Page 9 of Shattered Souls

“Name’s Mateo,” He holds his hand out for me to shake it. I stare down at the extension.

“Rayvn.” I return. He sheepishly tucks his hand into his pocket with the rejection.

I take a left this time.

“I saw those two actors with you earlier.” He unfortunately continues talking. “I didn’t think they could touch you here.” I wrap my arms around myself and turn right once more.

“Well,” I stop at a new intersection and look around to gauge my options. “They say this place is super popular. Maybe that’s why.” I go straight.

“I’m not too sure about all that.” Mateo laughs, the sound sending my already fried nerves off.

“Hmm,” That’s all I can muster up in response. After all, I’m not exactly keen on talking to a strange man in the middle of a maze—especially since there’s not another soul around us.

“You just move here? You talk like you’ve never been to Shattered Souls before.”

“Sort of. I’ve never been here though. Never even heard of the place, honestly.” A right.

“Well, consider me your tour guide for the night.” Wonderful.

Just when I find some space from the group of girls that innocently want to be my friends, I’m suddenly being chased by a muzzled scare actor, and now some random man thinks he can play Prince Charming for me.

This is why I never go out.

“You know, I’m really okay. He’s just some scare actor.” Am I scared of him? Yes. Do I think he’s going to kill me? It’s possible, but unlikely.

“You kidding me? That’s Hyde and Seek, the most popular duo here. Plus, I’m not going to pass up on an opportunity to get to know a pretty girl like you better.” He nudges me, almost shoving me into the leaves on my right. Charming. How many other girls has he tried and failed to pull this move on tonight?

I turn left and try to ignore his presence as a whole. It lasts a heavenly ten seconds before he has to open his mouth again.

“Do you go to school?”

“No.”

“Where do you work? Maybe we can exchange numbers and grab a bit—” His words stop mid sentence. Before I can even turn my head and look at him, he collapses to the floor.

A certain muzzled man is standing over Mateo’s body, his eyes pinned on the, hopefully, unconscious man. My mind screams at me to move and run from this man, but my feet don’t get the memo. My breathing picks up as his red and white eyes move to mine.

His hands move but I never take my eyes off of his.

“Please,” I whisper, taking a timid step backwards.

His head falls to the side in a curious fashion and I take that as my cue to bolt. The dirt beneath my shoes fly up as I pump my legs harder than they’ve ever gone.

“Help!” I scream out into the ten foot wall of shrubs. My chest tightens with fear at the realization that no one will come to my aid. My screams are nothing more than a ploy to entertain the guests.

I spin to the left, my feet nearly giving out under me. I grip at the leaves to keep from falling on my ass and letting that mountain of a man catch up with me.

I take a right at the next turn and fall backwards when I see Hyde standing in the middle of the path, gripping his hook until his knuckles go white. He takes a step towards me and I scramble backwards.

I manage to make it to my feet before he can reach me. The slow and confident pace of his steps tells me that he’s going to toy with me until I can’t take it anymore.

After all, he has to know this maze in and out.

I lose track of the directions I move. Was it a left or a right I just came from? I take a left and run for my life, glancing over my shoulder every few steps to make sure he’s not right behind me.

I take a right and almost sag with relief as I see a silhouette in the distance. It doesn’t take long for me to get close enough to see a familiar face.

“Mateo?” I stop three feet in front of him. He stands there, rubbing the back of his skull. His brows are pulled together in confusion.