Chapter 12
Cipher
Tonight is the first chase, and I’m nervous. I like Valli as much as you can like someone you don’t really know. She intrigues me, and I’d love to know how she ticks. I like to dissect people to learn their inner workings.
The people on the island are different; we are shaped because of trauma. Outsiders generally don’t see the world the same way as us.
I tighten the same bolt three times and set the wrench down, accepting that my mind has wandered elsewhere. There are lots of things I don’t say out loud; I don’t see the point when the information is known.
Noa has been pacing all day, wondering if Valli will show up, but we know she will.
If he really wanted, he could check the security cameras I installed yesterday at her house, along with a panic button.
Given her circumstances and her refusal to stay here, it made sense, and it helped to calm Cave.
There is something about her that speaks to him. He won’t let her go.
I know I belong to Cave. It’s just how it is, and I like it. Now she also belongs to him, but I think it might take her a while to accept the reality. She isn’t from here, so she doesn’t understand how things work.
The Scarecrow is the core of the island.
He is feared the most, and rightfully so; he is unstable at best. Cave has somewhat of a moral compass, but only if he likes you.
He respects Ares, so limits hurting Vero because Ares has claimed him.
On the island, it’s an unspoken rule: when someone is claimed, if you fuck with them, you fuck with who they belong to.
As the saying goes, don’t bite the hand that feeds you, and Ares is the ultimate food source.
Noa appears in the doorway, his zombie makeup applied and his shovel tipped over his shoulder. He drops onto an upturned crate in the corner.
“Are we really doing this?” he asks, and I turn to look at him in surprise.
Noa is the one who fought for this when Nixie was on the fence. We know Cave is a liability at night, never during the day—he has a soft spot for kids. I think he enjoys playfully scaring them.
“Do you not want to do it anymore?” I ask.
Noa sighs. “I do—I really like her. She likes to dig holes with me, though I know that isn’t setting the bar high.”
“But?” I ask, because with Noa there is always a but.
“Is Cave even capable of sharing?”
I have no idea; the situation has never arisen.
No one else has ever wanted me, and thankfully so, since he has always been enough for me.
I sometimes wonder if any normal person could deal with me—I don’t initiate sex, I won’t seek it out, and I’ve read that in a relationship those things are what partners want.
However, I need someone to force my brain to shut down, to stop me hyper focusing on what I’m doing.
“There is only one way to find out,” I finally reply with a shrug.
“Easy for you to say. If he can’t, then I’m the one having to walk away. I can’t win against him. He’s a big guy—his hands, arms, muscles, and dick all look like he is on steroids. It’s not natural to be that size. I wonder if his corn has steroids in it.”
I laugh. “You’re overthinking it, Noa. Just have fun and be yourself.”
“Probably,” he says, jumping up. “Cave is in a mood.”
“Cave is always in a mood.”
“It’s freaky when he doesn’t blink, though.”
Noa comes to stand next to me. It makes me nervous because he likes to touch things, and when I pull something apart, I lay out the components in the order they came off. All so I can reverse the order when I put it back together.
“Are you nervous about tonight?”
I consider lying, but Noa knows me well enough to see through it. “Yes.”
He grins. “Me too. I have never been chased by Cave on purpose. But I can’t lie and say that doesn’t make me hard. Are you two exclusive? I don’t want to cross any boundaries.”
I have to think about it, but I don’t think we are. It’s not exactly a conversation you can have with a man who doesn’t really talk. So I shrug. “I have no idea, but I have no issues with sharing if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Do you think he will go full Cave on us in the cornfield?”
I nod, biting my lip at the memory. I have been one of his victims—I went to find him, not realizing it had turned dark.
He stalked me, found me, and dragged me to his post. That was the first time we were together.
I don’t even know if he’s all there when it happens, or if he becomes absent and just acts. “Have you warned Valli?”
“I did,” Noa says. “I explained it as daytime Cave in the cornfield is not the same man as the Cave who hunts down his prey at night. She didn’t look worried, which was concerning.”
I take a deep breath. “She should be at least a little scared.”
He laughs. “I know. That’s what I told her.”
Noa decides to wait when I go take a shower, and he’s been given strict instructions not to touch anything while I’m gone.
Once I’m ready, I find him still pacing, and we leave and head out toward the main stunt area where the night’s guests gather.
We take the long path, which brings us out closer to where we need to be, and when we arrive, eight guests are waiting, Valli being one of them.
“I like her outfit,” Noa says.
I really like it as well.
Valli is wearing a fluffy type of skirt with mesh leggings and boots. She is in a black jacket of some kind, with her hair up in a high ponytail, and dark face makeup. She looks hot, and I’m not sure I have ever looked at a woman before and had that thought.
Nerves pool in my gut, though I’m not nervous for the same reason as Noa.
I’m nervous because I have never been with a woman—the situation has simply never presented itself.
With Cave it was easy; he touched me in the cornfield, and I didn’t hate it.
I didn’t exactly love it at first either, but from what I have read, that’s normal—and Cave isn’t exactly gentle.
Nixie gives her normal performance, briefing the guests, and they scatter when Nixie tells them to run, the music increasing and adding to the chaotic atmosphere.
Each of the guests’ wristbands light up with different colors, and Valli’s flashes from amber to magenta to green—cycling through all three.
Valli peers up, her eyes locking on mine where I stand nearby. I hold her gaze for a second before it makes me feel weirdly vulnerable, and I look away.
Noa materializes beside her—I didn’t even hear him leave. He says something to her, and she smiles and laughs before running off with him trailing behind her.
I know exactly where he will herd her to, so I make my way toward the cemetery, taking the shortcut, even though I know he will drag it out in order to have fun with this. When I reach the edge of the old stone wall that runs along the north border, I settle and wait.
I watch as Valli comes through the gate, peeking back over her shoulder before sneaking inside. It’s dark and only a few string lights glow overhead, illuminating the area. I smile when I see Noa’s shadow, expanding when he rises from behind a headstone. Valli spins and takes a few steps back.
Noa grins. “Run for me,” he declares, and she does.
He gives her a full three seconds before he takes off after her. Valli cuts between headstones, but Noa simply jumps over them, and I lose sight of them for a second.
Her squeals fill the air, and when she cuts back toward the main path, I see her break into an open section highlighted by the string lights. She is breathing heavily and her hair has come loose at the front.
Noa vaults over a bunch of headstones and heads right for her, causing her to shriek and bolt. They disappear around the curve in the path, so I drop from the wall and follow them at a distance.
They come into sight again as Noa runs her through a narrow section, weaving between some older headstones.
He lets her hide behind one with an angel on top, while he makes enough noise that Valli can hear him coming.
He then goes quiet as he creeps slowly forward.
Valli pops her head out and shrieks again when she finds his face right in front of hers.
Eventually she comes flying past and flashes a smile at me over her shoulder.
Noa grabs me by the jacket as he runs past. “Come on, it’s scarecrow time. ”
Once we catch up to her, she’s standing on the edge of the cornfield.
“Tell me what to do,” she says, staring between the stalks.
I hear a rustle and know he’s in there, waiting for us.
Noa steps up beside her. “He is different in there at night. He might be rough, and you won’t be able to reach him like you normally can. You won’t hear him coming—you won’t know where he is until he wants you to. So trust your gut and don’t stop running, not for anything.”
“What if he gets you?” Valli whispers.
“Keep running. Save yourself.”
“Noa . . .” Valli trails off in confusion.
“I mean it, save yourself. I will be an amazing sacrifice.”
“Don’t worry yourself over it,” I say to her. “It seems Noa has a scarecrow kink and wants this experience.”
Noa turns and gives me the stink eye. “Are we ready?”
Valli nods at him.
I know I have nothing to worry about. Cave is so used to me now that if I were to come here at night, he would just stalk me and fuck me. It’s not a lot rougher than when he seeks me out.
Something crosses Valli’s face, then she turns and pushes into the corn, the stalks closing behind her. Noa looks back at me, his grin wide. I give him a nod, and he runs into the field behind her.
After taking a breath, I move along the outer row in silence. I wore my jacket tonight, one without my trinkets, and I know this field almost as well as Cave.
Valli is ahead, and her footsteps give her away. Behind her is Noa; he is talking, so there is no hiding for him. I am pretty sure he is doing it on purpose. His voice stops, and the cornfield falls silent. I pause and listen.
Cave is always actively hunting when someone or something comes into his cornfield. I stay still, knowing that he hunts using sound.
Noa shouts from somewhere to my left. “Oh no!” he calls out, and it’s clearly sarcasm. “I’m not the one you want—I’m just the sidekick.”
There is a thud, and the unmistakable sound of a body hitting the ground.
“He has my ankle. Valli, run! Save yourself! I’m going willingly. It will be a beautiful death!”
I roll my eyes at his dramatics; proclaiming his imminent demise is a little over the top. He may wake up covered in bruises, but something tells me he will wear them like badges of honor and show them off to everyone.
“I carry no lantern, yet I lead you in circles. I set no trap, yet you walk into me willingly. I am the thing that lives between knowing and not knowing. What am I?”
Noa’s response is muffled. “That is a trick riddle and you know it. Ouch! That’s going to leave a bruise—do it again. Do I get a safe word? Valli has one.”
Valli appears from between the stalks. Pulling up hard, she darts her hand out and catches the front of my jacket. “Cipher,” she pants. “Where is he?”
“Moving.”
She stares at me. “Which direction?”
I shrug. “I don’t know, no one ever does with Cave.”
She makes a small noise and pulls me by my jacket. I fall in step with her, and she keeps a hold of the material the entire way. We make it to the north edge when Cave steps out directly in front of us.
Cave doesn’t run; he doesn’t need to.
He simply appears, or at least it seems so. I swear even the dark fears him. With his corn sword at his side, his amber eyes find Valli first, then me.
She lifts her chin and stares him down.
He steps forward, reaching to wrap his hand around her thin neck, squeezing hard enough that I have no doubt in my mind he could snap it. Cave studies her, his head tilting, and his fingers tighten. Her hands come up to grip his wrist.
“Gift,” he utters as he releases her neck.
Cave picks her up around her middle and strides away.
I follow behind, curious as to his purpose and what gift he is talking about.
We clear the stalks and come out into the center of the field, and I chuckle.
Noa is tied to Cave’s post, which explains the missing rope from my shed.
His wrists are looped over the crossbeam, and he is completely naked.
His zombie face paint is smudged, and his head whips toward where Cave is standing.
“There you are,” he says. “I thought I was going to miss the fun stuff. My left hand has gone to sleep, so can someone help me with that?” He looks to Valli now that Cave has put her down on her feet. “Hi.”
“Hi,” she says, her eyes running over his body, and let’s just say he is obviously happy to see her. I’m not one to care about the naked form, but even I can appreciate that Noa looks good naked. He may not be huge like Cave, but the guy is definitely sporting a six-pack.
“That’s the best chase I have ever been involved in, and I included the one time Vero ran me in here, and the night Brawley decided I was a training exercise,” Noa continues, while Valli stands there, her eyes widening and her mouth slightly open. “You okay?”
“Yes,” she says.
“Good.” He lifts his chin. “Come over here then.”
Cave steps back and Valli walks toward Noa. When she reaches him, she takes his face between her hands. “You are completely insane, you know that, right?”
“Maybe, but how many people can say they were dragged through a cornfield and stripped naked by a scarecrow?”
I look at the ground and then at the cornstalks. When I look back up, Cave has moved closer. He glances over at me, and when he’s within reaching distance, he holds out his hand and intertwines his fingers in mine.