AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Guys?” Gracelyn attempted to interject.
Ciaran rocked back with a small laugh, a cool smirk lifting one corner of his mouth as he stared down at me.
“Is two plus two not four to you, puppet? Did an arrow not almost impale your ass for refusing to follow simple instructions? If you have a theory that explains this shit better than mine, babygirl, feel free to share. I’m sure we’d all love to hear it.”
Everyone stared at the two of us, their silence elongating as they waited for me to respond. Ciaran slightly lifted a brow as if to say, “Well?”
I clenched my jaw and turned away from him, considering both his version of things and mine. One made much more sense than the other, mainly because his had logic to it—and proof, from the crash to them being unable to proceed without me giving up my phone.
My face heated from a mixture of frustration and embarrassment. I felt like a toddler that had thrown a tantrum.
“And the arrow?” I questioned, still stubbornly wanting to be right.
“I’m gonna take a gander and say that had its intended effect,” Mr. Authority added softly.
He was right. Whoever shot it had triggered me into cooperating. Meaning, they’d missed on purpose. My lips flattened into a thin line, I stared at the gate as if it were the reason for all our problems.
The idea of being shut inside whatever this was.
I dropped my eyes to the ground. Ciaran placed a hand on my shoulder as if to offer… comfort? An apology? Honestly, I didn’t need the latter or want the former.
I could have just gotten someone seriously hurt. Or killed.
I could’ve screwed us all. Although I wasn’t sure this scenario was any better.
We’d just been herded like a flock of sheep. There could very well be a pack of wolves waiting in anticipation to slaughter us one by one. I didn’t know about any of these other people, but me and my friends wouldn’t be going out like that.
“Do you need a minute to throw a fit?” Ciaran asked, his tone much too smug for my liking.
I clenched my hands and took another breath, this time to prevent myself from punching him in the dick. He suddenly brought his mouth to my ear and spoke loud enough for only me to hear.
“Put your claws away, puppet. It’s a little too soon for foreplay.”
My mouth slackened. A breathy, humorless laugh expelled from between parted lips. I had to have misheard.
I turned back towards him just as he began to walk away. “What did you say to me?”
“I said, you’re welcome,” he casually tossed over his shoulder, not sparing me a second glance.
The group eyed the two of us, ultimately trailing after him when he took the lead, kindly checking on the older women on his way. Gracelyn and Melantha stayed with me, varying emotions splashed across their faces.
“What did that asshat say to you?” Mel asked as soon as there was a semblance of space between us and the others.
I tampered down the inane urge to defend him.
“Nothing. Not anything important, anyway.” Gnawing the inside of my cheek, I stared after him.
A memory edged along my subconscious, triggered by something he’d just said.
CHAPTER THREE
The white sign said ENTER in large black letters. An arrow beside the word was aimed at the graveled path the others had just vanished down.
It didn’t take a rocket scientist to point out the obvious. A road in the middle of seemingly nowhere after what we’d just gone through was a huge red flag.
On top of the obvious reasons not to follow the arrow, you couldn’t see where this path led or ended.
“This is getting way too weird for me,” Mel grumbled.
“Weird?” Grace parroted. “You mean creepy, right?”
“Wait,” I interjected. “What about that message we heard before the crash? The one about entering the Devil’s Playground?”
“Fuck me,” Mel sighed, removing her flannel and tying it around her waist. She wasn’t wearing a bra beneath her tank, which made her nipple piercings clear as crystal. She wouldn’t give a damn who looked so there wasn’t a reason to point them out. “You think that’s what this leads to?” she asked.
I shrugged. “I can’t say yes or no for sure, but where else would it go?”
“Then what are we going to do?” Gracelyn asked, shifting closer to me.
There were only two options. Wait here and see if anything happened, or be productive in finding a way out of this mess and following everyone else.
“Let’s go, we’ve dealt with far worse than a dark road before.” I locked arms with each of them and started walking.
Have you ever felt like you’ve entered an alternate reality? That’s where I was at. There wasn’t any other way to explain what was happening, or the buildings beginning to take shape. As we drew closer to them, Melantha asked the million-dollar question.
