Page 51 of Tag

“The Hunts’ always been one Huntsman per Marked. One person watching. Tracking. Toying. Not two, or however many Sanj has counted. If there is more than one...” Cloe trailed off.

“It confirms they’ve changed the rules,” Roxxi finished.

“Or someone decided to rewrite the playbook,” I suggested.

The room fell quiet aside from the music still carrying on in the background from my phone in the bathroom.

“We can’t break down over this,” I reiterated, my voice sounding stronger than I felt. I looked at each of them. “Our best shot at getting through a Hunt is staying sharp and watching each other’s backs. I’m not about to let some masked dickheads make us afraid of our own shadows.”

Roxxi ran a hand through her hair. “You’re right. This is nothing we can’t handle.” She pointed to the hall. “Go get changed in my room, Sanj. We’ll start cleaning this up.”

I nodded, still shivering a little, whether it was from the cold or the crash of adrenaline finally bottoming out, I wasn’t sure. I pushed off the ottoman, making sure the towel was tucked tight.

“Um… what if whoever threw the rock is still outside right now?” Layla asked tentatively.

I stopped and glanced toward the bathroom, the chilled air from the shattered window was leaking through like a ghost. Roxxi sighed, shifting into problem-solving mode. “New plan. Ari, call campus security. Say our window was broken by some drunk asshole. If they think it’s Hunt-related, they’ll either take their sweet-ass time or not do shit. Cloe, there’s a flashlight in the kitchen under the sink. Let’s get the bird to the trash before it becomes a damn health hazard.”

“Wait, what?” I cut in, frowning. “Does campus security even patrol the rentals? And no, you’re not going outside.”

Roxxi scowled, ready to argue until I held up a hand to stop her. “Something happens, and then someone proceeds to go toward the strange out-of-the-ordinary occurrence to investigate. Does that sound familiar at all? It’s literally how horror movies drive a plot.”

“Exactly,” Cloe backed me up. “If we’re going by common genre tropes, one of us is a virgin,” she side-eyed Ari, “one’s too scared of everything—,” she motioned to Layla, who frowned. “We have the girl who gets her back blown out before they get taken out naked as the day they were born,” now looking at me, “and then there’s the one making dumbass decisions.”

I was legit flabbergasted. “My back blew out? Then who would you be? Do tell since you’ve got this all figured out.”

“The final girl standing,” she replied matter-of-factly.

“AndI’mthe one making dumbass choices?” Roxxi pointed to herself, sounding as incredulous as I felt.

“You did just volunteer to do bird-disposal duty like we don’t have a potential stalker situation,” Ari reminded her.

For a second, we all just looked at each other, then laughter broke out. It didn’t last long, but it helped ease a bit more of the tension.

“You bitches are a pain in my ass,” Roxxi muttered affectionately. “Alright. Plan C, then. No one is going outside tonight. For now, let’s just clean up what we can.”

“That works for me, but I’m going to get dressed first.” I moved toward the bathroom, carefully stepping over the broken glass, and made a point not to look at the poor bird, grabbing my clothes and phone. I paused my music and headed from my room down the hall to Roxxi's. The scent of her perfume curled around me as I stepped inside, comforting and familiar, like her.

I debated whether or not to text Ryder. I already knew exactly how he’d respond. He’d be out for blood and not in a metaphorical way anymore. This happening on top of everything else would send him over the edge. He’d done so well since we started college, and now this Hunt bullshit was coming around to test all of us. It had been so bad before that there were times when I genuinely worried that I’d be helping him go on the run or sitting across from him during visitation hours at a prison because someone had said the wrong thing or looked at me the wrong way.

His father did what needed to be done before things went too far, ensuring he got the help he needed. Only a handful of us knew about any of that. Everyone else saw Ryder Voss as the golden boy of Hemlock Heights, now Crowsfell’s star quarterback. He was known to be this gorgeous, charming heartthrob who didn’t hesitate to help someone out.

I saw him as all of those things too.

I was so damn proud of how far he’d come, but I also knew better than to tempt fate. If I texted him that some psycho had launched a dead crow through my bathroom window, tied up in ribbon and tagged with taunts? He’d lose it. He’d drive straight here, drag me to his house a few blocks over, and lock me away in his room before tracking down whoever was responsible. I could already hear the argument playing out if I got tooresistant. He would probably tell my parents if all else failed, and then I would be dealing with a nuclear blow-out.

As if conjured by the mere thought, my phone buzzed with a message from Dad.

Heard the Hunt is getting ready to kick off.

Any word on who got Marked?

I laughed dryly, shaking my head. Of course, he wanted themasala chaigossip so he could share it with his golf buddies. He was worse than I and the girls.

Not yet. I’ll try and find out for you.

That wasn’t entirely a lie. I would be trying to find out who else was in the same situation we were in. Since he reached out first, I was going to count this as my nightly check-in. I tossed the phone onto Roxxi’s bed and reached for the pile of clothes I’d brought with me. My favorite sleep shorts, Ryder’s hoodie, and knee-high socks that looked like tiny sheep. It wasn’t armor, but it would do. I grabbed Roxxi’s brush from her beauty stand, working it through my damp hair. The reflection in the mirror was flat-out exhausted, but she wasn’t out for the count quite yet.

I wondered if any of the guys had been Marked.

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