Roller Ricky

**Ricky**, better known as **Roller Ricky**, is the owner of Roller Ricky's Roller Rink. He is voiced by Andrew Wheildon-Dennis.

## History

Roller Ricky was born around 1950, having been a high school senior in Gallows Creek High School in 1968. During this time, he was known as "Runner Ricky", as he was the star wide receiver of the football team. Ricky would look back on his time there as damaging to his mental health, describing it as a "bad crowd", something he attributed entirely to the influence of one student in particular, Teddy Gallows Jr., heir to the Gallows family fortune and his best friend throughout high school.

On September 2nd, the players had their first team party, incidentally the same date on which a local serial killer-turned-urban legend, Edward Marshall Mooney, a.k.a. the Whistling Man, had disappeared at the nearby river ten years prior, on what is now known as Whistling Point. Teddy took notice of this and with the help of an inner circle of teammates, hatched a plan to haze some of the newbies by having the party in the woods by Whistling Point and staging an attack by the Whistling Man, something that would later evolve into an annual event for prank-happy youths called "Whistling Night". Teddy specifically excluded Ricky from the brain trust, as he was known as a babbler who couldn't keep a secret, so when the Whistling Man, really either team captain Chuck Brody or Teddy himself, jumped from the treelines and pretended to stab a co-conspirator, offensive linesman Jason Parker, Ricky did as most at the celebration did and ran away back into town in utter terror, never looking back. The next morning, he heard news that a member of the football team, George Barrow, had died that night. Though he hardly knew George, Ricky was nonetheless traumatized by this and coupled with his pre-existing feelings of inadequacy, he came to believe that he should have died in place of anyone else, developing survivor's guilt and turning to alcohol abuse to cope.

It took several years for him to get over his addiction, but after joining a support group and opening up about his issues, Ricky went sober, developed a passion for roller disco, with a taste for David Scopo music, and eventually opened his own roller-skating rink on the west edge of Gallows Creek, by the rail tracks. Teddy would later claim that he personally "helped him off the bottle" out of decency, an assertion that is never touched on by Ricky, though it is later speculated that he only did this to keep him from talking about the first Whistling Night. His convalescence was sped along after Ricky got an emotional support dog, a former stray he named Max, whom he grew to love dearly and taught how to roller-skate. Since then, he embraced the name "Roller Ricky" and adopted a optimistic, cheerful demeanor.

On September 2nd, 1987, Roller Ricky's was one of five clients in Gallows Creek to have a new Starling 4000 security system installed by Jamie Macher. The following night to September 3rd, 1987, Roller Ricky was preparing for tomorrow's Harvest Festival where he plans to give free roller-skating lessons while listening to KFAM 189.16 - The Scream, and listens with some 35 others as host Forrest Nash gives advice to a group of teens on how to escape an attack by the Whistling Man, with at least one surviving. Roller Ricky gives the station a call to give Forrest, in the name of all of Gallows Creek's residents, his sincerest thanks for his service. Forrest encourages Roller Ricky to talk a bit about himself, how his night's been going and recounts his journey to recovery. He thanks Forrest for letting him share his experiences and brings on Maxy as a special guest, who gets excited at the sounds of the nearby trains passing by. Before he signs off, Roller Ricky asks if Forrest could play a song for him and Max to boogie to before they go to rest for the night. Peggy is left with the mental image of Max skating around the rink.

At 3 a.m., a call by Dawn comes in, requesting help for gaining entry into the Wood Side Apartments, saying that she has been locked out and did not receive a code for the new Starling 4000 security system. During her call, a train horn can be heard, as well as a barking dog, roused by the noise and continuing to yap, apparently due to Dawn's presence, who curses it as a neighbor's dog, who just then starts "blasting David Scopo" and can't hear her. Peggy notes that both KFAM and Roller Ricky have received the same system and considers consulting him for assistance, though she eventually figures that he is likely going to bed by now. She instead tells Forrest to fetch the manual from the basement storage, which also holds a forgotten delivery notice, showing that Wood Side Apartments had received a set, but did not have it installed yet. There is also another piece of paper on the reception counter showing that the Wood Side Apartments are not due to open until October 1st, yet again adding to the evidence that Dawn is not at the Wood Side Apartments.

Forrest will be given the choice of passing on one of four codes, entry, alarm test, maintenance, or alarm deactivation. The alarm test is the correct answer, as this will cause Dawn to become bewildered, loudly swearing and breaking a window before a shot is heard, with Ricky's threats against the intruder revealing that Dawn had been trying to break into Roller Ricky's Roller Rink. As Dawn flees, Ricky picks up the phone and informs Forrest that he just took a shot at the Whistling Man. He goes on to say that the alarm alerted him just in time to get his rifle and see the intruder, thanking Forrest and Peggy for their help and gives them life-time free access to the rink at any time of day.

If Roller Ricky survives, he will make a follow-up call after Forrest deals with Jason Parker, where he reveals his prior friendship with Jason and recalls the night George died. He explains to them that George had recently joined the football team and brought his girlfriend to the party, who they surmise is "Dawn" from before, but Roller Ricky never knew her real name, knowing only that George affectionately called her "Bean". He hopes that he can finally make peace with the events of that night, thanking Forrest and hangs up.

During the Whistling Man's interview, Marie will bring up how she, George and Ricky were left at the party as everyone else ran, and goes on to say that she's convinced Ricky was part of the prank as well due to his close bond with Teddy during high school. If Ricky survived, Forrest can tell her otherwise, stating that Ricky was completely unaware, just like she and George were, which is confirmed by Teddy, who admits he didn't want to risk him talking. Marie is noticeably taken aback by this, but she continues to insist that because Ricky never openly spoke up, he's as guilty as the rest in her eyes.

## Possible death

* Overlooking or ignoring all the hints towards Dawn lying about her situation, Forrest can give her the entry code. She will hold back a laugh and hang up. Roller Ricky will then call and ask for help against a home invader, saying that he can't locate his rifle. As he tries to find it, Max is killed by the intruder with Ricky's own gun, leaving him a sobbing mess before he too is killed by Dawn.

## Trivia

* Roller Ricky and his roller classes are mentioned in the "Giblet Field Harvest Festival" advertisment.
* Roller Ricky, Forrest, Teddy, and Peggy are tied as having the fewest choices leading to death.
* Roller Ricky and Max were voted the most popular callers in polls Killer Frequency's official twitter (X) account and Discord server, with Brian Ponty being second.

1. ↑ https://twitter.com/KillerFrequency/status/1677322558650085376