“Yeah, definitely,” Michael agreed.
“So we’ve got costumes, distractions, and drugs. So far that’s a pretty good mix for an escape,” Adam said.
“Agreed. But we’ve also got David waiting for Lisette’s decision on his little game. If she doesn’t have an answer for him, he’ll know we’re up to something.”
“But I don’t have an answer for him,” I said.
“That’s why we need to come up with one,” Michael continued. “We’ll play David’s game. Choose someone to leave with, tell him the name of one of us that you’ll sacrifice, and then one of us can escape with Rob in his car. You’ll be able to get out of there with whoever it is that you’ve chosen. We’ll fake the death of the second one. Essentially it will get us all out together at the same time. We’ll all meet Rob at his car, and he’ll drive like hell until we’ve put enough distance between us.”
“Sounds like as good a plan as any,” Rob said.
“Are you sure you want to get caught up in all of this?” I asked him.
“I already am,” Rob smiled at me.
“Tomorrow,” Michael said. “Go tell David that you’ll announce your choice for his game on the night of the gala. The party is only a few more days away, until then we’ll just all keep our heads down. Rob you go to your grad classes and act like a student and we’ll keep acting like advisors. Lisette, you can play up being really upset about having to make the decision but just make sure you let David believe your freedom means more to you than any of us do. That should sell the whole thing. When the night of the gala gets here, we’ll be ready to go.”
“This might just be crazy enough to work,” Adam said.
“I sure as hell hope so,” Julian said. “Because if it doesn’t, we’re all dead.”
After ironing out a few more details, everyone got pretty tired and ready to head to bed. Rob stood up and started to leave toward the stairwell.
“You aren’t going to stay?” I asked as I walked toward him while the other guys got ready for bed.
“No, not yet,” he said. “I think I should still keep an eye on the student body a bit to make sure those drugs don’t start making them go really off the rails. Plus, Julian is right. I haven’t earned my place in the bed yet.” Rob winked at me teasingly.
“Can I ask you something?” he said.
“Sure.”
“Have you slept with all three of them?”
“Yes, I have. I know it might seem strange to you, but I love them all. I tried not to at first, and I think they tried too. But we just couldn’t stay away from each other.”
“How do you feel about me?” Rob asked.
“I don’t know yet,” I answered truthfully.
“As much as I would love nothing more than to make love to you, Lisette, I want you to promise me that you won’t sleep with me until you feel at least as much for me as you do for the other guys.”
“Okay,” I answered. That was fair and I respected Rob for it. “I promise, I won’t.”
The Winter Masquerade Gala was a sensory overload. The auditorium was lit up by stage lights and spotlights and multi-colored light strings that made the whole place feel super trippy. Everyone was in full costume including masks so that no one’s identity was discernable. The music was loud, and people were moving in a sea of pulsating dancers that filled the floor of the auditorium. On the stage at the front of the auditorium were two giant thrones that had been constructed out of oversized chairs and embellished to look like seats for royalty to sit on. I was certain that one of those thrones would be where David would sit but wasn’t sure who would be in the other.
I was really hoping that it wasn’t for me. I couldn’t afford to be in the spotlight tonight.
I needed to be in the shadows for our plan to work. The guys had all gone to get dressed for the party. Each one of them would be wearing some sort of mask that hid their identity. Rob had gone back down to his room to get ready as well and to find a mask to wear. David had made sure that the dormitory was stocked full of costumes and masks and accessories, and even body paints so that no one had an excuse not to come fully disguised as something playful and alluring.
I chose a black velvet cocktail dress and a mask that made me look like I was a swan, complete with feathers and glittering sequins that I could even stick to my eyelashes. My arms and legs were exposed since the cocktail dress was short and tight and sleeveless, and my hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail. But my face was completely covered by the mask with only the centers of my eyes peering out from behind the feathers of the mask. I hadn’t gotten a chance to see what the guys would look like yet, and I was a little bit worried that I wouldn’t recognize them, but we had a code word.
“Asheville”.
Julian picked the word and that’s how we would know that it was one of us if we got disoriented.
I entered the auditorium alone, and the guys should have already been there. No one would make a move to leave or put the plan into action until we were sure that David was inside and that there had been no unforeseen changes to his whereabouts. If we needed to call something off, that was better than getting caught.
As the gala began and more people arrived, the auditorium became filled to capacity and then continued to fill even more. The crowds undulated and relished in all of the delights that David had made sure to supply. Food and drinks overflowed on the tables and the sight of beautiful costumes and masks were a visual treat to the eye. When David arrived, I would go tell him who I chose to leave with and who I sacrificed in exchange. Then I would leave with Michael, since that is who I would tell him I wanted and who he would likely believe to be the best choice and the most believable scenario.
Then the rest of the plan would fall into place as each guy played their part, culminating in the five of us leaving the campus and driving as far away as we could possibly get while David was still be entertained and oblivious at his own party.
There was of course the possibility that we could run into a few hiccups. But we planned for everything as best we could; don’t eat the food, don’t drink the wine, don’t kiss anyone. David would be planning to distribute the drugs somehow, and we didn’t know whether it would be hidden in the sip of a cocktail or under the tongue of a seductive party guest.
I walked between the party guests, weaving in and out among the elaborately costumed people and trying to see if I could spot one of the guys. A few times, men would get close to me and I would think it was one of them, but I waited for our code word to be spoken and when it wasn’t, I kept walking and mingling with the crowd. David was late to his own party and I started to wonder why.
But then, he arrived with the arrogant and flamboyant entrance that I expected from him.
He was costumed all in gold from his blonde hair that had been sprayed with gold flecks which made it shimmer beneath the light, to the gold shoes that came to points on his feet. Even beneath his metallic mask, the skin around his eyes had been painted with gold body paint and it looked like he was wearing contact lenses that turned his eyes gold too. It was the perfect color for a greedy showman such as himself and was entirely expected. What wasn’t expected was the girl who he held on his arm; a beautiful golden-blonde girl to match his whole aesthetic. But her hair didn’t look like it had been sprayed with anything at all, she just looked naturally flaxen and even behind the mask that hid her features, I could tell that she was exceptionally beautiful.
I had never seen her before and had no idea who she was, but it didn’t matter; I didn’t care.
In fact, it might even add another benefit to our plan tonight by keeping David’s focus further distracted on his beautiful guest instead of on us. We were completely focused and ready to enact our plan while David’s attention was scattered elsewhere. I made my way up to the stage as he and his blonde accessory sat down on their thrones before the partying crowd. I still hadn’t found any of the guys yet, but it didn’t matter, I only had to locate Michael which I could do after I had told David my decisions for our game.
The rest of the guys would find their way to our meeting spot just like we had planned.
Everything was working out perfectly and I started feeling butterflies of hope grow in my stomach. I nearly squealed with delightful anticipation as I walked closer and closer to the stage, just knowing that this entire hellacious shitshow that we had been trapped in was so close to being over and I was so close to being free.
But I should have learned my lesson the first time. The time when David surprised everyone at my father’s dinner with the cake that would end up simply being a sponge to soak up my father’s gushing blood.
