Page 83 of Stay Scared

“Dawn is several hours away.”

“The attraction is terminated.”

“The director called House Lights.”

The beaked mask turns toward the camera.

“The house declined.”

Ash leans toward the microphone.

“You are not this house.”

Rook puts one hand on Mark’s shoulder.

“I’m the part of it you built, profited from, and tried to bury.”

Cade’s hand closes around the back of the nearest chair. The surrounding monitors dim until only the theater remains bright. Crimson Night’s recorded announcement enters main control.

“Entry is voluntary. What follows is not.”

It repeats. Rook bends toward Mark.

“You taught them to buy the lie.”

I look across the screens showing trapped employees.

“They didn’t agree to you.”

“They agreed to Crimson Night.”

“You don’t work here.”

Rook straightens behind Mark.

“I helped create this place before half of them knew its name.”

Ash steps closer to the microphone.

“State what you want.”

Finally. Rook has spent the last several minutes proving what he knows, what he built, and how long he has been inside their systems. Now we get the reason.

“I want the attraction you were too afraid to finish.”

“This is not a negotiation.”

“It became one the moment your systems opened for me.”

Owen is already studying the blacked-out routes.

“The mechanical locks should release when backup pressure drops.”

Rook changes the screen before Owen finishes. A schematic appears showing portable battery units, hardwired bridges, and manual lock bypasses across the property.

“Under your design, yes.”

Ash stares at it. The VANTA credential glows on a secondary monitor. Owen traces the route of one bridge with his finger. Every backup system they expected to fail open has another source keeping it alive. Rook speaks from the theater feed.