Page 53 of Wicked Games

Maverick typed the name in and let out a heavy sigh of relief. “We have the final number. Can someone work on the box as I call out the numbers?”

“We have to hurry,” Brooke cut in, nervously glancing at the laptop. “We’re down to one minute and seven seconds!”

Zach fiddled with the combination lock as Maverick recited the twelve-digit code. “5-2-9-5-7-8-2-6-4-1-3-8.”

The lock fell away, and Zach quickly snatched the key out of the box and raced over to the door. We all followed him, clamoring behind him as his shaky hands inserted the key into the lock.

“Got it!” he said, twisting the handle to wrench the door open. “Run!”

We spilled out of the room and collapsed in the hallway outside, just in time to hear the automated message from the laptop we’d left behind.

“Time’s up.”

Carey

The group trudged up the hall in silence. Some of us were undoubtedly too ashamed to speak after the brutally shocking revelations during the game, and others—like myself—were probably reflecting on the incredibly narrow escape.

“Anyone hungry?” Tate piped up, gesturing toward the drawing room. The door was still open, and the table was laden with half-eaten platters of food from our earlier dinner.

“Actually… yeah.” Zach stepped forward. “I’m fucking starving.”

“Me too, even though I had a big dinner,” Kiara said. “Maybe it’s an adrenaline thing?”

We all headed inside and took our usual seats. No one spoke the words out loud, but it was clear that none of us wanted to be alone right now.

I poured myself a soda and loaded up a plate with cheesy potato bake. The second game had gone so fast that the food was still warm. As I took my first bite, something occurred to me.

I finished chewing and stuck my hand up to get everyone’s attention. “I just thought of something. About the games.”

Jasmine rolled her eyes. “What now?”

“In both of the games we’ve had so far, there’s been a way for all of us to survive as long as we follow the rules and work together,” I said. “Maybe all the games are going to be like that. If they are, we just need to strategize and work as a team, like Maverick said earlier. Then none of us have to die, and we can all get out of here.”

“Good point.” Zach nodded slowly. “In the Game Master’s video this morning, he said that if we win, we get to go free. He didn’t say there can only be one winner. That means survival is definitely an option for all of us. We just need to be careful.”

“Well, if everything the Game Master said in that video is actually true, then that means he or she is one of us,” Tate said, eyes lingering on me. “I know we ran out of time to talk about it earlier because we’ve been so busy with other shit, but I want to finish that discussion. Right fucking now.”

A message suddenly came through on our phones, cutting the conversation short.

Congratulations on clearing Game Two! There are no more games scheduled for today, so you can unwind this evening in the drawing room or in your bedrooms. Curfew is at 10pm, and doors must remain closed thereafter. Anyone caught outside their bedroom after curfew will be subject to consequences.

“Tate’s right. We need to discuss this again,” Maverick said, forehead creasing as he looked down at his phone. “Who thefuckis the Game Master?”

Jasmine cocked a brow. “I know a few of you decided that it isn’t one of us, but I think it is, and I think it’s Carey.”

“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” I muttered, shaking my head.

She shook a finger in my direction. “Think about it, guys. She had the easiest question in the last game. I mean, we already knew she was a dirty criminal, so her truth was hardly a shockingrevelation, was it?” she said. “It’s almost as if she designed the game to be utterly humiliating to everyone except herself.”

“That’s bullshit.” April’s eyes narrowed. “Obviously, the Game Master didn’t have as much time to dig up serious dirt on her because she’s the new girl at school. Or maybe she genuinely has nothing to hide.”

“Exactly,” Zach said. “Also, she wasn’t the only one with an easy question. Tate’s was easy too. Nearly everyone knows he’s the biggest supplier on campus.”

April looked at him, nodding enthusiastically. I knew she was still furious at him over the cheating admission, but she was clearly willing to work with him in my defense. “Courteney’s secret wasn’t too bad either,” she said. “I mean, it’s kind of embarrassing, but at the end of the day, who really cares if her uncle is a serial killer? It’s not likeshehad anything to do with his crimes.”

“Actually, there are serial killer genes that run in families. I saw something about it on TV once,” Hudson replied. “So Courteney’s question could’ve been a clue about her involvement in all this shit.”

Jasmine’s eyes rolled upward again. “Oh, you saw it on TV? I guess it must be true, then.”

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