Malady (Deviant Games Book 2)

by Natalie Bennett

  “Now what?”

  “Start the car, silly.”

  “Oh, that’s allowed all of a sudden?” I snapped, eyeing Gavin in my rearview mirror.

  He’d stopped by the back bumper and was now standing there like the pyscho he was. Like they all were. I’d willingly climbed in bed with two severely fucked up men. This was the consequence.

  “There’s no need for that tone Rae. We’re not uncivilized monsters. We would never leave a beautiful girl like you stranded.”

  I pulled the phone away from my ear and found the speakerphone button, then placed it in the cup holder where mine should have been. Pressing the brake, I held the start button and the Lexus purred to life as smoothly as she always had.

  “What did you do before to make it not start?”

  “That’s not important. What matters is you getting here in a timely fashion.”

  I buckled my seat belt. “And where is here?”

  “A place full of fun.”

  “What the hell does that mean?”

  “You’ve got twenty minutes.”

  He hung up and the screen of the phone switched back to a generic background. I pondered where he could have meant. The answer presented itself in a memory, a vivid recollection of the first time Kaiden ever touched me.

  He said I had twenty minutes. I wasn’t going to waste a single one. I didn’t care to find out what would happen if I delayed a second longer. I put the car in reverse and hit the gas.

  Gavin was no longer behind me. I wasn’t sure where he’d run off too, but I was disappointed. I would’ve like for him to end up beneath my tires.

  Hide and seek.

  That was what we’d played the last, and only time I had been here. It’d seemed so simple and child-like then. If only I’d known what these games led to…

  There weren’t any cars around, leaving me to wonder where they had parked. I doubted they were maneuvering on foot. I let the Lexus coast to the chain that blocked access to the main parking lots entrance. The rusted KEEP OUT letters now seemed like an omen more than a simple warning.

  I honestly felt ridiculous driving all the way here like a bat out of hell. I debated turning around and heading out of town. I knew, though, that it wouldn’t be that simple. Like what just happened with my car.

  I didn’t know how many people were involved in this or what they were capable of, but one thing was for sure. They were dangerous.

  The entire amusement park was lit up like a beacon in the night. The Ferris wheel garnered more attention than anything else, its lights flashed a different color every few seconds. While in any other circumstance I’d have found it to be pretty, in this one I loathed it. The longer I stared the worse the sinking feeling in my gut became. The phone began to ring, prompting me to put the car in park before answering.

  “I’m here.”

  “We know,” Jace replied this time. “Are you ready?”

  “For what?”

  “The game.”

  I rolled my eyes skyward. “Sure, whatever. Let’s get this over with.”

  “Love that enthusiasm,” he implored with a laugh. “Alright, Simon Says…”

  I waited with bated breath until the line went so quiet, I had to check to make sure he hadn’t hung up again.

  “Hello?”

  “Simon Says, cut the engine and come inside. Leave the keys on the passenger seat.”

  The command irked the hell of out me. I had never been a ‘yes’ woman or a helpless fucking damsel. This lack of control made me feel hollowed out. I hated everything about this, but then who wouldn’t? The worst part was that it was all preventable. I should have stuck to the script I’d arrived in town with.

  I did as he said, albeit reluctantly, and got out. It was getting colder as the night wore on. I ignored the chill and began heading for the park’s entrance.

  “How do you feel?” Jace asked abruptly.

  “What kind of question is that?”

  “A reasonable one.”

  I cradled the phone with my shoulder and climbed over the chain. “You’ve ruined everything.”

  “Don’t you mean I’ve fixed everything?”

  I didn’t understand what he meant by that, so I said nothing. After a few minutes I reached the actual gate that let me into the park. I squeezed through and looked around.

  They’d really gone all out. It was like any other theme park in working order, but creepily empty. No wonder they kept the place so clean.

  Catching a flash of movement from the corner of my eye, I turned towards the gift shop and found myself staring through the window at yet another masked theater face. If I had to guess I’d say it was Portia’s crazy ass. The shade of her hair gave that away.

  “I’m in, but you probably already knew that.”

  “Get ready, this next part is important.”

  I looked away from the creepy bitch in the window, brows furrowing. “Okay…?”

  “Simon Says to save the man in the Cobra.”

  “What man? And what is the--.”

  “You’ve got…approximately four minutes. I’ll be nice and an extra thirty seconds.”

  I started to turn in a circle. “I don’t know what you mean!”

  “His life is in your hands. Good luck,” he sang.

  He hung up for the millionth time, leaving me to decipher what the hell the Cobra was.

  “You piece of shit!” I screamed at the phone. It took everything in me not to throw it onto the ground. I wasn’t worried about who this mystery man was, all I knew was I had to somehow save him.

  “Cobra,” I repeated out loud. That had to be a ride, right? Which one?

  They were all lit up. The various buildings, food carts, and park décor didn’t make getting around all that easy, but time was ticking. I spun back in the opposite direction in search of a park map.

  I couldn’t locate one. My eyes went everywhere trying to figure out which way I needed to go. They landed on two separate coasters in opposite directions. Cobra seemed a fitting name for a ride like that. Both were lit up, making it hard to discern what they looked like from my vantage point.

  Taking a gamble, I started running, heading for the one on the right side of the park. It was much further away than it appeared. I wasn’t going to make it. I never had a chance in hell of successfully doing so, not even if I’d known where to go from the second Jace ended his call.

  My arms pumped, legs moving at a speed that caused my calves to burn nearly as bad as my lungs were.

  It wasn’t enough. I heard the cart before I saw it, barely. The ride was so fast I immediately understood why they’d called it what they had. This thing was nearly impossible to keep up with. The coaster hit a loop and came to a dead halt. My lips parted in shock as a visibly discernible figure ejected from a center cart.

  My heart dropped as a scream of abject terror carried through the air. The fear the man felt was so potent you could taste it. I kept going, knowing there was no way someone could survive something like this. I had to be sure.

  The lights on the coaster shut off just as I reached it. I bypassed the mouth of a snake that would have led me to where the lines started and went right to the fence surrounding space beneath the tracks.

  When stuff fell from rides it usually wound up under them. Usually. I wasn’t sure if that included human beings. Searching frantically, I found a gate marked Caution and employees only and shouldered it open.

  “Is anyone back here?” I called out. If he was alive, chances of him being conscious were slim to none, but I still had to try. I hit the center button on the burner phone so that I could use its light as a flashlight.

  Overgrown grass brushed against my sweaty calves. Some kind of small bug scampered over the top of my left foot. I grit my teeth and ignored it, freezing when I spotted a leg—just one.

  The phone started to ring, I promptly hit ignore. Swallowing, I dragged my lackluster light over the person on the ground. He didn’t look right. No on
e’s body was physically capable of being bent in such a way and being okay.

  The leg I couldn’t see was bent entirely beneath him, in the wrong direction. His right arm was only attached because of the tendons that hadn’t torn when the flesh and bone did. I breathed through the urge to vomit, turning away the second I saw his face.

  I didn’t want to look again, but I wanted, needed to be sure. Blinking away tears, I turned around and sucked in a sharp breath. What the fuck was he even doing here? Mom said he was in Texas for his parent’s anniversary.

  I hated Clark with enough passion to blot out the sun. I’d wanted him dead myself not too long ago. He was the reason I was here, in Harmony Springs, to begin with.

  But I didn’t want this.

  Seeing his broken body didn’t give me any kind of joy, just a bitter feeling of sickness.

  The phone began to vibrate again. I answered and struggled to speak.

  “You lose, little mouse.”

  That pet name was infuriating. I found my voice and raged at him. “What the fuck is wrong with you? Why would you do this? How did you do this?”

  “You’re the one who didn’t get there in time.”

  “I never was going to make it in time, and you know it.”

  He made a non-committal sound in the back of his throat. “I won’t help you win, but I will give you another chance.”

  I began to move away from Clark’s body, unable to look at it any longer. “What is the point of this Jace? What is it you want?”

  “You know what I want. What me and my brother both want. You.”

  “And killing people with these fucked up games is going to help you accomplish that?”

  “Implementing the consequences for you not being able to follow instructions or win is what’s killing people.”

  “That’s--.”

  “It’s always been a game. You just didn’t know you were playing.”

  “Well, didn’t I lose? What now?”

  Slipping back through the gate, I walked away from the coaster, wondering if Clark’s parents knew he was missing.

  “Don’t sound so discouraged. We’re not unfair people. You’ll have another chance to get it right.”

  I stopped walking. “And when I do win?”

  “If you win?” He laughed softly. “You’re down one. You’ll have to do it twice.”

  Twice? How long were they planning to drag this out? Two people were dead.

  “Meet me in the center of the mirrors. You can find it behind the gift shop.”

  Everything about that suggestion sounded like a giant hell no, and as per usual, he hung up.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Raelynn

  It had the face of an evil clown.

  The gaping mouth and rows of white teeth made up the arch of the entrance. The words HALL OF MIRRORS was lit in golden blocky letters just above it.

  I couldn’t see inside due to the long flaps that hung down, but that wasn’t necessary to know it was exactly the kind of place I would never go willingly.

  The desire to run from this was still ever-present in the back of my mind, but they were able to get to Clark. He wasn’t of vital importance to me, but who was to say they didn’t have someone that was. What if they’d somehow gotten to my parents? Or even Kayla?

  Maybe I couldn’t save them. It was probably foolish to think I stood a chance. I mean, there were how many before me?

  How many girls had they done this to?

  I wasn’t going to give in this easily, though. I’d find a way out of this somehow. I didn’t dare contemplate what would happen to me if I didn’t. I would not be a missing flyer on a bulletin board. I tucked the phone into the cusp of my bra, and with a courageous breath and straightening of my spine, I walked inside.

  Right away my messy reflection peered back at me from a long wall of mirrors. I hadn’t been inside one of these since I was around nine years old. Colliding with a pane of glass reminded me that they were illusionary and maze-like. Stretching my arms out in front of me, I began to feel my way along. The shape of my body became distorted and twisted as I walked, a result of the mirrors doing what they were designed to do.

  “Goddammit,” I cursed, turning my head at the last second as I ran into another piece of glass.

  Inside the hall wasn’t as clean as the rest of the theme park seemed to be. Some of the mirrors were covered in a sheen of dust. I could only imagine how long it took to clean all of these and make them smudge free.

  The lights suddenly flickered off. When they came back on, I was no longer alone. If I ever was. I came to an immediate stop, staring at the mirrors before me, right at the reflection of another masked man. I knew this one. He was the one who came into my house while I was in the shower.

  “Need some help finding your way out?”

  “Not if it’s coming from you.” I moved as fast as I could, scrambling to get away from him.

  “You make fear look good.”

  “I’m not scared,” I lied, cursing silently as I ran into yet another wall. How the hell did I get out of this place?

  He started to come towards me.

  I think.

  I could barely tell where the next clear-cut path, never mind another person.

  “Why did you want to meet in here?” I asked, partially to distract myself. Mainly, I wanted to see if I could pinpoint where he was.

  “Because you lost. And even losers get their dues.”

  I was struck with by an overwhelming sensation of dread. He sounded way too close for comfort. I placed my hands on the walls on either side of me and picked up my pace. The lights off a second time. I took what looked like a turn and collided with another mirror, the force causing me to bounce back. A pair of hands landed on my shoulders, a solid body catching my ungraceful stumble.

  I jerked away from him and whirled around, pressing myself against the pane of glass I’d just run in to. It’s dark, but my eyes adjust enough to make out his masked face.

  “What are you doing?”

  He invaded my space, placing his arms on either side of my body.

  “I just told you.”

  “You didn’t tell me anything.” I reached up and grabbed his wrists, then attempted to shove him away.

  “You lost. I won. I’m here to collect my prize.”

  Understanding dawned a split second before he came even closer. I felt him through the material of his pants, how hard he was.

  “How can you even think about that after what you just did?”

  He took hold of my face, holding my jaw with both hands. “What you did.” Plastic pressed against my mouth, the comedic portion of the mask forcing me to endure this screwed up version of a kiss.

  My objection was muffled. I slammed my hands against his chest, successfully moving him back a few inches.

  “You’re sick,” I seethed.

  He laughed, grabbing me by the back of the neck when I tried to dart around him. He spun me into the mirror, forcing my front against the glass.

  “Do you feel how hard I am, Rae?” He didn’t give me the option of denying it, his cock pressed into me from behind, the hand on the back of my neck forcing me to remain as I was. “I heard his body break as it fell. God, the sound. Remarkable.”

  I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing I could scrub that revelation from my brain. It was horrible. After seeing Clark’s body, I could envision how it happened, could hear the bones shatter as he plummeted to his death.

  “Fuck you, Jace!”

  “Can’t, because I’m about to fuck you.”

  “Get off me!” I struggled against him. A squelching noise came from my cheek rubbing against the glass.

  “I’ll get off as soon as you do.”

  He used his foot to kick my legs apart, reaching around with his free arm to place one hand between them. There was nothing to stop him from sliding a finger inside me. The hiss I let out didn’t deter him in any sense. If anything, it encouraged him.

  I was st
ill sore from what he’d already done me. The remainder of my body didn’t feel much better. He added another finger, causing me to whimper.

  “I’ll make it better,” he soothed.

  My heart pounding so hard it felt as it was about to burst from my chest, I pushed back, freezing when he groaned. He began to rock his fingers inside me, curling them upward to press against my g-spot.

  “Am I making you wet, little mouse?”

  I shut my eyes tighter, ignoring the taunt. It was rhetorical. We could both feel it. My pussy grew slick from what he was doing, the way he pumped his fingers in and out of me and pressed his cock into my ass, breathing into my ear.

  The hand on the back of my neck tangled in my hair. He pulled until I was forced into an arch and withdrew his fingers. My eyes flew open when he brought them to my lips.

  “Suck yourself off me, taste what I did.”

  I opened my mouth to protest and he shoved them in, nearly gagging me. I bit down, glaring at him in the rapidly fogging mirror. I knew it hurt, but he didn’t do anything other than laugh, his facial expression obscured by his mask.

  “You like when things hurt?” He wrenched his fingers from between my teeth, leaving behind an unmistakable trace of blood. I grimaced, yelping in pain when he tightened his hold on my hair.

  I heard his zipper go down, felt him bring his cock to my entrance, pushing inside with no preamble. There’s a burn ashamedly more pleasurable than painful as he forces my pussy to accommodate his size.

  He withdraws and slams back in, keeping me in an arch that has me feeling every inch of him. I cry out, choking on a wad of saliva as he begins to thrust into me again and again.

  “Damn, you feel good,” he implores.

  Sweaty palms slip and slide all over the mirror, unable to find something solid to hold onto. Every punishing thrust has me rising on my toes, increasing the pain on my scalp.

  “You called me lots of hurtful things, Rae,” he rasped, reaching back around to toy with my clit. “Sick…creep…psycho…” Each word is accentuated by a deep thrust. I bit down on my lower lip, fighting against the pressure building in my lower gut.