Page 54 of Rattle the Cage

Even in the green glow of Feverpoint’s lights, I could see the newly spilled blood splattered across Blade’s mask and clothes.

Blade was energized, racing forward as she screamed into the night. “It’s a good night for a FUCKING hunt!”

She was high, more than any drug or stimulant on the planet could have gotten her.

A part of me was desperate to know what that rush of adrenaline would have felt like. I’d felt it as their prey, the way the terror of being caught in their teeth had filled my entire being. But what was it like to be the hunter?

I was about to find out.

Nash and Cyrus split off next, just as we turned into Stellar Station.

From the shadows, they gripped a runner by his collar. Stopping in my tracks, I turned to watch them. A part of me feared it was a terrible idea, that this image would haunt every waking minute for the rest of my life.

But I needed to see it.

In one easy toss, Nash threw the man to the ground and pressed her foot into his chest. With her other, she stomped on his balls.

“FUCK!” He yelped, reaching to clutch his nuts.

But Cyrus used her foot to slam his hands into the stone below.

Leaning down, Cyrus brought her machete to his throat.

“Please! No! I didn’t do it!” He begged.

Even from here, I could smell the piss running down his legs.

Nash laughed at him. “Of course you did.”

In a deep hiss, Cyrus sliced his throat wide open. “No rest for the wicked.”

Crimson poured from the man’s neck, dripping down his flesh and gushing onto the stones under his body.

My eyes watched the river of blood flow into the creases of the cobblestone, nourishing the plants that grew from the park’s cracked surface.

Cyrus caught my eyes, watching me.

Until another scream came from deeper in the park.

28

CYRUS

The scream was enough to stop all of us from watching this pathetic pig’s dying moments.

Instead, I took off toward the noise. Nash, Blade, and Tess followed closely behind as we moved toward Colossal Kitchen. We’d set traps throughout the park, picking up the dangerous ones when we hunted Tess.

Sprinting forward, I felt the wind against my buzzed head. If we hadn’t been running for so long, the breeze would have warranted a jacket.

But the excitement of the night had kept my blood pumping and my body hot.

As we got closer to the Mini Me ride, I lifted my hand to slow us down.

We had no idea what state this guy would be in, if he would even be injured. It could have been a trick, lure us into a confined space and take us out one by one.

I’d like to see him try.

Walking forward, we fanned out, keeping Tess between all of us as we moved silently through the animatronic ride.