Prologue #3
“Oh my god. What is that?” Merritt whispered breathlessly.
I peeked through the leaves. A large group of people were gathered in a circle in the clearing. They were all wearing black robes, and their faces were covered with silver and black skull masks. The hollowed-out eyes of the masks gave them a cold, menacing stare, making them look like Death itself.
In the center of the circle, a pale man was tied to a rough wooden stake. There was a defeated slouch in his shoulders and his eyes looked hollow and desperate. He stared out at the people before him with an unwavering gaze, his mouth pressed shut with a black gag.
“If this is a party, it’s the weirdest one I ever saw,” Ari muttered.
“Maybe they’re playing dress-ups,” Samantha whispered back to him. “Like, for some sort of game.”
“Oh, yeah. That must be it.”
“Adults don’t play dress-ups,” Merritt said.
“Or games,” Jake added.
“They totally do. My aunt does cosplay, and my dad plays Minecraft,” Benji replied.
Merritt let out a light snort. “Does this look like Minecraft to you?”
“It’s not that sort of game. But it’s definitely a game,” Ari insisted. “It has to be.”
Rhett remained silent next to me, face unreadable.
One of the masked people moved to the center of the clearing, his voice cutting through the night air with an authoritative tone as he gestured toward the tied-up man.
“Thank you for being here, everyone,” he said, turning in a slow circle to address everyone in the clearing. “This is the final test for our latest batch of recruits before this year’s game begins. The culmination of their dedication and training.”
Excited whispers stirred within the circle as several masked people stepped forward and formed a line in front of the others. I swallowed hard as I watched, my instincts screaming that we were witnessing something we were never meant to see.
“Are you all willing to do what it takes?” the man continued, cocking his masked head. “I suppose we shall see…”
He paused and took a step back, hands clasped behind his back.
“Each of you must contribute to this man’s demise after his capture, as witnessed by your peers.
Whichever one of you lands the killing blow will receive a thirty-minute head start in October’s game.
It may not seem like much, but trust me…
those thirty minutes could make all the difference in the end.
Especially when you’re up against seasoned players like the rest of us. ”
A low, collective chuckle filled the clearing. I wasn’t sure why the people were laughing. This was the strangest and scariest thing I’d ever seen, even if it was all part of a game.
The leader lifted a hand, and a deep horn sounded from somewhere behind him. The other masked people moved quickly, and the ropes that bound the gagged man were loosened.
“Go!” the leader cried out, staring at the man. “Save yourself!”
The man shakily dashed forward, trying to flee the clearing, but he only made it ten steps away from the stake before he was surrounded by the people in the skull masks.
One of them lunged at him, sending him tumbling to the ground. A strangled gasp escaped his lips, echoing in the clearing as the other masked figures closed in like a pack of ravenous wolves.
The man kept fighting, trying to claw his way to freedom, but his attempts were met with a series of thumping blows. Each strike was punctuated by a strange cracking sound, followed by a sickly gurgling noise.
“Guys… I don’t think this is a game,” Merritt said in a strangled whisper.
“It has to be,” Ari insisted. “Or maybe they’re making a movie. There’s no way this is real.”
Someone hit the man again, and I felt something wet splatter my face. I touched a hand to my forehead, then looked at my index finger. It was red and sticky with an unmistakable metallic scent.
My mouth dropped open, and Rhett’s hand instantly clamped down on my lips before the scream could burst out.
“Run,” he said to the others. “Now.”
With that, he hoisted me over his shoulder and carried me away, hurrying through the forest. I clung to him like a barnacle, letting out a petrified sob with each jolting step.
As we plunged deeper into the shadows, Rhett began to rub my back, muttering next to my ear as he hurried along. “It’s okay, Everly,” he said. “It was just a movie, like Ari said. It’s not real. Okay? Not real.”
“I… I…” I couldn’t get any other words out. I felt dizzy from the panic surging through me, and my heart felt like it was about to explode right out of my chest. All I wanted was to go home.
“It’s not real,” Rhett repeated. “This is all just a dream. Got it?”
“Okay,” I finally managed to whisper.
His hand continued to rub my back. “Close your eyes and breathe. We’re going back to the tunnel, back to the house, and then we’re going to bed. None of this ever really happened.”
I latched onto his words like a lifeline before letting my head loll and my eyes close, suddenly exhausted. Rhett was right. He had to be.
It’s not real. It’s not real. It’s not real…