The Raven Game by Jessica Sorensen
Raven
Hunter never specified what I should do after I called my aunt and uncle and told them where I was, so it’s not like I have to stay in this room. I also become aware that I never actually told my aunt where I am. Not that it matters. She made it pretty damn clear she doesn’t give a shit about me. Not that that’s breaking news. I’ve known that since the day my uncle brought me to their home and she looked me in the eye and told me she didn’t care what happened to me, that her family would always come first. And those were the most truthful words she’s ever uttered.
I grit my teeth until my jaw aches, wondering what’ll happen when she tells my uncle that she kicked me out of the house. Will he be okay with it? Probably not since he won’t get the money for keeping me until I graduate. I wouldn’t be surprised if he came banging on the door at some point to drag my ass back home. Although, would he even know where to find me? I may not have told my aunt where I am, but my uncle is the sheriff and could maybe find out.
I pace the room while clutching my phone in my hand, restless and irritated. I want to go to the house just in case she did throw out my stuff. I may not own a lot of things, but I care about the few things I do have. But what if she’s right? What if this lockdown lasts for days? That leaves her plenty of time to toss my stuff.
Maybe I can get a ride to my house? I mean, I know a lockdown is going on, but that doesn’t mean one of the guys won’t break the town rule and drive me. They all seem like rulebreakers, even with their own rules.
Sucking in a breath, I step out into the hallway to go find one of them. I’m not even sure where I’m going since this house is a freaking maze and the guys never really said where they were going. Eventually, the hallway forks. I choose a path and keep walking until I reach another fork.
“What the crap is this?” I mumble as I come to a stop and yank my fingers through my hair. “Where in the hell am I?”
There are so many hallways. So many doors.
The guys said they were having a meeting or something. The last time they had one of those they went into a room behind one of these closed doors.
I cringe at the idea of opening one of them and finding … Well, I’m not really sure, but the fact that anything could be behind them has a drop of worry trickling through me.
“Suck it up,” I mutter under my breath. “This is just a house, and they’re just three guys.” One of whom I’ve kissed, but that’s kind of irrelevant at the moment.
Inhaling then exhaling, I take a few more steps and round a corner. The end of the hallway comes into view, and at the end is a bright red door with a black X painted on it.
Men are chasing me. I can’t see their faces, but they have X’s carved into their foreheads. The feather pendant hanging from my bracelet smacks against my wrist as I run as fast as I can …
I gasp, jerking myself from the memory. Then I hastily stick my hand into my pocket, retrieving the pendant I found in the yard. It’s the same one I was wearing in that memory. I can feel it.
My gaze drifts to the red door with the X, and I step toward it. The closer I get, the more my heart pounds.
Thump. Thump.
Thump. Thump.
Thump. Thump …
My feet hammer against the ground as I run from the men.
“Run, Raven!” a boy shouts from the trees.
Ravens scatter from the branches and fly into the sky.
I keep running, stumbling through the forest, branches clawing at my flesh.
They’re going to kill me, these men.
Then I hear it. Music drifts through the forest. A calmness settles across me.
I start to slow down.
No, I’m going to kill them.
I stumble back as the memories sear through me, along with the urge to hurt someone. My heart is pounding in my chest like it was in the memory, and I can still hear the sound of the music inside my head …
No, it’s not inside my head …
It’s coming from inside the house.
No, not from the house.
From my phone.
My phone has been hacked and is playing the song from my memories, the same song that was sent on that file through that text message.
I throw my hands over my ears as the music screams through my mind, makes my brain bleed, makes my fingers long to be stained with blood.
Kill them.
Kill them, Raven.
Kill the other three birds.
Be the killer we created.
Kill again.
Kill the Raven Three.
