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HALLIE

T he base camp is weirdly cozy. So far, I’m the fifth woman to arrive. A couple of the others are already asleep on the hammocks.

“Hi,” I greet the girl tending to the fire.

She has the same lingerie set on as me, just a different shade of green.

And the mask is the exact same as mine.

“Hey. You’ll want to read this.” She has a strong New York accent.

She holds out a sheet of paper to me, and I take it, perching on the log seat.

Congratulations. You’ve made it to base camp. This will be your home until the next nightfall. For now, you are safe. If you wish, you may remove your masks. Here, it’s time for you to rest and recover before the final chase.

Once the dark settles, a siren will call. That will mark the start of the Decadence Chase.

All you must do is avoid capture from the Hunter of Inferno.

The last remaining woman shall win the two-million-dollar prize.

If you are caught, your time not only at Decadence shall end, but your life shall end too.

Sweet dreams.

“Great,” I say sarcastically, handing it back to her.

The first thing I do is take off my mask; it feels so nice on my skin to let the air in.

“Why aren’t you taking your mask off? It says we can,” I question.

She doesn’t look up from prodding at the fire.

“I don’t trust them.”

“Oh.”

Yeah, maybe she is right.

She looks up, the fire reflecting in her eyes.

“But then, you didn’t die or get eliminated for doing it. So, I guess I’ll join.”

That was clever. Waiting for someone else to take the fall. She’s very calculated.

When she pulls off her mask, I smile. She’s pretty. She shakes out her auburn hair and rubs her hands over her cheeks.

“My skin is so dry,” she complains, and I laugh.

“Yeah. I didn’t see any moisturizer in the rucksack.”

Another girl creeps over and joins us, also revealing her face. This girl is blonde with bright blue eyes, almost similar to Lily. Tall and slim and a sweet smile.

“Hey,” she greets us, sitting on the opposite end of this log bench from me.

“Can we just address the elephant in the room?” the auburn haired girl asks.

“Sure?” I shrug.

“What in the actual fuck is this? Like, how did we all land up here? There has to be some sort of link or reason.”

I scratch at my scalp. She has a point.

“Should we maybe share details of our lives? See if we can find a common denominator?” I suggest.

“Yes. Good idea,” the blonde chimes in.

“Okay. I guess I can go first.” I pause. Should I be truthful? These girls aren’t my teammates, they are my competition.

But they are all I have in here right now that could be a potential ally.

“I’m Hallie. I’m from Pennsylvania. Born and Raised. I’m a cardiac nurse at the hospital. My dad is dead. My mom is otherwise occupied far away from me. I have a dog.”

I stop.

I also have potential links to the mafia.

“Any boyfriends or husbands?” The blonde asks.

“No,” I reply quickly.

“I’m Chelsea. But my work name is Red. I work for Big Dave.” I blink at her blankly.

“I work at a sex club, Hallie. That’s my job. Dave is my boss. I service only wealthy individuals. I guess a lot of them have shady backgrounds. But they don’t ever know my real name. I’m from New York.”

Okay. So there are no similarities between our lives.

“I’m Abigail. But my work name is Angel. Same as you, Chelsea. I work for The Preacher in Ohio. It’s kind of fucked up, I guess, but the money is good. Our clients are mainly within the church. It’s a secret club I work in.”

Well, there seems to be a similarity there.

“Are you sure you don’t do sex work, Hallie? It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. It’s good money. Easy money most of the time,” Chelsea tells me.

I shake my head.

“I promise you. I really am a nurse. Full-time.” I hold up my hands.

No wonder they are both so stunning.

“This doesn’t make any sense. We can ask the rest of the girls when they arrive and the other two wake up. There has to be something or someone. You don’t just randomly get stolen from your night’s sleep for this shit.”

Abigail taps her long nail against her knee.

“I got taken from work. They just strolled in and took me straight to a Range Rover. They had to have known the owner to even step foot in my club.”

This makes no sense.

How am I here? Was this a mistake? What could they possibly want from a nurse?

The only thing that springs to mind is my relationship with Conan.

Suddenly my chest starts to feel tight. Just thinking about him. Having to explain all of this. Would he still want me? Knowing what I’ve had to do.

What if he’s in danger?

“W-we should probably get some rest,” I whisper, and my stomach starts growling louder than my words.

“There is some food to cook up left in a freezer box. Eat first?” Chelsea suggests.

A warmth spreads over me.

None of us deserve to die here.

“Okay.” I smile sweetly.

“So, a controversial opinion...” Abigail scoots closer to us.

“I think the Hunter of Inferno is hot as hell. I just get this feeling. Even though his voice is distorted. I just think, to come up with this, he has to have one hell of a kink. Don’t you think?”

Chelsea shrugs.

“I don’t know. Some old, ugly ass men have some kinks. But then, the challenge was interesting.”

I swallow.

“What did you guys have to do?”

I don’t even want to talk about mine, but strangely with these two girls, they’re so open and honest, I don’t feel embarrassed. We are all in the same shitty boat here.

And we end up chatting about everything and anything for hours, until my eyes can’t physically stay open anymore.

I guess, as last nights on the planet go, this wasn’t as awful as it could have been.

But I’d rather be drifting off with Conan’s strong arms wrapped around me.