ESCAPE THE NIGHT PART 5 Read Count : 101

Category : Books-Fiction

Sub Category : Suspense/Mystery
The dinner bell clangs, and Joey's voice rings out over the hustle and bustle of the group. "Dinner is served, so head on into the dining room!"

Now's my chance.

As the other guests file into the dining room, Shane pulls Eva aside. She nods, and the two of them sneak off in the opposite direction. No one notices, and the next thing Shane knows, they're on the majestic staircase, heading into the unknown.

"This is so creepy," Shane comments, making sure to laugh a little to put Eva at ease. He knows the dark truth behind his statement, but he doesn't want to scare away his companion.

Fortunately, Eva's too busy gazing at the beautiful things around her to fully grasp the implications of what he's saying. "I know," she remarks offhandedly, a curious smile still shining across her face.

Shane's own smile disappears the second Eva isn't looking. He's trying so hard to keep his cool and remember his mission, but there's a part of him that just wants to run screaming out of this house, jump into Joey's time-traveling car, and never look back.

Snap out of it, he scolds himself as they turn a corner on the staircase. You're the Renegade. You're wild, unpredictable, laughing in the face of danger. You can't give up now. They need you. They don't know it yet, but they need you.

He gulps, fakes a smile, and faces the dark staircase ahead.

 

"Oh, the salad looks delicious!" Joey exclaims as he takes his place at the head of the table. So far, this party's been going great—everyone loves his brand-new house, everyone's getting along, and no one's gotten so much as a paper cut. A plus, Joey. Ten outta ten.

Everyone takes their seats. Lele takes a while to find hers, but eventually settles in next to Sierra. And of course, the first thing she wants to know is "So how did you get this house, anyway?"

"It just happened," Joey replies. "Fell into my lap." He remembers that day like it was yesterday: the letter, Arthur's announcement, the disbelief on Daniel's face...

Oli brings him back to reality. "Thanks for inviting us, by the way."

"No, of course!" says Joey, who's pretty much sky-high at this point. He's gotten more compliments over the course of fifteen minutes than he usually gets in a day, and it's honestly doing wonders for his self-esteem right now. Between that and all of the fun he's having with his friends...he really ought to throw parties more often.

"Wait..." Sierra's green eyes dart around the table. "Where's Eva and Shane?"

Joey gives the guests a quick once-over and...yep, there are two empty seats where the Renegade and the Journalist ought to be. What in the world...

The guests immediately launch into a chorus of "oooooohs," no doubt jumping to some very dirty conclusions. As for Joey, a part of him feels a little disrespected. He told Shane not to go exploring, and what does he (and Eva) do? Go exploring anyway. It's kind of insulting, to be honest.

If they even went exploring. He doesn't know the exact nature of the relationship between those two, but...

I swear to God, Shane and Eva, if you two went off to do...you know...I will never invite either of you back here ever again.

 

"You scared yet?" Eva teases Shane, not feeling scared in the slightest. Yes, the atmosphere does kinda remind her of a horror movie, but come on. It's just a house. Joey's been living here for weeks, and nothing terrible has happened to him.

Besides, the 1920s were a fascinating time period. She read up on it before she got here—flappers and bootlegs, Prohibition and jazz music...a decade of prosperity and social change. And now she's part of it. She's tempted to pinch herself, just to make sure she isn't dreaming.

They finally reach the top of the stairs, Eva still enraptured by the unbelievable grandeur of it all...and then she sees something her history books could never have prepared her for.

Someone's got a body.

"Wait." Eva stops dead in her tracks. Yep, that's a body all right, and whoever's got it just dragged it away down another hallway. "Wait, what?"

She's about to go charging in after it (still wanting to see everything, still not caring about the consequences), but Shane grabs her arm and pulls her away from the scene of the crime. "Whoa, whoa, whoa." He seems just as unnerved as she is, but at least he's managing to keep his cool (how he does it, Eva has no idea). "Maybe, uh..."

They stand there, wondering whether or not to run, pondering what this could mean for them and their friends, and then...the maid appears, blood on her face, a cold ruthlessness in her eyes.

Suddenly, Eva isn't feeling so brave anymore.

 

Oddly enough, the minute he catches Sarah the maid in the act of hiding a body, whatever fear Shane still had evaporates. Now that he knows who the enemy is, completing his mission and saving his friends suddenly seems so much easier than it did previously.

Funny how that works.

She approaches them, a sociopathic smile on her face. "The dinner's ready."

"Where's...where's the bathroom?" Eva stammers. Shane, sensing her fear, puts a protective hand on her shoulder. He dragged her into this mess; the least he can do is protect her from whatever the maid has planned for them.

Sarah ignores the question. "You should probably head downstairs." It's not a suggestion; it's a threat.

Shane turns to Eva, his mind shouting get her out of here, don't let her see. "Yeah, here, turn around."

Eva doesn't need to be told twice; she immediately makes for the staircase and doesn't look back.

Once Eva's safely out of the way, Shane looks the maid dead in the eye. "I know what you're doing." There's a hard edge to his voice, and his cold stare never leaves Sarah's soulless eyes.

She stares back, her very look spelling death.

After shooting one more glare her way (just to make sure she knows he means it), Shane follows Eva back downstairs.

He knows now what he has to do. He isn't going to enjoy it, but if it means completing his mission and getting his friends safely home, he'll do anything.

He just hopes this house doesn't get to them first.

 

The gates have been locked.

The exits have been barred.

The time-traveling car has been...taken care of.

Oh, those foolish little people, sitting there in the dining room eating their food. They think that everything's peachy keen (well, except for the Dawson boy—must take care of him ASAP). They think that they're going to throw their party and then go home.

They don't know how doomed they really are.

Comments

  • No Comments
Log Out?

Are you sure you want to log out?