The Night Of August 15th

7

All four girls had their eyes glued to the daunting image that they hoped never to see again. The incomplete image that they all saw before came together to create one full terrifying image, it wasn't exactly the image that terrified them; but the memories attached to that and what it meant to them. The incomplete pictures weren't enough for them to know what it formed, if they knew; they wouldn't have fallen into the trap.

"We all burned our masks, no one took pictures. How the hell did someone get a hold of this?" Rowan yelled frantically, as she ran her hands, frustratedly, through her dark brown hair. Her bushy eyebrows were sweaty and her skin paler than usual.

"We did burn this stupid mask, we all did it together with the guys, no one else had it," Amber said, also as flustered as Rowan and the rest of the other girls. Her heart was beating fast and she forcefully pushed off the flyers from the table, scattering them all over the dark wood floor.

"Disarranging it won't change anything Amber," Iris yelled. "We're so totally screwed," she slumped in her chair feeling utterly and completely defeated. She paused for a bit as if trying to remember something and then she stood up, and slowly she walked to Bekah who was shaking in her seat. She looked at her and then she pointed at her before saying, "You, what did you do with your mask?" She narrowed her eyes at her.

Nervousness took over Bekah's features and body, causing her to shake even more uncontrollably. "I-I, I was so scared and I think I tossed it in the trash," she cried, feeling ashamed for being stupid enough to abandon it there.

Rowan banged her hands on the table and let out a few profanities. "I knew she was stupid." She grunted. Rowan had always been the aggressive one with thread-like patience, her friends, of course, we're used to her fury; it was hardly ever directed at them. Bekah on the other hand, despite the years of bullying she faced, had never been accustomed to such roars of aggressiveness before, it made her squirm, shake, panic.

"Did anyone follow you, or did you tell anyone anything?" Amber asked.

"I'm not sure, I can't remember much from that night I was partially drunk too, it was my first time being drunk and I'm not even sure of everything I did afterward. The only thing I remember clearly is what we did."

"Like Rowan said, we didn't do anything," Iris corrected, sticking firmly to their false belief that that day never happened.

"Someone had to have followed you, no one else knew about those stupid custom masks, we were the only ones that had them, someone had to have taken yours but who?" Amber asked.

"I honestly have no clue," Bekah said, taking up the bad habit of biting off her nails.

All the lights finally came on, but it did nothing to wash away their fear or to calm them down; to them, it was useless. They needed the intervention of some sort of light for the lurking danger that they were not even completely aware of. They had no idea what was in store for them; if their threatener had already reported them, or if the person had plans of killing them.

Even with the evident light, they were still in the dark, they felt powerless. Not knowing what their near future would hold terrified them, possibly not having any control over what they would be doing frightened them. Iris, Amber, and Rowan were all used to being in charge, even Bekah; from taking care of the kids. But now, they weren't in charge, they knew that someone else held their destinies, and was going to toil with their minds till they reach their breaking point.

"So what now?" Rowan asked, exasperated.

"Nothing, nothing." Iris said simply, "there's really nothing we can do, the doors are locked, there's no signal, the only way to get out of this trap is if we're let out." She threw her hands frustratedly in the air, a habit idiosyncratic to her whenever she was in a state of nervousness and powerlessness.