Deviant

Chapter 38

Rowen

Our first and only date night is cut short when Henry knocks on the door, telling us it’s time to start our final trial. Unsurprisingly, both David and Mackenzie are already waiting for us in the entry hall, David in a black suit and crutches while Mackenzie dons a pale pink princess dress with a tiara on her head to boot. Maybe I should be glad that she’s dressed for a ball and not a hunt but knowing Mackenzie that dress and heels won’t dismay her from her objective, which apparently is killing me.

“Please follow me into the courtyard. I will deliver your instructions at the gate.”

Elias grabs my hand as we all leave this house of horrors, knowing it will be the last time we ever set foot in this place.

David trails behind us while an over-eager Mackenzie skips in front.

“Remember what I told you,” Elias whispers low enough for neither to hear.

“I’m having a hard time remembering my own name right now, Elias. Can you be more specific?”

“If we ever get separated from one another, I want you to run and find somewhere to hide. Stay in that spot, and I’ll come find you.”

I swallow hard and give him a nod.

“Good girl. Remember… survive the night, and I’ll make sure that by the end of it, you see God.”

“Now you want to talk about sex?” I slap his chest in reprimand.

A low chuckle leaves him, but all of his amusement dies when we see a large table set up by the gate with various weapons on top.

“Please, arm yourselves for the hunt,” Henry instructs. “Only one weapon per chosen.”

“Oh!” Mackenzie jumps in glee. “I think I’ve seen this before,” she points at the hunting knife I used to take a slab of Elias’s arm. “I think I’ll keep this one. Seems like it’s fate that I should use it on your girlfriend, don’t you think… E .?”

She uses Nora and Andy’s nickname for him to provoke and rattle him, but thankfully, Elias doesn’t take the bait.

The sound of a chainsaw rings loudly in the stilled night’s silence, slicing through the quiet like a knife. It’s so loud that it stirs the shadows in the woods and sends whatever wood-like creatures it harbors to scuttle as far away as they can from the obnoxious and terrifying sound.

“Well, I think I just found my favorite toy,” David says excitedly, not really putting a great deal of thought into his choice. How is he supposed to protect himself with that, if he has to rely on his crutches to walk? It’s only when he kicks them to the ground that I see what his game is. He’s been acting all weak and vulnerable just in case any of us devised a plan to take him down.

Smart.

However, I still think his choice of weapon is a little over the top. He’ll need to be within arm’s length of his enemies if he intends to do any damage to them with that thing.

Like Mackenzie, I also choose a knife since it’s easier to throw at a distance. I don’t relish the thought of killing anyone, even a psycho like Mackenzie, but if it ever comes down to me or her, I know who I’m choosing.

“How good is your aim?” Elias asks, his chest pressed at my back as we peruse the table.

“You saw me play darts,” I remind. “I’m a decent shot.”

Sure, I wasn’t able to get the dart in the bullseye without even thinking about it like Elias, but I got damn near close, even under such tense conditions.

“That’s what I thought,” he murmurs, kissing the crook of my neck before sliding down my body to hide something in my Converse sneakers.

I don’t remind him that we’re only supposed to take one weapon when he picks up a knife and pockets it before Henry can see. He then pulls away, my back mourning his heat already, as I watch him pick up a machete as his weapon of choice. The blade is by far the most intimidating thing I’ve ever seen, but in Elias’s hand, it not only looks foreboding as hell… but far too sexy for my liking.

I blame him for these thoughts that have no business showing up at this dire hour.

I’m supposed to be concentrating on getting through this hunt alive, not imagining how many ways I would let Elias fuck me right now.

“It’s working, isn’t it?” he asks with a smirk, knowing exactly what is on my mind.

“Just shut up.” I scowl, hating that he can read me so well.

He lets out a low chuckle, pleased that his little plan to withhold sex as a way to motivate me to stay alive is actually working.

“Chosen,” Henry announces, his voice ringing with a commanding intensity, “the night has come when we unveil who among you deserves to emerge victorious from the games.” He gestures dramatically toward the looming gate before us, shadows dancing across its surface, amplifying the sudden tension in the air. “You have each selected weapons that reflect your resolve, and beyond this gate lies your battlefield—a canvas where bravery will be painted in blood.”

As the weight of his words sinks in, Henry strides purposefully toward us. One by one, he steps in front of each remaining chosen of the Harvest Dozen, attaching a small circular device to our chests. The cold metal sends a shiver down my spine. None of us dare to ask what the devices truly are, but Elias shoots me a knowing glance. After watching my mother’s highlights of when she won The Scourge, it’s a safe bet to assume that these gadgets are cameras, eager to document and capture our every move.

For what good is betting on a game, if they can’t see who won in real time?

Once Henry is sure that all the devices are securely fastened, he pauses momentarily in front of us as if selecting which words he can say and which are forbidden to him.

“Don’t let uncertainty cloud your minds tonight. Every moment you hesitate could be your last, while fortune always favors the bold. Remember, nothing is as dangerous as a desperate heart in this game. Nor an arrogant one.”

This time, it’s me who shoots Elias a look.

I can’t shake the feeling that Henry, in his own way, wants to help Elias and me.

He then pulls out four sticks and holds them in his grip.

Immediately, I’m brought back to the basement, the sticks setting a bad omen for the night.

“What’s that for?” Mackenzie asks. “There’s no doors for us to pick, old man.”

“This is for your head start,” he replies, unfazed by Mackenzie’s rudeness. “The person who selects the largest stick will receive a five-minute head start and this will continue down the line with each person selecting a stick in descending order of size.”

“So, the larger the stick you pick, the longer your head start will be?” Davis asks, looking intrigued with the concept of having such an advantage.

“It’s not a race, you idiot.” Mackenzie rolls her eyes. “It doesn’t matter how long a head start you have. Unless you’re thinking of making a run for it?” she taunts.

“I’m not running. There needs to be one winner, right? So all I need to do is let you three kill each other, and deal with whoever is left standing.”

“Is that you’re plan?” She cackles. “Good luck with that.”

We all pick our sticks, Elias’s tense shoulders instantly relaxing when I get the largest one, followed by David’s, then his, and lastly, Mackenzie’s.

“Why so glum, Mack ? I thought you didn’t care which stick you got?” I taunt with a mean glare.

“The only stick I care about is the one I’ll use to parade your head with once I’m done with you.”

“We’ll see if it’s not a blonde head that will be on a spike before the night is over,” Elias warns, his eyes deadly.

She just scoffs at him, completely undaunted by his threat.

“So when is this supposed to start anyway? I’m getting antsy?” David asks Henry, ready to run as fast as he can.

“At the stroke of midnight, our hosts will announce the games start.”

“Great. And when is that?” Mackenzie grumbles irritated that she has to wait a long fifteen minutes after that.

But just as the words slip her mouth, my watch begins to vibrate. With one glance, tonight’s hunt is in full effect.

The Hunt starts now.

Play well.

“Run!” Elias shouts when I’m still rooted to my spot.

I do run, but not out the gate. I run into his arms, grab his face, and kiss him.

“I love you. No matter what happens tonight, please remember that I love you.”

“I love you too. So fucking much. But please, Roe, for me, I need you to fucking run.”

One last glance at the love of my life, and I do just that—I run.

I run like my very life depends on it, because it does. I run like the devil himself has lighted a match under the soles of my feet. The crisp air cuts at my cheeks as I sprint through the dense woods, the full moon casting a silver glow over everything beneath its watchful gaze. Each breath fogs in front of me, mingling with the earthy scent of damp leaves and the chill of early frost that blankets the ground. The trees loom like sentinels, their skeletal branches reaching skyward, knitting together a canopy that frames the full moon. Shadows dance and flicker around me, playing tricks on my mind as I push myself to run faster, my heartbeat echoing in my ears like a frantic drum. I can’t shake the feeling that something lurks just beyond the edges of the light, but I force myself to focus. Elias promised he would find me, that he would come, and I cling to that promise as I dart deeper into the woods.

Suddenly, a rustle pulls me from my thoughts, and instinct kicks in, telling me that it is time to hide.

Run and find somewhere to hide. Stay in that spot, and I’ll come find you.

Elias’s words ring in my ear as my eyes scan the area, and I spot an ancient tree, its bark gnarled and split wide enough for me to slip inside. I dart toward it, my heart pounding as I press myself against the rough surface, the hollow space offering me refuge. I can hardly breathe, but I quiet my thoughts, relying on the solid embrace of the tree to shield me from whoever is out there. But as time passes, the cold begins to seep into my bones, a reminder that winter is soon afoot, but I resist the urge to shiver or grind my teeth.

I just have to wait.

I just have to trust Elias’s promise that he will find me.

He’ll find me.

He will.

Time feels suspended in the silence as I continue to hold onto that ribbon of hope like a lifeline.

But then I hear it. A loud sound of a gun going off.

My hackles rise since there were no guns on the weaponry table back at the mansion. I didn’t question their absence because I knew that bullets were too clean and fast a kill. The Scourge’s spectators don’t want to see that. They want blood and gore, pain and misery. A gunshot would kill a person instantly, and what would be the fun in that?

But when I hear it again, my mind begins playing tricks on me, imagining someone hunting Elias down with a shotgun.

He told you to stay put, so stay put.

But I can’t. Not when he could be in danger. So, instead of keeping to my hiding spot, I slide out of the oak tree’s bark and begin my search. The full moon, or as Henry called it, The Hunting Moon, is the only light to illuminate my steps in the dark terrain. I keep my ear out for any strange noises, but all I hear is the late October wind blowing past me.

But then I hear it—the loud, chilling bang cutting into the eerie silence of night.

I don’t think. I just react and run toward it, hoping Elias is not on the wrong end of that shotgun.

But as I get closer to where I think the thunderous sound must have come from, tears start to prick the corner of my eyes when I see two legs sprawled out wide onto the earth, a shadowy figure in a black suit leaning against a tree, blood pouring down the sleeve of their dinner jacket.

My vision blurs with unshed tears as I approach the tree, and as I turn to see if the man in the dark suit is Elias, I feel someone come out from the shadows, place a hand over my mouth and pull me off the ground. From this angle I realize that it isn’t Elias sitting in a pool of his own blood, but David.

I don’t have time to feel even an ounce of sadness for him, since right now I’m too stunned to do anything expect but be terrified when my kidnapper starts to shout, “I’ve got her! I’ve got her.”

Bobby?

Needing to see his face, I wrestle in his grip to free myself, and when that doesn’t work, I bite down on his hand, Bobby shouting in displeasure when my teeth go so deep they almost meet bone.

“Damn it, Rowen! Why did you go and do that for?!” he yells throwing my body into the ground like I’m nothing.

I crawl back on my hands and knees trying to put some distance between us, when I feel a boot kick me to the ground.

“I thought I told you to grab her?!” Mayor Davenport, Mackenzie’s father scolds.

“I was, Warren. But she bit me,” Bobby grimaces, shaking his hand to take the sting away.

“Jesus fuck, Bobby. Get a hold of yourself and grab the girl before she runs away.”

And as soon as the Mayor says those words, I try to pull myself off the ground to make my run for it.

Only I don’t get very far when a triumphant Mackenzie appears right in front of me.

“Not so fast, bitch. You still have a part to play.” She smiles sinisterly, waving her knife in the air like she hasn’t decided where to stick it into yet.

I take a step back from her, only for Bobby to wrap his arms around me, trapping me to his frame.

“Bobby, let me go!” I yell while trying to escape from his clutches.

“I can’t, Rowen. I have to think of my little Brittany. I’m so sorry,” he says before tightening his grip.

“Ah, the things that fathers do for their daughters,” Davenport chimes in. “I’m sorry that it had to come to this, Rowen. I really am. You always struck me as a nice girl. But you see… there can only be one winner here… and that has to be my Mackenzie,” Davenport says unapologetically, as if he’s talking about the weather a not my impending murder.

“ The Scourge will never allow this. You’re all as good as dead. They don’t like it when people fuck with their rules!” I shout at them, feeling Bobby’s grip ease a little bit once I’ve stopped fighting his hold.

“Is what she’s saying true? Are they going to come after us next?” Bobby asks, frightened by my remark.

“Hogwash, Bobby. The girl is just trying to scare you. There is nothing in the rules that say a chosen can’t be assisted with outside help. The only rule that matters is that the winner of The Scourge gets to leave Blackwater Falls for good and take all their family with them. Mackenzie just needs to win tonight, and by this time tomorrow, we’ll be long gone and forget all about this place.”

“Don’t forget the money, Daddy,” Mackenzie adds, twirling on a strand of her hair. “You said I could keep the money.”

“Yes, I did, pumpkin. And I intend to keep that promise,” Davenport says smiling at his daughter before giving her a pretend little punch on the chin. “You did so good, pumpkin. I’m so proud of how you handled yourself in there. I was worried you wouldn’t make it to the final round.”

“Oh, you know me, Daddy. I’m very resourceful. David was easy to manipulate to help me through the first few games. Well, until he wasn’t. By the end he didn’t like playing with me very much. What a little wimp he turned out to be,” she says before spitting on David’s corpse.

“Well then, good riddance,” her father adds with gusto. “I never cared for the Hall family much, so it’s not too much of a loss, if you ask me.”

“You’re just like her,” I say in astonishment, while discreetly testing how loose Bobby’s grip has become. “You’re both out of your fucking minds!”

“Oh, you have quite a mouth on you,” Davenport sneers at me. “I thought you told me she was a good girl. She doesn’t look too much of a good girl to me. She looks rotten, spoiled even.”

“Rowen wouldn’t hurt a fly. She’s as sweet as apple pie, I’m telling you,” Bobby defends, his grip loosening just a tad more.

“Tell that to Ruby Mitchell, Dr. Mitchell’s daughter. Rowen didn’t seem so sweet when she plunged a knife into her heart, now did you, Rowen?” Mackenzie says, running her fingers up and down the blade of her knife.

“You knew I killed Ruby all this time?” I ask, flabbergasted.

“Did I know?” She cackles. “I had a front-row seat to the whole thing. I watched you from the den’s window.”

“Then why did you let Elias take the fall for it?”

“Not for the same reasons you did, I’m sure. Coward.” She slides in the last word to belittle me. “What can I say? Your boyfriend was a threat that I needed to be taken care of. I really thought that with a little motivation, Big Mike and David would have killed him in that room. But even that, the idiots couldn’t do right. Speaking of which… where is your boyfriend now?”

“I don’t know.”

“Aw, come on now, Roe, ” she says, stepping closer to me with evil intent burning bright in her eyes. “It’s just us girls here. You can tell me where he’s hiding,” she coos.

“Not on your fucking life.” I spit at her face when she gets close enough.

“You bitch! I’m going to cut you limb from limb!” she shouts out hysterically as she cleans her face with the hem of her dress.

“Now, now, pumpkin. Careful with that temper of yours. We need her alive, or else her boyfriend won’t show up.”

“When your father learns that you’ve been rolling around with that Larsen boy, it’s going to break his heart,” Bobby says behind me like he still gives a damn.

“And how will he feel when he learns that his favorite deputy followed her all the way from Blackwater Falls just to kill her?” I snap back at him before focusing on the two Davenports. “That’s how you knew where to find us, right? Bobby must have stolen a tracking device from the sheriff’s station and then gave it to you to put on Mackenzie so she could lead you both back to the mansion. It’s the only plausible explanation since no one else, but The Scourge and the Harvest Dozen knew how to get there. And then you went back to town, pretending that everything was fine, while one of you came back every few days to check on Mackenzie’s progress in the house. See, I saw you too, Mackenzie. Running across the courtyard in the middle of the night. At the time, it didn’t add up to me what you were doing there. I mean, you didn’t even try to escape, so why the midnight stroll? But now I get it. It was because you were talking to someone that was hiding at the edge of the forest—the same someone who probably shined a flashlight at your bedroom window to tell you that they were there. That’s how you knew that tonight was going to be The Hunt, and we’d all be out here in the forest fighting for our lives. If there was ever a chance to get rid of the competition and crown Mackenzie the winner, then The Hunt was it.”

“Clever, clever girl,” Davenport praises, impressed with my findings. “What a shame that before the night ends, you’ll be dead and can’t tell a soul about it.”

“Oh, you mean like the other eight lives that died in that house? Did it even cross your minds to help us after Mackenzie told you about the ungodly games they forced us to play?”

“What can I say? You can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs.” Davenport shrugs, not even pretending to be sorry.

But as a flicker of light catches my eye, I just smile at him.

“Daddy, why is she smiling? What the fuck is she smiling about?” Mackenzie shouts, unhappy with the grin tugging at my lips.

“Because,” I coo, no longer feeling Bobby’s arms keeping me captive since I stopped trying to free myself from his hold. “My boyfriend promised me I’d see God tonight. And in about… oh… I don’t know… in the next five minutes or so, he’s going to make good on his promise.”

And before Mackenzie can bore me with another question, Elias shouts, “Duck.”

I do just that. I duck to the floor as Bobby’s body collapses, a knife buried deep in his brain. Grabbing the small blade that Elias concealed in my shoe, I hurl it at Mackenzie’s forehead. My heart sinks as I realize I missed my target by a few inches, watching the dagger pierce through her eye socket and emerge from the back of her head. In that same moment, Elias swings his machete, severing Davenport’s head clean off his body—father and daughter slumping to the ground in eerie unison

“You missed,” Elias growls, admiring his handiwork.

“She’s dead, isn’t she?”

I stand there in awe, watching him wipe Davenport’s blood splatter off his face, and while the sight should repulse me, it does the very opposite. I haven’t been this turned on in my entire life. Maybe it’s the adrenaline kicking in or the realization that we have conquered all the demons that threaten to tear us apart. All I know is I’ve never wanted him more than I do in this very second.

And as Elias tilts his head my way, with the jet-black stare, I know his hunger matches mine.

“Roe, baby?” he growls, the feral beast inside him ready to jump out.

“Yes, Elias?”

“Run.”

Before he has time to charge at me, I sprint into a run, with a goofy grin plastered all over my face.

Thankfully, I don’t have to run very far since Elias grabs me from behind, forcing us to stumble and fall to the earth. I don’t even feel the fall since I’m too worked up to care about a few scrapes and bruises. Elias’s hands quickly unzip his pants as I pull my knees up so that he is nestled in between them. And like a wild animal that can’t see anything else than his prey, Elias rips my panties with one hard tug and thrusts his cock deep inside me until we are one again. I sigh in relief, every inch of my body desperate for his touch. Elias sinks his teeth into my shoulder before kissing the sting away while the heels of my sneakers push down on his back so I can feel every inch of his cock inside me.

It’s messy. Chaotic. And from an outsider’s perspective, it may even look a little insane to be in the throes of passion after just having killed three people, but I don’t care.

It’s us.

Elias and me.

Therefore, perfect.

And just like Elias predicted, I see the gates of heaven open up to me, as I come with his name on my lips.

“Roe,” Elias whispers lovingly as he comes undone, like my name is the calm after a storm.

However, we don’t even get to bask in our afterglow, as we both hear the familiar ringtone of our watches.

Elias looks at his watch and frowns, cursing under his breath.

“What is it? What do they want?” I ask after briefly glancing over at my watch’s screen and finding no new message from our tormentors.

“Come on, Roe,” he says, pulling me up to my feet and fixing my already pretty ripped-up dress.

“They’re not done with us.”

“I’m so tired,” I whisper, every bone in my body hurting, after what feels like hours of us walking through the forest.

“I know, baby. Not too far now,” Elias tries to comfort me, holding me with his arm around my waist so that I don’t fall on my face.

My feet stumble occasionally, my legs feeling like dead weight from running for my life followed by this grueling hike that The Scourge has us on.

As the moon bids its final farewell and the pink and orange hues of dawn paint the morning sky, last night’s ordeals retreat into the realm of a fevered dream. Though I’m sure that the scars that we bear will live on in us for eternity.

“Are you cold?” Elias asks gently, his eyes filled with concern, as if the slightest chill could hurt me.

“No, I’m fine,” I reply with a warm smile, hiding the shiver that coursed through me, a haunting reminder of the hell we endured over the past month.

Still, like a true gentleman, Elias takes off his jacket and wraps it around me.

“There. Isn’t that better?” he asks, kissing my temple.

I close my eyes and breathe him in, his scent the only thing that can calm me.

“Is this how it’s going to be from now on? You always taking care of me?”

“That’s the plan.” He smiles, making my heart swell two sizes.

The Scourge might have been the worst thing to ever happen to us, but it also gave me Elias.

It gave me his love.

How could such a traumatic experience also be the thing that gifted me my soulmate?

But those contradicting thoughts evaporate when Elias looks at his watch again and frowns.

“Come on, Roe. These fuckers are getting agitated.”

I glance over at my watch and frown when I don’t see any new message.

“Okay.” I smile weakly, hiding my confusion.

With my head leaning against his shoulder, we continue to hike through the dense forest, while I silently wonder where The Scourge is leading us toward. It’s only when I hear a rush of water that I get this godawful feeling in my stomach.

A few minutes later the trees subside giving way to a cliff, a large waterfall streaming down at its side. We walk in its direction and look down to find a rapid lake more than a hundred feet down. I’m struck by the memory of standing at Grove Bridge, gazing down at this very lake. But now it roils with anger, a tempest mirrored in its dark waters, the large height making me dizzy.

“Stand back,” Elias orders sternly while pulling me backward, not looking too happy that I got so close to the edge.

My forehead wrinkles as I look around, wondering why we were sent here.

And then I see it.

A woodchipper.

“Oh my God!” I clasp my hand over my mouth.

Elias turns around to see what I’m staring at, and frowns when he sees the same thing I do.

“Is that blood?” I ask pointing at the damn thing.

Elias nods.

“Do you think—”

“That Henry came here to chop the bodies of our friends and dump them into the lake? Yeah, Roe. That’s exactly what I think.” He scowls as he examines it up close. “It doesn’t look like he did much of a good job. There’s still guts and brain matter all over this thing.”

“I think I’m going to be sick,” I say, bile rising up to my throat.

“Hey, it’s okay. It’s over now,” Elias tries to assure, wrapping his arms around me.

“Is it? Then why would they bring us here if it’s over?” I ask confused.

But just as the words leave me, I hear his watch start to vibrate again.

Elias glances over it, a flash of fury in his eyes.

I look at my watch and still see there is no instruction for me whatsoever on it.

“What is it? What do they want?” I ask, unable to mask my panic. “They’re not through with us, are they?”

His face looks pained as he stares at our surroundings, not wanting to look me in the eye.

“Elias, look at me,” I demand, cradling his face in my palms and pulling it down toward me. “What did your message say? What do they want?”

His eyes soften as he stares into mine.

“They want a winner, Roe. The game isn’t over. Not until they get their winner.”

“A winner. As in singular?”

“There can only be one. Three must fall for one to rise, remember?” he explains apologetically, using the warning Henry said before The Hunt began.

I let go of his face and lean my head into his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

“They can’t make us choose. They can’t.”

He holds me tight and presses a kiss to the top of my head.

“You’re right. They can’t make us do anything we don’t want to. Fuck them and their rules.”

I crane my head back and look him in the eye.

“So, what do we do? Run? Spend the rest of our lives looking over our shoulders, knowing that, sooner or later, they will come for us?”

Elias smiles tenderly at me, the dried blood on his face a total contrast to his loving gaze.

“Do you trust me, Roe?”

“With my life,” I’m quick to say.

His eyes soften further with so much love in their depths that it takes my breath away.

“Good. Because I trust you with mine. I fucking love you, Roe. So fucking much.”

“I love you too,” I reply, a fist wrapping around my heart and giving it a good squeeze.

“They really put us through the wringer, didn’t they? But they can’t take that away from us. They can’t take away what we feel for each other. What we have is real and those fuckers can never taint that. Not with their games. Not with their manipulation. They can never destroy what we have. Remember that.”

“I know that, Elias” I choke, his words making me emotional.

“Good.” He says, his tense muscles relaxing.

“But that doesn’t change the fact that we still have to come up with a plan. One where we both walk out of this nightmare alive.”

“I have one.”

“You do?”

He nods.

“What is it?” I ask anxiously, needing to hear every detail of his plan.

“First, see if there is anything we can use as a weapon next to that damn woodchipper, will you?”

“Okay.”

But before he releases his grip around me, he bends down and gives me the sweetest, most passionate kiss he’s ever given me.

“What was that for?” I ask breathlessly.

“Just needed to kiss you. One more time.” He smiles, but I become troubled when the smile doesn’t reach his eyes.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, my sweet doe-eyed girl. I’ve never been better,” he proclaims, before kissing my temple.

He then releases me from his embrace, asking me to complete the task of finding a weapon we can use to defend ourselves with. I’m kind of pissed at myself that we didn’t bring with us the weapons we had from The Hunt. But Elias said we wouldn’t need them where we were going.

I guess he changed his mind.

I turn my back to Elias and head over to the woodchipper, but unfortunately, after a quick inspection, I don’t find anything that could be used as a weapon. I’m about to tell Elias just that, when I hear him call out my name.

“Roe?”

“Yes?” I spin around only to find Elias too close to the cliff’s edge, taking his watch off his wrist and the small camera pinned at his shirt, throwing them both to the ground.

“Don’t forget that I love you. That you are the love of my life. Promise me that you’ll never forget that.”

“Elias, what are you—” but before I get to finish that sentence, Elias stretches his arms out wide and mouths ‘trust me’, before giving me a little wink and falling backward down the cliff’s edge.

“NOOOOOOOO!” I shout running toward the edge and falling onto the ground, watching the love of my life disappear in the fog. “ELIAS!!! What did you do?! What did you do?!” I scream out at him, as tears blind me while my heart is ripped out of my chest.

He jumped.

Elias jumped.

He sacrificed himself.

For me.

When I feel my watch start to vibrate, I have to force myself not to chuck the evil gadget into the lake. Crying, I glance at the screen, the text confirming that Elias is dead.

Congratulations.

You played well.

You are this year’s winner.

Follow the coordinates to receive your prize.

The world ceases to make sense in this moment.

Prize?

Prize?

How can they talk of prizes when the love of my life just leaped to his death?

I had spent the better part of the year yearning for death, unable to deal with my misery.

But this… this feeling… is far more crippling than any other I could have ever felt.

This is how I die.

With a broken heart.

Elias plunging himself off the cliff, not only killed him, but also the best part of me.

I lie there staring into the fog, the cold ground seeping through my bones. I don’t have the strength to stand, all of my energy is used up by crying the loss of the one man I ever loved.

Then sorrow turns to anger as I curse The Scourge and everyone who ever had a part in it. They took everything from me. And now they took the one person who had brought light back into my life. But then anger turns to debilitating sorrow again, as I let out a loud blood-curling wail, needing the world to hear my pain.

Time seems to blur as I navigate this endless loop of anger and sorrow.

I’m not sure how much time passes by that I’m in this state, but it must be a while since the sun looks like it’s about to set again.

“Get up!” I hear his voice in my head. “You can’t get caught here on your own at nightfall. You won’t survive another night out here in the cold, where any animal can confuse you with dinner. ”

I let out a disheartening laugh.

Before, I used to imagine Nora speaking to me, but now her voice has been silenced and replaced by that of her brother.

Now I have both deaths on my conscience, since both died because I loved them too much.

With Elias’s voice in my ear, I pull myself up from the ground, the fallen leaves and dead grass now stuck to my bloodstained white dress.

God what a fearful sight I must be? Elias would have loved seeing me this way.

Numb, I look at my watch and follow the coordinates through the forest.

My mind is a chaotic mess, my soul withered, as I take one step at a time, following The Scourge’s instructions one last time. Hours pass by as one foot follows the other out of the forest and onto a road. I follow the cement pavement until I see a limo parked just a few feet away from a sign that says ‘You are now leaving Blackwater Falls’.

The back door of the limo opens the second I reach it, Henry stepping out of the back seat.

“Lady Hawthorne,” he greets.

“Henry,” I mutter, holding my shaking form in place.

“I must say that you have disappointed many people with your win.”

“I didn’t have much say in the matter,” I retort sadly.

“Yes, so I’ve heard. My deepest condolences in regard to Master Larsen’s passing. He was one of the good ones.”

“Thank you,” I retort on autopilot. “So what now?”

“Now… you receive your prize,” he says, handing me a backpack. “Inside you will find all the details of you’re bank account number in the Cayman Islands. You also have a passport, a plane ticket and fifty thousand dollars spending money to get you started on your journey. The chauffeur will drive you to whichever destination you’d like to go. But if I may, I’d suggest you find somewhere discreet to clean up first. There is a truck stop and gas station just a few miles down. You can clean yourself up there and change. Five made sure to pack up some clothes for you and put them in your bag.”

“You thought of everything, huh?”

“It is my job, Lady Hawthorne. It is my job.”

“Well, your job sucks, Henry.”

“Some times more than others.” His mouth dips to a frown.

“So, this is it? I get to just leave and no one will come after me?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t buy it.”

“It is the truth. As long as you keep our secrets, we’ll make sure to keep yours.”

My mind immediately goes to the video footage of all the deaths I’m responsible for.

“Mutual assured self-destruction. That’s how they keep us quiet.”

“It’s one of the ways. My employers also have other ways to ensure that there is no discussion about what happens in Blackwater Falls. Should they be tipped off that someone has leaked something, then they take more assertive steps to make it and that person go away.”

“So basically, I’ll be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life?”

Henry bridges the small gap between us and grabs my wrist, taking the watch off me and the camera, and throwing both to the other side of the road.

“There have been players who have found a way to evade my employers,” he says, keeping his voice barely above a whisper.

“How?” I ask, realizing the watches must have also been bugged, hearing all our conversations.

“You’d be surprised what money can buy, Rowen. It can turn anyone into a ghost if they so desire it.”

“Just how much money are we talking about?” I ask, since I was under the idea that the prize money was only a million dollars. Hardly enough to go on the run for the rest of your life.

“A hundred million.”

“That much?”

“Well, you have yourself to thank for that. You were a long shot. No one expected you to win.”

“I don’t feel much like a winner, Henry.”

He frowns again.

“Elias would have wanted you to have a full life. So would your mother.”

“My mother?” I ask, feeling a sudden sparkle of life within me.

He nods.

“Like I said, there have been players who in the past have made sure never to be found. Your mother was such a player.”

Hope suddenly fills my heart.

“So she managed to never be found by your employers again?”

“Never. And they have looked. Though the winners are guaranteed their freedom, my employers prefer to keep tabs on them—constantly.”

“Twenty-four-hour surveillance doesn’t sound like freedom to me.”

“How I understand the meaning behind that statement more than most.” He lets out a sigh, confirming my suspicions that neither he, Five, or Seven can leave the mansion.

Which begs to question…

“Why are your telling me all this, Henry? Why are you helping me?”

“Because I saw how much your mother wanted to save you from this fate. She volunteered just so you’d never have to experience such a thing. I couldn’t help her then, but I needed to help her now… in some way.”

“Thank you, Henry.”

“You are quite welcome, Lady Hawthorne.” He reverts back to his usual demeanor. “I honestly hope that you’re able to put this, and us, behind you.”

“I doubt that will ever be possible. But I’ll try.”

He offers me a nod, and then goes to the limo, opening the door for me.

I slide in, the partition up so the driver can’t see me.

“Best of luck, Lady Hawthorne. Hopefully you won’t need it.”

“Goodbye, Henry.”

He gives me a small smile before closing the door.

“Where to miss?” the driver asks through the speakers.

“Take me to the nearest gas station.”

As we drive off, I turn to look out the back window and watch Henry standing in the middle of the road, with Blackwater Falls disappearing from my sight.

“Goodbye and good riddance,” I whisper, tears streaming down my cheeks as the memories of everyone I have lost to this town comes to the forefront of my mind like a tidal wave, eager to drown me in my own grief.

My mother.

Nora.

Emily.

My father.

Harper.

Andy.

Abbie.

And now, Elias.

Blackwater Falls took everything from me.

And now that I get to leave, I imagine it burning to the ground so it can’t steal another life again and sacrifice it to The Scourge.

But I know that will never happen.

Next year, this twisted game will repeat itself with brand new contestants to suffer its wrath.

I pity all those involved.

For this is the place where souls go to die.