Welcome Lara and Noah,
How wonderful to have you here. You’re probably wondering why you’re so special. Why are you good enough to play? Why did I pick you? Well, if I revealed everything at once, it wouldn’t be a game, now, would it?
Let me get to it. I tend to ramble when I’m excited.
And I am excited, you see.
I’ve been planning for this moment my entire life, down to every fine detail. I even studied personality traits. How clever of me, don’t you think? It seems like a miracle, really, that you two were thrust into my hands. All this time and you never even knew I was there. But I was there. Always watching. Waiting.
My players.
My game is quite simple. You won’t forget the rules, because there are none. But, like all good and fair games, I need to give you a head start. It wouldn’t be right if I won without even a little fun, would it? No. Of course not.
Seventy-two hours.
Such a special number to me. It took seventy-two hours for my mother to bleed out when I sliced her entire body, the cuts just big enough for a gentle trickle of blood to escape from each wound, for her to writhe in agony as she prayed for death to take her. The human body can be quite a miraculous thing: It constantly tries to save us, even when there is no hope.
But that’s a story for another day.
You get seventy-two hours to prepare yourselves for my game. You can do whatever you want; there are no boundaries. Once your seventy-two hours are up, I’ll come for you, and, like the good little players you are, you’ll make it fun for me. You’ll run. You’ll hide. You’ll fight. You’ll try to escape.
But you can’t.
You won’t.
I’ve made sure of it.
I’ll hunt you until I finally decide to kill you both. I have great plans for how I’ll do that, but it won’t be a surprise if I tell you now. Just know—I like to play with my prey.
I wonder how you’ll make use of your time?
Tick tock.
I thrust the note onto the ground and push to my feet. “Is this some sort of joke?”
Noah stares at me, then pushes to his feet as well. “I don’t know. I’m not entirely sure I’m willing to risk it not being a joke. If seventy-two hours is all we have, I’m not wasting it playing guessing games.”
“This is a joke,” I laugh hysterically. “It’s someone trying to prank us. You can come out now, you got us!”
Not a single thing moves.
“Seriously, there has to be a way out.”
Noah scowls at me. “I walked a few miles in each direction when you were sleeping. Wherever he dumped us, it just keeps going.”
I spin around to face him. “That doesn’t mean it’s not a joke. I mean, this can’t be real. It’s too insane.”
He laughs bitterly. “Tell me, Lara. Which of your friends would think it’s funny to drug us, throw us in a dense forest, and leave us in the cold rain?”
Goddammit.
No.
I try to think of another explanation for how we got here and who might have written the note, but nothing adds up. God. What the hell is happening?
“Noah, there has to be another explanation.”
Noah steps forward, running a hand through his hair. “When you come up with one, I’d love to hear it. Until then, I’m taking it very fucking seriously because I heard the man driving when we were out of it and I can tell you, he wasn’t right in the fucking head.”
My voice shakes when I speak next so that my words come out scared and frantic. “Maybe it’s some sort of reality TV show or—”
Noah gives me a scornful expression. “Don’t be stupid, Lara. There is no fucking way it’s a reality show. They can’t do a single thing without a million forms being signed.”
“These things don’t happen in real life!” I cry, panic rising in my chest, heart pounding so hard I can barely think past it.
“Clearly you don’t watch the news.”
I clutch my hair. Vomit rises in my throat, and I drop to my knees and throw up. There is barely anything in my stomach, but whatever is there comes rushing back out. I feel like a tight fist is clutching my heart, and I can hardly breathe.
“This can’t be happening.”
“I wish for the same, but it is, and as far as I know, this freak is very serious.”
I look up at him, tears running down my face. “We’re in the hands of a serial killer?”
“Wouldn’t call him that, though I can’t be sure he’s never done this before. Still, from the sounds of it, he’s been planning this awhile and he’s been watching us. This man isn’t a serial killer, he’s a fucking psycho.”
I gag.
“All we have is seventy-two hours before this psycho fuck comes after us, so we need to move. If it’s a joke, we still need to move. Either way, in a few days it’ll be all over or our nightmare will have just begun.”
I shake my head so fast my teeth chatter together. “No, I’m not moving. I’m not.”
If we move, we could end up anywhere. We should be staying where we are—we’re more likely to be found. Isn’t that how this works?
“We should stay here,” I continue. “Where we can be found.”
Noah growls low in his chest and takes a step toward me. “Trust me, we’re not getting found. I’m not waiting around to die and I’m not going to leave you. Either you move or I’ll make you.”
“Why us?” I scream.
“This is exactly why.” He waves a hand around angrily. “Look at us. We are a broken mess. Now stand.”
I shake my head.
“Fuckin’ stand!” he barks.
I flinch and tears roll down my cheeks. I don’t want to stand. I want it all to go away. I want to close my eyes and just make it go away.
“Goddammit, Lara. That sick fuck will be sitting there enjoying every second of this.”
“He can see us?” I cry, eyes frantically darting around the forest.
God, is he really watching us? How? I don’t understand? My heart pounds as I study the trees, the sky, hell, even the birds. My heart feels like it’s going to leap from my throat as my eyes take in our surroundings. How would anyone set something like this up? Why would they even want to? How long would it have taken him to create such horror? No. No.
“If he’s been planning this for as long as he says he has, and is so sure we can’t escape, then you’re damned right he can see us.”
“How?”
Noah studies the trees. “Haven’t figured that out, but I’m going to because I don’t feel like dying. Now get up.”
I nod and push to my feet, tossing my heels, because he’s right, I can’t sit in the same spot and risk doing nothing. What help I’ll be to him in the state I’m in, I don’t know, but if there is a chance we can get out, I’m taking it.
Noah takes my arm roughly and pulls me through the trees. He’s angry at me. That’s not going to help anything, but arguing with him right now is only going to make things worse and at the moment, I need him here with me.
So long as he’s with me it’ll all be okay.
Please don’t leave me.