CHAPTER FIVE #2
I nod, grasping onto her every word, clinging tothis tiny flicker of hope. Asterpulls me into a hug, holding me like she’s trying to piece me back together.Like she can feel the weight of my grief pressing in on me, threatening to crush me, and she’s trying to hold me up.
I squeeze my eyes shut, pressing my forehead into her shoulder, letting myself breathe, just for a second. Just to stay upright. We sniffle and wipe our faces, both of us pretending we’re strong enough to keep going.
Aster forces a determined smile, her eyes still glassy.“Alright,”she says,“let’s win this thing for your mom!”
Then suddenly, the roar of a chainsaw rips through the night, followed by a blood-curdling scream. We freeze, still wiping tears from our faces.My stomach knots, my pulse hammering against my ribs. “Ummm, this is fake… right?” I attempt to laugh, but it comes out thin and breathless.
“It better be. If not, I’m prepared.” Aster unzips her purse and whips out a taser, swinging it in the air like she’s auditioning for an action movie.
I take a quick step back. “Damn, Aster, watch it! With the kind of luck I’m having tonight, you’ll accidentally take me out before the maze does.”
She rolls her eyes as we continue to make our way to the finish line. “Okay, but seriously, what happened earlier? When you ran down the stairs like a bat out of hell?”
I stiffen. “Uhhh… well, I walked in on—” The words die in my throat. We round a corner, and at the end of the narrow path stands a figure straight out of a horror movie. Ta ll. Cloaked in black. Still as death, just waiting for his next victim.
The long, pointed beak of his plague doctor mask tilts slightly, those cold, black lenses locked onto us.
The tattered edges of his heavy robes shift in the breeze, but he doesn’t move.
Just waits, patient and calculating, like he already knows how this ends.
In one gloved hand, he grips a long wooden staff, his fingers curled tightly around it.
In the other, an old lantern flickers with an eerie green glow, casting a sickly light that illuminates the leather straps across his chest and the hand-stitched seams of his gloves. A silent executioner.
I swallow hard, my throat dry as sandpaper. This isn’t just a costume. It’s a nightmare that has come to life… And he’s standing directly in the path we chose.
Aster lets out a shaky breath. “Nope. Nope, nope, nope. RUN!” she shrieks.
I don’t hesitate. I grab her arm and bolt, my bare feet pounding against the damp ground, my lungs burning as we take a sharp turn, then another.
The maze twists and shifts, the hedges seeming to close in around us.
The wind howls through the leaves, carrying whispers that Iswearare voices.
“Is he chasing us?” I gasp, barely able to get the words out.
Aster steals a glance over her shoulder. “No… I don’t see him. Maybe he—” A bloodcurdlingscreamcuts through the night. We skid to a stop. My pulse riots, thundering in my ears.
“That was the first victim,” I whisper, barely able to breathe.
Beside me, Aster exhales a shaky breath. “Looks like the game just started.”
Then …
At first, it's faint. Barely audible over the pounding of my heart. But then I hear it again. Footsteps. Slow. Deliberate. One after the other, crunching against the ground with a terrifying calm. They're close. Too close. Getting closer.
“Oh, fuck no. I did not sign up for this,” Aster hisses, clutching her purse like it’s a weapon. “You know I’m chicken shit when it comes to scary stuff.” She barely takes a step back before it happens. A shadow surges from the dark, its form broad and its movement swift.
Black-gloved hands clamp around her waist, yanking her backward with terrifying force.
“Lila!” she chokes out, her gasp sharp and strangled as her body jerks in panic. She thrashes, kicks, and claws to get free, but he’s too strong. Too silent. Too intentional.
“Aster!” I scream, reaching for her. But it’s too late. The figure twists her around and pins her arms, dragging her deeper into the maze. She fights, cursing up a storm, but the zip tie around her wrists is already tightening.
“Go, Lila! Win this for your mom!” she shouts, thrashing wildly against him. Then, mid-struggle, she grits out, “Sir, I can tell you’ve done this before… and you clearly picked the right victim.”
I can’t help it… I laugh and roll my eyes, even now. Classic Aster.
I hesitate, my feet rooted in place. That’s when I see them. The gloves. Black. Leather. Tight against strong hands that just took her. Goosebumps coat my skin…
Is ithim? The Phantom? Why didn’t he take me?
Aster thrashes on the ground, kicking at his shins, but his grip doesn’t budge. He hauls her up with terrifying ease and slings her over his shoulder like she weighs nothing.
Aster’s going to love being manhandled by this guy… assuming we live to laugh about it .
His head tilts. Observing me. Like he’s ready to chase me. Expecting me torun. Waiting for fear to kick in but… The way my body reacts is absolutely sickening.
Why… Why am I turned on? A pulse ignites deep inside me, heat coiling low in my stomach.
Lila. You can’t want this… Not now. Not ever.
I shake my head, legs stumbling into motion. To run. To escape this craving, I don’t understand. Go. Just go.
I take off into the maze, my breath coming in shallow gasps. My heart is a caged animal, thrashing to escape. But something is wrong. I should be terrified. Instead… I feel something else.
A need. Athrill. Like I want him to chase me. Like Iwantto be caught.
A chilling laugh echoes from somewhere ahead, laced with wicked amusement.
I freeze. My watch vibrates against my wrist, my heart rate spiking, but not from fear.
No, this is something entirely different.
I force myself to move, pushing deeper into the twisting passages of the maze.
Then, another sound. Leaves rustling. Footsteps. Not behind me. Ahead.
CRUNCH.
CRUNCH.
CRUNCH.
Then… Silence. My breath stalls in my throat.
I know someone is there. I turn slowly, my body thrumming with the knowledge that I’m not alone.
I come face-to-face with a grotesque carnival clown mask.
The twisted red grin stretched wide in a deranged, frozen expression.
Bloodshot eyes bore into mine, hollow and crazed, like something ripped straight from a horror movie.
A gloved finger, smooth black leather, traces the curve of my lips.
My breath hitches. “What’s a lost little princess doing all alone in the dark?
” His voice is distorted, warped by a voice modulator, making it impossible to recognize.
Deep. Mechanical. Predatory. “Did someone break you out of your tower?”
He stands over me, unmoving. Watching. Waiting for me to react.
To run. To tremble. The panic rises. My pulse pounds.
My body screams at me to move. But I don’t.
Why the hell does this feel good? Is it because this could be Batman?
Could it be the Phantom? There's no way it could still be the alcohol… can it?
A slow, terrifying realization coils around my spine, sinking its claws deep. Is this who I am? Is this what I crave?
A chill rushes through me, colder than the night air, more unsettling than the creatures lurking in the shadows. Because for the first time, I don’t know whether I want to run…
Or be caught.