Page 101 of Ready Or Not

I know this house is trapped, so I dart carefully up the stairs and to the one room I know is safe. Riley’s room.

A deafening bang comes from downstairs, and I stifle a scream. Whirling, I back into the wall and face the door, the knife still in my hand.

I glance down at it, heaving for breath. I don’t think I can use this on them. Either one of them. Even the idea of swinging it at them makes me sick.

There’s another bang, and then I hear racing footsteps.

“Ready or not, here we come.”

“Move, dickhead. She’s mine.”

There’s scrambling, and my heart races. My hand shakes, and I feel sick. I can’t kill them. I can’t.

What sounds like a gunshot goes off, followed by Riley’s laughter. It’s a belly laugh, and I realize that Riley sounds…happy.

It makes my stomach flutter.

But I hear multiple footsteps on the stairs, and I stiffen before the door is booted open.

I scream, darting to the corner. Manson and Riley shoulder in, their masked faces immediately turning to me.

“Rach,” Riley cocks her head, the edges of her eyes crinkling. “You’re kinda bad at hiding.”

I hold out the knife, hands shaking so bad I know they see it. “Fuck you, Riley.”

She laughs. “And to think, I used to think you were meek. Come here.” She darts at me, and I jump onto the bed to get away from her. But that only puts me closer to Manson.

“Don’t! Get away!” I wave it at him. “I’ll stab you!” As soon as the words are out, they sound like a lie, even to me.

“He’ll just get off on it. Don’t waste your time.” Riley pounces on me, dragging me down into the bed.

I scream, dropping the knife, only for Manson to sweep it up and away from me. Riley pins me to the bed, dropping her hips on mine and trapping my wrists under hers. She heaves for breath, looking down at me. “Got you.”

“Get off me!” I scream, bucking my hips, but she’s strong. And that only sends a jolt of sensation to my pussy. I’m trapped.

And fuck, I like it. All the emotions bubble up in me and boil in my chest. Only this time, I feel my eyes welling with tears that I can’t stop. Soon, they come rolling down my cheeks against my will. I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to control my breathing.

“Oh, crying already?” I feel Riley’s masked face nudge the side of my head, nestling into my hair. “We’re just getting started.”

I catch a whiff of her shampoo, the one I used to get the blood out of her hair, and for some odd reason, it just makes me cry harder.

“Rachel.” Riley groans, grinding into me. “You know I’m a sadist, right? This only gets me off more.”

But I can’t stop. Horrible, ugly sobs are taking over my body, and there’s nothing I can do about it.

Because I found the strength and the protection I’ve always wanted, and now it’s going to be ripped from me.

“It’s not fucking fair!” I try to rip my hands out from under Riley, managing to get one partially loose before she snatches it up again.

Suddenly, Riley is shoved off me, and Manson is there. I scramble to get away, but he just drops his weight over me. He’s bigger and much heavier, and it’s like I’m being suffocated under a blanket of water. His mask falls into my face. All the weight is pressing into me evenly, and suddenly, all I can focus on is my breathing because there’s nothing else I can do—in and out and in and out.

“Hey! I found her first.”

“Give her a minute.” I hear Manson’s rumble.

I suck in breath after breath, trying to come up with something to say, but I can’t. I find myself relaxing into him, getting one last taste of what it’s like to be with them before I can’t anymore.

Finally, Manson shifts, and when he does, I feel that he’s hard. He lets off just enough that I can see both of them. Both have taken off their masks, and they’re staring at me with those dead eyes.

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