Just the mere presence of them — just the thought of knowing that they were breathing the same air as you just ate at your soul.

For me, that someone was Layla.

I did so much for her over the last several days, and she couldn't do the simplest thing to save us both. My hands craved her neck, wanting to squeeze the life out of her. To feel her soft skin underneath my nails, digging in until liquid dripped from the crescent marks.

Her faint sobs echoed around the kitchen as the guards stomped into the room, picking her up off the floor, carrying her from my view and away from my reach. Damnit.

"Monsters! All of you are monsters!" Layla cried down the hall, her sobbing fading as they carried her away. "You need to be cleansed. Cleansed! Zimmie was right. I need to cleanse all of you. I will. I will do God's work. I will clean you monsters."

Monsters? Well this monster saved your life twice bitch. Violent rage feasted on my insides, festering at the thought of her getting away from me.

It was his fault — Jookie. He came between me and her. And he'd pay for that.

When I told him to take me somewhere, it wasn't out of likeness, even though I wanted it to come off that way. No. My invitation had an ulterior motive. I'd show him what happened to people who got in my way,

The remaining guards pushed the other contestants from the kitchen, the door slamming shut behind them. Only Jookie and I remained. Alone — together.

Just like I wanted it.

A flirtish grin absorbed my lips, cocking my head to the side. "Jookie," I whispered, tone raspy.

His sharp gaze fell upon me, taking in my gory form. "Yes, my bloody peach?"

Wandering over to him, I snatched the chef's hat off his head and tossed it. "Ready to go?" I asked, gripping his hand. His long fingers brushed against mine, a roughness tickling my softness.

A mischievous grin formed on his face. "Of course." Eyes dancing, he pulled me close to his side, ruining his white outfit when my filthy body touched him, but he didn't seem to care.

We left the kitchen through a hidden side entrance all the way in the back. After going through the tall door, two wide hallways greeted us; the right was brightly lit, while the left was pitch black.

Jookie led me down the left hallway, the darkness cloaking our bodies like thick molasses on skin. The hum of our faint breathing and thwacking hearts saturated the close atmosphere.

With my vision blacked out, I could only feel as we trudged forward down the hall. A toasty warmness radiated from his touch, slithering up my arm, almost making me shiver.

Most people would probably feel uncomfortable walking down a dark hallway with a guy who murdered multiple people in front of them, but I wasn't.

It would've been a calming experience if it wasn't for the unbridled anger tinkering in my muscles. Every part of me wanted to throttle the guy holding my hand.

"You're not gonna ask where we're going?" Jookie said, breaking the silence, dark amusement coloring his tone.

I leaned closer to him in the darkness, chest caressing his forearm. "Nope. I like surprises."

Hopefully, we were going somewhere quiet and deserted, a place where no one could hear screaming. Yeah, Jookie may have that phone that could electrocute my ass, but he wouldn't have time to reach for it when I was done with him.

A creaking clack pulled me from my demented thoughts, natural moonlight splaying across my cheeks and blinding my eyes.

I blinked, trying to regain my vision while Jookie pulled me through some doorway. Once my eyesight returned, my brown eyes scanned my new location.

Jagged rocks of various shades and colors melded together into concentrated crystalized sheets that fenced in the giant area around us, blocking out the outside world. The walls towered high with stocky cords of barbed wire lacing the top like messy shoelaces. Only the shimmering waxing crescent and twinkling stars could be seen.

"Beautiful, right?" Jookie murmured, staring up at the sky. "Even with the prison walls."

"Yeah," I agreed, looking forward.

The high wall in front of me differed from the rest. Instead of a wall, flat stones piled on top of each other like slices of bread, creating a hollow cave structure along with a protruding, spiky cliff at the top.

At the cliff, a frothy yet deep blue water poured downward, cascading into a giant rock-insulated pit that expanded over half of the room. The lunar light illuminated the splashing water, creating an almost sparkling glow on the surface.

The flat stone flooring crunched under my boots as I made my way over to the pit, toeing the edge.

The crisp night air filled my lungs, tickling my throat. It felt so good to be outside. I never realized how much I missed the simplest thing like breathing fresh air.

I twirled around. "Where are we?"

Jookie chuckled, letting out a soft musical sound. "You know I can't tell you that."

"Can't or won't?"

He grinned, ominous delight swirling in his violet eyes. "Both."

"Then what can you tell me?"

He furrowed his forehead. "That why you wanted to be alone with me? To ask me questions about your location?"

No, I wanted to be alone with you, so I could kick your ass. "Are we really alone?"

His eyes left my face to stare up at the stars, face darkening. "We're never alone. They're always watching," he said, voice dead of emotion. "But we're not on the show at the moment."

"Is my sponsor always watching?"

"Always," he said, lifting a brow. "Still curious on who it is?"

"Of course, but you're not gonna tell me."

"You should've figured it out on your own by now."

"How? It's not like you guys gave me hints."

He kicked the ground before giving me an irritated look. "You know who it is. In your heart you do, but your brain won't let you fathom it."

"That's not true." I clenched my fist, feeling my simmering anger turn into scalding fury.

"Really?"

"Really." My brain didn't want to deal with that right now. I just wanted to punch that smug grin off his face, but not yet. I needed him to drop his guard a little bit more. "Can you tell me who Tiran's sponsor was then?"

The question nagged at my brain over the last couple of days. Who put him here?

He shrugged. "Since he's dead, there's no harm in telling you," he said. "It was his father."

My heart stopped. "What?" His own father? People's own families put them here?

A delicious grin covered his lips. "Tiran's father was tired of covering for his ass. Tiran was getting more and more out of control, causing a real stir in the community."

"Shit."

"And Tiran's father wants to run for governor soon, and with his son being a rapist and him covering up for him constantly..."

"Someone might find that out, and his political career would be done," I finished.

"Right. His competitors would kill for that sort of dirt, and he couldn't risk it. Especially with Tiran still doing it."

"So, he put his own son on a killing game show?"

Jookie let out a bitter cackle. "Why not? You get rid of your son and get money in the process."

"Money?"

"This whole thing is about money. Sponsors get money for offering up qualified contestants, and the longer their contestant stays in the game, the more money they get. Along with that, they can place bets along with the viewers." He laughed, a tight somber sound. "It's all about the money, my precious peach. And the owners are fucked-up individuals."

"Okay, but what if Tiran did survive the game? What was his father going to do then?"

"I don't know," he said with a half-shrug. "And don't really care. I guess he never expected him to survive." Then Jookie grinned, that shit-eating grin that made his eyes gleam. "And he didn't."

Multiple thoughts boggled at my brain, nagging me to explore them. Tiran's own father put him here. Could that mean that my family put me here? Tim or Angie?

No, they loved me. And how would they even know about a game like this? This type of operation involved rich society people like Tiran's father. Tim and Angie didn't have the means to affiliate with people like that, but still—....

Sharp tings of pain zapped at my scalp, making me tremble. I was thinking too hard. It fucking bugged me that I couldn't figure it out who my sponsor was, but that was an issue for another time.

"Still there?" Jookie asked.

"Yeah."

"So, did you get enough info out of me?" he asked, eyes looking upwards again.

"That wasn't my intention."

"What was your intention?"

"To catch you off guard." My fist swung at his face in a side punch, but he blocked the hit with his forearm, eyes still looking above. He didn't even flinch. It was like he knew it was coming.

My eyes widened. "What?" I whispered.

A maniacal laugh left his throat. "I'm never off my guard, my sneaky peach." He cocked his forearm downward, using his fingers to clasp my wrist. "I knew your true motives from the start."

♟♙♟