14. Anna
ANNA
By the end of my shift, nothing’s changed. Nobody’s put their hands on me, apart from Liam, and there hasn’t been any sign that something’s amiss. Still, I can’t shake off the feeling that there are eyes on me, even after the festival has shut down for the night.
To ensure nobody’s leaving with something they shouldn’t, we’re required to put our full costumes onto our designated mannequins before leaving. It makes the cataloging process much easier rather than having to sort through all the racks of clothing and drawers of accessories.
I finish placing the wig on top of my mannequin when Liam approaches, ready to escort me and a couple of the other women out to the parking lot. Occasional guests have been known to linger, and he just wants to err on the side of caution, so I graciously accept the offer.
Thankfully, I don’t see anybody else when we head out, and I wave to the others before climbing into my car. Since the vehicle is as old as it is, I use the fob to unlock the driver’s door, but it still requires an actual key to put into the ignition…
Which I realize I don’t have until after climbing behind the wheel.
What the hell?
My key ring has the car’s fob, my key for the apartment, and the key for my storage unit, but not the key for the Sunfire.
Darcy had been driving me to the festival grounds the past two days for rehearsals since she’s also been visiting Rachel, so this is my first time coming here alone.
Which means I obviously drove .
Which means I obviously used my key.
I study the spring mechanism on my keychain under the limited light…
And it appears to not be shut all the way.
Crap.
Did the key slip off? I rootle around inside my purse, hoping it’s simply hidden at the bottom, but there’s nothing.
Then I remember my purse getting knocked off the vanity top during my makeup application. Seeing as how my perfume vial is also missing, I can safely guess a couple of items spilled out.
By the time I climb back out of my car, Liam and the others have already driven off, leaving me without an escort.
But I don ’ t need one. Because nothing bad is going to happen , I tell myself.
There’s still a light on inside the warehouse, and a few other people were inside before I left, so I won’t be alone anyway.
I may still be decked out in my skeletal makeup, but I changed back into the clothes I used to rehearse.
Since I knew my costume wouldn’t include pants, I opted for a circle skirt that hits me just above the knees, a loose off-the-shoulder sweater, and sneakers, so I’m more than capable of running back to the building.
I get there in no time and am far too relieved to be bathed under the warm glow of the single-station light near the entrance. Unfortunately, there isn’t a sound inside the entire warehouse.
“Rachel?” I call out. She and her assistants had still been going over tomorrow’s itinerary in here when I left, but maybe they went back to the festival grounds for some reason.
Like every horror movie cliché, I ask if anyone else is here, because it’s impossible to tell.
Some LED lights are visible through the upper windows of the warehouse, and the swirling effects create moving shadows of the fifty or so mannequins spread all across the upper deck and ground floor.
I hadn’t been remotely freaked out being in here before, but being in here alone (or possibly not)? Yeah, I’m a little more than on edge. Every time the light passes over the building, the mannequins’ silhouettes continue giving off the impression that they’re alive. Still, nobody answers me.
I flip up all the light switches on the panel to my left, but nothing happens.
I’m still left with only that single light.
Moving through the stations, I try to turn on the lights to the makeup counters, but even those aren’t working.
I reach the vanity I used earlier and am met with the same thing.
Nothing. Frustrated, I turn on my phone’s flashlight and get down on my hands and knees to search the floor.
A few things glint in the light, clearly metal, but they only turn out to be some bobby pins and hair clips.
Shit. My only options now are checking the Lost & Found or calling Darcy for a ride.
Before I can do either of those things or even climb back up to my feet, I hear a faint click come from somewhere behind me.
“Hello?” I ask, once again reducing myself to another hideous horror movie cliché, but I can’t help it. I’m trying to convince myself that I’m just being paranoid.
I don’t see anyone near the entrance where I heard the sound, and from my position on the ground, I have a clear vantage point to see beneath the tables and clothing racks. The only pairs of feet or legs visible are of the plastic variety from naked mannequins.
Just get outside and run back to the festival .
Security should still be doing a sweep of the park. Hell, I still heard music playing when I came back to the warehouse, and the LED lights are still clearly running. People have to be here.
Standing up, I waste no time darting to the entrance, ready to tear out of there.
Only, the latch won’t give. What the hell?
It’s a set of sliding metal doors that can be pulled apart, but it doesn’t matter how hard I pry my fingers into the seal.
They won’t separate, despite there being no issue opening them a minute ago.
There are two other doors toward the back of the building, but I’m pretty sure they’re both emergency exits. Do I really want to risk setting off an alarm simply because I panicked?
I yank on one of the doors again as hard as I can, and when it doesn’t give, I slam my foot into it out of sheer frustration. And that’s when I hear it.
Something above me rattles.
My eyes slide up to the center of the dual doors to see a padlock placed into the plate at the top, securing them shut.
What the fuck? What the fuck? What the fuck?
I’ve been locked in.
And what’s worse? The person who did it is clearly in here with me.
Before my brain can process an actual thought outside of sheer, blinding panic, a smooth voice asks, “Looking for something?”
I whirl around, and there he is.
Like a specter, the figure emerges from the shadows, dressed in head-to-toe black, the Reaper mask and face paint unmistakable.
It’s too dark to see his eyes, but I already know they’re a striking combination of gray and blue, because I’d recognize their owner’s voice anywhere. It’s the same one that’s been stalking my dreams…and fantasies…and my apartment…and me.
He’s holding a key in his hand, mockingly dangling it between his fingers. At first, I assume it’s the key to the padlock, but it’s too big.
It’s the key to my car!
I try to inject some anger in my voice, but I’m infinitely more freaked out, making my vocals crack as I demand to know what he’s doing here.
The asshole tilts his head, as if studying me, appraising my body. “Enjoying the show.” He practically purrs the words, his smirk wholly conspicuous even in spite of the makeup. “I like seeing you in your element. You’re beautiful when you let yourself unwind.”
“And when I’m freaked the fuck out?” I blurt before I can think better of it. My back slams into the metal door behind me as I instinctively recoil, watching him prowl closer.
The action earns me a flash of his actual teeth. Even in the limited light, they’re alarmingly straight and white, and I swear the set of canines look to have a point to them, like he might actually be a vampire. “Then you’re positively delicious.”
The fact that he’s tasted me only makes that predatory smile more alarming, especially as he stalks forward. His movements are slow and deliberate, every bit the hunter homing in on his prey.
There’s only fifteen feet between us with nothing solid I can use as a barrier. Just flimsy props and foam weapons. And I’d have to pass him to reach either of the emergency exits.
Still, I begin edging around a clothing rack, trying to map out my path to the closest one.
“Baby, running only works up my appetite.” It’s less of a threat and more of a promise, only freaking me out more.
Because even without seeing his face, I know what he wants. What he craves. And he’s not a man who’s about to accept less than what he came here for.
“Go fuck yourself.”
That smile only grows. “Now, why on earth would I settle for that when I have my little canary right here?”
“I’ll scream.” Again, I mean for it to sound like a threat, but it only earns me a laugh.
“You could , but it wouldn’t do much good.
The building may be old, but it’s still sound proofed,” he says confidently.
“And whatever noise may escape, I can guarantee it’ll be drowned out by whatever’s still going on outside.
” His voice drops, and the sound simultaneously sends shivers up my spine and heat to my core.
“And the only screaming I’m interested in is the kind you’ll be doing when I have you bent over that table. ”
He nods at the steelwork set beside him lined with blood-splattered masks and prop surgical equipment.
My only hope of getting out of here requires distracting him, so I do my best and ask, “Why are you here? I haven’t said anything to anyone, and I haven’t been looking into who you could be. Wasn’t that the deal? That you would leave me alone ?”
“Baby, if you think I’m walking away after the other night, you clearly don’t understand the situation here.”
“You got what you wanted—”
Another laugh. “Oh, we’ve barely scratched the surface of that.”
“And you thought you’d entice me further by beating the shit out of the guests where I work?
Yeah, showing me you have an impulse control problem isn’t exactly attractive.
” I move to block my body from view behind the clothing rack, hoping he can’t see my hands as I grab the container on the desk in back of me. “I’d like to keep this job.”
“And I would have liked to knock their teeth out. We don’t always get what we want.”