The following story is connected to Their Deadly Game.

Content Warning: This story contains graphic violence, blood, adult sexual/erotic themes (flirtation only, no smut), strong language, and intense suspense; recommended for mature readers 18+.

                                                                  Mike

     "Get wrecked," Jessica yells as she speeds on her bike, Liam close behind her down the pumpkin patch. The sound of pumpkins being smashed follows the sound of their bikes. A woman runs frantically right in front of them, their bikes close to her trail as she is running for her life. She trips and falls but gets up right on time before Liam can catch her.
      "Fuck," he curses under his breath, trying to stay on his bike, almost losing his balance for a moment.
    "Please, leave me alone," the woman begs, her voice trembling, as she is trying desperately to catch her breath without slowing down.
    "Oh, I will leave you alone, sweet girl," Liam coos at her, but Jessica laughs in return, her voice wicked, breaking the silence of the night.
    "He is going to leave you alone to rot right after I kill you." I can tell by the tone of her voice she is mad jealous of Liam's interest in the woman.
    "You won't be so mouthy when I catch you, little brat," I shout back at Jessica, her manic laugh echoes through the pumpkin patch, mixing with the woman's frantic scream as Liam almost catches her again. My brother has come a long way since the guilt-filled man he once was a year ago. He taunts her, letting her escape over and over again. She is filled with false hope of her survival, and that's exactly what he wants. He wants her to believe she will survive, but she won't. Even if he doesn't kill her, someone else will.
    "Big words for someone that will fall on his knees with just one word from Nate," Jessica spits back, speeding up on her bike, desperately trying to catch up to her boyfriend and our little prey.
     That earns a chuckle from Nate, who's close behind us.
   "Who's side are you?" I growl at him, and he laughs.
    "The side that gets me laid at the end of the night," he smirks.
     "Both sides will do that, Nate," Liam shouts back at him, and a curse leaves his lips right after. "Fuck, not again." His bike collides on a big rock and he flies over, crashing on the pumpkins. The woman escapes once again, and Jessica is now on her trail.
    "Are you okay, my love?" Jessica asks, passing Liam, who is trying to get rid of the evidence of his crash from his clothes. Orange splotches of pumpkin are soaking his clothes as he is trying to dust off the pieces from his black pants.
    "I am fine. Go catch her," he growls. He is indeed not fine, and Jessica will probably pay the consequences.
    It's Halloween night, and as tradition has it, it's hunting night. The game has changed since Jessica joined us a year ago. It has become an annual tradition, a celebration, and tonight is the first night of this tradition. The night that our family has come together not to play a deadly game for the need of redemption through blood, but for true enjoyment. We are monsters, after all, but even monsters can find each other, and every day, every night that passes, I would choose this family over and over again instead of the one that made me the monster I am. You see, that wasn't always our way. It was a time that the hunt calmed my inner demons, but now? It's not a need anymore; it's what it always should have been. Thrilling and fun.
    "You stupid bitch, you shouldn't have done that," Liam yells, and I help him climb on my bike without stopping.
    "You definitely shouldn't, now the chaos twins are joining forces," Nate points out.
    "She is fucked," Jessica says with a laugh as we pass her bike. Liam stands on the bike as I speed behind the woman.
    She doesn't look back, running through the pumpkin patch as if that will save her. It won't.
    "Come here, you little bitch," Liam says as he jumps from the bike onto the woman; both of them roll on the ground and a loud scream escapes her as he pins her body onto the ground with his weight. His knife presses firmly on her neck. It's so clear that a year living with Jessica has changed my brother. The once calm and calculated Liam is long gone, and this man before us is almost as crazy as I am.
    I abandon my motorcycle and start walking towards them.
     "Calm down, brother, I am sure she has got the point now." Liam rolls off her, and I help the woman on her feet.
    "Thank you," she says shyly, wiping the tears from her eyes. She thinks I am here to help. I sure will let her go, right? Wrong.
    "So adorable. Isn't she?" Jessica coos as she approaches Liam. She offers him her hand. As proud as he is, he never refuses her, and this time is no different; he tangles his fingers with hers as she helps him on his feet, pulling her in for a kiss.
    "Okay, lovebirds. Calm down, we are still in the middle of a game," Nate catches up with us, his motorcycle long gone by now.
     "Please let me go. I will do whatever you want," the woman whines as I pull her closer.
   My hand firmly grips her neck, and I whisper into her ear, "Sweetheart, you are delusional if you think you will escape".
     She tries to turn her head to look at me, but my grip on her neck makes it impossible. Instead, her eyes find my boyfriend's.
    "Please, I have a family. They will miss me."
   Crime documentaries have made everyone believe they can manipulate the serial killer hunting them. She is trying to show us she is human — someone deserving of compassion. I suppose everyone is deserving of that, and some of them even deserve to live. Does she, though?  I suppose everyone does in a way, and everyone deserves to die in many others. No human is one hundred percent deserving of life or even death, but we all have sins and reasons to live.
     Since Jessica joined us, rules changed. We used to hunt women that looked like my mother — the woman responsible for my pain — but that changed once we got to kill the bitch that was actually responsible. Now, we hunt those that hurt the innocent. She has a family, yes. A daughter that she adores — or so you would think just by watching. Liam dug deeper, though, and it turns out her husband also likes his adoptive daughter a little too much. No kid deserves to go through that. I would know.
     As I said, rules changed. Now we hunt those that hurt the innocent. We are still serial killers, and we probably should deserve to be hunted in our little game. But we are serial killers with morals. As long as I live, I won't allow another kid to go through what I went through without the responsible person being punished. And if police won't do anything, then they can be the prey in our little game.
    "I am bored; kill her already."
     Jessica pouts, and Liam places a kiss on the top of her head. "Calm down, my love. Mike isn't done playing yet."
    "Here's how this is going to play out, sweetheart," I say with a steady voice.
     "Please show some mercy," the woman whines again. "What did I even do to you? I don't know you!" She screams the words with everything inside her. She truly believes she doesn't deserve this, but looking the other way doesn't make you less of an aggressor. In my book, it makes you worse than the person that inflicts the trauma. It makes you worse because you can sleep at night without an ounce of guilt while your kid is suffering. Her husband should be hunted alongside her, and he will be, in a wicked game, by another group of killers. Our dear friends are already on top of the subject. We take care of the women; they take care of the men. A clear arrangement.
    "Your kid deserved mercy too, but you didn't grant that to her. So why would we give you that luxury?" I spit the words to her face like insults. Stupid bitch thinks she deserves mercy. She deserves to burn in hell.
    "Here's how this is going to play out," Nate repeats my words.
    "The rules are simple. Look at the scarecrow on the top of the hill. This is your ticket out of this game," Jessica says next.
    Liam walks towards the woman and pulls her away from my grip; his fingers dig on the side of her face, forcing her to look at the scarecrow.
   "If you get to it before we catch you again, we will let you live," he whispers in her ear, loud enough for all of us to hear.
   Tears stream down the woman's cheeks as she tries to make sense of what is happening to her. Liam tosses her onto Nathan like a feather in the wind; her body flies into Nate's arms.
    "I do have to warn you, little one, the only woman that survived our game is standing in front of you, and she is not one to play with."
    I chuckle. "He is not wrong about it. She will hunt you down on her own and make it hurt if her feelings are betrayed. Trust us on this."
     "Come on, that only happened once!" Jessica complains.
      "Once too many! You almost shot me!" I say.
      "She did not shoot you; stop being a baby, you're ruining the game, puppy," Nate brings me back to reality. The game. Right.
  "Yes, puppy, don't ruin the game," Jessica mocks, but I ignore her. The game is what matters now; I can take my revenge on her later.
    I pull the woman back into my arms.
   "If you get to the scarecrow, we will let you live," I repeat the rule and continue. "If we catch you before then, I will get to see your sweet blood spill on the ground."
    I push her to Jessica's arms, and she embraces the woman in a tight hug. One would think it's sweet if the woman wasn't visibly gasping for air from how tight Jess is holding her. She takes her knife and slices the flesh on her arm; blood spills from the wound, and Jess brings the blade to her lips. Her tongue passes over the crimson liquid, and I step closer, pressing my lips against hers as our tongues tangle, tasting the crimson liquid.
    "Delicious. Now run, sweetheart, before we catch you!"
   The woman starts running again, frantically trying to make it to the scarecrow. Everyone hops on their motorcycles again. Liam joins me on mine.
    "Ready, brother?" he asks.
       "Always!" 
   I respond — but no words are needed. I would go through hell and back with these people.