Tag, We’re It (Not-So Childish Games Duet #2)

~Chapter 1~

H ands paw at my body; some rough and calloused, some smooth and firm, but they all paw nonetheless. Gripping, tweaking, flicking; my whole body tries to recoil from the intrusion.

Everything is dark. Too dark.

And, I can tell that I’m naked. Far too naked.

I flinch away from a hard squeeze of my breast, feeling as though it may burst in the man’s hand. The pain is all-consuming until a heavy hand smacks my bare ass. I scream in agony, tears sliding down my cheeks like twin waterfalls.

“Shut up. No one cares about fat whores, Stupid girl.” A deep voice sneers.

A big mitt of a hand wraps around my throat and squeezes, preventing any air from getting in or out. “You disgust me. You disgust us all.”

The dark fabric covering my head is suddenly ripped away, and the inky darkness turns fuzzy.

Blinking my eyes a few times, I see that it’s nighttime. We’re in the woods behind my property; at the pile of limbs I had built up to burn.

I frantically look down and around me, my eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness as the moon reflects just enough light to make out my surroundings.

I’m in the burning pit I have for downed limbs, but it’s different. The logs now form a wide circle around me instead of just being stacked randomly on top of each other. My feet are tied to the bottom of a giant root lying horizontally and cross-tied to a colossal limb that stretches far above my head. A quick tug confirms that my hands are roughly bound behind my back.

I also visually confirm that I am, in fact, completely and utterly naked. I force myself to stop crying even though my body shakes with humiliation and pain.

Movement to my right causes me to snap my gaze forward, and what I see almost immediately makes me puke as fear surges through my body.

Four men.

Four men, standing in front of the moonlight like death’s children. They’re all in black, standing calmly like they’re waiting for my reaction. My eyes must be popping out of my skull as I take in their faces.

No, not faces… masks.

I try, and fail, to swallow multiple times as I look at each man.

One is tall and wide, like a football player. His dark clothes do nothing to tell me who he is or what he looks like, but his red Jason mask slashed with black markings is creepier than anything I’ve ever seen. The bright red of the mask looks all too much like blood. I’m usually not squeamish, but it's different when you’re pretty sure your blood will be spilled next.

I shiver, and my bottom lip trembles. “P-p-please…” I beg, knowing it won’t do any good. If these men plan to hurt me, they will, and there’s nothing I can do about it.

The man next to “Jason” shifts his head as if assessing me. My eyes travel over him, and I take in the semi-realistic skull mask; or should I say, the top of one. The bottom part of the mask is just a few white lines slashed downwards, but the top of the skull mask, with the bottomless pits of eerie darkness in the place of eyes, causes me to stutter. I swear I can feel his eyes boring into mine; even though I can’t see them. He’s angry, yet cold…bloodthirsty.

“What’s wrong, Baby girl? I thought you liked being scared?” The third man in line steps forward with his head cocked; a deep chuckle rumbling from behind his mask. His COD mask would generally turn me on, but tonight…tonight, all I feel is fear.

“W-why are you doing this to me?” The trembling in my body now seeps into my bones, like I’m being frozen from the inside out.

“You’ve been a bad girl. We know all about your nighttime activities. Who are you to play God? You’re no better than they were.” A sob rips out of my chest as I lower my head down, knowing this will be my end.

Fitting, really.

But it doesn’t suck any less.

After another minute, the fourth and final man steps forward, his body almost close enough to touch mine. A single gloved finger lifts my chin until I grievously comply with the silent command. I nearly choke on a gasp as I come face-to-face with a Ghostface mask. The staccato sounds of his heavy breathing make me squirm with unease and impending doom.

His soft, gloved finger touches the side of my forehead before lazily trailing down my cheek, over my nose, and across my lips. His fingertip taps my lips twice before stepping back and quietly tilting his head to the side.

I don’t know how, but I swear I can feel his gaze trailing a path of fire and ice down my body.

Oh, so slowly, the man lifts his hand to the bottom of his mask. I vaguely realize the others are doing the same, but I’m riveted to the terrifying man before me.

The piercings, the cool blue eyes, the bright pink hair… “Stu?!”

So many emotions war within me, and I can’t seem to land on one that fits.

“Your time has come, Beatrice,” he says, sticking out his long tongue, and licking a trail up my neck. “Don’t worry. We know how to make you scream.”

Suddenly, he plunges a knife straight into my left leg, causing me to howl in pain; then immediately vomit all over the ground.

Male chuckles filter through the wooziness, and I lift my head in time to see the other three men step forward: Alpha, Even, and Danny.

All four men I’ve dreamed about; hopelessly wanted.

Then, there’s Stu…

Moving my head to meet his gaze, I desperately implore, “Wh-why? Why are you doing this?”

His smirk is malicious, and my stomach sinks straight into my butt. “Did you really think we were friends? Oh, no.” He mocks, turning his mouth down into an exaggerated pout.

He turns briefly toward the others before returning his glare to me. “We all knew who you were. It’s our job to take down bad guys, remember? Well, in your case, bad girl . But hey… it worked out for us. We all got something out of it.” His brows bounce up and down suggestively, but his eyes are full of malice.

He steps closer, whispering just against my ear, “And the best part is, you totally fell for us. Every. Single. One of us. It was far more fun than the usual way we tortured our targets. Wouldn’t you say?” His brow raises as if he actually wants an answer.

However, I don’t have time to respond. Instead, he stabs me straight in my right arm and slices it all the way down. The pain is far too much; too much physically, and far too much emotionally.

The shriek that comes from me echoes through the night just as a heavy fog sets in; stealing away my sight, my fear, my pain…