The Book of Masks (Vol. 2)

A Turn of the Tables

Previously: "An Escape Route Into a Dead End" 

You know what you want to do about the missing magical supplies -- talk to the community center people -- so you don't need to do any more thinking about the problem. Caleb is the one who needs to come around, and that's not your problem.

So you text him that something's come up and you'll talk to him much later in the evening -- after eleven, as that's Bhodi's curfew. Then you text Andy, telling you're free to be picked up. He quickly texts back, and a few minutes later you're standing at the curb waiting for him.

Conversation is oddly strained. Andy is usually chatty, and the texts you got from him and the others were very chirpy, like they already had a great party going on. But here, behind the wheel, he is very subdued, and he gives only one-word answers to everything you say. You finally ask him if everything's okay. "Sure," he says. "Awesome." And he doesn't look over at you.

It was dark in the car, and it's dark on the walk up to Joe's front door, but once you're under the porch light, you see that Andy is very white in the face. He goes straight in without knocking or ringing the doorbell, and takes you through an empty living room to the stairs. "Where's Joe's parents?" you ask.

"Out. A movie, I think. Convenient."

"For what?" You pause on the bottom stair.

"Oh, just 'cos," he says, and avoids looking you in the face. "Come on."

Slowly, and with mounting trepidation, you follow. The upstairs hall is dark, and the only light comes from the crack under Joe's bedroom door. Andy raps a couple of time on it, then enters. You let him get all the way inside before following.

You freeze just inside the room. There's a whole pile of kids here: Joe, Grant, and Justin representing the boys along with Andy; Paulina and Lindsay Cho and Melanie Heath for the girls. Basically the whole gang from last year. "Hey guys," you say. "What's, uh -- ?"

Something heavy hits you from behind, knocking you onto the bed. You twist over in time to see Andy -- his eyes wide, his teeth bared, and his face green -- scrambling atop you. The others crowd around and on top of you too. You're too surprised to immediately react, and then they've got your legs and arms pinned. "What the -- ? What the -- ?" is all you can sputter.

Lindsay looks over her shoulder. "Okay, we're ready," she calls.

Ready? Ready for what?

She and Paulina -- who is looking at you with a particularly revolted expression -- step aside. You hear a door open -- that would be the door to Joe's private bath. A new figure looms into view. His hair is dark, as is his skin. And he looks as grimly horrified as the others.

It's Bhodi Weaver.

You open your mouth to yell, but he lands on your chest first and puts his hands to your face. You twist, but he gets a grip on your forehead. Something inside you tears away, and the world goes black.

* * * * *

You're lying on your side when you awake, and you feel like you've been dragged through deep water and over rocks. You don't hurt, not physically, but your mind is ragged. You shake your head and blink and try to remember what --

The faces. That's what comes back to you immediately. The grave, ugly, fearful and hate-filled faces of your friends as they piled up around you and on you.

Only they're not your friends. They are Bhodi Weaver's friends. And it was Bhodi Weaver who grabbed at your face and --

And what? Your sphincter loosens. Did he take the mask off you?

You twist around and try to sit up, but find that your arms are pinned behind you. Cold hoops enclose your wrists, and they click and clack metallically when you pull at them. You catch a glimpse of a leg, and scramble up and back, twisting your shoulder painfully as you push back against the headboard of the bed.

They're all sitting or standing and staring at you with expressions of loathing: Andy, Joe, Grant, Justin, Paulina, Lindsay, Melanie.

And Bhodi. He's dressed in a t-shirt and track pants, and looks healthy and normal.

You lick your lips, and swallow.

Joe nudges Grant, who nudges Andy, who looks at Bhodi. Your one-time alter ego only keeps his dark eyes on you.

Andy gets onto the bed with you, and you rear back as he looms over you with a cigarette lighter. He flicks it. "Okay, who are you?" he says. "Really."

It takes a moment for the question, and the significance of the lighter, to register. Then you bounce back so hard that he falls over and the flame goes out. "Jesus, you don't have to do that!" you holler.

"So what do I gotta do?" he yells back, and after two ineffectual flicks gets the lighter back on.

"Just ask me a question! Jesus!"

"I did! Who are you?"

You stare goggle-eyed at the flame, then glance at Andy's face. He is pale and staring, he probably doesn't want to use that flame. Maybe you could bluff him --

But with what? And if you don't talk, he'll probably thrust that thing at you and maybe he'll do more than scorch your skin. If he accidentally thrusts it into your eye --

"My name's Will, okay? Will Prescott." You rear back. "Happy? Can I go now?"

"What are you doing?"

"Trying not to shit myself!"

Lindsay Cho pushes forward. "Let me handle this," she says brusquely. With her flat face and flat eyes behind those thick glasses, she looks a lot tougher than Andy does. A tight scowl disfigures her mouth as she straddles your legs. Before you can flinch, she unzips your jeans and is groping for your cock. You twist, but then she's got it in her hands, and then you have to calm down. Get them by the balls, and their hearts and minds will follow, indeed! She pulls your dick out, and wrenches the lighter from Andy. "Okay, asshole. You're going to answer my questions and you're going to answer them fast. Or else -- " She flicks the lighter and puts the flame close to the tip of your cock.

* * * * *

So, you gabble out explanations. It helps that they have some props on hand for you to point to: not just the mask they took off you, and the mask of Evie that Bhodi had been wearing but also -- to your immense shock -- the grimoire as well as the masks Caleb had made and all your supplies from the basement.

So it wasn't the community center that got in there and took your stuff. It was Bhodi's friends!

You reel at these revelations, but that cigarette lighter keeps near your cock keeps you concentrated on explanations. You tell them that you're senior at Westside -- and Justin tells them that he's seen you in his eighth-period Astronomy class -- and that you found the grimoire at Arnholm's Used Books. You tell them about how you were goofing off with the masks with your friend Caleb when you got caught by Gordon Black, and how Caleb's quick thinking led to your switching places with him briefly, before switching places then with Dane, and then --

You make Lindsay give the lighter back to Andy before telling her about how you then moved from Dane to Evie, and from Evie to Bhodi.

They're not impressed by your story, no matter how much you protest that Gordon is dangerous to have as an enemy, and that Chen is a psycho. "So you just thought you'd fuck everyone else up!" Melanie yells at you. "Typical stupid guy shit!" You catch Grant and Joe exchanging some hooded glances at that.

And Lindsay says flat-out that she doesn't believe you. "What's this, then?" she says, and thrusts a piece of paper at your face. It's a list of names: Tyler Ward, Kieran Matthews, Matthew Adams, Andrew Webb, Aaron Riggs, Elijah Washington. "Were these some other people you were going to replace?"

"No! Well, sort of," you have to admit. "Caleb, he wanted to know some guys that maybe we could get a mask of so he could, you know -- " You try to shrug, but it's hard because your hands are cuffed behind your back. "Um, get close to girls with. You know, to, uh -- " Your mouth goes very dry when you see the brittle look in Melanie's eye. Her boyfriend's name is on that list.

And then Paulina runs from the room. Lindsay stares daggers at you, and runs after her. "Look, I'm not a bad guy," you yell. "I was just trying to stay alive!"

They all look at you with pain and disgust in their eyes. Slowly, they leave in knots, until you're left with only Bhodi. "Look, I'm sorry, man," you tell him, though it's a really useless thing to say. "I was just really desperate, and -- "

"Shut up," he says quietly, and looks away.

"You know, I was planning to put everything back tonight. I was going to let everyone out and put them all back to normal. Well, except -- " He looks up as you suddenly turn tongue-tied. "I was going to put Gordon inside your mask, and I was going to put you inside Gordon's. That wouldn't be too bad for you, right? You'd be a senior, and captain of the basketball team, and you'd have the head cheerleader for a girlfriend -- "

He just looks nauseated by your plea. "I don't believe you, and even if I did -- "

The door opens again, and Lindsay comes in. She puts her hand on her hips, and her eyes glitter. "So what the fuck are we going to do with you?" she says.

"Let me go? Put me back to normal? I was going to do that, I was just telling Bhodi, I swear, I -- "

"Really?" she says, and you don't like her tone. "Would you make everything normal again?" You nod. "Would you do anything to make things normal again?"

* To continue: "All Is Made Clear" 

*
"Table of Contents (Vol. 2)" 
"The Book of Masks (Vol. 2)"