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CHAPTER 11

J essica

I couldn’t believe I’d worn jeans to an interview. Comfortable, rugged attire had been recommended given the nature of this particular test. Still, I was antsy and didn’t feel nearly as in control as I’d hoped after waking up that morning.

I’d thought for certain after several days had passed that I’d been shut out of the possibility of getting the job. Then another invitation had arrived via snail mail, this one blood red in color with the same gold writing. So here I was bright and early on a Monday morning.

Desdemona.

I’d chosen my screen name during a playful moment, a nod to part of a song I enjoyed listening to. Did it reflect the woman inside? Probably not, but it usually made me smile.

Not today.

As my nickname flashed on the screen, my heart rate skyrocketed to the point I was almost short of breath. The invitation hadn’t provided much information other than to be at the Blackwell Group’s office at a specific time. When I’d arrived, I’d been escorted to a waiting room that was full of other women, all different ages and dressed in various forms of attire.

It had felt more like being in the waiting room of a gynecologist’s office than the building of a multibillion-dollar company. Complete with the godawful elevator music.

All of us had waited for over fifteen minutes, which hadn’t surprised me, but had pissed every other one of them off. The Blackwell Group was doing it on purpose, adding to the anticipation of what we were hoping to achieve.

A high score. In traditional games, that meant killing a number of bad guys, gaining weapons and knocking out monsters along the way. But in some virtual reality games, it was all about the cunning used, whether the activity was completed or if the gamer abandoned the area for any reason.

Including being unwilling to participate in depraved acts, whether of a sexual or a violent nature. I had no thresholds, at least not in the virtual world. I’d begun to wonder if I did in the real world as well. I’d come to think the death of the man who’d attacked me had been justified.

What did that say about me?

Finally, a woman dressed in a suit had entered, explaining we’d have a single opponent, perhaps no one we’d encountered before. We had thirty minutes to impress and could certainly leave at any time. But if we did, we were officially quitting the game altogether.

And the chance at obtaining a job.

The exciting part was that we were going to be some of the first to play the new game about to release to the masses. She’d gone on to describe Dark Nights as taking a couple of their existing games and punching them up with steroids.

I was itching to see what the game was made of, but I was also anxious. That could be an advantage for my opponent. At least I knew the participant was a male for a game like Dark Nights.

Or so I thought anyway.

Then again, I had no clue what the game entailed. However, my mind was processing the possibilities and they were all very sexual, predatory. I was curious the lengths the company would go to in order to become even more successful.

As I waited, my mind drifted to the murder of Joel Merrick. The news agencies had been vague, but there was noise all over the dark web that the man had been killed in a jealous rage for something he’d done to an underage girl. The thought sickened me.

A blip appeared on my screen only a few seconds later, the screen name of the participant flashing in the bottom left corner.

Sinner.

Fuck. The name was familiar. He’d been one of the players I’d chatted with over the course of a couple of months. He was one dangerous dude, his proclivities definitely not something I would consider normal even by my standards.

Suddenly, my skin crawled. I had a very bad feeling about this.

I had a feeling this was a mistake, the biggest one of all. Maybe disastrous. I wasn’t certain how to get out of taking this test.

Are you ready? Sinner typed in. He’d used his voice commands before. Why not now? I wasn’t in the mood to play deceptive games. “Yes, how about you? Can you handle the heat?” I left my microphone open, waiting to see if he responded.

He did by way of a very deep, dark chuckle, just like the one I now remembered. “Have it your way.”

I’d been told the selection would be made based on the answers on my questionnaire. I was nervous and excited as I adjusted the headset and stood, moving to the safe part of the room. Everything faded to black around me, only a warm glow of an eerie blue light seen through the virtual reality goggles.

“Run, little Desdemona. Run!”

Hearing his voice, I was reminded of the night almost a week before. Was it the same? I heard another chuckle and I was suddenly in a dense forest, trees surrounding me on every side, only a sliver of moonlight streaming past the thick foliage.

I took one breath.

Then two.

A sound from behind me, a slight crack as if someone was stepping on a fallen limb. I took off running. He had the advantage if he was one of the developers, knowing where any weapons were placed that I could use to defend myself. With no rules provided, this was a free for all meant to bring out the best in my level of competition.

I refused to allow the fucker to win.

His laugh was deep, dark, and dangerous, echoing as if all around me. Something fluttered inside of me and I doubted it was butterflies. The hard thump of my chest was louder than normal, both exciting and nerve racking.

“Where are you, Sinner?” I whispered, more as an invitation.

“I’m everywhere, little lamb.”

I stopped immediately. He’d called me a lamb on the night he’d killed the man who’d attacked me. My God. Was this real? Was it even possible?

“Run. Run!” His command was stronger, his voice louder.

My legs refused to move for a few seconds until I allowed another moment of rage to drain alongside my heated blood. The night air felt cool as if I was in the same forest from the other night. Yet I could also feel his extreme heat. Soon it would become suffocating.

I picked up speed, powering my legs over fallen debris, trying to figure out what this game was about. Suddenly, I tripped as if in some damned horror flick, my body pitched forward by several feet.

A flashlight suddenly appeared as if I’d won a few points. Grabbing and flicking on the stream of light, I scrambled to my feet and swung the light in a complete circle, the beam landing on what I’d tripped over.

A dead man.

Exhaling, a horrid chill tore through me as I walked closer, allowing the light to fall across his face. He’d been slashed with a knife dozens of times, his face completely unrecognizable. The stench of blood was stronger, much more so than if this was real.

And I had to remind myself it wasn’t.

“Where are you?” I asked, turning the tone of my voice to something as depraved as his, even seductive. If that’s how he wanted to play the game, then… “Come on, big boy. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

There was no sense in playing the terrified victim. I knew enough about these games to know when I unlocked a clue, I’d be rewarded. All I had to do was take the bastard on with everything I had.

“I’m right here, Desdemona. Are you wet for me? Are you hungry for my cock?”

It was as if the man was right behind me. I shored up the woman who’d designed games of this nature herself, turning to face my opponent. He was standing right in front of me with the same mask as the night he’d murdered someone.

He wanted to use all he had to terrify me.

The bastard didn’t know what I was made of.

He’d soon learn.

I took a step closer, dragging the tip of my tongue across my bottom lip. Then I beckoned him with a single finger. “Come here. Why don’t you find out?” I swung the light directly in his eyes, laughing as I sensed he wasn’t expecting me to become the aggressor.

He took a step to the side, but I followed him with the stream of light. “What’s wrong, big boy? Don’t have it in you? What a shame. We could have had fun.”

With that, I took off running again. There had to be a key somewhere close. I could feel it.

Hell, I could taste it.

For a few seconds I could no longer feel him, but he was there, watching me as he’d been doing. I almost allowed another wave of fear to crowd out my grasp on what was really happening here.

This bastard had been the one who’d killed the man in the parking lot. He was also stalking me. Hunting me.

Breathe. Run. Fight.

I did what I could, zigging and zagging then suddenly turning around. “Come on.” The forest was quiet, not a single sound.

A flash happened before I could react, the masked man right in front of me. I took a swing, smashing him across the face, taking off running again.

He was too fast for me. Fingers wrapped around my hair, the pain instantly blinding as I was yanked back against his massive chest.

Against his hard, throbbing cock.

“Don’t you know by now you can never run from me, little lamb? Now, let’s have some fun.”