The darkness disappeared in an instant, jerking me into awareness. Cracking open a crusty eye, a sloppy tongue filled my vision, sliding down the left side of my face.

Duke whined, high and squeaky and nudged my shoulder with his sticky nose. Wiping the slobber off my face and sitting up, I yawned, watching the doggy run to the door, scratching at it.

He wagged his tail and barked before letting out more high-pitched whines.

"Duke," I said before stopping. It felt weird to say that name after so many years. I never thought I'd ever get another dog, let alone one that looked just like my childhood one.

I thought it might've been a dream, but the sticky saliva on my hand told me this was reality. And my sponsor loved to fuck with me.

Duke ran over to me, paws clicking on the floor, and licked me before running back to the door again, wagging his tail. Woof.

Crap. He must want food. Why now though? It was two in the morning and the pact was over. Couldn't he wait until morning?

Woof.

Guess not.

I peeked at the eager puppy, knowing it wasn't his fault. It was biology's fault and the game's fault. I wouldn't be surprised if my sponsor or the creators starved him on purpose before giving him to me, wanting me to leave my room at this time. Fuckers.

My brain told me to wait until morning, but the puppy eyes tugged at my heart. Sighing, I reached for my iPad, using the cameras to search through the halls, rooms and contestants' bathrooms. All empty.

Everyone must be in bed. Good.

Crawling to my feet, I searched my room for a weapon. Nothing. The only thing that would even harm someone would be the hairspray Sebastian got me.

It wouldn't kill anyone, but it'd blind the hell out of them. I made a mental note to get real weapons. I should've done that earlier.

I hated having to leave my iPad behind, but it would slow me down and crowd up my hands.

"You can walk on your own, right Duke?" I asked him like he could speak.

He responded with a yelp and bowed his head. Or maybe I imagined the bow.

With my key in my pocket and the hairspray in hand, I left my room with Duke on my heels.

Absolute silence greeted my ears when I shut the door behind me, making me pause. Nothing. No sound whatsoever. Even the hum of the air system was gone tonight. It took me a minute to realize that even the cameramen disappeared. The halls were utterly void.

Swift goosebumps slithered up my spine, spreading throughout my veins like motor oil in dirty water. The quietness rubbed at my tummy, shocking my senses, making me alert.

I stared down at Duke, hand tightening around the hairspray can. "You sure about this?" I whispered.

He whined low. Alright.

The main lights were shut off until morning. Only the torch-like scones lit the hallways, basking the dark atmosphere in an eerily soft glow. So soft that shadowy corners appeared even darker than normal.

My head twirled in all directions, looking out for any living thing that could hurt me as I aimed the spray can, ready. Nothing appeared though. Only vacantness and gloominess glimpsed back at me.

Why couldn't the kitchen be closer?

My heartbeat scratched at my throat like a wild beast when they spotted a meal.

The quietness bred with the darkness, creating an almost invisible fog. A fog that choked at my senses, making every step toward the kitchen feel like I was stepping in thick mud.

The effect lessened, along with my pulse when the kitchen door came into view. Yes. The lights were off inside so I clicked them on, and a squeaky-clean kitchen captured my vision.

Fee never left it dirty. Everything was spotless.

Duke tumbled around, barking and chasing his tail.

"Shhhh," I whispered, placing the hairspray on the counter and Duke next to it.

He whined before licking my hand.

"Shhh. We need to be quiet," I whispered again before searching the cabinets.

No dog food. Of course, they couldn't cut me a break. Duke continued to whine, so I opened the fridge. Just a bunch of fresh foods. Only leftovers I saw was a plastic bowl of seafood salad, which had "For Layla" written on the lid in sloppy writing. Fee must leave leftovers for her. That was nice. Besides that, everything else needed to be cooked. Fuck.

Not that I would feed him leftovers anyway. Chi poisoned before and probably would again before this game was over.

The unopened pack of ground beef seemed like my best option. Cook some up and feed that to him until I could figure out a way to get him some real food.

Hoisting the package out of the fridge, the meat looked extra bloody and sticky. Tiny red streams poured from the bright pink meat.

When I raised the chef knife to cut off the plastic wrapping, the bittersweet silence that stalked me earlier evaporated like an ice cube in scorching blood.

Footsteps. Faint, but clear.

My nails dug into the metal knife handle as I swung around, searching for the source of the steps. No one. Nothing.

Going in for my second attempt to cut the plastic, the steps came again.

Brutal alertness prodded at my tummy, making it bubble like fresh champagne. Fresh blood jetted in my ears, matching the rhythm of my thrashing heart.

I wasn't alone.

A nanosecond later, the creeping steps happened again. But this time I could trace the whereabouts to the hallway behind me, near the pantry.

Someone was there. Playing with me.

Duke perked up his ears, growling low. His eyes watched the closed kitchen door before flicking to the dining room entrance straight ahead.

"Duke," I whispered, feeling the blood leave my fingers, numbness sinking in like a savage virus, consuming everything. "Shh." I needed to hear so I could see how close the person was getting to me.

The next steps creaked from the dining room before being followed by the footsteps from behind again.

Two people. Not one.

The sensation of an anvil dropping into the pit of my stomach radiated throughout my body as my breath constricted in my chest like a huge knot.

That word circled through my brain like an annoying gnat, making the numbness worse.

The footsteps inched closer, pattering against the floor before coming to a quick halt again. Seconds later, the noises repeated before pausing again.

They were fucking with me, playing with my emotions. And it was working.

A deafening boom smacked the kitchen door, making it flutter open before slamming shut. My chin jolted, prickling numbness forming in my mouth.

How did they — the footsteps crept closer again followed by the banging on the kitchen door again.

Three people. One behind me. One to the side. One in front. All exits were blocked. There was no way out of here.

Fuck.

My head circled the kitchen, trying to see who was making the footsteps, but they were still hidden from my view.

Gmie. One of them had to be her. Who else would try to off me so quickly? Unless it was someone else and I was just a victim of opportunity because they caught me alone.

No. This felt planned. Not a spur of the moment thing. It was her. And definitely Demo. The third had to be Chi or Aries.

Realizing that it might be Gmie caused my emotions to harden. I hated her. Showing any weakness didn't sit well with Tini. Not at all.

"Just come the fuck out already," I snapped, hearing Duke growl behind me. "Stop fucking with me like I don't know you guys are there."

Heavy footsteps came alive again behind me. A hooded figure stomped into the kitchen from the pantry. Dressed in baggy black clothing and boots, the paper-mâché mask of my mother's face glared at me from behind the hood.

An identical hooded figure emerged from the dining room, except this mask had red liquid caked onto the forehead.

Seconds later, the kitchen door opened, and another hooded figure with a mask sauntered in.

All three figures stared at me, standing still. Silent.

A cruel giggle scratched at my throat. "You really needed to bring your flunkies with you, Gmie?" I asked, knowing she had to be one of the three. Probably the smaller one who came out of the dining room. "Can't fight me on your own like a real bitch?"

Duke growled, nails skating on the counter as he backed into a wall.

None of the figures moved or said anything. The one with the red mask slid a shiny knife out of their hoodie pocket. A hunting knife.

"With multiple assailants, keep moving and throw them into each other. Or run like hell," Tim said in my mind.

That would work if I wanted to survive. Jookie brought that up to me earlier, and I wasn't sure. Death seemed like the easier path. Peace. No more worrying. No more bad thoughts. No more switching or playing a part.

Dying seemed scary though. Where would I go if I died? What would Tim and Angie do without me? Duke? And did I want to give Gmie the satisfaction of killing me? Fuck no.

My fingers clutched the knife before cutting the plastic off the burger meat like nothing was wrong. Calm. "If you're just gonna stand there, I'm going to continue cooking. You're boring me."

The figure near the kitchen door revealed a knife.

I shrugged, still cutting. "Still not scared. I've seen worse."

"Bitch," the red masked figure whispered before charging at me, causing the other two to follow.

The figure from the pantry got to me first, and I slammed the bloody burger meat into their face. They stumbled with a loud cry, the mask cracking and crumbling into jagged pieces while sloppy blood and meat covered them.

Before the pantry figure could catch their balance, I gripped them by the hoodie, tossing them across the island into the figure near the kitchen door. Both of them tumbled to the floor like dominoes.

When I turned back around, the red-masked figure reached me, slicing my side. Burning pain leaped up my tummy and up the whole right side of my body.

I bit back the pain without a word and gripped the knife off the counter. The sharp blade swung at the figure, digging deep into their shoulder.

A feminine gasp left the red-masked figure's mouth and they dropped the hunting knife. And before I could follow up with a stab to the chest, the sound of a gun cocking back hit the atmosphere.

My vision twirled toward the noise. Demo panted, burger blood pouring down her tanned face in thick droplets as she glowered at me with intense hatred. She pointed a gun at my face, finger dancing on the trigger.

Shit.

♟♙♟