by K. L. Savage
I grip Pocus’s arm and drag him toward the front. “You better start speaking now. What the fuck is going on, Pocus?”
“It’s Seer. I don’t know what’s going on. He was spouting something about Knives and Tongue, and then he just went down. He said his head hurt, and he started seizing.”
“Fuck, is he okay? Does that happen a lot?”
“No, this is the first time.”
The guy who I thought was Tongue jumps in the front of my mind. There’s no way that was him. Tongue wouldn’t look at Sarah like that, like he was hungry for her. They are best friends, and not once has he made me uncomfortable.
Well, not more than he usually does.
“We need to shut down the party,” I say, but Sarah jumps in front of me and shakes her head.
“No, we can’t. There are too many people here. What if it causes panic?”
“Then it causes panic. Seer knows something, someone is in this goddamn maze that doesn’t belong, and I’m not about to let anything happen to my family. Get everyone to the clubhouse now. Okay, Doll? I love you. Pocus, go with her. I don’t want her alone.”
“Yeah, okay,” he says, rubbing a hand over his hair.
“I love you too. Be careful,” Sarah says.
As I start to walk away, passing ghouls and vampires, someone wrapping their hand around my wrist stops me. I look over my shoulder and see Pocus, his eyes tense and his chest still beating with fear. “Seer is my best friend, Reaper. Please, make sure he is okay. He is more than just the sight.”
“He’s my friend too. Don’t worry. We will figure this out.” I wrap my free hand around his and pat it, a signal for him to let go.
He nods, and the pressure around my arm eases. He trusts me to take care of his brother. Giving him a slight chin tilt, I run toward the beginning of the corn maze and see kids running after one another, happy and giggling. I don’t want to send everyone home and ruin everyone’s time, but family is first. The night is young, and if everyone leaves now, the kids can go trick-or-treating in their own neighborhood.
A movement off to my right catches my attention, and Badge is carrying Seer into the house while Maizey is with Skirt.
Patrick is standing by the apple bobbing barrel, which is filled with water, not whiskey, and Sunnie is next to him, wet from head to toe, but she has an apple in her mouth. Patrick picks her up and swings her around, celebrating her catch of the red fruit. He’s so much happier now, and I hope it never changes, but I know the battle with addiction is a road that never ends.
We will be here for him. That much I know. Patrick feels my gaze on him, and his smile fades when I nod toward the clubhouse. He takes the apple from Sunnie’s mouth and slings it on the ground, tosses her over his shoulder, and takes the steps to go inside. Slingshot stops next to me, and his costume makes me want a taco, which isn’t the time to have cravings.
“I need you to go on stage and close everything down. Something is happening with Seer, and I have a feeling it has to do with Knives and Tongue.”
“Everything okay?” he asks.
“I don’t know.”
And I really hate not knowing.
“Reaper! Reaper!” Sarah’s hysterical scream comes from behind me, and she’s sprinting as fast as she can, holding a piece of paper in her hand. She has blood on her neck, and it fucking better be fake blood. She tries to slow down, but she runs into me, tears in her eyes, and when I check the wound on her throat, I notice it’s real.
Someone cut my ol’ lady.
“Where the fuck did you get that, Doll?”
“Some, some guy dressed as a skeleton knocked Pocus out,” she cries. I hate her tears. “He grabbed me and put a knife to my neck and said this will be the first of many if I don’t deliver this to you.” She holds up an envelope, and written in blood is my name. Her hand is shaking, and I pull her into my arms, not giving a damn about the letter. I only care about Sarah.
“We need to go see Seer. I think he might know something about this,” I say, wrapping my arms around her tiny waist and picking her up in a wedding style hold.
Slingshot’s voice comes over the speaker. “Hi, everyone. I’m sorry to announce that the Monster Mash is coming to an end. Please leave in an orderly fashion. We are so sorry to end the night, but an emergency has come up. If you want a refund, please see the person at the gate. He’ll help you out; if not, all the proceeds will be donated to the rehab center downtown. Thanks, everyone; have a good night.”
Everyone else’s night is ending, but ours is just beginning.
The night is far from over.
Chapter Ten
SARAH
Everyone is gathered in the living room. Well, everyone except two people.
Knives and Tongue.
I have the sickest feeling in my stomach. This isn’t like them. God, if anything happened to Tongue, I don’t know what I’ll do. He is so gentle and kind. I know, it’s hard to believe because he is so damn vicious with a knife. The way he thinks, what he does, it’s different than how other people think, but there’s a part of him that he doesn’t let a lot of people see.
Vulnerability.
He is so damn vulnerable, and I’m worried. If he isn’t here, where is he? Where is Knives?
“Is Seer awake yet?”
“No, not yet. A few of the NOLA chapter is with him since Pocus is currently knocked out too,” Tool says as he sits on the couch, and Juliette is cuddled next to him. Tool dressed up as Romeo, and Juliette put on a beautiful gown to be, well, Juliette.
Patrick is on the other couch, flipping his sobriety chip in his hand. Sunnie slides her hand down his arm and intertwines their fingers, trapping the coin between their palms. He seems a bit pale, maybe fighting the craving for alcohol. He closes his eyes and lets out a breath, nodding his head as he feels Sunnie’s hand in his. He leans back, and she lays her head on his shoulder.
“Maizey’s asleep,” Badge says. I do my best not to smile because the situation is so serious, but his eyelids and lips are painted pink, and he has purple blush on. His hair is also in short pigtails. Ever since he’s grown it out, Maizey has been obsessed with Badge. Apparently, he doesn’t look so scary.
Everyone is looking at him, and he takes a stance, lifting his brows and chin while staring everyone down. “She was crying and asked if she could put my hair in pigtails. Fucking fight me on it, assholes.” Aw, he might act like he doesn’t like kids, but he sure is good with them.
Poodle slaps him on the shoulder with a tight grin.
“Okay, until Seer wakes up, we only have this letter to go on, and my experience in the maze,” Reaper says, staring at Badge with odd interest.
“She said I looked pretty,” Badge grumbles under his breath.
Reaper rubs his thumbs across his eyebrows and sighs.
Whistler brings the issue back to the table by leaning forward. “What happened in the maze?”
“I thought it was Tongue. Sarah and I were walking through on our half-hour break when a guy jumped out to scare me. Sarah was screaming over a clown.”
“That was me,” Poodle raises his hand and Melissa yanks his arm down. “I did good, right? What? I like playing the clown. I want to do it again.”
“Okay, can someone fucking take this seriously!” Reaper roars, slamming his fist on the drink table so hard it breaks in half, and punch spills everywhere.
“It’s Knives and Tongue. It’s probably a joke,” Slingshot says, trying to sit down, but his taco outfit doesn’t allow him. He falls back, landing on Tool and Juliette’s lap. “Hi, guys.”
“It isn’t a goddamn joke, and the next person to say this is funny is going to meet me in Church where I carve their fucking hearts out. Do I make myself clear?” Reaper stares at everyone, meeting their eyes with his intense, murderous gaze.
“Yeah, Prez.”
“You got it, Reaper,” Mercy says, the devil side of his face frowning, which sends shivers up my spine. Whoever did his make
up did a great job. He truly looks like the devil.
“Now, a guy jumped out in the maze, and I thought he was Tongue. You know how Tongue is. He loves—”
“Corners,” everyone says at the same time, and a sob escapes my throat.
Reaper’s expression softens, and he holds out his arm for me. I don’t second it. I run to him, needing the comfort. His hand rubs up and down my back, and I inhale his scent, instantly calming me.
“But something about him, it didn’t seem right. I know, I know…” Reaper holds up his hand when people start to speak. “I know Tongue is fucked in the head, but this guy, this guy looked at Sarah with interest. Like he wanted her. He was too thin to be Tongue, though. His eyes were a different color. It wasn’t him. I know it in my damn bones. This guy has something to do with this letter, and I have no doubt Seer knows something.”
“What’s the letter say? And who’s to say it isn’t Knives? He’s just as crazy. Maybe the guy in the maze was him.”
“No,” Reaper disagrees and stares down at the envelope. “I don’t know where Knives is, but I have a feeling wherever he is, it isn’t good. He wouldn’t ever look at Sarah like that in front of me or in general.”
“Okay,” Whistler says. “Well, first things first, what were they dressed up as?”
“Tongue was a skeleton, like most of you, so it didn’t come to our attention that he was missing in the crowd,” I say, remembering when I did his makeup. He sneezed a few times because the brush was tickling his nose. “Jesse, please bring him home. Please,” I beg, burying my face in Jesse’s chest.
“We will,” he promises, then diverts his attention back to the group. “Knives was dressed up as a ninja.”
“Fitting,” Mercy says. “Son of a bitch moves like one. He is quick with those ninja stars. Maybe he found out where Tongue is? Maybe that’s where he is.”
“I think Knives would come tell me if anything was wrong,” Reaper says, and then something dawns on him. He hangs his head and rubs the back of his neck. “They were station partners. I put them together. If something happened to one, it happened to the other. I want to know how someone got the upper hand on them. They are both vicious.”
“What’s the letter say?” Tank asks, parting the group so he can be in front. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen him want to take charge.
“Let’s find out,” Reaper states, opening the envelope carefully. When he pulls out the paper, it’s splattered with red droplets, and I hope it doesn’t belong to Tongue. Reaper lets out a long breath and reads:
“Trick or treat, come and meet, someone you love who’s buried six-feet.
If you don’t, I don’t care, I’ll love to see you in despair.
They will die. Save their life!
This isn’t a dare, I bid you beware.
Follow the clues I’ll give to you,
This is merely my debut.
Until the clock strikes midnight,
They will be gasping for air, what a delight.
Love, The Groundskeeper.”
“Oh my god,” I hold a hand over my mouth as I stare at Reaper. His eyes move across the letter again, re-reading what he said out loud.
“The Groundskeeper,” Mercy echoes the name, his brows pinching.
Reaper clutches the paper in his hand and balls it up in his fists, chucking it across the room while shouting. “Fuck! What does that mean? What does that fucking mean?”
But no one says a word. What’s there to say?
“It sounds like he’s baiting us,” Whistler says.
“Aye, I agree. And it sounds like wherever Knives and Tongue are, they can’t breathe.” Skirt looks at his phone and grimaces. “We have four hours until midnight. I’m assuming that’s when time is up.”
“Time is up? What does that mean, Skirt?” I ask frantically and twirl around to face Reaper. “What does that mean?”
“It means if we don’t find them, they’re dead, Doll.”
Mercy stands and snaps his fingers, a smile taking over his face when he has figured it out. “The Groundskeeper. I knew I’ve heard that name before. When I was undercover with the FBI, his file came across my desk a few times, but we didn’t blink at it because it was only happening once a year.”
“People were dying, and you ignored it?” I sneer, rearing my fist back to punch him in the face, but Slingshot stops me.
“I had other things to worry about, you know, like saving kids like Maizey,” he whips back. “I don’t like that I had to pick and choose, but I did. I had to make a priority list, and one killing per year wasn’t priority.”
“You have information on this guy, though? What does he want?” Reaper asks.
Tank picks up the letter that Reaper tossed across the room and lays the paper out flat on the table to get the wrinkles out.
“We don’t know much of anything unfortunately. When people went missing and the local police departments couldn’t find them, a few days later, ‘The Groundskeeper’ would give them a clue as to where to find the body. They were always buried in a casket.”
“A grave,” I say with horror.
“Yes,” Mercy says regretfully.
“What do we do?” Slingshot asks.
“Where do we even begin to look?” Poodle pipes in next.
“I hope he’s okay.”
“Me too.”
Everyone falls silent after their ramblings, but I can’t stop the tears. He’s six feet under right now. I stumble back and hit the wall behind me, then slide down until my butt hits the floor. I hide my face in my hands and think about everything Tongue has been through to get to where he is. He doesn’t deserve this.
“Where is Doc? We need him here.”
“He’s at that conference in Chicago. He won’t be able to get back for a while.”
“Goddamn it,” Reaper kicks another table, and a bowl of chips go sailing through the air and smacks Badge in the chest.
“Well, we can start with the coordinates at the bottom of the letter. It seems he gave us a clue,” Tank says.
“What?” Reaper snaps, snatching the letter out of Tank’s hand. “Where?”
“It’s hard to see because it’s written in dots, but if it’s what I think it is, those are coordinates.” Tank points to the bottom of the page.
Mercy’s devil horn hits Reaper in the head when he peers over his shoulder. “I’ll be damned. No one has ever noticed that before, not even the FBI. You think he leaves clues like this in every note?”
Tank shrugs. “I don’t know, but he isn’t fucking around. Not a lot people know how to read Morse Code like that. So I’m assuming he thinks it’s a good way not to get caught.”
“Tank, you son-of-a-bitch,” Reaper throws his arms around the big galoot and squeezes, then rears back and grips his face. “And here I thought you were useless.”
Tank looks like he’s been slapped. “You did?”
“But you proved me wrong. This, this is the shit I was looking for in you.” Reaper slaps Tank’s chest and a hard thud sounds from it. “I needed proof you were cut out for this, Tank. You just showed me. Where do the coordinates lead?”
Tank has a big grin on his face and walks to the map hanging on the wall above the couch. Reaper has the city of Vegas mapped out and enlarged, showing the roads and highways. “It’s right in our backyard in the woods. Right about, here.” Tank lands his finger on a spot on the map. “Whatever the clue is, it’s there.”
One of the NOLA guys comes out of the hallway where the bedrooms are. His cut reads ‘Gator’. Right behind him is Seer. He looks like hell. His skin is pale and clammy, and his eyes have dark circles under them.
“Seer, what the fuck happened?” Reaper asks, rushing over to him. Seer leans against the couch, exhausted.
He cracks his neck and rubs his temples again. “Jesus, I love the Vegas chapter here, mon amie, but there’s too much shit going on around you. It bombarded me.”
“Are my men okay? Do you know?”
Seer’s eyes peer up at Reaper in his bent over position, looking unsure and wary. “I do not know. The problem is, when I can’t see what they see, that’s when my gift becomes a curse. Someone is in a very dark place, and they are very scared. Another is surrounded by water, I think. While I was asleep, I saw the sky through the trees and the cold crisp water of the river, but it was rising. He could see the stars, the tops the trees, but he wasn’t afraid to die.”
“That’s Knives,” I whisper out of nowhere, and everyone turns their attention on me.
“I don’t think so,” Poodle says. “Tongue doesn’t seem afraid of anything. He has to be Tongue.” A few people to nod in agreement with him, and I clench my jaw in annoyance.
“No one knows him like I do. Jesse, the man in the water is Knives. Tongue doesn’t want to die. If he’s afraid of anything in this world, it’s death.”
“Doll, I need you to be sure.”
“I’m positive. Tongue might be a badass, but he wants so many things in life. Death is something he hasn’t come to terms with.”
“Okay, that river is a mile away. We can get there,” Reaper says, tucking the clue in his pocket. “Tank, Tool, and whoever else, come with me. Sarah, the women stay here, look after Pocus. Seer—”
“I’m coming. I might be useful.”
“Last thing I want is to fry your brain.”
“Reaper, I’m here. Take advantage while you can because I will not be back for an exceptionally long time.” He doesn’t emphasize on why, but only he knows. Maybe he saw something.
“Okay, fine. Let’s go. If anything happens, call me.” Reaper gives me a farewell kiss before he leaves and for some reason, it felt like more of a goodbye than a see you soon.
“You okay, sis?” Boomer kneels beside me, and his VP Wolf sits next to me.
No. I’m far from okay.
Chapter Eleven
KNIVES
I’m shivering.
It’s fucking cold. I’m spread out like an eagle, and when I turn my head left and right, I see rope tied to a tree that is wrapped around my wrists. Same goes for my feet too. I have a gag in my mouth, so I can’t cry out for help. There aren’t many times I’ve been in death’s view, but I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’m going to die tonight.