Page 196 of Let the Game Begin

I got back home at two in the morning and thanked Alyssa for the ride. I tried not to make any noise as I entered the house, even taking my shoes off outside so I didn’t wake anyone. But when I walked into the living room, I found Logan still on the sofa, with a thousand-yard stare pointed at a package that sat in front of the lit fireplace.

“Logan…” I murmured in concern, dropping my shoes near the front door and running barefoot to him. I didn’t even need to hear him speak to understand how upset he was.

“I found it out the porch, in front of the door…”

A delivery from Player 2511.

The fourth riddle.

41

Selene

I watched as Logan stared, petrified, at the letter in his hand.

Another puzzle. Another warning. Another nightmare.

That evening had already turned into a complete catastrophe—the only thing missing was this anonymous lunatic. My hands wouldn’t stop trembling; my fingers gripped and regripped the mask I’d taken off, but they could do nothing to grasp on to this disorienting new reality. I mentally reviewed the contents of the riddle that I’d just read with Logan:

White Horse

Two

Three

“Insanity” is repeating the same thing over and over again and expecting a different solution.

Find the solution.

Player 2511

Suddenly the door swung open, and Neil, maskless, walked slowly inside. As he tossed his keys onto the usual spot on the entryway shelf, thefamiliar feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach came back stronger than before, as if to mock me.

I took a closer look at him: he was still wearing his stylish suit from before, but his hair was messed up, his shirt was wrinkled, and he wasn’t wearing a belt. Presumably, he’d left it in that room at the mansion. He looked entirely like someone who had spent the night with Jennifer, doing what they usually did.

For a second, Neil stared blankly at us as though he hadn’t expected to find us sitting there on the couch in the middle of the night. Then he walked forward and spotted the note his brother was still clutching between his fingers and he understood.

He stopped a little ways away from me, and my traitorous heart sped up. Tension rose between us, and when I smelled her scent on him, I shuddered like I’d been hit with a blast of cold air.

“Him again?” He snatched the note from Logan’s hand and read it. It wasn’t going to be easy to decipher. Like the others, it would probably take some research and more complex reasoning. Neil seemed to feel differently, however.

As soon as he finished reading the note, he folded it back up and stuck it into his pocket. The muscles in his arms made short little movements as he did so. Logan furrowed his brow and I kept silent.

“I have a terrible headache right now. Let’s meet tomorrow morning in the library and figure it out,” he said. Logan glanced at me as though I might have some explanation for Neil’s behavior. But I didn’t understand him and probably never would.

“Are you… Are you feeling okay?” Logan asked hesitantly, clearly trying to understand.

“I just need a long shower…” Neil said, like we hadn’t just been issued a puzzle by a dangerous maniac. Like nothing had happened at all.

He turned, dragging a hand through his hair and slowly climbed the stairs, looking exhausted and disillusioned. Surrendered to a fate that had been his prison for who knew how long.

***

I didn’t get a wink of sleep that night. Thoughts invaded my brain and wouldn’t give me a moment’s peace.

Fresh morning air caressed my face as the new day found me out on the balcony with my elbows resting on the railing and the facial expression of someone who had been defeated. Defeated by Neil and the evil that surrounded him.

Soon, I would have to go to the library to figure out what the damn puzzle meant, and the thought of seeing Mr. Disaster, of spending time with him, stirred nothing but anxiety and anguish inside of me. I knew it from my stomach that throbbed, my tongue that felt thick and heavy, and the emptiness inside me. Still, a part of me didn’t want to leave New York.