Chapter 19 Jagger
JAGGER
I’m gonna kill her.
I told her to stay left. Stay fucking left, and what does she do? The girl chooses right. She was so close. So fucking close.
Molars grinding, I stare at the screen, weighing my options. If I help her, she’ll be disqualified. If I don’t, she’s gonna have to go through three more rooms until she’s led right back to where she was before she pushed the wrong button.
“I gotta piss,” I announce. “I’ll be right back.”
Roman rubs at the edge of his jaw, watching me before his head dips. “Sure thing. I’ll take care of shit over here while you’re gone.”
The bastard’s too perceptive for his own good, but I don’t question him.
If there’s anything I know about Roman, it’s that he has my back, no matter what.
Even when I’m about to do something supremely stupid.
Keeping my pace casual, I shift around the side of the haunted house where a few bathrooms are located.
Once I'm out of sight, I jog toward a side entrance, unlock it, slip into the building, and close the door behind me. Props are everywhere. I search through them and find a dark mask, sliding it on. The haunted house is set up to have walkways within the walls with secret entrances hidden throughout. Most don’t know about them.
Only my brothers, me, Roman, and the old man who used to own the entire park until he closed it down.
There’s also an underground tunnel system beneath the entire park.
The previous owner had a thing for hidden passageways.
Everyone we hired to help run tonight’s event walked through the main door like the participants.
It helps keep the illusion alive and makes things fair for when we decide to shift the roles and let the men take their turn surviving the place because you better believe they’re gonna take their turn surviving this hellscape.
Which reminds me, I gotta pick up my pace.
Honestly, I’m surprised Violet’s lasted as long as she has. Only three girls are left out of the thirty, and Violet’s furthest. If she would’ve only listened and gone left like I told her, she’d already be out and collecting her winnings.
Stubborn brat.
When I reach the hidden door, I look through the peephole, confirming what I already know.
It’s started. Pigs blood pours from the ceiling, tainting the already dyed water in the pool below.
Next time, I have to reel Ford and his theatrics in because this is too much.
Through the crimson sheet raining down from the sprinkler system, I find my Little Thief with her ass on the ground and her knees to her chest. The ledge is about two feet deep, then it plummets into a six foot pool.
She should’ve fucking listened.
Pushing open the trap door, I step into view and call out, “Thought I told you to go left.”
Her head snaps up, her blonde hair streaked in red. Scrambling back, she reaches for her sticker.
“Wait.”
She hesitates.
“It’s me, okay?” I call over the metallic rain. “The cameras don’t have sound.”
Pushing to her feet, Violet stands, keeping her back pressed to the opposite wall. Crimson soaks her clothes, causing the wet fabric to cling to her skin while leaving little to the imagination, and fuck if it doesn’t mess with my head.
“What do you want?” she asks.
“To help you out.”
“I can’t swim.”
“I pieced that together. It’s why I told you to go left,” I remind her.
“Yeah, well, call me an idiot, but I didn't think any of the rooms had pools of blood I’d have to wade through.”
My mouth lifts behind my mask. “You can blame Ford for this one. The man’s a sucker for horror movies.”
“Of course, he is,” she mutters.
“It’s not all blood,” I add. “Most of it’s dyed water.”
She tucks her blood soaked-hair behind her ear. “Most of it?”
Feeling too guilty to lie, I clarify, “Okay, the stuff coming from the ceiling is pig’s blood, but—”
“I knew I recognized the smell!”
She’s not wrong. The air is tainted with iron. Suddenly, I’m grateful for the mask and the barrier it’s creating. If I didn’t have it, I’m pretty sure I’d be able to taste the tang raining down. “Like I said, blame Ford,” I grumble.
Her bottom lip wobbles, and she drops her chin to her chest. “I think I’m gonna…I think I’m gonna tap out.”
I shake my head. “No, you’re not.”
“Jagger…” She squeezes her eyes shut. “Jagger, this is messed up, okay?”
“I know it is.”
“I can’t do this.”
The girl looks about ready to cry. Hell, she might already be, and the smears of blood across her face are hiding the evidence. “This is it, all right?” I promise. “You make it out the door, and you win.”
“I can’t swim, remember?” She sniffs. “So unless you have a floatie device hidden under your T-shirt I’m unaware of, I’m kind of screwed, don’t you think?”
“There’s a step on the right,” I tell her. “It goes down about two feet, but you should be able to walk on it without falling in.”
She wipes at her stained cheeks. “What?”
“It’s like a, a place to sit or whatever. Ford used a regular pool insert to save money.” I shake my head. “That’s not the point. All I’m saying is there’s a step surrounding the right side of the pool. Put your foot in. You'll feel it.”
The girl doesn’t budge. “And then what?”
“Then, you’re gonna walk around the edge while I make it look like I'm trying to chase you.”
Her body stiffens. “What?”
“The cameras,” I repeat, pacing the opposite side of the pool like a caged beast. “People are watching, remember?”
“Yeah, but—”
“If you wanna walk away with the winnings, it can’t look like we’re cheating.”
Her gaze shifts to the camera in the corner of the room. “You’re joking.”
“Not joking,” I tell her. “I’m gonna jump in the pool and start swimming toward you. Just stay as far right as you can, and you’ll make it to the other side in no time.”
“Jagger.”
It’s a plea. One that messes with my head even more than the wet clothing painting her body. “You’ll be fine,” I reassure her.
“What if I fall in?”
“You won’t.”
“But what if I do?”
“Then, I got you,” I promise. “I won’t let you drown, Little Thief.” I glance at the camera again. “Enough talking or they’ll know something’s up. Go.”
She walks toward the wall to her right, then dips her leg into the pool, her body trembling like a leaf. “I can’t feel it.”
“It’s there.”
“Jagger, I can’t…” Her ankle swishes through the red before the water rises higher, swallowing her knees. “I feel it. Okay, I feel it.” She pushes away from the small ledge and stands. The water laps at her lower thighs, soaking into her jeans.
“Move fast,” I warn. “I’m coming after you, and I’m going to make this shit look real.
” I jump into the pool but keep my head above water so I don’t wind up waterboarding myself, thanks to the mask covering my identity.
Once I’m in, I kick toward her, and she moves fast, keeping one hand on the right wall for balance.
She’s too slow. Too cautious. If she was anyone else, I would’ve already reached her.
Glancing up at the camera, I reach for Violet’s leg, gripping the denim as I seethe, “Shake me off—”
“Jag—”
“Shake me off! You’re almost there!”
She kicks her foot, and I let her go, pushing myself away from her.
Hopefully, the cameras are too blurry to catch our bullshit acting skills because this is shady at best. Once she’s free, Violet stumbles the last few feet across the pool while the blood continues streaming from the ceiling.
When she finally reaches the edge, she climbs out of the water, her red hands smearing blood against the white wall as she finds the button and smashes her hand against it. The locked door swings open.
“Take the door on the left this time!” I order.
“But I thought you said—”
“Just do as I say,” I snap, too amped up to waste time splitting hairs. “It’ll take you outside!”
Her head bobs as she disappears through the exit, and the door slides closed behind her. Relief flooding my system, I look up at the ceiling and let out a long breath.
She’s safe. She made it.
She’s safe.
Sopping wet, I swim to the side of the pool and climb out of the red liquid.
Now, I have to figure out a way to cover this shit up.
Hopefully, Roman knows me as well as I think he does, and he can manipulate the footage.
If not, we’re royally fucked. I disappear back into a hidden passage, then head toward a small bathroom while cheering seeps through the outer walls.
She made it.
The question is, do they believe she did it without help?