Page 137 of Deviant

“After you,” he says, swinging the door open.

As we step into a stark white room, our curiosity is naturally piqued, since Henry made a big production of saying that ourhosts were going to be here. However, it isn’t their absence that causes me concern, but the utterly empty room itself that’s alarming to me. No windows, no furniture, just an expansive void. The only presence is the unsettling gaze of four cameras, positioned in each corner, silently observing us.

“There’s no one here!” Mackenzie pouts slamming her foot on the floor like a toddler. “I thought you said we were going to meet our hosts.”

“You must have misheard me, Lady Davenport. I said that our hosts are very eager to answer one of your questions tonight,” Henry clarifies.

“I don’t get it,” Harper says, holding onto Andy’s arm.

“Me neither, babe. Me neither.”

“What the hell are we supposed to do here?” David asks,

“Please just wait here. Our hosts will make contact with you shortly,” Henry says before stepping back out into the hallway, closing the door behind him, and locking us inside.

“Great, now we’re locked in,” David grumbles.

“Well, that’s not creepy at all,” Andy jokes to lighten the tension we’re all feeling.

“How are we supposed to get out of here now?” I hear Lucy ask Lucas.

“Fuck this! Someone help me kick this door down?” Big Mike hollers, looking at his buddy, Chris, for help.

But just as the two are about to knock the door down, our watches all start vibrating and ringing simultaneously.

“Stop!” Ruby says, pulling her watch up to Big Mike’s face for him to read.

The messages are the same for all of us.

And once one comes, the others quickly follow.

You were all carefully picked for a reason.

None of you are innocent.

None of you are pure.

Do you truly know who the people around you are?

Who you’ve confided your secrets to?

Who you’ve shared bread with?

We do.

And it’s about time you did, too.

“Fuck, I don’t like this,” Chris says, cracking his knuckles nervously.

“Shut up,” Big Mike growls as another text message arrives.

Turn off the lights and be enlightened.

“The fuck does that mean?” Big Mike asks, confused.

“What do you think, you big oaf? They want us to turn off the lights,” Ruby says, already standing by the light switch.

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Harper stammers nervously.

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