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“I’m going to pair you off,” Mackenzie says.

“And then, I’m going to let my Acolytes hunt you down.

Your objective is to get to one of the cabins and lock yourselves in there till sunrise.

If you get to a cabin, you will let no one else in.

If you do, you’ll fail your hazing challenge.

If you don’t get to a cabin but manage to see the sunrise without having your ass loaded with BB pellets, well, I’ll accept it as a satisfactory result.

But if my Acolytes take you down, in one way or another, you will be branded and remembered as failures. Am I clear?”

Rhue scoffs. “Really? That’s it? That’s all you’ve got?”

Mackenzie stares at him for a second, then takes out a BB gun of her own from beneath the cape and empties a clip into his stomach.

Rhue cries out from the pain, and I actually feel sorry for him—it only lasts a second, though, until I remember him asking me to bend over so that he could take me like his father.

Bile comes up, and I swallow it back. This isn’t the right time.

“You fucking bitch,” he manages, now held up by the Acolytes. The pain on his face is obvious. I can imagine the bruises he’ll get by morning.

“Now, now, you did ask to get screwed. I’m merely obliging.

Besides, you’ve got a mouth on you, and someone needs to set an example,” Mackenzie replies.

“This is still a hazing, and it will still suck for most of you, because the Acolytes have a cart blanche in tormenting you, stopping short of torture, maiming, and murder. That leaves a lot of unexplored territory for them. Now, on with the pairs. Mr. Echeveria, you and Miss Willis will form one team.”

My knees nearly disintegrate. “Oh, no.”

“The whole faculty knows about that kiss you two shared. I’m told it was quite romantic, until Mr. Echeveria made an indecent proposal. Consider this your opportunity to follow that through, one way or another. Assuming, of course, you two lovebirds make it to one of the cabins.”

“No, no, you’ve got it all wrong,” I try to say, but I cannot win here. I realize that as soon as the Acolytes drag me closer to Rhue, and Mackenzie smiles coldly.

“We’ll find out in the morning,” she replies. “If I don’t find you in each other’s company the next time I see you, you will be disqualified.”

Cameron cuts in. The Acolytes still hold him back, but he has a pressing question—one I’m sure we all have, for that matter. “What happens if we’re disqualified, exactly?”

“Did you not read the fine prints on your application forms when you first asked Cornell University to accept you as students?” Mackenzie snaps. She’s losing her patience, now, or faking it really well. Either way, the others are buying it.

Rhue chuckles bitterly, looking rather defeated. “No one reads the fine print.”

“Okay. Well, thanks for the honesty. It’s refreshing,” Mackenzie replies.

“Then let me tell you what the fine print of your college applications says. The hazing ritual is an optional activity, but an activity nonetheless, supervised by the senior students. Failure to complete the activity results in a loss of sixty points at the end of your academic year. Therefore, when I said you’re my bitches tonight, I meant it. ”

I’m baffled that everyone seems to be eating up the bullshit Mackenzie just spewed, but whatever.

Looking around, I notice the night has gotten darker, save for the bonfire still burning.

The Acolytes no longer surround it, however.

They’re moving around and between our ranks, each carrying BB guns and plenty of ammunition.

They mean business. It’s their way or the highway.

Damn, this isn’t about social acceptance anymore.

The moment I got here, I said yes to participating in the hazing ritual. Backing out now results in failure. Not finishing the ritual in a manner that satisfies Mackenzie also results in failure. This is basically the first exam. Shit.

And I have to spend a night with Rhue to pass. Double shit.

There’s no way of skirting this, either. Mackenzie and the Acolytes will know. My guess is they’ve got scouts in the woods, cameras near and around the cabins, maybe drones, too.

“I think I liked it better in the olden days,” Rita mutters, clearly dissatisfied. She’s been paired with Alvin, whom she has consistently referred to as The Chipmunk, and not in a cute way. “I should’ve applied to a sorority instead.”

“Maybe you should have,” Mackenzie replies.

“But it’s too late to back out now, remember?

You’ll be a winner by the time this is over.

I promise. Now!” She looks around, noticing that the Acolytes have finished pairing us off.

Lindsey’s got Cameron. Rita has The Chipmunk.

And I am stuck with Rhue, my goddamn nightmare.

“We’ll give you a five-minute head start.

Then, we start hunting. I suggest you spread out.

Five cabins in five different directions. ”

“Which directions, then?” I ask, not wanting Rhue to bask in my misery and utter disappointment. “Are they marked in any way?”

Mackenzie shakes her head. “No. But that’s the whole fun. You’ll have to figure out how to get there before my boys come after you.”

“You’d make a great villain in Gotham, I’ll give you that,” Rhue mutters, and I’m this close to laughing. I can’t have him thinking I’m entertained. That would be even worse.

“I’ve screwed you, haven’t I?” Mackenzie shoots back with a cold grin. “Get going, Mr. Echeveria. Miss Willis. Clock’s ticking.”

Minutes later, I’m running through the woods beside Rhue.

Without any words, we know that our first objective is to get as far away from the clearing as possible.

If there’s a cabin nearby, we’ll find it.

With or without Rhue, I will pass the hazing ritual.

I will get my points, and I will do something that the old Madison would not have dared to even try.

“This is the worst night of my life,” Rhue says.

I bolt past him. “Try to keep up, at least. I thought you were an athlete.”

At least I get to piss him off. So, I’ve got that working for me.

Everything else just sucks every other way.

I can only hope that the darkness of this beautifully silent forest will swallow me whole and keep me hidden from the Acolytes.

Rhue has no choice but to tag along, though I can’t help but wonder what tonight is going to be like.

Will there be war, or will there be another attempt at peace?

I’m fine with the latter, but I can’t trust this handsome bastard to oblige.