Page 166 of Deviant

“Like stealing candy from a baby,” he sings before plopping his ass on his seat.

Rowen stares daggers at Big Mike while doing her best to console her friend.

“The fuck did you say to her?” Harper asks, not hiding what a piece of shit she thinks Big Mike is.

“Nothing that wasn’t true.” He leans back in his chair, stretching his legs out and placing his hands behind his head.

“Careful there, Big Mike. I wouldn’t gloat too much,” I say coldly. “They say karma is a bitch. And sooner or later, she’s going to find you. Karma always finds assholes like you.”

“You mean like getting selected to participate in a game, where me and my friends are sure to die?” He scoffs. “I think karma already found my ass, idiot.”

But before I have time to give him my comeback, I hear another watch go off.

“No! No! I can’t!” Abigail cries, holding onto Rowen like she’s the only one who can help her.

“You can, Abbie. You can. Just breathe in. Breathe out. That’s good, Abbie. You’re doing so good.” Rowen takes her time in comforting her friend, uncaring of the text Abbie just received.

“What does the text say, Hawthorne?” David shouts, not as patient to delay the game from continuing as everyone else is.

But Rowen doesn’t answer him, preferring to tend to Abigail.

“You two are a pain in my ass,” David says before getting up from his seat, threatening to see the text himself.

“Sit the fuck down,” I growl.

He looks at me like he wants to murder me where everyone can see, but still, his need to survive the game at any cost forces him to sit down obediently.

“Are you good, Abbie? Do you think you can do this?” Rowen asks, using that sweet, melodic tone of hers.

“I don’t see how I have a choice,” she responds, wiping her tears away.

“We always have a choice. Even when it seems we don’t.”

I then watch as Rowen presses her hand over Abigail’s heart as if the two have a secret language all their own.

Abigail gives her a nod in understanding, looking more composed than she was a minute ago.

“This is my text,” she says, making sure that everyone in the room gets a good look at it.

Make Ruby Bleed

Ruby instantly jumps out of her seat, grabs her chair, and swings it in the air to defend herself against Abigail.

“You stay the hell away from me, Abbie! I mean it!”

“Don’t do something stupid, Ruby. You know the rules. You can’t touch her. Not unlessThe Scourgewants you to,” Mackenzie says while staring at her manicured nails as if they are far more entertaining than Ruby losing her mind.

“Shut up, Mack! I don’t care!”

“You don’t care?” Mackenzie laughs. “Of course you do. Think about it. Who can do more damage?The Scourgeor little Abbie, here? I know who I’d be scared to face, and it’s not the girl who just cried her eyes out because Big Mike said something mean to her.”

“Mackenzie might, in fact, be the psycho in the room, but that doesn’t mean she’s wrong,” Harper chimes in, trying to help Abbie complete her assignment, even if that means helping Ruby.

Ruby listens to all their counsel but doesn’t let go of her chair just yet.

“I won’t hurt you, Ruby. I promise I won’t,” Abigail says, in that low whispered tone of hers.

Ruby looks at the instruments of pain all aligned on the table and sobs.

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