Page 13 of Trick me. Treat me

Unknown

But you came all this way.

I type back my reply this time.

Me

What does that mean?

The XX mask tilts his head. Then walks out of sight.

“No. NO, you need to stay where I can fucking see you.”

I immediately realise how stupid that sounds. I don’t want to see him. I want him gone. I want them gone.

Something brushes against my bare ankle making me shriek. I nearly fire pepper spray at Mr. Pickles. “Oh my fucking God!” He looks up at me, his amber eyes wide. “Do not sneak up on me!”

He meows then trots towards the sliding doors. “No. Pickles, get away from the⁠—”

He sits, once again staring outside with his tail swishing happily. I don’t want to look, but curiosity killed the cat and all that, and I clearly can’t help myself. I slowly inch forward, one shaky step at a time until I can see my reflection clearly. Black hair down to my waist, wide grey-blue eyes, tiny stupid halloween pyjamas, with my pepper spray clenched in my fist. I look fucking ridiculous.

Then, another reflection appears behind mine. Huge. Dressed in all black. A skull looming over my shoulder. My entire body locks. That’s impossible. He—He’s behind me. Inside the house.

I feel the warmth of someone standing at my back, close enough that every nerve in my body lights up. My lips part but no sound comes out. A black-painted fingernail appears beside my face as one tattooed hand reaches slowly around me to grip my throat. My eyes remained fixed on the reflection in the glass. Black balaclava, the lower half a white skull like the one from the video games I play. A tattooed throat is just visible beneath the neckline of his hoodie. He’s enormous, my head just about comes to his chest. My lungs pull in one shallow breath. Then another.

He lowers his masked face beside mine. “Trick,” a deep voice murmurs, vibrating against my back.

My knees nearly give out. I keep my eyes firmly on his in the reflection until my phone vibrates in my hand. A message appears across the screen as I dare take a glance.

Unknown

Found you.

Ever so slowly, two figures appear at the other side of the glass. XX and Cracked Mask step forward, raising both of their hands to plant against the sliding doors as they tilt their heads to look at me. Skull Face has a loose grip on my throat, and my entire body goes into overdrive as the realisation dawns on me. I’m not watching a cat in an empty cabin. I’ve been locked inside their fucking playground.

I don’t give myself a second to think about it. I take advantage of his loose grip around my throat, break free, and fucking run for it, the deep sound of laughter not far behind me.

Chapter Five

Violet

My bare feet skid against the hardwood as I tear away from him, almost losing my balance when I round the edge of the couch.

I don’t look back. I don’t fucking dare. My heart is trying to beat its way out of my chest, each breath ripping into my lungs too fast and too shallow as I sprint toward the kitchen. There’s a side door in there, one of the many I saw earlier. It’s past the island, beside the pantry. My brain latches onto it like it’s the only thought I’m capable of having. Door. Outside. Run.

Behind me, laughter echoes. Deep. Manic. And way too fucking close. I push harder, my legs going faster than they ever have before. Five feet. Three.

I grab the handle and twist, but it doesn’t budge. “No.”

I wrench it again. It’s locked. Of course it’s fucking locked. I’m the one that locked it.

“FUCK!” I shout, my hands shaking so badly I can barely grip the handle anyway.

The laughter comes again, so impossibly close that my entire body goes stiff. Then his voice rolls through the kitchen behind me.

“You’re going to have to run faster than that, pretty girl.”

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. I spin around to find Skull Face standing at the opposite end of the kitchen. He completely fills the entrance with his huge shoulders that are hiding beneath a dark black hoodie. The black balaclava stretched over his face looks even more terrifying in the light, the white skull staring back at me, deep forest green eyes crinkled as though he’s grinning beneath the mask. His hands hang loosely by his sides, black painted nails and heavy dark tattoos that are stark against his skin.