9. Harper Leigh

"Holy shit! I think she's dead. Try harder," Landry barked.

She was missing. She couldn't be dead.

"No . . . no . . . no. This can't be happening!" Conrad exclaimed.

"What did you do? What the fuck was in those cups, Landry?" I screamed from my spot on the floor. I couldn't hold myself up. My knees buckled when I saw Vi stumble down toward the dock. I kept willing her to stop–to fall in the grass. Anything that prevented the horrifying scene.

"I can't find a pulse. We've been at this for ten minutes. We need to call the police," Adeline shrieked.

My gaze flew to the screen. They got her out of the lake. Maybe there was a chance she survived.

"Are you out of your fucking mind? Did you forget my dad's the mayor, up for reelection this year? We can't afford to kill Hades's daughter."

Things were coming together. What they did. It's why we were here.

"I can explain," Landry began, but I silenced him with a glare.

Standing, I refocused on the video clip.

"Let's dump her back in the lake. The gators will get her, and we can deal with her car tomorrow. You're fucking lucky you kicked everyone out when you did," Adeline stated. "Or there's no way you'd be able to cover up that you drugged her."

My mind worked to process what I was witnessing. Addie was a bitch on the best of days, but suggesting murder? I waited for the echoes of nos, the pushes to call for help, or we shouldn'ts. None of that came.

"We can't hope the gators get her. What if they don't?" Landry whined.

Murderers. They were all fucking murderers. Addie instructed Raymond, and like the good little pup he was, he ran to do her bidding. Minutes later, he returned with a pack of chicken. They really were going to kill her.

"There's one now. I told you the raw meat would work. I'm surprised one didn't snatch her when she first splashed into the water."

I whirled around at a half-naked Addie. I expected to find remorse. Instead, she smiled, proud of herself. "Someone had to take initiative–"

"Shut the fuck up, Addie," Landry growled before he attempted to reach out for me. "Listen. I just . . . just let me explain."

Whatever he was going to say was cut off by a high-pitched wail.

"Fuck, she wasn't dead!"

My stomach roiled, and I twisted and bent over, throwing up. The sound of my best friend's cries as an alligator ate her alive seared my brain. It would live in my memories for eternity.

Before I could react, Jack's voice came over the speakers. "Now you know why you're all here. You've all been tried and found guilty. Take solace from the fact you get to die together." The door to this room opened before he continued. "It's the only kindness you'll get."

Addie ran out of the room with her proverbial tail between her legs. The stupid cunt. Her smugness disappeared faster than Mawmaw's beignets. However, Landry looked at me, pleading with his eyes. Fuck him too! If we find a way out of this, I'm going to castrate the fucker and make him eat his own dick. I stormed past him. He'd need to beg his maker because that was the only person who'd offer him forgiveness.

I entered what looked like another area for hosting a gathering. Smaller than the ballroom we were in earlier, but larger than a living room or game room. The red walls had holes in them, exposing the insulation, and layers of dust covered what little furniture was in the space. A further sign of the mansion's dilapidated state. Much like the first room, this one also had a checkered floor.

Landry stopped at my side. "Baby, let me explain." If he were smart, he'd go over to where his girlfriend was.

"I'm not interested in any of your or Addie's explanations," I seethed.

Growling, Landry gripped my arm so hard I winced. "You'll let me explain, Harper Leigh. That's what good Christian girlfriends do. What would your daddy think of this behavior?"

I wanted to laugh at him. Good Christian girlfriend? I was very familiar with how Christian girlfriends behaved. He had me fucked up if he thought I'd roll over and take it. My hand flew up, striking him in his throat. His arm dropped, and I moved out of his reach. "Well, he's not here to share his opinion on the matter, is he?" I scowled, reveling in the redness of his face as he gasped for breath, massaging his throat. Over this bullshit night, I surveyed the room, looking for where the damn cameras were. Huffing, I shouted, "Can we get this shit moving already?"

It didn't take long for instructions to come through the speakers. Jim spoke this time. Another fucked up version of a recess game. Red Light, Green Light. We had to run on green and stop on red. The goal: don't land on a booby-trapped tile. The game would last until at least one person died.

"Bon chance and laissez les bons temps rouler," Jim cackled before the countdown sounded as the floor lit up.

Why the hell was the floor illuminated?The question became a fleeting thought when an actual traffic light lowered and flashed green. I darted across the floor, praying to get to the other side before it turned red.

"Red light," a computerized voice stated.

I halted on a black-tiled square, waiting for something to happen. Moments passed before Jim bellowed. "You have all survived the first round." Squares darkened around me. That's when I noticed how close to me Landry and Addie were. "Stop on any unlit tile and suffer the consequences," Jim explained.

I groaned. Of course, there was more to this game. Why would they make it simple?

"Green light."

I barely made it two steps before ‘red light' was called. Jim offered another mocking congratulation before three more lit tiles went dark. Then the traffic light flashed, and I took off.

"Red light."

I internally cursed, nearly toppling over. The pulse in my throat thrummed like the drums of war.

"When we make it out of this, you and I are going to have a serious talk," Landry hissed, alerting me to his closeness.

It was a pity I couldn't hit him again.

"I don't know why you bother with her, Landry. Harper obviously doesn't understand what it takes to remain on top," Addie alleged.

Flexing his jaw, Landry twisted toward her. "Will you just be quiet?" he demanded.

She huffed, but did as she was ordered.

I rolled my eyes. "You don't need to silence her. She's right. I don't know if–"

"Green light."

A whooshing noise echoed in the room. My head jerked in the direction of the sound in time to duck before the axe flew through the air and whizzed by. "Shit," Landry grunted, squatting. He narrowly escaped being hit.

How unfortunate.

The idea of his death happening via being impaled had a certain je ne sais quoi to it.

"Oh, did we forget to mention each round, you'll also have to dodge whatever weapons fly through the air?" Jack jested.

I hopped to another tile as a spear sailed across the room, wishing one of them would just die already.

"This is ridiculous," Addie screeched. "You can't do this! It isn't fair." She stomped her foot.

Rage boiled in my veins as I jumped to a white square to her left. "Right, because what y'all did to Vi was so fair?" I muttered.

"Red light."

We all froze. I swiveled my head, observing their proximity to me. Addie was just ahead of me, and Landry was four tiles away but in the same row. We were more than halfway across the room. The door out of here couldn't be more than eight or nine steps from where I stood.

Shaking out my limbs, I bounced on the balls of my feet and prepared to run.

"Green light."

I dashed forward, mindful of my surroundings, but slowed when throwing stars whipped in batches of fours from both walls.

"Son of a bitch," Landry yelped.

Pausing, I peered to my left. He had a star sticking out of his side. Hello karma, is that you? Sadly, the wound wasn't life-threatening. A few stitches, and he'd be fine.

"Red light."

"Landry," Addie squealed.

She was directly in front of me, focused on Landry, just as three spiked clubs launched. I waited, gauging their speed before shoving Addie.

"What the f–?" Addie screeched. Her words cut off when a club smashed into the side of her skull, covering me in mushed goo before I could move out of the way. She blinked a few times, like her brain hadn't registered what happened. Seconds later, she crumpled to the ground. Sections of her face were strewn around her head.

Lifting my hands, I scooped the clumps of Addie's brain and chipped bone off me. "Fucking gross," I groaned, flicking my fingers free of the muck. "I misjudged the velocity," I muttered.

"Harper Leigh. Why would you push her?" Landry yelled, gawking at his now-dead fun toy.

I ignored his righteous outrage, more interested in Addie's prone form and the macabre scene in front of me. The whole side of her face was sunken in, clear past her skull. The back of her head was cracked open, and chunks of grayish-pink matter oozed down a spike before it landed near the remainder of her cheek. Her one remaining eye was forever frozen in shock as her blood seeped out onto the white tile she lay on. I stepped around her, staring in fascination at the portion of her jaw resting on the floor. Leaning over her, I counted the teeth that scattered like shards of broken glass. Eleven.

"Please proceed to the next game," Jack ordered as the door opened.

I strode halfway toward the exit before turning to take one last look at Addie. A smile appeared on my face, and I laughed.

"What's so funny?" Landry asked from the doorway.

Spinning back to face him, I retorted, "I guess karma just needed a little push." Landry's eyebrows reached his hairline, and my laugh turned into a cackle. I shrugged my shoulders and walked past him. He always had a terrible sense of humor.