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I claim. Possess.

Aliyah is already mine and she doesn’t even know it yet, but she will by the end of the night.

When Tyler and Cherise reach the end of the hall, they peek around the corner, and I take that opportunity to reach out my scythe and hook it around their torsos. They scream as I yank them into the nearest room and shove them to the floor.

“What the hell?!” Tyler cries rather pathetically as I close and lock the door behind me. Cherise’s eyes widen at the sight of me, the blade of my scythe glinting in the moonlight. Much like every room in this house except the main one, this room is completely bare, so it’s the perfect place to kill. Gideon and I had planned on setting up the rooms to be a more interactive experience, but after designing the main room we’d decided it didn’t matter anyway since the whole purpose of Misery Manor was just to lure people in.

“Well, well, well,” I rumble darkly, circling the two assholes cowering on the floor. “Look at what we have here—a couple of little bitches if I’ve ever seen them.”

Tyler wraps his arms around Cherise and holds her close as she sobs into his shoulder. “Listen, man,” he says in his most tough-guy voice, “I don’t know what the hell is going on in this house, but we want out!”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible, man,” I snap. “You and the rest of your little friends all signed a contract, remember? You’re not leaving here tonight.”

Cherise pulls away from Tyler and shakes her head frantically. “No, no, no, that guy in the red mask said we had until midnight,” she cries matter-of-factly.

“Yes,” I say slowly and nodding like I’m talking to a small child. “But it’s now past midnight.”

“How is that possible?” she practically shrieks in that irritating voice of hers. “We can’t have been here more than thirty minutes!”

She’s right, but I pull out my pocket watch and dangle it in front of them. Only I know that this piece of junk is perpetually frozen at 12:15.

“Please, man,” Tyler whines, holding on to Cherise as the two of them back away from me. “Just let us go. We didn’t do anything to deserve this.”

“Oh? So, I didn’t just see the two of you leave your friend all alone in the hallway just moments ago next to a dead body?” I ask in an amused tone. “Or how about that conversation with the rest of your little ‘squad’ in the hallway earlier?”

The two stiffen. Clearly, I’ve struck a nerve, but I can’t tell if it’s guilt or if they’re embarrassed that they were caught.

“W-we-we didn’t mean to,” Cherise stutters in between choked sobs. “I just want to go h-home.”

I crouch down in front of her. “Oh… you just want to go h-home?” I repeat in a mocking tone.

“Fuck you,” Tyler spits before literally fucking spitting on me, which somehow manages to hit me right in the eye.

I stand and turn, lifting the mask just enough to wipe my face. Tyler must get a rush of adrenaline or something because he thinks that’s a good opportunity to rush me.

His growl of fury echoes off the walls as he lunges at me and nearly knocks me over. If I had to describe the situation, it would be like a small child playfully trying to knock his father over during a play fight. The push is so light that all I can do is laugh.

He did almost knock me over, I’ll give him that, but the strength of his little string bean body doesn’t even compare to my own and it’s hilarious that he thinks he can overpower me so easily.

“Help me, Cherise!” he yells to his girlfriend who’s now on the other side of the room cowering in fear.

I ball my hand into a fist and raise it right as Tyler decides to run at me again. The force knocks all the air from his lungs and causes him to fall to the floor with a loud thud.

“Tyler!” Cherise screams, crawling over to him. He’s coughing and heaving profusely; I’ve no doubt he’ll spend the next few minutes trying to get his breath back.

I tsk tauntingly. “That wasn’t very smart, Tyler,” I sneer, standing to my full height. “Now you’ll have to pay for that with your life.”

CHAPTER 7

ALIYAH

This mansion is bigger than I realized because I end up at a part of the house that’s blocked off with caution tape. It could just be part of the attraction, but something tells me it isn’t.

Would that be a good place to hide? I wonder, looking around for the man in the white mask. When I don’t see him, I let out a breath and wipe the sweat from my forehead. Maybe he got tired of me and decided to go scare someone else.

I hope that’s it because I don’t think I can take any more of this.

Deciding not to test my luck, I walk away from the caution tape and down the dark hall towards a sliver of moonlight where a door sits right at the end. Carefully, I push it open, bracing myself for what could be on the other side.