Page 33 of Off the Rails

“What’s the deal with the cages?” I nodded toward the metal trap.

Blade hummed. “Oh, yeah, those. There’s a lot of feral cats around here. We leave out traps and then take them to a spay/neuter clinic. Then we release them. Otherwise the whole place would be a cat colony by now.”

“Is that where Butch came from?” Despite my instincts, Butch was still trotting around near us. He’d disappear into the woods and like magic reappear every few hundred yards.

With a shrug, Blade laughed. “More or less. We did get him neutered but we liked recovering in the apartment a little too much. And he pays rent, so we weren’t going to kick him out.”

Reading between the lines, I knew what Blade meant. He was a hunter, just like them. With his help, Feverpoint and the luxury loft hidden away in its depths would stay pest free.

As we approached a directory, worn and faded, I let myself study it for a moment. I needed to scope out new sections of the park if I had any hope of winning the next hunt.

I spotted Superhero’s Sanctuary. The offbrand, unlicensed part of the park that mimicked popular superheroes but didn’t quite copy them.

Even better, Colossal Kitchen appeared just before it.

Following the map's directions, I walked toward it. There would be lots of small nooks and crannies to hide in, built for little kids to play in for hours on end.

But as we walked, I became more and more aware of Blade’s presence.

The rhythmic thump of her ax into every post we passed an eerie metronome.

Every few hits, she’d sprint ahead, disappear into the brush and reappear a few seconds later. Even walking wasn’t stimulating enough for her.

When she came back, I asked a new question. “You’ve done this before me?” It was clear they had, the rules were so concise, the terms predetermined. I just couldn’t figure out how many times, how skilled they really were.

Blade hummed, stopping in front of me and forcing me to stand before her. “Mm. But none of them hold a candle to you. You are a pleasure to hunt.” Sucking her teeth, she twirled her ax in her hands. “I’d chase you through the dark every night if Cyrus let me, Trinket.”

Before I could push her away, Blade took a few steps back and turned forward. Her shoulders were broad despite her lean muscle. I could see her shoulder blades testing the limits of her shirt.

I’d already let her fuck me. But that didn’t stop my body from anticipating what would happen if she caught me again.

Pay attention.

I tried to study the area, towering pieces of kitchen cookware, the buildings made to look like ovens and refrigerators. A dark corner between the entrance to two different rides.

Putting her ax behind her head, Blade stretched and looked back at me. “But we do get other deliveries. And we like to hunt those too.”

Her head tilted back, like the mere thought was bringing her pleasure.

My bones chilled. “Women?”

Blades' short, blonde hair bounced as she turned back to me. Her face was dead serious before a sinister laugh rippled from her chest. “No, Trinket. The women we hunt are for pleasure. But the business?”

She sucked in a deep breath, like the memory was a release of its own. “That you’ll have to stick around to see. Those bastards are just getting what’s coming to them.”

My throat tightened. Every question I asked was replaced with more questions.

Back to making her notches, Blade kept her space ahead of me. From the brush, Butch jogged out and walked alongside us.

My eyes followed his path, wondering what might be lurking just off the trail. And then I saw it, the perfect spot.

I might be stuck with the Freaks for now, but they’d been in Feverpoint for a long time. And as trained as they might be, I was seeing the park with fresh eyes.

With any luck, they’ll never think of the spot I just found.

19

CYRUS