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I am startled awake in Joel’s arms on the couch as someone knocks on my apartment door. “Fuck, what time is it?” I sniffle, wiping tears from my eyes as I grab Joel’s phone off the coffee table to check the time.

I must have cried in my sleep. I just want this nightmare to be over.

“Be right there!” I yell, adjusting my hair into a messy bun before heading to the door.

“Wha-what? What’s going on?” he asks, still sounding fast asleep as he sits up and wipes his eyes with his palms.

“We overslept; It’s noon,” I answer before there’s another knock on the door.

“Shit, I’ll get it,” he says as he straightens off the couch and shuffles to the door while I start on some much-needed coffee in the kitchen. I hear the door open, but silence follows.

What the fuck?

I peer at the open door with curiosity and concern running in my mind, to find Joel hugging Alex. “Oh, thank God you’re safe. We were worried sick!” he says as he steps aside and allows a very confused Alex to enter.

Alex flinches as Joel’s hand brushes down her back as she walks into the room and my lips start trembling, feeling the tears burn behind my eyes already.

Shit. Something happened, didn’t it? Where has she been all night? She looks out of it…

Finally, I croak out the question that hangs heavily in the air around us. “Where were you last night?”

Alex looks almost disoriented by the question as she answers, “The um—The thing you planned for me was last night. Don’t you remember? Those actors you hired—”

She stops talking as she looks at me, her brows drawing together as my face morphs into an expression of pure horror.

“I didn’t hire anyone, Alex. Joel…he told me not to,” I stutter, my voice laced with panic as bile rises in my throat.

“You told him?! That was my deepest, darkest fantasy! How could you?” She barks and crosses her arms over her chest as she flashes me a pained, betrayed look. Joel steps toward her, coming to my defense, and looks her up and down with white-hot anger blazing in his gaze.

“As soon as she told me what you two were planning, I made her promise not to follow through. This idiotic ‘fake kidnapping’ fantasy shit was almost planned for next weekend. Over my dead body! There’s no way in fucking hell I’m letting you do something so stupid—fake or not,” Joel growls as he slams his fist into the door beside her head.

“What the fuck is wrong with you? Why would you want to put yourself in that kind of danger?!”

“Wait… What? What are you talking about? The kidnapping was last night! ” Alex hisses, her anger directed at me as my confusion and anxiety get the best of me.

“T-they mentioned having a—a list of ideas you gave them,” She stutters, frantically flicking her gaze between us.

What?!

My eyes widen as I audibly swallow through my erratic breaths, trying not to crumble and cry.

Panic sets in as I realize the gravity of the situation. The unspoken fear hangs heavy in the air, leaving me with countless unanswered questions about who took Alex and what they might have done to her. The silence amplifies the sense of uncertainty and horror, heightening the tension in the room.

“They?! I didn’t even get that far, Lexi. I didn’t give the company any details. Joel stopped me before I could send them anything other than the initial email asking for availability.”

Why is her voice so high and shaky? Did she just fucking lie to us?

Joel and I share a look, and our eyes widen as we turn back to Alex. The air is filled with nervous, terrified energy so strong; I can hardly breathe. Joel looks like he is about to lose his mind with anger as he breathes heavily with his fists clenched at his sides.

No words are spoken. Time seems to move slower, and my imagination of the wild night my best friend had is shrouded with uncertainty and horror.

I have so many questions. Who took her? What did they do? What happened?

Saturday, 12:10 PM

I feel my phone vibrate, and I pull it from my bag. It’s a message from an unknown number. The body of the text contains a link to a video file. Molly and Joel observe with worried eyes as my brows knit together and I nervously open the message, making sure the phone is muted.

Unknown:

?VID_2048748283_2647281.mp4

“What’s wrong, Alex?” Molly asks, moving closer. I instinctively step back, already overwhelmed by the video as it starts playing.

I don’t remember this. Oh my God! They filmed us. I was drugged. They fucked me, violated my body, and cut me while I was unconscious!

Fintan’s once-white mask is stained red as he paints himself in my blood.

Oh God, I feel nauseous.

My breathing becomes labored, caught in my throat as the camera zooms in. Kieran is carving their names into my lower back while Fintan holds the camera and forces himself into my mouth, his other hand gripping my hair to hold my head up.

I remember him having a row of piercings. Perhaps that is what caused the raw sensation.

As I watch the video, my stomach starts to churn, overwhelmed by the disturbing content that unfolds before me.

I feel a growing sense of unease and discomfort as the scene becomes more intense. Before I throw up, I decide to quickly exit the video before witnessing any more. I just can’t.

I scroll past the video, and a wave of dread washes over me as I read the incoming messages one by one as they flood the small screen.

Unknown:

Do you like our little movie?

You were such an obedient plaything last night, little Dove. Such an eager captive…

We went easy on you, but next time, put up more of a fight. Don’t let us catch you so easily, or your attempts to play our game will be in vain. We love the thrill of the chase. If you make it so incredibly unchallenging next time, it will be your final game.

Once again, they’re typing. I brace myself for what’s about to come - a barrage of words that will surely send shivers down my spine.

The fear and anxiety well up inside me, threatening to consume my every thought.

My heart pounds as I anticipate another wave of terrifying messages to fill my phone.

Unknown:

Typing…

With each passing second, the anticipation gnaws at me. I can almost hear the sound of their fingers tapping away on the digital keys, crafting their next message.

Everything… All of this. It’s a constant reminder of the power they hold over me, even from behind the safety of their now digital masks.

Are these texts coming from Fintan or Kieran? Should I respond?

Unknown:

Consider this our last communication until we come for you again.

Wait. What? Are you fucking kidding me?

So, as the typing continues, I steel myself against the impending storm. Each keystroke may bring pain, but not in the way I expected.

I’m hurt by the fucked-up video, by their sick games but I’m hurt that I don’t know who they are, and they have made it nearly impossible for me to find them.

With every hurtful word being typed as I see the three small dots bounce on the screen, I mentally list every detail I remember of that building.

God, I was drugged… Are my memories even real? Can I trust my own mind?

Unknown:

Typing…

Maybe I should go to the cops?

Unknown:

Take this as your warning Alex. If you run your little ass to the cops, we’ll play a much different game. You know we don’t mind a little blood. See you soon, little Dove.

Is that a threat? Are they threatening to kill me?

In an instant, I become dizzy as the recollections of the previous night crumble like fragile glass, revealing the actual peril I had unknowingly faced.

I wanted to find them. I wanted…them. But this is all just a fucking game to them. With a na?ve and utterly disposable girl who fantasized about being kidnapped.

Any moment could have turned disastrous, and I would have remained oblivious to the fact that it was all fucking real .

They know my name. They have my number. What else do they know about me? Do they know where I live? All I know about them is that one has piercings, the other has tattoos, they both have subtle Irish accents and their names which are likely fake. Fintan and Kieran.