Page 50 of Wicked Little Games (The Four Nightmares of Castle Pointe 2)

We don’t stop as we make our way down the hallway, which is now pitch black. All I can see is the heavy moon hanging in the sky.

Suddenly, the cackling stops.

“Move the couch! Hurry up!” Malik tears apart from Vera, grabbing on one side of the couch. Felix goes to the other, and they push it out of the way. It flips upside down, settling on its side next to us. Atticus leaps over the couch, pulling on the knob as he swings it open. We all rush through, making our way down the stairs.

“Ah!” Atticus screams as his body is jerked to the side, his hip slamming into the railing. “What the fuck?” He looks over his shoulder at us, his eyes wide, nervous. “Shit!” he shouts again as his body is dragged over the railing, plummeting over the side.

“Atticus!” Malik screams, and we all look over the side as he crashes to the ground.

Crack.

I wince as I watch his arm bend awkwardly, the color instantly draining from his skin as he lets out the most tortured, horrendous howl I’ve ever heard.

“Shit,” Felix clips as he races down the steps. Malik and Levi rush down after him. We make our way to them, watching as the guys run to Atticus, lifting him to his feet.

“Fuck, I think my arm is broken,” Atticus moans, sounding delirious. He lets out a scream as he steps forward, and I cringe, my eyes watering. That looks bad.

“It really fucking is.” Felix laughs, sounding more horrified than amused. “We’ve got to get out of here before we can look at it, though. So stay on your feet and we’ll do the rest.”

“Open the door,” Malik snaps to Vera.

She narrows her eyes at him but races to the front door, pulling it open.

I don’t think any of us thought we’d be this relieved to breathe in the dark, dank air of old Castle Pointe.

We all race outside, our feet quick as we exit the asylum. I glance over my shoulder as we make our way down the steps, my eyes widening when I see the girl from the stairs, who I think might be the same person on the bed, watching us from the second-story window.

“Shit,” Vera whimpers from beside me, her eyes on the window.

My hand reaches out, and I grip her tightly. “Come on, let’s go.” The figure from the window wanders away, and that’s my cue to get the fuck out of dodge.

We race to catch up with the rest of them, our voices quiet, the only sound our shoes as they crack branches and hop over stumps in the ground. Malik and Felix carry Atticus as he groans, his head slumping to the side.

We get close to the bridge, right over the top of this hill, and we’ll be there. So fucking close.

The ground starts to hum, and my eyes widen, Vera looking over at me with wide eyes.

“Hurry the fuck up. Something’s happening!” Levi snaps, reaching back and grabbing us by the front of our shirts. We jerk forward, and I stumble, my hand going to a sharp stick. “Ow, fuck.”

Then it starts, the screaming. Just like on the night of burning the school, one scream becomes two, which becomes three, until it’s a chorus surrounding us.

My fingers dig into the dirt, and I shove off the ground, sprinting up the rest of the hill. The fog comes into view, and I swallow down a groan. This is the worst time for it. I can see the beginning of the bridge, but the fog lifts from the water below, curling around the wooden bridge and up into the sky. It makes what we’re crossing nearly invisible, and my heart begins to pound in my chest as terror fills me. How will we make it over without falling through?

Malik and Felix hesitate for a moment before they pull Atticus onto the bridge. They race over first, and then Levi grabs onto Piper, pulling her across, ignoring her cries of fear as she clutches onto him. Blaire backs up, bumping into me. She glances over her shoulder, her lips trembling.

“It’s too fucking foggy. How are they not scared?” she whispers.

I glance over my shoulder, to the fog, to the screams, to the vibrating earth beneath us. “Because what’s behind us is more terrifying than what lies ahead.” I reach forward, lacing my fingers through hers. “Let’s go. Together.”

Vera nods, and the three of us race across, light on our feet. Each of us pauses to hop over the gap in the bridge, making our way briskly over to the other side. The moment my feet hit the other side of Castle Pointe, the screaming intensifies, almost angry as it echoes through the forest.

“My house is only a few minutes from here. Let’s go there,” Felix says, pulling Atticus to his car.

I grind my teeth, wanting to protest, but the hair on the back of my neck stands from the screaming on the other side of the bridge, and I know more than anything, we just need to get out of here.

Nodding, we race to my car, and I slip inside, tossing the oversized folder and my backpack into the back seat. Piper hops into the passenger seat, and Blaire makes her way to the back. We all reverse out of the small cutout quickly, reversing down the bumpy path and back onto the main road.

“I don’t think I ever want to go back there,” Blaire groans from the back seat, wiping the sweat from her forehead, even though it’s cool outside.

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