A deal with the dead? Nothing about this was right.
"Oh, come on, this isn't the first time we've made deals about your sister. I'm not going to ask for much, I promise."
"What do you want?" Every second I sat here with Carson, Laney was stuck with Moth. If I didn't find her soon, he'd attempt a lobotomy.
"Put this on." He reached behind his back, pulling out a Michael Myers mask.
"Why?"
"Because that's the deal. You put on the mask and I'll show you where to go."
I donned the mask again. "Happy? Now where is she?" I demanded.Carson snapped his fingers. A loud creak came from behind me, and I spun around and watched a trap door open from the ceiling and a wooden ladder slide down.
"There you go. Have fun,Michael."
I turned but he was already gone. I didn't have time to wonder why he wanted me to wear the stupid costume. I had to get to Laney. I climbed the steps and found myself on a fourth floor, identical to the ones below it. As soon as I was on solid ground, the trap door shut, and the ladder disappeared. I swallowed and began searching.
The first door I went to, the door was unlocked. I opened it, finding two young girls, playing with dolls on the rug. The next door had a group playing poker. Each door I tried had people from various time periods, doing seemingly normal activities. Were these the rooms that ghost was talking about? If so, Moth had to be here too.I reached the end of the hall and shoved the door open.Laney's scream pierced my ears and I stormed inside the pitch-black room.
"Don't fucking move." Moth's voice came from the darkness. I stopped. A light flicked on and I squinted as my eyes adjusted. Laney was still strapped to the table, but her eyes were red and sweat drenched her entire body.
"That's right, Michael came to save you, Laney." Moth hunched over her shoulder and smiled at me. "Not Priest.Michael. He's not a monster like your mind wants you to believe. He's your savior. Priest is the bad man.”
Moth's expression was that of pure evil. Chills ran down my spine as I continued to stare at them. What was he doing?
“I know the truth. About your escape. You didn’t do it alone. There’s no way you could have. Getting transferred to a new facility. That’s genius. Who helped you?”
My eyes flicked to Laney. Her eyes were glazed over. I wasn’t sure if she was paying attention, but I wasn’t going to risk it. I didn’t want her to know the truth.
“From mental patient to up and coming editor in the book world. That’s not a trajectory I could have predicted, but hey, I thought you were going to rot in Cunningham’s. Who would have guessed you’d find a way to get out?” He cackled.
I reached for the bottom of my mask, and Moth shook his head. He rose and lifted the remote that controlled the shocks that would go to Laney's head.
"Keep it on. I'm retraining her brain. When Priest killed her high school boyfriend, it scared her so badly that she couldn't handle the truth. She became a shell of her former self, running from men in masks, into the arms of the real monster. But I'm going to fix that."
My fists clenched at my sides as I took in everything around me. What could I do? I had to distract and then knock him out. Could I hurt someone who was already dead? Moth reached for Laney's head and forced her to face forward.
"Look at Michael, sweetie. He's the good guy, remember? Not Priest. Priest is bad. Priest is scary. You run away from Priest."
She shook her head in denial, and Moth pushed the button. Her body jerked as she screamed in pain. I lurched and pushed Moth to the ground. The remote flew out of his hands and crashed onto the floor on the other side of the room.
"You stupid fuck," he spat. "You think you can save her?"We rolled around on the floor, both of us struggling for power. I didn’t understand it. He was dead, and yet, I fought with him like he wasn’t. I kicked off him and hurried to the remote. I pressed the button frantically, but nothing was happening. She was still being shocked. Moth laughed. "That's just for show. The machine doesn't turn off until I want it to, and I don't want it to."
I fought the urge to tackle him and instead hurried to Laney. I tugged at her restraints, but they were glued together.
"You want to save her? Make me a deal." Moth walked slowly around us, stopping behind her head.
Ghosts making deals to save a life? What was this place? Laney's mouth was dripping drool and her eyes were rolling to the back of her head. I didn’t care what they wanted anymore, so long as they let her go.
"Let us into your mind, Priest."
"I don't know what that means!"
"It means, if you take that mask off, your body is ours to control. We need a host to help paint the Vincent red. Do this, and I'll set her free."
"Fine!" I screamed. Laney was going to die if I didn't say yes to whatever he wanted from me.
“Hold on, there’s more.” He stepped closer to me. “Why don’t we make things a little harder for you? While in the mask, you can’t speak.”
