Eden
Come on, Masquerade. Where are you?
I kept examining my board, trying to find some sort of connection, but was having very little luck. Yes, there were little clues that connected people, but not enough to prove that someone might actually help Daisy. Who would have it in them to help her? She was a crazy bitch.
A knock on my door pulled me out of my investigation. "Eden, are you in there?"
Peter. He was going to freak if he saw this. I quickly stumbled a yes and ran to the door, opening it to reveal my friend. Well, not really my friend. It was a bit strange, because our parents were dating, and it hadn't been very long before they moved in. Neither of us were happy about the situation, but had grown a little bit closer over time.
"Hey, are you busy?" Peter asked.
"It depends," I said. "What do you want?"
"Leslie's here," he said. "Luke's sister. She wants to talk to you."
Of course she did. I should have known this would happen eventually. "Did you tell her I was here?" I asked.
"I said I wasn't sure and that I'd come check," Peter said. "What do you want me to tell her?"
We easily could have lied and said I wasn't here, but then I thought about how hard it must have been for Leslie to learn that her brother was dead. Sighing, I said, "Alright, let her in. Tell her I'll be down in a minute."
Peter nodded and I closed the door, walking back over to my board above my desk. I pulled out a sticky note, wrote down Leslie, and stuck it right next to Luke. I took a piece of string and connected it from Leslie all the way across the board to me.
Looked like we were about to have one more connection.
***
Rachel
Getting back and forth between St. Paul's and town was a bit difficult, so the other Masquerades and I decided to start meeting in the school basement. Matt managed to find a key, so we were able to get in even on the weekends.
I entered the school, walking around until I found the door to the basement. Slipping inside, I made my way down the dark staircase until I reached the bottom. Matt and Haven were already there, dressed fully in uniform.
"Matt," I said, "give me an update."
"It wasn't too hard," Matt explained, walking down to take a seat on an old couch. "I knew I'd get him to say yes eventually, it was just a matter of when. Damien's return seems to have shaken him up a little bit."
I nodded. "I figured it would. I doubt this is what Daisy had in mind."
"Have you heard from her?" Haven asked with a bit of disgust slipping out.
"I have, actually," I said, knowing exactly who she was returning to. "Everything seems to be going as planned. It's complicated, but we'll get there."
"Isn't everything about this complicated?" Matt asked.
He did have a point. I started pacing back and forth. "I've gotten a few texts from the Mystery Masquerade. Their story has stayed mostly the same--they're from St. John's, they knew Daisy, and they want to help. I've gotten no names, not even a gender, or I have no way of tracking them down."
"Do they even know what we're doing?" Haven asked.
I shrugged. "I honestly have no idea. I don't want to give too much info away to someone who might use it against us, so I haven't said much. This person could ruin everything if we're not careful."
The Mystery Masquerade was just another person we had to mix into this mess. It was bad enough that as many people were involved as they were, but it never seemed to end. There had to be a way to stop this from getting completely out of hand, but I hadn't thought that far ahead yet.
"What about Audrey?" Matt asked. "Could she be helping this person?"
"I've considered it," I said. "Audrey's supposed to be helping us, but sometimes I wonder. She's been a bit flakey lately, but I think she's starting to realize just how caught up she is in this and doesn't want to possibly face jail time."
Haven snorted. "It's a little late for that, don't you think?"
"What I'd like to know is what our next step is," Matt said. "I already got the date with Josh. What's next?"
"You know I can't tell you that," I said. And it was true. I wished I could tell Matt everything, but the less he knew, the better. "Just trust me on this."
Daisy would be proud.
***
Josh
When Matt finally arrived for our date, my nerves were starting to kick in. Despite my fear, I went outside to his car, climbing in the passenger seat. Once again, was all dressed up, with a purple button-up shirt and a purple and blue tie.
It was sort of cute.
"Am I supposed to be dressy?" I asked self-consciously.
Matt gave me a questioning look. "Is this dressy? I didn't notice."
I laughed it off and the two of us were driving down the road to wherever it is that Matt felt like taking me. He claimed he already had an idea in mind, but wouldn't tell me where exactly. After a few minutes of driving, we pulled onto the highway, leaving town.
"Where exactly are we going?" I asked.
Matt smiled at me. "It's a secret."
Although I trusted Matt completely, my gut gave me a...feeling. The type of feeling you get when you think you're being watched, or that feeling you get when something seems out of place. Yet I couldn't quite put my finger on why.
We drove through the mountains, which was some nice scenery, although our entire city was surrounded by them. But actually riding through the mountains felt different. It was exhilarating, really.
After we made it, I noticed a car behind us. It was the only car I'd seen in miles, and it definitely piqued my interest.
"How long has that car been there?" I asked.
"What car?" Matt asked, looking into his rearview mirror. "Huh. I didn't notice them before. Normally this road's empty."
"Well, it's not now," I said. Just as I spoke, the car behind us started speeding up.
"Asshole," Matt muttered. "He needs to get off me."
Matt started speeding up a little more, but the car stayed right on top of us. Something about this felt wrong. Very wrong.
"What are they doing?" Matt said.
I opened my mouth to respond when the car crashed right into us. It wasn't too far, but it was enough to make us both jerk forward. Matt almost slammed his head into the steering wheel, but quickly regained control of the car.
"What the--"
The car crashed into us again, sending us off the road toward the cliff right beside us. I screamed, expecting us to fall right over the cliff toward our deaths, but instead, Matt stopped the car by slamming on the breaks and jumped out.
"Hey!" I heard him shout. "What the hell!"
I got out of the car as well, not feeling comfortable that close to the edge. When I saw who was in the car that tried to knock us off the cliff, I gasped.
"Layla?" I asked.
She didn't move. Before I could say anything else, she quickly pulled away, driving off down the road. Within seconds, she was already too far gone.
***
Eden
Peter walked Leslie into the living room where I sat, and she took a seat in the chair next to the couch. It made sense that she wouldn't want to sit next to me--it was just too awkward.
"Are your parents home?" Leslie asked. Her long brown hair was absolutely beautiful, curled to perfection. You could definitely tell that she was related to Luke, and seeing him in her made my heart clench with guilt.
"No," I said. "And only one of them is my parent. My Dad. The other is Peter's mom."
"Right," Leslie said, crossing her legs. She looked rather uncomfortable, not that I really blamed her. "I was just coming by because I know that the police don't have much information on what happened to Luke. I..." Tears welled behind her eyes as she spoke. "I just...I miss him, you know? I don't think I want all the gory details--I've heard the rumors. But I feel like I'm missing something important."
I nodded. "There's not really much to tell without getting too gory."
Leslie sighed. "I get that. But...I don't know. I feel like there's something you're not telling me about his death. I mean, it was unavoidable, right?"
As much as I hated lying, we all had to stick to the same story. "We just...couldn't save him in time," I said softly. "We tried, but it was too hard. If we stayed in that building any longer..."
"Okay," Leslie said through her tears. "I understand."
She stood up to leave, but I said, "You don't have to go."
"No, I do," she said. "Coming here was a mistake." Leslie grabbed her purse and started walking to the front door. Before she left, she turned back to me. "All I have to say is that if that bitch was still alive...well...let's just say she wouldn't be for very long."
***
Rachel
My phone rang later that evening with the call I'd been waiting for ever since Matt went on his date.
"Hello?" I answered.
"It's me," Layla said on the other end. "The plan worked."
I had a feeling it would. "I'd ask what you did, but part of me isn't sure I want to know. What about the other killer?"
"Everything's going according to plan," Layla said. "Although, I must admit, I'm a little surprised that you didn't warn Matt about what was going down. Wouldn't it have been a little better for him to be aware?"
One would think that, but lately, I wasn't so sure if that was true. "I have my reasons for keeping things from Matt. I'm not so sure that what he's doing with Josh is just an act anymore."
"You actually think Matt might be falling in love with him?"
The question struck me as odd, but I couldn't say I didn't wonder that myself. Deciding to drop the topic, I said, "I just wanted to make sure that Josh is still alive and that you didn't do anything too bad. We need him alive, Layla."
"I know the plan, Rachel," she said. "I won't let you down."
When she hung up, I looked down at my hands to see that I was shaking. It wasn't that uncommon after something that I went through. It was something that was going to haunt me forever, but this was something I had to do. I needed to regain control of my life.
And being a Masquerade was the only way to do that.
***
One Year Ago
After last Christmas, I was a bigger mess than I ever anticipated. I spent most of my time trying to remember life before Ryan, the life when I had friends. It wasn't easy to deal with so much loss, especially the death of my best friend Esme.
My heart clenched at the thought of her.
I was sitting at home one day as my parents were off to work when my phone buzzed, alerting me of a text message. It was very strange considering I didn't have any friends anymore who would actually talk to me. I opened the phone to see a text from an unknown number.
Hey bitch. Guess who?
My heart stopped in my chest. Ryan?
No. There was absolutely no way. Ryan was dead. I saw him die.
Who is this? I texted back.
The response was almost immediate. Who else would it be? It's me, Noah.
My stomach churned. There was no way. I looked out the window of my room to see if someone was watching me, but there wasn't anyone within distance. My hands started shaking again and my chest tightened up. I was having another anxiety attack.
Seriously, I said. Who are you? What do you want?
I want the Games to start again, the texter said. And you're going to help me, whether you like it or not.
***
I remembered that day like it was yesterday. It was the day that my life changed. It was also the day that my life changed for the better, and I would always believe Daisy did that for me. Without her, none of this would even be possible.
"Thanks Daisy," I smiled. "Now the Games can truly begin."