Page 173 of Stay Scared

WHERE ARE THE POLICE

Someone asks whether Rook is one of the owners. Another asks why he keeps hiding his face.

I smile.

The speaker above me snaps on. “What exactly is funny?”

“They’re asking about you.”

He waits longer this time.

“You wanted an audience.”

“I have one.”

“They mostly know everyone except you.”

A harsh scrape travels through the maze, metal against metal.

I stop.

The nearest camera rotates toward the sound, then back to me. Rook leaves the silence hanging.

I continue.

The center chamber is still several turns away. Owen’s analog camera begins there. Until then, every image belongs to Rook.

Let him keep watching.

A transparent panel appears ahead. The old Crimson Night waiver fills it.

ENTRY CONSTITUTES CONSENT TO COMPLETE THE EXPERIENCE.

VERBAL REFUSAL MAY BE TREATED AS PERFORMANCE.

Rook finally speaks again. “You signed it.”

I walk past the words. “You really love paperwork for a man who ignores his own emergency systems.”

The speaker near my shoulder clicks so sharply I almost flinch.

“You entered willingly.”

“I entered Ash’s attraction.”

“You entered mine before his.”

My step slows.

There it is.

I turn toward the nearest camera. “Did I?”

The red light remains steady.

Rook’s voice comes lower. “He built on my work.”

“You mean he kept the company after throwing you out.”