Page 13 of Escape

As I performed, I fell deeper into the role. The backstabbing best friend became Ariana. The abusive, cheating husband became Jared. The lover…I could barely get myself to imagine again without a lump growing in my throat and tears stinging my eyes. For a moment…just a split second…my secret high school lover’s face flashed through my mind.

It shook me to my core. I could feel the phantom sting of the heartbreak coming back to life. It was a reminder to quickly stuff it back down. I only saw her face for a moment before it disappeared and I came back to my performance, down on my knees, viciously stabbing a plastic knife into the ground with tears streaming down my cheeks.

When I finally came back to myself, I stood. I didn’t know what else to do, so I bowed to the empty crowd.

Behind me, the pop of a door unlocking made me whip around. I scooped up the backpack and lifted my foot to sprint forward. But before I could make it even a step, a thundering, slow clap pierced my ears and froze me in place.

I was 99.9% sure the psycho keeping me locked here was behind me. I didn’t know if I was more afraid to turn around and find a stranger or someone I knew.

“Beautiful performance. You’re a star.”

The voice sounded much smoother when it wasn’t filtered through the intercom speakers. Something about it dug into my skin and twisted into my chest, prying on the locked doors of my heart. But I just couldn’t bring myself to turn around. Not until the clink of metal clattering on the wooden stage floor sounded just behind me.

“Your prize,” they declared, their voice taunting.

I ran through my options, deciding I was fucked either way. If I stood there, they could catch me. If I ran, they’d either catch me or lock me in here. So far, the only way forward had been through keys and clues. I was almost certain the metal clinking to the floor was another key I would absolutely need. I swallowed my fear, straightened my shoulders and turned around.

I intended to just scoop up the key and run, but the figure's presence took up the entire space. Standing just at the edge of the stage, a tall, muscular form stood, solid and silent.

My gaze ran from the bottom up, over the heavy boots, baggy black jeans and tight, cropped tank. Every inch of skin was covered with thick muscle and dark tattoos.

I stopped at the stranger's chest, afraid to see their face. I was almost certain that the small swelled curves I saw were a pair of tits. Nice ones at that. With my heart hammering, I forced my eyes up and I wished I hadn’t.

All I could see was the bottom half of their face. Their smile was almost…beautiful. A black, pointed metal canine tooth poked from dusty pink, full lips. Their earlobes were stretched with plugs so large that I was sure that if they took them out, my entire arm would fit through.

The tattoos continued up their neck, which was totally blacked out, and jaw and disappeared under a terrifying mask. It was a deep red color, shiny and covering the stranger's nose, eyes and forehead. At the top, two black, twisting horns curled out to each side. This whole time, I’d been thinking this person was a psychopath, but I was staring in the face of a demon.

And that stare was cementing me into place.

Their tongue poked from their mouth, a black tongue ring gliding over their lips to wet them. My whole body started to thump as I watched it curl up and around. The pulsing traveled from my chest to my belly and settled between my legs.

What the actual fuck?

I moved my thigh just a centimeter and confirmed that my panties had gone damp and slick between my thighs. A shiver ran over my skin as the fabric skimmed across my slightly swollen clit. I needed to get my shit together. Fast.

The demon stepped towards me and that’s when my brain decided to snap back into service. I bent over and swiped up the key before turning on my heel and sprinting to find the open door. I wasn’t sure if the thumping I heard was the demon’s heavy boots chasing after me or the pounding of my own heart, but I wasn’t about to turn around and find out.

Chapter 12

Kel

I had a sick urge to chase her. To walk steadily after her as her shorter legs pumped harder and harder, knowing she could never outrun me. Knowing that wherever she went, I would find her. But there was still so much more fun to have. So many more games to play.

When I was standing in front of her, I didn’t sense any recognition in her expression. But what I did see was even more interesting. Arousal.

The way her thighs shifted and squeezed together didn’t get past me. For a moment, I lost myself. I was dead set on closing the space between us and reaching between her legs, running my fingers through her wetness and spreading it across my tongue, but the moment I stepped forward, she bolted.

It was probably for the best. I needed her to be afraid, alert and to make smart decisions. In that moment, running away from me was the smartest thing she could do.

A smile tugged at my lips as I heard the backstage door slam. The tests she’d just gone through were child’s play. From that moment on, the real games began. I only hoped she had what it took to pass them.

Chapter 13

Jasmine

I found the backstage door open and pushed through it, slamming it behind me. I dropped the backpack and key to the floor, shimmied the robe off my shoulders and looped it through the door handles. I tied it in a sloppy knot, hoping it would hold off the masked stranger if they were, in fact, chasing me.

When a few moments passed without the door budging, I let myself take a deep breath. I shrugged the backpack back on and twirled the small key in my hands. It was different from the key that opened the black box in the backpack, so I didn’t even try it. The new key was a bit bigger. Heavier. The ridges in the metal were familiar as I ran the pad of my thumb over them.