Page 10 of Hunting Ground

“We have to stick together!” she calls back at me, looking a little ridiculous in her parka as she scrambles after the two men.

I stand there for a moment longer, my mouth twisted into a frown. “Fuck,” I sigh at last. It does make sense to stick together. But not with someone who’s out of his mind. “Lily wait!” But I find myself jogging after them while keeping an eye out for anything else that might help me.

Or hurt me.

“Hey!” A woman suddenly comes out from behind one of the carnival games, grabbing onto me before I can keep going. I nearly fall, and if it wasn’t for the brunette’s strong grip, I’d be laid out on the wood below. “I’m not gonna hurt you,” she gasps, panting. “Are you like me?” She holds up the same envelope I’ve gotten, the name MIRANDA printed on the front in blocky, handwritten letters.

My heart races in my chest and my hand that isn’t holding the crowbar–which I hadn’t even considered using to defend myself–reaches into my hoodie pocket to get my own letter. Mentally, I chastise myself for my apparent lack of final girl-esque reaction skills that might keep me alive through the night.

“Okay, okay I’m sorry. Were they–”

“Yeah,” I gasp. “Come on.” I tug her hand instead of explaining further, dragging her along the boardwalk until I hit pavement. The parking lot is cracked, with chunks of concrete missing in many areas, but somehow I can still see each and every lurid yellow line that was painted decades ago on the black surface.

Someone screams, though in my head I recognize belatedly as Ben. He screams again, and another scream joins him, prompting Miranda to run faster until she’s all but dragging me instead of the other way around.

Maybe Miranda is the hero we all need tonight. If so, I would be glad to hand over the mantle of ‘the one not freaking out’ to her so I can get some panicking in.

She draws me up short, catching my arm as Ben screams again. “Wait!” she gasps, but I’m already beside her, my eyes on the fence outside of the parking lot that definitely wasn’t there when I was employed at Wonderlight.

Ben writhes, screaming again, though his voice is getting hoarse. With both palms pressed to the fence, he can’t seem to pull away from it as shock after shock zaps through him. He convulses, time and time again, and Lily covers her mouth as her eyes stay fixed on him and wide.

Good to know the park still has a working attraction.

John sits on the ground behind him, and I wonder if he’d touched the fence too, by the way he’s just staring up at Ben with dazed eyes.

“Okay, so, I would say we can take this as confirmation that the fence is electrified,” I breathe, watching Ben get shocked again.

“Yeah, I would say that is a reasonable deduction. Shit.” Miranda runs a hand through her hair. “If it’s a continuous current, I’m not sure how we’re going to get him off.”

“Suffer through it?” I grit my teeth at the suggestion. I really don’t want to end up getting shocked as well. Belatedly, I toss the crowbar to the ground, at least for now. I figure the less metal on me, the better. “Fuck, I don’t want to get shocked.”

“There has to be a way to turn it off, right?” I glance her way as Miranda speaks, trying to fathom where in the world an on-off switch might be hiding.

“Maybe…” I turn back towards the pier, searching the parking lot for some helpfully shaped piece of rock. But instead, I get an eyeful of the ocean.

Or specifically, how darkness is settling over the ocean. The sunrises are prettier than the sunsets here, given we’re on the Atlantic ocean, but still. This particular evening isn’t as pretty as most I’ve seen here.

One by one, the lights on the outside of the fence come on. One click. Then another. A third, a fourth–until finally, the humming of electricity is loud in my ears and I feel like I’m standing in a football arena with the crowd obscured in the darkness outside.

“Shit,” I breathe. “I think we might be out of time.”

That seems to make up Miranda’s mind. The woman who is much stronger than me in the mental fortitude department rushes forward, dropping my hand to reach out for Ben, though I can see the way her fingers curl in fear. She doesn’t want to touch him either.

Seconds before she reaches him, however, Ben’s screams suddenly cut off. He slumps to the ground like a marionette with its strings cut, and all I can do is stare at him, shocked. Miranda comes to a stop as well, and I doubt she’s any less confused than I am at what the hell is going on here.

A giggle cuts through the night air, and I whip around first, my eyes landing on the girl standing in the middle of the parking lot.

“Ben, Ben, Ben,” she scolds in a sing-song voice. “What did we tell you about the fence?” When she shifts into the light, I’m able to see the mask she wears, the garish clown face stretched wide and her hair up in pink pigtails that have been teased and curled to create massive volume. The rest of her outfit matches, and the bells on her clown collar jingle with every step. I’ve never seen a more over the top clown outfit in real life, with her tutus layered over each other, pink platform combat boots, and the dress that looks to be made of crushed velvet.

When she sees me looking, the girl waves theatrically, bouncing onto the balls of her platform boots. “Oh, you aren’t mine, sweetie,” she promises. “But I know whose you are. Too bad for you. They don’t deserve you.” she saunters forward, and the ax she’s cradling behind her suddenly moves, getting swung around like a child’s stuffed toy.

“Did you miss me, Ben?” she continues to sing, brushing past me with only a glance in my direction. Frozen, I stand there with my heart fluttering in my chest, half convinced she’s going to turn and aim a blow for my neck. Or Miranda’s.

But she doesn’t. The girl walks right past all of us, until she’s standing and staring down at Ben’s crumpled form on the ground. “A shame,” she sighs. “But maybe you just need some motivation to be less boring, hmm?” The girl looks around at all of us and tilts her head.

“Maybe you all need some motivation. You aren’t running, and the sun has set.” she gestures with the ax towards the water, where the water is losing any of its reflected light from the sun. “Maybe you think this is a game? Well…”

Without warning she lifts the ax up in both hands and brings it down hard. Ben wails, arching up off the ground, and his wide eyes reflect the light as he stares at his hand, three fingers now taken down to bloody stumps.