The Nightmare Game by S. Suzanne Martin Page B

irritated now. “Like I said before, leave me alone!”
    He pulled up close to me and whispered
conspiratorially in my ear, “I can’t. You have the amulet,” he said, pointing
to the necklace. “You’ve been chosen and there’s nothin’ you can do about it.
There’s been nothin’ you could have done about it since you first set foot in
this city.”
    I pushed myself away, “Chosen for what?” I said,
in the most insolent voice I could muster in my alarm. He really was crazy,
wasn’t he? But how did he know about the amulet?
    He grabbed my arm again and said, “You’ll find
out.”
    “Find out what?” I said.
    “Go. This is just the first step. You’ll learn
more later. The Crypt is the place to be.”
    “What? Who are you?” I asked, both fearful and
annoyed, yanking my arm away and studying him. He was a slight man with stringy
chin-length dirty blond hair hanging in his face. He was dressed in old-fashioned
baggy white pants with suspenders and a black sweat shirt, neither freshly
laundered, and he sported several tattoos. Going by his looks, I expected him
to emanate a stench, but there was absolutely no odor of any kind about him.
    “A friend of Virginia. Your friend now.”
    “Who’s Virginia?”
    “You met her. She gave you that,” he said,
pointing at the necklace again.
    “You know that woman? Who is she? Why – and how –
did she disappear the way she did?”
    “Yeah, I know her. She’s a helper, just like me
and now just like you.”
    “A helper for what?”
    “For ‘who’ is more like it.”
    “Okay, a helper then for whom ?”
I felt so intimidated and frightened that correcting him was my only weak means
of asserting myself.
     “For the one who’s been tryin’ to reach you. I
can tell by that expression on your face that you know who I mean. More, I
can’t tell you right now. You’re bein’ pursued.”
    “Who’s pursuing me?” I asked. I was already scared
when I left the apartment, but this guy was sending my fight or flight
instincts right through the roof.
    “The witch. The one you hated right off the bat,
and you know who I’m talkin’ about, is huntin’ for you. She’s trying hard to
pin-point you right now, but that,” he pointed to the necklace again, “is the
only thing that’s protectin’ you, it’s the only thing keepin’ you alive. It
makes you harder for her to find. She almost had you before. You were a lot
closer to dyin’ than you realize. If that fella hadn’t come along and saved
you, we wouldn’t be havin’ this conversation right now.
    “Listen,” he continued. “I don’t have much time. I
know what you’re thinkin’. You want to get outta here, you want to find another
place to stay. They all do. They think they’re safer in a hotel room but
they’re not. Then they all want to get home, think they’ll be safe there, but
they’re not. I can see it on your face, you’d like to go home. Don’t do it.
She’ll find you there too and you won’t have anybody able to help you there.
You want to stay alive? Stay here. Stay put where you are and follow where you’re
led. It’s your only chance to stay alive. You’re in the game now and there’s no
leavin’ it. You play it through to the end or until you’re killed. You’ll
probably end up dead anyway, but it’s the only chance you have. Play and you
just might win. Quit this game now and you’ll be dead for sure in a few days.
Nobody’s ever left and lived.”
    “Has anyone ever stayed and lived?” I asked,
having no real idea of what he was talking about.
    “Not yet. You’d be the first and you’d be the
last, but you just might live, you just might win. You have a chance. But like
I said, playing this game is the only chance you’ve got. But you’ve got to go
to The Crypt tonight. It’s your next move.
    “Jus’ don’t drink anything that comes from there.
Not one drop. An’ speakin’ of drops, brace yourself for the fall.”
    I looked around to see if