I stare at the list of names hastily scribbled on the paper Felix stuffs into my hand.
“I don’t want you hanging out with any of these people. Got it?” he says, staring me down. “You’ve been here a couple of months now, so I hope for your sake you haven’t talked to any of them.”
My eyes transfix on the names.
At the top in bold are two names, Nathan Reed and Kai Torres, and beneath that, practically all the guys from the same fraternity … Phantom Society.
“I don’t even know who these people are,” I mutter, annoyed he’s making my life more difficult, as usual.
“Good, keep it that way,” he says, stuffing his hands into his pocket.
I lower the paper and raise my brow at him. “You for real?”
He squints. “It’s your first real fucking year here, and you don’t know this university like I do. Those fucking Phantoms can’t be trusted.”
“Why?” I ask.
Felix’s eyes narrow. “Doesn’t matter. Don’t even think about them.” He looks around the campus at the people walking and sitting in the grass, nervously biting the inside of his cheek. His eyes settle on three boys smoking near the fountain.
One of them hides his face beneath a black hoodie like he doesn’t want to be spotted, dark streaks of wavy hair peeking out, and both hands stuck in pockets of his track pants. Tattoos can be seen under his sleeves.
Another one with light blond hair and a side sweep, along with sharp, piercing blue eyes, has his hand tightly tucked into his expensive jeans like he’s clutching a knife. A bunch of tattoos peeks out from underneath the white shirt covered by a leather jacket.
The third is tall and thin but muscular looking in a lean way, with short red-dyed hair in a side part. He’s wearing an actual white button-up shirt and tie. How odd. His thin lips crack a mischievous smile as he toys with the end of his tie.
All of them stare at Felix.
Or us both.
I can’t tell.
“You don’t know who else is listening,” Felix grits.
I laugh. “Oh please. Like anyone cares.”
He makes a big fuss out of everything. Dad already said he had enough of all the fighting on this campus. And now that he’s taken over this school as dean, I don’t see a reason Felix should continue to be so vigilant, especially regarding me.
“Stop worrying so much,” I add.
He flicks my forehead so hard I wince. “What the fuck did you do that for?”
“Because I fucking care about you,” he retorts. “And so should you.”
“I’m gonna chop off your finger if you ever do that again,” I retort, threatening him with a finger equally deadly.
He snorts. “Remember what Dad said; no fighting on campus.” And he rubs my beautifully combed hair so wildly it pisses me off to the point of screaming out loud.
“Felix! My hair!”
Now I’ve gotta spend another fifteen minutes brushing out all the tangles to make it perfect and smooth again.
“Looks lovely. Catch you later,” he says before he walks off, leaving me fuming and ready to rip him a new asshole.
Suddenly, someone throws their arm around my shoulders. “Hey! Who was that handsome guy?”
It’s Brooke, one of my fellow Beta Pi sorority girls who has a room right across from mine. She casually throws her long, wavy blond hair over her shoulder and side-eyes Felix. “Friend of yours?”
The thought that she’d be even remotely interested in him makes me want to puke.
“My brother,” I reply.
“Oh …” She licks her lips. “Well, if he’s avail—”
“No. He has a girlfriend.”
And besides, I would never, ever introduce one of my friends to Felix.
In fact, I would rather swallow one of those dead rats he feeds his snake than see him kiss one of my friends. Gross.
“Aw … Well, if they break up, tell me first, ’kay?” She winks.
No thanks.
“Oh, what have you got there?” she asks, and she rips the paper from my hand before I can tuck it into my pocket.
“Just some stupid list my brother gave me,” I reply. “It’s no big deal.”
I try to steal it back, but she won’t let me.
“These names. These are all Phantom guys,” she mutters. “And some from Tartarus too.”
I frown. “You know these guys?”
“Yeah, of course I know the Phantom Society and Tartarus. They’re only the biggest frat houses on this entire campus.” She snorts. “Everyone knows about them.”
Well, I didn’t. I’ve been far too busy with my studies.
“Can I have it back now?” I ask and snatch it away.
“Why did your brother give you this?” she asks.
“I don’t know. He just told me not to ever talk to any of these people.” I shrug. “Whatever. It’s not like it matters.”
She makes a face. “Wow, your brother sounds really obsessed. And protective. Which is kinda hot.”
I give her a playful punch on the shoulder. “Oh my God, stop. You’re embarrassing me.”
“Well, this is more like a grocery shopping list than anything else.”
I laugh, and she hooks her arm through mine as we walk across campus, headed straight toward the boys my brother told me not to interact with. “Look. Some of the boys from your list are over there.”
Brooke winks at the dudes near the fountain.
“Phantom Society boys are notorious heartbreakers … and rich,” Brooke adds, gloating. “So I’m definitely gonna try my shot.”
“I’m not stopping you,” I muse.
It’s not like I haven’t noticed them, but I really don’t want to go over there. They give me the creeps. The way they’re looking at us. At me.
As if they want to eat me alive.
I throw my hair over my shoulder, determined not to let them get to me. But we’re steadily closing the distance, and Brooke’s heading straight toward them.
Right as we pass them, Irina, my other Beta Pi sorority housemate, suddenly runs up to me and squashes me into a hug. “Lana!”
“Whoa, whoa!” I mutter as my feet cave under the added unexpected weight, and I fall backward into the fountain.
Midway, I’m stopped.
A firm hand presses into the small of my back.
A chill runs up my spine.
When I slowly turn my head, I stare straight into the face of the guy hiding in his hoodie. But he has only one green eye and one icy white one covered by a gnarly-looking scar from his brow to his cheek.
And I can’t stop fucking staring at the one functional eye, sparkling and filled with regret. Hauntingly beautiful. Like he’s looked death in the eyes and returned from hell itself.
“Sorry!” Irina drags me away, pulling me out of the spell. “I got too excited.”
I don’t even know how to respond. I can still feel his fingers even though they’re no longer pushed into my flesh. Like a memory imprinted straight into my skin.
“Thanks,” I mutter over my shoulder at the guy who saved me from a dirty birdbath.
“Sure,” he replies, tucking his hand into his pocket.
But the glimmer in his eye makes it hard to look away.
Especially with the other guys staring at me over his shoulder. It’s like they’re deciding whether to let me walk or drown me in the fountain.
Fuck.
“Don’t look too long …” the one with the blond hair murmurs. “Or you might lose one too.”
My eyes widen.
Does he mean … my eye?
“It’s our first day. I’m so freaking excited!” Irina squeals in my ear. “C’mon, c’mon! Let’s go!”
She hooks her arm into mine and hauls me away from the boys until finally, I stop looking and focus on what’s in front of me. Irina and Brooke drag me toward the school, but I can’t stop thinking about those damn boys.
I take another glance at the fountain, too curious why that one guy tried to save me from wet clothes. But they’ve already turned their backs to us and continue talking to each other like nothing ever happened.
Why am I even thinking about this?
“Who are those dudes?” Irina suddenly asks. “I saw the way he looked at you, and damn, it was eerie as hell.”
Another chill creeps up my spine.
“Phantom Society,” Brooke tells her, and she pulls a can of Coke from her bag and takes a sip. “Sneaky fuckers they are. They’re not at the top of the class; those are usually Skull & Serpent Society guys, but if you ask me, the Phantom guys are much more of a threat to most girls.”
“Why?” Irina asks.
“They have connections to some grimy and dangerous businesses. And none of it is out in the open. Underground stuff you really don’t want to get involved in.”
“Like what? Drugs?” Irina asks.
“Oh much, much more from what I’ve heard,” Brooke replies, taking another big sip. “Gambling, shady deals involving blood money … trafficking.”
“The list goes on,” I say.
“Exactly.”
“So my brother was right?” I ask.
“Well, maybe about some, but not all of them are like that.” Brooke shrugs.
“You just never know which one is the bad apple,” Irina says.
“Exactly,” Brooke replies, winking, but then Irina steals her Coke and takes a sip. “Hey!”
“What? I’m thirsty,” Irina mutters, shoving it back into Brooke’s hand.
“Not as thirsty as Brooke,” I muse.
Brooke snorts. “True.”
A smirk spreads on my face. “Anyway, enough boy talk. Let’s go inside and find our classes.”
Nathan
I stare at the girl chatting with her friends near the door to the main building. The girl with the long, straight black hair neatly combed over her shoulders, bangs at the front, and a red ribbon at the top waving in the wind, drawing attention away from her bright-red dress and black pantyhose. The girl so blissfully unaware of all the fucked-up things I could’ve done to her if she’d stared at Kai for even a second longer.
I know that girl …
She has those same hollow eyes as Felix, only with a much bigger smile on her face.
A smile I’d happily crush in my hands just to get a glimpse at his rage.
I take another drag of my smoke and chuck it into the fountain.
“Should’ve just let her fall in,” I say.
“And risk getting chewed up and spit out by her brother?” Kai responds, pulling his hoodie farther over his head. “No thanks.”
“We’ve been nice enough not to butcher him and his friends on sight after what they did to us. If it were up to me, I would’ve dunked her in myself for having the balls to fall into my lap.”
“Lucky it wasn’t your lap she fell into, then,” Kai says.
My eyes narrow, and I stare him down for a moment. “You … wanted that to happen, didn’t you?”
“Oh, do I hear a twinge of jealousy?” Milo taunts, but I ignore him.
Kai snorts. “Of course not.” He fishes a small metal flask from his pocket and takes a sip. “But I won’t pass up the opportunity to score some points with those fuckers. Keep them from attacking us when we’re weak.”
“Weak?” I snatch the flask from his hand. “Phantoms aren’t weak. Those Skull & Serpent Boys will get what they deserve and you’d better be ready.” I take a big sip and shove it back against his chest. “Now are you on my side or theirs?”
He tilts his head and grins. “Do you really have to ask?”
Milo rubs his hands together. “I can’t fucking wait.”
My eyes land on that girl again. The girl Felix called Lana … His sister. “Maybe she can be our way in to that fucking snake den.”
Lana
After our first classes are over, we eat dinner together and chat about our day. Irina and Brooke are good company, and I can definitely see myself hanging out with them during the coming months. They seem very loyal, and I need that type of friend going to this school as a Rivera. Everyone both reveres our family name and despises it in the same breath.
We’re a family with a lot of power. A dozen brands under my father’s belt like the Rivera clubs make it hard for people to look beyond our wealth and influence. Besides, now that my father is also dean of Spine Ridge University, it makes it really hard for me to walk around anywhere without getting eyeballed from a million different directions.
I’m so glad Irina and Brooke don’t seem the least bit scared of all of that. Too bad they can’t follow me everywhere.
When the night falls, and all the Beta Pi sorority girls are fast asleep, I’m still scrolling on the web, determined to find my next target. The kind of place I want to go to is not one to look for during the day, and especially not on any regular website. This Tor Browser allows me to search through directories, watching, lurking, and waiting for bait.
And when I finally have it, a wicked smile forms on my lips.
I type out the words I know will cause a ripple in the pond and press send.
Now it’s time to move.
I open my closet and take out my bag that I keep for special occasions such as this one. I check if I’ve got all my gear before I sling it over my shoulder and walk to my mirror. I put on the red ribbon and tie it firmly into my hair, along with some red lipstick and the highest laced booty heels I can find in my closet. Then I grab the black kitten mask and tuck it into my bag.
I’m so glad my dad got me a room without any roommates. The privilege of being rich sure comes in handy when you have nefarious plans.
I smile at myself in the mirror before I strut out the door, putting my bag over both shoulders. I head straight out the back door, worried someone might still be awake. My motorcycle is out front, and I jump on and put on my helmet and gloves, and insert my earbuds, then race off into oblivion.
Violent music blasts through the earpieces as I veer left and right across the road and head for the gates that lead off the compound. My mind goes a million miles an hour, and the bike can’t keep up. I need to go faster, harder, louder.
Where I’m going, there are no tears of happiness, no smiles of bliss, not even an inkling of emotion except rage.
Straight into hell’s mouth.
Down, down, down, I go along the mountain and into the bustling city, where white collar business and crime go hand in hand. But I’m not looking for a butt-clenching crook, nor have I hooked a big fish. I’m headed into the outskirts of Crescent Vale City, going for the lowest of the lows. Where pure scum live in houses not even a roach would touch.
I park my motorcycle outside the most repugnant house I’ve ever seen, barely staying upright with crooked wooden beams and taped-off windows. The stench of drugs meets my nostrils halfway across the street.
Taking off my helmet, I fish my kitten mask from my bag and slip it on.
I clutch my bag close to my shoulder as I head into the house without a second thought.
The putrid smell of pot makes me recoil, but I continue through the narrow hallway littered with fast-food packages. In the far back, a loud television blasts, the sounds of squealing women faking orgasms drawing me closer.
In front of the screen is a big red chair covered in stains, inside a man with a potbelly, wearing only a pair of underpants and a shirt that’s too small to cover his body.
The floor creaks under my foot with my next step, and I freeze.
The man turns around and looks at me over his chair.
“Oh, you’re here,” he says.
I don’t respond.
He gets up and pats down his chest, crumbs of old pizza falling to the floor. I look around at his miserable life, wondering how a person can live like this and be content.
But the smile on his face gets me the most.
“Can I get you a drink?” he asks.
“No, thanks,” I reply, staying put.
“C’mon, c’mon,” he says, beckoning me to a couch to the left. “Let’s sit over here and chat.”
I swallow and stare him down as he flops down and pats the fabric, seemingly oblivious to my revulsion.
He grins at me with bits and pieces of food still stuck to his gums. “I won’t bite.”
Doubtful.
“You … are the girl I spoke to, right?” he asks, frowning when I don’t come near.
I nod silently.
“Then there’s no need to hesitate,” he says, rubbing his thigh.
In my high heels, I step closer and lower my bag.
“How often do you do this?” I ask.
“With other girls? Never,” he replies.
“Don’t lie to me,” I say.
He sighs. “If I answer, will you sit down?”
I nod.
“Sometimes,” he says after a while.
“Same age as me?” I ask, tilting my head as I zip open my bag.
“Of course,” he replies, and he puts his hand on my leg to pull me closer. “I like my girls young … beautiful, like you.” He smirks. “You didn’t tell me you were into masks.”
“Young …” I repeat, my eyes twitching. “Too young to say no.”
And I pull my hammer out of my bag and jam it into his face.
He groans and grips his nose as blood pours out. “Fu—What the fuck are you doing?”
“Giving you what you asked for,” I answer, taking my knife from my bag and ramming it straight into his hand.
He squeals like a pig, tearing his hand away from my thigh, but I grab him and twist his arm so badly he’s forced down onto the floor.
“Please, don’t hurt me!”
“Is that what those other girls screamed?” I retort, twisting his hand some more.
“No, please, they wanted it—”
“They were kids!” I hiss.
He sinks onto the floor, groaning in pain.
I grip his hair and pull back, pointing the knife at his face. “You thought I was one of them, didn’t you? Young, innocent, easy to use.” My lip hitches up into a tentative smile. “I blend in easy, don’t you think?”
“You … you trapped me?” He coughs up a tooth and spits it out onto the floor.
“I lured you into your own fucking trap,” I retort, the knife glinting in my hand.
“Please, don’t do this, I’ll give you anything you want.” His eyes flick back and forth between me and the knife.
“I don’t want your money,” I reply.
“Then what do you want?” he yelps. “Take it, anything I have.”
“I don’t want anything but your fucking life.”
“Wait, wait, wait,” he begs as I inch closer with the knife. “Are you a cop?”
I snort. “Worse.”
I jam my knife straight into his abdomen.
He gurgles up blood. “Oh God! Please! Who are you?!” he cries out. “Have mercy!”
But I ignore his pleas and shove another knife straight into his neck.
He gurgles, and a single tear rolls down his cheek.
“I’m retribution.”
I tear out the knife, and blood spurts out as the body falls to the floor.
Now this … this is ecstasy.
Nothing compares to the sounds of perverts dying a painful death.
I wipe the knife on his couch and tuck it into my bag.
CRACK!
My ears perk up, and I stop moving entirely. Whispers from the hallway near the front door have me on edge.
Someone’s here.
Another victim he tried to lure with his disgusting chats?
I swiftly grab my bag and put everything back inside, then make my way to the back of the house. There’s no way out, no other door outside, just rooms and more rooms. One of them is covered in mattresses, ropes and all, and the view makes me sick to my stomach.
I close the door and head into another. A bathroom with blood stains on the sink, but it’ll have to do.
Beyond the room, I can hear more rustling, more footsteps. One, two, three? I don’t know how many different ones, I can’t keep them apart. But it’s more than one person. And they’re definitely guys.
The sound of laughter comes to an abrupt halt.
“Yo, check this out,” one of them says.
“Holy shit,” another one says. “Is he …?”
“Dead,” a new voice says.
“Fuck, someone beat us to it.”
To what? Murder?
I clutch the door handle tightly, my heart beating in my throat as I try to listen to their conversation. I’m too intrigued to step away, despite knowing it’s dangerous. One misstep and I’m going down as a killer or worse … I’ll end up dead right beside that pervert.
“God-fucking-dammit,” the second guy says. “I was looking forward to this.”
Wow. Did I just hear that right?
I can’t stop myself from opening the door and leaning in so the door opens to a sliver, allowing me to peek through.
Three guys wearing eerily similar white masks hover over the body. One of them, a scrawny one, grabs his hand and lifts it.
“Yup, definitely dead.”
That was the first guy, I recognize the voice.
I push the door open farther to get a good look at all three of them. They’re all in hoodies and covered up to the point that I can’t recognize a single thing.
“Well, no point in hanging around this stench then,” the second guy says. “Let’s go.”
I lean in farther to see if I can catch a glimpse of their faces because I’m invested now, and I can’t say no to my own curiosity, despite knowing the risks.
Suddenly, the third guy puts his finger against his lips. “Shh. Quiet.”
He looks around.
My heart stops.
“We’re not alone.”
Suddenly, their eyes all move around the room.
And one of them, the scrawny one, connects with mine.
