by Amy Cross
I almost start laughing. After all, what would any of the people here really know about passion? Still, I figure I need to oblige, so I start thrusting even faster, not worrying at all about whether or not I might hurt her. She gasps, and I can tell that I've already brought her close to orgasm. She wraps her legs around my waist, pulling me tighter, and a moment later her body shudders as she cums. She lets out a series of gasps, and I keep thrusting into her, determined to get this over with as soon as possible. As she opens her eyes and stares up at me, I start to pull out.
“Aren't you going to finish?” she asks, trying to pull me closer.
“I'm good,” I reply, turning and heading to the door.
Slipping past Long Nose, I make my way through the crowd. I wanted to end his suspicions about me, but it's clear that I didn't do a very good job and I'm certain that he's following me. For now, he's probably content to simply keep an eye on me, but sooner rather than later he's going to get in touch with the others, and that's when I'll really be in danger. Making my way past one of the large stone columns, I head into one of the main corridors leading away from the hall. I can hear people having sex in several rooms nearby, but I need to draw Long Nose away so I can deal with him.
Heading around the corner, I find myself in an empty corridor, so I stop and turn.
I can hear footsteps coming closer.
As soon as Long Nose comes into view, I grab him by the arm and slam him into the wall.
“Where's Elly Bradshaw?” I hiss.
He tries to struggle free, but I press my arm against his neck until he can barely breathe.
“Where is she?” I ask again.
“You're making a huge mistake,” he gasps.
“You know who I am.”
“We were told you might show up,” he continues. “You just -”
Before he can finish, I rip his mask away, exposing his terrified face.
“Which cell is she in?” I ask.
“You don't understand -”
“I can find her without your help,” I continue, “but it'll take longer so I'm going to give you one more chance. Tell me where she is!”
“You can't get out of here,” he replies. “You're a fool if -”
Grabbing his shoulders, I haul him across the corridor and slam him headfirst into the opposite wall, before pulling him back again.
“You know where she is,” I say firmly, “and you're going to show me, or I'll break your goddamn neck!”
Pushing him along the corridor, I follow as he staggers forward. I give him another shove, just to make sure that he keeps going, and at the end of the corridor he starts leading me to the left, before stopping in front of another door.
“She's in here,” he says, turning to me, “but there's no way you'll ever get her out of the building. He has eyes everywhere.”
“Do you have a key?”
“Only Raven -”
“That's all I needed to know,” I reply, grabbing him by the shoulder and pulling him back, before taking hold of his head and twisting it until I feel a snapping sensation. Dropping his lifeless body to the floor, I take a step back and size up the door for a moment, before running at it and slamming into it with my shoulder. I feel the wood buckling slightly, but a sharp pain ripples through my shoulder and as I take a step back, I realize that I might have a fracture. Still, with no other way of getting through the door, I take another step back, prepare myself, and finally I try again. This time, I manage to break the door open and I fall through into the dark room.
“Elly!” I call out, getting to my feet and looking around.
Seeing no sign of anyone, I realize that Long Nose must have been lying, but just as I'm about to head back out into the corridor, I happen to spot a metal grill on the floor. Reaching down, I pick it up and find that it's part of a vent. When I look up, I see that there's a gap where the grill was pulled away, exposing part of the air-conditioning system.
“Great,” I whisper. “Now where the hell are you?”
Elly
Today
Reaching forward, I grab hold of end of the vent and pull myself a little further along. I can't see a damn thing, but I can feel all the dust and grime as I haul my naked body through the darkness. The sheer relief of getting out of that locked room has been replaced by fear, and I have no idea whether I'll be able to find a way out of the ventilation system, but at least I'm not still sitting back there, and at least I'm not waiting for Bob to decide what to do with me.
Hearing voices below, I pause for a moment. Up ahead, there's the faintest hint of light, and finally I crawl over and look through the grill. There's a corridor below, with two people walking underneath. I wait until their voices fade into the distance, and then I realize that if I'm ever going to get out of here, this is as good a place as any to try. After trying to ease the grill out of place, I struggle to twist around and finally I kick the grill, which to my surprise comes loose fairly easily, dropping down into the corridor below.
I pause, listening for any hint of voices nearby.
Silence.
Turning around in the tight space, I lean out through the hole and look along the corridor, but there's no sign of anyone. I grab hold of the sides and then lower myself down, before dropping onto the carpet. I have no idea where I am in the building or how I'm supposed to get out, so I make my way cautiously along the corridor until I reach the next intersection. I'm completely naked, without even a mask, and I just -
“Lost?” asks a voice.
Spinning around, I find a masked woman standing right behind me, wearing nothing but a robe that has fallen open at the front to reveal her naked body.
“Where's your mask?” she continues, with a hint of concern in her voice. “I think there's a rule, you know. You're not supposed to take them off.”
“Sorry,” I reply, trying not to panic, “I... I dropped it. It's right behind you.”
“It is?” She turns to look. “I don't -”
Before I have a chance to think twice, I grab her and pull her closer before taking hold of her hair and slamming her head into the wall. To my surprise, she collapses immediately.
“I'm so sorry,” I whisper, taking hold of her arms and pulling her along the corridor until I reach one of the rooms. Dragging her inside, I lay her down and then remove her mask and robe. She's unconscious but still breathing, so I slip her mask onto my face, wrap the robe around my body, and then head back out into the corridor, taking care to shut the door behind me. I don't know how long the woman will be out, but I figure the mask will at least make it a little easier for me to get about. Looking both ways, I finally pick one at random and head along the next corridor.
***
“Remind her that we place no limits on the actions of our guests. Tell her it's up to her whether or not she stays.”
As soon as I hear the voice up ahead, I know it's him. I freeze, horrified by the idea that after wandering the corridors for so long in search of an exit, I seem instead to have accidentally found Bob. I want to turn and run, to get as far away from him as possible, but as I hear footsteps in the distance I duck back around the corner. Seconds later, a naked man walks past, but fortunately he doesn't even notice me. Pausing, I realize Bob must still be in the next room. My heart is racing and I'm desperate to run, but at the same time there's a part of me that wants to end this right now.
Or at least see if there's a chance.
Making my way along the corridor, I move as quietly as possible until I reach the door. Peering through, I see that Bob is at the other end of a large, high-ceiling room lined with bookshelves. The place is almost like a library, and while candles are burning all around, there's a large red-curtained window at the far end of the room, looking out onto the city with the dome of St. Paul's visible in the distance.
And there are weapons everywhere.
In glass cabinets all around the room, there are what appear to be various types of knife, along with assorted other blade
s, vices and just about every type of torture device I could ever have imagined. I remember seeing similar items in Mr. White's home, but that was nothing compared to what's laid out before me now. It's almost as if I've reached the control room of the game itself, a room that embodies everything about the events of the past few years.
“I know you're there,” Bob says suddenly, keeping his back to me.
I step away, out of sight. My heart's racing but still I don't run. It's almost as if I'm drawn to stay.
“Let's not have any silliness,” he continues, his voice sounding calm and authoritative. “You can't escape from this building, Elly. If you try, you'll just end up being dragged back here, but we both know you won't really try, will you? You're a grown woman, so act like one. Come and face me.”
Cautiously, I step forward until I'm in the doorway.
“You showed great ingenuity in getting out of that room,” he continues, still not turning to me. He's leafing through the pages of a book instead. “You have the level of determination that one would expect from someone who was born to end the game. All in all...” He finally turns to look at me. “You're a very impressive specimen, Elly. The people who raised you did a fine job.”
I watch as he sets the book down.
“Nothing to say?” he continues. “Let's face it, Elly, you're only here because you want to be.”
“You're a murderer,” I point out.
“So?”
“You killed Jess right in front of me,” I continue, trembling with anger. “You had my parents killed too, didn't you? Or at least the people I thought were my parents.”
“I did what I did because I felt it was necessary. You'd do the same, to protect something you care about. We all do, we go through our lives trying to look after the things that matter to us, the things that have meaning. You can deny it all you want, but I know you'd make the same decision if you faced those choices!”
I shake my head.
“Yes, you would. You were raised to be that type of person. In fact, you could still...” He pauses for a moment. “You could still be a wonderful Lady Red. Instead of trying to end the game, which I will never allow to happen, you could embrace your role, recognize your talents, and indulge in everything the game has to offer. You've already come so far. Why not come further?”
“I don't want anything to do with this,” I tell him.
“And yet you're drawn to it. The game is in your soul, Elly. It's part of your DNA and even if you were to leave right now, you'd never be able to get away from the part of the game that lives inside you.”
“Don't you think you're romanticizing this a little?” I ask.
“Let me prove my point,” he replies, making his way over to one of the desks and picking up a phone. “It's me,” he says as soon as someone answers on the other end. “I want everyone on all the doors to allow Elly Bradshaw to leave. She's not to be held back or confined in any way, not anymore. In fact, see to it that a car is laid on, to take her anywhere she wishes to go. She'll probably be too paranoid to take it, but we must at least make the gesture.” He turns to me. “That's right. Elly Bradshaw is free to walk out whenever she wants.”
As he puts the phone back down, he smiles.
“Off you go, then. Run away.”
“You'd never let me leave,” I reply. “This is just some kind of trick.”
“Not only will I let you leave,” he continues, “but I won't come after you. Why would I bother? You'd just come back to the game eventually.”
“Why the hell would I do that?”
“Because you've done it before. Because it's your destiny. You did it when you went back to Mark after that car crash. You did it again when you went to spend that night with Mr. White. You did it just this week, when you came back from Amsterdam.”
“I came back from Amsterdam because I thought the game was over,” I reply, taking a step toward him. “That's the only reason!”
“Is it? Are you sure you didn't realize, in the back of your mind, that the game will never be over? Surely you knew that the arrest of John Sebastian Dunn was just the latest twist. The game was shedding an old skin, one that had become worn and tired, so that it could slither on and find fresh blood. No-one lasts forever, and Dunn had become sloppy. He had his chance to contribute, but he fell short, the way every other player in history has fallen short. Discarded skins, the lot of them.”
“If you think that I want to be part of the game -”
“And you're still here,” he adds, interrupting me. “You know you could walk out, but in fact you're coming closer. Did you even notice those steps you took just now?”
Looking over my shoulder, I realize that he's right. I've inadvertently taken several steps further into the room, when I could have turned and run. I could run now, but something's keeping me here.
“You can't help yourself,” he says, edging a little closer. “You won't admit it yet, but you want to be part of the game. On your own terms, of course, but that's fine. The game has always had to adapt. In my opinion, it had become a little rigid and stale in recent years, so a degree of upheaval might be welcomed. Why don't you take your rightful place as Lady Red and help me to get the game back on track? You can even help me to choose a new Mr. White and Mr. Blue. I've already identified several exciting candidates.”
“The game has to end,” I tell him.
“That's the one thing I won't ever allow.”
“I thought it was the whole idea. I thought the previous Lady Red was waiting for me to arrive so that I could -”
“She was misguided,” he continues. “They all were. They should never have tried to create you, but that mistake can't be undone. They thought they were making someone who could end the game, but what they actually made is the perfect player. I still think you have all the qualities necessary to become the greatest Lady Red of all time, if only you can -”
Before he can finish, I slip past him and hurry to one of the cabinets. Pulling the door open, I reach inside and grab one of the larger knives, before turning to face him. My hand is shaking, and I don't even know if I could actually use this thing on him, but I have to try.
“What are you going to do with that?” he asks. “Stab me to death?”
“Maybe I should cut your throat?”
“That would be poetic,” he replies, “but ultimately it wouldn't solve your problem. Deep down, Elly, you know that you want to play the game. In that regard, you're just like me.”
“No, I -”
“Then kill me,” he says, taking a step closer, and then another until the tip of the blade is almost pressing against his chest. “Don't make me walk all the way onto the knife, Elly. Plunge it into me, finish me off.”
“If I -”
“You have all the options open to you,” he adds, “but you're still not making a decision. You could leave, but you're staying. You could kill me, but you won't. What do you actually want?”
“I want not to be involved in any of this,” I tell him.
“It's in your nature.”
“I want -” Close to tears, I realize that he's right. No matter what I do, I feel as if the game will always be with me.
“Please,” he continues, reaching out and taking the knife from my hand, “let's not have any more of this unpleasantness. It's going to be so tiring if I have to keep pointing the truth out to you, when you could just accept things and allow us to move on. You know deep down what you really want, even if you're scared to say it out loud.”
“I want...” Pausing, I try to come up with an answer.
“To not be who you are? That's the only way you can ever escape. You are the game, Elly.”
“Then what...” I look down at my trembling hands. “What am I supposed to do?”
“The way I see it,” he continues, putting the knife on the desk, “you only have two options. One, you could spend the rest of your life running from the fire that burns in your soul, from the lure of the game. Or two, you
could embrace this part of your identity and live up to your fullest potential. And even though you know that running is what most normal people would do...” He pauses, eying me with caution. “You're not normal, Elly. You couldn't possibly be normal.”
“I want to be,” I tell him.
“A normal person wouldn't have gone back to Mark Douglas after she found out who and what he was. A normal person wouldn't have abandoned her old life to go traveling the world with him, even though there was a chance he'd murdered his previous girlfriend. A normal person wouldn't have submitted to the game, and a normal person wouldn't have taken on the challenges you were given.” He pauses. “We were monitoring you in Amsterdam, Elly. A normal person wouldn't have dragged that guy Scott into an alley and fucked him.”
“I was just -”
“Submitting to your true desires,” he continues, interrupting me. “Seriously, do you think a person of sound mind would do such a thing? You're a smart girl, but sometimes you act like a complete whore.”
“It's for the game,” I say firmly, even though I feel as if maybe he's right. “I only do things for the game.”
“Did you really have to force yourself to sleep with Jess and the new Mr. Blue,” he adds, “or did an unacknowledged part of your mind actually like the idea? Did you like the fact that you had an excuse to do those things?”
Shaking my head, I try to ignore the sense of doubt in the back of my mind, the part of me that thinks he might be right.
“Plus,” he adds, “a normal person wouldn't be standing here right now, talking to me. Think about it, Elly. I had your surrogate parents murdered, I cut the throat of someone you previously considered to be your best friend, I helped with the manipulation of your life that began before you were even conceived. You should hate me -”
“I do hate you,” I reply firmly.
“And yet here you are, actually listening to what I have to say. It's almost as if I'm the first person who has ever spoken to the real Elly Bradshaw, to the woman who has the game in her soul.”
