Page 24 of The Masks She Wore

?She dressed up as a slutty, undead puppy, and I dressed up as Harley Quinn.

?I had put a lot of time and effort into putting this costume together, which only made my excitement grow. Everything from the collar to the tattoos to the bat, it was all an exact replica, and as I stepped in front of the mirror to inspect my makeup and the clothes that hugged me, I couldn’t help but smile. The only difference between Margot Robbie’s version of Harley and me was the length of my hair.

?I laughed and spun around, facing Viv, my pigtails slapping me in the face.

?Viv was equally as beautiful.

?She had shoulder-length brunette hair and hazel eyes. She had blood dripping from a slash in her neck and on her cheek, and blood dripping down her arms. Her clothes were revealing, covered in dalmatian spots, and her ears were clipped perfectly into her hair.She lookedsocute.

?She beamed. “You lookhot.”

?“So do you,” I complimented, practically jumping to go. “Ready?” I wanted to go on the carousel, walk through the house of mirrors, the haunted houses they had set up, but I was most excited for their newest attraction.

?It was a giant circus tent they were setting up in the center of the event. They filled it with rooms of terror and gore, and it was proclaimed to be the scariest thing that they had ever had.

?I wanted to forget about Max, my frustrations, the bullshit at the precinct. I wanted to be distracted in every possible way, and what better way than to be scared half to death.

~~~

Viv parked in a spot half a mile from the entrance. The parking lot was a poorly graveled area filled with sporadic puddles and giant rocks threatening to trip anyone who was already too drunk to pay attention.

?We made our way to the front entrance, the eerie music, lights, and smoke drifting across the ground adding to the ambiance of the large carnival.

?Viv moved closer to me as people streamed in and out around us, laughter and screaming heard from just beyond the gates.

?I let her latch onto my arm as we stepped through the lit-up archway, instantly met with three large men dressed in masks, holding weapons.

?One held a chainsaw, one held a machete, and the third held a simple hunting knife.

?I jumped out of pure instinct as the one with the chainsaw revved his machine. Viv screamed, clinging to me so tightly my fingers started tingling.

?My heart was already picking up, the adrenaline growing, rushing through me, warmth spreading through my body. There it was, that inkling of a high. I wanted more.

?My hand tightened around the base of my bat, which was slung over my shoulders, as the three men began to close in on us, their weapons pointed at the ground, their heads twisting one way and then the other.

?It was common knowledge that the scare actors targeted prettier and younger people. They didn’t go after men often because men didn’t scream like women did, but beautiful girls like Viv and I?

?Part of me wondered if they did it just to have something to jerk off to later.

?One of the three, a man with a skull mask and the hunting knife, neared me. He towered above me, his dark blue eyes almost familiar. His mask looked war torn. The eyes of it shattered out, splotchy black paint surrounding his own eyes. He was wearing some sort ofblack uniform. Lots of pockets, leather belt, leather jacket, boots. All black.

?My heart picked up as he stopped in front of me, lifting that knife.

?I felt my breath catch, my body frozen in place as that knife neared me. Closer and closer it inched to my face, our eyes locked. I couldn’t look away. Why did those eyes look so familiar?

?He lifted the tip of his knife to my temple, my heart picking up as he gently traced it down my face, over my jaw, down my neck, and finally stopped just above my pulse.

?I swallowed, my thighs flexing, lips parting, as he pressed against my skin ever so slightly.

?I felt another person step up behind me, another sharp knife, the machete, sliding up my back, the male’s heat pressing against my back. He reached up and flicked my hair away.

?The blue eyes flicked to the man behind me, breaking our stare, and that’s when I realized that Viv had been tugging on me, calling my name, for the last several seconds.

?“Rae,” Viv breathed out, pulling me away from them.

?I glanced her way before turning back to him, his two friends exchanging a look as he stepped up to the guy with the machete. “What?” I asked, looking the male over.

?“They can’t touch us,” I explained to her as he made the machete guy take a step back.

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