Clay is standing slightly apart from the others, stiff in his security vest, bandanna pulled over the lower half of his face. His dark eyes don’t move from me the second I lock onto them. He is watching me, and something about it makes the back of my neck prickle. I hold his stare for a second longer, then look away first, which I’m not happy about.
A lady standing on the stage clears her throat, and we all glance her way. “Welcome, you exquisite misfits and delightful miscreants, to Fear Island. I’m Nixie. Behind those masks are men who live for your screams. The contracts you signed will keep you safe. The wristbands are trackers, in case you get lost, and the colors tell these beautiful monsters exactly who you belong to tonight. Trust me, they take their possessionsvery seriously, so don’t lose yours. If it comes off, you leave the island. The only warning—stay out of the cornfield. If you enter, I cannot guarantee your safety. Any questions? No? Good, good—because I’m not answering them. Try not to embarrass yourselves out there, and I suggest you all start running.”
“Scream My Name” by Thomas LaRosa blasts through the speakers at an almost deafening level, and everyone scatters.
I know exactly where Vero will be, so I head toward the asylum. He wants me here, and I plan to let him find me. The asylum doors are already open when I get there, so I stroll inside. It’s dark and my heartbeat picks up a little; the instinctive fear of what is going to jump out at me kicks in, even though logically I know no one will hurt me. I stop for a moment and let my eyes adjust, now seeing the narrow hallway in front of me. If I hold both my arms out wide, I could probably touch either side. Wallpaper is peeling off the walls, and there is a weird smell lingering in the air.
As I slowly make my way to the other end, an actor launches out of a door to my left, causing me to jump a mile high into the air. He silently disappears back into the room he stepped out of as I keep walking, waiting for the next one. Manic laughter rings out around me, and while not much in this world actually scares me, this is freaky as fuck. It’s like watching a thriller—you know there are going to be jump scares, and yet you still get a rush of adrenaline when someone does something you knew was coming.
A woman with black hair and pale skin drops from the ceiling, so suddenly I almost bite my fucking tongue off in fright. Yet when she doesn’t move again, I go to sneak past her, but as I do, she shifts a little closer so our bodies touch.
“I can hear your bones moving,” she whispers, and it sends a shiver down my spine. What a weird-ass thing to say.
“If you walk any slower, you won’t find me.”
I turn toward the sound and peer through an open doorway. The room is empty except for a single bulb hanging from a chain.
“Where are you?” I ask.
“Everywhere. You didn’t think I would make it that easy, did you?”
I scan the room but can’t see a speaker in there.
“What are you scared of, my paper-cut princess?”
I chuckle at the nickname. I can’t say I hate it. Call me babe, on the other hand, and I might punch you in your face.
“Nothing,” I say as I search further.
When I turn a corner, the next room I have to pass has a large observation window, and inside an actor turns to face me. He is wearing a white lab coat and is covered in blood, while someone lies on a metal table behind him.
“Everyone fears something. Wanna know a secret? I’m scared of the silence in my head.”
“Bears,” I tell him, leaving out the embarrassing part of the story. I close my eyes for a second as a shiver rolls down my body.
“It’s not just bears, though, is it?” His voice moves again. Now it sounds like it is coming from up a set of stairs. “There’s a song, and something about it gets right under your skin, doesn’t it? Even now, just thinking about it.”
“Vero.” My tone is filled with caution.
“Do you want to go on a bear hunt?” His voice is low, taunting now. The change tells me he wants inside my head, and he is using this to do it. Yet I haven’t felt this excited in a long time.
“I will find you, and then I will end you,” I threaten.
But he just sniggers, and the speakers crackle at the same time. “I’m not scared,” he sings.
A door crashes open ahead of me, and I move backward fast. The man who fills the doorway is enormous. He is wearing ahockey mask and holding something long in one hand. He is completely still and blocks the only way forward.
Vero’s voice floats from somewhere above me. “Uh oh.”
“Don’t,” I warn.
“Can’t go around him,” he muses. “Can’t go over him, the ceiling is right there.”
I look left—a wall. To the right—Jason.
“Can’t go under him, that would be weird.”
“Vero, I swear to god.”
