Page 44 of Shattered Souls

“The whole point is you won’t let me leave.” I laugh. The sound bounces off the walls and circles us. Reminding me of this dynamic—this isn’t two friends or lovers, we’re prisoner and captor. Master and slave. I’m nothing but a burden to him, and he’s made that very clear.

“Leave, see how far you make it.” The corners of his mouth upturn in feral smile. “But be warned—you will not like the punishment I have in store for you if I catch you. And remember, little scarecrow—I will catch you.”

I don’t run, there’s no point.

But I do turn and storm out of the alleyway.

He doesn’t follow me, both of us knowing this is just the beginning of a long night.

I walk slowly towards the thinning crowd at the mouth of the park. People don’t pay attention to me. The closer it gets to Halloween, the less people care about a woman with scarecrow face paint. Men joke about scaring some girls to score some pussy for the night. A group of girls giggle amongst themselves about all the shirtless men. All are in their own worlds.

Seek is standing at the entrance, arms crossed over his chest while patrons part around him, eyes wide with awe or fear. I spin and head back towards the haunted houses. They’re just as unforgiving as the man behind me, but at least they can’t grab me.

The line to each house is too long for me to stand around like a sitting duck. So instead, I sneak through the crowd and towards the back entrance of The Basement, having seen a small group enter there earlier in the night.

Regret forms as something hard and unforgiving in my chest. The house isn’t what I was expecting. The ceiling is so low that I have to crouch to get through the maze of large concrete pillars. The ground is undisturbed and raw earth, the soil cold under my fingers.

The tunnel spits me out into a large and barren opening. I spin, trying desperately to find another exit or tunnel. Panic creeps in, slow and sloshing like a pond in a storm. A man enters the room, one I’ve never seen before. He chuckles dark and slowly, and suddenly that panic is a surging sea that’s drowning me in its waves.

I turn my back to him, immediately cursing myself for doing so, and a cold rush of relief crashes into me as I see the exit hidden behind a pillar as some sort of illusion. I push forward, desperate to get to the exit, when a large hand closes on my shoulder.

“I think you’re lost.” He coos. Everything in my body tells me to tuck my tail and run.

“I-I work here.” Is that technically a lie? That’s the facade the twins are putting on, maybe I should just play along. “I was supposed to meet Hyde here, but he’s not shown up. I was just going to find him.”

“Can’t say I’ve seen you here.” His hand on my shoulder tightens. It takes everything in my being to not wince at the iron grip.

“I’m new—my second weekend here.” Still not a whole lie. His face is painted like a clown, red nose sitting at attention on the tip of his nose, and a row of razor sharp teeth jut out from his mouth.

“Well,” He strokes a hand down my face, the feeling too intimate. “Wouldn’t want you to be without a partner for the night.” I try to back away from him, but his hand only tightens.

“It’s okay—” The rest of my sentence doesn’t get a chance to materialize. A tall masked man appears behind the clown. The red handprint across the mask makes my eyes water with appreciation.

That feeling is stolen as Seek slams the butt of his machete into the back of the man's skull. I scream, jumping back as the hand falls from my body. I clamp my hand over my mouth—a fear for Seek getting caught blooming in my traitorous chest.

“Why did you do that?!” His shoulders rise and fall in a silent laugh.

“You think I won’t protect what’s mine?” The silence between us is pulled taut, almost tangible, as we just watch one another. My eyes dance from his eyes to his lips, a whisper of want spreading across my chest.

“I’m not yours.”

“But you are. You’re mine today or tomorrow. You’re mine if you leave this park or not.” He takes a large step over the collapsed man. A small river of blood coming from the man’s head. “You’ll learn, little scarecrow. No matter how far you go, or how long we’re apart, I’ll consume your thoughts for the rest of your days.”

“You won’t win me over. You kidnapped me and shoved me in a room that made me go insane! You’ll never earn my trust—or my love.” He watches me, unmoving and silent, but his eyes tell me a different story. He’s hurt by my words, hurt in a way that I’ll never understand.

“Cute you think I’m after your love.” His chest is inches from mine now, so close I can see the glimmer of the fake blood. “I have far more fun things I’m going to do to you, Rayvn.” My body shudders at my name coming off his lips.

He turns, done with taunting me, and before I can even blink he’s hauling the man over his shoulder. He moves towards the hidden exit, the unconscious man’s arms flopping against Seek’s back.

“What are you doing?” I have to run to catch up to him.

“Calling it a night.” He responds dryly.

“Are you insane?” We’re nearing the exit, a group of teens a little ahead of us. “We can’t go out there with a body over your shoulder!” I’m whisper yelling at this point.

“We aren’t carrying a body” He reminds me with a flat tone. “Just walk ahead and go into the maze.” The house spits us out into the still thrumming night. I feel bare and exposed as I walk alone towards the maw of the maze.

I can feel the presence of Seek behind me. Eyes around me snap to him, no doubt to the body slung over his shoulder with ease. I try to keep my eyes down, though I fear my lack of attention to the man behind me makes me look guilty.