Taylor is 15 years old. He is excited, because he is going to a party, and it is the first one that he has ever been to. Hopefully, he can have fun… and won’t be stuck in the corner all alone, texting his mom to come to pick him up.
He grinned excitedly when he hears a honk outside. His friend, Emma, is gonna drive them to the party, so he immediately realized that it was her. He grabbed his jacket and phone. “Bye, mom! I’m going to the party! I’ll text you when I get there!” Taylor called out, bolting out of the house and waving at Emma.
Taylor hopped into the passengers’ seat, putting his seatbelt on. He grinned as they began to drive, “Hi Emma, how are you?” he asked, checking his phone battery. 78%, ‘I will be fine,’ he thought to himself.
“I’m pretty good! Excited for this party! How ’bout you Tay?”
“I’m good, thanks. I am excited too. Have any tips?” Taylor grinned.
“Just don’t be weird,” Emma joked, earning an eye roll from Taylor.
“Got it,” Taylor replied.
After a fifteen-minute drive, they arrived at the mansion look-a-like household. Taylor’s mouth dropped, “Dude, they must be rich as heck!” he commented, getting out of the car and shutting his door.
Emma got out as well and locked the car. “Pft, have you not met Mason? His family has big money.”
“Oh no duh,” Taylor replied sarcastically, earning a smile and a soft laugh from the other. “I never would have been able to tell.”
Emma laughed and Taylor followed her into the house. As soon as he opened the door, he was hit with a strong scent of alcohol. The overpowering music screaming into his ears, making him flinch.
“Isn’t this great?” Emma called out, beginning to walk away.
Taylor panicked, looking around. He couldn’t find her. He let out a soft whimper, his anxiety kicking in. “Gosh darn it…” he murmured, slowly walking around in the crowd.
The sound of the music screaming was too much, so he found a staircase and bolted up them. With his body shaking, he ran into a random room, breathing heavily. He looked around, his heart rate beginning to calm down. It was a little girls’ room, or at least it looked to fit the part.
Taylor saw a sheet of paper, with something written in blood on it. He felt bile rise into his mouth, but he swallowed it back down, making him cringe. He slowly walked over to it, and read it.
“Play hide and seek with me and you won’t get hurt.”
Taylor blinked, then squeaked when a small tablet phone turned on, with the options “Okay” and “No”.
Taylor stood, his body trembling. Should he do it? Does he want to? Of course, he wants to, but should he? Maybe this was just a prank that everybody was playing on him, seeing as how he was the new kid and nobody ever liked the new kid that came into school during the school year unless they’re hot. And by all means, Taylor did not see himself as hot.
Taylor bit his lip and shut his eyes. He took in a deep breath, the music quiet from being up a story. He opened his eyes and pressed “yes” on the tablet phone.
Everything went quiet. Everything. He read as words began to fill the screen, “Welcome to HIDE AND SEEK. You are the hider. The game is simple. You hide, I seek. You have lost all the service on your phone. The only way to get service, and get back to your world, is if you win. You have two minutes to hide. I seek for two hours. If I don’t find you then you win. But if I do. Game Over.”
Taylor read, his palms beginning to get sweaty as his anxiety spiked up. Game Over. He didn’t know what that meant.
“Your hiding time starts now!” The tablet phone flashed, making Taylor jump. He immediately bolted out of the room, going downstairs. The music wasn’t on. Everyone disappeared. Everyone was gone. He felt his body begin to tremble as he looked around, his breathing jagged.
Taylor squeaked, the giant TV turning on and saying he only had a minute and thirty seconds left to hide. He looked around, his eyes scanning everywhere. He ran into a room, seeing a closet. He ran over and got in, leaving it open at a slight creek. He saw the TV flashing. He still had a minute and twenty seconds to hide. He shut his eyes, focusing on calming his breath.
Taylor softly murmured to himself, holding his cross necklace in his hand. He murmured softly, “You’re going to be okay…” he told himself.
As one minute passed, he heard a soft ding, then the tv showed, “Hiding time is up. Good luck.” Taylor bit his lip to keep from crying. He could feel the bile rise, but he continued to swallow it. Time passed, maybe ten minutes, and then Taylor began to hear a voice.
“Where are you?” a soft voice rang, humming in a happy but disgusting tune.
Taylor held his breath, watching a large figure walk around the room. They laughed, then left.
After a couple of minutes, Taylor got out of the closet and snuck into another room, locking the door from the inside. He looked around, making sure it was clear, then sat down. He held his cross, shutting his eyes.
“Hey-”
Taylor panicked and turned around, but then calmed down at the sight. It was only another person. Wasn’t he alone?
“Listen,” The other guy spoke softly, “She doesn’t play by the rules. If she doesn’t find you within two hours, she will demand a rematch. She won’t let you out. She won’t. She just won’t,” the boy took Taylor’s hand, “What’s your name?” he asked, “My name is Boston.”
“Taylor…” Taylor spoke softly, “I-I… how do we get out?” he began to panic.
“I don’t know. I’ve been here for a month, maybe longer.” Boston then put his finger to Taylor’s mouth. “Shush? Do you hear that? She’s close…” He shut his eyes, listening.
Taylor blinked, “She- no there isn’t anything-” he screamed as Boston began to smile.
Boston opened his eyes, it became completely black. “Oh, that was just me. Haha, I can hear myself,” Boston laughed devilishly, “I found you~!” he purred and grabbed Taylor by the throat. “Game over!” he laughed loudly, and Taylor’s vision went completely black.
Game Over 🙂