Page 1 of Mask & Strap
BIRDIE
Normal parties don’t beginwith a requiring you to sign a non-disclosure agreement at the door. A short, curvy girl in a light-up bunny mask verified my very adult age of twenty-six on my I.D. and snapped my photo with a Polaroid camera. What did a photograph matter? I was masked, too.
“The pictures are a party rule,” my friend Lu-Lu explained earlier as she tossed my neon pink, cat-eared mask at me in the car. “Can you believe I got the text?” She bounced on the heels of her feet as the woman snapped her polaroid, clipped it to her NDA, and shoved it into a manila folder. “I’ve tried for two years to get into the queue. I’m shocked that I finally got picked.”
“Yes, but what didIdo to deserve this?” I whined, picking at the scratchy fishnets under my tight mini-skirt. Lu-Lu had tossed me the most scandalous outfit she could find from her closet, forcing me to get dressed in a hurry after her phone buzzed from the anonymous sender.
Lu-Lu twirled away from the registration table and joined me in a long line of masked party-goers. “I’m required to bring a plus-one, and lucky for you, we wear the same size — and I’m always prepared to get hot on a moment’s notice.”
“Hot andweird,” I corrected as the bass from the awaiting rave thumped the ground. “Seriously, I’d rather be on the couch reading demon smut. Halloween parties aren’t really my thing. I don’t even drink.”
My best friend wrapped her arm around my shoulders. “No one here is allowed to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.”
“Then why is it such a secret?” I asked, standing on my tiptoes to attempt to see what lied at the end of the line. “Something has to be illegal. I’m not sure how I feel about this, Lu.”
“Stop overthinking it and live a little for one night, Birdie. It’s Halloween, and you never come out. I promise that your fictional snake demoness, what’s her name,Lady Venom, will be there when you get home.” She straightened my mask, her own rhinestoned mouse-eared face covering shimmering back at me. “Plus, maybe you’ll find your own hot muscle mommy while you’re here.”
I snorted. “Doubtful.” Over the throngs of chattering people, I made out metal gates opening, and the line began to move. “But I wouldn’t object…” I added, eliciting giggles from my friend.
“Good, because you really need to get laid,” she shouted loudly over the music as we approached. “I bet your vibrator is worn out. It’s been what, six months since you’ve even hooked up with a girl?”
“Wow, say it louder, Lu-Lu.”
“Okay, I bet your vibrator is tired?—“
I quickly cupped my hands over my friend’s mouth as we both laughed and stumbled forward toward the gate. Two large, ghost face masked bouncers ushered us inside. One gestured to my stiletto pumps and shook their head.
I shrugged a shoulder. “They’re not mine. They belong to my mouse friend over there.”
With another disapproving head shake, the bouncer jerked a thumb, motioning for me to continue into the party. Feeling self conscious, I scanned the footwear of the other party-goers. Sneakers, flats, running shoes… even with fishnets, tights, skirts, and dresses. I guessed everyone was ready to walk and dance a lot.
Suddenly, circus music blasted over the loudspeakers, filling up the October night sky. Fog machines billowed clouds onto the pavement, and fading neon lights lit the plumes in blues, to pinks, to purples. With a whoosh, a rusted merry-go-round cranked to life next to us. Further down, other rusty rides lit up and crawled to life. Spinning, paint-chipped teacups, a dilapidated rocking boat, and in the distance, a sun bleached Ferris wheel.
“It’s an abandoned amusement park,” I awed, holding onto Lu-Lu’s arm so as not to lose her in the massive crowd. “Is that why it’s a secret?”
“No,” she said. “But it is pretty cool.”
Under the glow of the full moon, music blasted and lights flashed — the perfect secret Halloween party atmosphere. Yet no one danced, no alcohol to be seen, everyone was just… standing around.
“Why’s no one dancing?” I asked. Before I could get my answer, a figure caught my eye. Striding out onto the roof of the long, faded clown face of a fun house, someone in a glowing neon green purge mask crossed their arms and surveyed the crowd. Shirtless and wearing a black sports bra, she crossed her muscular, tattooed arms, glancing from party-goer to party-goer. My gaze caught on her broad shoulders and the bat tattoo that wrapped around her thick neck. When I pried my longing stare away, my heart caught in my throat as the two illuminatedX’s over her eyes landed right on me. We stared at each other for a long moment, my heart pounding in my chest, the sensation warming my inner thighs and drowning out the sound of the bustling crowd.
Suddenly, the woman nodded slowly before extending her arm and pointing her finger at me.
“Why is she pointing at me?” I asked my friend, not looking away. “Lu-Lu? What does it mean?”
WHEN I FINALLY TORE MY GAZE FROM THE MASKED STRANGER, THE SPOT NEXT TO ME WAS EMPTY. LU-LU WAS GONE.
BIRDIE
In panic,I glanced back up at the roof of the fun house, finding it vacant once more… Surrounded by a hundred people — I’d never felt more alone. Stares behind masks assessed me as I stumbled forward on my stupid stilettos. “Lu!” I called out over the carnival music. Though it was no use — my friend was nowhere in sight.
Just as I was about to park my ass on a bench by the spinning teacups, the music cut out with a loud scratch. A crackly, mechanical voice rumbled over the speakers, and the crowd cheered. Was this what everyone had been waiting for?
“Welcome, players,” the ominous voice began. “On this hallow’s eve, pursuer and pursued come together for the thrill of the chase, the pleasure of being caught, and a night of mischief and seduction.”
The crowd roared with applause again.
Wait… what was happening?
