Page 186 of Chalk Outline

“Let’s divide and conquer,” Mitch commands in a confident tone, “We should cover as much ground as we can. Just open the doors, peek inside, and move on.”

“I know there are torture rooms calledThe Dungeons. Reeve has to be there. The security room could be anywhere.”

“Agreed,” Braxton says, opening the door. We stealthily walk back down the wide, long corridor.

Thick smoke begins to seep in from the vents in the high ceiling.

I move ahead, checking the doors on the right while Braxton and Mitch take the left side. Panting, I take short breaths as I keep going. Most rooms are empty, and some are equipped according to a theme, like the diner room and playroom.

It’s like walking through someone’s twisted mind; even when it feels like a childhood memory, it’s painted in violence.

My heart beats out of my chest as the tension rises.

The clock is ticking. I don’t know what this man will do to him, and it might already be too late.

I hope it’s not too late.

We can spend hours just searching.

I twist the handle of a red door. The room is a dance floor with another pink door inside. I run toward it and pull it open.

A woman hides in the corner, arms over her head to protect herself. “Please, I won’t kill you,” she pleads and snivels. “I just want to survive this round and get out of here.”

“Okay,” I calm her, “I’m not going to hurt you. What do you mean by rounds? Can the games change in the middle?”

“Yes,” she confirms in a choked voice, slowly daring to peek at me. Her brown hair falls over her face. Her eyes are tired and swollen. Subtle wrinkles mark her forehead and the corners of her eyes. She appears to be in her late forties, maybe early fifties. “They might. They don’t always change.”

“Do you know where the dungeons are?”

She licks her chapped lips as she contemplates.

“After the sixth gate, but you don’t want to go there. They always catch those who wander and torture them.”

“Who are they?” I ask.

She shakes her head and wraps her arms around herself again.

“Thank you,” I say, then rush out of the room back toThe Hall.

The rapid gunfire is coming quickly as I sprint down the foggy corridor.

I hit something, slip, and fall onto the floor headfirst. Liquid splashes all around me. A metallic scent envelops me. The taste of copper coats my lips.Fuck.I push up to my knees when the blood puddle squishes beneath my hands.

The incessant whir of a chainsaw grabs my attention. As my gaze slices up, a head drops to the floor with a sickening thud a few feet away. Blood drips down the cutting chain.

My eyes widen in horror as I glance around me, a sea of decapitated heads and body parts surrounds me.

What the fuck…?

Aghast, I yank the rifle slung over my back and curl my finger around the trigger as a shoe emerges from the thick veil of smoke. A man wearing a creepy, furry bear mask speckled with blood and torn pieces runs toward me. A bunny and a clown follow right behind him, carrying a machete and an axe.

I fire, bullets whizzing past them until I run out. One is hit in the chest, another in the thigh. The third dodges the bullets and charges at me. I discard the spent magazine and load a new one.

“Lights out!” a woman screams at the top of her lungs.

The corridor plunges into darkness.

I roll over, scramble to my feet, and run down the left side, nearly tripping over bodies until I’m yanked into a room.