“Who’s there?” Tate yelled. His voice bounced off the walls and skipped back down, landing at his feet.
I smirked and spoke into the handheld device that contained so much power in this moment. “Why don’t you read and find out?”
The sound was muffled, but I could just make out what Jessup said. “Look, there’s a note.”
“Oh goodie, I love notes,” I said through the speakers. “Don’t you? Read it for us, will you?”
Tate snatched it away from Jessup, then smoothed the sheet of paper. He picked up one of the walkie-talkies and held it up to his mouth.
His voice was gravelly as it came through, playing close to my ear. “Rules of the House.” He scoffed as if he were the one in control instead of me. “Number One. Smile, you’re on camera.” Tate spun in place, held his arms out wide as though to say come and get it, and plastered a big grin on his face. “Eat your heart out, sugar. You can film me all night long.” Of course, I would. Just like he’d filmed me. Fair was fair. After a full rotation, he returned to the list. “Number Two. There is no leaving the game. If you play the game from start to finish, the video invitation provided to you will not be made public. Ever.” He glanced up at no one in particular. “It better not be,” he said. “Number Three. If at any point you break the rules of the game, the video invitation provided to you will be released. Immediately.” There was a low growling sound from Tate and he lifted his middle finger. He couldn’t see, but I lifted mine right back. “Number Four. At your convenience, please deposit your cell phones in the storage box directly to your left. Any calls, texts, e-mails outside of these walls will be met with the same consequences as set forth in Rule Three above. Or worse. Number Five. Cheaters will be punished. Without exception. Number Six. Don’t forget to have fun. You’ve earned it.” Tate dusted off the knees of his jeans and shouted up at the ceiling. “So I guess you think you’re funny, huh? You think you’re clever with your little puzzle?”
“Ah, don’t be a sourpuss,” I said. “Next time you blackmail someone you can make the rules. Until then, though…”
Alex started to speak, then stopped himself, retrieving his walkie-talkie from the ground. “But what’s the game? We can’t play a game if we don’t know what the hell it is,” he said. “She mentioned a game, didn’t she?” This he said more to the two boys at his side.
I smiled to myself. “That’s the best part. You already know how to play. The game … is hide-and-seek.”
“Are you serious?” Jessup said. The boys were exchanging looks.
“Deadly.”
Nearby, there was a large, hulking generator. I flipped the three switches that were on the side. The insides of the mill groaned like the whole building had indigestion. The mill was coming to life. Below, I heard the auger begin to rotate, a sharp metal spiral. Cogs on various pieces of machinery lurched, noisy with rust.
“Dammit,” Jessup yelped. The boys instinctively shuffled together. Tate shoved them away.
“And,” I continued, “since I’m feeling generous, I’ll give you to the count of twenty-five. No Mississippis, though, I’m not that nice. Are you ready?” I didn’t wait for a response. “Okay, then, here we go. One … two … three…”
“We’re not actually doing this,” said Alex.
“Come on. We all saw the video.” Tate was speaking through gritted teeth now. “If this gets out, my dad’s career could be ruined. And if that happens, I’m ruined. You understand?”
“And I’ve got Anna, dude. She would freak out. It’s just a little girl. What the hell are you afraid of?”
“Yeah.” Tate pushed Alex in the chest. “Stop being such a pussy and play her little game.”
Alex stumbled back. “But…” He dropped his voice lower. “What about Mick and Brody?”
“Ten … eleven … twelve…,” I counted.
“What about them? Brody was beaten to death with a bat. You think a girl did that?” Tate reached down and picked up the single remaining lantern. “Let’s get this over with so we can move on and get out of here.”
Jessup rubbed his bare arms. “How come you get the lantern?”
“Because I’m going to be the one to go find this bitch, unlike you two weenies. Now take your walkie-talkies and scram.”
Alex didn’t move. He looked to Jessup for help, but Jessup just shrugged. “Either we do what she says or we’re screwed.”