Game Over (Whithall University Book 2)

by Lisa Helen Gray

  A few other bits were written, but nothing that could help us figure out just who she was. It doesn’t even mention the sister’s name or how she died. I tried going in that direction with my research, but again, it’s like the girl didn’t exit. There aren’t even any newspaper clippings that announce another death with Claire’s last name.

  Even Claire’s maiden name is a no go. Jordan tried doing a background check on it, but all it led to were her medical files again.

  What has us all on edge, though, is the fact that the killer hasn’t taken another girl since Marie.

  I’d like to think that there not being another kidnapping is a good thing, but in my gut, I feel like it’s the calm before the storm.

  “What has you thinking so hard?” CJ whispers, pulling my back against his front.

  I smile and roll my eyes, even though he can’t see me. “How do you know I was thinking?”

  His fingers run up my naked side, his breath fanning my neck. “Cupcake, you woke me up you were thinking that hard. And you are tense as fuck.”

  “I’m just worried about everything that is going on. I wish I could do something.”

  His body stills behind me. “You aren’t still looking into it, are you?”

  I bite my lip, looking up at him through my lashes. “I—”

  “Cupcake, you said you wouldn’t look into it anymore,” he growls, his fingers tensing on my hip before he moves away. He jumps out of bed, grabbing his joggers he threw on the floor last night, and puts them on, covering his magnificent arse.

  I sigh, disappointed when the show is over. “CJ, I did stop. Then another body turned up. I’m not sure, it’s a gut-feeling, but I think we have something that could identify who is doing this, or maybe point us in the right direction.”

  He swivels so fast on his feet I’m surprised he doesn’t fall over. “Did you find anything?”

  “No,” I admit, curling further into my pillow.

  He groans, running his fingers through his hair, his abs and arms flexing as he does.

  Sigh.

  “So, you’re basically saying you put yourself in danger for no fucking reason?”

  My eyes go up at that. “Are you trying to say if I did find something it would be a different story?”

  He glares at me. “No! That’s not the point. I just hate the thought of you being hurt. Fuck, it kills me every time you watch that lion advert.”

  I sit up, clutching the sheet to my chest. “People hunt them, CJ. It’s barbaric. They need safe places to live.”

  He chuckles, walking back over and sitting next to me on the bed. He runs his fingers over my cheeks, brushing hair out of my face. “I love you, Allie. I don’t want to see you get caught in the middle of this. At least tell me your being safe?”

  Wanting to lighten up the tone, I glance down at his crotch. “Oh, I’ve been really safe.”

  He chuckles, his eyes dilating. “I’ve created a monster.”

  As he moves forward, the door crashes open with a thud and Willow’s scream of joy enters the room.

  I let out a low chuckle when CJ growls something under his breath. “Why aren’t you ready? We’re going to the beach.” She pauses, so I look behind CJ to find her blushing, covering her eyes. “Sorry, didn’t realise you were in the middle of something.”

  “But, Low, we don’t mind the audience,” he tells her, looking over his shoulder.

  “Bro, you need to stop,” Cole growls.

  CJ laughs as he rises off me, sitting up to face the newcomers. “She’s so easy to tease.” Pausing, he looks at her attire, the bag in her arms, and frowns. “Since when are we going to the beach?”

  I clear my throat and his eyes come to me. I slip my hand out of the blanket, raising it. “Me. It’s my first weekend off in weeks, so I thought we could do something different. When I Googled stuff to do, I found this place on West Coast beach.”

  “What cool thing? It’s a bit cold for the beach.”

  I roll my eyes. “We’re not going to sunbathe. They have this laser quest place there that you can kill zombies in.”

  “Like The Walking Dead zombies?” he asks, excited.

  I laugh, nodding. “Yeah. It’s new, but the reviews so far say it’s lifelike and they had fun.”

  He jumps up, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “I get to practice killing zombies?”

  I nod again, laughing harder.

  “You do realise zombies aren’t real, don’t you?” Willow asks, frowning at my overexcited boyfriend.

  He turns to her with a mock glare. “You do realise you’ll be the first to die when we have a zombie apocalypse, right?”

  “Hey,” Cole snaps.

  “Right,” she drawls, cocking her hip to the side. “I’m really worried.”

  He turns to me. “Cupcake, I want you to know that even if you didn’t know all the basic surviving skills, I’d have your back. I won’t let you get eaten like Willow will be.”

  “Why will I?”

  He looks at her with a condescending smile. “Because, little grasshopper, you wouldn’t even know the first thing to do. My first guess: you’d probably stay at home and lock yourself in. Second guess: you’d go to the nearest police station, and we all know how well that turns out. Me and Cupcake have everything planned out. Now I get to practice shooting them.”

  “I have Cole to protect me,” she states smugly. Cole looks at her a little wide-eyed and green in the face.

  “U-uh, u-um—” he stutters, but CJ laughs, cutting him off.

  “Cole will most likely die before you. His odds aren’t good. The guy can’t even watch a zombie show without feeling sick.”

  Willow looks surprised by that. “But you watched The Walking Dead with them once, remember, when I was sick?”

  He rubs the back of his neck. “Yeah, I did, but—”

  “He closed his eyes through most of it, but he left early to go throw up when they sliced a zombie in half and its intestines were hanging out of its belly.”

  She covers her mouth to hide her chuckles, but it’s useless, ‘cause when Cole narrows his eyes at his friend, she begins to laugh hysterically.

  “Fuck you,” he snaps at CJ. “And if you want to go kill some zombies, you need to get moving. We don’t want to be stuck in traffic.”

  He storms out of the room, and seconds later, we hear banging coming from the kitchen. I giggle, looking at my best friend. “He’s such a baby sometimes.”

  She laughs, but adoration and love fill her eyes and expression. “Yeah, but he’s mine.”

  CJ walks over to her, gently ushering her out of the room. “Go, we need to get ready.”

  He closes the door behind her before turning to me, a huge grin on his face. “Cupcake, you are the best girlfriend, ever.” He leaps onto the bed, landing on me—thankfully not using all his weight. “Do you think they have dummies there we could chop heads off?”

  I roll my eyes and push him off me. “Let’s go.”

  *** *** ***

  “Holy shit!” CJ yells, looking up at the big ‘Zombie Apocalypse’ sign above the entrance that looks like it’s written in blood.

  The place is located a five-minute walk away from the end of the beach. This side of the beach is closed off to the public. One too many deaths have happened due to the rocks, and with the tide always reaching the wall, it just isn’t safe. Further down the road is where more warehouses are located. From what I read, this one we’re going in used to house fishing boats and whatnot. Since then, it’s been bought and refurnished and made into this.

  I grab the tickets I printed off last night out of my bag, then follow the others inside.

  The lad at the front desk greets us. “Hey, can I help you?”

  “We’re here to kill zombies,” CJ tells him. I giggle at the sheer excitement in his voice. He really does act like a kid sometimes, but I love him nonetheless.

  “You got a booking? We aren’t taking walkins at the moment. The times are all bo
oked up.”

  “I’ve got tickets,” I tell him quickly, handing them to him.

  It was the one time I didn’t mind spending my savings, knowing I’ll probably have to ask my dad for some money if things get tight. He already bought our flat and pays our utility bills, but with the extra text books I’ve had to buy this month, and all of our out of school activities I’ve done, it’s been adding up.

  Seeing CJ’s face today was worth every penny, though. He’s always doing something kind and thoughtful for me. I wanted to return the gesture, to let him know I think of him, too.

  He takes the paper from me before turning to his computer, doing God knows what. CJ’s arms come around me from behind and I smile, sighing when he kisses my neck, just below my ear.

  “Thank you for this, Cupcake, but I could have given you money to get the tickets.”

  I turn around, wrapping my arms around his neck. “Nope. This was my treat. I wanted us to do something different and something you’d enjoy. If I hadn’t of seen this, I probably would have gotten paintballing tickets. I just didn’t want to have to go that route; I bruise easily.”

  He smiles, showing me those pearly whites. “Ah, it’s a shame I don’t want to see my girl hurt, otherwise we could have dressed Cole and Willow up as zombies and shot them with paintballs.” He kisses the tip of my nose before pulling back. “I love that you did this. Thank you.”

  “My pleasure.”

  His lips meet mine, and as we’re getting into it, the guy behind the counter clears his throat. We pull apart, CJ smirking down at me before looking over my shoulder at the guy.

  “Here are your bands. You’re up next. If you go through those doors and down the hall, a colleague will meet you for you to get suited up. There’s another six people joining you. I hope you enjoy your visit.”

  CJ nods, before his face turns serious. “Any tips?”

  “Yeah, don’t die,” he laughs.

  “Unless it’s to save me,” I mutter as we head for the doors.

  “Cupcake, you should know me by now,” CJ says.

  I beam up at him. “I know; you’d totally save me.”

  He frowns, but his eyes are full of mischief. “Um, no, I meant I’ll avenge you if you die.”

  I gasp, placing my hand over my heart. “You’d let me die?”

  He gives me an exaggerated eye roll, puffing his chest out. “If you’re bitten, Cupcake, there’s no saving you.”

  “You wouldn’t even try?” I ask, wanting to laugh but holding it in.

  He points his finger down his body, giving me a little dance of the hips. “And risk all this? No. The earth will need to be repopulated once I’ve killed all the zombies. They’ll need good genes.”

  At that, I burst out laughing, linking my arm through his. “At least I won’t feel guilty for letting you die now.”

  He stops suddenly, and I nearly trip over my own feet. “You would let me die?”

  I turn to him, smiling sweetly. “Well, of course. The world will need repopulating once I’ve killed all the zombies. Can’t let my good genes go to waste.”

  “You two are so weird,” Cole rumbles.

  “What he said,” Willow says, followed by a giggle.

  “Don’t worry, we already planned for the two of you. If we’re in a situation where we’re surrounded by zombies, we’re going to sacrifice you both to get away.”

  “Are you serious?” Cole mutters, while Willow glares.

  I nod, because we did indeed discuss this before we left the bedroom this morning. “We are.”

  “But we’re your best friends.” Willow eyes me warily, before groaning. “Oh, my God, you have me talking about zombies killing me, like this is going to happen in real life. I don’t even know why I feed your obsession.”

  I giggle at her expression, just as another worker joins us.

  “But we’d make such pretty babies,” I whisper.

  “I’m so going to feed you to them now,” she hisses back.

  CJ pops his head between us. “That’s treason. When we’re inside, you’re on your own, little one.”

  She rolls her eyes before facing the bloke, listening to his instructions with rapt attention.

  “You’ll be given body armour and a gun when we go through. The first course is the zombie apocalypse; there, you will have to kill the zombies to survive. Shots to the head, stomach, and back will take them out of the game. If you’re tagged, which they’ll be able to do by pressing various buttons on your gear, you are automatically out of the game and will be sent on to the next course. The next course is called Doom; inside that room is where you and the other members of your team are to team up to take out infected zombies. These zombies can only be killed with head shots. They are also sneakier and can shoot back. If you are tagged or shot, your body suit will vibrate, indicating to move on to the next level until that game is finished. The last level is called Survival; in there, you and your teammates will be against each other. There can only be one winner. Inside that room, you’ll be faced with death by zombies and humans. May the best warrior win.”

  I feel Willow take a step back and I grin at her. She glares at me, moving closer to Cole.

  “Does anyone have any questions?”

  “Do you need the numbers of their next of kin?” CJ asks, pointing at the three of us.

  The bloke chuckles, shaking his head. “Won’t be necessary. Come on, you can meet the other group playing with you today. Remember, when you’re in there, have fun. And girls, as hard as it is, try not to knee any of my workers in the nuts. They aren’t really going to hurt you.”

  Willow and I look to each other with wide eyes before looking back at him with raised eyebrows. “Why us? You should be saying that to these two. We can control ourselves, thank you very much.”

  Cole scoffs. “You went all ninja over a spider web and kneed CJ in the nuts.”

  I feel my face turn bright red. “There was a spider on there, I saw it. And in all fairness, I was startled when he touched me. I thought it was a spider and reacted. Badly.”

  CJ winces next to me before facing the bloke. “Yeah, I’d tell them beforehand not to get within a few feet of them.”

  I glare at CJ. “Hey! And you’re one to talk. You had a hissy fit over our waitress once, all because she had dark eyebrows.”

  CJ takes a step back, looking appalled. “They looked like caterpillars on her fucking face. They were huge…and black. And excuse me for pointing out that God gave us two eyebrows.”

  “CJ, you wiped at her eyebrows,” I state dryly.

  “They were freaking me out and it was a reflex thing. I couldn’t stop myself.”

  “You made her cry.”

  “I didn’t know they were drawn on,” he shouts defensively.

  I roll my eyes and turn back to the guy waiting for us. “You were saying we needed to be suited up?”

  “Follow me,” he says, trying to bite back his laughter. He probably thinks we’re crazy. No, I know he does. It’s written all over his face and the way his eyes drift between us all with amusement.

  “You two are too funny sometimes,” Willow whispers as we step into a dimly lit room.

  A group of six await us, already suited and ready to go. There are three girls and three boys. The boys look they just came out of a SYFY convention, their makeup grim, with blood and gore all over them.

  CJ suddenly stops, pointing at the group unashamedly. “You do know you’re not the zombies and this isn’t Halloween, right?”

  I smack his arm. “CJ!”

  He looks at me, puzzled. “What?”

  I shake my head at him and address the group. “I’m sorry, he has no filter. You guys look great.”

  The tallest of the three boys looks at me distastefully, but the one in the middle steps forward, a creepy grin on his face, not helped by all his makeup.

  “Allie?”

  I’m taken aback when he pulls me in for a hug, and startled he knows my name. I pull
back, feeling a little stiff from a stranger hugging me. I glance at him closer, trying to see if I recognise him. I don’t. “I’m sorry, do I know you?”

  “Here are your suits. Just pull them over your head,” the guy from before says, passing us each our own, and then a helmet.

  “It’s me—Ian. We share two classes together. You remember Nathan,” he says, pointing to the other guy beside him. Then he gestures to the other, still looking at me with that creepy smile. “This is my cousin from home. He’s come to visit.”

  “Oh, hi, Ian. I didn’t recognise you with all your makeup.”

  He smiles at me, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “This is so cool. It’s great you’re here.”

  “You know him?” CJ asks, his arm coming around me when I’ve finished suiting up.

  I glance at him, trying to read his mood, but can’t. His face is blank, giving me no clue as to what he is thinking.

  “Yeah, he’s in my Historical Literature and English Lit class,” I tell him, then face Ian and his friends. The three girls wait behind somewhat, staring admiringly at Cole and CJ. “This is my boyfriend, CJ. CJ, this is Ian.”

  Ian, still smiling, reaches out to shake CJ’s hand, but CJ stands there, unmoving.

  Ian clears his throat, dropping his hand to his side. “Well, it’s cool seeing you. Guess we should get started,” he says, rubbing his hands together before turning back to the group.

  I turn to CJ sharply. “What was that about?”

  He doesn’t even look at me when he answers. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “You were being rude. You’re never rude. Not so obviously anyway.”

  He laughs, throwing his head back. “Cupcake, the dude has a crush on you. I knew who he was when he mentioned sharing English classes with you. Alex mentioned he was flirting with you at the library.”

  I don’t know if I’m more shocked that he spoke to Alex, or that Alex shared something really unnecessary.

  It’s bizarre, and if I’m honest, I’m a little pissed Alex would twist something around that he knew was innocent.

  “Um, no, he didn’t. He asked to work with me on my project, but I said no, that I already had one sorted. I offered to help him, but he said he’d be able to do it. Or something like that. That was the first time I had ever spoken him. And he wasn’t flirting. I may be new to all of this, but I would have told you if some lad was flirting with me.”