She nodded, looking hesitant, but walked toward the service tent.

And then I taunted Kai. “Still able to knock someone out with a single kick?”

“Want a demonstration?” he shot back.

I laughed, putting the rest of the pieces together in my head.

“What are you going to do?” Michael asked, pulling back and suddenly interested.

“Me? Oh, this will take all of us,” I told him. “You want it or not?”

He rolled his eyes but stood there, Will on his left, Kai on his right, and his pride telling him not to engage with me.

But then he looked over at Rika, and I didn’t know about him, but I knew if her teacher was pulling shit like this in front of her fiancé, what was he thinking of trying one of these days when Michael wasn’t around during one of their research meetings or an after-class discussion?

Of course, Rika could take care of herself, but he was disrespecting Michael, too. Michael needed to check that shit.

He met my eyes. “Fine. What are we doing?”

I quirked a smile and filled everyone in on their part, sending Banks to meet the butcher in the parking lot and Will to grab another prop from inside one of the haunted houses.

When Alex came back with the salts, I told her what she had to do, unfortunately the bulk of the work falling on her for this whole thing. She was the only chick here not spoken for, so that came in handy when she needed to lure him.

Banks arrived with a backpack, and she, Michael, and I made our way to the tree line behind the barn, shielding ourselves behind the trunks, while Kai and Will hid around the corner of the barn, waiting.

I stuffed my mask, still hooked onto my wrist, in the backpack, and not two minutes later, spotted Alex rounding the corner with the professor. She looked perfect. Short white dress, top hat, makeup. He didn’t look as enamored as he did with Rika, but he was willing to indulge a little walk around the park with another beautiful student.

Kai looked over at me, twenty yards away, and I jerked my chin, alerting him it was time. He stepped back, giving himself room, got in his stance, and as soon as Alex came around the corner, Kai shot out, swung his leg around, and knocked the dude right in his temple. He didn’t even have time to turn and see who was there.

His head jerked back, his knees gave out, and he fell forward, face planting on the dirt ground.

“Oh, shit!” Will shook with laughter. “He went down like a dead deer.”

A snort sounded from either Michael or Banks, and Kai looked down at his victim, surveying his handiwork with pride.

“You didn’t kill him, did you?” Banks whisper-yelled, looking worried as she crept over.

Michael and I followed.

She crouched down next to the guy, feeling for the pulse on his neck.

After a pause, she pulled away, sighing with relief. “Okay, good.”

“Baby, please.” Kai looked insulted.

“Grab his feet,” I told Will as I flipped him over and took his hands. “Let’s go.”

We carried him back beyond the tree line, Alex, Michael, and Kai following, while Banks bent over, picking up the heavy backpack off the ground as we passed.

I cocked an eyebrow at Michael. “You gonna make my sister carry that?”

Or do we do all the work and you just watch?

He yanked the bag out of her hand, she made a face at him, and we all scurried deeper into the woods and out of sight.

Plopping the dead weight down, I grabbed Alex, pulled her over, and ripped open the bodice of her dress, exposing her skin from chest to abdomen, her breasts still covered, though.

She gasped, snarling at me. “Asshole!”

“Lie down,” I told her.

“Why do I always have to do the dirty work?”

“Now.” I gestured to the ground.

Frowning, she dropped to the cold earth, fallen leaves rustling under her as she carefully laid herself back.

“Knife,” I asked Will, reminding him I needed the prop he stole from one of the haunted houses.

He slapped it in my hand, the harness from whatever actor or mannequin he got it off of attached and dangling from my fist.

Michael, Kai, and Will situated themselves off a short distance away, shielding themselves behind trees, while Banks and I finished getting Alex all dressed up. We did this as teenagers to one of my father’s security guards who kept patting Banks on the ass when he spoke to her.

I poured some of the shit she got from the butcher on the professor’s clothes and then hauled him over and set him face down on top of Alex, between her legs.

“Ugh,” she groaned, looking like she was about to gag with all the crap on her, including the professor.

Banks planted a quick kiss on her forehead as she scrambled around her, giving her arms and chest smears of blood. “Love you. Mean it,” she chirped at Alex sarcastically and then looked up at me, smiling.

I couldn’t help but give her one back.

Like old times.

We finished up, Banks gathered the backpack and everything in it, and ran to where the guys were hiding, while I pulled out the smelling salts.

“When you’re ready,” I said, handing it to Alex.

She took it, nodding.

I backed away, surveying my work, that fucking prick who thought he could put his hands on something of ours and get away with it passed out between her legs with his head resting on her chest.

Then I turned, joining everyone else where we could watch but not be seen.

Alex moved a little, lifting her head to check the placement of his hand on the knife and her position under him.

Will was laughing already, lifting his phone to record.

But Kai grabbed it out of his hand to stop him. “Fuck no.”

Will’s mouth dropped open, confused, but then the light dawned. “Oh, right.”

Yeah. Not going down that road again. No videos.

Alex brought the salts to his nose, and I warned everyone, “Shhh,” shutting them up.

She waved them under his nostrils, we waited and watched, and then suddenly…he jerked to life, and her arm and head fell back to the ground in position, the salts spilling off somewhere as she closed her eyes and hung her mouth open, playing dead.

A laugh rumbled in my chest.

He moved, trying to lift his head, but it just bobbed as he groaned.

He shifted on top of her body, and then hissed, putting his hand to his temple and feeling the ache of Kai’s kick.

“Ah, what the hell?” he said in a raspy voice, rubbing his head.

But then he slowly came to, lifted his body up, and blinked his eyes open, finally seeing what was underneath him.

The body of a dead girl, covered in blood, and his fingers wrapped around the hilt of the prop knife buried in Alex’s chest.

He just sat there, looking down at her, unsure if he truly knew what he was seeing.

Removing his hand from the knife, he nudged her on the jaw, sending her head flopping side to side, and then let out a shocked cry, falling over, and scrambling to get away and making us all struggle to hold in our laughter.

“Ah!” He crawled backward, just staring at her in utter horror.

Snorts went off around us, and I shook my head.

It was a prank you were never really too old for. I always dreamed of having this room in my house someday with splatters of red paint all over the walls and sheets, so I could dump drunk friends in there who would wake up in the light of day the next morning, shitting their pants at the massacre on the walls.

The small delights in life.

He stood up, pawing at the evidence all over his clothes and took in the blood spilling off the butcher knife buried in the chest of a young girl. He quickly looked around for anyone who might’ve seen, and we dove behind the trunks, making sure we weren’t detected.

He was starting to freak out, his fear vibrating off him, and I could only imagine the thoughts racing through his mind right now.

“Oh, my God,” he panted. “Oh, my God. What the fuck?”

Aw. Poor baby.

We peered back around to see him start running at top speed away from the body, whipping off his pullover and trying to wipe himself clean as he bolted back into the far-off crowd before he could be caught.

“Holy shit,” Will chuckled, not holding back as we all came out from behind the trees and watched him disappear. “He didn’t even try to take his murder weapon. What a pinhead.”

Banks’ head fell back as she and Kai laughed, and Michael couldn’t help grinning as he dipped down, helping Alex up.

“I don’t think he’ll be at school on Monday,” he remarked.

“Yeah, he should be three states over by then,” Kai added.

“Or confessing to the police,” Will snickered.

No one could stop laughing, all of us shaking with the amusement at the painful ride home he was going to have tonight and the sleep he wasn’t gonna get for a few days until he realized it was a prank.

“And if he does it again,” Alex snapped, aggravated with the mess all over her as she shot a look to Will, “we’ll put him in a bed between your legs, surrounded by dildos and lube next time.”

“Now that was an idea,” Will chimed in, pointing to me with an excited look.

We all broke into laughter again, picturing the sight, and my head was light and my stomach unknotted for the first time in a long time. I hadn’t laughed like this in a while.

My head fell back, exhausted from the day and night, but kind of happy.

Really happy, actually.

But then the chuckles died down.

They faded to smiles, which faded to nothing, and we all grew quiet, discomfort and awkwardness chilling the air as we remembered we hated each other.

Years ago, this was what it was like with us. Before we realized fun had a price, and anger clouded everything as we latched on to anyone to blame.

Especially me.

Tonight was a bittersweet reminder of everything I’d ruined, and they hadn’t forgotten that it was mostly my fault.

We’d happily fallen back into the things that helped us find each other for a few minutes. The same needs, the same passion for thrills, and the same desire to break away from restraints.