Fear Games

4. Live or Die Trying

The four of us stood together in the parking lot, staring at the blood-written message on the back of my car. I pulled out my phone to check online to see if there was anything in regards to Haven's disappearance.

"The Fear Games," Brandon said. "Why are they happening again? What do they want with us?"

Eden nudged my arm and said, "Over there."

Our eyes fell on a mysterious figure standing on the other side of the parking lot. They were wearing all white--including the shoes--and their face was covered with a masquerade mask. And they were watching us.

"Is that...?" Clary started.

"I think so," I whispered. The sight was beyond chilling. Who was this person? What did they want with us?

Before we could do anything, the person ran off, and within seconds, they were nowhere to be seen in the mix of all the cars leaving the school.

"Have you gone to the police yet?" Brandon said, pulling out his phone. "I'm calling the freaking cops."

"No, you can't!" I said, reaching out to take his phone.

"Why not?" Clary asked. "You just saw the same thing we did. Someone's watching us. Not only that, but they just vandalized your car and could have everything to do with Damien and Haven's disappearance."

"It's not that simple," I said. "I'll explain everything to you later. In the meantime, let's all go home and try our best not to worry for now."

"How are we not supposed to worry?" Clary said. "When were you going to tell us about this?"

That was a good question that I unfortunately didn't have the answer to. I wasn't sure if I would have ever told them. "Just trust me on this. I have some stuff to tell you, but not right now and certainly not in the middle of the school parking lot."

Brandon and Clary obliged, leaving Eden and I alone.

"What are we going to do?" she asked.

"Honestly?" I said. "I have no idea."

***

About an hour later, the group met at my house. My parents were still at work, so it gave us some availability to actually talk about what was going on. Brandon and Clary sat on the couch, hands intertwined, while Eden stood next to me.

"Talk," Brandon said.

"It started on Friday," I said. "I found a CD in my car with a message on it. Then I got a text message, telling me that the Fear Games were starting again. The text was signed by Noah--Ryan's brother."

"He came to my house that day," Eden said. "While we were there, someone broke into my house and had been eavesdropping. We didn't get to see who it was. Josh and I decided that there was only one person who could help us."

"Rachel," Clary said for us.

"We went to go visit her," I continued. "She didn't tell me anything useful. She just kept saying that secrets were the root of Fear Games, not revenge. When we left, we saw someone watching us over by a black car. We couldn't see who it was but they were wearing a lion mask."

"Today was the first day that something really happened since then," Eden said. "We don't know what this person wants. Or even if they want us."

"Oh, forget that!" Clary said. "They clearly want us. Remember what happened last time? Everyone died except for Rachel and Isaiah."

Brandon was the next to speak, a little calmer than Clary. "So what do we do? Are we just supposed to play the Games?"

"And if we do," Eden said, "how many of us will die in the process?"