Page 30 of Truth Revealed

Betrayal slapped his hands together and rubbed them back and forth. “This sounds like my kinda game.”

“Not it!” Hope called out suddenly.

“Not it—what?” Betrayal turned toward him with a frown in place.

“Not it… as in, not on your team,” Hope teased.

“Not it!” Death echoed.

They all turned toward Misery, who had a sour expression on his face. “Oh, come on, guys. Why do I have to be on his team?”

“Hey, I’m not so bad,” Betrayal tried to defend himself.

“Yeah, yeah. We’ll see when the scores are posted,” Misery grumbled.

Betrayal hummed as if he was already plotting their downfall and walked ahead, the first to open the doors and let them through. Hope went in right after Misery, and the sad demon sent him a wink over his shoulder.

So. Fucking. Weird.

“Party under the name of Locke,” Misery told the young looking character at the front desk. He’d used Daria’s last name, and the prospect made Hope’s heart expand in his chest.

The entire place was much… nicer than Hope expected. Instead of gaudy, neon carpet and a million kids running around, warm wood with tasteful metal accents made the place feel unique, while also keeping that intense, secret mission vibe.

A secret mission that was revealed to them once the young man led them into another room, where he explained what the vests did, how to use the guns, and how to win.

“You’re going down,” Betrayal barked, as he velcroed the vest together at his side, with a predatory glimmer in his eyes as he stared at Death and Hope.

A long pause filled the room, but then Hope broke the silence, unimpressed. “Even Misery tells a better joke, you asshole.”

Misery laughed at that, something that was still so new and took some getting used to. Meanwhile, Betrayal staggered back with a hand over his heart as if he’d been shot. “Now that hurts. That really hurts,” he complained.

It only added to the hilarity of the situation, and Hope couldn’t hold it back anymore. He released a low chuckle, giving up the idea that he could hide it behind a cough. In the next second, even Death’s lips were curled into a smile.

Three loud beeps interrupted the laughter, their signal that the game was about to begin. Hope checked his vest once more and adjusted his grip on the toy gun, trying not to feel ridiculous. Thousands of years old, and yet he was excited at the prospect of playing some game invented by humans… a game that was surely meant for teenagers.

The doors slid open, revealing a darkened room with flashing lights, muted by the amount of sweet-smelling fog so thick it was hard to see even a few feet in front of them.

Hope locked eyes with Death, who shrugged and strode into the mess of obstacles, fake buildings, forts, and fog. Misery and Betrayal had both already taken off, so with a sigh, Hope followed.

He sank low, his thighs taking the brunt of his weight as he ducked behind a medium-sized wall and attempted to get a good visual of what the place looked like. With a glance over the top of the wall, he quickly realized he’d need to find higher ground.

Grumbling as he winced against the blinding lights, he stealthily made his way along the wall until he came to a new opening that went left and right.

“Oh shit!” he cursed, ducking instantly. The lights on his vest flashed and pinged, signaling he’d been hit and points had been awarded to the other team. Rolling his eyes, he remained on his hands and knees and crawled to the next safe area, a box looking contraption that seemed more like a fire hazard than anything else.

Once inside, his eyes adjusted to the darkness and he frowned.

“Wait a minute…”

In the middle of the large box stood a contraption similar to a podium. And in its center? A huge red button.

Hope glanced down at his vest, the blue patch catching his eye, and he grinned.

“Suckers.”

Then he lifted his gun, aimed, and fired.

Lights flashed, sirens blared, and a loud mechanical voice blared through the entire warehouse. “Blue team has completed the mission.”