The flashing above me continues, but down the dark hall, I see a light.
The way out.
With one final glance down at my mother, I find her now standing with Mia beside her. Their eyes are dark and their bodies covered in blood and bruises.
"Kill him," Mia says, both of them taking a step toward me. "Kill him. Kill him. Kill him," she chants.
"No, no. It's me. It's Bexley. I'll keep you safe. Let me look after you."
"Kill him. Kill him," Mom adds.
Holy shit.
They both pull knives from behind their backs and run at me.
I stumble on the rough ground beneath me. Glancing down, I find I'm running over rocks, but I have no time to hesitate. I can hear their chants getting louder.
I take off, scrambling over the larger rocks.
Finally, I get over to the other side, but all that greets me is a giant red lake.
I look over my shoulder, not seeing them behind me.
But I know I can't go back.
I prepare to jump, and it's then I see the bodies lying face down in the water… and I realize it's not water, it's blood.
I retch as the chant hits my ears once more, and I know that I can either jump or I let them kill me.
Or I could push them…
Standing tall, I wait for them to approach me with their knives raised, ready to plunge them into my chest.
Mom lunges first, and I manage to grab her arm and throw her over the side, into the pool of death beneath us.
"This was always how it was meant to end, Bexley. It's all a game."
Her final words echo around me.
All a game.
All a game.
The second she moves toward me, I act on instinct, and she follows Mom over the edge. But the second I realize what I've just done, I dive in after her.
Not Mia. Not my Mia.
I finally find her lying face down amongst all the other bodies, and I carry her from the lake and lay her down on a bed in a room I find.
"It's okay, little mouse. You're safe. Come back to me, please. I'm sorry."
Footsteps approach from behind me, and when I look back I find the Electi walking toward us.
"Help her, Cade, please. You can't let her die."
"You killed her. You killed my prosapia," he roars, throwing me to the floor so he can tend to her.
My head bounces off the floor, and I have to blink a few times to get my vision to focus. When I do, I find Mia alive and awake, straddling Cade's naked body as he thrusts up into her, sucking her nipples into his mouth. Ashton walks up behind her, wraps his fists around her hair and rips her head back to him as he forces his cock into her ass.
I expect her to cry out in pain, but when a scream rips from her throat, it's with pleasure.
She sucks Brandon off while wrapping her fist around Channing’s cock, taking everything they give to her.
"No," I scream. "Get off her."
Cade's hooded eyes turn to me. "Mia is exactly where she belongs. And you love it, too, don't you, babe?"
"Harder," she cries, and I recognize her tells. She's close.
She's going to come for them.
"Nooo." My heart shatters in my chest as I watch her fall apart and they continue using her.
Dropping into the corner, I close my eyes and will it all away.
When I wake again, I'm in my dorm room.
Holy fuck, it was just a dream.
My chest heaves, my skin dripping with sweat, but when I look down at my hands, they're covered in blood.
What the—
A knock sounds out at the door, and I quickly go to it, hoping it's Mia and that none of that really happened.
I need to see with my own two eyes that she's okay. That I didn't kill her, that they didn't— My stomach turns over at the thought of them all taking her like that.
Swinging the door open, my heart drops into my feet, because it's Mom and Mia again… only their skin is hanging off their bodies, blood dripping everywhere, and they're still wielding their knives.
I back up into my dorm room, but I never hit the wall. Instead, I fall over the edge, and I just keep falling… until I land in a dark room with a person strapped to a chair in the center. There’s a bag over their head, and their limbs are restrained to the legs.
"This is your final test, Easton. You do this, and you join us as Electi. You become a part of everything we and this town have.
"You'll be legendary and go down in history as we take over this town and show everyone how it should be run."
Cade steps up beside me and hands me a knife.
"W-what do I have to do?"
"I want her heart. I want what you have. Then, and only then will this end."
He moves, stands behind the person, and pulls the bag off.
Mia's eyes are wide as she stares at me. She's trying to scream, but she's gagged, and I can't make out what she's trying to say.
"No, I can't. I can't."
"This won't end until you do."
Others step into the room—the Electi, Mom, Dad, Alex and Remi.
"You do it, or I kill them." He raises a gun along with the rest of the Electi, and they aim them right at those I love.
It's her or them.
“What's it going to be?"
"Holy fucking shit," I pant. "Oh my God." I drop my head into my hands, feeling the tears streaming down my face.
When I finally look up, I find Alex curled in a ball in the corner of the room that's now fully illuminated, shaking and sobbing his heart out.
"Alex," I say, but he doesn't stir. "ALEX," I shout as loud as I can.
But again, no reaction.
He's still lost. Still living out his worst nightmares and being chased by his demons.
Assuming that this right now is
