Page 14 of Insanium (Devil’s Playground)

I pursed my lips, momentarily caught in the tension of the moment, then decisively grabbed Aisha’s hand while keeping hold of Hael’s with my other.

Together, we followed Eryx towards the exit, a few steps behind Raphael.

Everyone else trailed behind us, Jerome, Liam, and Maya at my back.

It was like gathering a team of misfits for a high-stakes heist.

If the heist involved us all potentially dying.

As we pushed through the rear door marked with a glowing green neon exit sign, a sharp beep resounded, signaling our departure from the confines of the manor.

The outside air hit us with a crisp kind of early fall warmth as the sun climbed higher in the sky, its light bathing us in a deceptive calm.

We found ourselves facing the dense woods that sprawled behind the entire length of the house.

Just at the entrance of the path that disappeared into the trees stood a large brown sign in front of a scarecrow.

“ Only through walking the path of the prey can one truly comprehend the essence of the hunt ,” Maya read aloud.

“What the hell’s that supposed to mean?” Darrel grumbled, squinting at the cryptic message.

“It means we walk through these woods and find out,” Liam stated, his stride confident and unhesitating.

“Oh, I like him,” I remarked offhandedly, watching as he took the lead.

Hael shot me a sideways glance. “Does he need to go on your roster?”

I snorted. “Absolutely not. I don’t plan on sharing you, Hael.”

He looked momentarily confused, a wrinkle forming between his brows.

“Liam is gay,” Aisha explained with a laugh.

He blinked, taken aback. “How do you know that?”

“How could you not?” Raphael asked with a laugh.

Hael shrugged, a sheepish grin spreading across his face. “I guess he is pretty.”

Maya, who had been lingering a step behind, breezed past us, heading toward Liam, Raphael, and now Eryx. She threw over her shoulder, half-teasing, half-exasperated, “So am I. I’m not gay.” She paused at the edge of the path, turned around briefly, and called back, “Let’s go , Jerome.”

He grumbled as he trudged after her. “I’m coming, I just needed a second to psyche myself up. Walking through these woods … You know just because it’s daylight, doesn’t mean it’s safe. Ever seen Wrong Turn ?”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Let’s hope we’re not dealing with that kind of hunter.” Glancing back to make sure Aisha and Hael were with me, I followed the rest into the woods. Gradually, I heard footfalls of the others doing the same, albeit hesitantly.

The woods were unsettlingly quiet as we pushed deeper into them, the kind of quiet that made the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end.

No birdsong, no rustle of small animals—just a suffocating silence that clung to us like a second skin.

It felt like nature itself was holding its breath, waiting for something bad to happen.

I kept my eyes peeled, scanning the dense trees and underbrush. The lack of natural noise wasn’t just eerie; it was a glaring red flag. Liam, still just ahead, held up his hand, signaling us to stop.

“Everyone, be sharp,” he murmured, his voice barely more than a breath as he cocked his head, trying to catch a sound that seemed determined not to reveal itself.

I paused, my senses on high alert, but there was nothing—no whisper of leaves, no distant calls, absolutely nothing.

It felt like we were walking into a vacuum.

Aisha squeezed my arm, her whisper tingling in my ear. “It sort of feels like people are watching us, doesn’t it? Besides the obvious hidden cameras, I mean.”

“I don’t hear anyone, but I think you’re right.”

We walked for what felt like forever with no change in scenery or anything remotely exciting happening.

As the sun rose higher, so did the heat, making our little venture a real pain in the ass.

It wasn’t until we stumbled upon a small clearing that the unusual quiet began to make sense.

There, hanging from a low branch between two trees, was a solitary recorder with a label taunting us: “ Play Me. ”

“That’s not out of the ordinary at all,” I remarked dryly, breaking the silence as we surveyed the strange setup.

“No one go over there. Let me check something first.” Brandon turned and picked up a few sticks from the opposite side of the path we were on.

He tossed them one by one into the clearing.

They landed with soft thuds, undisturbed.

“Seems safe enough,” he said, though his voice carried a hint of doubt.

Jerome, shaking his head with a resigned chuckle, stepped forward. “Okay, I’ll bite. If I get blown up, I’m haunting all of you.”

He took a breath and rubbed his hands together, approaching the recorder cautiously. As he got closer, he grabbed one of the fallen branches and used it to poke at the recorder, and then the string it was tied to.

“Be careful, Jerome,” Maya called out.

“Yeah, let’s not turn this into a horror movie cliché,” I added, half joking.

“I think it’s good.” He tossed the stick aside and stepped up to the recorder, managing a nervous laugh.

“Here goes nothing.” His fingers wrapped around the device, and he carefully tried to pull it lower.

For the briefest moment it looked like it was going to come, then it shot upward, yanked by a hidden wire.

Simultaneously, the two trees beside him swung open like doors, revealing spear-like spikes that shot out with terrifying speed.

“Jerome!” Maya screamed as the spikes impaled him through the midsection.

The recorder blared to life by some unseen trigger, and a voice began to speak, repeating the sign at the entrance of the woods.

“ Only through walking the path of the prey can one truly comprehend the essence of the hunt .”

“What does that—” Kristy cut herself off and whirled around. “There’s someone … there!” She pointed as a blur of a figure darted past, disappearing from view as quickly as they appeared.

Jerome gasped, the pain evident in his voice as he tried to speak. “Guys … I don’t think I’m walking away from this one. Guess I’m haunting ya’ll asses after all,” he joked weakly.

I turned back toward him and frowned, watching as he coughed and blood dribbled down his chin, more dripping onto the ground in rapid succession, turning the greenery and leaves beneath him crimson.

The rods had speared him in the shape of an X, going right through his gut.

I followed the ends of them to some kind of contraption the trees were modified with.

“We have to help him!” Maya cried. She made to move toward him and was blocked by Eryx.

“Don’t be stupid. There’s no getting those things out. He’s as good as dead.”

I reached out and nudged him. “You need to work on your delivery.”

His gaze flickered from my hand to my face, and he smirked. “I don’t sugarcoat shit, princess.”

“First of all, I’m much more than a princess. Secondly, you could at least dip it in honey.” I gnawed my inner cheek, mind racing on how to handle this appropriately.

“I should’ve just stayed in bed today,” Jerome joked weakly, trying to lighten the dire situation despite the agony he was clearly in.

Another blast of rustling foliage carried through the air, this time clearly coming from multiple directions.

“What we need to do is move before whatever—whoever—is hunting us gets any closer,” Brandon stressed.

He was right. It sounded as if we were being surrounded.

“Damn it, Jerome, hold on!” Darrel shouted, stepping forward but hesitating as more closed in.

Two, clad in what appeared to be tactical gear adorned with menacing masks—one resembling a snarling wolf, the other a cold, emotionless skull—charged towards us. Hael’s reaction was instantaneous. He shoved me hard, nearly sending me crashing into Juno. “Move!”

I stumbled, regaining my balance just in time to see our group splinter.

The forest erupted into chaos as more masked figures emerged, darting between trees and expertly manipulating the terrain to their advantage.

“Go, Kennedy! I’ll find you!” Hael shouted after pushing Brandon to the side, just as an axe swung down where his head had been seconds before.

I caught a glimpse of Eryx and Raphael. They had already taken off, vanishing into the trees with the kind of swift, decisive action that left the rest of us scrambling to react.

“Kennedy, now!” Aisha’s grip was tight on my arm, her urgency pulling me back to reality. This was no time to dwell. We had nothing to defend ourselves with. My lone knife was no match for a gang of killers hidden in the trees.

Glancing back one last time, I caught sight of Jerome, his body utterly still, likely having passed out or worse, already dead.

A sense of relief washed over me—he wouldn’t suffer any longer.

I didn’t know him well enough to be torn up about the loss, but it still sucked.

That was the price we paid, though. If you couldn’t beat Judicium , it would most certainly destroy you.

We sprinted away, Kristy and Juno a few paces ahead, while Maya was forcibly separated from us by Liam, who had pushed her in the opposite direction for reasons I couldn’t fathom in the chaos.

As we ran, the air filled with the sounds of branches snapping, shouts, and a chilling silence that fell every now and then, punctuated only by heavy breaths and the distant thuds of our pursuers.

“This way!” Kristy called out, her voice strained but determined as she led us through a less dense part of the woods.

We navigated the undergrowth, the branches scratching at our faces and arms. It was a frantic, blind race against an unseen clock, with the threat of capture—or worse—looming over us.

Kristy glanced back at me, her expression grim but focused.

“We need to keep moving. They’re herding us like cattle. ”