Page 64 of Her Bully

“Do you know what F.M.K. is?”

“Like the game?”

“Yeah. Do you know what it is?”

“Yeah. It’s this urban legend. I guess you haven’t heard it since you’ve not lived here very long but the story goes that there’s this secret society. I know, right? “She rolls her eyes but continues. “Anyway, this secret club or whatever. You have to be born into one of the elite families or be chosen or something. But supposedly you have a partner. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s not like it’s real. And you play through the three stages of the game. Fuck. Mary. And Kill. Kind of self-explanatory, but if you win you get anything you want. Your dream job. A nice house. Anything you desire basically.”

“How do you win?”

“That’s the kicker and true downside. You’re supposed to sacrifice the person you love most. Your partner in the game. That’s where the kill part comes from.”

“Why would anyone want to play?”

“Well, it’s just a story but apparently the game or the curse, however you want to look at it is triggered by lust. When the two people destined to play give into their lust and fuck before marriage.”

Bile hits the back of my throat, but I swallow it down. My father made me promise I wouldn’t have sex until I was married. Is that why he gave me the purity ring? To protect me from the curse?

“Why are you asking about this anyway?”

I lift my shoulder. “I don’t know. I must have heard Kyson talking about it or something.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Just a little groggy but I’ll be okay.”

“Cool. I doubt you feel like going out. Not that anything is going on with most of the guys gone on that camping trip or whatever it was they were doing.” She rolls her eyes. "But good news is I can hang out."

My phone buzzes with a new message. This one is from an unknow number.

First comes love. Then comes marriage. Then comes the funeral.

I delete the message and turn my attention back to Lauren. I’m sure it’s Kyson being stupid and trying to fuck with me since he probably knows the same lore as Lauren. “You didn’t tell me what happens if they don’t kill them.”

“Oh, still stuck on that are you. I don’t know. I guess they’d both die or something.”

“Maybe they break the curse or find a way to beat the game,” I tell her, twisting the ring on my finger as my mind flashes back to being in the kitchen with Kyson and how he wouldn’t pull out when I told him to. Like he was driven by lust.

My phone sounds again. Another unknown number but this time there’s a link.

I click it and hope it’s not spam from a hacker. It goes to a notification to download a zip folder labeled F.M.K.

I drop my phone and run into the bathroom to throw up.

This isn’t real.

It’s just a stupid urban legend.

Or is it?