by Addison Jane
Myth needed help.
And so did all those people.
But when I spun, I knew I desperately needed it too.
“You couldn’t just be a good girl,” my father whispered, the rage in his eyes forcing me to take a step back. I’d spent years wanting to stand against this man, but right now, he had my back against the wall, and I was scared.
Honestly, petrified.
Not just for me but for everyone in this fucking building.
Especially the group of people I loved.
“People are dying out there,” I yelled, cringing instantly as the tension made my head begin to throb.
“Yeah, and you’re going to do the same in here, and the world is going to think you ran in here to hide and got stuck.”
“You’re insane!”
He slammed his palm against the outside of the freezer. “And if you’d just done what you were told, it would only be your boyfriend and his buddies dying tonight,” my father roared back. He was shuffling on his feet, his hands reaching for his head and pulling at his hair.
This was not the composed man I knew.
He’d hit his breaking point, and I knew that wasn’t good for any of us.
“What do you mean?” I shot back, my eyes scanning the small space I was in. It was stacked with supplies, obviously used for catering when there were events on. I could see the long chef’s kitchen behind my dad, my eyes catching on a block of butcher’s knives.
I needed out of here.
“He was going to use you as bait after the ball finished,” my dad rambled, his eyes not looking up to meet mine. “When they came in, he’d blow the place up, they would be crushed.”
My heart sunk, but my gut told me I shouldn’t expect any fucking less from this man.
“But no, you’re too much like you’re fucking mother,” he hissed under his breath like he was talking to himself. “Couldn’t just stand by my side, do what you’re told, be that happy family everyone wanted.”
“What are you talking about?” I questioned, my voice already shaking from the cold. I took a step forward, a lump forming in my throat. “What are you trying to say?”
His head snapped up.
His hair was sticking up all over the place, his suit completely disheveled and uncharacteristically uncomposed. The chill was setting in, but I couldn’t quite tell if it was because of the freezer I was standing in, barely clothed, or because of the way my heart was sinking at his words.
“She was going to leave me.”
“No.”
I couldn’t breathe.
“She was going to take you.” Oh God. “I had no other choice.”
The words were like a punch in the gut, my stomach contents surging up into my mouth. I threw my body to the side, pressing my hands against the freezer wall as I spewed my guts onto the frozen floor. The foul liquid splashing everywhere. Another wave hit me moments later, and I gagged.
It felt like my body was shutting down. Everything was numb, and the world around me was becoming slightly foggy. My scars were aching, the pain building as I struggled to breathe in the cold air and collect my thoughts.
My mom wanted to leave him.
She wanted to take me away. And if she had, maybe things would have been different.
“You’re so done.” I laughed, a sob catching in my throat at the same time. “After tonight, everyone’s going to find out exactly who you are.”
Tears streamed down my cheeks.
They were uncontrollable.
I shared blood with that man.
I shared DNA.
It made me fucking sick.
Laughing maniacally, I licked the salty tears off my lips. “I hope you rot in hell.”
“Don’t worry, that’s exactly where he’s going,” another voice announced, and my father opened his mouth to speak, but his body jerked, his hands pressing against either side of the freezer, holding himself up.
Tripping on my own feet, I stumbled backward, my breathing growing faster and faster as a bright red patch began to grow larger on a white suit shirt he had on beneath his jacket. His mouth was opening and closing like he was trying to speak, but all I could hear was a sickening gurgle. Another jerk, and I gasped when he lost his grip on the doorway, and he fell.
His knees hitting the floor of the freezer with a jolt, sending me a little off balance. I quickly reached out, grabbing hold of one of the shelves to steady myself, and at the same time, watching my father’s lifeless body fall face-first onto the frozen floor.
His nose hit first, and I heard it crunch, a sound I knew I would never forget. Pressing against my stomach with my free hand, I fought to breathe through the shock.
“You’re welcome!” Jester chortled, stepping into the doorway, a gun in one hand, a fucking cleaver in the other. Three other large black-handled knives were straight through my father’s back, right up to the hilt.
My fingers were freezing, but I held the shelf tight in my hands, eyeing the mentally disturbed killer in front of me. My gaze flicked between him and the gun in his hand, my body already fighting those symptoms I’d become so damn familiar with.
The aching scars.
The fight for air.
I couldn’t give in to them this time.
I needed to keep my head.
“I thought he knew what he was doing,” Jester sighed, tapping the meat cleaver against the metal door. “Turns out, he had no fucking idea. So, I had to take over.”
Words wouldn’t form, I didn’t know what to say.
My body was cold, my brain struggling to focus, and I knew I needed to get out of here soon before shit got really, really bad.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me,” he announced, suddenly standing very tall, his eyes brightening like a light bulb had just flicked on inside his head. He reached down, trying to juggle the weapons in his hands, and at the same time, shove my father’s dead body inside. “I’m going to go and finish what I started.”
“Leave Myth alone,” I yelled, my words sounding slurred.
He didn’t even react, tilting his head at the body for a second before reaching down and slapping his hand around the knives, collecting blood all over his palm. Then he lifted it to his face and smeared it across his cheek before wiping what was left on the front of the gray tank he was wearing.
Then he gave himself a sharp nod. “I can’t wait to see the look on his face when he sees your blood on me.” He lifted the cleaver, bringing it down hard on the emergency exit leaver that was inside the freezer, something they had in case you got trapped inside.
Then I knew what he was doing.
Each breath was becoming a struggle.
My head was becoming light.
My legs weakening.
His chuckle echoed into the freezer, swirling around me, that high-pitched squeak reigniting the thumping in my head. I tripped forward, fighting to get to the door before he clicked it shut, but all I was doing was floundering, a haze messing with my ability to walk or complete thoughts. If Myth saw the blood on him and thought it was mine, he wouldn’t know I was here.
He wouldn’t know I was okay.
He wouldn’t come looking.
With the door half-closed, Jester paused. “Oh, yeah, this is for you.” He lifted the gun, and all I saw was that dark barrel.
The concrete scratched at my cheek as I lay on the ground, watching my blood seep slowly toward the edge of the pool.
I thought being shot would hurt more, that I’d probably cry and sob.
But the weird thing was, I almost didn’t feel any pain at all.
It was the other things I noticed more.
How much harder it was to take a breath.
How extremely tired I was all of a sudden.
How I wasn’t scared anymore.
I saw him pull the trigger. But didn’t feel a single thing as the bullet tore through my right side and sent me flying backward. I wanted to say his aim was just horrible, but I was almost sure he
was simply looking to injure me to maximize the pain as I bled out and simultaneously froze to fucking death.
My back hit the wall, and I watched him drop the gun inside the freezer on top of my father’s body before wiggling his fingers at me and slamming the door shut.
Then my knees gave way.
My body hitting the floor.
And there I stayed.
MYTH
“Get up.”
I groaned, fighting the heavyweight on my chest.
“Come on, Myth,” the voice taunted. “Get up.”
Blinking, I fought to get my eyes to open, but they felt so fucking heavy. That voice, though, I knew that voice, I’d heard that voice before, and it was one that instantly sent my heart racing.
All I could see was the ceiling. I was flat on my back. Each time I blinked, I caught a snapshot of the chaos going on around me.
People screaming.
The dust and debris in the air.
I choked, coughing hard as I fought for air.
“Fuck!” I cursed, a sharp stabbing pain shooting through my right shoulder and radiating outward. It was a break. I knew a fucking break when I felt one. Probably collarbone.
“Goddammit, I don’t have all fucking day.” They sighed, their footsteps coming closer as I continued to fight the pain and piece together what the fuck had happened.
The building.
The explosions.
Falling pillars.
The chandelier.
Laken.
Pushing Laken out of the way.
“Laken,” I called, hoping to hear something back while I struggled with the heavy frame sitting on top of me.
“Here, let me help you.” I looked up, my eyes connecting with my worst fucking nightmare. Jester grinned down at me, looking like something out of a fucking murder scene with blood all over him, his shirt, his arms, and his fucking face. He reached down, grabbing my arm on the most painful side and retching it up above my head.
I screamed, the pain so excruciating, I felt the darkness creep in for a second, my body wanting to protect me from the most intense fucking pain I think I’d ever experienced.
Turned out I was wrong.
Because then he pulled, dragging my body from underneath the awkward heavy chandelier. I was sick, twisting my body to puke on the dusty ballroom floor while my brain screamed and pleaded for the pain to end.
But I refused to fucking voice it.
So, I bit through my fucking lip, blood leaking into my mouth, the pain and metallic taste a welcome fucking distraction.
He dragged me out through a doorway and into a wide hall behind the ballroom, then he stepped back. “You’re welcome,” Jester chortled, throwing his arms out wide.
“Fuck you,” I spat, trying to figure out which way I could roll and which limbs had been hurt or which I could use. I only made it to my knees before Jester’s shin connected with my ribs and sent me flying onto my back again, the blow winding me instantly.
“Now, that wasn’t very nice,” Jester taunted, stepping over me so he could look down on me. He liked knowing he was on top. That was his thing. Maybe he was more like Trenton than any of us realized. “Your little girlfriend didn’t say thank you either.”
The blood.
Laken not being in the room with me.
Hell, no.
I roared loudly, swinging my legs and taking his feet out from under him.
He hit the floor with a hard thump, landing on his side but rolling onto his back. I lifted my legs, slamming my heels down into his ribs. A painful scream filled the hall, and I scooted backward, trying to keep my breathing even, trying to keep from panicking. But when I looked back and saw him roll to his side and fight to get to his feet, I didn’t miss the large knife handle he had sticking out the back of his jeans.
Pressing my good hand to the floor, I used it to force my aching body to its feet. “The fuck did you do with Laken?” I demanded, forcing my back against the wall to steady myself for a moment while I caught my breath.
I could still breathe, and that was all that fucking mattered.
As long as I could breathe, I would fight.
I would never give up.
Jester chuckled lightly as he turned to face me, his body curled over just slightly, letting me know he was hurting just enough to maybe turn things a little back my way. His eyes fell to his hands. “She was having this fight with her daddy. He wasn’t very nice to her, you know?”
“And you saved her, did you?” I spat with a sneer.
He tilted his head a little to the side with a thoughtful smile as if maybe he was considering it. “You know what, in some way, maybe I did. Maybe I freed her.” My heart was racing, the pain in my shoulder depleting slightly as the adrenaline took over.
Something in the doorway beside me caught my eye—movement, shuffling.
“Tell me where she is?”
He rolled his eyes. “Maybe you’re too late.”
“But maybe I’m not,” I threw back, pushing off the wall and planting my feet steadily. “You think you’re gonna beat me, anyway, so it doesn’t matter if you tell me where she is.”
The satisfied smile quickly dropped, his eyes darkened. He took a second, and I thought for a moment I’d underestimated his crazy and maybe he was about to fucking call me out. “I can beat you.”
“You keep telling yourself that,” I teased, pushing the button a little harder.
He was grinding his teeth, taking slow steps forward, inching closer like his body was aching to charge at me and take me down. He couldn’t control it, he was good, but he had too many flaws, and right now, I was playing into one of them. I laughed loudly, stepping out into the middle of the hall. “That’s probably how you sleep at night, huh? Tell yourself you’re the best. Tell yourself you can win any fight.”
His hand flinched. “I can.”
“So, tell me, because when you win, it won’t matter.”
I could almost see the thought ticking over, it was a challenge he wasn’t sure how to take. Either he told me and stood behind his confidence that he would win the fight, and I’d never get to Laken. Or he admits that he’s not sure of his ability to beat me, so he doesn’t want to risk me winning.
“She’s in the freezer,” he finally blurted out.
I clenched my teeth, quickly trying to figure out how long I might have been knocked out. How long she’d been in there. How long she’d survive in there. “The blood hers?”
He started to laugh, reaching for the knife tucked in his pants and throwing it to the side before rolling his shoulders, preparing for a fight. “Maybe you’ll find out.” He grinned, wiggling his eyebrows as he lifted his fists, ready for the battle of our lives. “But probably you won’t.”
He came at me, making it a whole three steps before the boys who were waiting outside the doorway stepped into the hall, and Jester skidded to a halt, his eyes widening. Repo, Shotgun, Ripley, Wrench, and Tyler held their guns pointed flat at the asshole in front of me.
His eyes flicked between the men at my back, moving from one to the next, his tiny fucked-up brain not quite comprehending what the hell was going on.
“Oh, I’m sorry, did you think this was going to be some epic battle to the death with our fists?” I challenged, holding out my hand.
Repo placed his gun in my palm, and I gripped it in my hand, flicking off the safety before leveling it directly at Jester.
My finger curled around the trigger.
He had nothing to say.
He simply stood there, looking at me in horror because he thought he’d won.
Jester knew he’d never beat me in a one on one, so he needed to hurt me first before he would be able to take all the glory. Winning in the ring and beating those that are better than him was his life, it was his everything. He wanted to be on top, and he was willing to do what the fuck he needed to, to earn that label. But that wasn’t how I fucking worked.
“You’re so focused on provi
ng you’re the fucking best…” I snarled, taking a step forward, the boys coming with me, “… but I don’t have a fucking thing to prove to you, to the world, to fucking anyone.”
I fired one shot, my aim perfect, blowing out his right kneecap.
He screamed, his leg giving way and dropping him to the floor.
“This isn’t a game to me. This was never about who was the best. This was about you threatening my family and hurting the people I fucking love.” I adjusted my aim, trying to ignore the way my muscles were screaming, my body telling me I needed to rest, that I was done. It was right about one thing, I guess.
I was done.
“And when you come at my family, when you hurt the people I fucking love… I’m not gonna waste my time fighting you.” I let a long breath out. “I’m just gonna kill you.”
I pulled the trigger.
Over and over and over.
Unloading the entire clip into his chest. I was sure I could feel my body relax a little with every fucking jerk of his, until the click, click, click, of the empty chamber pulled me from my haze.
Repo instantly took the gun, and my body sunk. Ty caught me as the pain started to take over.
“Don’t collapse just yet,” Wrench urged, already brushing past us and rushing down the hall, with Shotgun and Rip on his tail. “We need to get to that freezer.”
Laken.
Hold on, Rocky.
We’re coming.
LAKEN
Stay awake.
Don’t go to sleep.
Get warm.
You need to keep warm.
I sat a little straighter, a little voice in my brain reminding me I needed to get through this. I needed to survive.
“Warm,” I mumbled, pursing my lips and wiggling my nose back and forth. “Warm.”
The body.
I’d stayed as far away from it as I could, I didn’t want to be near it. I didn’t want even to acknowledge it was there. I was trapped in a freezer with my dead father. The same father who’d killed my mother, murdered the sweetest soul on earth and dragged me here, into the hell trap so he could leave me to die and once again not take any fucking responsibility for his actions.
