Page 91 of Camera Stays On

“Yeah, but what if he’s booby-trapped the house like he did the forest?” Darius pointed out. “We’re just rats in a maze.”

“There are only cameras,” Juliet muttered miserably. “We saved the traps for outside.”

“You’re the first one I’d kill if I decided to go along with him,” Mick blurted. “You killed Lux for no goddamn reason. And if you hadn’t been so involved with the traps, Bea and Gavin wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”

And I wouldn’t have gotten shot.

I kept the thought to myself. I was much luckier than Bea and Gavin. There was a constant, deep-rooted pain, but I wouldn’t die because of my wound. Bea, on the other hand… Who knew?

“Gavin’s mouth is what got him killed, not me.” Juliet stood up. “I’m leaving. You figure this shit out for yourselves.”

“Where are you going?” I asked.

“I’m going to try to convince Sawyer to stop this madness.” She stepped around the table, scissors and gauze in her hands, shoving each of us in the shoulder as she passed.

“Going to try to suck his dick,” Mick muttered as she passed him. In a flurry, she spun back, lifted her hand, and plunged the scissors into his chest, right under the shoulder blade.

Mick screamed as he clutched his chest and dropped to his knees. Juliet, looking more annoyed than angry, stomped out of the room. Everyone rushed to Mick, but he shoved us away, stumbling to standing again, the scissors firmly lodged in his shoulder. Locking his jaw, he fisted the scissors and yanked. Blood flooded his shirt, staining the white linen red.

“Fine.” He dropped the scissors. They clattered to the floor, the sound echoing in the silent room. Mick’s chest heaved as he held the wound firmly. “It’s every man for themselves. If they want to fucking play, let’s play.”

“Mick—” I tried to protest, but he shot me a glare so cold I recoiled. He stormed out of the room, leaving just Darius, Asher, and me.

“I can’t do this.” Darius headed toward the stairs, fleeing the room.

“Do you believe Juliet?” Asher asked suddenly. He took my hand and, at a much slower pace than the others, exited the living room. As we entered each room, the lights would shut off with a loud snap! It was Sawyer’s way of letting us know he was watching. I tried the light switches, but they were of no use. Wherever he was, he had access to the power.

“Believe what?” I asked as we crept as quietly as we could through the house. The humming of electricity and our breaths were the only noises made, which only made me feel more exposed.

“That there are no traps in the house. I think she was lying,” Asher whispered. With Mick in a rage and Juliet cold and not caring who died to get what she wanted, every step we took was a risk. So was every step we didn’t take.

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. There were moments where I felt like she was being honest with us. But then, she’d go and kill Lux, or stab Mick with no remorse. She couldn’t be trusted. I knew that.

“Where are we going?” I asked as we passed the set wing, turning in a different direction. I shuddered, remembering that behind those doors was a man with a hole in his head, smashed against a plate of roast beef and mashed potatoes. Asher didn’t answer, and I quickly realized that he didn’t want Sawyer or anyone else who might be watching to hear us. We kept walking, staying as silent as we could and going through rooms I’d all but forgotten about.

It seemed like another lifetime Asher and I were cleaning this place out with brooms while he told me all about his hopes and dreams of one day turning this into a haunt.

“This will be our clown room, because of the tall ceilings. Imagine, clowns on stilts, chasing you while pies are being thrown through the air, and they are giggling like they’ve been given laughing gas.”

We walked through the grand ballroom, where large props were covered in white sheets. He’d collected so many things while he’d waited patiently for the perfect place.

To say this estate was a mansion was an understatement. This place rivaled celebrities’ homes in size. I could only imagine who’d lived here before. They must have been a very powerful family. As we moved through room after room, I imagined a mix of past and present. What once was and what could be.

“This used to be the laundry room. See that large laundry trough and the paddles? I think I’m going to turn it into a creepy bathhouse. Have an actor sit here in rubber ducky swim shorts with creepy makeup all over. Bright green bathwater that smells horrid and smokes. He’ll splash you when you walk through, and someone will come out from the shadows and try to shove you into the bath with him. Of course we won’t actually do it, but it’ll make ’em run!”

As terrifying as our current situation was, I still hoped that one day, if we made it out alive, or even if it was just him that managed to escape, he got his haunt. He’d given me my freedom when he lied to Sawyer about me on our wedding day. Asher deserved his happiness too.

I squeezed his hand tighter as we continued our trek. Something about this area felt somewhat safer than the rest of the house. I looked at the corners of the ceilings. No cameras.

We rounded a corner, and turned down a long hallway, moving past various open doorways until we reached the last room on the right. We went through it, and all the way in the back of the room, was a door.

“Where does this lead?” I whispered.

Asher pulled out his keys and found the right one, unlocking the door. He opened it with a loud creak and leaned in, flicking a single, dim light bulb on. He urged me inside, closing the door behind us and locking it again.

“The basement.”

Chapter 40