Chitra went down with a scream, and as I was stepping up, Swayze put his arm around my waist and pulled me from the line. "Can we talk?"
"Right now?" I looked back, but Ruth was already stepping into the harness. She was my size, so it probably didn't matter who was going down.
Swayze pulled me into the trees."I know you said we can only be friends, but I can't. I think there's something here. I like you."
"Hey, guys?" Andrew's worried voice pulled our attention. Everyone hurried to the edge of the cliff and looked at Andrew expectantly. "Her scream cut off."
The weight of his words made us go quiet.
"Pull it back," Mitchell ordered.
"What?"
"Pull the fucking zipline back!" Mitchell screamed.
Andrew fumbled to do so, and we all watched the line in complete silence as it retracted. Time seemed to have slowed as we waited in the darkness to see what the issue was, and then, the hook appeared, with Ruth still attached to it.
No one breathed until she reached the cliff. Her body was completely dead-weight and spinning in lazy, slow circles, and when her body turned toward us— A scream ran out.
A knife was stuck firmly in her stomach.
Ruth was dead.
Rule 24 - Domino
Don’t hide in obvious places.
"Boo!" Hands caught my waist, and I screamed and spun around. A yellowing hockey mask with blood splattered on it stared down at me. I shoved him away and stumbled backward. A second masked man joined in then.
"What the fuck is wrong with you!" Beth screamed.
Koi lifted his mask, and Blane followed suit. Both had matching confused expressions.
"What? It was just a jump scare," Blane explained.
The party went quiet except for the sobbing coming from various people.
"A jump scare? You killed Ruth!" Beth screamed at him. Everyone pulled away from the zipline, revealing the body still floating in mid-air.
"Jesus Christ…" Koi's mouth parted open.
"Oh my god! Ruth!" Blane flew to her. Tears streamed down his face as he fumbled with her harness. "Help me get her down!"
Koi, Swayze, and Andrew sprang into action, two holding her limp body while the other two unhooked her. Carefully, they laid her on the ground. The knife was still embedded in her stomach.
"What did you do?" Beth demanded.
"We didn't do shit!" Blane sobbed. He dropped to his knees and clutched Ruth's hand. "We—" His words caught in his throat as he looked around the group. "It was just a prank."
"What was?" Mitchell stepped forward.
Blane stood and wiped his cheeks. He pointed to Koi, who raised his hands in innocence.
"Don't look at me, I didn't want to do it. I thought it was cruel."
"What was? Somebody better start fucking talking," Andrew growled. "This isn't fucking funny."
"No shit, Sherlock," Mitchell said. "What was the prank?"
