Page 15 of Poisoned Pawns (The Gamemakers Trilogy #1)

Ivy- Checkmate & Friendship

“What’s the plan, Ivy?” Everly asks as we head towards the bus station in her silver Evo.

I’m not sure what to tell her. As much as I want to get ahead of this asshole, I’m not sure we can in this instance.

We need to play the game, and try to figure them out along the way.

I just wish we could find even just a little fuck up on their part that could help us, or maybe just figure what their weakness is.

Millie sits in the back seat, rocking, which is making the car feel like we are on a rollercoaster, but it's her way of trying to calm herself down. She’s been doing it as long as I’ve known her. So, I just leave her be, even if it’s distracting as fuck.

“I don’t have a plan. There’s not enough time. We’ve spent the entire day trying to figure out who the fuck Checkmate could be, which, as we know, was a complete waste of time. We just have to play the fucking game, and pray to god we can figure it out as we go,” I tell her and she snickers.

“I say, fuck Checkmate, and we ignore them,” she lashes out, but I shake my head.

“You know we can’t. Whoever it is has numerous things on us.

But the bigger question is, what happened three years ago?

Because ever since that party, you and Katie have never spoken about it, and it seems to be that’s how this all started,” Millie says as I wrack my brain on what to tell them.

They know some of what happened, but not all of it, and I swore to Katie I’d never tell.

It’s bad enough that Silas knows the pieces that he does, nothing close to the full story.

Our parents don’t even know the full truth, so I’m taking it to the grave.

“A lot happened that night. But I’m not sure it truly started there,” I say, and Everly snarls in the driver's seat.

“Just fucking tell us. We are your best friends, remember. We aren’t going to judge you. We’ve all done fucked up shit. Just fucking tell us,” Millie begs, but I shake my head.

“I can’t, at least not right now. Just please, let it go, and let's get through this,” I say, and the car goes silent as we pull up to the bus station, parking in the visitor area. Everly puts it in park, and then turns to us.

“I’m fucking scared you guys,” she admits, and I nod.

“Pretty sure we all are. Last time we had Katie, and she got us through it. Now we’re alone, and I’m not sure how to get us out of this other than playing the fucking game,” I confess as Millies pushes the car door open, climbing out.

We follow suit as she swings the key between her fingers, walking across the parking lot.

This place is mobbed right now, which I guess is a good thing for us, but bad at the same time because if Checkmate is watching, we will never be able to point them out.

Walking through the automatic doors, we stop and look around for the lockers.

“There’s got to be a sign somewhere,” I say as people move quickly around us.

“There.” Everly points to the far corner of the station with the big sign that says “Restrooms & Lockers.” We hurriedly weave in and out of the crowd to where we need to go.

Lockers litter the back walls, and we begin searching for number 8.

Approaching it, I look around to see if anyone is watching us, but no one seems to be paying us any mind.

Millie slides the key into the hole and turns it until the locker pops.

Swinging the door open, she retrieves a backpack, and then slides open the zipper, gasping at what is inside.

“What’s in there?” I ask as her eyes snap to mine, then to Everly’s. She shakes her head, zips it back up, and puts it on her back.

“Not here. Let's go,” she orders, and we follow her out the same way we came in.

Finally getting back to the car, she stops by the trunk, removing the bag from her back.

“Open it,” she says, and Everly hits the button on the key fob and the trunk pops open. She places the backpack inside and slams the metal closed.

“Well? You gonna spill or what?” Everly demands as Millie gets into the car. Everly looks at me, and I shrug before climbing into the passenger seat. Starting the car, we wait for Millie to tell us as she rocks in the backseat.

“Millz, what was in the backpack?” I ask, and she takes a deep breath.

“Rope, headphones, a mask, duct tape, and a g-gun,” she stammers, and my eyes widen.

“A gun?” Everly says in a shocked tone.

“Yep!”

“What the fuck!” I yell, not sure what the hell we are in for tonight. My phone vibrates and I take it out, reading the text.

Unknown:

Such good little chess pieces. Now head to your next task, but first you need to place a text to Silas and make him meet you at the cemetery. -XOXO Checkmate, B*tches

Fuck my life!

Me:

And if I don’t?

Unknown:

Try me and find out. -XOXO Checkmate, B*tches

Just then, another text and an email with the skull and red X comes through. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Ignoring the email, I open the text and read it.

Pierce:

Hey do you want to hang out tonight?

Ugh, why? Why? Why? I would much rather hang out with him than doing this shit. Fuck!

Me:

I can’t tonight. Girls' night in. Rain check?

Pierce:

Sure thing, Vee. Hit me up when you’re free.

Closing out of that, I look up at the girls, noticing the sun has set.

“What is going on?” Everly asks, and I take a deep breath.

“Checkmate wants me to text Silas to meet us there,” I tell her, and she gasps.

“Fuck!” she responds.

“Yeah, fuck is right! I don’t want to involve more people than necessary, like Jesus fucking Christ,” I seethe.

“Well, are you going to do it? Then I can tell Dessy to stay at the dorms,” Millie asks, and I nod.

“Once we figure out what the hell we are doing, then I will make him come,” I say, and Everly laughs.

“Make him come. Ha!” she says. I swear making jokes is her coping mechanism, and right now, this shit ain’t funny.

“Not funny, Evs.” I laugh because fuck being scared, might as well laugh it up while we can. Turning in my seat, I look at Millie.

“So, what’s up with you and Warren?” I ask, and she smiles. Oh, she really likes him.

“We are taking things slow and seeing where we end up.”

“That’s it? No juicy details?” I ask.

“If you must know, he gives good head.” She laughs, and my eyes widen.

“Fuck yea, bitch.” I cheer and she shakes her head.

“Yeah, he’s a fun time, but also super deep. I enjoy spending time with him. We are supposed to hang out tonight, and I hope we still can.” She pouts.

“Well, the faster we get this shit done, the faster you can go be with him. I’m happy for you, Millz. You deserve it,” I tell her, and the smile that spreads across her gorgeous face warms my heart.

“Thanks, babe. Also, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you,” she says, and I raise a brow. “I promise I won’t get mad, but is there something going on with you and my brother?”

That is not what I expected her to ask me, and fuck! I hate having to lie to her, but I can’t exactly tell her that he made me cum so hard on his bike that I saw stars last night. Shit!

“Um, no! Why do you ask?” I say, trying to keep a straight face. She pulls out her phone and scrolls to something, then turns the phone towards me, and low and behold, there we are. Me and Desmond years ago in the tree house kissing.

“That was years ago. Nothing came from it because you are my best friend and siblings are off limits,” I answer, truthfully. Well, somewhat. “Tell me Checkmate sent that to you?”

“Sure did, last night. I’m not going to lie, Ivy. I was pissed, and I was ready to kick your ass, but if it only happened once and never again, it’s fine,” she replies, and I nod.

“You and Evs always come before any dickface in this world. You guys know that, right? Nothing has changed, even if Katie isn’t here,” I say glumly. I miss her so fucking much.

“It’s really weird without her. I’m always waiting for her to come through the door and be like ‘April Fools, I’m not dead,’ but it never comes,” Everly states, and I nod.

“I know. I dream about her and the fun times we had,” I lie because my dreams are nothing but nightmares.

“I still text her phone when I need to vent, and before you both yell at me, sometimes I just want to say what I need to say without an answer back. It’s like writing in a journal except it's different in my head,” Millie confesses, and I can’t help but smile.

We all are struggling with the loss of our bestie.

I just wish we were given more time to mourn and to figure out what happened that night.

“We’re here,” Everly says, and then I look up and see the sign. “Summerhills Chapel & Cemetery”

“You know those gates are locked. We’re gonna have to hop the fence,” I tell them, and they both groan.

“Where do I park? There’s cameras in the chapel lot,” Everly reminds me. Fuck!

“Keep going down the block and make a left on Rosewood, then park along the curb,” Millie tells her, but I shake my head.

“Fuck that. Go to our neighborhood and park by the playground. We will walk and go in through the back,” I say, and Everly nods.

“Much better plan than mine.” Millie chuckles.

“We need to be able to get out of there fast if something goes wrong, and if anyone asks, we were at the playground reminiscing,” I tell them, and they both nod in agreement.

Everly pulls up along the curb, and we all get out.

She pops the trunk so Millie can grab the backpack out.

The night is suffocating and humid, and sweat pours off our brows as we walk a few blocks over, then down Woodberry into the cul-de-sac, and then finally towards the woods in the back of the cemetery.

“My hands are shaking,” Millie says as we walk along the trail.

“I know, babe, I know. It will all be okay.” I try to assure her, but it’s no use. “Make sure your phones are on silent. We don’t need to alert anyone to what the hell we are doing in the cemetery at night,” I tell them as we all take out our phones and put them on vibrate.

Finally reaching the fence, Millie tosses the bag over, and then we all climb the six-foot chain link fence.

“Well, that wasn’t so bad,” Everly states, and I laugh.

“Thank god this place doesn't have barbed wire. I don’t wanna have to explain why I have slash marks on my you-know-what.” I laugh, and they giggle.

We walk in silence through the sea of headstones until we get to Katie’s.

Three shovels lean against her fresh grave.

My phone vibrates and I take it out, seeing it's yet another text from Checkmate. Looking around, I don’t see anyone lurking, and I read the text.

Unknown:

Now dig!

“Fuck, Checkmate wants us to dig,” I tell them, grabbing a shovel.

“Nope. This is as far as I go,” Everly says, but her phone vibrates.

She takes it out and gasps. “This motherfucker,” her voice cracks, and I raise a brow.

“If I don’t dig, this asshole is going to send a picture of me fucking someone of power in his office to the board. Fuck!” she whisper-shouts, and I laugh.

“Who was it?” I ask as I push the shovel into the soft dirt and start digging.

“The Dean,” she says so nonchalantly. I just shake my head. Can’t say I didn’t do some fucked up shit to get a higher grade.

“I don’t want to do this. This is so fucked up!” Millie says, biting her nails as she paces. I can see the panic starting to build.

“Millz, remember what I said earlier. The faster we get this done, the faster we get the fuck out of here,” I remind her, but she starts pacing back and forth along the grave.

“Millz. You want to go hang with Warren, right? Then help us!” I tell her, and she takes a deep breath, stomping over to the shovels, grabbing one, and then slamming the tip into the dirt.

An hour or so later, we’re dripping with sweat, and I throw my shovel out of the hole we are standing in.

“Do we have to open this thing?” Everly asks, and I nod.

“The next task is in there?” Millie asks, and I take a deep breath.

“Fuck my life!” I whisper-yell.

Taking Millie's shovel, I dig the tip into the crease of the casket and start prying it open. It takes a few times, but finally it pops open, and the smell that permeates the air has Millie puking and Everly crying. Fuck! Shoving my shirt over my nose, I can’t help the tears that fall from my eyes as I look at a seriously decomposed Katie lying there in a black dress with her hands folded in her lap, holding a piece of paper.

Sticking my hand inside, I grab it and open it, reading the next task as footsteps approach.

Slamming the casket shut, I reach for the backpack by my feet and unzip it, taking out the gun.

As the footsteps get closer, two figures stand above us.

“Poison, what are you doing?” Silas asks, and I cock the gun.

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!