Chapter 38
ASHLEY
Carter: Do you think maybe Spark needs a duck of her own? As much as I love claiming her for red, she shouldn’t always feel like a plus one, right? We’re equals.
Heath: I think Ashes would happily never see another duck in her whole fucking life at this stage. She’s only doing this weekend to humor us.
Nate: And because she wants to win. Our girl is competitive as fuck.
Royce: true that
W e were ten minutes into the laser-tag game, and I already had huge regrets.
Not only was the robe getting snagged on every fucking twig and leaf I passed, but the mask smelled like old feet.
And it was making my face sweat, thanks to the exceptionally crappy ventilation. They were definitely decorative only.
“Fuck this,” I muttered, tugging the mask off and drawing a deep breath of fresh air.
It was dark enough, and my robe had a hood—I really didn’t need the mask.
The straps of the laser-tag vest covered my robe, and I used one of them to attach my mask, so I wouldn’t lose it, then continued on into the forest. All around me, bright flashes of colored light lit up the otherwise-creepy darkness, and I moved cautiously.
Our vests and guns only lit up when firing or being shot; otherwise, there could be any number of lurkers creeping around looking for a “kill” shot.
It was safe to say, I’d been immensely relieved when the boys personally tested each and every one of the laser-tag guns to ensure they were harmless. My paranoia kept trying to tell me that maybe somehow they’d shoot real lasers, which was wild…but also not so wild it couldn’t happen.
The teams had been assigned randomly—Carly and I had personally overseen that aspect—and somehow I’d ended up opposing all four guys. Which had adrenaline pumping through my veins and my heartbeat racing as I carefully tiptoed around the woods.
A rush of movement to my left saw me duck behind a tree and raise my laser gun, ready to shoot, but a little pink light on the other player’s vest alerted me to the fact that it was one of my own team members. Friendly fire cost our team more points than enemy shots.
The other player hadn’t even seen me, but tripped over a tree root a minute later and let out a stream of whispered curses, making me chuckle.
“Carly?” I whispered. “That you?”
“Ashley?” she whisper-yelled back. “Where are you?”
Grinning, I slithered down onto the ground and crept up on her from all fours, grabbing the backs of her legs with a Blah!
“Fuck!” she yelped, practically jumping out of her own skin and smacking me on the head. “Don’t do that ! I nearly wet myself, dude.”
Giggles stole my breath as I straightened up and flicked her mask. “How are you still wearing this? Doesn’t yours smell gross?”
“Yeah, it does,” she agreed, tugging it off and looping it on her vest straps like I had done. “Remind me again why we thought this would be fun? I don’t like the dark, I don’t like creepy forests, and I’m a lousy shot.”
I groaned dramatically, throwing my hands up. “Now you tell me? Why didn’t I rig the system to put you on the boys’ team?”
“Shut up. You keep me around for my sparkling personality and you know it,” she replied, laughing as she brushed dirt and leaves off her robe. “Besides, I’m counting on you to help me win, so I can give Ed grief later.”
“Ah, yes, of course…your boyfriend. Which team did he end up on?”
“Green,” she replied with a sigh. “Along with Nate and Royce so…probably gonna hand us our asses and gloat about it for weeks.”
I clicked my tongue and shook my head. “Not a chance.”
Movement in the shadows startled us both, and I quickly dragged Carly behind a wide tree trunk while pressing a finger to her lips.
Using my finger, I covered the pink light on my vest and crept closer to the figure walking slowly through the trees.
A purple light blinked every so often on their vest, and I used that as a guide to line up my shot in the dark.
Instantly, their whole vest flashed with purple lights a dozen times, indicating a kill shot, and I grinned when I heard a frustrated “Damn it!” come from the guy.
I didn’t know any of the purple team players, so I didn’t hang around to gloat about my win, instead, I made my way back to where I’d left Carly. Or…where I thought I’d left her.
“Carly?” I called out softly, not wanting to draw too much attention if other teams were lurking. “Where are you?”
A moment later, my friend's giggle echoed through the trees followed quickly by a breathy moan, and I clapped a hand over my mouth while I laughed. I guess Ed had found her after all.
Not keen to hang around for the audio erotica, I decided to head farther into the forest and find myself more kills. Carly was going to be no use to the team, so I needed to step it up and compensate for her, apparently.
For the next half hour, I focused on the game and ignored the lingering fear sitting in my chest. It was just a game. A harmless game. Jocelyn was still locked up behind maximum-security bars at Clearview, and we’d touched base with Royce’s uncle just yesterday to double-check that fact.
A quick glance at the time told me we were only halfway through the game and I was yet to take any shots to my vest. Honestly, I was pretty proud of myself. I hadn’t run into any of the guys, though, and I had no doubt they’d be ruthless if they found me.
I’d somehow circled around and made it close to the main house again, so the woods weren’t nearly so dark—which, on the one hand, made it easier to avoid tripping on shit, but on the other hand, meant I was a lot more visible for others to shoot.
The murmur of voices echoed through the night air somewhere close by, and I quickly ducked back into the shadows of the thicker trees, pulling my hood up to hide the fact that I wasn’t wearing my mask.
A pair of robed guys passed by my hiding place just a few moments later, and I spotted green lights on their vests.
The opportunity was too good to pass up, so I waited until their backs were to me before popping out and taking aim.
Two quick trigger squeezes and their vests lit up in green flashes.
Not kill shots, though, so they were still in the game.
Crap.
Not hanging around to see who I’d just shot, I took off sprinting into the woods once more, determined to hide in the darkness.
Footsteps crunched and pounded behind me, but somehow my vest remained dark. Either they couldn’t see me, or they were lousy shots.
After a few minutes, I could no longer hear my pursuers, and I slowed my pace. My breathing was heavy and far too loud, because my cardio sucked ass, so I stopped with a hand against a wide tree trunk to catch my breath.
Everything was quiet, only distant sounds of laughter and cursing mixed with my harsh panting as I massaged the stitch in my side. Maybe it wouldn’t kill me to stop by the gym with the guys every now and then.
A crunch of breaking twigs alerted me to someone else nearby, and I spun around with a gasp, finding myself face-to-face with a masked figure. I froze, expecting them to hit me with a kill shot, but then noticed they didn’t carry a laser tag gun, nor did they wear the receiver vest.
Confused and a little stunned, I just stood there staring at the anonymous mask…as they stared back at me. Then as if in slow motion, the person raised a hand to their mask and lifted it. The darkness meant it was hard to make out exact features, but a cold chill of recognition ran down my spine.
“Boo,” Jocelyn said in a quiet voice, and I flinched so fucking hard, I tripped over my own feet and fell butt-first into a bush.
Terror flooded through me, making my ears ring and my chest tight even as I scrambled to get out of the bush and find my feet. The robes worked against me, snagging with every movement and only serving to spike my panic even harder.
When I eventually freed myself, she was gone. Just…gone. Like I’d imagined her in the first place.
Fuck. Had I?
Frantic, I looked all around, searching for any kind of movement in the darkness, but there was nothing. Absolutely nothing. As far as I could tell, I was totally alone.
“You fucking idiot, Ashley,” I breathed aloud, needing to hear the words. “Your paranoia is getting the better of you. Jocelyn is locked up. She’s done. Stop seeing ghosts in every shadow.”
Still…that had felt so real. I scrubbed my eyes with the heels of my hands, then groaned when I remembered how much makeup I was wearing. Makeup that I’d probably just smeared all over my face. Oh well, at least now I’d look extra creepy while sneaking up on other players.
Forcing myself to laugh in a lame attempt at fighting off my fear, I scooped up my laser-tag gun from where I’d dropped it and set off back toward the house once more. Or where I assumed the house was, based off the glow in the distance.
I’d only walked a couple of minutes when another person in robes appeared out of the shadows ahead. I gasped, raising my laser gun to shoot but?—
“You don’t have a vest on,” I said in a choked whisper.
They were too far away to hear me, but the fear had me firmly in its grip now.
Surely that was Jocelyn again? I wasn’t hanging around to find out.
Not when she’d taken my free will so fucking easily that night at Nate’s party.
Just a snap of her fingers, and I was her helpless puppet.
Fuck. That.
I spun on my heel and ran .
Fear-fueled adrenaline was a wild intoxicant, and I flew through the woods.
I swore I could somehow even see the roots because, by some miracle, I managed to avoid them all.
Better than falling on my face. I held my laser-rifle tight, even as my brain worked overtime trying to come up with a solution.
I’d begun to run away from the house. Maybe I should have gone toward it. Surely there would be more people there. It was Royce’s place?—
No. The minute that idea tried to settle, I ripped it out and tossed it away. If Jocelyn was here, then the only safe place was with the guys. They were out here, so I had to find them.
That’s what I had to do.
My lungs burned as I rushed ahead, legs and arms pumping. The robes were annoying, but at least I wasn’t in some stiff ball gown with high heels. Slowing, I got to a tree and leaned against it, my panting breaths steaming in the air.
Daring to glance back, I stared into the dark woods. Nothing moved. The only sounds were me and my ragged breathing. Closing my eyes, I tried to slow my heart down. Paranoid.
“Stop it, Ashley,” I murmured to myself. “Just—stop.” I was giving Jocelyn the real estate in my brain, and I needed to evict her. No more.
Opening my eyes, I stared back the way I’d come, and it was still. Quiet. No movement.
Relief trickled into me like water sluicing through a showerhead. It made me shudder. The trembling was expected in the wake of so much adrenaline, but look at that, I’d run a damn marathon, and there was nothing to run from.
Idiot .
Straightening, I turned and froze stiff. The masked figure was right there, not even three feet away. A scream crawled up and choked me when it got stuck in my throat. The absolute lack of a laser vest shredded my relief. When they reached for me, I slapped the hand away with a swing of my gun.
Damn laser rifle. Why couldn’t it be the real thing?
Gagging on the terror, I darted away. I turned to run blindly west. Maybe. Or was that east? Who fucking knew? I didn’t go back the way I’d come. I just wanted to get away from her and anyone working for her.
I refused to be her puppet. Fucking Colonel Mike. Useless man. I tripped over a root and hit the ground hard with my shoulder. But I couldn’t stay there. I rolled and shoved upward as a hand grabbed at my robe.
Twisting, I slapped the hand away and then hit them in the chest with both hands. All the momentum rode with me, and they fell.
Run .
As soon as they were down, I sprinted again. I needed to scream. Just scream. But for some reason, the sound stuck in my throat and nothing came out.
I was not going to get murdered in these woods. Movement to my right snared my attention. The masked figure paralleled me. Shit.
Shit.
Shit .
I curved away.
Then they were just there again, in front of me.
Had I finally lost my damn mind? How were they moving so fast? It wasn’t possible.
I darted left, then right, and then pivoted. Even as I tried to change directions. My heart slammed so hard, I was sure it was going to explode.
Then a body collided with mine and knocked the scream right out of me as we went down into the hard earth littered with crunchy leaves. All the air whooshed out of me, smothering the scream, and a man laughed.
“Caught ya, Squirrel.”
Laughed. He laughed.
The words registered, and I wrenched over to stare up at Royce.
It was Royce, and he wore a wild grin like he’d been having the time of his fucking life.
Conflicting emotions hit me like a truck, and I did the most horrific thing ever.
I burst into tears.