I scurry toward the cabinet, worried about what kind of critters are in it already. They’re about to get a temporary houseguest.Pleasedon’t be a brown recluse. I don’t want to die today.
As soon as I situate myself inside, I regret it. The smell is intensely dusty. My nose tingles as if I’m about to sneeze. I lift my hoodie up over my mouth and nose. The door doesn’t shut all the way, allowing a crack of light to spill in from a hall window. If I don’t move, hopefully no one spots me.
Ellis barely makes it to the crib when a man enters and sees her bumbling to get underneath. I clap my hands over my mouth, trying not to make a sound.
If I reveal myself too soon, more could join him.
She squeals and kicks at his mask, but it doesn’t faze him. He’s not too big, but muscular enough that he grabs her ankle and drags her to the middle of the floor. There’s something shiny behind his back. But as soon as I glance at it, he shifts so all I can see is my friend.
My fingers ease into the crack to shove out and help her,but a group of guys barrels past us, and I freeze. Try not to breathe.
They pause and wait, but the masked man appears to get Ellis on her stomach, and the group moves on. More sprint past the cracked door at random intervals. It’s not safe for me to move.
Ellis and I already discussed this. The goal is towin. And our strategy is to have one of us sacrifice herself. She knows it. And if I were in her position, I would want her to remain hidden so I could slip by and have a chance to earnOmegasome points.
But am I supposed to sit here and watch her get tagged?
She claws at the floor, scrambling, attempting to get up. Her legs kick with as much force as she can muster. My hands stay clamped over my mouth as I watch. I can’t look away.
Especially not when the man reaches behind him and holds up a sharp, shiny object. It glimmers in the tiny light. All I can make out is Ellis’s waist as she squirms. Inching away with desperation. And the man’s knees as he straddles her.
Then brings down a machete on her back.
My eyes bug out. I almost scream, but can’t.
Ellis makes a dying croak. The life in her face drains slowly as the man slices into her once again with a heavy chop.
I’m too shocked to understand what’s happening. Stars dot my vision. Everything blurs in front of me.
But when I can fix my gaze, I spot the man flipping her limp body over and slashing her in the chest. Over and over. Thesound… The sound is wet and heavy.
This isn’t tagging. This isn’t part of the game.
Another man halts in the doorway, his red Converse sticking in my head for some reason. Hope rings in my head. Maybe he’ll help us!
The masked man brandishes his machete for a moment, and the man runs on by.
No!
Ellis gives one last slap that reaches his gas mask. Then the air. The floor. And rests finally on her destroyed body…
From what I can tell, her torso is split open. Intestines spilling like sausages. And organs cut up into pieces.
And my best friend’s cloudy, once beautiful eyes scan the room and find mine in the closet. In a final attempt to save herself, she reaches for me.
I scream silently into my palms. Tears burn my eyes.
The man in the mask freezes.
Then, he rises and creeps toward me.
I’ll never make it to medical school.
The floor makes an ominous groan as his boot halts just outside the wardrobe. He hooks one finger into the crevice as I sob in terror.
This is it…
twelve
