Born, Darkly (Darkly, Madly 1)

A phone.

Oh, my God. Relief pushes through my anxiety. I flip the device open, and the screen illuminates the inside of the box. I quickly use the light to look around, searching for a latch or loose nail or anything—a way out. “Dammit.”

I’m not clawing my way out of the earth. Even if I could, what then?

With shaky hands, I punch in 9-1-1 and hit Send.

Three long beeps answer me back.

“Shit—” The top of the screen flashes no service.

He’s toying with me. But no, it’s more than that. There has to be something…here. Grayson records his victims. He watches them. He gives them choices, dammit. Where are mine?

Static erupts from the device. Then: “You once said you disliked people because they’re selfish. I wonder if it’s more that their selfishness is a reflection of what you dislike in yourself.” Grayson’s voice fills the humid darkness. “Something you wish you could change but can’t. That’s a conundrum, an enigma. You’re full of these little puzzle pieces, London.”

I search the phone. It’s a radio phone with a button on the side. I depress the button. “The only thing I want to change is my view.” I swallow a weighty breath. “If you do this, Grayson…if you kill me, you won’t ever be satisfied. You know that it will torture you.”

A long pause follows, where I wait for his response. I squeeze my eyes closed. Grayson is too intelligent to be deceived so easily. He’s studied me these past few months just as I’ve studied him. He knows my tells, my lies. My truth. He wants me to play his game, but there’s some bigger part of him that wants me to win.

Where all his other victims failed, I have to succeed.

“You said you’d give me answers,” I try again. “I followed you here. I left everything behind to be with you. To get those answers. You can’t let me go without—”

“You wanted to see how far the rabbit hole went,” he says. “Did Alice enjoy her Wonderland adventure? No, she was terrified. And to think, it was all in her mind. The most frightening things in this world usually are.”

“Grayson, please help me…”

“I don’t have your answers, London. Just like Alice, it’s all in your mind. I’m simply giving you the means, the tools, to unearth them.”

Unearth…

I repeat his words, looking for the clue—the piece of the puzzle Grayson is feeding me. Unearth…unearth…unearth.

Dig.

> I hold down the button. “Dig,” I whisper.

He waits for me to make the connection.

A tear rolls across my face. Adrenaline courses thick and hot through my veins. “Dig them up.” I beat on the lid. “Dig them up!” He wants me to free the girls.

Silence stretches. The dank air sticks to my skin, snuffing out my life. The meager light of the phone fades. The faces of the victims taunt me, mocking me for becoming just like them.

Then I hear scratching. The faint sound grows louder, pulling at the seems of my sanity, until a hollow thump detonates.

The lid opens. Dirt falls on top of me, but there’s a hand to pull me out.

Grayson wipes the dirt from my face as I gasp in clean air, starving for oxygen. “You bastard,” I swear. My hand flies toward his face. He stops it from making contact.

His hand circles my wrist, holding my hand outstretched. “Save your energy. The first test is always the easiest.”

First test.

Dehydration and sleep deprivation finally take their toll. My weak body gives in and I fall.

23

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