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She fucking knew I couldn’t let her go through with it. And I hated her for knowing me so well, even now.

If I had bothered to know her half as well…

I shook my head, banishing the thought. Those were Blade’s words, Nash’s. I still didn’t know what I thought.

The despair in her eyes when I’d accused her seemed too genuine to be a lie. But didn’t wolves usually wear sheep’s clothing?

The truth of the matter was that someone had turned me in to Pastor Harris. And if it hadn’t been Tess, who else could have done it?

There were two other people there that night…

My lip curled. I wouldn’t entertain the thought that Nash or Blade would betray me like that. They were the only family I’d ever known. There was nothing in it for them, anyway.

Even having to consider the possibility was ridiculous. Ever since that fateful Fright Night, none of my thoughts made sense. Isolating in the security room was driving me mad.

I should stop torturing myself, go back to the apartment. They can’t avoid me forever…

But before I could build up the resolve to turn away from the cameras, there was a flicker on Camera 37: the main gate.

As the footage looped away to another corner of the park, I lunged for the mouse, clicking back into 37’s feed. It was little more than a speck on the horizon when I first saw it, but now, an old checkered cab was pulling down the road.

My lungs stilled. No one drove down here without an invitation. Which either meant our doorstep was about to get very bloody, or…

The cab idled by the entrance for a long spell. Its headlights were no match for the curling mists that occupied Feverpoint.

Keep sitting there, and the mist won’t be the only thing coming to claim your car.

Then, rolling her eyes as if she could hear my thoughts, she flung open the door and stepped out of the car.

Tess.

I blinked hard, convinced it must be a glitch in the footage.

But she was really back. Really standing at the gate, waiting to play our game.

Don’t get so fucking excited about it. She’s here in spite of you, not because of you.

It didn’t matter why she came, though. If she was here, we could reset the score. We could… I wasn’t sure what, actually. But at least Blade and Nash might stop being so damn pissy with me.

Wasting no time, I snatched up my mask and machete and sprinted from the security room. I couldn’t feel my feet moving beneath me as I ran — just the cool wind whipping at my exposed skin.

Within moments, I was outside the apartment, and then sprinting up the stairs. I flung open the door with a bang, lungs burning from the sprint.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Nash snarled as I tried to catch my breath.

“You know we have weapons up here, right?” Blade spat. “Might want to try seeming less like an invad⁠—”

“Tess,” I interrupted. “She’s here.”

Their eyes both widened at the sound of her name. All sniping died on their tongues.

“Are you serious?” Blade asked. But she was already up, already leaping over the couch to grab her axes.

“Where?” Nash furrowed her brow, pulling on her painted mask.

“Main gate.” I huffed. This was the longest conversation we’d had since Blade tried decking me the other day.

“Game’s on,” Blade laughed, shouldering past me as she bounded through the doorway. “I’ve been itching for a good hunt.”