Page 89 of Camera Stays On

“Yeah, but you killed Lux.” Mick crossed his arms. “Why? Were you jealous?”

“Jealous?” Juliet’s innocent demeanor melted away in a flash. “Please. It really was an accident. I’d just tried to scare her. Come off it.”

“Then why didn’t you let her out after a few seconds?” I blurted. The room grew quiet as we stared at Juliet.

“I don’t trust you.” Darius took a step back, shaking his head. “No one is that cold about murder. You tried to get away with it. That doesn’t sit right with me.”

“It shouldn’t.” Sawyer’s voice boomed overhead. We jumped and began looking for the intercom system. “This is a horror movie. No one should be trusted.”

“You’re a fucking coward,” Asher sneered. “This isn’t a horror movie. This is real life.”

“Two things can be true, brother.” Sawyer’s voice crackled and popped on the intercom, causing us to look up and around. “Just like you being my most trusted friend, and my biggest enemy.”

Everyone’s attention zeroed in on Asher and me still holding hands. I dropped his hand quickly, my cheeks warming. Wherever he was, he could see us.

“Every genre of horror, while giving you room to be creative, still has rules that need to be met. Expectations. A guidebook on what your viewers want. Since we were kids, you and I studied these films. We used to write down the story beats, frame by frame. Who got killed first, when it happened, and how. The bigger the blood count, the higher rating. And don’t get me started on creativity.”

“Will you get on with it?” Mick shouted at the ceiling. Not knowing where Sawyer was put me on edge. Was he going to simply pop out of thin air and shoot us all?

“Rest assured, no one else will die by gun. It was a one-and-done shot that I rather enjoyed. Gavin finally shut up,” Sawyer cackled through the speakers. No one joined in. We were still covered in his blood and brain matter.

“I told you all to run. It looks like only one of you took my advice.”

What was he talking about? Everyone was here—Darius, Mick, Juliet, Asher, and me.

“Bea,” Asher said under his breath. The energy shifted as we all filed toward the stairs, heading down and into the living room, where sure enough, the couch with the bullet hole and bloodstained pillows lay empty.

“How?” Juliet scoffed. “She was basically dying.” She rolled her eyes.

“That’s not funny,” I snapped at her. “She might lose her foot.” I shook my head at the scene in front of us. Cups and bandages had been knocked off the coffee table, as if she’d struggled to get up and didn’t bother with picking things up. Like she knew she had to go now. Had she found an exit we didn’t know about? Or had she escaped before?

The timing of everything didn’t make sense. When had Sawyer found time to barricade all the doors? I made a mental note to ask the group when we weren’t in fight-or-flight mode. For now, we had bigger things to concern ourselves with.

“Where is Bea?” I demanded at the ceiling. “Is she okay?”

“She was caught in a bear trap. What do you think?” Sawyer mocked from his hideout. Annoyance hung in the air as we ignored him. Juliet huffed and sat down on the couch, with Mick and Darius taking the other couch, where Bea had been. I couldn’t sit. I was too jumpy. This was not okay.

“What do we do then? How much food is left? We need to take care of Gavin,” Darius rattled off.

“I’m not touching that,” Juliet snapped. “I’ll vomit. I say let’s just lock the doors and do what Sawyer wants.”

I shivered and looked around, seeing that all eyes were on me. They knew what he wanted.

To make a good movie.

To make me his wife.

“He already told us,” Asher said. “He’s fucking with us. We’re not dealing with a rational man anymore. If we ever were. He’s lost it, and we’re just bodies to him. He wants us to turn on each other.”

“Why?” Mick shook his head.

These were all supposed to be industry professionals. People with degrees in film. Asher was right, Sawyer had laid it all out for us. Why were they not getting it?

“Are you really an actor?” I blurted, tugging on my dress. It felt heavier than normal all of a sudden, the pressure of Sawyer’s desires weighing on me.

Mick cocked his head and furrowed his brows. “What?”

“Are you really a professional actor like Sawyer said? And you—” I pointed to Juliet. “Have you ever assistant directed before?” Both of them looked at me with blank stares, speaking louder than any of their words could.