Chapter 15 Selene #3
I was about to tear a strip off him anyway, but then Luke called out and distracted me.
“Everyone…look at this,” he said, sounding disturbed.
I decided to table my discussion with Neil for later, and we both walked around the coffee table to get a look at the laptop screen.
“The desktop only has one icon on it; some app called Dark Show.” Luke pointed a finger at it and gave Neil a curious look. “So we should open it, right?”
“No. Hold on,” Neil answered. “Put some tape over the webcam lens.” He stepped back, walking away from the computer. He suddenly seemed disoriented as he began breathing heavily and broke out into a cold sweat.
Something wasn’t right.
I knew he was probably flashing back to when Kim tried to film him, triggering his fear of being captured by a camera, a phone, a computer—anything with a lens.
“Why?” Xavier asked, stretching out on the couch.
“Because…” Neil swallowed hard. I could tell from the grim expression on his face that he didn’t want to explain himself.
It was hard for him to talk about that kind of thing.
He gave me a searching look, and I smiled, trying to beam to him the knowledge that I was right there with him.
“Because it screws with my head,” he murmured, going pale.
His pupils were so blown they’d almost swallowed the molten gold of his irises.
I was afraid that he might melt down at any moment, but he just squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again, pushing away the dark thoughts that had shadowed his face.
“You’re right. This thing is probably loaded with malware, and Player could be using it to spy on us.” Luke got up and vanished into another room in search of black tape. He returned, tearing a piece off with his teeth, and stuck a square of it right over the webcam.
I glanced at Neil and watched him let out a sigh of relief. Now that the danger had passed, he could lock his phobia back up in the drawer where he kept it separate from the rest of himself.
“Okay, I’m opening it. Get ready,” Luke informed us. He hovered over the icon and shot a look at Neil. When he nodded in assent, Luke clicked.
Immediately, a chat preview popped up, though it didn’t look like any messenger service I’d ever seen.
Jennifer and Alexia leaned in to get a better look at what was going on.
“The fuck is this…” Luke muttered in astonishment. “It’s requires a username to proceed.” He looked up at Neil, who was standing over him.
“Dark Knight,” I suggested before he could say anything.
Both of them turned to look at me in surprise. Neil’s stare was, as always, sultry and stormy. Meanwhile, Luke just entered the username I’d suggested into the name field and added a password consisting of apparently random numbers before clicking “Register.”
Then, the actual chat window opened, and there was already one other person online.
The only person who could possibly want to talk with us.
Player 2511: Good job. You did it.
The new message notification made everyone jump. Apparently, the psycho had been waiting for us.
Luke gulped, looking unsure of what to do. Neil shook his head in surprise and rubbed a hand over his face.
“Answer him. Ask him who the fuck he is and what the fuck he wants,” he said in a furious rush. Luke immediately did so.
Dark Knight: Who are you?
Player 2511: Nah, that would make it too easy. This game doesn’t end until I say it does.
Neil growled impatiently and gestured for Luke to move.
“Let me talk to him,” he demanded, taking Luke’s seat between Xavier and Jennifer. Luke then moved to stand next to me.
Dark Knight: Tell me what you want.
Player 2511: I want lots of things.
Dark Knight: Tell me one of them.
Player 2511: Take the tape off the camera and strip.
Neil stared dumbfounded at the message, and I stared right along with him.
So Luke had been right: Player obviously had control of the webcam and could use it to spy on us. I felt a burst of disquiet in my chest at the knowledge that, in addition to being a strategist, a hacker, and a crazy person, Player was also a goddamned creep.
“No!” I blurted out unthinkingly. Neil lifted his face to look at me and immediately saw the terror in my eyes.
“This is about your personal autonomy. Yours was already trampled on once before; I won’t let it happen again.
” The fury in my words made it crystal clear that there was no way I was going to allow him to submit to that lunatic’s demands.
Neil looked steadily at me for a few moments, locked in his unknowable inner world, before typing once again.
Dark Knight: What do I get in return?
Player 2511: Your little slut’s privacy. I won’t release the video.
Neil held perfectly still, his fingers hovering over the keyboard. I went white.
Our tormentor was playing dirty: He was using me to force Neil’s hand.
And the blackmail material he had provided was the perfect weapon.
I moved closer to my Disaster and slipped a hand into his soft hair, forcing him to look at me. Then I crouched down and met his eyes, strengthening the emotional connection between us.
“Please don’t do it,” I whispered.
He was shaken. He didn’t seem to be processing anything around him. His golden eyes stayed fixed on me while Alexia and Jennifer began to offer more theories about what was going on.
“This is a woman, just like I thought from the start. Why else would she want you naked?” Xavier cut in, the blood draining from his face.
“Don’t be an idiot, Xavier; it could be a woman or a man,” Luke said, rolling his eyes.
Neil was still in shock, staring blankly. I gently traced the contours of his lips with my thumb, trying to sooth him.
This nightmare would be over soon.
“Hey…” I said softly.
“It’s my fault. You weren’t supposed to get caught up in this…” he answered, sounding tortured.
“Well, I’m in it now, and I’m not leaving you alone.” I leaned in to give him a comforting kiss, but he rejected it, pulling back. I was briefly hurt but regrouped and moved closer to him. “Don’t give in to him. Please,” I begged.
Neil had already gone through more than enough hell for one lifetime; I wasn’t about to let this lunatic damage his psyche and wound his soul even further.
“I couldn’t give less of a fuck about myself.
But you…” he hissed through clenched teeth.
Abruptly, he cupped my face in his hands and moved closer to me.
His grip was so powerful it made me flinch, and his eyes pierced me like he was trying to tattoo his thoughts into my skin.
“You matter to me, and I am not going to let this asshole destroy your life. Not now, not ever.” He released me suddenly, as though he’d been burned.
Neil went back to typing, even more furiously than before.
Dark Knight: Why are you doing all this?
Player 2511: Because I enjoy humiliating you.
Dark Knight: What did I do to you?
Player 2511: Think about it…how much pain have you brought to how many people?
Dark Knight: Don’t answer my question with another question.
Player 2511: You turned my life into a tragedy. But now it’s my turn to decide how the story ends. Clock’s ticking…
I looked away from the screen as Neil got abruptly to his feet. He pulled a hand through his hair with a growl of rage.
“I have an idea,” Luke cut in. “Ask him to send the video of you and Selene together.”
Neil turned on him. “What the fuck? Are you nuts?”
“No, I’m not. I want to make sure this person actually has a video and that it’s not just a trick he’s using to manipulate you,” Luke answered, and we all fell silent, thinking.
“That could actually be a good move,” Xavier joined in, agreeing with Luke. “We need to level the playing field. This asshole has to know he’s fucking with the wrong people…”
“Hey!” Alexia shouted, drawing our attention back to the laptop. Instinctively, I clutched Neil’s arm.
Another window had popped up on the left side of the screen with an incoming video call, waiting for us to accept.
I was shocked. Was Player actually going to show himself?
Neil didn’t waste any more time, reaching out to click accept on the video.
For a few seconds, we waited.
They seemed to pass so slowly that it ratcheted up our fears all out of proportion.
Then, a woman appeared, sitting in a chair.
She wore a white mask that completely obscured her face with just two slits for eyeholes.
Her long blond hair fell over her breasts, and she wore a tight leather top with thin straps.
She was sitting in a bedroom. I caught just a glimpse of a round bed covered in black sheets surrounded by LED light strips that constantly cycled through colors.
On the wall above the upholstered headboard was a fire-red light emitting a soft glow that gave the whole room a potent, disquieting vibe.
“Fuck!” Xavier blurted out. “I fucking told you it was a woman!”
“Neil…do you recognize her?” Luke put in. Then he turned to look at Neil, who stood frozen, staring at the laptop. I squeezed my fingers around his stiffened arm to show him that I was right there, but he remained blank, his cloudy eyes fixed on the woman on the screen.
He shook his head slightly but said nothing.
“How’s he supposed to recognize her? With all the chicks he’s fucked, I’d have trouble picking out one specific one too!” Xavier joked. Luke elbowed him.
“If you don’t shut your fucking mouth, Xavier, I’m putting my fist in it,” Neil threatened, surfacing from his fugue. His look of menace was enough to get Xavier to perk up into a battle-ready stance.
“Sure, you wanna punch me so you can feel better about your own bullshit? Be my guest, but it’s not going to solve your problems.” He stepped to Neil without fear, but Luke stuck out an arm to push him back.