Page 27 of Fed By Fear

He shrugs. “Better figure out fast.”

With a huff of annoyance, I move, determined to locate the exit. My technique involves constantly turning in a new direction in an attempt to discover an opening without running into the clown. He’s everywhere I look.

Fingers slide through my hair. I spin to face him, my hand smacking into a mirror.

“Right here.” He chuckles.

Turning the other way leads me straight into another mirror. This is taking too long. A distant hum reaches me above the carnival songs. It grows, until it becomes something all too recognizable. The chainsaw’s grinding rumble sends my adrenaline pumping higher.

Whirling around doesn’t grant me any more insight into where the exit is or where Madness is truly standing. “I don’t have time for this. Show me the way out.”

“Give us something first.”

Frustration bites at the back of my throat. “What do you want?”

“Your shirt.”

That’s not what I was expecting. “My shirt?”

He’s in front of me without moving. His fingers trace the ribs knitted into my skeleton sweater. The fabric is thick, but his touch still raises goosebumps along the skin beneath. “Off, off, it goes. Or stuck, stuck, you stay.”

His mask’s fang-filled grin taunts me through the many mirrors. I could swear the smile actually grows when I slide the sweater over my head and hold it out for him. That can’t be true. It’s only a mask. This fucking maze is making me imagine things.

“Happy?”

Madness reaches around, plucking the clothing from my hand. “Walk straight four steps. Stop. Turn left two steps.”

Following his directions gets me about six feet before I hit another wall. “Now where?”

Madness tosses my shirt to the floor and holds his hand out again. “Skirt.”

My mouth gapes. “Are you joking?”

“Are we laughing?” Madness flattens his palm upward, curling his fingers. Is he behind me or in front of me now? It’s so hard to tell.

I unzip the skirt, dropping it over my boots. My hands are noticeably shaky as I hold it in front of me. Madness reaches around from behind me to take it. I send a quick elbow backwards in hopes of catching him off guard. My arm slams into a mirror. That hurt, and now I feel even more stupid than before.

Madness appears unbothered by my attempt to ram an elbow in his face. “Turn right, walk one step, immediately turn left, walk ten steps.”

Seeing myself in lingerie in dozens of mirrors is a horror movie of its own. I haven’t been naked in front of someone in years. Making time to go out in the sun has not been a priority for quite some time. I knew I was pale, but in all these reflections, I’m downright ghostly. As pale as paper with the exception of the blue areas. Which have flared up again. My right arm, most of my chest, and part of my stomach have all changed.

I’m not at all surprised when the directions lead to another dead end. Madness is already leaning against a mirror when my path is blocked again.

He holds his hands out before I’ve had a chance to ask him which way to go. “Bra.”

I shake my head and he cocks his. “No.”

“Both then.”

“Both what?”

“Bra and panties.”

My scoff is overly loud. “If I wasn’t going to give you my bra, why on earth would you think I would give you my underwear?”

He snorts, leaning back against a mirror. “Last chance.”

“I’ll find my own way out.”