Page 104 of The Game
The woods where Bethany and Meg—and likely countless others—were murdered, are dark and impenetrable tonight. There is no moon, no discernible stars. Only the stench of death and the cloying scent of pennies and iron. Keeping my tears locked away, focusing instead on my rampant fury, I step from the car, forcing my gaze to not jump to the asylum for comfort I will no longer find there.
The windows gape at me all the same, the evil he forced to submit under his power creeping back into every crevice, the spirits that haunt the empty, decaying halls weeping for their master. Perhaps his will join with them. Maybe someday I’ll be able to come back here and look upon it with the fondness he helped cultivate, but I know in my bones that won’t be anytime soon.
Stalking ahead in my heels, I choose my path with precision as Jameson and Tristan drag that old fucker into the depths of the woods. Their clipped voices on the ride here had warned me there would be others, more nightmares I will have to face tonight, but I am not afraid, not anymore.
Jonah stayed behind until the paramedics arrived, giving Teddy chest compressions that I know will do nothing to bring him back. Seeing that little smile on his face, even in death, will be my last memory of him. The softness of his cold lips lingers still on mine, my fingers brushing against my skin. My chin wobbles as a sob bubbles up, my knees buckling as I catch myself on the rough trunk of a tree. A warm, sturdy hand catches my elbow, pulling me upright, the giant looming over me saying nothing.
Swiping furiously at my tears, I cross my arms and wait for him to move ahead, to lead the way to what he and Teddy prepared a few hours before we went into that club, but he doesn’t move. The steady rush of wind through the tops of the trees is the only other sound besides the furious pounding of my heart, and the ringing in my ears from all the gunshots. Will I ever live a life of peace?
“Ellie lost a friend while she was…imprisoned,” he says lowly, the rough tenor of his voice now sort of a comfort to me. He’d been so calm when everything had gone to shit, commanding everyone with ease and precision under the most duress. I find I appreciate him, how steadfast he feels. Even if Ellie is mad at him, I think they are a good fit. She can be stubborn as a mule.
“Oh?” I say softly as he takes a step forward, shoving his hands in his pockets as I follow.
“Yes. A young man, only sixteen I think. I’ll allow her to relay the details, but they formed a bond that is…impossible to break.”
Chewing my cheek to stave more tears, my eyes fall to the slightly worn path below. A small smile forms, because I know the feet that tamped down all this brush. Whatever it was he had planned for this place, I know it was grand.
“I understand that,” I whisper to the woods.
“No one else will tell you this Alice, because people are always afraid to hurt someone who’s already hurting. But you will be okay. Someday, you’ll look back, and you won’t cry, and then you’ll know you’ve made it.”
Sniffing against the cold, I allow my eyes to jump up to his as he stares at me through the darkness, his eyes still bright, so sincere it almost aches. The three grisly scars marring his otherwise handsome face have their own story to tell, and I have a feeling he knows a pain that is deeper than most.
“You speak from experience,” I say softly. Snorting, he smiles, just a slight tip of his lips as we continue forward, the ache in my chest festering as my mind rejects the possibility that Teddy is gone.
“I do. I don’t make it a point to share my story. Not because I enjoy being veiled in secrecy, but because…I don’t want to relive it every day. Until Ellie…shit, I was doing that to myself anyways without even realizing it. But the first time she truly smiled at me…it was the first day I could think of what I’d done and not hate myself. I was only a kid, but I carried that burden forward like an old man.”
The mystery of this man deepens, but I don’t mind; I am at a point in my life that I want to allow people their own timing, their own secrets if they need to keep them.
“I’m glad she has you. Is she still upset?”
He chuckles, the sound deep and dark and melodic, making me smile softly, for I feel he doesn’t laugh often.
“She’s warming to me again now that she’s let me explain.”
“She always was feisty.”
“Mmm, yes, just like I hear you are. Two peas in a pod.”
I can’t help the grin on my face, even though it feels so wrong to smile right now. Maybe being here is bringing me comfort, for all the memories associated with it have to do with one person in particular. Before I can say anything else, the orange hued flicker and scent of smoke up ahead piques my interest, and I glance at Nick again, the set of his defined jaw even more stark as he grinds his teeth.
“This is where I leave you. I have a mess to clean up.”
Confused, I feel my brows furrow. “What about the information you need?”
Shoving his hand in his pocket, he produces a little leather bound journal, the cover faded and soft from years of use.
“Got all I need. That’s the thing about old people,” he teases. “They make it all too easy to find their secrets.”
A small smile tugs up my lips as he backs away a step, nodding down to me.
“Lean on them, Alice. They still need you, too.”
And with that, he turns and leaves, oddly silent for a beast like himself. The woods hush as I turn back toward the light, my heart clenching in fear of the unknown, fear I try to fight before I remember to lean into it, to let it sharpen my edges, to force it to morph into whatever I need it to be.
When I open my eyes, the greatest gift I could ever receive awaits me.
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