Page 96 of Kings & Chaos

Oscar pulled into an old lot and parked next to a concrete overhang that might have been part of an old loading dock.

“Let’s go,” he said, opening his door and getting out of the car.

He sounded as grim as I felt.

I got out of the car and joined him on the cracked pavement. “So what?” I asked. “We’re just going to find some poor random person and beat the shit out of them for fun?”

“No,” he said. “We’ve taken care of that part.”

“Somehow that doesn’t make me feel better,” I said as we started walking.

We stepped out of the lot and onto the street. It was cold, and I tucked my chin into my jacket, glad I’d layered it with a T-shirt and sweater. Music thumped from one of the clubs farther down Main Street, but it was distant and muffled.

Here, there was nothing. Just a quiet concrete jungle long ago abandoned.

We came to a crumbling brick building and I followed Oscar up the short stoop to a wooden door.

“I feel like an ax murderer lives here,” I said.

Oscar snorted. “No one lives here. Don’t worry.”

“How do you know?” I asked, stepping into a small vestibule. “Could be squatters.”

“Because we own the place,” he said, shutting the door.

“You… own it?” A series of old metal mailboxes were set into the wall next to the door, and a long hall led into darkness.

To the right, a staircase led to the second floor.

“Yep.” He gestured to the stairs and I stepped hesitantly on the bottom step.

“You’re sure these aren’t going to crumble or something?” I asked.

“The building’s been inspected,” he said behind me. “It’s structurally sound. Stop stalling.”

“I’m not stalling,” I protested, climbing the stairs. “I just don’t want to die here.”

I was glad for his presence behind me. The building was creepy af, the stairs creaking with every step, peeling wallpaper lining the walls.

“To the left,” he said when we reached the second-floor landing. I veered left. “Door at the end of the hall.”

I passed several closed doors, all with old brass numbers on them.

“This was an apartment building?” I asked.

“Once upon a time,” Oscar said behind me. “Back when the town was a railway hub. It was important back then. There are still a lot of cool buildings and old houses here. They’re just mostly abandoned.”

“Sad,” I said, stopping at the door at the end of the hall: number 6.

“Just follow our lead in here,” he said, reaching for the knob.

“Wait,” I said. “Shouldn’t we… I don’t know, wear masks or something?”

“Don’t need them,” he said.

I wanted to ask why, because even though I had zero intention of hurting anyone, I was going to be an accessory to whatever happened in there. Plus I had zero doubt the Kings would complete the challenge without a second thought once I backed out, even though that probably meant we’d lose anyway.

I didn’t really know all the rules, and I made a mental note to ask what happened if a team completed the challenge with someone other than the people appointed at the quarry.

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