Page 37 of The Dinner Party

“Um,” you say, “I don’t know…”

“Sloan.” His eyes are big and serious. You can’t help but think he has unfairly long eyelashes for a man. “Mr. Wentworth is likely guarding the controls for the gate, so unless he’s dead, this is the only way out of the estate right now. If you don’t come with me, you won’t leave here alive. You have to trust me.”

Except… can you trust him? You only met this man tonight, and he’s already knocked your friend unconscious. That does not bode well for what will happen if you follow him into the woods.

Then again, if he wanted to attack you, he had his chance. And he’s the only person in the house who warned you about the danger you were facing.

To follow Carson, turn to Chapter 64 (page 163)

To go to your car, turn to Chapter 61 (page 155)

61

You’re not about to trust a man who just knocked your friend unconscious with a rock, no matter how hot he is. You’re certainly not going to follow him into the wilderness when your car is literally right there. Besides, whatever the people in this house will do to you pales in comparison to what Blair will do if you come back without her car.

“Sorry,” you say to Carson, “but I’m going to find a way out of here in my car.”

His face creases in concern. “Please reconsider. You’ll never get out of here in that car.”

“I’ll be fine,” you assure him.

He doesn’t make a move to stop you as you walk over to the Audi. You hit the button on the fob to unlock the door, and then slide into the driver’s seat. After you close and lock the door, you already feel safer. You definitely made the right decision.

You make your way down the driveway, the reverse of what you did when you came here earlier. If only you had turned around when you came to the gate, but it’s too late to think about that. The important thing is that you’re going to get out of here in one piece.

Or at least, that’s what you think until you get to the gate.

You were hoping that, despite what Carson said, there would be some sort of automatic device that would sense your car and open the gate, but that clearly isn’t going to happen. These gates are not going to open without help.

Crap.

While you’re weighing your options, a movement in one of the bushes catches your eye. Immediately, your heart speeds up. What was that? Is somebody following you? Is that Carson? Or is it just your imagination?

Either way, you’ve got to get out of here—now.

You’ve got two choices. You could get out of the car and attempt to open the gates manually. Alternatively, you could ram the gate with your car and hope that it’s enough to bust them open.

You’re not too jazzed about getting out of the car, but ramming the gate is going to cause significant damage to the fender, and Blair will not be cool about that, especially since you’re not returning home with rent money. But what else can you do? Now that Carson is gone, there’s no other way out of here.

To ram the gate with your car, turn to Chapter 62 (page 158)

To get out of the car and try to open the gate manually, turn to Chapter 63 (page 160)

62

There’s no way in hell you’re getting out of this car with cannibals lurking on the premises. The Audi is really well made. You bet you can bust through whatever lock is on the gate if you go at it fast enough, and the car will probably be fine. You bet it won’t even get scratched, and even if it does… well, Blair will have to deal with it.

You back up, hoping to build up some momentum. When you get a decent distance from the gate, you say a quiet prayer, drop your foot onto the gas pedal, and push it all the way down.

The car jerks forward. You’ve never put the pedal to the metal before, and it feels good. You grip the steering wheel with both hands, your eyes pinned on the gate ahead of you. The bars are iron and appear sturdy, but the lock won’t stand up to a car going this fast. No way.

You hold your breath as the fender makes contact with the iron gate.

It takes you a split second to realize how wrong you were. The Audi is no match for whatever lock was holding the gate together. Worse, you realize you forgot to put on your seatbelt, so when the car stops short, your body goes flying through the windshield, landing unceremoniously on the hood. Your last thought before your skull breaks the glass is that Blair is going to kill you when she sees what you did to her car.

The first piece of good news is that you are alive but completely unconscious when the cannibals descend on you. The second piece of good news is that it will be far too late for Blair to kill you when she sees what you did to her car.

THE END