Page 91 of Your Masked Haunting

Feeling a wave of confidence, I utter the phrase again, disappearing down the hallway. “I’ll be right baaaack.”

His laughter carries me all the way to the bathroom a few doors down, and after peeing and washing my hands, I tiptoe back down the hallway as quietly as I can.

The floorboards creak, and I just hope he doesn’t hear them when I reach the edge of the doorframe, ready to jump into the room and scare him.

“Ahh!” I scream as I turn and rush into the room, arms up like I’m a terrifying monster. My voice fades as disappointment drops my shoulders.

He’s not here.

“Casper?” I call out, assuming he’s in the hidden room since I can see the door ajar.

But he doesn’t call back, and goose bumps skate across the tops of my arms, my hearing acutely tuning into everything around me. I hear nothing … and that’s the fucking problem.

“Cas—” My words fall to the wayside as iridescent foil flashes on the desk in the corner of my eye.

My legs carry me to it without thought, and I grab the ghosty card—the same kind he’s left me multiple times over the last couple of months. It looks almost identical, except for the stamped message inside and the added lines, scribbled in pen.

My Little Prey,

Sink into your desires, the ones you keep close.

Into the darkness, anything goes.

You’ll be hunted, lured, and chased.

Brave the unknown, I promise you’re safe.

Time’s running out. We’re getting near.

Run and scream. No one will hear.

Put me in your ear. You have nothing to fear.

––Your Masked Haunting

Oh. My. God.

Is this what I think it is? Or rather, is he doing what I think he’s doing? A chase like I described.

A pulse of anxiety spikes my system, dread forming in the back of my throat. The last time I was chased here, it certainly wasn’t consensual, and it wasn’t by Casper.

Knowing myself and my mind, I flatten my hands on the desk, grounding myself, and take a few deep breaths. This is Casper. I’m safe. And I know that if I don’t want to do this, he’ll stop it immediately.

But maybe this could be good for me, willingly being chased by a masked man to help rewire the fear in my brain associated with the house and the corn maze. Trauma exposure sex therapy. I’m not sure if that’s a real thing, but that’s what this feels like, so that’s what I’m calling it.

I want this, and I don’t want what happened to me to have more power than I’m willing to give it. It’s also not an all or nothing; I can stop it at any time. I have a safe word for a reason.

Lifting the letter, I read it again. Put me in your ear. What the hell does that even mean? My gaze falls to the desk, and I spot it rather easily. I mean, he couldn’t have put it in a more visible place.

I pick up the tiny earpiece, sliding it into my left ear, and I hear shallow breathing immediately, like his face is behind a mask. “C-Casper?”

I recognize Casper’s voice instantly when he says, “Hello, Scaredy-Cat.” It’s insane how clearly he sounds, like his lips are pressed against my ear as he speaks. “Do you want to play a game?”

My shoulders relax ever so slightly because I know it’s him on the other side. “What are the rules?”

“They’re simple. You run, and we hunt.”

“We?”