Page 94 of Lust

“I guess we wanted to see if you guys were gonna join in on the fun,” Preston says.

I unzip my jacket and display my jersey. “Eager to join in on the fun.”

He smiles, though he still looks unsettled.

As they start back toward the gate, Finnegan spins around. “You guys coming?”

“We’ll be a minute,” Seth says, pushing on them, hopefully for the last time. They both nod, and as they turn back, a cracking sound catches our attention.

Preston and Finnegan stop in place.

It could be anything, I tell myself, turning with the rest of the gang toward the sound, which comes from where Seth and Cody were guarding.

Luke and I retrieve our bats, figuring Seth can manage this just like he has everything else.

“What’s going on?” Preston asks.

“Quiet,” Seth snaps.

It’s hard to tell whether he’s pushed on Preston and Finnegan again or if they’re scared enough to just follow the instruction, but they remain silent with us as we listen and use our phones to look for whatever’s making the sound.

Part of me wishes it’s a deer. Another part wants to fucking end this, find the monster that threatens my goddamn boyfriend and kick its fucking ass.

I move closer to Luke, readying myself, when anothercrackfills the night air. Then another, on the opposite side of the yard.

“We’re…gonna…get back to the party,” Preston says.

Luke taps my arm. His wide eyes are fixed on his phone, which points toward the house. I follow his gaze to a tree between Preston and Finnegan and the party.

Backlit by the light coming from the party, on a branch maybe ten feet up, a silhouette, tall enough to be a person, perches. There’s a quick movement, then something flies through the air—part of a branch, maybe. It lands farther in the woods, that same noise coming from behind us.

That’s how it’s been sounding like it’s in different places.

Fuck.

I don’t take my eyes off the shadowy figure, but in my periphery, I see Finnegan and Preston starting in that direction. The black mass drops from the branch, landing in front of the guys.

Everything happens fast—

Seth, Cody, Luke, and I don’t hesitate, racing for Preston and Finnegan to pull them out of harm’s way. But before I can get to them, Finnegan is struck, and warm moisture hits my face. For a moment, I think spit, but no, this is blood.

I was expecting an animal, but it’s wearing something to cover its body, like a cloak, which makes it look like Death coming to collect. By the time I reach the Slasher, it’s got Preston by his jersey collar with long, narrow fingers clutched into a fist.

“Release him,” Seth pushes, but it doesn’t faze the Slasher, who keeps Preston held high.

I slam my bat against its neck, and Seth and Luke grab Preston and yank him back, tearing him from the creature’s grasp.

As I strike at it again, it snatches the baseball bat, demonstrating its superior power as it pulls me off the ground and tosses me over its shoulder like a dirty rag. My body slams against a tree, then plummets to the ground.

While I’m recovering, I hear the guys freaking out.

And something else…growling?

“What the fuck? What the fuck?” Preston calls again and again.

“Preston?” Finnegan groans.

By the time I reorient enough to crawl to my knees, I see the creature’s divided the group—Luke and Cody on one side, Seth and Preston on the other. And then it lurches at Luke and Cody, who shoot off into the woods, the monster on their heels.

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