Chapter 9

As soon as he floored the gas pedal, his friends screamed, and took hold of each other. Jack just smirked, and took a sharp right, then looked in the rearview. The SUV was still behind him. "Damn!" He took a hard left, then used the round about to circle around, and go back a different way. He looked in the mirror again. Nothing. But he didn't let his guard down. And, just like he'd thought, the SUV lurched in front of them, so he slammed the breaks, adjusted the gear stick, and turned around, then started that way. He needed to take a more drastic measure. "I'M NOT KIDDING WHEN I SAY HOLD ON!" He yelled, tuning down an alley, and speeding forward. He'd built a ramp there when he was younger, since he loved biking, but didn't want to be watched while doing it. Who knew that would come in handy? He floored the gas, and up the ramp they went, flying over other buildings and alleys in the process. He knew the ramp had been broken from the weight of his truck. Therefore, the SUV couldn't follow then any longer, and he slowed down once they landed, after a few bumps. Then, he followed the directions, until his friends exploded. "DID YOU HAVE TO DO THAT?" "I CANT BELIEVE YOU DID THAT!" "WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Jack tensed at the last question, and gave them the silent treatment, wondering why they had yelled at him. They should've been thanking him, he just saved all of their pathetic asses! Those stalkers could've been killers and yet here they were scolding him! "Well. I guess I'm so sorry that I saved all of your asses! That tail could've been the killer and if they really had cornered us...." He decided to let them finish that sentence.

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A half hour later, Jack was parking, and the others were apologizing. But he shrugged the apologies off. He couldn't get that one question out of his head now. What the fuck is wrong with you? Maybe they ought to ask his parents instead. He found a parking space, near the back, and turned the truck off, then pocketed his keys, and hopped out, along with the others. The building was in a clearing in the middle of the woods, made of red bricks, and paired with a roof of shingles. It looked like it had two floors, and there weren't any windows, which he found strange. But, as they stepped through the door, and into the lobby, he ignored that fact. Behind the desk, there was a girl of about twenty, wearing a red pair of overalls over a black shirt. Her blonde hair was ear length, adding a joyful shine to her gray eyes, and a healthy look to her paleish skin. "Which room did you all sign up for?" She asked cheerfully. Harley stepped forward to answer. "The murder mystery one, I think it was Clue." The girl nodded. "Follow me." And she went down a hallway, so they followed, until she stopped at a door with a questionmark painted on it. "You all know how this works. Figure out the clues, escape within an hour, and if your stuck on something, I can help you. But only four times. You can get my attention by waving at the camera." She opened the door, and in they went, ignoring the way the door slammed behind them. Jack looked around. The walls were still brick, but there was a door to the left of him, one to the right, and one behind him. They all led to different places. In front of him, hanging on the wall, was a painting. One of a gray-haired man dressed in a yellow suit with matching pants. "I'll check behind this." He said, and went over to the frame, then slid his fingers between it and the wall...there it was. He grabbed it, and slid his hand out, finding a note. "Over here." He opened it, and read aloud: "The levers were the only way to lock them out while I finished the job." Damn. "Levers?" Ann asked, confused. "Wait, I've got it!" Oliver said, on the other side of the room, clutching a lamp on an end table. He pulled it downward, and Jack thought one of the doors would open, but.... The lights went out. A hand held him against his attacker, and another shot out to cover his mouth, then they whispered in his ear. "Oh, don't worry, you'll live....for now." As teeth sunk into his neck, he tried to figure out what had happened. But, in an instant, his attacker was gone, and the lights came back on. Leaving Jack to stare in horror at his friend's body on the ground, with a knife in the middle of her back, causing a pool of blood to spread around her. It was Ann. And she was dead.