“What the fuck?”
He smiles widely before yanking me into his hard body by my wrist.
“None of these folk are allowed to fucking hurt you, beautiful. It’s just jump scares and you’re giving them exactly what they’re paid for.”
I release a tense breath, trying to calm my frantically beating heart as we continue forward, but soon we are entering somewhere even darker with only flashing white lights, like the maze in the fun house yet more frantic. We walk through it, startled by surprises: things dropping down on us, the ground trembling beneath our feet, and sudden jump scares.
Overwhelmed by the relentless terror, I feel myself slipping into a state of numbness, unsure how much more of this I can endure. Chaos takes my hand tightly in his and leads the way, but when a door swings open beside me, revealing a masked man that eerily resembles my stalkers, my entire body seizes up, a chill shivering down my spine as he tilts his head to the side. My chest becomes tight, and as soon as he takes a step forward, I scream at the top of my lungs, let go of Chaos’ hand and run the opposite way at full speed.
“Charley!”
Chaos calls out behind me, but I refuse to stop, pushing myself to run even faster, driven by the need to escape. I race through the twisting corridors, maintaining a straight path, hoping to reach the exit and leave this nightmare behind. As soon as I finally break through the dense fog, I halt, my heart sinking at the sight of the closed door, realizing that the ride has ended for the night.
I lunge at the door, frantically searching for the lock, hearing Chaos calling for me from a far distance and just as I am about to call back, that is when I hear it from behind me—a bird-like tweeting. My body stiffens like a statue, every muscle tense. I become immobile. I cannot scream, I cannot run. My breathing grows shallow; I cannot breathe; I am suffocating.
As the eerie chirping starts to fade away, I try to convince myself it was just my imagination, urging myself to turn around and find Chaos, but as soon as I find the courage to turn around, I am met with a horrifying sight—a glowing, neon mask hovering inches from my face. Instinctively, I recoil, pressing my back against the door, heart pounding in my chest. When I see a knife shine in the dim light, I turn my face away, my chest heaving with every breath I take.
He brings the sharp point to the middle of my throat and that is when I realize this is not part of this ride. I suck in a quick breath while staring wide eyed at the black, plastic mask with flashing crosses across the eyes staring back at me. He slides the tip slowly down, dragging my sweater with it and I cannot do anything, my body will not allow me. I am stuck. When he has moved it to where he wants, he presses the blunt side of the knife firmly against my birthmark.
“Oh, Swan. How I have missed you.”
My brows pinch ever so slightly with confusion until he continues calmly.
“But you have deceived me, little birdy.”
He suddenly brings his face close to mine and bites down on his words viciously.
“And I don’t tolerate disobedience, especially from what’s fucking mine.”
He suddenly pieces the skin of my birthmark with the blade and when I scream, he slaps his big, gloved palm over my mouth. Agony shoots through me as he presses harder, twisting and grinding the blade cruelly as he continues with his aggressive words.
“I don’t. Fucking. Like. It.”
I try desperately to wriggle free, tears streaming from my eyes from the excruciating pain, and I feel my warm blood leaking from the wound, soaking into my white sweater. When I hear Chaos getting closer, I try to scream louder into his hand and I grip onto the blade, attempting to make him stop, but I slice my fingers in the process. I weep as he continues his torment, until he finally pulls it out of my chest. I immediately slap my palm over the wound and he cock his head to the side before whispering chillingly close to my face.
“I’ll see you very soon; we have a lot of time to make up for.”
He removes his hand from my face with a nasty shove and backs away into the shadows until he is no longer visible. I let out a sob as I slide down the door and hug my knees, my body shaking. I wait for what feels like forever with my forehead resting on my knees, squeezing my eyes shut as I cry, until I finally hear Chaos in front of me.
“Charley? There you are.”
I lift my head, and as soon as he realizes I have been crying, his face falls, and he closes the short distance before crouching down in front of me, speaking softly.
“Sorry I brought you in here; I thought it might fucking help you.”
It is not his fault. I agreed to come in here, but I had no idea that my stalker would be in here to taunt and hurt me, right when I am with Chaos. When he notices blood on my hand, his eyes expand, and he takes hold of my wrist before his eyes return to mine.
“What the fuck happened?”
I shut down, squeezing my eyes shut and I shake my head from side to side.
“I just want to get the fuck out of here, Chaos.”
His brows pinch, confusion written all over his face, but he gives a small nod before standing and helping me up. I hug my arms around myself, feeling the wound on my chest throbbing with pain and blood trickling from it as he searches for a lock. When he finds it, he opens the door and I rush out first, desperate to get out of here.
I jog down the short steps, realizing the amusement park is empty and I notice Reign sitting on a bench a distance away, clearly waiting for us, but as soon as he sees the blood seeping through my white sweater, he stands and races toward me. He glances between me and Chaos, confused before he shouts furiously.
“What the fuck happened to her?!”
