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The tips of my coffin nails scraped against something plastic. Wrinkling my nose, I stretched my fingers as far as I could until I had three wrapped around the object good enough to start pulling. After a few back-and-forth motions, I tugged it free.
“Seriously?”
Grace stopped what she was doing and peered between the seats with a frown. “Someone’s really taking this prank gig to heart.”
Mel peeked over my shoulder and cursed when she saw what was in my hand. “Who the fuck still uses those?”
“The police?” I shuffled backward and placed my aching feet back on the dirt floor of the barn.
“I don’t think they had much to do with this,” Grace remarked.
“What is that?” Max questioned when he looked at my hand.
“It’s a tape recorder,” the blonde voiced loud enough for everyone to hear. “How did you miss that when you searched the car before?” she lobbied at Cooper.
“I must’ve overlooked it, sorry. It’s just a tape deck. How is it going to help?”
I flipped the recorder towards the small circle everyone had started to form around me. The brunette’s brows furrowed as she read the message someone had scribbled on the black device in red ink. “Play with me?”
“You’re not actually going to listen to that, are you?” Dion asked. He eyed the device from behind his thin-rimmed glasses as if it were the devil itself.
“I don’t see why we wouldn’t,” Mel replied. “There’s a tape inside, isn’t there?”
Her question was rhetorical, but I answered anyway. “Yeah, and it was probably here for a reason.” I don’t know if I said that more for them or myself, but this felt like the right course of action.
It wasn’t like we had anything better to do or a ton of other options. We were trapped inside a barn and none of our cellphones worked. Finding this tape was not a coincidence. Someone had diligently done the groundwork in anticipation of it being found. Despite the voice in my head starting to stir up doubts again, I took a breath and pressed play.
CHAPTER THREE
At first, there was nothing but the sound of the tape spinning. When someone finally began to speak, their voice gave off a discomforting Loli vibe. It sounded almost exactly like the jester from back in the woods.
“It’s my favorite time of year and what better way to celebrate than with a group of special friends?” she trilled happily.
“What a nutcase,” the ninja mumbled.
“Now, I’ve got a few secrets you’ll be dying for me to share, but first we’re going to see who amongst you deserves to hear it.” At the end of her sentence, a portion of wood paneling above the tool bench slid up.
There were mixed reactions as a variety of masks affixed to the wall and a small digital clock were revealed.
“Surprise! I got you all a present. Hurry over and put on your new faces. I’ll give you four minutes to get yourselves ready!”
“Is this real?” the blonde stammered, wringing her hands together.
I didn’t know how to answer that. Clearly, someone had gone through the trouble of setting all this up. It was pretty elaborate and well thought out for a prank, but also impressive.
“I’m annoyed with how intrigued I am right now,” Mel quietly divulged.
“Me too.”
Despite the given situation, I wanted to see how everything would pan out. Keeping hold of the recorder, I walked over to the tool bench with Mel and Grace to get a better look at the clock and masks. Dion followed right behind us.
“They have our names beneath them,” Grace pointed out.
I looked over each mask, seeing they were all different except for our three that were the same style of LED in different colors.
“Here.” Mel stretched up and grabbed two of the three off the wall. She handed Grace the pink one and me the white, removing the blue assigned to her last.
“Y'all are wearing those?” Cooper asked, sounding completely baffled by our decision.
Mel smiled at him as she slid her mask on. “They want to play a game, right? I say let’s play.”
“Yes, let us see what will happen.” The brunette made her way to the front of the group. “Can someone hand me mine? It’s, Hayven.”
“You’re the bunny.”
Grace placed her mask on her head and then snagged the leather piece with rabbit ears down.
“Anyone else?” Mel asked.
They looked at us as if we’d lost our minds. I placed my mask on and bit my lower lip to smother a laugh. It was lightweight and breathable, allowing me to see out perfectly. I didn’t get what they were all so afraid of. We were here now, and my night was already ruined. I didn’t see the point in wallowing.
I should’ve been in a cozy theater right about now, thinking ahead to the meal I’d order at my favorite bar and restaurant. My ETA home was going to be blown to shit. I hadn’t met my sister and unless this wrapped up quickly I probably wouldn’t.
