Page 17 of Shattered Souls

“Where the fuck have you been?” I ask.

“The maze.” He signs.

I stare at him.

“No shit.”

“You’ll see. And I promise you’ll love it. Go get ready, and after opening, make sure you head towards the maze.” He shoos me away from the door.

Trusting his stupid excitement, I head back upstairs to the dressing room to get ready for the sea of sweaty bodies that I have to track through.

I grab a palette of face paint and a sponge and take a seat beside Maverick. We both sit in silence as we paint around our eyes black to seamlessly blend with our masks.

“No cage of death tonight?” He asks, his mask tucked under his arm beside me.

“Not tonight. We’re only doing it a few times this season. Since me and Hyde are the only two that do it. It’s just too much for us every night.” Maverick’s the closest thing to a friend that I’ve gotten in years. We have pleasant small talk and that’s it. He never asks about my life nor do I ask about his.

“Good,” He slips his mask on. “Maybe I can snag a girl tonight. Maybe even two if I’m lucky.” He winks and turns to head out for the night.

I put the white contacts in my eyes and drip the fake blood down my exposed chest before slipping the cracked porcelain mask over my features. When I stare at myself in the mirror, this is the man I want to be. I want to hide behind a mask and live how I please.

I grab my machete from our house before leaving the dressing room and into the September air. The gates have already opened and people have started flooding into the thick fog.

I slowly make my way towards the maze entrance, stopping every few steps to frighten a few patrons.

A group of girls huddled together walk towards the maze, not knowing that I’m walking into it. I charge at them and scare them away from the attraction completely.

I check every spot that Hyde likes to play in. All of them turning up empty. It’s not until I enter the center of the maze, a large opening with a few benches, that I see his little masterpiece.

Our little scarecrow is in a cage that's hardly big enough for her to sit up fully in. Her hands grip the bars as she desperately looks around for someone that’s going to save her.

“Look at what we have here.” I crouch down in front of her. “You seem to have gotten yourself in quite the situation.” She has what looks like a doll outfit from the dressing room on. Thankfully, he didn’t make her go completely naked. If he had—I’d have a few more bodies to dissolve.

That’s for our eyes only. Shit, I’m already mentally agreeing to this crazy plan.

“Fuck you,” She bites out. “Someone’s going to help me.”

“Is that so?” I see Hyde emerge from the shadows in my peripheral. “Hyde, do you think someone will help this poor little scarecrow?” He circles her cage, his hook clanking on the bars, and shakes his head.

“I haven’t done anything,” Tears rake down her face, her scarecrow face paint hardly recognizable. “Just let me go and I’ll never speak of this.”

“But, I thought someone was going to help you?” I cock my head to the side.

“Please.”

“She’s screamed the whole time.” Hyde signs.

I lean forward and whisper into the cage. “Don’t waste that precious voice tonight. I need you to be able to scream for me.” Voices sound from somewhere in the maze. A group of teens laughing and chatting about what way they think leads to the exit.

I stand up and walk backwards into the shadows of the hedges, ready to watch the fight die from those green eyes when no one will help her. To them, she’s nothing more than another actor set up to lead them away.

6

Rayvn

My knees and back are barking with pain from the awkward position I’ve been in for only an hour. Hyde, the muzzled one, came and ripped me from that room and shoved a strange outfit in my hands—not that I’m complaining about not being naked anymore.

He tossed me in here and then left without saying a word.