Dare Series Collection - Shantel Tessier Page 0,242

wet, dark hair. “Did you learn your lesson?” he asks her sternly.

Her body shakes uncontrollably, her lips are blue, and her eyes are red from crying. She has tears running down her face, leaving black streaks in their wake. She turns to look at us; gray eyes meet mine, and she whispers. “Help … me …”

He grips a fistful of her hair, and a scream erupts, cutting off her words. Rising to his feet, he bends at the waist and shoves her face-first into the black water. It splashes us, and the girls jump back, but Becky is the only one who screams in surprise.

He holds her under the black liquid surface as she thrashes around, water continuing to splash onto the floor. He yanks her back up, and she gasps for breath. He lowers his face down to hers, pulling her head back by her hair as she openly chokes and weeps. His other hand grips her chin tightly. “You will either learn, or you will die,” he says simply.

“Please … don’t—”

“The choice is always yours.” He shoves her head into the water once again.

A door to the left opens, and Cole pushes Austin through it, entering a hallway. She’s trying to look over his shoulder at the girl still submerged. Once we’re through the door, it slams shut behind us.

“I wanted to see how long she could hold her breath.” Austin pouts, disappointed.

“Long enough,” he tells her.

The hallway curves to the right, and we follow it. It’s narrow and only allows you enough space to walk single file. Cole grabs Austin’s hand, taking the lead, so I take up the back. She rolls her eyes and then bumps into his back when he takes another turn and comes to a stop.

We’ve reached an opening. A man stands before us in a white lab coat covered in blood. His arms lie against his chest and cross at his wrists. He lifts his eyes to us, and a light that he has around his forehead shines on us. “Separate,” he demands.

The main hallway splits, leading to the different doors. Cole drags Austin through the one closest to them. Demi and her boyfriend go through the second one, leaving me and Becky alone. She bites her bottom lip nervously, and I refrain from smiling.

I can do far worse things to you than anyone in this haunted house could possibly think of, baby.

I gesture for her to enter. “After you.”

She sighs heavily and then enters. It’s dark, but the light that comes through the seams in the makeshift wall is enough for me to see where the hallway leads us.

“Where do we go?” she asks, and her voice shakes with fear of what is to come.

She thinks something is gonna jump out at us, grab her, and drag her to hell. I laugh at that thought. Honey, I’m the closest to hell you can get.

A scream erupts from the left, behind the wall, and she jumps, bringing her hands to her pounding chest.

“Here, let me get in front of you.” Reaching out, I place my hands on her shoulders and push her behind me. She grips my upper arms and doesn’t let go. Another sound to my right has my head whipping in that direction. It’s a door, and a light shines from the room on the other side of it. A man dressed in all black stands there. You can’t see his face through the black mesh mask over it.

Becky shrieks, pressing her body into mine. “Please don’t touch me,” she begs.

I nod to the guy and push open the door, leading us into a new room. A woman lies on what looks like a hospital gurney. She wears a dingy gown that has been torn. Her wrists and ankles are strapped to the bed with brown leather straps and blood drips from the restraints. She tries to sit up, but the straps across her chest and stomach prevent any movement. A man stands next to her, his back toward us as he faces a white table.

“Okay, Beatrice. Do you know why I have to do this to you?” he asks.

She stares up at the ceiling, no longer struggling. The only movement is her chest rising and falling slowly. “Because I survived,” she whispers, and Becky stiffens against me.

“Very good,” he praises her. “But why did you do it?” he asks.

She swallows, and whispers, “Because the voices told me to.”

I look at the dirty floor and see a bloody razor blade