Page 54 of The Game

“Fuckyou,” I hiss. His grin is biting as he leans in, lips mere inches from mine.

“You look hot like this, Alice. Wild hair, eyes all big and full of fear. Fuck,” he says, swiping his thumb across his bottom lip. His mounting desire makes my heart begin to pound for a much different reason, his thumb tracing circles closer and closer to where I can feel my cunt clenching for him, eager and willing despite how he wishes to take me. It excites me so much that I feel so ashamed to admit it, but I can’t linger on those thoughts too long; I fucking want him to ravage me, and I want it to be as absolving as I know it will be.

So when he backs away, pulling himself free and popping the handle on the door, the crisp air blasting me in the face, my excitement flees and is replaced instead by that pulsating fear once again. The mingling and morphing of these emotions makes my head spin and my knees weak, and I am beginning to see why fear and arousal are such close cousins.

“Come find me, Alice. Before the ghosts do.”

He turns and is gone in a flash as I squeak, stumbling out of the car in my chunky heels, completely alone. Shivering, I hug my arms, feeling tears threaten. I know Teddy would never hurt me, but this is insane! Not knowing where Cash and Bethany went, I follow the logical path, wondering if I have to pass some part of his little game, or if maybe this is where he wants to…act out our scene. If that’s the case, I’m not sure how I’ll react, and I hope his friends aren’t going to come bother us.

“Fucking asshole…hot asshole…asshole with a huge cock that he knows how to fucking use,” I grumble as I kick pebbles and refuse to bring my eyes up to the blank, gaping windows of the mental hospital. Hopelessness and despair cling to the bricks, and I feel like puking all over again when I find his footprints on the wide stone steps, the oak doors heavy but engraved with marks of claws. Through the slit is nothing but darkness and silence, the unnerving kind. Whining, I consider just staying out here until he gets bored and realizes I am a fucking coward, but then a ghostly voice floats to me from the darkness.

“Come find me, Alice. I’m closer than you think.”

It sounds like just a whisper, but it’s coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once. Tears threaten, as they always do when I am truly frightened, and my hand stretches out, fingers gracing the cool wood as I give a slight shove to the door. It creaks and groans and opens to more nothingness. Peering deeply into the darkness, my eyes struggle to discern anything, and I fight the images my asshole brain thrusts onto my psyche; the little girl in the white gown, a human bent at odd angles scrambling toward me, a little child giggling and asking me to come play…

So when a pair of arms encircle me from behind, I scream so loudly I may as well have awakened the dead, but Teddy’s laughter eases some of my fear, and I pound my fists against his arms.

“Shh, bunny. This is only the beginning.”

Whimpering, I turn to cling to him despite how annoyed I am, but he soothes my distemper with a quick kiss to the top of my head.

“No more tricks until we leave. I promise.”

“You’re the worst,” I grumble even though I’m so thankful to feel his arms around me. He just chuckles again, stepping forward into the abandoned, crumbling foyer, pulling me along with him. “Look around Alice, open your eyes. There’s beauty in here if you’re not afraid to find it.”

I allow him to lure me another step in, one eye closed and pressed to his slowly expanding and contracting chest, the other on the lookout for anything evil that seeks to haunt us; a phantom, a demon, who the hell knows. Another step in we go, darkness settling around us like a shroud, the building cold and lifeless as a tomb. Through my fear, I feel Teddy’s warmth, his steadiness, and my trust in him becomes my singular option, my mind easily accepting that and my heart clenching at what I realize he’s doing; forcing me to trust him completely.

Upon realizing this, I relax a little more, glancing around. We take another step as my eyes adjust to this new dimness, but then I see what he means; the paint peeling off the walls is like an abstract work of art that no canvas can reconstruct. The dangling electrical wires are like permanent veins running throughout this lonely structure. The dirt on the floor and old patient papers are reminders of those that once walked these very tiles, now chipped and overturned in some spots.

It’s death and decay, but it’s rebirth in a sense; this space simply has a new purpose to serve, as a shelter for the hopeless or the souls left behind.

“See?” he whispers against me, and I shiver in response before I nod. “C’mon, we’re late.”

“What?” I ask, perplexed. He just grabs my hand, leading me further into this house of doom and terror, the darkness stretching for eternity and hiding something wicked in the shadows around every corner. I’m led down a few sets of stairs, my fear deepening with every step, my heart about to beat out of my chest. In the blackness of what I assume is a basement, Teddy takes out his phone to use as a flashlight.

A set of metal doors rests on rusty hinges before us.

“What are we fucking late for?” I hiss, still clutching him as tightly as I can without suffocating him. Fist raised to knock, he glances down at me and smirks.

“A tea party, dear Alice.”

He knocks, and my shock is doubled when the doors open, an annoyed Cash (sans Bethany) awaiting us.

“Jesus, you two have to fuck or something first?”

“Little bunny doesn’t like the dark,” Teddy teases, hand snaking around to my ass to give a squeeze. Cash’s dark eyes dance before he winks at me.

“Good thing she’s surrounded by wolves.”

I don’t know whether his comment should frighten me or comfort me, and though it begins to spark very particular memories, I bat them away as quickly as I can.

“I don’t need wolves,” I grumble. I’ve proved it by keeping them safe all this time. Teddy’s hand finds its way to the back of my neck in gentle reassurance, and it makes my veins flood. Another subtle action he does that points to his control, his power, something I haven’t noticed before now. With one simple touch, he can silently command me, calm me, redirect me.

“You might tonight, baby.”

Cash grins, backpedaling away before he drops his vintageCreature from the Black Lagoonmask over his face, shoulder hitting another set of doors that open wide into strobing purple lights and raucous, thumping music. Bodies writhe on a makeshift dance floor as remixed Halloween songs boom through the speakers and rattle the plaster. I think my jaw has hit the floor, and when I glance at Teddy, he’s chuckling down at me before he shrugs.

“Helped the guy who hosts these raves stay under the radar and get his wifi out here. Cash helped him soundproof it. We got an exclusive invite.”

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