Page 25 of Hide Me Darling

My hand twitches to reach for my knife, but they will see the move coming from a mile away. The person slowly steps back to lean against a tree as I begin to take a deep breath.

Swallowing past the lump in my throat I straighten my spine. I will not let him intimidate me, I am better than this, I have grown up surrounded by worse than this.

“Or is it me you’re looking for?” Another echoing voice comes inches from my left, making me jump in surprise. I knew there was more than one of them, but I didn’t realize they were this close.

I have to lock up my muscles to stop from showing them just how afraid I am. I may be a detective, and a damn good one at that, and I know how to use my fair share of weapons. But, there are two of them and one of me. They both easily tower over my small frame, like two devils looking down at a lost soul.

“I’m looking for a killer,” I respond, my own modulated voice echoing through the trees.

The red-masked figure chuckles again, the sound low and sinister. “Well, you certainly found yourself two killers,” he says, the neon X’s in his mask flickering eerily.

My pulse quickens, but I force myself to stay calm. Panic won’t help me now. “Why the games?” I ask, trying to keep my voice steady. “Why not just come for me directly?”

“Where’s the fun in that?” the green-masked figure replies, taking a slow, deliberate step toward me. “We like to play with our prey.”

“You’ve been very busy tonight,” the red-masked figure continues. “Running around, looking for clues. It’s almost… cute.”

“Too bad you’re not very good at it,” the green-masked figure adds with another low chuckle.

Anger flares within me, momentarily overpowering my fear. “If you have something to say, why don’t you come out and say it? Or are you too scared to face me without your masks?”

The red-masked figure’s posture goes from relaxed and joking, to domineering and threatening in the blink of an eye. Pushing off the tree and taking a step forward, I get the feeling they don’t appreciate not being in control.

“I think you’re the one afraid to face the world without a mask.”

Suddenly, fingers grip the mask covering on my face, turning me to look into the neon green smiling face that has my eyes wincing under the harshness of the light. I had let myself be distracted by the person in front of me and forgot the other one. I grab their wrist tightly to stop them from removing my mask, but they don't move to do more than just grip it.

It’s a show of force, but they know as well as I do that once they remove my sense of security, I’ll do everything within my power to remove theirs. We both freeze as we assess each other, time standing still for a brief moment.

I growl, my voice echoing through the modulator, “Let me go and stop playing games. I'm here to stop innocent lives from being taken. If I need to, I will kill you.”

The green-masked figure laughs. “Bold words for someone who’s clearly out of their depth. We like that,” they say, leaning closer. The light of his mask is so bright it’s almost blinding. “But are you willing to follow through?”

I tighten my grip on his wrist, my muscles coiled and ready to reach for my knife the moment I need to. “Try me. I will do what I need to to stop you killing innocent people.”

The red-masked figure steps up close on my right. “Are we? No one we kill is innocent. But don’t worry, we’re not here to kill you. Not yet, anyway. We have plans, and you’re a part of them.”

“Plans?” I scoff, trying to keep the edge out of my voice. “What plans?”

The green-masked figure's grip loosens as they tilt their head. When I prove I’m not about to cower, they finally pull their hand away from my mask.

“You’ll find out soon enough. Just keep playing the game, and all will be revealed.”

I take a deep breath, trying to quell the rising anger and fear even as they seem to give me space. “What do you want from me?”

The red-masked figure steps closer, angling his body almost behind mine as they subtly cage me in.

Ah, so they weren’t giving me space out of respect, it was so they could intimidate me further.

“Isn’t it obvious? We want you,” they say, their voice a low growl that sends a shiver down my spine.

I try to maintain my composure, my mind racing. These masked figures seem to have been watching me, studying me. But for what purpose? What could they possibly want with me? If they know who I am, wouldn’t they want me far away from here if they are killing people?

The cold air surrounds my left hand as my glove is suddenly pulled off, leaving my hand exposed to the night air. Neon green light illuminates my fingers as the figure looks down at them.

I gasp behind my mask at the feeling of bare fingers sliding against my palm. Instinctively, I jerk my hand away. "I never gave you permission to touch me, asshole" I growl, pressing my hand firmly against my leg as if to wipe them off. But a strange memory tries to nag at me. I shake it away in favor of staying in the present because I have no idea who this is or what they want.

The green-masked figure just laughs in response, the sound echoing around us. "Oh, you cut me, darling girl. But we don’t need permission. We own you and your darkness, even if you aren’t ready to accept that."

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