Page 22 of The Player
“Did he hurt you?” I tried to swallow, but my coarse throat just burned. I was scared to find out the answer to my next question. “I know he drugged you to get you here, but has he touched you, Bee? I need to know.”
“No,” she shot back. “He put a needle in my neck, but that’s it.”
“That’s enough,” I seethed. “And the minute we get out of here, I’m burning that fucking maze to the ground, right after I’ve burnt him.”
He thought he was so fucking clever, but he’d met his match in me. My rage was now morphing into something uncontrollable, a fury I’d never experienced before in my life. I had an overwhelming need to protect her, and he’d just activated a new level of crazy inside me. One that’d unleash every demon I’d ever tamed over the years.
Needing to be closer to her, I reached out my hand in the darkness to take hers, but she pulled away. Then she covered her face with both of her hands before using them to push herself to sit up.
“What the fuck has happened to us, Will?” she hissed. “Who did this? Why? Why us?”
“I have a million and one enemies, Bee. It could be anyone.”
“I fucking knew you’d be the death of me,” she cursed. “Never thought I’d end up in some sicko’s basement, though.”
“Not for long,” I replied. “They’ll be looking for us. Our club has the best CCTV. I know the others will be scouring every bit of footage to track us down. Tyler and Colton will be on that. Devon will be loading up the van with his weapons, and Adam, well, he’ll be thinking up some sick way to make this fucker pay. They’ll have a plan. They always have a plan. Don’t worry. It’s just a matter of time before…” In that moment, the strip lights overhead buzzed to life, casting an uneasy light over our dismal reality. And boy, was it dismal.
Upside down crosses were spray painted in black on the walls. The concrete was chipped, and the walls stained with filth. There were marks and scrapes where someone had probably tried to scratch and claw their way out. The floor was littered with empty wrappers, dirt, and rubble. But there were no windows, no vents, no door handle or lock where the doorway was. There was nothing that I could pinpoint as a possible escape route. Not yet, anyway.
The lights above us were flickering like they might give up and plunge us into darkness at any minute. And then, a clear light shone out from the corner of the room, where a television was set deep into the wall.
Bryony reached for my hand as a face filled the screen. I say face, but it was hidden behind a mask. One of those Halloween LED light masks with crosses for eyes and a sewn-up mouth. The lights glowed blue on the mask as he tilted his head. This guy really thought he was something special. Then his voice filled the room, making every nerve and fibre of my being buzz to attention, craving retribution. He wasn’t going to get away with this.
“How nice of you to finally join me,” he said, his voice altered by some kind of machine, making it sound deeper, low, mechanical and menacing. “Now the games can begin.”
ChapterNine
BRYONY
Ididn’t feel angry with Will, not really. None of this was his fault. I was angry at how confused I felt. How helpless and fucking desperate it all seemed. I was angry with our whole fucked-up situation. I didn’t want to take it out on him. He was all I had in this concrete prison we’d woken up in. He was the only other human who knew where I was. And then, when the lights flickered to life, and a TV screen in the corner came on, I was reminded exactly why I was here.
I’d been so fucking stupid.
Rule number one: always have your weapon on you. I’d failed at the first hurdle. I’d put myself in danger by going out without a way to protect myself if anything happened.
Instinctively, I reached for Will’s hand as we both stared at the TV, the hand he’d tried to offer me moments ago when I’d brushed him away, but he took mine now, squeezing me as a blue light-up mask appeared on the screen.
“How nice of you to finally join me,” the voice announced, the mechanical way he spoke made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. “Now the games can begin.”
“Let us out, you FUCKING FREAK!” Will shouted, his body tense as he sat forward. “Or better yet, come in here and face me, you BASTARD.”
The voice from the TV gave a sinister chuckle.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that. I have you here as my… guests.”
“I’m gonna fucking kill you,” Will snarled, baring his teeth, his body trembling with fury beside me.
“You’re gonna do a lot of killing,” the mask replied. “But it won’t be me.”
“Why did you do this? Why are we here?” I asked in desperation. I couldn’t get my head around any of this. Locked up by a madman. Trapped at his mercy. And why? To play some sort of sick games, whatever they were.
“Like I said,” the mask answered. “Now the games can begin.”
“What fucking games?” Will spat. “You’re a fucking dead man. You do know that, right? When my brothers find out what you’ve done–”
“You can’t kill what’s already dead,” he interrupted, sounding proud of himself. “But that’s beside the point. Let’s get a few things clear before we go any further, shall we?”
I knew Will wanted to shout back, but I squeezed his hand and gave a gentle shush. I wanted to hear what this psycho had to say.
