Chapter 7
Kayla
My invitation came via text this morning—only a day after my tour—with a link to a form asking general things that I suppose cover the owner’s ass should something happen.
I filled in all my kinks, though there were some listed that were way out of my comfort zone—like shrimping is a huge no, and I do not advise you to google it.
While I was researching, a blog post for a book called Dirty Daddy by Samantha Barrett popped up.
I don’t know if it’s something I want to read, but curiosity got the better of me, and I ordered a copy on the author’s website all the way from Australia.
If I am going down the rabbit hole, I may as well own a signed copy.
After I completed my form, I received another message that explained a car would pick me up at eight to take me to the island. After that, I spent the rest of the day a jittery mess, much to my annoyance, since usually not much fazed me.
The driver is prompt, pulling up to the curb as the clock reaches the hour.
I jump up and down inside, excitement and nerves swirling in my gut, making me want to puke.
Excitement, because being chased sounds thrilling, but my nerves overwhelm me as I question whether I am really a girl who lets strangers chase her then do god knows what.
Has my life become so sad that hair pulling and light choking do nothing for me anymore?
The car crosses the bridge and stops just before the gates, the same as last night.
I jump out and thank the driver, but he doesn’t acknowledge me and drives away.
The gates are open and I walk through, remembering the glowing path.
This time when I reach the alley, there are people dressed in costume directing me where to go, and I am led into the open space Vero told me is for stunt shows by a man in a mask.
It looks like half his face has melted off, and he doesn’t talk, simply leads the way.
Once we arrive, I find that a handful of people are already waiting. The melted-face man hands me a wristband. It lights up and flashes blue, then black, then yellow. I look at the other people waiting, and theirs are also flashing, but not with as many colors as mine.
All the actors are standing around us, and I try to find Vero among them. I can’t see him and figure he will find me. My gaze moves across the rest of them, and I find I can read most of them—their energy gives them away.
Clay is standing slightly apart from the others, stiff in his security vest, bandanna pulled over the lower half of his face.
His dark eyes don’t move from me the second I lock onto them.
He is watching me, and something about it makes the back of my neck prickle.
I hold his stare for a second longer, then look away first, which I’m not happy about.
A lady standing on the stage clears her throat, and we all glance her way.
“Welcome, you exquisite misfits and delightful miscreants, to Fear Island. I’m Nixie.
Behind those masks are men who live for your screams. The contracts you signed will keep you safe.
The wristbands are trackers, in case you get lost, and the colors tell these beautiful monsters exactly who you belong to tonight.
Trust me, they take their possessions very seriously, so don’t lose yours.
If it comes off, you leave the island. The only warning—stay out of the cornfield.
If you enter, I cannot guarantee your safety.
Any questions? No? Good, good—because I’m not answering them.
Try not to embarrass yourselves out there, and I suggest you all start running. ”
“Scream My Name” by Thomas LaRosa blasts through the speakers at an almost deafening level, and everyone scatters.
I know exactly where Vero will be, so I head toward the asylum.
He wants me here, and I plan to let him find me.
The asylum doors are already open when I get there, so I stroll inside.
It’s dark and my heartbeat picks up a little; the instinctive fear of what is going to jump out at me kicks in, even though logically I know no one will hurt me.
I stop for a moment and let my eyes adjust, now seeing the narrow hallway in front of me.
If I hold both my arms out wide, I could probably touch either side.
Wallpaper is peeling off the walls, and there is a weird smell lingering in the air.
As I slowly make my way to the other end, an actor launches out of a door to my left, causing me to jump a mile high into the air.
He silently disappears back into the room he stepped out of as I keep walking, waiting for the next one.
Manic laughter rings out around me, and while not much in this world actually scares me, this is freaky as fuck.
It’s like watching a thriller—you know there are going to be jump scares, and yet you still get a rush of adrenaline when someone does something you knew was coming.
A woman with black hair and pale skin drops from the ceiling, so suddenly I almost bite my fucking tongue off in fright. Yet when she doesn’t move again, I go to sneak past her, but as I do, she shifts a little closer so our bodies touch.
“I can hear your bones moving,” she whispers, and it sends a shiver down my spine. What a weird-ass thing to say.
“If you walk any slower, you won’t find me.”
I turn toward the sound and peer through an open doorway. The room is empty except for a single bulb hanging from a chain.
“Where are you?” I ask.
“Everywhere. You didn’t think I would make it that easy, did you?”
I scan the room but can’t see a speaker in there.
“What are you scared of, my paper-cut princess?”
I chuckle at the nickname. I can’t say I hate it. Call me babe, on the other hand, and I might punch you in your face.
“Nothing,” I say as I search further.
When I turn a corner, the next room I have to pass has a large observation window, and inside an actor turns to face me. He is wearing a white lab coat and is covered in blood, while someone lies on a metal table behind him.
“Everyone fears something. Wanna know a secret? I’m scared of the silence in my head.”
“Bears,” I tell him, leaving out the embarrassing part of the story. I close my eyes for a second as a shiver rolls down my body.
“It’s not just bears, though, is it?” His voice moves again. Now it sounds like it is coming from up a set of stairs. “There’s a song, and something about it gets right under your skin, doesn’t it? Even now, just thinking about it.”
“Vero.” My tone is filled with caution.
“Do you want to go on a bear hunt?” His voice is low, taunting now. The change tells me he wants inside my head, and he is using this to do it. Yet I haven’t felt this excited in a long time.
“I will find you, and then I will end you,” I threaten.
But he just sniggers, and the speakers crackle at the same time. “I’m not scared,” he sings.
A door crashes open ahead of me, and I move backward fast. The man who fills the doorway is enormous. He is wearing a hockey mask and holding something long in one hand. He is completely still and blocks the only way forward.
Vero’s voice floats from somewhere above me. “Uh oh.”
“Don’t,” I warn.
“Can’t go around him,” he muses. “Can’t go over him, the ceiling is right there.”
I look left—a wall. To the right—Jason.
“Can’t go under him, that would be weird.”
“Vero, I swear to god.”
“He can’t save you here. Looks like you need to turn back and come find me.”
“I’m going to hurt you.”
“Promises, promises.”
Jason takes one slow step forward, and I turn back the way I came, moving faster than I did before.
I’m back in the hallway when the lights cut out.
In the pitch blackness, the song plays, bouncing off every wall at once so I can’t locate where it comes from.
All I can do is imagine locking Vero up in a room with his fears, not that I could ever make his head silent—I swear a squirrel must live in there and feed him chaotic ideas.
Feeling along the walls, I turn a corner and walk straight into a solid surface that wasn’t there before.
Except it isn’t a wall.
A hand closes around my arm, yanking me off my feet.
Suddenly I’m stumbling sideways, off balance, falling hard to one knee on the concrete floor. I’m ripped back up before the pain registers and spun around to face Clay standing there in the dark, bandanna across his face, his flashlight shining down on me.
“Get out of my way,” I snap, but there is no force behind it. Vero has gotten into my head enough that I can barely think straight.
He doesn’t move.
I shift left, and he mirrors it. So I go right, and he does the same. I drop my shoulder and try to go through him, but he catches me by the back of my jacket and shoves me sideways. His push is hard enough that I hit the wall and have to catch myself with both hands.
“You wanted me here, remember? No take-backs now. I can’t wait until it’s my turn with you. I plan to fuck you face down in the dirt and leave you in an empty grave.”
“An empty grave?” I laugh. “You’ll need to be a lot scarier than that to make me run from you, Clay.”
He grabs my wrist, the one without the band, and twists just enough to make me turn.
I swing back with my free hand, catching him on the side of the head, and he goes still for a second as something behind his eyes shifts.
It’s almost as if he is surprised I fought back.
Then he steps away, flicks off his flashlight, and the darkness swallows him whole.
“Watching you get manhandled makes me hard. Maybe we need to stop the bear hunt and start a Vero hunt. Come and find me, I’m here waiting for you.”