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Nixie is briefing the guests tonight in the main courtyard, and everyone is dressed differently—some in costume and others in regular clothes.

Tonight is a little different than normal, but that’s all the guys would tell me. So far I’ve noticed torches have replaced the lights on the paths, and a red mist drifts along the ground.

Nixie steps up onto her platform, dressed as a ringmaster. She rocks the outfit better than anyone else could. I stand at the back, knowing the spiel well by now, with my wristband firmly in place.

“Welcome. Tonight you will run, and the hunters will hunt. Everything you think you know, you don’t. Tonight, the last guest standing will win, but if a hunter touches you, you’re out and will meet back here. There are no safe zones, no shortcuts, and no guarantee anyone is who you think they are. Good luck, and may the best miscreant win.” Nixie looks at me as she says those final words, and I suspect this has been set up just for me.

I don’t have time to overthink things as the horn blares, scattering the guests, and I run.

I know the island better than any of tonight’s visitors, giving me the advantage of being able to navigate my run.

I notice as soon as I see the actors that they are all dressed similarly—tonight not one person is unique. Everyone here takes this seriously and would never break character. The only thing they haven’t accounted for is that I would know my men even with my eyes closed.

My issue is that I don’t want to be tagged out early, and if anyone touches me, the chase will be over immediately. They will all know that I know—shit, I am thinking like Vero—I can’t let the wrong men catch me. I run faster, pushing toward the carnival area, then cut through a group of guests sticking together. It’s a stupid move on their behalf, but I get it. If they scare easily, safety in numbers and all that.

I move through a gap between attractions, and a hunter comes at me from my left. Throwing myself right to avoid him, I lose my trajectory and end up near the funhouse. It’s not the path I wanted to be on.

I glance back over my shoulder to see that the hunter has not followed me, merely directed me, and I know this is their doing. I am being herded like an animal to where they will be waiting. So I double back and squeeze through a narrow gap, then run faster, making sure I sneak past the hunter who has moved back into position. Looking back one last time to make sure he didn’t follow me, I smack into a hard body. As we collide, I grab the side of the funhouse to stop myself from face-planting.

The man in front of me straightens and I smile; he can’t hide himself from me. We enter a stare-off, and though the mask fully conceals his face, I know it’s him.

“Hi, Vero,” I say casually.

He doesn’t reply, but I can tell by the way he holds his body—it’s unique to him. He just sidesteps out of the way and slinks back into the darkness, as if he was never there.

Fine, if that is how we are playing it, so be it.

I decide the best way to lose Vero is to venture into the cornfield. Red mist swirls around my ankles and covers the path. I hear footsteps, but they come from all directions, so I cut straight through the field. It’s possible Cave will appear, but we have a mutual respect now, even if I owe him two favors.

The footsteps don’t follow me as I move through the stalks, and by the time I reach the edge that opens behind the Asylum, I can hear the screams coming from inside. I keep moving forward, more alert now in the open, and more vulnerable. Sneaking down past the haunted mazes, I stay aware of my surroundings, so I sense them before I see them. Hunters are surrounding me from every direction.

Ahead I see a doorframe lit up in the darkness, and even though I have a feeling it’s a back entrance to the Asylum, it is my only chance of escaping them. I run for it and hit the door at full speed, hoping that it’s unlocked—if it isn’t, it’s game over for me. I shoulder the door as I push the handle down, forcing it open as I stumble quickly inside, then slam it closed.

The room is lit up, and I’m surprised. Most places here engulf you in darkness. I glance frantically around and understand my mistake—this is an escape room.

I try the handle of the door, and it’s locked.

Racing around, I realize so is every door in the room.

Fuck.

This room is chaotic; it makes me think of Vero.

Color is everywhere. Paint splotches on the walls, fabric hanging from the ceiling, and random objects everywhere. It feels like how I imagine his brain to be.

Looking around the room for the clue, I find some little cardboard pieces on a table that looks like it shouldn’t be able to stand at the angle it’s balancing.

What is the first thing that made you feel safe here?

What do you eat when no one is watching?

What did you bring from your old life that you didn’t mean to keep?

What noise does this place make at night that you have started to need?

What did Vero give you that he doesn’t know he gave you?

I laugh when I read the last question—this was definitely Vero’s doing. What are these guys up to? Guess I’ll have to play along to find out.