Page 199 of Tag

He looped it around her waist--twice. Then dragged it lower—between her knees—hooking it to something bolted to the floor. I flinched and nearly dropped my phone when she started to scream. The sound was raw, muffled by the gag in her mouth, but it still came through my phone speaker crystal clear.

I think I understood why he mentioned what her favorite movie was. Tiny metal rods on each link of the chain pierced through her skin. Blood was dripping from everywhere. The worst had to be between her legs.

My stomach turned.

I didn’t want to keep watching this, but I couldn’t look away. Her body was bowed in two directions from how the restraints were placed.

Then the camera panned again.

It turned toward the far wall and revealed yet another masked figure. They held a second camera, filming too. The first person turned to face us, getting right in the lens so we could no longer see the girl, only hear her.

His breath fogged the lens.

“We can’t wait to play with all of you. Each of you will be It soon.”

The camera snapped forward in a jarring zoom, just a flash of the girl’s body behind him as someone pulled on her chain, ripping into her flesh.

“Happy hunting,” they taunted.

The video ended, and I was back in the Marked chat. What the hell did I just watch? There was no way that was real. If their goal was to torment the Marked, they had done an excellent job. I had to give them that. None of the masked people in that video were wearing masks I had seen already. Just how many were there?

“Sanj?”

I startled, remembering Ashton was on the phone. He had gone quiet at some point.

“Yeah,” I answered quietly. “I’m here.”

“You’re… not freaking out?”

“No.” I rubbed my face with both hands. “I’m disturbed. But this isn’t real.”

“How do you know that?”

“The cuts in the footage and the edited clips. Because people are starting to see it now.” I scrolled through the chat. “Only three think it’s legit.”

I shifted forward on the bed, my brain clicking through theories. This was far more Ari or Cloe’s area of expertise.

“And two,” I continued, “if this were real, the cops would be crawling all over it. That video alone would be enough to shut the Hunt down permanently. As powerful as Crowsfell is, they’re not going to risk being associated with live-action snuff films. I doubt that part was in our student handbook.”

“You really think it’s fake?”

“Ashton, if I thought that this was real, I would’ve called the cops myself. I’d be freaking the hell out like you expected me to.”I was not going to be that gullible. “Ash… how the hell did you think that was me?”

He stammered on the other end, caught off guard. “I—I panicked, okay?”

“You panicked so hard you turned me into a white girl with blonde hair?”

He didn’t say anything.

The silence stretched, thick with his embarrassment; I could practically hear him shriveling on the other end of the line. I exhaled softly. “It’s fine, Ash. I was mostly joking.”

“I feel stupid now,” he said sheepishly. “For calling. For not seeing the logic like you did.”

“I get it,” I admitted, shifting on the bed as the silence in the room started creeping in again. “Honestly, if this had been a few days ago, I would’ve lost the plot.” I stared at the screen, that final scene burned into my skull. “I mean… I still might,” I added. “That was morbid as hell.”

“You at least sound better,” Ashton said gently. “Well-rested. I take it you had a good weekend?”

My eyes went to the empty spot beside me.

---