Chapter 11
Unknown: Wear one of your ribbons tonight. That’s not a request.
I squinted at the message and finished tying my bun—without a ribbon. Hazing Night was about to start.
Unknown: It’s impolite to leave someone on read.
My thumb tapped angrily on the screen, firing back a reply.
Me: Stop (s)talking to me, Levi. It’s desperate, even for you.
Levi: Desperate haha… Duly noted.
I threw my phone on my bed, trying to erase the mental image of Levi’s sinister laughter creeping into my brain.
“You ready?” Yas asked, her eyes determined.
I gave her a resolute nod, and we marched to the meeting point in front of our common room. Exchanging a few silent glances with the first years, I pinned our hopes on Sylas’s strategy working. The fog we had released to shroud us swirled around our ankles. We wore full black like the rest of the Unifiers so Levi wouldn’t recognize me when I’d infiltrate his camp. I looked up at the security camera, knowing Levi was probably watching.
The tolling of the bell pierced the silence in the solemn air, announcing the start of Hazing Night. We dropped to the ground, the fog embracing us like a shadowy veil. A fellow student approached, thrusting a black wig into my hands. I concealed my identity under the wig—my white hair would give me away too easily.
“Let’s move,” one Unifier whispered, and our cohort of students surged forward in unison.
Yas and I dashed toward the Tacticians’ territory, three Unifiers shielding our rear. Their mission was to create diversions in this game of hide-and-seek. The narrow corridors of the quad reverberated with ear-piercing screams. We darted through every pillar and alcove, a pulsating bass hammering in sync with my racing heart. Their shadows were closing in on us, and every corner was a gamble.
“We got one Unifier, little bitch!” a Tactician cheered, followed by maniacal, clown-like laughter.
As I glanced over my shoulder, the taste of metallic blood filled my mouth. The guys who were with us were now laid captive in the clutches of the Tacticians. A black bag with a purple smiley face covered their faces. Their attackers wore skull masks.
No. No. Why are they wearing masks?
My heart hammered against my rib cage as dread clawed its way up my spine. Their hollow eye sockets fell on me. Their jagged teeth stretched from ear to ear in a twisted, mocking grin. One of them pointed slowly in our direction, a silent accusation that we were next.
“Dalia!” Yasmine’s voice rang out, beckoning me to follow as she dashed forward.
“I—” My throat tightened. I hadn’t even realized I had stopped running. I couldn’t move; I couldn’t speak.
The masked men approached with ominous steps, each footfall echoing like a death knell in my ears. My muscles tensed, and I felt myself sinking into the ground, paralyzed by fear. Only Yasmine’s firm grip on my hand kept me from collapsing completely.
“What are you doing?” She yanked me away from them.
She’d come back for me. Just like Mom did. I blinked and bolted alongside her.
Shadows stretched, swallowing the path ahead. Run . Feet thudded against the checkered tiles. Run . Beads of sweat raced down the nape of my neck. Run . My pulse thundered in my ears. Run . Panic clawed at the edges of my sanity.
Every breath felt like a struggle, but, turning back, I noticed none of the skull masks had followed us.
Pantheon had turned into a chaotic jungle. One student was on all fours, barking like a dog, before being ordered to kiss his attacker’s shoe. Another was being held upside down by his feet; alcohol was shoved into his mouth while reciting pledges. One was branded on his forehead with insults. Near the lake, Guardians had to undress to their underwear before being thrown into the cold water.
We slammed our back against the stone of the sciences building, both of us ignoring the visions of horror around us.
I squeezed Yasmine’s hand. “Thank you, Yas, for coming back for me.”
“Don’t thank me. I didn’t know I had it in me.” Her breath was ragged as she searched for Tacticians. “As fate would have wanted, we’re next to the lab rooms. Imagine if they conduct experiments on us. I don’t want to die like a lab rat!”
“Hey,” I whispered, placing my hands on her shoulders. “We’ve got this. Our destiny won’t be one of those horror movies.”
“Okay,” she replied, taking a fortifying breath.
My fingers adjusted the inky-black wig that shielded my identity. “Follow me.”
In our darkness-shrouded attire, we continued onward, climbing the old stone stairs of the sciences building. In a narrow corridor, I saw a group of Pioneers urinating on a crying Tactician while they were filming him. My stomach roiled, and I felt like I was about to puke.
“I don’t feel well, Dalia.” Yasmine’s voice shook. “This is getting out of control. I’m scared.”
I climbed the stairs faster, holding her hand. “Me too.”
The frigid air clung to us as we maneuvered through the Pioneers, who were chasing first-year Tacticians. Arriving at the top, I spotted two second or third-year Tacticians stalking their prey, so I quickly grabbed Yasmine and hid in some kind of closet. We held our breath.
“Thank you, girl, you—”
The door swung open, and we jumped back, hugging each other. It was Tara.
“What are you doing here?” Yas shouted in a whisper.
Did they know each other? Tara’s glaring eyes locked onto Yasmine, and I felt… lost.
“I’m here for you, stupid,” she retorted, completely ignoring me. “You really don’t know how to pick your friends. Her, really?”
I exchanged a puzzled glance with Yasmine.
“Tara is my sister,” she said. “I’ll explain later.”
Everything made so much more sense now.
“I told you to abort this fucking plan! They could have caught you!” Tara screamed at her sister.
“You told her?” It was my turn to scream.
“Yes, I didn’t have a choice. She threatened to call our parents and make my life miserable for the rest of the year.”
“If you’ll excuse me.” Tara pounced on a hapless first-year Tactician, seizing his flag before shoving him away, then she swiftly rejoined us. “I’m here to help you because you’ll fail without me. You look like puppies lost in an arena full of hyenas.”
My eyes narrowed. “Why would you help us?”
“Because, newbie,” Tara began, a touch of scorn lacing her words, “I loathe Levi, and I relish the idea of teaching him a lesson. Plus, that wig does absolutely nothing for your appearance. Second, I’m going to win, and capturing a few Tacticians would significantly help my cause. And third—” She turned her steely gaze toward her sister. “I’m here to protect you, again, thanks to your questionable friendship decisions.”
Yasmine crossed her arms defiantly. “I told you not to intervene.”
Tara gave her sister’s head a condescending pat. “You don’t get to tell me anything, little sis. I know how to mince my way to their dormitories while avoiding all the camera angles, and before you ask…” Tara’s gaze drilled into mine. “We used to do it here. Levi can be quite a savage when he’s not the spectator.”
Her laughter washed over me, and my stomach tightened into a knot. I swallowed hard, trying to erase that unwanted mental image. Not that I cared; for all I knew, they seemed perfectly fitted for each other.
“Follow me,” Tara commanded. “Or I’ll call the Tacticians on you. It’s your choice.”
Reluctantly, we had no choice but to follow Tara, who cat-walked as if she owned the Tacticians’ grounds. She oozed confidence so easily. We crossed the high, narrow bridge linking the Tactician and Sciences buildings. Its ancient stone arches loomed above the courtyard below, and with only the stars for witness, we reached the entrance of their dorms on the turrets. No one was guarding their territory. It sounded fishy for someone like the Tacticians.
Tara gestured to the left. “It’s right there.”
We tiptoed inside their common room, shutting the door softly behind us, remaining in the darkness.
“I can’t believe we did it,” Yasmine cheered in a failed whisper. “I thought we were about to die out there, but we made it!”
It was too easy. I had a bad feeling about this.
“Yas, something is not quite right.”
“Who cares!”
I stumbled along the walls until I reached the breaker panel box, then switched off the power.
“Let’s find a place to hide now,” Yasmine said.
Suddenly, a sharp clap pierced the darkness, and the eerie glow of a smartphone illuminated our surroundings. In the gloom, Levi was draped in shadows, sitting arrogantly in a chair, applauding our efforts with a mocking sneer.
“I’m impressed, little thief.” Levi’s voice was like velvet, soft to the ears yet laced with lethal intent. “Your dedication to foiling my plans was quite entertaining to watch.”
My nails dug into my palm. “You knew.”
“Let’s go, Yasmine.” Tara yanked Yas by the arm, dragging her out of the room.
“I’m not leaving Dalia here! Dalia, let’s go. We can still escape!”
“Two Tacticians are hiding by the Guardians’ pools—names are Paul and Michel. You’re welcome, Tara. Take your sister and leave, as we agreed .”
Yas’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Tara, you tricked us!”
Tara silenced her with a stern command. “Shut up and follow me.”
“No, I’m staying with—”
“No, Yasmine, it’s okay,” I said. “I’ll feel better if I know you’re safe. I’ll be fine.”
Tara propelled Yas out of the room, and the door slammed shut behind them. Tara might have betrayed us, but I understood why she did it. Yasmine was her sister. She did what was best for her, which proved she wasn’t half the monster Levi had turned into. He had sewn a hateful personality upon himself, destined to make everyone hate him.
“You must have threatened Yasmine somehow. You knew Tara would bring me to you because she’s her sister and was aware of our plans. But you failed. I still disabled your network.” I took a step forward and repeated, “You failed.”
Levi’s laughter coiled around me, shocking me like a venomous snake. He rose from his seat, bridging the gap between us. His face remained shrouded, yet I could see the merciless edges of his visage and the sharp sting of his gaze.
“What makes you think I give a damn about the others and this trivial competition?” he drawled, his voice filled with amusement. “You see, Dalia…” I felt him circling me like a predator on the prowl. “I don’t chase anyone. Not even you. I wanted you here, and you came to me.”
“And? I won’t give you anything.”
“Willingly.” He chuckled. “Look who grew a backbone. I must be rubbing off on you.”
I held my breath. He lurked behind me, his fingers tracing the edges of my short-haired wig. My heart surged, sending shivers down my spine.
“Remove that ridiculous wig. It’s not you,” his dark voice threatened.
I contemplated my escape options, knowing that the darkness could still conceal me. I made a run for it, but he pulled me back into our deadly dance.
“I didn’t allow you to run.” His hand reached out, and in a matter of seconds, he’d removed my wig. “So predictable.”
I pulled away, and he slowly circled me, hands casually tucked back into his pockets. I was in a fencing stance, my feet firmly planted on the ground, my eyes staying alert of his every move.
“I know all the lies you tell yourself,” he purred. “You strive so desperately to prove that you’re not your father’s fragile little girl. You yearn to be like the mother you barely knew, or like my mother, who you think of as yours. You wish to explore desires that feel like forbidden sins. It fascinates me, Dalia. You fascinate me, and I despise you so strongly for it. It disgusts me.”
“You disgust me too right now,” I lied, crossing my fingers behind my back.
He squared up to me. “Yet I can feel your doll heart beating for me. Maybe you’re even wet for me.”
“Levi,” I breathed. His fingers drew near my flag, his actions calculated, barely perceptible. “I’ll always fight you back.”
I’d never give up because I couldn’t let him become a bully. He wanted to hate me, so I was going to empty him of his hatred until not a single drop was left in him.
With his thumb, he tilted my face to the side. “How’s the cut, little thief?”
Levi Delombre was hauntingly beautiful, as majestic as a dark swan. His pain lurked underneath, tearing at my curiosity, but right now, all I wanted was to play the angriest song ever and do this.
“How are your balls, asshole?”
I mustered the strength to break free, landing a swift kick to his groin. As he gasped in pain and cursed, I seized the opportunity to break free from his grasp.
My victory didn’t last long before his laughter echoed through the room, chilling me to the core. “Fighting me only makes it more exhilarating.”
With a swift motion, I flung the door open.
“I changed my mind. You better run before I catch you,” Levi’s voice haunted me from the corridors.
I dashed through the darkness, heart thundering, each breath searing agony. I fled the Tacticians’ lair, the wind on the Bridge of Sighs buffeted me relentlessly. Levi’s taunting words reverberated. It felt as if his presence clung to every looming shadow, silently lurking behind each relentless Tactician, and whispering in the piercing cries that tore through the night until I was abruptly seized. A strong hand clamped over my mouth, dragging me into a room.
An acrid scent of chemicals hung in the air. An assortment of test tubes, beakers, scalpels, forceps, and clamps littered the surfaces. Long iron tables reminiscent of those found in a morgue owned the room. It looked like a chamber of nightmares.
“Well, well, what do we have here?”
Two looming figures, shrouded in the anonymity of skull masks, hovered over me like sinister specters. My stomach churned, the gusting wind outside whistling through the cracks.
“It’s all in your head,” I whispered to myself. “They’re not here.”
“We got a psychotic one.” One of the skull masks cackled.
The other snatched my flag, his gloved fingers ripping it away. They tightened their grip on my arm, the stench of alcohol wafting from their breath. Desperation igniting my limbs, I struggled, kicking out with all my might.
Growing up, I’d never gone out on Halloween night or to carnivals or anything like that because I was afraid of seeing them . They had tormented me with the same nightmares for ten years, relentless in their pursuit to finish what they had started. In my dreams, I was paralyzed, unable to fight them, to move, to scream. I couldn’t change the outcome. I couldn’t get myself to speak the names of those who destroyed my life. In every nightmare, they took my mom away from me again, and again, and I could do nothing about it.
With music, I could push them back from my mind, but their presence grew suffocating and more oppressive in the silence. Those monsters made the music stop.
You’re safe. They’re gone. It’s not them.
“Is that Levi’s girl?” one of the men whispered, his voice muffled by his mask.
He yanked me toward them, ensnaring me in his unyielding grip as though I were nothing more than a lifeless puppet, manipulated at their whim.
It’s not them.
“Can you remove your masks?” I stuttered. “Please.”
He ignored me. “Who cares? It’s not like he’ll ever find out.”
I thought I had made progress with all my therapy sessions. The nightmares had stopped lately. I was able to go near the opera without seeing them, but now it all came back. My vision blurred with tears, and I screamed.
One of them covered my mouth. “You sure? What if he loses his temper? He’s made it clear—”
“Don’t be a pussy, man.” The other interrupted. “She’s not even wearing a ribbon. Give her the good stuff. She’s a pain.”
“Take off your masks,” I pleaded again, my words muffled by the hand covering my mouth.
He opened a small box with pills. “Why? Are you scared?”
The power went back on. The room was now bathed in a bloody red light as the bulbs flickered, threatening to burst. The man snapped the box shut, taking a pill, and I closed my eyes.
Mom.
It was Christmas Eve. Men in skull masks held guns, shooting randomly in the screaming crowd. I was pushed, trampled, witnessing the instruments falling off the stage in shrieking, painful, agonizing sounds. I rose. Why did I stand? I was searching for Mama. I should have stayed hidden like she told me to. Because Mama was now running toward me to protect me. No. Why didn’t she just hide like she told me to do? Why did she run to me? She was visible to those monsters now. They’d see her. She was calling me, telling me to drop on the ground, shielding me from the spectacle of horror behind me. Close your eyes. I couldn’t. I just wanted to hug her. There was so much blood. So many deaths. Instead, I watched her drop on the floor. The color drained from her face as her hand reached out to me. Behind her, this bloody monster with a skull mask held out his weapon. Blood flowed down to my feet. I screamed for hours until someone got to me. When I stepped out, it felt like the white carpet of snow on the outside became red too, just like the blood in my hair.
I’d repressed that memory for so long. They called it a coping mechanism to maintain a connection to Mom. I couldn’t let them win over my promise to her.
The gun. The blood. The skull mask.
Twenty-seven names.
Twenty-seven deaths.
And I’d survived.
“I’ll tell him!” I blurted out, half screaming. The devil I knew was less threatening than the devil I didn’t. “I’ll tell Levi everything.”
Don’t look at them.
“You’ll be too high to remember what happened, and we’re masked,” the other assailant snickered. “He never bothers to come play with us, so no one will come for you.”
I struggled against their hold, fury and helplessness boiling within me. “You have no right—”
“No one will know. That’s why the rules don’t apply to us tonight, my dear. We’re all-powerful.”
So this was what Hazing Night was about. Bullying without consequences. Taking away our consent. My father had warned me about this: men who took what they pleased and reveled in it. The world was an unforgiving and perilous place, and I was weak.
“You better start calling us masters. Before you join the others, we’ll have a little party of our own,” the other one whispered.
Then the door swung open, and we all turned to it. Levi stood there with an air of chilling composure, his arms crossed, a skull mask in his hand. For some reason, I felt relieved.
“There you are,” he said.
“Levi, we—” both masked men started but were swiftly silenced by Levi’s menacing voice.
“I’ll deal with both of you assholes later.”
They released me, reluctantly surrendering my flag to Levi before retreating like cowards. Levi advanced slowly, his gaze piercing me with unsettling calmness. Every part of me trembled; tears had streamed down my cheeks, and I struggled to hold his gaze. But he didn’t speak. He just watched me intently, waiting for the tremors to cease and for me to regain control over my thumping heart.
“If only you had listened to me and refrained from meddling with my cameras, I would have found you sooner,” he deadpanned. “Because of your actions, there will be consequences.”
“The skull masks… It all came back. I…” I muttered, caught off guard by the words escaping my lips. “Thank you.”
He moistened his lips with a flick of his tongue as he brought his face down to my level. “Thank you for what?”
I couldn’t believe I was saying this. “For saving me.”
“You’re mistaken if you think I saved you.” Levi’s voice dropped to a low, menacing whisper. “I didn’t save you, little thief. I merely captured you, and for tonight, you’re all mine.”