Page 145 of Tag

It was the shower area, and I didn’t understand why until I saw that in place of what should have been a wall, there was a tunnel. The darkness beyond it yawned open like a mouth.

No way in hell.

“Get the fuck off of me, Dennis!”

I fought harder, digging my heels into the tile. “Stop fighting!” he yelled, shaking me so hard my teeth rattled.

This idiot tried and failed to disguise his voice, but it was too high-pitched, cracking at the edges, and giving him away. Using the tight grip he still had around my waist like a brace, I kicked both feet up and slammed them into the nearest wall. Dennis staggered back, clutching me so tightly it felt like my ribs were about to crack.

We hit the ground--hard.

Dennis let me go with a grunt, the bulk of his mascot suit slowing him down enough that he couldn’t jump right back up. I didn’t waste the chance. Using the momentum from the fall, I launched myself back to my feet, twisting low and fast like I was coming out of a cradle.

Then I was on the second guy, slamming into him with all the weight and speed I had.

“Let her go!”

We all crashed to the ground, bodies tangling. I drove my elbow into his ribs, used the tile to my advantage, rolling us over so I could knee him in the gut. He grunted, grip faltering. Brittany broke free with an angry scream.

“Britt—GO!” I urged.

She took off at a sprint without looking back. I was tossed aside so the masked guy could pursue her. I tried to stop then, but Dennis had finally regained his footing intime. He kicked out, catching the backs of my legs. I went down again like a shot, the floor slamming the air from my lungs. Before I could scramble up, his thick, padded arms wrapped around my middle again, half-dragging, half-hauling me backward toward the tunnel.

“Let me go,” I pleaded.

My hair clung to my face, sweat stinging my eyes, every step jarring. I clawed at him uselessly, my hands slipping against the silky fabric.

We crossed the threshold.

The air turned colder. Damper and heavier, as if the walls were exhaling rot. The sleek floor gave way to rough, aged stone. The light from the locker room began to dwindle away. My heart thrashed in my chest, violent and desperate.

Dennis’s voice came out cracked and breathless. “Not so elite now, are you?”

White-hot rage cut through my terror.

I had never been anything but kind to him, and this was what it got me?

Fueled by fury and adrenaline. I twisted, throwing my weight to the side. I swung an elbow back, aiming for where his jaw should be beneath the ridiculous beak.

His grip loosened when I connected.

I dropped my weight like I knew to do when the bases got shaky, catching him off guard. Finally free, I spun into a full-bodied shoulder slam. He went down, padded arms flailing.

“Bitch!” he raged.

I didn’t give him the satisfaction of a comeback.

I ran.

I wasn’t sure I’d ever moved so fast in my life, stumbling through the dark over uneven ground beforebursting back into the locker room like I’d clawed my way out of the grave. My legs barely felt connected to the rest of me. I sprinted toward the door and nearly ripped it off its hinges with how hard I yanked it open.

Then I slammed into a wall of muscle.

Strong hands gripped my arms, steadying me.

“What the fuck’s going on?” Dougie’s voice cut through the haze.

I clutched his shirt like it was the only thing tethering me to the present. My chest heaved. My lungs burned.

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