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“SHIT!”

I stop.

Bad decision.

The masked man appears behind me.

Worse decision.

He tilts his head and we stare at one another, then he looks at the red ribbon around my wrist and his posture changes slightly.

“Oh, come on,” I say.

He takes one step toward me while I take one back. And another… and another.

“Listen, Jason Voorhees from Temu, I’m technically a very important person tonight.”

He lunges.

I scream and fucking run.

Corn whips my arms as my boots pound against the packed dirt.

I can hear him behind me… he’s so fucking close that my heart is trying to launch itself directly through my sternum. I make another turn… then another and a hand catches the back of my sweater. “FUCK!”

I’m yanked backward and for half a second, adrenaline detonates through me. Then the Reaper releases me and slaps the wooden marker hanging from his belt against my wristband.

It beeps with a red light.

“Caught.” he says through his mask.

I bend over with my hands on my knees. “You asshole.”

He laughs as I straighten. “Wait. I’m caught already?”

He points at my ribbon then shakes his head.

“Oh.” I look down. Red. Right. Special rules. I remember approximately none of them. “Bride gets multiple lives?”

He nods.

“Fuck yeah.” I throw both arms up.

He laughs again and disappears through the corn.

I stand there alone.

Well shit.

“Mariah?”

Nothing.

“Ali?”

Someone screams far away. Could be Ali or literally anyone.

I pull out my phone from my skirt pocket.