Trapped 3#: The Hollow Creek Murders (bxb)

Chapter 5: I Can See Your Mask

The weather was cold.

I shivered, unaware of my actions, and rubbed at my bare arms as we stepped out onto the street. Along with me, the other people that Lucas and Tanaka invited were four other people. Two girls and two boys.

"Alright, Neil!" Tanaka clapped his hands together. "Allow me to introduce you to our gang!"

Don't you mean your gang? I thought to myself while refraining to roll my eyes.

"Our two lovely girls is Elise..." He pointed to a shy-looking female with long, black, braided hair and eyes hidden behind a thick pair of glasses. She blushed, smiled, and waved at me. I awkwardly waved back. "And Bethany." The other girl, an older one with long blonde hair and green, glared at me. I found her to be more of a suitable sibling for Lucas than Tanaka.

"The two boys are-"

"This is my boyfriend," Bethany suddenly growled while grabbing one boy's arm. He grimaced, obviously hurting from her grip, and smiled weakly. He seemed to be what I would describe to be a "typical jock". With brown hair styled into a fuck-boy haircut and amber eyes, it didn't take a freaking rocket scientist to figure out that he was popular.

Tanaka rolled his eyes. "As I was saying," he continued. "Bethany's boyfriend is Sean, and the other boy is Azrael."

Azrael? I turned towards the other boy, and was surprised by his dark glare. He watched me for a moment before turning away.

What a comforting group of people.

...Not.

"Nice to meet you all," I smiled slightly. Tanaka grinned, Bethany clung to her boyfriend's arm even tighter, Sean managed to give me shrug, Elise smiled slightly, Azrael didn't bother to look at me, Lucas smiled while probably thinking of ways to kill me, and I wanted to leave.

I refrained what seemed to be the one hundredth sigh today.

Well, at least Tanaka is trying to get to know me, I thought to myself. There's that.

It didn't make me feel better.

Don't get me wrong. I did find Tanaka to be an enjoyable person. He was funny and very kind to me for whatever reason, but I couldn't help that it was a lie. That everyone was lying. People put up masks so they could be whatever they wanted to be in front of others, and I did not want to be friends with that. It was like befriending monsters.

No, I couldn't.

"Here we are," Lucas whispered suddenly into my ear, making me jump with a startling yelp. Everyone turned to me, confused, while I just blushed, my hands covering the ear that had been so helplessly violated. They shrugged it off and started down what seemed to be a small driveway that had been hidden with the dense forest.

I turned to Lucas, and he smirked. "Are you okay?" He asked gently. He knew that I knew.

But what did I know?

I knew that he was fake. A liar. I could see the mask so well that it could practically be a real one to me. One that smiled so innocently, but hid something behind it that even I wasn't sure of. Everyone couldn't see it, but I could. 

And he knew that.

"L-leave me alone," I whispered. 

He forged a confused look, his fake blue eyes practically gushing with life, and step towards me. It was then that I realize that everyone had gone ahead. He tilted his head in a mocking way.

"Neil," his voice seemed a lot colder than before. "I think we should continue forward. You don't want to concern the others, do you?"

He's evil.

I took a step back, glared sharply at him for a moment, before running ahead.

No. I couldn't deal with him.

Meanwhile, Lucas sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. His eyes froze as he stared at everyone from behind.

Now, how was he going to begin this?

***

Tanaka's place, as it turned out, was a freaking mansion.

It was similar to ours, but the difference between them was that there's was a functional place that had running water, head, and actual floors...

While ours wasn't.

The place had a sort of gothic style to it, with a dark, leering design that made you feel on edge. Tanaka and the others were standing on the black porch, waiting for us.

"Yo, Neiler! What took you so long?" Tanaka asked.

"Please never call me that again," I replied coldly as I stepped onto the porch.

Tanaka grinned. "Then I suppose I'll have to find a new nickname, ey?"

I sighed hopelessly. Was it really that hard to call me Neil? It was literally one syllable.

"Sorry about that," Lucas said suddenly, appearing out of seemingly nowhere. "I just needed to ask if Neil needed a textbook." He smiled his carefree smile, his mask never faltering.

"Oh, that's fine," Tanaka replied carelessly not really bothering to read more carefully into the situation. He opened the door and walked with all of us following closely behind.

"Alright, Lucas, you can take everyone up to The Room while I show Neil around the house real quick. That okay?"

"What?" I jerked my head towards him at the sound of my name. "Why?"

Neil tilted his head. "Because I feel like that will help you feel your way around. Trust me when I say that this place gets confusing."

"But-" I began to argue, but stop myself. It wasn't as if I was going to be here a lot, and a tour will give me a better chance to see the mother and check to see if she was okay.

What was I saying? I shook my head. Of course she's okay.

When there were no objections, the others left down one of the many hallways, leaving only me and Tanaka behind.

When I wasn't really paying attention, Tanaka took my hand firmly and pulled me towards the opposite hallway.

"This place is around five stories high, plus a basement, and covers about..." he started.

But I wasn't paying attention.

I was staring at my hand, which was now entangled in his, as I felt my whole body grow numb.

It was so warm.

The sensation washed over me, and it felt as if I never experienced warmth for years until now. Everything had been so cold. The weather, my new house, my parent, Lucas, but none of that even mattered now. I simply just relaxed, and allowed Tanaka to lead me away.