Rule 55 - Swayze

Icame down to sit with everyone at the evening fire. It"d become our little routine, the survivors and us. The Risky family, the remaining ones, had offered up their home to us while we figured things out. They were still paying us too, which was another incentive to stay. At night, we"d hang out here, drinking, eating, and having a good time, forgetting that our friends were dead. Then, we"d head up to the house, and once everyone was asleep, either Koi or I would leave for a cigarette, and head over to the park, where Domino slept.Tossed and turned, really.

She didn"t seem to care how much her pretending to hate us hurt me. I"d never felt pain like this before. When I wasn"t with her, all I could think about was her. I wanted to absorb her into me so we could become one, but she refused to even look my way. Every minute felt like someone was tearing my heart and stretching my guts, trying to make me truly feel the pain that was a broken heart. And I needed her to feel pain too.

I kept the vote up on our website. We"d made thousands of dollars off it. At a dollar a vote, over eighty thousand people had tuned in to select the photo they liked. And during the day, while Domino was busy avoiding us, we"d get on and live stream the group, making sure no matter where she went in the park, she saw us on TV or heard us through the megaphone speakers.

Each night, she took some kind of sleep aid she"d found in the med office. That first night, I hadn"t realized she was on something when I came in, but it was obvious the moment I saw her, it was incredibly hot to have her at my mercy, but still pleading for more. And each night after was no different. Koi said the same thing. Whether she was ready to admit it or not yet, she still wanted us.

"Swayze, you there?" Beth called to me. I blinked and looked up from my boots.

"What?"

"We were just talking about Domino and Fabian. They"ve been locked in that office all day. What do you think they"re talking about?"

I took a drink of my beer. "Beats me. Maybe they"re the killers," I joked.

No one laughed.

"Are you serious?" Beth looked from me to the rest of the circle. Everyone"s faces were deadly serious. Marisol had her legs up on the arm of her lawn chair, lounging lazily across it.

"I mean, it would make sense. Those two, conspiring together. Fabian has been trying to cut us out for years. His only shot at this point is murdering us."

Mattias tossed a log on the fire, sending sparks flying. "Don"t fucking say that." He shuddered and sat back down.

"Why not? A little too real?" Marisol sat up and placed her feet on the ground. "What else could they be doing up there?"

Koi and I exchanged a look. We knew neither of them was killing anyone, but it was interesting to hear the pack panic and try to figure it out.

Mitchell sipped his drink. "Fabian wasn"t at the ziplining."

"But Domino was," Beth pointed out. She gasped and flung her head side to side. "What if he was hiding on the other side? And when they left to run back to us, he came out of the woods and stabbed Ruth!"

No, that was Koi, but interesting theory.

Grace nodded, eager to accept any story that made Domino the villain. "Yes! And remember, she stepped out of line right in time, making Ruth go ahead of her. Like, she knew to do it."

"And we never figured out who it was with the chainsaw!"

Murmurs began, and I could feel the energy shifting. This wasn"t just shit-talking, this was real.

"Maybe that"s why Blane was the next one to die," Mitchell pointed out. "Because he saw Fabian and threatened to tell everyone."

"Which is why Fabian gathered us all at that bonfire!" Grace hissed.

Nope, that was us, texting and urging Fabian to do that. Two for two.

"Okay, but what about Chitra?" Koi smirked. "Why would he kill her?"

Silence fell over the group, trying to figure out the third piece of the puzzle.

"Wait, wasn't Chitra the one that went before Ruth on the zipline?" Mitchell asked. "Maybe she saw Fabian come out of the woods."

Everyone exhaled with "aah" as if they'd cracked the case.Frankly, it was laughable.

"But where does Domino fit into all of this?" Koi asked.

"I know my brother," Marisol said. "He's a great talker. He can convince a gazelle to rest inside a lion's mouth. He's probably offered her more money to do whatever he wants."

"Which is?" Koi pressed.

"Scare us off. We see our friends getting offed one by one, and eventually it'll just be Mattias and I. He wants us to run. But that's where he fucked up." She took a large gulp of her beer. "Because I'll let every one of you die before I let go of this place."

The circle once again grew quiet, taking in her words. Everyone knew she wasn't lying.

"So what do we do then? If those two are up there plotting to kill us?" Mitchell asked.

"We fight back," Beth growled. "Fuck them! I ain't taking this lying down."

"Why don't you just leave?" I asked. A dry laugh escaped my throat. "We're all scared of dying, but the only thing holding us here is some bullshit threats. None of it would hold up in court."

"You underestimate the power my money holds." Marisol snickered. "Try fucking with me, Dennis. You'll lose more than a kidney."

A flash of irritation hit me at the sound of my first name. She knew it and smiled wide.

"We need to get ahead of it. Be one step in front of them," Mattias declared.

"How do you suppose that? It's been more than four days, and we have no idea what their plans are," Andrew pointed out.

Mattias looked deep into the fire, trying to come up with a plan. After a moment, he perked up. "Who all got a mask with something weird written inside?"

Slowly, everyone's hands went up. Koi and I mimicked them, despite having been the ones to deliver their masks.

"Okay then, we beat them at their own game. Tomorrow night, we don our masks, pick up a weapon, and fight for our lives."

The idea was almost comical, coming from Mattias. He wasn't what I thought of as a fighter. He'd probably be the easiest Risky kid to kill. If he went for Domino, I'd slit his throat faster than he could lift whatever dumbass weapon he picked up.

"Both of them? I mean, I know we'd all agreed to kill Domino before, but she really doesn't seem terrible now that I've gotten to know her." Mitchell shrunk into himself as everyone glared at him. "I mean, I feel kind of bad for her. The whole revenge porn thing."

"Fuck her!" Marisol spat. "You guys don't know the hell she put me through. Before and after she left. She should have died seven years ago. This is long overdue. Actually, no, I want to be the one to do it. You guys do whatever you want with my brother."

"Everybody in?" Mattias stood and put his hand over the fire. Slowly, everyone joined him, except for Koi and I. We remained sitting, watching them all plan a double murder like it was Sunday brunch.

"After this, everyone can go home, and we'll all pretend none of it happened." Mattias said.

"Thank fuck," Beth exclaimed.

"Yeah, I'm never coming back either," Andrew added.

"What do you say, boys?" Mattias asked. Everyone turned to us expectantly. "Maybe it's time to take some real action on the girl who broke your hearts. She can't keep getting away with this."

Koi and I looked at each other, trying to silently communicate.

Mattias hit a sore spot.

"It's time to show her what pain she's caused," Marisol snarled.

I stood then, in agreement. I did want to show her how much she hurt me, hurt us. I put my hand on top of everyone's, and a moment later, Koi joined us.

"Let's fucking go."