Late on their first night at the cabin, Ruby’s steps were the only sound in the quietude of her room as she paced. Her heart fluttered with anticipation. Seeing Nathan’s lithe body stretched out across the couch when she’d gone for a drink had left her unsettled. Memories of the steamy encounters they’d had in the past swam through her mind. Her pulse raced with anticipation as she fought with herself about whether to seek him out tonight.
He's single. I’m single. We’ve hooked up in the past. It’s no big deal for either of us. Sure, he didn’t call me last time, but I didn’t call him either. We don’t really do that. He’s hot, I’m bothered, and he does that thing with his tongue… Screw it. I’m going out there.
Once she made the decision, Ruby discovered she was intensely drawn by the prospect of being in Nathan’s arms again. The man was allergic to commitment, but he knew what he was doing.
Open eyes and realistic expectations. It will be fine.
She repeated that mental mantra as she turned to face the door. A confident grin spread across her lips, and a soft chuckle escaped as she thought about Nathan’s predictable reaction to her advances. She knew precisely what to expect from him. He was comforting. Fun. Safe.
Ruby pictured Nathan on the couch, perhaps lost in his private concert or maybe even thoughts of women—possibly her. Then again, maybe he was just eager for another beer. He was a simple creature who didn’t require much to be happy. The mental image brought a playful smile to her lips and infused her steps with courage.
However, when she crossed the threshold into the living room, she was met with a weighty silence rather than the lounging potential lover she’d expected. It was jarring to instead find the sofa bed pushed aside to reveal a hidden trapdoor and a staircase that descended into obscurity. Her adventurous side immediately saw it as a tantalizing mystery that invited further exploration.
Ruby shivered in the cooler room. The tank top and shorts she wore as pajamas were comfortable and sexy but didn’t offer much warmth. The sleepwear had been a last-minute addition to her luggage when she learned Ethan’s brother was joining them.
"Nathan?" Ruby called into the darkness. Her voice carried a mix of curiosity and apprehension.
She heard only the slight echo of her voice. Ruby cautiously crept down the first three steps and jumped when Nathan’s excited voice suddenly sounded from the depths below.
“Ruby! Come down here. You have to see this!”
His muffled voice and the lure of a mystery drew her like a magnet.
Driven by curiosity, Ruby descended another creaky wooden step as a cool draft made tendrils of her loose hair tickle her cheeks. An involuntary shiver ran through her body, but she shook it off and took a deep breath before continuing into the unknown. The air grew cooler with each step, and she turned on her phone’s flashlight to light the way. The faint glow from the living room above soon gave way to deep shadows that danced along the walls in the harsh LED light.
At the bottom of the staircase, Ruby discovered a large basement room filled with shelves containing a wild assortment of items. More shelves stood in rows through the center of the room. It was practically a museum. She ventured deeper into the dark basement with only her light to illuminate the way. She approached the first blind corner with heightened senses due to the mysterious circumstances, so she reacted on instinct when Nathan jumped out of the darkness. Her punch was precise, landing squarely on his shoulder and knocking him off balance as she took a defensive stance.
“Ouch! Damn it, Ruby. It’s just me. I was messing around. Stand down!” Nathan was breathless and grunted in pain as he rubbed his sore shoulder.
Ruby relaxed and bent to pick up the phone she’d dropped. “You better hope my phone didn’t break,” she warned. “You’re lucky I didn’t go for the throat. You know better than to sneak up on me.”
Her phone was fine, and she pointed its flashlight toward him. “Are you okay?”
A wide grin spread across his handsome face, and he raised his hands in a placating gesture. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist. Seriously, look at this place.” Nathan gestured to the basement filled with the curious array of forgotten relics. “Doesn’t it feel like we’ve stumbled into a treasure trove?”
He turned on his phone’s flashlight and illuminated the dust particles floating in the air. They caught the sparse light and shimmered, giving the moment an ethereal quality. Ruby moved to stand next to Nathan as her gaze explored the assortment of items left behind by the cabin’s previous occupants.
"It's incredible," she whispered. Her fingers brushed lightly against a delicate, ancient-looking vase. "Feels like we've stepped into another world."
Nathan nodded. "Exactly! Who knows what secrets these shelves hold?" His gaze lingered on a particularly ornate chest. "There's a lot hidden beneath the surface here, literally and figuratively."
Ruby moved closer to the shelves to study the items that piqued her curiosity. She picked up a small, leather-bound book that caught her interest. It had a strange symbol embossed into the cover that felt…important.
She opened the book and bit back a gasp of horror at the images she found. They looked medieval, and she couldn’t read any of the text, but the illustrations provided a clear enough picture. Ruby didn’t need a history degree to recognize the depiction of human sacrifice. It turned her stomach, but she was fascinated.
“Hey, check this out.”
Nathan took the book and studied the cover intently for a long moment. “I swear this is that same symbol from the tree outside.” He opened the book, and his expression morphed from curiosity to disgust. “What the hell? That is some cult shit.”
"Yeah. It’s really creepy. Who even has a book like that?” She turned to look at the other shelves as he returned the tome to the shelf. “Why do you think all this is here? Who left it?”
Nathan shrugged, looking thoughtful as he contemplated his answer. "No idea, but discovering that is half the fun, isn't it?" He flashed her a flirtatious grin. "Just like us, you never know what's lurking beneath the surface until you dive in.” His eyes gleamed with mischievous intent as he ran a hand down her arm. “The excitement is in the…exploration.”
Arousal coursed through Ruby’s nervous system. Nathan had always had that effect on her. The man was gorgeous, and she had sought him out to enjoy a little amorous adventure, but she wasn’t ready to stop delving into the mysterious cabin’s secrets yet. She drew a deep breath and turned her attention back to the shelves.
She felt the mystery binding them closer as they discovered the bidden basement’s labyrinth of long-forgotten stories. Each object she examined seemed to beckon her further into the shadows of the past. As they continued to explore side by side, their dynamic shifted. The air crackled with the newfound tension between them. It was almost electric, and it heightened the feelings that were already surging through her.
“You need a drink? It’s pretty dusty down here.” Nathan offered her a nearly full beer.
“Sure, thanks.” Her fingers brushed his as she took the bottle, and she didn’t break eye contact. Their private adventure and the secluded environment emboldened her, and Ruby decided to address the elephant in the room. She tipped the bottle back and swallowed a mouthful of the bitter fluid before passing it back to him.
“So, Mr. Explorer,” Ruby began in a teasing tone. “I couldn’t help noticing that you forgot to call me after our last…rendezvous.” Her eyes sparkled with mischief as she studied him for a reaction.
Nathan, who’d been casually sipping his beer, choked slightly. He wiped his mouth, and a sheepish smile formed on his lips. “Ah, that.” He chuckled and met her gaze. You know I’m no good with the follow-up, Ruby. You’ve never wanted that.”
She moved closer to him and ran a hand down his chest. “Still don’t. But I wouldn’t mind better access when the need arises. You wouldn’t want to leave a girl wanting, would you?” Her breath caught. “You might miss out on more than just phone calls.”
Nathan’s eyes darkened with desire even as they gleamed with amusement. He clearly enjoyed her game. “I suppose I’ll have to find a way to make it up to you,” he murmured. He moved close enough for his breath to mingle with hers as his hands slid around her waist.
Ruby felt the warmth of his large body mere inches away, and the proximity sent a shiver of need through her. Thoughts of the many ways he could make it up to her raced through her mind, accompanied by her racing pulse. The air between them felt electrified. Every nerve in her body was acutely aware of both how close he was and the ecstasy this particular man could wreak on her senses. Ruby let her desire show in her eyes and silently urged him to act. She loved it when he took the lead.
Nathan accepted her unspoken invitation and closed the distance between them as he captured her lips in a passionate kiss. He deepened the kiss as his arms pulled her body against his. Their tongues danced to the ancient rhythm of lust and longing. Both gave themselves to the moment without hesitation or restriction.
Ruby wrapped her arms around his neck, trying to pull him closer even as her body pressed against his as closely as it could without being joined as one. Nathan’s wandering hands eagerly roamed over her body, touching her in all the places he knew would drive her wild.
Their surroundings ceased to matter as their embrace grew more intense. They were alone in a spooky basement, making out like teenagers. The situation only heightened her feelings and drove Ruby to new heights. It felt naughty and undeniably delicious.
They bumped into a shelf as Ruby frantically tried to strip off Nathan’s shirt. The collision knocked over a stack of old books, sending the creepy sacrifice book to land near their feet. They barely heard the thud, and Nathan stepped on the book as they blindly moved around the room. The world beyond their embrace had become inconsequential.
Nathan kissed his way down to her neck. “You’re beautiful, Ruby,” he murmured.
Ruby gazed at him with a cheeky grin as she tried to calm her ragged breath. “Looks like we’re making quite a mess down here.” Her voice was low and seductive after the intensity of their kisses, and she didn’t care. She wanted more.
Nathan chuckled and rested his forehead against hers, seemingly grateful for a moment to calm his rampant arousal. His tone was a husky growl when he spoke. “It seems so. I’m all for continuing this…exploration. I’ll clean up the mess later.”
She wasn’t entirely sure why, but Ruby found that statement incendiary. It set her senses on fire and sent her lunging toward him, driven by a need that felt boundless and insatiable. Their bodies entwined once more. Fervent kisses led to losing themselves in one another. Ruby’s shirt soon joined Nathan’s on the dusty floor.
Only the forgotten relics stood witness to their increasingly intimate connection. This basement, which had stood sentinel to so many memories, now held a new experience—one filled with laughter, flirtation, and unbridled passion.
Ruby let out a soft moan as Nathan’s head dipped to her exposed chest, and his warm hands caressed her skin. The hard muscles and chiseled planes of his body were the landscape she explored with her questing mouth and hands as they drove each other to new heights.
The couple moved clumsily around the room as each touch and kiss grew needier and more fervent than the last. Lost in the moment, Ruby stumbled over a fallen trinket and bumped into one of the old shelves. Her attention was occupied by holding Nathan close, so she didn’t immediately notice when her shoulder pressed a concealed button.
However, the soft click that sounded caught their attention. They stood half-naked and in shock as the wall beside them shuddered and slowly swung open. The space beyond the hidden doorway was a stark contrast to the dusty basement. A modern-looking hallway that looked like it belonged in a science fiction movie stretched into the distance. Harsh white light spilled from the hall into the cluttered basement, illuminating the area around them.
Ruby pulled away from Nathan’s embrace, her astonished eyes wide. She crossed her arms over her bare chest. “What the hell is that? The basement storage made sense, but this…”
The embers of her curiosity reignited, soon eclipsing the heat of their embrace. The mystery of their discovery presented something new and exciting. She took a step toward the door, and he grabbed her hand.
“Hey, where are you going?” The expression on his handsome face reflected his curiosity about the hidden hallway—and his frustration at the interruption. His desire to continue the intimate encounter crackled in the air like electricity. He amped up the charm as he aimed a flirtatious grin at her. “Can’t we explore later? You know…afterward?”
Ruby struggled to suppress a smile at his eagerness. She’d always liked his longing for adventure, and the way he wanted her was intoxicating. Unfortunately for him, her intrigue won. They could always pick up where they’d left off, perhaps in her room, with a bed. She shook her head gently and bent to pick up her shirt. "Later. I can’t relax with an unknown like this next to us."
He aimed his best playful puppy dog eyes at her, undeterred as he bent to pick up his shirt, too. “Do you promise?”
Ruby laughed. "Of course. I know better than to pass up a hot night with you," she replied, her eyes sparkling with excitement and affection. “Let’s go explore the weird hidden lab and then go back to my room.”
Nathan grinned, donned his shirt, and adjusted his uncomfortably tight jeans. “That sounds like a beautiful plan, Ruby, my dear.”
Together, they cautiously approached the corridor. The sterile white walls and harsh fluorescent lighting made them squint after the basement’s dim lighting. The pair hesitated at the end of the hallway. The hall made a sharp ninety-degree turn to reveal a closed steel door.
While they pondered their next move, the door slid open silently to reveal a small, box-like room. The room had unpainted metal paneling, empty aside from the pit in the center of the floor. A metal ladder descended into darkness in a setup that made Ruby think of bomb shelters.
Nathan peered down the hollow shaft and whistled softly. "That looks like it goes down forever, doesn’t it?" His voice echoed in the empty space.
Ruby bit her lip as she contemplated what to do next. The thrill of discovery wrestled with the sensible urge to retreat. Nathan caught her hesitation and chuckled. "Wasn’t exactly planning on going down tonight.” His tone was playful, and he winked at her.
Ruby shook her head. “Now, that’s just disappointing.” She nudged him as she injected a note of command into her mischievous voice. “You can go first. Down the ladder, dirty boy.”
“All right, I’m going down,” he declared. He gripped the cold metal rungs and smiled at her as he began the descent.
"You promise?" Ruby quipped, her eyebrows raised suggestively.
Nathan gave her a look of mock reproach as his eyes gleamed with amusement. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Ruby.”
She laughed again, the sound echoing eerily off the metal walls. Shaking her head, she followed him down the ladder. Their descent was slow, and they heard nothing beyond their steady breathing and the occasional clink of shoes against metal.
The last of the lab’s artificial light faded quickly as they climbed, enveloping them in the cool embrace of the darkness.
Ruby's boots landed with a soft thud on the concrete floor that marked the end of an unexpectedly long climb. Nathan stood beside her. As they paused to catch their breath, the eerie silence enveloped them like a thick blanket.
Ruby glanced upward, calculating the distance they had covered. By her count, they had descended the equivalent of a two-story building. The fact made her momentarily dizzy with disbelief. The pair surveyed this new environment with wary gazes.
The unpainted steel paneling continued on the lower level. It stretched before them down a long corridor. It was immaculately clean and bathed in stark white light. The walls almost seemed to hum with a silent, nearly palpable energy. It made her long for the dusty, time-worn basement they had left behind.
Nathan's stunned stage whisper broke the silence, and the words seemed to resonate in the stillness. "Look at this place. Feels like we've stepped into a futuristic bunker, doesn’t it?"
Ruby nodded. Despite the oddity of finding such pristine orderliness dozens of feet below a hidden basement museum in their secluded rental cabin, her curiosity was piqued. The hall stretched with windowed doors lining both sides.
"Each of these could be hiding anything," she murmured. The possibilities and potential dangers of the unknown so close stirred excitement and apprehension within her. “We’ve come this far. Might as well check it out.”
Her heart hammered as they crept down the corridor. They made no noise, but somehow, the silence only amplified her tense anticipation. Expecting something to jump out at them at any moment, Ruby watched anxiously as Nathan approached the first door. His movements were deliberate, and it looked like he was alert for any sign of danger.
He paused out of sight and peered through the window set into the door. His shoulders stiffened in response to whatever he saw. His expression conveyed a blend of horror and disbelief. Fighting the instinct that urged her to run, Ruby moved to step around him and see for herself.
The room had the industrial feel of the others they’d seen in the complex so far. Overhead, fluorescent lights illuminated a man-size transparent box at the center of the room. The man trapped inside was tall and gaunt, with disheveled hair and a scruffy beard. His clothes looked tattered and worn, as though he’d been wearing them for days on end. His frantic gaze darted around desperately in search of an escape as his features twisted in a grimace of fear.
A myriad of tubes and wires connected a smaller compartment to the main structure. A man in a white lab coat stood next to the strange device and pressed a button. Thick, gray smoke flooded into the larger compartment, swirling ominously around the terrified captive in a choking fog. It didn’t move like smoke. Something about the way it moved spoke of dark intelligence as if maliciousness had been given form. It turned Ruby’s stomach.
She quickly deduced that they were witnessing some kind of deranged experiment. The observer watched the scene with a cold, detached expression as he made meticulous notes on a clipboard. His attention shifted methodically between the trapped man and the swirling smoke at ten-second intervals, his demeanor clinical and devoid of empathy.
Ruby overcame her horror enough to look beyond the tortured man as he struggled not to breathe the thickening smoke. A large observation window filled the far wall, and a group of spectators watched the scene with morbid fascination. The captive’s pain and fear were mere entertainment. She thought it was grotesque.
She turned back to look at Nathan’s expression and saw the same revulsion she felt etched on his features. The trapped man’s movements grew increasingly frantic as the smoke thickened around him. His hands pounded against the transparent cage, and she could sense his utter terror even in the hall.
Without any discernable signal, the smoke surged violently, engulfing the man in a slithering, shifting cloud of darkness. The mist rapidly cleared, but she didn’t know where it went. The logical answer made her want to run all the way back to campus.
When the smoke had cleared away, the man in the box had an entirely different demeanor to match his new, unnatural black eyes. He stood still and disturbingly calm. The now-docile captive met the other man’s gaze directly, offering a short nod. Ruby thought it looked like the chilling acknowledgment of some dark, unspoken agreement.
Nathan recoiled from the window. His face was pale, and his breath came in short, sharp gasps. Ruby touched his arm gently and felt the tension coiled tightly in his muscles.
"Nathan, we need to get out of here," she told him in a strained whisper.
He nodded, seemingly eager to escape the gravely ominous situation. “Well, this escalated quickly. I was kinda just hoping for a secret wine cellar.” Despite his usual tendency to diffuse tense situations with humor, Ruby saw the horror of what they’d witnessed shadowing his eyes.
Hand in hand, they retreated from the door. Each step backward felt like a minuscule escape from a nightmare that was only beginning to unravel at the depths of this strange complex. Before they even turned around fully, the thud of heavy boots echoed down the sterile metal hall toward them.
Ruby's breath hitched as a sight that seemed ripped from a dystopian tale confronted them. Several of the doors along the hall opened, and a squadron of soldiers flooded into the empty space, surrounding them in seconds. Each of the figures wore black tactical gear, but it was the grotesque face paint that lent them an otherworldly demeanor. Their faces were stark white, with white slashes of black across their eyes and mouths. The sight of them and the oddity of their appearance sent a shiver of unease down Ruby’s spine.
The newcomers were armed with an assortment of weapons that gleamed malevolently under the harsh fluorescent lights of the hallway. They stood at attention, a menacing wall of flesh that prevented Nathan and Ruby from moving in any direction. They froze with the chilling realization that they were utterly defenseless and unprepared for such a confrontation.
Ruby's heart pounded as she assessed their chances. "We're in way over our heads here."
Nathan’s tone was strained, although she knew she was aiming for nonchalance. "Just my luck,” he lamented. “We go from a spectacular make-out session in the basement to a horror movie set. Where did we take a wrong turn?"
Ruby couldn't help the nervous chuckle that escaped her lips. She was terrified, but allowing these creepy freaks to know it wouldn’t help them. "Definitely the scary tunnel," she quipped, matching his playful, unconcerned tone. “We should have stayed with the dusty shelves.”
The painted soldiers tightened the circle around them, though they made no sound aside from the ominous clatter of their weapons. Options dwindled with each step they took toward Ruby and Nathan, and she struggled to come up with ideas given the increasingly limited space they had to maneuver. The pair froze as the chilling realization that they were utterly defenseless and unprepared for a violent confrontation hit them both simultaneously.
The situation had caught Nathan off guard, but Ruby appreciated it when he tried to inject his usual humor into the situation.
“I always wanted to be an action hero,” Nathan told her with a smirk, completely ignoring the encroaching attackers. “I pictured myself as a young Bruce Willis type.”
He wanted her to laugh instead of being terrified. Unfortunately, she was an excellent multitasker. She would do both. “Calm down, McClane. I need you to focus, or they will call our movie Die Inconveniently. Do you have a plan?”
The soldiers were unpressed by their banter, but Ruby thought it was better to be clever than panic. Their captors advanced with chilling, single-minded precision with deliberate and synchronized steps that tightened the proverbial noose around their necks. Despite the attackers’ slow pursuit, each movement they made felt weighted with deadly intent and the seasoned expertise of trained professionals. Ruby wasn’t ashamed to admit she was terrified, not that she’d let it stop her from fighting to the death to escape. She was a survivor, and this wouldn’t be the first time she fought for her life.
Ruby felt Nathan's arm brush against hers as the circle around them closed to arm’s length. It was a small but reassuring contact amid their growing hopelessness. She leaned toward him, her voice barely a whisper. "We're in way over our heads here."
"Just stay close. We'll find a way out."
She knew he wanted to reassure her, but more than anything, Ruby felt like a trapped animal. Still, she welcomed the comforting warmth of his palm when he grasped her hand. Whatever came next, they would face it together. She squeezed his hand, and they both let go with a mutual understanding that they’d need their hands free to fight.
They were braced for the first blow when someone cleared his throat behind the wall of bodies. He parted the sea of soldiers like a dark prophet, and a tall man with cold eyes and a ruthless smirk on his painted face strolled toward them. He carried a handgun but didn’t point it at them. He didn’t need to.
“Not so fast,” he hissed.
The others backed away to give this man space and deference. Clearly, he was the leader of whatever the hell these people were doing. Nathan’s sharp gaze focused on the man’s hand, and Ruby noticed the missing little finger. Images clicked into place in her mind, and she recognized the priest from the convenience store. The face paint didn’t disguise much when she knew what to look for.
“Nathan, Ruby, you two have created quite the situation for me tonight. You’ve gone beyond the boundaries and seen things you shouldn’t have. What do you suppose we should do about that?”
Nathan apparently came to the same conclusion she’d reached. “You could always let us pray for amnesia.”
The man shook his head in disappointment as Ruby grappled with the knowledge that this creep knew their names.
Ruby desperately scanned the corridor, seeking any avenue of escape. The walls seemed to close in around them, the industrial metal paneling reminding her of a prison cell. She decided she’d rather be defiant than compliant. Whatever this guy wanted, she wasn’t giving it to him.
“What are you gonna do to us? Strap us into that box like lab rats?” she demanded.
She hadn’t expected the laughter that met her question or the stark wave of primal terror that it sent through her body. “Oh no, Ruby, darlin’. It’s not your turn yet,” he declared in a contrived, charismatic voice that matched every televangelist she’d ever heard. “We don’t want to spoil the game for everyone, do we? After all, the people paid to see a show!”
Ruby and Nathan stayed silent. Neither of them knew what to say in response.
What the hell does that mean?
He studied them with clinical detachment for a long moment, and Ruby almost felt his gaze as a physical sensation crawling over her skin like a thousand icy spiders. “What do we do with you, though?” he mused out loud. “You’ve ventured further than I expected, and you’ve put me in something of an awkward position. The cameras down here aren’t part of the live feed, but your carnal explorations were, and they saw you go into the hidden hallway.”
He sighed and looked at them like they were misbehaving teenagers. “Couldn’t you have just gone back to a bedroom like normal people? Our sponsors are eager for this weekend’s festivities, and I can’t let anything get in the way of that. It is imperative that they remain in the dark about the truth of where their investments go.”
Nathan held up a hand to stop him. “Look, buddy. Clearly, you’ve taken the detour to Crazytown. We’d like to exit the ride here.”
Cruel laughter was the only answer for a long moment. No one moved. “You pathetic, stupid boy. You’ll do what I decide. You are nothing more than a pawn in my game now. I could shoot you dead right now, and no one would lift a finger to stop me. They’d clean up the mess, and it would be like you never existed at all. You are insignificant.”
Nathan grinned, pleased he had pushed a button in the seemingly unflappable man. “Oh, you didn’t like that, did you? Are you used to your minions telling you how scary and powerful you are? I don’t care, dude.” He laughed. “I’m sorry, I can’t take you seriously. You look like a washed-up clown stumbling home after a bender.”
Fury flashed in the man’s dark eyes, but he didn’t take the bait. He smiled serenely. “Save the trash talk for the cameras. The audience loves a fool.” He nodded to one of the soldiers, who disappeared into a nearby door.
A moment later, a man in a lab coat stepped forward, wielding a device that looked painfully medical to Ruby. A syringe held an unidentified liquid, and the large, sharp needles on both ends gleamed ominously in the fluorescent lights.
“Not so cocky now, are you? Let’s just remove those inconvenient memories of what you’ve witnessed, and we can get back to the game, shall we?” He signaled to several of the painted soldiers with his mutilated hand, and they advanced toward the captives with deliberate steps.
“You’re not injecting that shit into my body,” Ruby declared. “I’ll die first.”
The leader groaned in frustration and shook his head. “Ruby, dear. It is unbecoming of a young lady not to listen when her betters speak. I already told you it’s not your turn yet.”
His words hung in the air, heavy with the sinister implication they carried. This guy meant to kill her, just not yet. What the hell was going on here? None of this made any sense. She risked a glance at Nathan and saw the horrific realization reflected in his eyes.
“Whatever you’re planning, you won’t get away with it. People know where we are. They will come looking for us,” Nathan declared, injecting as much defiance as he could muster into his dismissive tone.
The priest’s laughter was icy cold and utterly devoid of humor. “Yes, but by the time they do, there will be nothing left to find. My Cleaners are very good at what they do. While I appreciate your concern for our long-term well-being, we are not amateurs.” He nodded to the painted soldiers. “Proceed.”
As the guards surged forward to grab them, Ruby’s survival instincts took over. She bumped her shoulder against Nathan’s and faced the closest enemies. They were both aware that the odds were very much not in their favor. However, this was also the only opportunity they would get to resist.
Her adrenaline spiked, and years of kickboxing muscle memory let her match the opponent’s experienced, determined strikes. She lashed out at the first soldier to reach for her with a vicious jab to his head. The nerve strike left the man shaking his head in confusion, but she’d already pushed him back toward the others and moved on to the next in line. They would swarm her if she let them and hold her down to inject that poison into her veins.
Ruby meant it. She would rather die than let them take her, and she fought with an insatiable will to live. She knew how to right, though. It brought her into a calm, focused state of single-minded determination. Beside her, she sensed Nathan going through a similar process. Fight or flight in action. Fight, then flight was probably more accurate, but this was not the time for semantics.
She shattered the bones in the next man’s hand with a powerful and precise kick. He screamed and jumped backward, cradling his broken appendage. Ruby aimed a satisfied grin at him in the split second before she turned her attention to the nest attacker. She knocked the next two soldiers off balance with a flurry of blows in combination moves so well-practiced she could perform them in her sleep.
Ruby saw the man in the lab coat through a gap in the soldiers and took the opportunity. She spun and landed a roundhouse kick on the man’s forearm. She heard the crack of breaking bones, and the device flew from his grasp to clatter across the sterile floor. He staggered back, crying in pain as he held the broken arm to his chest.
Beside her, Nathan fought like a cornered animal. He landed a fierce right hook on one soldier’s jaw, and the man collapsed. She tried to call out when she saw one of them brandishing a blade, but the moment of distraction cost her. One of the attackers grabbed her arm in a brutal two-handed grip while another slammed his fist into her ribs. The air whooshed from her lungs in a gasp, taking her warning with it.
She saw the crimson blooming across his shirt and knew the blade had slashed him. She was still struggling to catch her breath, but she forced her body to continue fighting. This was why she’d trained so hard. Ruby held her own in the fight, but she felt the sharp sting of a blade cut into her arm as she spun away from a foe. She dodged the full power of the slice, but her tank top offered no protection, and the graze drew blood without causing substantial damage. The pain only fueled the adrenaline that coursed through her system.
The narrow corridor rang with the sounds of their hopeless fight. The soldiers had initially been surprised by the ferocity and resilience Nathan and Ruby showed, but their battle was lost before it began. They were outnumbered at least twenty to one, and new opponents took the place of any who fell. She was already tiring, and she saw Nathan slowing in the glimpses she dared to take.
“Do not kill them here!” the priest barked with a drill sergeant's command. “The sponsors pay good money to watch them die. We need them alive—for now.” The fighters hesitated for a moment, and he huffed with irritation. “What are you waiting for? Grab them!”
If they plan to kill me for some sick form of entertainment, I’d rather die on my feet, fighting with the same freedom I lived with.
She knew they couldn’t win. Ruby had been in enough fights to know how this ended, yet fierce resolve steeled her nerves. “Hey, Nathan?” she called without looking away from her opponents.
“Yeah, babe?” he asked as he continued to fight.
“Fuck these guys.”
“Yeah, that covers it. See you on the other side, Ruby Roundhouse.”
Four men charged Ruby at once. She fought with every scrap of determination she could muster but only landed a couple more blows before they had her arms and legs clamped in the tight grip of six painted soldiers. They held her stretched out like she was being quartered by horses.
She dangled in their grip roughly four feet over the floor and had no leverage to wrench free from their iron hold. The only thing she could move was her head, and she turned to see Nathan held in a similar position. His captors did look decidedly unhappier than hers, though. He was not a small man.
Ruby let her hope slip away then. Held firmly in the captor’s hands, any chance of further resistance was quashed by the absolute control the priest and his minions wielded. Her muscles strained against their hold, but that only made them tighten their grasp. Clearly, any further attempts to escape would be futile. There was no reason to make things worse for herself. Beside her, she saw Nathan come to the same realization as his struggles ceased. They needed to preserve their energy now. Another opportunity to escape would present itself if they survived this ordeal.
Despite the grim turn of events, Ruby tried to cement these memories in her mind. She didn’t know how they could manipulate her memories, and she’d never been all that interested in psychology. She hoped the trauma would imprint on her subconscious or something, whatever it took for her to remember the danger they faced when she woke.
Oh, God. Can they give us fake memories? The wounds! I have to remember the wounds. They can’t erase that.
The priest sauntered across the corridor to stand between the subdued captives. He looked down at Ruby and smiled, but the expression reflected cruel amusement rather than warmth. “There, isn’t that better? Don’t you prefer it when someone stronger and smarter takes control?” He leaned down to condescendingly pat her head like a good dog. “Don’t worry your pretty head about a thing, young lady. We’ll get you patched up and back into bed with no memory of your adventures tonight. Our patrons are eager for a more…elaborate spectacle.”
He gestured for another man in a lab coat to come forward and inject their captives. Ruby didn’t know what happened to the first one, but she hoped he was crying over his broken arm in a corner somewhere.
“Four hours should do it,” the priest declared.
She knew it was hopeless, but she tried to fight. That just made the injection hurt more. Electrified fire raced through her veins, and Ruby screamed in agony until she mercifully drifted toward unconsciousness. The last thing she heard was the priest’s order in a tone that sounded bored.
“Take them back to the cabin and initiate a clean sweep.”
“Hey doc, at least tell me this stuff comes with a trip somewhere tropical?” Nathan’s weak attempt at humor was ruined by slurred delivery as he succumbed to the drug’s effects.
He's single. I’m single. We’ve hooked up in the past. It’s no big deal for either of us. Sure, he didn’t call me last time, but I didn’t call him either. We don’t really do that. He’s hot, I’m bothered, and he does that thing with his tongue… Screw it. I’m going out there.
Once she made the decision, Ruby discovered she was intensely drawn by the prospect of being in Nathan’s arms again. The man was allergic to commitment, but he knew what he was doing.
Open eyes and realistic expectations. It will be fine.
She repeated that mental mantra as she turned to face the door. A confident grin spread across her lips, and a soft chuckle escaped as she thought about Nathan’s predictable reaction to her advances. She knew precisely what to expect from him. He was comforting. Fun. Safe.
Ruby pictured Nathan on the couch, perhaps lost in his private concert or maybe even thoughts of women—possibly her. Then again, maybe he was just eager for another beer. He was a simple creature who didn’t require much to be happy. The mental image brought a playful smile to her lips and infused her steps with courage.
However, when she crossed the threshold into the living room, she was met with a weighty silence rather than the lounging potential lover she’d expected. It was jarring to instead find the sofa bed pushed aside to reveal a hidden trapdoor and a staircase that descended into obscurity. Her adventurous side immediately saw it as a tantalizing mystery that invited further exploration.
Ruby shivered in the cooler room. The tank top and shorts she wore as pajamas were comfortable and sexy but didn’t offer much warmth. The sleepwear had been a last-minute addition to her luggage when she learned Ethan’s brother was joining them.
"Nathan?" Ruby called into the darkness. Her voice carried a mix of curiosity and apprehension.
She heard only the slight echo of her voice. Ruby cautiously crept down the first three steps and jumped when Nathan’s excited voice suddenly sounded from the depths below.
“Ruby! Come down here. You have to see this!”
His muffled voice and the lure of a mystery drew her like a magnet.
Driven by curiosity, Ruby descended another creaky wooden step as a cool draft made tendrils of her loose hair tickle her cheeks. An involuntary shiver ran through her body, but she shook it off and took a deep breath before continuing into the unknown. The air grew cooler with each step, and she turned on her phone’s flashlight to light the way. The faint glow from the living room above soon gave way to deep shadows that danced along the walls in the harsh LED light.
At the bottom of the staircase, Ruby discovered a large basement room filled with shelves containing a wild assortment of items. More shelves stood in rows through the center of the room. It was practically a museum. She ventured deeper into the dark basement with only her light to illuminate the way. She approached the first blind corner with heightened senses due to the mysterious circumstances, so she reacted on instinct when Nathan jumped out of the darkness. Her punch was precise, landing squarely on his shoulder and knocking him off balance as she took a defensive stance.
“Ouch! Damn it, Ruby. It’s just me. I was messing around. Stand down!” Nathan was breathless and grunted in pain as he rubbed his sore shoulder.
Ruby relaxed and bent to pick up the phone she’d dropped. “You better hope my phone didn’t break,” she warned. “You’re lucky I didn’t go for the throat. You know better than to sneak up on me.”
Her phone was fine, and she pointed its flashlight toward him. “Are you okay?”
A wide grin spread across his handsome face, and he raised his hands in a placating gesture. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist. Seriously, look at this place.” Nathan gestured to the basement filled with the curious array of forgotten relics. “Doesn’t it feel like we’ve stumbled into a treasure trove?”
He turned on his phone’s flashlight and illuminated the dust particles floating in the air. They caught the sparse light and shimmered, giving the moment an ethereal quality. Ruby moved to stand next to Nathan as her gaze explored the assortment of items left behind by the cabin’s previous occupants.
"It's incredible," she whispered. Her fingers brushed lightly against a delicate, ancient-looking vase. "Feels like we've stepped into another world."
Nathan nodded. "Exactly! Who knows what secrets these shelves hold?" His gaze lingered on a particularly ornate chest. "There's a lot hidden beneath the surface here, literally and figuratively."
Ruby moved closer to the shelves to study the items that piqued her curiosity. She picked up a small, leather-bound book that caught her interest. It had a strange symbol embossed into the cover that felt…important.
She opened the book and bit back a gasp of horror at the images she found. They looked medieval, and she couldn’t read any of the text, but the illustrations provided a clear enough picture. Ruby didn’t need a history degree to recognize the depiction of human sacrifice. It turned her stomach, but she was fascinated.
“Hey, check this out.”
Nathan took the book and studied the cover intently for a long moment. “I swear this is that same symbol from the tree outside.” He opened the book, and his expression morphed from curiosity to disgust. “What the hell? That is some cult shit.”
"Yeah. It’s really creepy. Who even has a book like that?” She turned to look at the other shelves as he returned the tome to the shelf. “Why do you think all this is here? Who left it?”
Nathan shrugged, looking thoughtful as he contemplated his answer. "No idea, but discovering that is half the fun, isn't it?" He flashed her a flirtatious grin. "Just like us, you never know what's lurking beneath the surface until you dive in.” His eyes gleamed with mischievous intent as he ran a hand down her arm. “The excitement is in the…exploration.”
Arousal coursed through Ruby’s nervous system. Nathan had always had that effect on her. The man was gorgeous, and she had sought him out to enjoy a little amorous adventure, but she wasn’t ready to stop delving into the mysterious cabin’s secrets yet. She drew a deep breath and turned her attention back to the shelves.
She felt the mystery binding them closer as they discovered the bidden basement’s labyrinth of long-forgotten stories. Each object she examined seemed to beckon her further into the shadows of the past. As they continued to explore side by side, their dynamic shifted. The air crackled with the newfound tension between them. It was almost electric, and it heightened the feelings that were already surging through her.
“You need a drink? It’s pretty dusty down here.” Nathan offered her a nearly full beer.
“Sure, thanks.” Her fingers brushed his as she took the bottle, and she didn’t break eye contact. Their private adventure and the secluded environment emboldened her, and Ruby decided to address the elephant in the room. She tipped the bottle back and swallowed a mouthful of the bitter fluid before passing it back to him.
“So, Mr. Explorer,” Ruby began in a teasing tone. “I couldn’t help noticing that you forgot to call me after our last…rendezvous.” Her eyes sparkled with mischief as she studied him for a reaction.
Nathan, who’d been casually sipping his beer, choked slightly. He wiped his mouth, and a sheepish smile formed on his lips. “Ah, that.” He chuckled and met her gaze. You know I’m no good with the follow-up, Ruby. You’ve never wanted that.”
She moved closer to him and ran a hand down his chest. “Still don’t. But I wouldn’t mind better access when the need arises. You wouldn’t want to leave a girl wanting, would you?” Her breath caught. “You might miss out on more than just phone calls.”
Nathan’s eyes darkened with desire even as they gleamed with amusement. He clearly enjoyed her game. “I suppose I’ll have to find a way to make it up to you,” he murmured. He moved close enough for his breath to mingle with hers as his hands slid around her waist.
Ruby felt the warmth of his large body mere inches away, and the proximity sent a shiver of need through her. Thoughts of the many ways he could make it up to her raced through her mind, accompanied by her racing pulse. The air between them felt electrified. Every nerve in her body was acutely aware of both how close he was and the ecstasy this particular man could wreak on her senses. Ruby let her desire show in her eyes and silently urged him to act. She loved it when he took the lead.
Nathan accepted her unspoken invitation and closed the distance between them as he captured her lips in a passionate kiss. He deepened the kiss as his arms pulled her body against his. Their tongues danced to the ancient rhythm of lust and longing. Both gave themselves to the moment without hesitation or restriction.
Ruby wrapped her arms around his neck, trying to pull him closer even as her body pressed against his as closely as it could without being joined as one. Nathan’s wandering hands eagerly roamed over her body, touching her in all the places he knew would drive her wild.
Their surroundings ceased to matter as their embrace grew more intense. They were alone in a spooky basement, making out like teenagers. The situation only heightened her feelings and drove Ruby to new heights. It felt naughty and undeniably delicious.
They bumped into a shelf as Ruby frantically tried to strip off Nathan’s shirt. The collision knocked over a stack of old books, sending the creepy sacrifice book to land near their feet. They barely heard the thud, and Nathan stepped on the book as they blindly moved around the room. The world beyond their embrace had become inconsequential.
Nathan kissed his way down to her neck. “You’re beautiful, Ruby,” he murmured.
Ruby gazed at him with a cheeky grin as she tried to calm her ragged breath. “Looks like we’re making quite a mess down here.” Her voice was low and seductive after the intensity of their kisses, and she didn’t care. She wanted more.
Nathan chuckled and rested his forehead against hers, seemingly grateful for a moment to calm his rampant arousal. His tone was a husky growl when he spoke. “It seems so. I’m all for continuing this…exploration. I’ll clean up the mess later.”
She wasn’t entirely sure why, but Ruby found that statement incendiary. It set her senses on fire and sent her lunging toward him, driven by a need that felt boundless and insatiable. Their bodies entwined once more. Fervent kisses led to losing themselves in one another. Ruby’s shirt soon joined Nathan’s on the dusty floor.
Only the forgotten relics stood witness to their increasingly intimate connection. This basement, which had stood sentinel to so many memories, now held a new experience—one filled with laughter, flirtation, and unbridled passion.
Ruby let out a soft moan as Nathan’s head dipped to her exposed chest, and his warm hands caressed her skin. The hard muscles and chiseled planes of his body were the landscape she explored with her questing mouth and hands as they drove each other to new heights.
The couple moved clumsily around the room as each touch and kiss grew needier and more fervent than the last. Lost in the moment, Ruby stumbled over a fallen trinket and bumped into one of the old shelves. Her attention was occupied by holding Nathan close, so she didn’t immediately notice when her shoulder pressed a concealed button.
However, the soft click that sounded caught their attention. They stood half-naked and in shock as the wall beside them shuddered and slowly swung open. The space beyond the hidden doorway was a stark contrast to the dusty basement. A modern-looking hallway that looked like it belonged in a science fiction movie stretched into the distance. Harsh white light spilled from the hall into the cluttered basement, illuminating the area around them.
Ruby pulled away from Nathan’s embrace, her astonished eyes wide. She crossed her arms over her bare chest. “What the hell is that? The basement storage made sense, but this…”
The embers of her curiosity reignited, soon eclipsing the heat of their embrace. The mystery of their discovery presented something new and exciting. She took a step toward the door, and he grabbed her hand.
“Hey, where are you going?” The expression on his handsome face reflected his curiosity about the hidden hallway—and his frustration at the interruption. His desire to continue the intimate encounter crackled in the air like electricity. He amped up the charm as he aimed a flirtatious grin at her. “Can’t we explore later? You know…afterward?”
Ruby struggled to suppress a smile at his eagerness. She’d always liked his longing for adventure, and the way he wanted her was intoxicating. Unfortunately for him, her intrigue won. They could always pick up where they’d left off, perhaps in her room, with a bed. She shook her head gently and bent to pick up her shirt. "Later. I can’t relax with an unknown like this next to us."
He aimed his best playful puppy dog eyes at her, undeterred as he bent to pick up his shirt, too. “Do you promise?”
Ruby laughed. "Of course. I know better than to pass up a hot night with you," she replied, her eyes sparkling with excitement and affection. “Let’s go explore the weird hidden lab and then go back to my room.”
Nathan grinned, donned his shirt, and adjusted his uncomfortably tight jeans. “That sounds like a beautiful plan, Ruby, my dear.”
Together, they cautiously approached the corridor. The sterile white walls and harsh fluorescent lighting made them squint after the basement’s dim lighting. The pair hesitated at the end of the hallway. The hall made a sharp ninety-degree turn to reveal a closed steel door.
While they pondered their next move, the door slid open silently to reveal a small, box-like room. The room had unpainted metal paneling, empty aside from the pit in the center of the floor. A metal ladder descended into darkness in a setup that made Ruby think of bomb shelters.
Nathan peered down the hollow shaft and whistled softly. "That looks like it goes down forever, doesn’t it?" His voice echoed in the empty space.
Ruby bit her lip as she contemplated what to do next. The thrill of discovery wrestled with the sensible urge to retreat. Nathan caught her hesitation and chuckled. "Wasn’t exactly planning on going down tonight.” His tone was playful, and he winked at her.
Ruby shook her head. “Now, that’s just disappointing.” She nudged him as she injected a note of command into her mischievous voice. “You can go first. Down the ladder, dirty boy.”
“All right, I’m going down,” he declared. He gripped the cold metal rungs and smiled at her as he began the descent.
"You promise?" Ruby quipped, her eyebrows raised suggestively.
Nathan gave her a look of mock reproach as his eyes gleamed with amusement. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Ruby.”
She laughed again, the sound echoing eerily off the metal walls. Shaking her head, she followed him down the ladder. Their descent was slow, and they heard nothing beyond their steady breathing and the occasional clink of shoes against metal.
The last of the lab’s artificial light faded quickly as they climbed, enveloping them in the cool embrace of the darkness.
Ruby's boots landed with a soft thud on the concrete floor that marked the end of an unexpectedly long climb. Nathan stood beside her. As they paused to catch their breath, the eerie silence enveloped them like a thick blanket.
Ruby glanced upward, calculating the distance they had covered. By her count, they had descended the equivalent of a two-story building. The fact made her momentarily dizzy with disbelief. The pair surveyed this new environment with wary gazes.
The unpainted steel paneling continued on the lower level. It stretched before them down a long corridor. It was immaculately clean and bathed in stark white light. The walls almost seemed to hum with a silent, nearly palpable energy. It made her long for the dusty, time-worn basement they had left behind.
Nathan's stunned stage whisper broke the silence, and the words seemed to resonate in the stillness. "Look at this place. Feels like we've stepped into a futuristic bunker, doesn’t it?"
Ruby nodded. Despite the oddity of finding such pristine orderliness dozens of feet below a hidden basement museum in their secluded rental cabin, her curiosity was piqued. The hall stretched with windowed doors lining both sides.
"Each of these could be hiding anything," she murmured. The possibilities and potential dangers of the unknown so close stirred excitement and apprehension within her. “We’ve come this far. Might as well check it out.”
Her heart hammered as they crept down the corridor. They made no noise, but somehow, the silence only amplified her tense anticipation. Expecting something to jump out at them at any moment, Ruby watched anxiously as Nathan approached the first door. His movements were deliberate, and it looked like he was alert for any sign of danger.
He paused out of sight and peered through the window set into the door. His shoulders stiffened in response to whatever he saw. His expression conveyed a blend of horror and disbelief. Fighting the instinct that urged her to run, Ruby moved to step around him and see for herself.
The room had the industrial feel of the others they’d seen in the complex so far. Overhead, fluorescent lights illuminated a man-size transparent box at the center of the room. The man trapped inside was tall and gaunt, with disheveled hair and a scruffy beard. His clothes looked tattered and worn, as though he’d been wearing them for days on end. His frantic gaze darted around desperately in search of an escape as his features twisted in a grimace of fear.
A myriad of tubes and wires connected a smaller compartment to the main structure. A man in a white lab coat stood next to the strange device and pressed a button. Thick, gray smoke flooded into the larger compartment, swirling ominously around the terrified captive in a choking fog. It didn’t move like smoke. Something about the way it moved spoke of dark intelligence as if maliciousness had been given form. It turned Ruby’s stomach.
She quickly deduced that they were witnessing some kind of deranged experiment. The observer watched the scene with a cold, detached expression as he made meticulous notes on a clipboard. His attention shifted methodically between the trapped man and the swirling smoke at ten-second intervals, his demeanor clinical and devoid of empathy.
Ruby overcame her horror enough to look beyond the tortured man as he struggled not to breathe the thickening smoke. A large observation window filled the far wall, and a group of spectators watched the scene with morbid fascination. The captive’s pain and fear were mere entertainment. She thought it was grotesque.
She turned back to look at Nathan’s expression and saw the same revulsion she felt etched on his features. The trapped man’s movements grew increasingly frantic as the smoke thickened around him. His hands pounded against the transparent cage, and she could sense his utter terror even in the hall.
Without any discernable signal, the smoke surged violently, engulfing the man in a slithering, shifting cloud of darkness. The mist rapidly cleared, but she didn’t know where it went. The logical answer made her want to run all the way back to campus.
When the smoke had cleared away, the man in the box had an entirely different demeanor to match his new, unnatural black eyes. He stood still and disturbingly calm. The now-docile captive met the other man’s gaze directly, offering a short nod. Ruby thought it looked like the chilling acknowledgment of some dark, unspoken agreement.
Nathan recoiled from the window. His face was pale, and his breath came in short, sharp gasps. Ruby touched his arm gently and felt the tension coiled tightly in his muscles.
"Nathan, we need to get out of here," she told him in a strained whisper.
He nodded, seemingly eager to escape the gravely ominous situation. “Well, this escalated quickly. I was kinda just hoping for a secret wine cellar.” Despite his usual tendency to diffuse tense situations with humor, Ruby saw the horror of what they’d witnessed shadowing his eyes.
Hand in hand, they retreated from the door. Each step backward felt like a minuscule escape from a nightmare that was only beginning to unravel at the depths of this strange complex. Before they even turned around fully, the thud of heavy boots echoed down the sterile metal hall toward them.
Ruby's breath hitched as a sight that seemed ripped from a dystopian tale confronted them. Several of the doors along the hall opened, and a squadron of soldiers flooded into the empty space, surrounding them in seconds. Each of the figures wore black tactical gear, but it was the grotesque face paint that lent them an otherworldly demeanor. Their faces were stark white, with white slashes of black across their eyes and mouths. The sight of them and the oddity of their appearance sent a shiver of unease down Ruby’s spine.
The newcomers were armed with an assortment of weapons that gleamed malevolently under the harsh fluorescent lights of the hallway. They stood at attention, a menacing wall of flesh that prevented Nathan and Ruby from moving in any direction. They froze with the chilling realization that they were utterly defenseless and unprepared for such a confrontation.
Ruby's heart pounded as she assessed their chances. "We're in way over our heads here."
Nathan’s tone was strained, although she knew she was aiming for nonchalance. "Just my luck,” he lamented. “We go from a spectacular make-out session in the basement to a horror movie set. Where did we take a wrong turn?"
Ruby couldn't help the nervous chuckle that escaped her lips. She was terrified, but allowing these creepy freaks to know it wouldn’t help them. "Definitely the scary tunnel," she quipped, matching his playful, unconcerned tone. “We should have stayed with the dusty shelves.”
The painted soldiers tightened the circle around them, though they made no sound aside from the ominous clatter of their weapons. Options dwindled with each step they took toward Ruby and Nathan, and she struggled to come up with ideas given the increasingly limited space they had to maneuver. The pair froze as the chilling realization that they were utterly defenseless and unprepared for a violent confrontation hit them both simultaneously.
The situation had caught Nathan off guard, but Ruby appreciated it when he tried to inject his usual humor into the situation.
“I always wanted to be an action hero,” Nathan told her with a smirk, completely ignoring the encroaching attackers. “I pictured myself as a young Bruce Willis type.”
He wanted her to laugh instead of being terrified. Unfortunately, she was an excellent multitasker. She would do both. “Calm down, McClane. I need you to focus, or they will call our movie Die Inconveniently. Do you have a plan?”
The soldiers were unpressed by their banter, but Ruby thought it was better to be clever than panic. Their captors advanced with chilling, single-minded precision with deliberate and synchronized steps that tightened the proverbial noose around their necks. Despite the attackers’ slow pursuit, each movement they made felt weighted with deadly intent and the seasoned expertise of trained professionals. Ruby wasn’t ashamed to admit she was terrified, not that she’d let it stop her from fighting to the death to escape. She was a survivor, and this wouldn’t be the first time she fought for her life.
Ruby felt Nathan's arm brush against hers as the circle around them closed to arm’s length. It was a small but reassuring contact amid their growing hopelessness. She leaned toward him, her voice barely a whisper. "We're in way over our heads here."
"Just stay close. We'll find a way out."
She knew he wanted to reassure her, but more than anything, Ruby felt like a trapped animal. Still, she welcomed the comforting warmth of his palm when he grasped her hand. Whatever came next, they would face it together. She squeezed his hand, and they both let go with a mutual understanding that they’d need their hands free to fight.
They were braced for the first blow when someone cleared his throat behind the wall of bodies. He parted the sea of soldiers like a dark prophet, and a tall man with cold eyes and a ruthless smirk on his painted face strolled toward them. He carried a handgun but didn’t point it at them. He didn’t need to.
“Not so fast,” he hissed.
The others backed away to give this man space and deference. Clearly, he was the leader of whatever the hell these people were doing. Nathan’s sharp gaze focused on the man’s hand, and Ruby noticed the missing little finger. Images clicked into place in her mind, and she recognized the priest from the convenience store. The face paint didn’t disguise much when she knew what to look for.
“Nathan, Ruby, you two have created quite the situation for me tonight. You’ve gone beyond the boundaries and seen things you shouldn’t have. What do you suppose we should do about that?”
Nathan apparently came to the same conclusion she’d reached. “You could always let us pray for amnesia.”
The man shook his head in disappointment as Ruby grappled with the knowledge that this creep knew their names.
Ruby desperately scanned the corridor, seeking any avenue of escape. The walls seemed to close in around them, the industrial metal paneling reminding her of a prison cell. She decided she’d rather be defiant than compliant. Whatever this guy wanted, she wasn’t giving it to him.
“What are you gonna do to us? Strap us into that box like lab rats?” she demanded.
She hadn’t expected the laughter that met her question or the stark wave of primal terror that it sent through her body. “Oh no, Ruby, darlin’. It’s not your turn yet,” he declared in a contrived, charismatic voice that matched every televangelist she’d ever heard. “We don’t want to spoil the game for everyone, do we? After all, the people paid to see a show!”
Ruby and Nathan stayed silent. Neither of them knew what to say in response.
What the hell does that mean?
He studied them with clinical detachment for a long moment, and Ruby almost felt his gaze as a physical sensation crawling over her skin like a thousand icy spiders. “What do we do with you, though?” he mused out loud. “You’ve ventured further than I expected, and you’ve put me in something of an awkward position. The cameras down here aren’t part of the live feed, but your carnal explorations were, and they saw you go into the hidden hallway.”
He sighed and looked at them like they were misbehaving teenagers. “Couldn’t you have just gone back to a bedroom like normal people? Our sponsors are eager for this weekend’s festivities, and I can’t let anything get in the way of that. It is imperative that they remain in the dark about the truth of where their investments go.”
Nathan held up a hand to stop him. “Look, buddy. Clearly, you’ve taken the detour to Crazytown. We’d like to exit the ride here.”
Cruel laughter was the only answer for a long moment. No one moved. “You pathetic, stupid boy. You’ll do what I decide. You are nothing more than a pawn in my game now. I could shoot you dead right now, and no one would lift a finger to stop me. They’d clean up the mess, and it would be like you never existed at all. You are insignificant.”
Nathan grinned, pleased he had pushed a button in the seemingly unflappable man. “Oh, you didn’t like that, did you? Are you used to your minions telling you how scary and powerful you are? I don’t care, dude.” He laughed. “I’m sorry, I can’t take you seriously. You look like a washed-up clown stumbling home after a bender.”
Fury flashed in the man’s dark eyes, but he didn’t take the bait. He smiled serenely. “Save the trash talk for the cameras. The audience loves a fool.” He nodded to one of the soldiers, who disappeared into a nearby door.
A moment later, a man in a lab coat stepped forward, wielding a device that looked painfully medical to Ruby. A syringe held an unidentified liquid, and the large, sharp needles on both ends gleamed ominously in the fluorescent lights.
“Not so cocky now, are you? Let’s just remove those inconvenient memories of what you’ve witnessed, and we can get back to the game, shall we?” He signaled to several of the painted soldiers with his mutilated hand, and they advanced toward the captives with deliberate steps.
“You’re not injecting that shit into my body,” Ruby declared. “I’ll die first.”
The leader groaned in frustration and shook his head. “Ruby, dear. It is unbecoming of a young lady not to listen when her betters speak. I already told you it’s not your turn yet.”
His words hung in the air, heavy with the sinister implication they carried. This guy meant to kill her, just not yet. What the hell was going on here? None of this made any sense. She risked a glance at Nathan and saw the horrific realization reflected in his eyes.
“Whatever you’re planning, you won’t get away with it. People know where we are. They will come looking for us,” Nathan declared, injecting as much defiance as he could muster into his dismissive tone.
The priest’s laughter was icy cold and utterly devoid of humor. “Yes, but by the time they do, there will be nothing left to find. My Cleaners are very good at what they do. While I appreciate your concern for our long-term well-being, we are not amateurs.” He nodded to the painted soldiers. “Proceed.”
As the guards surged forward to grab them, Ruby’s survival instincts took over. She bumped her shoulder against Nathan’s and faced the closest enemies. They were both aware that the odds were very much not in their favor. However, this was also the only opportunity they would get to resist.
Her adrenaline spiked, and years of kickboxing muscle memory let her match the opponent’s experienced, determined strikes. She lashed out at the first soldier to reach for her with a vicious jab to his head. The nerve strike left the man shaking his head in confusion, but she’d already pushed him back toward the others and moved on to the next in line. They would swarm her if she let them and hold her down to inject that poison into her veins.
Ruby meant it. She would rather die than let them take her, and she fought with an insatiable will to live. She knew how to right, though. It brought her into a calm, focused state of single-minded determination. Beside her, she sensed Nathan going through a similar process. Fight or flight in action. Fight, then flight was probably more accurate, but this was not the time for semantics.
She shattered the bones in the next man’s hand with a powerful and precise kick. He screamed and jumped backward, cradling his broken appendage. Ruby aimed a satisfied grin at him in the split second before she turned her attention to the nest attacker. She knocked the next two soldiers off balance with a flurry of blows in combination moves so well-practiced she could perform them in her sleep.
Ruby saw the man in the lab coat through a gap in the soldiers and took the opportunity. She spun and landed a roundhouse kick on the man’s forearm. She heard the crack of breaking bones, and the device flew from his grasp to clatter across the sterile floor. He staggered back, crying in pain as he held the broken arm to his chest.
Beside her, Nathan fought like a cornered animal. He landed a fierce right hook on one soldier’s jaw, and the man collapsed. She tried to call out when she saw one of them brandishing a blade, but the moment of distraction cost her. One of the attackers grabbed her arm in a brutal two-handed grip while another slammed his fist into her ribs. The air whooshed from her lungs in a gasp, taking her warning with it.
She saw the crimson blooming across his shirt and knew the blade had slashed him. She was still struggling to catch her breath, but she forced her body to continue fighting. This was why she’d trained so hard. Ruby held her own in the fight, but she felt the sharp sting of a blade cut into her arm as she spun away from a foe. She dodged the full power of the slice, but her tank top offered no protection, and the graze drew blood without causing substantial damage. The pain only fueled the adrenaline that coursed through her system.
The narrow corridor rang with the sounds of their hopeless fight. The soldiers had initially been surprised by the ferocity and resilience Nathan and Ruby showed, but their battle was lost before it began. They were outnumbered at least twenty to one, and new opponents took the place of any who fell. She was already tiring, and she saw Nathan slowing in the glimpses she dared to take.
“Do not kill them here!” the priest barked with a drill sergeant's command. “The sponsors pay good money to watch them die. We need them alive—for now.” The fighters hesitated for a moment, and he huffed with irritation. “What are you waiting for? Grab them!”
If they plan to kill me for some sick form of entertainment, I’d rather die on my feet, fighting with the same freedom I lived with.
She knew they couldn’t win. Ruby had been in enough fights to know how this ended, yet fierce resolve steeled her nerves. “Hey, Nathan?” she called without looking away from her opponents.
“Yeah, babe?” he asked as he continued to fight.
“Fuck these guys.”
“Yeah, that covers it. See you on the other side, Ruby Roundhouse.”
Four men charged Ruby at once. She fought with every scrap of determination she could muster but only landed a couple more blows before they had her arms and legs clamped in the tight grip of six painted soldiers. They held her stretched out like she was being quartered by horses.
She dangled in their grip roughly four feet over the floor and had no leverage to wrench free from their iron hold. The only thing she could move was her head, and she turned to see Nathan held in a similar position. His captors did look decidedly unhappier than hers, though. He was not a small man.
Ruby let her hope slip away then. Held firmly in the captor’s hands, any chance of further resistance was quashed by the absolute control the priest and his minions wielded. Her muscles strained against their hold, but that only made them tighten their grasp. Clearly, any further attempts to escape would be futile. There was no reason to make things worse for herself. Beside her, she saw Nathan come to the same realization as his struggles ceased. They needed to preserve their energy now. Another opportunity to escape would present itself if they survived this ordeal.
Despite the grim turn of events, Ruby tried to cement these memories in her mind. She didn’t know how they could manipulate her memories, and she’d never been all that interested in psychology. She hoped the trauma would imprint on her subconscious or something, whatever it took for her to remember the danger they faced when she woke.
Oh, God. Can they give us fake memories? The wounds! I have to remember the wounds. They can’t erase that.
The priest sauntered across the corridor to stand between the subdued captives. He looked down at Ruby and smiled, but the expression reflected cruel amusement rather than warmth. “There, isn’t that better? Don’t you prefer it when someone stronger and smarter takes control?” He leaned down to condescendingly pat her head like a good dog. “Don’t worry your pretty head about a thing, young lady. We’ll get you patched up and back into bed with no memory of your adventures tonight. Our patrons are eager for a more…elaborate spectacle.”
He gestured for another man in a lab coat to come forward and inject their captives. Ruby didn’t know what happened to the first one, but she hoped he was crying over his broken arm in a corner somewhere.
“Four hours should do it,” the priest declared.
She knew it was hopeless, but she tried to fight. That just made the injection hurt more. Electrified fire raced through her veins, and Ruby screamed in agony until she mercifully drifted toward unconsciousness. The last thing she heard was the priest’s order in a tone that sounded bored.
“Take them back to the cabin and initiate a clean sweep.”
“Hey doc, at least tell me this stuff comes with a trip somewhere tropical?” Nathan’s weak attempt at humor was ruined by slurred delivery as he succumbed to the drug’s effects.
Ruby jolted awake as Olivia’s piercing scream broke the quiet in the cabin. Her heart raced with alarm, and she blinked away the grogginess. The familiar surroundings of her bedroom in the cabin felt strangely alien as she jumped out of bed. She needed to make sure Olivia was okay.
She gasped as pain throbbed through her body at the sudden movement. Ruby looked down and was shocked to her core to discover bandages wrapped tightly around her arm. Bruises bloomed in a variety of colors across her bare skin, but she had absolutely no recollection of their origin.
Confusion gripped her mind as she struggled to remember anything through the gaping black hole in her memory. She remembered arriving at the cabin and studying for a while, but everything else that had transpired the night before was gone. She did not remember being hurt or how she’d gotten into bed. Sick dread pooled in the pit of her stomach. Had she been drugged and assaulted?
Ruby pushed past the disorientation and pain to run into the living room. She saw Nathan on the sofa bed, slowly blinking as he woke. She saw him lift his shirt and was dismayed to see similar bandages and bruises on his body. For a second, she was worried that he might have attacked her, but she dismissed the idea. He would never.
“Liv!” Ruby called in a croaking voice that sounded nothing like her usual upbeat tone.
“There are people outside with creepy painted faces and a whole bunch of weapons!” Olivia’s voice was shaky with panic and urgency that helped dispel some of the mental fog Nathan and Ruby felt.
“It’s our time,” Ruby muttered without knowing why those words fell from her lips.
He looked at her in confusion and gestured to his bandaged chest, then her arm. “What the hell happened last night? I didn’t drink anywhere near enough to justify forgetting something like this. It hurts like hell. I don’t even have a hangover, but I know what an ass-kicking feels like. I lost a fight.”
She looked down at her bruises and bindings before she nodded her agreement. “Me too. I’ve never been roofied, but everything after we started studying is just…gone. I don’t know why because I don’t run away as a life philosophy, but I have never wanted to flee a place more than I do right now.”
Nathan stared at the bruises on her arms with fury burning in his eyes. “Not me. I am going to find whoever did that to you and rip his throat out.”
She caught a glimpse of the intruders through the living room window, and a shudder of revulsion ran down her spine. Ruby wondered what that was about. “You may have to take it up with them,” she suggested as she pointed outside. “We have visitors.”
