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PROLOGUE
SHANNON MERCER
“Shannon!”
My team is yelling at me, but I don’t care. They slow me down. Usually I don’t mind them, but tonight I want to explore alone. As soon as James found a big enough pair of bolt cutters to get us through the fence, I put as much distance between myself and the group as possible.
“Shannon!” James calls again. “Keep your radio on.”
I wave him off to let him know I got it as I move deeper into the abandoned Florida theme park. Usually I drive a separate vehicle for these little excursions so I’m not stuck following what the rest of the group wants to do all weekend. I’m not really atouchy-feely Kumbaya hug it outsort of guy.
It gives me some measure of peace to know a black rented SUV sits waiting in the parking lot for me, and I’m not at the mercy and whims of the others.
The sun has already set, but there are lights on in the castle. I can’t believe no one stole the solar panels when the park closed. That would have been the first thing I looted.
And now I’m questioning everything.
I don’t think anyone was using solar panels back when this place was operational. Sure, I think they existed, but this park was too low budget for such a fancy and green update. They wouldn’t have been able to afford them.
So what the fuck?
I use a large machete to hack through the overgrowth of kudzu standing between me and the castle. When I reach the entrance, the drawbridge is down and light spills out. This is very fucking strange.
While researching this place, I learned the castle has a working drawbridge. Or had. Who knows if the crank is rusted out after all these years. Though, I would have thought if the drawbridge was left down there’d be more signs of decay—at least in the entryway.
I move stealthily inside, glancing up at the exposed beams, taking it all in. This place is something else. I make my way through the main floor to a large medieval-style restaurant.
Everything about this is sooff. I mean, more than normal. You always find weird shit in abandoned theme parks, but I can honestly say I’ve never come upon a place with lights and warmth… a place that looks lived in.
In my distraction I bump into and knock over a suit of armor. The metal clatters loudly to the floor.
“Oh, sorry.” It’s a reflex to be polite and apologize, to wear the mask of someone who cares—so people don’t suspect what I am. And now I’m apologizing to inanimate objects.Great, Shannon.
When I open the door and step inside the restaurant, I freeze as I take in the scene before me. There are two roaring fireplaces—and as if that wasn’t a strong enough sign of life—there’s a startled couple, covered in a white sheet on a mattress.
Ummm. Okay. Clearly other people explore places like this in different ways from me. I’m about to excuse myself and leave when I realize… I recognize these faces. I know this man. This woman. I’ve seen them somewhere. I can’t recall names or situations at the moment, but at some point my brain catalogued these two and put them in a file to contemplate later.
While I’m busy trying to unpack this mystery, the guy stands and moves in front of the woman. He pulls a gun from his pants, his eyes wild as he stares me down.
Oh. Now I know who this guy is. What a psycho. And that’s saying something coming from me.
I pull my own gun. It’s already hot, but I bet this guy has to rack the slide first. He seems too jumpy to carry hot.
“Please, just leave us alone,” the woman pleads.
Well, that’s a plot twist, knowing what I know about these two. But I’m afraid I can’t do that now that weapons are involved.
A moment later, he racks the slide, and I fire three into his stomach.
The woman screams, “No!” She momentarily forgets her nudity to press the sheets against his gushing wounds.
My pants tighten uncomfortably, and I’m not sure if it’s the thrill of the kill, or the flashes of skin I’m getting from the woman as she franticly tries to stop this loser from bleeding out. He’s already dead. I wonder if she realizes that yet.
“Trevor! No! Stay with me, don’t go.”
“He’s gone,” I say, as she feels for a pulse.
She turns back to me, as though finally remembering she’s not alone. When her eyes meet mine, I have to remind myself to breathe. The world stops moving, and all I see is her.
