Chapter 23

After creeping past The Hollow's trailer, the park is eerily quiet, as if everyone is already inside, and I start to wonder if I am late, even though it's almost eleven o'clock. No, I can't be. Madame said that time.

As I walk through the back enterance of the tent, the music is loud in my ears, the lights pulsing through the cracks in the fabric, a huge crowd already inside the arena. Then I hear Madame's voice on the mic just as I enter, causing me to stop at the threshold.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Dark Night, where fear isn't just a sensation—it's a dread that seeps into your bones and lingers in your final breath. Here, death isn't merely a threat; it's an experience, a macabre spectacle that will haunt your very soul and claim you as its own."

I peek around the entrance, the audience on the edge of their seats, but I quickly notice that these aren't the usual visitors. They are men and women in luxurious outfits, a sea of suits and elegant dresses and my brows pinch with confusion as my eyes skim over the strange crowd.

Center stage, Madame stands draped in a blood-red gown, spotlights shining down on her, demanding the attention of everyone in the tent.

"Tonight," she continues, "you will witness the unthinkable—the beauty of horror. We present to you a performance like no other, where the line between life and death is a nothing but a tightrope, ready to be cut at any moment."

Madame raises her arms almost elegantly. "Remember, our dear guests," she says with a chilling smile, "there is no turning back. Once you enter the realm of Dark Night, you become part of our sinister symphony, where every scream, every drop of sweat and blood, belongs to us. From this moment forward, you're tangled in our web, fighting for your life." The crowd laughs, but something dreadful settles in my stomach from her words.

Cautiously, I slip into a seat in the back, not near anyone, ready to watch the show unfold since I have been told I am not to perform tonight and just be a watcher. The lights dim further, then the tent plunges into darkness. When a spotlight pierces the blackness, it illuminates a cage that is being descended from above. I glance up to see a figure trapped inside, his face full of fear and when the cage reaches the ground, his desperate pleas for mercy echo.

Performers dressed in bizarre costumes enter from the shadows, each one more terrifying than the last. A man with a painted skull face juggles flaming knives, while a woman in a tattered, ghostly dress twists her body in impossible ways across the dusty floor, and a horrifying clown on tall stilts, holding a long, black whip all creep toward him. Each one moves in a strange, haunting way—like nothing I have ever seen before.

The woman slithers up to the bars of the cage, her arms and legs wrapping around them like a snake as she leans in close to the man, her hot breath visible against the cold night air. His eyes are wide with terror before she suddenly lets out a high-pitched chilling laugh and tosses something onto his face, a liquid. He instantly lets out a blood-curdling scream, trying to wipe his face desperately, but as he moves his hands away, I see it is melting. I hold my breath, my eyes wide as he continues to try to escape, knocking into the cage because he is now blind.

The crowd erupts in laughter with sadistic amusement and the other two performers step forward. They whip him harshly, each lash drawing blood, while flaming knives are thrown into his flesh, embedding themselves with sickening thuds. His screams are horrifying, but they only seem to fuel the audience's enjoyment.

My stomach churns as I watch, the reality of the situation sinking in. This isn't just a performance; it's a ritual of torture, a display of human suffering dressed up as entertainment. The audience, dressed in their finest clothes, it all makes sense now. This isn't for just anyone; this is for those who crave the macabre, who find delight in the pain and death of others.

As his cries fade out, his body barely clinging to life, the crowd rises to their feet, clapping and cheering. The sound is full of glee, the total opposite to the horror that has just unfolded, and I just remain seated, my pulse pounding in my ears, unable to tear my eyes away from the gruesome scene.

As the night progresses, I can't shake the feeling that I'm in way over my head. The darkness of this place is more dangerous than I could have ever imagined.

I watch many performances, each one more shocking than the last, where people are tied up and murdered in front of everyone. Unlike the acts from the other night, each one ends in death. A woman on a spinning wheel is axed to death, her screams drowned out by laughter. People are burnt alive by fire breathers, then let loose to run around in agony until they're just fried meat lying on the ground.

Guys on bikes ride in the death dome, not The Hollow's, and the woman standing in the middle isn't Pearl and as their bikes spin around her, they slice her to pieces with machetes or chainsaws until she's nothing, but a pile of human remains in the centre. This place is fucking ruthless.

One man is forced onto the tightrope high above, and I silently pray for his safety, hoping against everything that I have witnessed tonight that he will still somehow make it to the other side, but the clown on the platform deliberately shakes the rope with an evil cackle, sending the man plunging to the ground with a splat, his body torn apart, guts flying everywhere.

I turn my face away with my eyes closed, taking a deep breath through my nose. Despite the rising urge to run for my fucking life, I remain stuck to my seat, trying to not let this place get to me and I can't help but wonder when Hellion will arrive. What role he will play?

After what feels like forever, it seems to be ending and confusion sweeps over me. Just as I begin to wonder about Hellion once again, the Hollow's finally emerge from the curtains.

Their faces partially hidden by black, lower half masks with swirls in the colors of their eye contacts and they have tools in their hands. Behind them, enter a line of girls, including Blush and Pearl, holding blow torches and flame throwers, their identities concealed by full creepy masks, but they are detectable to me because of their hair.

Madame takes center stage once more, the Hollow's and girls circling her as they face the audience. Her grin stretches wide, eyes darkening. "I trust you found the show enjoyable?" she asks, her voice carrying a chilling undertone. "But now, we come to the grand finale of Dark Night," she gestures with her hands toward the crowd.

"This final act is one we've all wanted you to witness. It marks the end of your laughter, your speech, your breath." Her words hang like a dark cloud, murmurs circling the tent as more performers enter the ring, carrying an array of weapons, their expressions grave.

"You see, Oddity has always served a purpose, but you know that," Madame continues, her tone growing more sinister with every word. "Each of you have come here for a reason. To revel in the death of someone you despise, but have you ever considered your own sins and why you were given that black ticket in the first place?" A deafening silence falls over the crowd as Madame's words sink into my bones. "This final act is a retaliation for your deceit, my darlings. This final act will cost every single one of you your lives. On Dark Night, no one escapes. Not even YOU!"

My eyes widen in realization, but when Madame chuckles loud and menacingly into the mic, throwing her head back, the crowd stupidly erupts in laughter with her.

I gently stand, my pulse racing, watching the performers closing in on the crowd. As soon as Madame's laughter stops, weapons are unleashed. The atmosphere shifts from cheerful to deadly in an instant as they understand the truth: this is not a performance; it's a fucking massacre.

As people are burnt alive and knives are thrown into skulls, nail guns are fired, and chaos erupts. Everyone tries to flee, coming my way, scrambling over the seats, desperate to reach the exit near me. My eyes dart to Hellion, and I find his already on mine. My breath hitches in my throat, my body stiffening, wondering how the fuck he spotted me in the middle of absolute madness. His eyes are wide and crazed, his broad chest expanding with each breath as if he is about to pounce while he stands completely still. I can see it in him. He is Hellion tonight; there is no shadow of a doubt that he is going to fuck me up and enjoy every sickening second of it.

As the crowd gets closer to me, I bolt, heading for the exit beside me. I run down the passageway, aiming for the carnival, trying to stick to my plan. Frantic screams and heavy footsteps echo behind me, but as soon as I am outside, the crowd surrounds me, pushing me toward the main exit.

I try to break free and get out of the pull, but I am trapped between hundreds of panicked people. Looking ahead, I see the tall, spiked gates are locked, with a huge sign that says in bold red painted words, "No way out."

Once I'm finally able to stop, the crowd continues forward, desperately trying to get through the gate and my heart races as I watch them all, struggling to breathe.

I glance down, noticing black circus tickets scattered across the cracked ground and when I lift my head I spot more carnival performers on the other side. I tiptoe to see what they're doing, and my heart stops completely when I see it—they're handing out weapons to fight back.

What the actual fuck.

As the crowd arms themselves, I worry that I have nothing to defend myself with, but still dressed as part of this wicked show, a fucking target. Thunder and lightning suddenly crackle through the air, heavy rain plummeting down on me. Panic rises inside my chest, feeling surrounded by madness and violence, wondering how I'm going to fucking survive this night.

As soon as I hear motorbikes closing in behind me, I turn on my heel, seeing performers finally exiting the circus, armed and ready to unleash even more bloodshed. When the Hollow's round the corner, I run fast, hoping Hellion doesn't see me yet. The crowd scatters and people begin to fight. I weave in and out of the mayhem, as if I am on a battle field, trying to get around the circus and back to the trailer park, but every way I go, it's blocked.

A guy with a chainsaw suddenly jumps out in front of me causing me to stop abruptly, my heels skidding across the wet ground. He's middle-aged with grey hair, dressed in a suit and he licks his lips. "Well hey there, gorgeous, are you lost?" he growls, his eyes glimmering with murder.

I take a step back as he takes one forward, and then he lunges, attempting to slice me apart. I bow backward and sidestep, narrowly avoiding the blade, but without warning, a knife whizzes past my head and plunges brutally into his eye. My expanded gaze stays locked on him as he falls to the ground, dropping the chainsaw, but it continues to run, hacking at his leg.

I throw a glance over my shoulder, and my eyes instantly collide with Hellion's. He sits on his bike at a distance, watching me intently. The chaos around me seems to blur as if the world is narrowing to just the two of us. The violent, blood-soaked carnival fades into the background as I see the darkness in his swirling orbs.

I remove my mask, tossing it to the ground to reveal mine, but before I can see his reaction, a woman charges towards me with a scream, an axe raised high in the air. Without thinking, I lean down, grabbing the heavy chainsaw lying nearby and while spinning around, I thrust the jagged blade forward, catching her in the stomach. Her cry mingles with the revving of the saw as her guts spill out onto the ground. I feel the warm spray of her blood hit my face, arms, and chest as I hold my breath.

She drops to the floor, and my wide eyes meet Hellion's once again across the carnival. He's holding a knife, positioned to throw it at her. His gaze flickers to mine, and an evil smirk tugs at his lips.

I understand his silent message: only he is allowed to hurt me as he said the other night, but he will still protect me in his own twisted way even if he is within his character. His presence is both terrifying and oddly reassuring, a reminder of the strange bond we share. When his face suddenly falls and he flicks his blade closed, my heart skips a beat and I drop the chainsaw.

He starts to rev his engine and I spin around, running as fast as I can. The sound of his bike gets closer with each step until he whizzes past me, skidding sideways to block my path. I look around frantically, trying to find a way to escape him until my eyes land on the sign for The Glass Maze. As Hellion stands away from his bike, I bolt again, pulling on the door and heading inside the unknown building.

**

The entrance door closes behind me, and I'm plunged into a brightly lit labyrinth of glass that stretches far and wide. Ahead of me, I faintly see other people, desperately trying to find a way out. When I glance down, I notice a thick sea of blood at my feet, confusion momentarily paralyzing me, but I know I can't stand around for long; Hellion is right behind me.

I start to run through the maze, blood spraying up my legs as my heavy boots land with each step. I bang into the thick glass panels, the impact hurting my entire body. The mirrored walls and ceilings, make it hard to tell where I am or where I need to go next. As I weave through the narrow passageways, the blood on the floor seems to become thicker, the stench of iron, death filling the air and I start to wonder where the fuck it's all coming from.

As soon as I hear the entrance door closing behind me, my head snaps around and not too far away, I see Hellion has entered. Suddenly, a screeching siren screams through the building, making me slam my hands against my ears. The lights turn red when it stops.

What the fuck was that?

Hellion catches my attention once again, calmly strolling through the maze, knowing the route perfectly, his corkscrew orbs fixated on mine, his jaw tense.

Fuck.

Without warning, the glass walls start moving, some much quicker than others, and panic surges through me. As soon as I hear a woman screaming, I look in that direction and watch her running for her life, a glass panel sweeping across the passageway she is in at an alarming speed. With nowhere to go, it crushes and flattens her against the wall with a loud crack.

Holy shit. It's a whole mindfuck death puzzle.

The sight of her lifeless body, mangled and squashed against the glass, sends a shiver down my spine, but I don't have time to process it. I need to move, and fast.

Hellion's deep voice reaches me, low and mocking. "Running won't save you from me or this place, my pretty Little Dolly. I designed it and I will fucking catch you."

He designed this place? What the hell?

As a tremble runs through me at his words, I notice other traps, like fire shooting out of the walls as you pass by, and I start to slow down, wondering if it's better to just face Hellion than go through this deathly obstacle course.

A sudden noise behind me snaps me out of my thoughts. A pane of glass is moving toward me at a frightening speed, and I run, but my feet slip on the blood-soaked floor, sending me skidding across the passageway frontally until I crash against the wall. Just in time, I throw myself into another passage on my right, narrowly dodging the glass as it smacks against the wall. I breathe heavily, my heart pounding, stuck in fear until I see Hellion is only one passage away from me, calmly navigating the maze.

I scramble to my feet, but he starts running, seizing the opportunity and I stumble over the blood, my clothes now drenched in it. As I hear his heavy footsteps right behind me, I let out a loud, petrified scream, but before he can get me, he slips too, crashing to the floor but not before grabbing my leg, making me fall as well with a hard thud, blood splashing up my face and the glass. I turn as he yanks me down towards him, kicking and thrashing, but he simply lets out a wicked chuckle.

His jaw suddenly tenses in irritation as he positions himself between my legs, grabbing my waist and forcefully dragging me closer, his movements swift and effortless. I swing at him with my fists, determined to give him a fucking fight, but he grabs my throat with his bloodied hand, squeezing tightly, restricting my airway. He reaches up under my tutu, yanking my red panties and ripping them aggressively down my legs. The realization hits me—he's going to violate me right here in a pool of other people's blood and guts. Fuck, he is wasting no time at all.

"Hell!" I try to yell through strangulation.

Ignoring me, he forces my legs wide apart before dipping his head and sliding his pierced tongue all the way up my exposed pussy. A loud gasp escapes me, my head tilting back as my soaked, bloodied hands find the glass on either side of me, gripping for dear life.

He eats me out so fucking violently and with such force that I begin to slip upward on the blood with each flick of his tongue. His face smothers my pussy like a crazed animal, his mouth working miracles on my clit in just the way I like it. Every time I slide away from him, he grabs my thighs and yanks me back down aggressively with a snarl, my pussy slamming against his face.

My untamed moans flood through the glass maze, mingling with terrified screams, moving glass, and the sound of footsteps running over the blood-slick floor. The entire scenario is fucking wild, being eaten out so deliciously in such a place and around people dying, but I can't contain the undeniable thrill running through me. The wet sounds of his tongue lapping up every drop of my come that I release, and the roughness of his movements drive me to the edge quickly.

My body tenses, my hips bucking uncontrollably against his mouth. I can feel my climax swelling inside me, my cries growing more desperate, and his grip tightens on my thighs as his growls vibrate through my core. He pushes me to the brink of ecstasy, and with one final, powerful thrust of his tongue, I shatter into a million pieces. My orgasm rips through me, intense and overwhelming, and my screams echo throughout the maze.

Suddenly, the siren screams throughout the maze again, startling me mid-orgasm and without warning, Hellion grips my hips, pushing me away with force, causing me to slide across the bloody passageway until I crash into a wall behind me. I groan from the impact before sitting up to see him still on his knees some distance away. A sound from above grabs my attention, and I look up to see a glass pane descending rapidly. It lands vertically, barely touching the floor, effectively separating me from Hellion and I think about how it could have just cut me in half if he didn't know.

My wide eyes meet his and he is breathing heavily, his jaw set tight. This night is far from over, but I realize I now have the upper hand and for a moment, we just stare at one another through the glass, the sexual tension thick between us. His eyes burn with frustration and desire, and I know he's already plotting his next move, just like I am.

Taking advantage, I get to my feet, scanning my surroundings, but Hellion's calm demeanor from the corner of my eye as he stands captures my attention. I turn to face him fully, and he takes a step forward. His big, solid dick is now out, his blooded hand tightly wrapped around it as he slowly strokes himself.

"Do you see what you do to me, Little Dolly? I'm so fucking hard for you." he groans, his eyes rolling back as he cracks his neck from side to side, his movements on his cock not stopping for a second. Fucking hell.

He places his hand on the glass, smearing blood from his bare chest and face, his eyes locked onto mine with a distant gaze. Slowly, he sets his pierced tongue onto the glass, licking it seductively upward in a way that makes my thighs clench. A wide smile spreads across his face, a smile I haven't seen before—handsomely terrifying.

"You have around five fucking seconds to run from me again, pretty girl," he growls, his face suddenly falling into a serious expression. "The next time I get my hands on you, I am going to fuck you so hard and in such an inhumane way that you might not make it out of my embrace alive."

My muscles tense as soon as he drives his fist into the thick glass with a menacing laugh, and the glass cracks ever so slightly. My eyes widen, and I turn, running through the maze, stepping over body parts along the way.

Behind me, I hear the sound of glass breaking, Hellion forcing his way through the barrier and panic surges through me, fighting to keep my focus, but I have to keep moving, I have to find a way out.

I dodge flames emerging from the walls, narrowly avoiding moving glass, but then, I finally spot a faint light ahead—a possible exit. I push myself harder, my legs burning with the effort and with one last burst of energy, I dive through the door, tumbling onto the ground outside of the maze.

I stumble to my feet, my breaths coming out in heavy gasps. The rain pours down on me, lightning flashing and crackling across the sky, washing away the blood from my soaked body but I only feel a brief respite from escaping that horrifying maze. Hellion won't stop until he has his dick inside me, breaking me, but I need to stay one step ahead. I need to get him where I have plans for him.

I glance around as I run forward, hearing screams coming from the death rooms as I pass the fence and I continue, making my way toward the bright lights of the carnival. As I run through it, bodies are scattered everywhere on the ground, some amusements caught on fire. It feels like I am on a strange warzone, but hardly anyone is fighting here anymore. I try to ignore my surroundings, running around the circus to get to the trailer park.

Once I enter, I hear a motorbike in the distance, and I instantly know it's him. As he gets closer, I stumble across the soaked grass and gravel, desperately wanting to get to the woods, my body lacking energy. When I become enveloped by woodland, Hellion's bike gains on me in speed, he whizzes through the trees, as do I, until finally, I am at the clearing of his hidden basement. Just a few steps further.

I cross the field until I stop, hovering above the doors as I catch my breath. The cold rain pelts down on my hot skin as I wait for Hellion to emerge from the woods and when he does, his bike flies through the air. He lands, his eyes locking with mine as he skids across the soaked grass from a distance, then he dismounts, both of us panting heavily, and we stare at one another for a beat.

Knowing he is waiting for my next move; I give him a huge smile before leaning down and pulling open the doors. I hear his heavy footsteps jogging across the sludge as I descend into darkness, rushing toward the room I entered last night. The dim light flickers to life as I close the door, then hop up on a small unit out of view behind it, waiting for him to follow me in here. I swiftly dig into my boot, grab the needle, and uncap it.

He smashes through the door causing me to flinch, but as he steps inside, I scream, soaring through the air. He spins around, catching my throat in mid-jump and cocks his head to the side, seemingly confused by my antics. Holding me off the ground, my feet don't even touch the floor, and his grip on my throat tightens, almost squeezing the life out of me.

I smile menacingly before raising my arm and without warning, I stab him in the side of the neck. I press down on the syringe just in time as he releases me, and I drop to the floor, gasping for air. Lifting my head as the needle hits to the ground in front of me, I watch Hellion stumble backward and collapse onto the surgeon's table.

Rising to my feet carefully, I keep my eyes locked on him, his spiral eyes meeting mine with a blend of confusion and fury. His hand reaches up to his throat, struggling against the potent drug coursing through his veins.

Despite his resistance, his eyelids grow heavy, and I take a cautious step forward, pressing a finger to my lips, "Shhhh." I whisper softly, leaning in closer. "When you wake up, I'm going to make us both feel so fucking good."