston for the summer. Since the incident, we had gone our separate ways. I received a letter with no return address, stating, "I know what you did last summer!" Disturbed, i tracked down Helen, who had returned to Southport to work at her family's department store after a failed attempt at an acting career in New York City. We took the note to Barry, who immediately suspected Max. We confronted Max on the docks, and Barry threatened him with a hook. I met Ray, who is now working as a fisherman; he unsuccessfully tried to reconcile with me. Later, Max is killed by a figure in a rain slicker wielding a hook. Barry discovers a note in his gym locker saying, "I know." He is then ambushed by the same assailant driving Barry's car.

Meanwhile, i researched newspaper articles which led me to believe the man we ran over was a local named David Egan. Helen and i go to visit with David's sister Missy at her home. Missy explains to them that their family was devastated by David's death; she also mentions that a friend of David's named Billy Blue also visited her to pay his last respects. Later that night, the killer sneaks into Helen's house, cuts off her hair while she sleeps, and writes "Soon" in lipstick on her vanity mirror.

The following morning, find Max's corpse wearing Barry's stolen jacket in the trunk of her car. When i called the others, the body is missing. Helen and Barry, and I confront Ray about the recent events. Ray claims to have received a threatening letter as well. I went back to visit Missy, while Barry and Helen went to participate in the Fourth of July parade. Missy revealed David allegedly committed suicide out of guilt for the death of his girlfriend Susie in a car accident and showed David's suicide note to me. As the writing matched that of the note she received, i realized it was not a suicide note, but a death threat.

At the Croaker Beauty Pageant, Helen witnesses Barry being murdered on the balcony. She rushes upstairs with a police officer but found no sign of the killer or Barry. A police officer escorted Helen home, but the killer lured him into an alley and murdered him. Helen fled to her nearby family store, where her sister Elsa is closing for the night. The killer entered the store and murdered Elsa. Helen is chased to the third floor of the building and escapes through a window, falling to a long alleyway. She managesd to run toward the street, but the killer stops her and slashed her to death, her screams were drowned out by the sound of the oncoming parade.

I found an article that mentioned Susie's father, Ben Willis, and realized that Ben was the man they ran over, moments after he had killed David to avenge his daughter. I went to the docks to tell Ray, but he refused to believe me. I noticed Ray's boat is called Billy Blue and i ran away. Ben appeared, knocked Ray unconscious, and invited me to hide on his boat. On the boat, i found photos and articles about my friends and i, and pictures of Susie. Ben's boat leaves the docks, and he begins to torment me, chasing me below deck; there, j uncovered the bodies of Helen and Barry in the boat's ice box. Ray regains consciousness and steals a motorboat to rescue me. He ultimately uses the rigging to sever Ben's hand and send him overboard. When the police question us, we deny knowing why Ben attempted to kill us, but we are relieved not to have actually killed anybody the previous summer, and reconcile.

A year later, I am in college in Boston. As i entered the shower, i noticed the words "I still know" on the mirror. Moments later, a dark figure crashes through it as i screamed in horror.

This post was edited on 9/2/18 at 11:46 am