Doll Parts (The Game 4)

He left our winnings inside too, clown nose included.

It helped me to stall a little bit, because one couple was just now leaving the station we were on our way to.

I leaned on my cane and looked up at the sky while I waited for Noa. The rain wasn’t falling as heavily as it had earlier—or yesterday, for that matter—but the weather was still bad. And it was going to get worse, according to the forecast.

On the flipside, our next station’s task couldn’t be carried out in daylight, and darkness had fallen earlier because of the black clouds. The organizers had been able to open the station in the woods an hour ahead of schedule.

Noa reemerged from the cabin with a cute grin. “It’s gonna be fear play now, isn’t it? Isn’t it, Daddy?”

I chuckled. There was no keeping fear play from this young man. “You’re about to find out. Let’s go.”

We walked down the hill together, at a pace I could handle with the rain turning the lawn into a muddy slip ’n slide, and he chatted animatedly about…insects. So far, he’d found three spiders and two moths in the cabin. Or Cameron had found them, and Noa had “saved” them.

“I wish I had a spider,” he said wistfully. “Or two! So they can make cute, fluffy babies.”

“I’m not sure Cam would like that, sweetheart,” I replied. “I’m not sure about your definition of cute and fluffy either.”

“Oh! Oh-oh-oh-oh! A lizard! That’s what I want, Daddy!” he pleaded. “I’ve always wanted a lizard! No, a snake! I want a cute snake! My whole life, I’ve wanted a snake in my own terrarium! Pleeeeaase, Daddy?”

I was such a fucking sucker for his excitement, more so when he had regressed. How could I say no to those eyes? To those freckles. All I could think about was when I’d taken him to the National Zoo as a young boy and how he’d lit up as soon as we’d gotten closer to the reptile center.

“Do you remember when you collected house spiders in jars under your bed when you were little?” I asked.

He snickered and grabbed my hand. “Yeah. I got one wolf spider too!”

He’d conveniently neglected to mention the brown recluse specimen. He’d scared his mother and me half to death when we’d found out.

“If you can get Uncle Lucian and Cam on board, we can discuss a snake or a lizard,” I decided smoothly. “But no spiders. No hidden jars.”

“Hmpf. That’s a no…”

I smirked and glanced up ahead as we passed the tarp-covered fighting cages. A few feet behind them, Colt and River waited. A tiki torch stuck up from the ground, as well as a helium-inflated red balloon that bounced with each raindrop that hit it.

I had to laugh when I spotted Colt’s T-shirt. It was approximately four sizes too small, but he was evidently gonna wear the one Kit had tossed him, the one that read “Kit’s Kittens.”

“Howdy, guys.” He grinned lazily. “I’ve been lookin’ forward to when you got here, li’l Noa.”

“Well, here I am, kitten,” Noa drawled.

River raised a brow at me, and I nodded with a dip of my chin. He smiled in return.

Colt twisted his body a bit to detach something from his belt, and he produced a headlamp. “Just like with the rest of the stations, the rules are simple, little one.” He stepped forward and strapped the lamp around Noa’s head. “This lamp is equipped with a camera that makes it possible for us to see where you are. You know, for safety.”

“Sure.” Noa dragged out the word. “You wanna enjoy the show.”

“That’s a bonus.” Colt smiled faintly. “It’s also your safeword insurance. If you remove the lamp and face the camera, we’ll come runnin’. Other than that…all you have to do is find a red balloon in the forest. Bring that back here and the puzzle piece is yours.”

Fuck, this was gonna be good. Anticipation buzzed within me, because I knew I’d get to watch every moment of this task unfold on a tablet.

“That’s all?” Noa narrowed his eyes.

Colt flipped on the lamp and squinted in thought. “Unless I forgot somethin’…? Hmm. Can’t think of what that might be.”

“Shit,” Noa whispered. “All Sadists are liars. But okay. Okay. Um. Okay, I’m ready. A red balloon. I’m gonna find a red balloon.”

Colt’s smile widened a little, and he took a step back and gestured toward the dark forest. “Good luck, Noa.”

Noa marched right up to him, blinding Colt with the light, and whispered sharply, “You are way too smug, Sir. Adieu.” With that said, he strode out into the woods and disappeared from our sight within seconds.

Colt was quick to haul out his tablet from its hiding spot in one of the fighting cages and— “Actually, let’s stand in here,” he said.

Good call. River and I joined him where we could take cover from the rain.