Page 294 of Obsession

I half turned around the wall when a sound pierced through the darkness and sent goosebumps over my skin.

I stopped and turned my head towards the source of the frightening sound.

Someone had screamed, but it wasn’t the typical party scream, it was loud pain. It was a man’s scream, but not Harris’s.

It came from somewhere behind the corner of another wall.

My skin prickled, and I tried to turn and walk away, but my legs led me to the sound. Fucking traitors.

Swallowing, I took a few slow steps along the wall, only now realizing how cold and wet the grass was beneath my soles. My whole body was actually starting to freeze. I hadn’t seen anything yet, I didn’t know what was going on, but that sound had been enough to startle me.

I expected to see them when I peeked around the wall, but there was no one there.

There were no other noises either, and it was completely dark.

I was obviously out of my mind. The drug had completely taken over my brain.

I turned to leave but stopped when I heard his voice.

This time it was him, because I could recognize his voice anywhere, anytime, even through all the alcohol and drug fumes in the world.

“Tell me!” Were the only words he had shouted.

I hadn’t heard him sound that angry in a long time.

As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I noticed a door in front of me that I hadn’t seen the first time.

Trembling, I moved closer and peered through the door, which was ajar. I could see nothing but a staircase leading down.

“Fuck,” I whispered as I pushed the door open as slowly as I could. It was metal, but it didn’t make a sound.

I pondered for a second whether what I was doing was good or not.

It wasn’t, but I went in anyway.

I shivered as I felt the cold concrete under my feet. It smelled of wine and old wood, and I thought it was an old wine cellar, even though it didn’t look like one so far.

There was nothing to see, just a staircase that went deeper and deeper.

The light was almost non-existent, so I did my best to walk carefully down each step. It had been a good idea to take off my shoes, as my footsteps were silent, but the dust I felt on my feet was anything but pleasant.

The noises became clearer, more frightening, with every passing second. Someone was whimpering in pain, and Harris was silent.

I reached the last step and walked through the dark, narrow corridor, then turned left and ended up in a fucking maze. I was right. It was a wine cellar, a huge wine cellar. There were barrels and bottles on endless shelves. The walls were made of concrete and I shuddered when I felt a spider’s web clinging to me.

I bit my tongue to keep from make a sound, then snuck through the rows of shelves and hid behind a barrel that was at least four feet taller than me.

That’s when I saw them.

I covered my mouth to stifle a whimper so I wouldn’t react in a way that would expose me.

Harris, Mike, Ty, Ken, Jay, they were all there. None of them looked like they did at the party upstairs.

In the middle of them, tied to a chair and covered in blood, was Joshua.

EPILOGUE

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