35. Open The Door, Little Girl
Chapter 35
Open The Door, Little Girl
Player 197
Present Day
P layer 197 awoke in his room with a start. Jumping off of his bed, he stomped out of the space. He wanted nothing more than to shake 195, Oleks. The fucker had clearly done something with his Raven.
But he would save it. At least Oleks had done one good deed.
And where the fuck was The Host? He hadn’t heard from him again in far too long.
Had The Host gone too far? Given too much away?
The last time Player 197 had heard from The Host was when he watched on from his room as the other players competed in the puppet game. When The Host had purposefully given the inaccurate players remaining—65 instead of 67—197 had been confused, until he saw which team played in the second round.
It was a hint. Just not for him.
197 marched his way across the living room, to the bedroom in which 196 had resided. He attempted to open it, but the door was locked. He began pounding on it.
“Raven, are you in there?” 197 tried to regain control of his emotions, but he could admit that he was terrified.
Nothing was going according to plan. He hadn’t heard from The Host in far too long.
What if something has gone wrong? How will we escape this alive?
At least there was still Felix and Miko. They were two of his trusted men. They promised everything was okay, that it was all ready to go.
They just needed to survive a little bit longer.
197 pressed his head against the wall, the cool wood at odds against his hot skin. He breathed in and out a few times, attempting to steady his breath.
Raven had changed everything.
“I can hear you out there,” her soft lyrical voice broke through the space.
“Open the door, little girl,” he demanded.
“Why? Why should I trust you not to hurt me?”
197 rubbed his temples. “We’re nearing the end, Raven. It’s time we talk, discuss our future. Our plans. It’s time I let you in on a little secret.”
“I’m listening.”
197 cast a look around their room. He didn’t see either of his other teammates, and he didn’t know where they were. Oleks, he trusted. But the other man? Player 194? Not so much.
“Not out here, let me in. I promise to be on my best behavior.” The lie was bitter, but he knew what would be sweet .
Raven’s mouth had been his undoing. It was a treachery that he hadn’t been near her again for far too long. He had missed her. Needed her. Fantasized about her.
“I’m holding a weapon, and I will cut you open if you try me,” she threatened aggressively.
It was clear she intended it as a warning, but it had the opposite effect.
“Okay,” 197 agreed, readjusting his waistband before stepping away from her door. He didn’t want to crowd her. To scare off the skittish woman.
He didn’t know what their time apart had done to her. He had only managed to witness her from afar. The closest they had come together was the organ game where she was nearly killed.
Again.
The creaking of her door drew his attention. His lips lifted up slowly.
Her hair was disheveled, a dimple in her chin forming as she let out a yawn.
She eyed him warily. “I don’t want to be here.”
“You do though,” 197 countered, taking a cautious step forward.
She tensed.
He recognized she was going to slam the door shut, and managed to push his foot into it just in time. “Ouch, that hurts, Raven. I just want to chat. Nothing too nefarious.”
“How can I even trust you?” She continued trying to shove the door shut, but she was no match for 197. While 197 recognized Raven was formidable, he was easily twice her size.
He pushed against her, and Raven let out a yelp of pain before staggering back. Startled, 197 jumped forward and somehow managed to angle them towards the bed. He landed on top of her for his troubles .
“Nothing nefarious ?” She raised a brow at him before wincing again. “You’re on my wound.”
“Wound?” He carefully untangled himself from Raven before helping her sit up.
She lifted her shirt.
“The puppet game?” he asked. He had watched it from their space. It was hard to tell, but at the end, it appeared she was stabbed.
She inclined her head. “I think it might be infected or at least headed in that direction. You don’t happen to have antibiotics lying around, do you?”
197 laughed. “Actually, I do.”
~~
He was back in her room. With Raven propped up on pillows against the headboard, 197 leaned on the wall across from her.
He was examining her face, even with the mask he could tell she wasn’t healthy, that this wound had been affecting her. Her skin was whiter, nearly sickly, her eyes bloodshot.
How did her precious men not notice that she was in pain? They don’t deserve her.
“If the pain and swelling don’t lessen in the next few days with the antibiotics, we’ll need to ask for a doctor.”
Raven scoffed, “Like they’ll just send us help if we ask for it.”
197 quirked his lips. “They will.” He lifted his hands up to his mask. “It’s about time we share each other’s secrets, don’t you think? Now that we’re teammates and all.”
“What are you—”
He threw his mask to the floor and met her stare. His face was infamous and he had no doubt she would recognize who he was.
Raven’s mouth hung open as she took in 197 .
“Close your mouth, you’ll catch flies.”
“I suspected, but I didn’t really think it was true. You’re not only a member of the Griffin gang you’re—”
“Yes.” He grinned coyly at her, stepping closer to the bed and leveling her with his gaze. “I am Griffin. Nice to ‘officially’ meet you.”
Raven opened her mouth in shock. Griffin quirked his lips at her before raising his eyes to the camera above the bed, glaring directly into it. He bared his teeth and blinked dramatically three times.
He hoped The Host was there to receive his message.