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seven

The Finger Games

Scarlett

I ’ve always felt especially alone during the holidays. With my father serving a life sentence for murdering my mother and no other family to spend them with, I usually spend them with my friends and River, but things are different this year. River has completely left Massachusetts and is not returning my calls or texts, except only to inform me that he’s still alive and just needs some time to gather his thoughts.

Since Melanie won't be back until after New Year's, I’ll have two months to myself while she spends the holidays on a cruise with her family. Just me. Shawn is still missing and most likely dead—if I'm being honest with myself.

With nothing to do and nobody to talk to, I’m going crazy by myself in my apartment. If I wasn’t afraid of being murdered or stalked, I would go to the bar and have a drink or something, but I’m too scared to leave my apartment. I understand that being trapped inside for such a long time is unhealthy, but can I really bring myself to leave?

I’ve been considering going to the location where we buried Carli and simply sitting with her and smoking a blunt there. I need to let go of a lot of pent-up emotions and guilt, so this might be the best place for me to finally atone for my sins.

I grab a joint and my flask, fill it with absinthe, and pull my white hoodie over my head. I fix my black curls so they fall over my shoulders and down my back, ignoring the uneasy sensation in my bones and the nerves jangling in my stomach. I turn on the entryway light and grab my keys, triple-locking my door behind me.

I start out on my journey to Howard Street Cemetery in the New England end-of-fall weather, keeping my eyes down and my ears perked up, listening for the sound of footsteps to make sure I’m not being followed. I can already smell winter approaching and the impending snowfall as I breathe in.

As I continue to walk, ignoring the winds that are tearing through Salem and the strong currents that cause the street lights to flicker on and off, chills run through my body. As I approach the cemetery, darkness engulfs me. Despite this, I make an effort to maintain my composure. I keep looking to the sides to make sure no one is watching or following me, but so far, I haven’t noticed anything.

I walk through the ancient iron gates and turn to my right, following the concrete path that is strewn with orange and yellow leaves, blown about by ferocious winds that have gotten stronger during the short walk here. I cinch up my sweatshirt even more and continue to move forward in my quest to reach Carli's grave. I can still clearly recall where it is, feeling like it was just yesterday.

As the wind whips tree branches around like something out of a horror film, I continue on the unlit path all the way to the back of the empty cemetery. I take a sip from my flask, trying to get a buzz going to calm the nerves swarming in my stomach, desperate for some relief before I drive myself insane. I look at my phone, and with no word from River, I shake my head, sigh, and pocket it, furious at how he’s handling things.

I understand that his best friend has gone missing, but Shawn was also a friend of mine. In addition to being my friend, Shawn also murdered my best friend and persuaded the rest of us—while intoxicated—to bury her body and keep it a secret so that our lives would not be destroyed by an accident. River acts as if this shit is only affecting him, but it isn't, and that's what irritates me.

Finally, I sit in front of the headstone where Carli's body is buried, sipping more from the flask in my shaky hand. I stretch my legs out in front of me and lie back, resting my head on a pile of leaves and flowers left by whoever came to visit the man Carli is buried with, staring at the pitch black sky with only a handful of twinkling stars visible.

"I miss you, Carli. fuck I miss you, and I'm so sorry for what happened to you." Knowing I’m by myself, I speak freely, hoping Carli will hear me from wherever she is.

I light a cigarette and blow the smoke straight up, causing my vision to become blurry and my eyes to start to water as I watch it swirl into the sky and disperse into the night. When I close them, I hear the sound of crunching leaves behind me. Afraid that someone will be standing over me if I open my eyes, I take a slow, deep breath and keep them closed. That's just my imagination, though. Right?

It's all the scary movies me and Melanie watch. I repeatedly tell myself while tightly closing my eyes and letting the alcohol flow swiftly through my veins like water through a stream.

Everything is quiet, calm, and almost peaceful around me, despite the fact that my heart is thumping in my chest. However, internally, I'm terrified.

"We know what you did…"

My eyes fly open when I hear a voice whispering in the distance. I’m immediately confronted by two figures, one wearing a shiny silver mask and the other wearing a black mask, just a few feet away.

I scramble to my feet and scoot back, slamming my spine against the headstone, unable to stand due to a sharp pain shooting down my legs and through my back. I reach out for the grass next to me and search for anything I can use to defend myself, thinking of my pocket knife in my sock. I reach down and fish it out, but the masked men don't even budge when I fling it open.

"Get away from me!" I scream, but it doesn't seem to phase them.

"We're not going to hurt you, Scarlett. But don't think that we don't know what you're hiding, pretty girl," the silver masked guy says, his voice dripping with darkness and desire.

I blink a few times to make sure I’m not hallucinating, but even after rubbing my eyes, the two masked men remain crouched in front of me, silent as can be, staring at me through their creepy masks.

"What do you want?" I ask, my voice trembling in absolute fear. Neither of them say anything, though.

My legs give out as I attempt to stand up, and the shooting pain that feels like a hammer being swung at my back continues to travel along my spine. I tremble and remain silent as I lean against the tombstone, still confused as to what the fuck is going on.

Wake up, Scarlett. You're having a bad dream.

I close and reopen my eyes, and the masks are even closer now than they were a second ago. How the fuck is that possible? I didn't even hear them move.

The man in the black mask takes my flask from my grasp and brings it to my mouth, gently tipping it back against my quivering, parted lips as I stare into his blackened eyes.

"Open up and drink, trouble... We don't bite...unless you want us to."

I flick my eyes between the two of them as I open my mouth for him, drinking every drop he pours while still trembling like a leaf in the presence of their menacing gaze. Even though their masks hide their faces, I can tell they’re smiling by the way their eyes squint, which calms my nerves a little.

Black—we'll call him—empties the contents of the flask into my mouth, then tosses it to the ground, wiping the remnants of the liquor off my lips with the smooth pad of his thumb.

"Good girl." The person wearing the silver mask says as he moves closer and runs a tattooed hand up my exposed thigh.

His blue eyes pierce into me as he holds a bag in his other hand, which only makes me shudder more. As I sit here, fearing that I’m about to be killed by these enigmatic, masked men, my heart thumps in my chest and feels like it’s about to burst. Who are they and what are they after?

"What do you want from me?" Finally finding my voice, I manage to utter out in a shaky tone.

They snicker and share a look before turning their focus back to me. "You, trouble. We want you…"

Saint

"What do you want from me?" As she looks between Blade and me and cries out in a low, trembling voice—which is to be expected—Scarlett's small body shakes hysterically.

In front of her, on our knees, we torture the cute little thing, while grinning behind our masks. Her jet black hair gleams in the moonlight, half falling in her face as she leans forward, unsure whether to run or not, but with her back hurting from the spill, she can’t seem to get to her feet to go anywhere. Her chocolate eyes sparkle like big, dark buttons against the light of her milky white skin as she jitterily blinks at us.

"You, Trouble. We want you…" As I move away, holding the cloth bag with her friend's fingers inside of it, I mutter into her ear.

Blade remains close by, running his hands up and down her silky thighs, causing her full lips to part ever so slightly whenever his fingers touch the heat that radiates between them.

"Get away from me... I don't even know you." She tries to fight back, swatting Blade's fingers away, but he grabs her wrists with one hand and shoves his other hand over her mouth to keep her quiet .

"You might not know us, but we know you, and we know what you did."

Her eyes widen, and a few stray tears roll down her cold, rosy cheeks, landing on Blade's palm, which is covering her beautiful lips.

"That's right, trouble..." Her anxious eyes dart between my brother and me, not sure who she should be watching.

I pull a finger out of the bag in the shadows where she can’t see it and slide the tip up her bare leg as I watch her innocent lashes slowly flutter. "I was the one whose eyes you felt on you that night. You know, when you kept looking around, holding the gun in your hands, right before you gave it back to Shawn, who used it to shoot Carli?

"Bu…But I… I didn't do anything…" she murmurs softly against his palm as she begins to feel a little more at ease with us.

She seems more interested in what we are doing here than anything else. I inch the severed finger higher as Blade parts her legs for me, his hand still planted firmly over her mouth to keep her screams muffled in case she wants to let one out. The higher I raise the finger, the more tense her body becomes. As I grab my blade and use the point to sever the delicate silk fabric of her underwear in a single swift cut, she trembles in fear of what we might do to her.

"Don't worry, pretty little thing. We're not going to hurt you. Not yet , anyway. And when we do, I promise you're gonna fucking love it."

Once more, I roll circles over her swollen little clit with her friend's finger, causing her eyes to twitch uncontrollably. Because she doesn’t want to be enjoying the pleasure, I can see the torture whirling around inside of them. My cock throbs against the spandex of my tight underwear as the scent of her arousal fills the night air.

"Would you like me to stop, Trouble?" I ask her, still rubbing her clit and making her pussy gush for me.

She shakes her head nervously, an embarrassed look in her eyes, as her body continues to betray her while her mind struggles with the concept of right and wrong.

"Use your words, Sinner, and tell my brother if you want him to stop," Blade orders as he removes his hand from her mouth so we can hear her answer.

" No," Is all she says, her eyes fluttering closed as I keep flicking her clit.

"You virgins are dirty girls, aren't you?" I ask, a smirk hidden beneath my mask.

Her eyes widen as she wonders how I knew she was a virgin, but I’ve been doing my homework and know everything about her. Blade places his hand over her mouth once more, this time gently grabbing her throat and applying gentle pressure, causing her face to turn a light shade of red.

She would probably have a panic attack if she knew I was playing with her pussy with Shawn's severed fingers.

I continue strictly rubbing her clit with Shawn's fingers because I want to get my fingers inside of her first. As I do, I watch her terrified, glossy eyes roll back in disbelief at the pleasure her body is experiencing. A muffled moan escapes her throat, but we can hear it through Blade's hand as I roll the pad of the finger faster and harder in concentric circles, making her clit swell beneath it. I can tell the alcohol is loosening her up the longer the three of us sit here against the headstone in the back, right above where her friend is buried.

Blade pulls another finger from the bag and places it on her clit as well, giving the impression that we’re both using our fingers to play with her sopping wet pussy while she has her eyes closed and her hands gripping the grass next to her. Even though I want much more, I’ll be content for the time being with the finger games because watching her and hearing the sounds that emanate from her throat are half the fun.

Scarlett

I make an effort to ignore the fact that I'm in a cemetery, sitting here while two masked men finger me, but I can't. At the very least, I’m not able to block it all out. I’m not sure if it’s the overwhelming sense of fear or the incredible amount of pleasure coursing through my body, but I can’t seem to get away from them. But what's even worse is that I can't find my voice to tell them no either. A part of me doesn't want them to stop because it feels too good. But why does it feel good when it's undoubtedly fucked up beyond belief?

"Are you still with us, Sinner?" Black's silky voice fills my ears as I lie here with my eyes closed, my head resting comfortably against the headstone Carli is buried beneath.

When I try to respond, I nod, but no words come out, despite the fact that my lips move as if I am speaking. My entire body has a hazy, light sensation that makes me feel as though I'm floating on a cloud in the sky.

"She's good. I think she's just drunk. She chugged that shit back quick."

"Who knows what she had before she got here."

I can hear them talking, but I keep my eyes closed. My lower belly muscles start to contract quickly as I enjoy the sensation of their fingers on my body.

"Scarlett, open your eyes. I want you to look at me when you come." Silver's voice is more possessive than it has been all night, causing me to slowly open my eyes and desperately search the night for him.

I try to control my breathing as a surge of urgent desire rips through me while licking my lips and taking slow, deliberate breaths. Even in the complete blackness and behind the confines of his mask, I can make out the blue of his eyes staring back at me from behind the swirling darkness.

"Good girl. Now fucking keep them on me."

Both of them tease me by circling my opening with the wetness they have extracted from my pussy without actually pushing their fingers inside of me. Black presses down on my clit while my legs tremble and my climax rips through me like a current. As they mercilessly rub and flick my clit, sending me over the edge into one of the most intense orgasms I’ve ever experienced, my back arches, but Silver presses down on my stomach, keeping me grounded to the grass.

As they smile at me and gradually remove their hands from between my trembling legs after I’m done, I almost feel embarrassed to look at either of them. My hearing is completely distorted, and my head is pounding. The men in front of me start to appear to be doubled, giving the impression that there are now four of them.

As my vision starts to play tricks on me, the image of four masked men is now staring down at me, so I rub my eyes and make an effort to sit up. And then everything around me turns black as I feel myself slowly slipping backward into a terrifyingly dark abyss.

I have no memory of how or when I arrived at my house, but a few hours later, I wake in my bed wearing only a plain black T-shirt that I have never seen before. It has a strangely satisfying aroma of cologne and death.

With Melanie away for the holiday, I know I'm alone, and the chills that attack my body are no joke. I pull the blanket up to my chin, trying to concentrate on the TV rather than the wind-smacking tree branches against the window. The moon is obscured by clouds, but a streetlight in the alley next to my window shines in, illuminating something on the windowsill. I take a deep breath, recalling the blood smears in the same spot not long ago.

What is that?

I would rather stay in bed than get out to check. Of course, if I don’t know what’s over there, there’s no way in hell I’ll be able to sleep.

Still perplexed by the shirt, but enjoying how the fabric feels against my bare body as it sways against it, I throw the blanket off of myself, still trembling and sore from the bizarre, terrifying events that just happened earlier. I approach the window and take the box that has been precisely positioned in the middle of the ledge as my heart beats a mile a minute and my stomach is in knots. A note is taped to the top of it, sealed with a bloody lip print.

What the fuck is going on? Is this some kind of joke?

I bring the package and the note back to my bed, where I sit down, a wave of fear and confusion washing over me. I open the envelope and take out a pearl white slip of paper with blood red writing. As I start to read it, my breath becomes shallow as I brace myself for what lies ahead.

You virgins are dirty girls, aren't you?

My shoulders relax as I release the breath I’ve been holding in embarrassment and crumple the piece of paper. It wasn't that bad. I recall Silver telling me that. But what’s inside the box?

Once more holding my breath, I untie the ribbon, letting the satin fall to my blanket, releasing the lid of the mysterious box. I lean over and peer inside, letting out a piercing scream. I flip the box in a panic and jump back, sending the contents flying across my room.

What the fuck! Were those…fingers?!

I scramble to my feet and look around, noticing two fingers and another note on the floor. My heart is racing as I slowly stoop down and grab the bloody note, trying not to look at the severed fingers next to it that match the one that was left for me under my pillow.

This is fucked up. What is going on?

When I open it, I can see that the paper is smeared with blood and that they kissed it. I shiver and start reading, hoping not to faint from the shock.

In case you wanted to make yourself come again since they did so well the first time...

I drop the paper and fall to the floor, my eyes wide in absolute fear and disgust. Did they really use severed fingers to make me come?