Colette’s voice seems to be set to a sweet, high-pitched tone that people who work with children always have.The one where, no matter the subject, no matter the situation, they always sound upbeat and pleasant.
There’s a pause, and then Campbell says, “Is she okay?”
“I don’t think so.”
I move into the coat check after her.There’s not much room, and when we stand shoulder to shoulder, I can smell the blood on her, a coppery tang that goes straight through my nostrils and onto the top of my tongue.I can’t concentrate on it too long, though, because I look down to where Colette is still staring and—“Oh.”
“Jamie?”Laurie prompts.
“No…” For a second, I think I’m going to throw up, but then I remind myself I’ve seen this before.Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter.“She isnotokay.”
The woman in the coat check room was the one we heard scream.And it makes sense why, considering there is a meat cleaver stuck in her forehead.Ameat cleaver.This place doesn’t even have a kitchen.
“Phones,” I say, and look away from where her face is split open like an uncooked roast.“We need to find the phones.”
I find the key to the lockbox easily.It’s right on top of the desk and it has a tag, with only a little bit of blood on it, that clearly identifies it as the counterpart to the box holding our phones captive.Dani and Laurie join Colette and me on the hunt for the black metal box, but even with all of us squeezed into the room, we can’t find it.It’s not here.The coat check attendant’s phone isn’t anywhere on the table or in her pockets.I duck down to check, try not to gag, and still come up empty.The iPad she was using earlier in the evening is missing, too.There isn’t even a landline.
“Nothing,” Laurie mutters from the back of the tiny room, extracting her hand from the pocket of a coat, pulling out the lining as she does.The satin pocket is red, spilling out against a tweed-looking material and it reminds me of… a lot of things I’ve seen tonight.She shakes her head, face ashen as she repeats, louder for those who can’t fit in the room, “Nothing.”
The thing is, I’m not even surprised.This is Slasher 101.The killer cuts off your ability to communicate with the outside world.Mrs.Voorhees did it inFriday the 13th.Killer Santa did it inSilent Night, Deadly Night.And now this one is following the same format.“Is there a break room farther back?”I ask.“A door to outside?”
Laurie and Dani pull the coat racks away.There’s red velvet hanging along the wall, and when Dani wrenches it back like a theater curtain, all it reveals is bricks.This room is so small there is only oneway in and out.There was no chance the coat check attendant could have avoided that meat cleaver.She may as well have been in a cage.
“See if the code for the door is in there,” says Wes from the other side of the counter, and I turn back to the desk with a new mission, searching for a piece of paper with numbers scribbled on it, or some manual that could detail a way to bypass the lock.But there’s nothing.The drawers are just filled with stationery, an obscene amount of rubber bands, and tickets used to identify our belongings.The only thing in the whole room is the rack of coats… and the coat check girl.Woman.
“There’s got to be another way out of here,” Dani pants as we all file out of the room and join the men to form a ragged circle by the front entrance.She’s trying not to hyperventilate and is failing miserably.
She’s not wrong, though.There will be another exit, but while I remember the hidey-holes and the dead ends of this place, my drunk girl memories do not extend to anything helpful like a back door or a fire escape or even awindow.If we want to find an exit, we’re going to have to search for one.
The rest of the group comes to that conclusion at the same time, but it’s Stu who proves just how incompatible we are by planting his fists on his waist and saying, “We should split up.”
CHAPTER 8
“I think I’d murder you even if we’d never met.”
—NotThe Wedding Date
“That’sthe worst fucking idea in the world.”
Stu glares across the circle we’ve made after I say it, crossing his arms over his plaid-covered chest.With his visible undershirt and perfectly trimmed beard, he really does look like a lumberjack from the TikToks that are a core part of Laurie’s algorithm.I guess that’s part of the appeal for her.Things have not improved between ol’ Stu and me since our date, though.He can barely keep the dislike out of his voice when he says, “We can check each level and each side of the club if we split up.We’ll get out of here quicker.”
It’s like he’s never seen a horror movie in his life.
“We can getdeadquicker, too,” I reply.“Splitting up just makes it easier to get lost or to become a target.Not to mention we don’t have a way to communicate with each other if one of us does find an exit.”
“I agree with Jamie.”
The low rumble of Wes’s voice travels across the circle and I turn to see he’s propped himself against the doors.His arms are crossed,the stake gripped in one fist and resting across his bicep.His eyes are fixed on the space beyond us, tracing a path between the stairs down to the basement and up to the mezzanine, the entrance to the dance floor, the hallway leading to the back of the club, and I remember rule six, watch your back.You don’t have to do that if it’s flat against a wall.Why do I findthathot right now?
“We’re safer together,” he says, and it’s the second time he’s backed me up.Something soft and warm starts to weave beneath my ribs in response, but before I can feel too good about it, Stu lets out a dark scoff in rebuttal.
“Right,” he mutters before his tone turns deceivingly light.“You do what she says downstairs.You do what she says up here.I’m starting to see a pattern, bro, and I just need to remind you it’s not date night anymore.”
“Excuse me?”
It seems like Wes is not a fan of passive aggression, especially in the wake of such brutality.His stare is hard after he poses the question.He pushes off the doors, arms dropping to his sides as he walks toward the center of the group where Stu has placed himself.
Stu scoffs again.“You don’t have to pander to what some bit—”
