Page 109 of Boys Who Taint

Suddenly, the bag is pulled off my head, and I look around. We’re in a giant warehouse, God knows where. The two guys next to me still have their hoods on, and they’ve pissed themselves while crying their eyes out.

The bucket of water is pulled away from underneath my feet.

As Apollo stands in front of me, someone else cuts through the ropes behind me, freeing me from the chair. The next two guys beside me are also freed.

“Stand up.”

We do as we’re told.

The two crybabies with their hoods still on are set free.

They immediately rush off, and Apollo looks us dead in the eyes and says, “Will you kill for the Phantoms?”

Apollo places a gun in my hand.

The other pledges are given one as well.

“Wait, what?” one of the pledges says, shivering from the cold. “You can’t be serious.”

“Who?” the other asks, but the Phantoms merely stare at the people running away.

Both of the pledges glance at the metal in their shaky hands, as though what they’re being asked is despicable. A test. A crime.

But all I can think of is Apollo’s warning. This is a place no one sees alive … unless you’re a Phantom.

I raise the gun to eye level.

BANG!

Another pledge joins me.

BANG!

The two runaways who couldn’t commit drop to the ground like sacks of potatoes. The last thing they ever saw was the jute they’ll be buried in.

“Application terminated,” Apollo says, snorting.

Apollo snatches the gun from the one pledge who asked him if he was serious, points it at his head, and shoots.

BANG!

The last one to dissent falls to the ground.

“There is no room for errors, no room for takebacks, no room for regrets. Loyalty is what the Phantoms demand.” Apollo tucks the gun into his pocket and holds out his hand to both of us. We surrender our weapons to him, and I look at the other pledge who’s shaking on his bare feet.

“That’ll be one hell of a cleanup,” he mutters through clattering teeth.

I nod.

Apollo holds out his hand to both of us. “And you two have paid the price with your souls. Welcome to the Phantom Society.”

CHAPTER 26

Aspen

It’s not oftenone of the girls from the sorority pulls me out of bed while I'm reading to go open the door. But when I get downstairs and step outside, I immediately understand why.

Grey is completely soaked, and his hands and clothes are covered in blood.