The Final Girl Support Group

Lynnette Tarkington wakes in her apartment and, after forcing herself to exercise and shower, has her first panic attack of the day. She is always on high alert. She learns from the news that there’s a new “Final Girl”—16-year-old Stephanie Fugate—who survived a mass murder at Camp Red Lake. Lynnette knows Stephanie can never be happy again because Lynnette is also a Final Girl. She describes how one becomes a Final Girl—when real life mimics a horror movie where the killer takes out people one by one until he gets to the one girl who didn’t think it was a good idea to be there in the first place. That girl survives because she’s in good shape and somehow kills the killer. “Ever wonder what happens to those Final Girls?” (5), Lynnette asks. They end up in a support group.

There used to be seven Final Girls in the group, until Chrissy betrayed them all. Lynnette is worried about Adrienne. Camp Red Lake was where Adrienne became a Final Girl; it’s also where Adrienne has set up a retreat for survivors of violence.

Lynnette leaves for group, noting that this is the only time she leaves her apartment. She always makes sure she knows how to escape and has set up her life to avoid anything unexpected: “I don’t like risk” (6).