Page 9 of No Way Back
“Watch it,” he snarls at me.
I turn around, an autonomous snort escaping me as I tower over the guard. Must be rough to have to overcompensate. His thumb is already on his holstered weapon, but it's out of instinct, not suspicion. “My bad. Crazy as shit in here.” I laugh and lower the chainsaw to the ground, stretching my arms above me.
He huffs in agreement, dropping his hand back to his side as we stand next to each other, watching the crowd. “Shoulda seen them last night during the fake power outage. Buncha yuppies crying for their parents.”
“It’s part of the night?” This changes everything; we have an advantage we didn’t realize we had if the staff thinks the power outage is part of the tour.
“Yup, power will come on in the morning after these rich kids piss their pants from all the ghost sightings.” He laughs again and walks ahead of me.
But he only gets one step.
Wrapping my arm over his face, I use my bicep to muffle his shouts while my hand twists his neck. He digs his fingers into my arms, grunting frantically as I lift him from the ground. Nobody turns our way; they’re all too loud and self-centered to care. Ifight the last of resistance with a good pull, the cracking sound of his neck breaking is one I can almost feel between my teeth.
The guard is limp in my arms, heavier than before as I struggle to get him to the floor without making a sound. I hear a gasp to my right from the darkness of the cell.
Bringing a single finger to the front of my mask, I mimic a “shushing” gesture. Two eyes blink slowly as they come closer to the bars. A pale face makes itself seen as the inmate steps into the light, staring at me with a horrified expression.
I search through the guard’s pockets until I find exactly what I need. Lifting the ring of keys into the air, I jingle them from my crouched position. “Wanna play?”
She nods slowly.
“The girl with the other mask like this.” I use my head to point toward Camila as I slip the key into the hole. “Help her take out the rest of the guards.”
Rotten teeth smile from ear to ear, both hands gripping the iron bars, shaking and rattling them with excitement.
And then, I turn the key.
5
It’s me, hi, I’m the danger, it’s me.
Camila
I’m listening to some girl on a full ride to Ohio State complain about how her summer internship at her mother’s firm only paid five figures. Grateful that the mask is doing the hard work for me, I just nod and laugh until my annoyance dissipates.
I might kill her for that.
This group’s tour guide is in a Jason costume, holding what looks to be a standard ax. He is by far the most unthreateninghuman being I’ve seen tonight, and he’s more interested in pretending like he cares about OSU girl’s story than the gig he’s being paid for.
Glancing back at Harkins, I see a girl with long blonde hair walking toward me. He hands her the guard’s baton before giving me a nod that I assume is my signal. I tilt my head to the side, well aware she can’t see how big I’m smiling. Demetri moves to the next cell, slipping the key in.
I extend my free hand, the one not holding a weapon. She interlaces her fingers through mine, and without speaking, we walk toward the front of the crowd until we’re both standing in front of the guards. We’re still outnumbered, but I’m hoping by the time I swing this spikey bitch in the air, three things will have happened:
Harkins will have made his way up here to handle our extra homie.
These crazy bitches will have freaked the fuck out of the civilians.
Shit will be far too crazy for anyone to give an accurate run down of what happened.
