~The Beast~

The car door shuts behind me as I adjust my suit jacket. Belle climbs out and pulls her button jacket closer to her. It's chilly and the sun has gone down so that it no longer offers its warmth. Belle's slow steps meet mine in front of the car. She takes a deep breath and places her mask over her face.

"You ready?" she asks, kindly looking up at me. We had a brief conversation about how this is going to be the first time I'm at a normal public event as a normal person, not "The Beast". I told Belle how I was uneasy about it and she reassured me that was the least of my worries.

I shrug. "Ready as I'll ever be."

She loops her arm through mine and leads me away from the parking lot and towards the party. Shocked that she even thought about touching me, I stumble to match her speed. A man collecting tickets stands in front of a tall building. There's a sign next to him that reads "Secundocasu Masquerade Ball Being Held on 7th Floor."

Belle gives a charming smile and hands over our tickets. The man looks us over and accepts them with a bored expression. "7th floor. Enjoy."

Next thing I know, we are crammed into a large gold painted and red rugged elevator with a bunch of other people. If my mask slips or they look closely at me, they'll see I'm different. That I'm a beast. The thought makes me sweat. I'll have nowhere to escape and the police will find me. I'll be trapped and who knows what would become of me.

Suddenly, I'm grateful that Belle is holding onto me.

I watch the dial on the top of the elevator move impossibly slow until it dings and let's us off.

The ballroom is decorated beautifully. Lights and streamers are draped across the ceiling. Balloons rest in bunches in the corners of the giant ballroom. Paintings, all containing the same style, are hung on the walls distinguished from the dance floor and snack tables by red rope.

My dad was invited to many events like this after he saved those people during the shooting. I attended some of them and entertained myself by observing the people and their conversations. I learned that many of their smiles faded when others looked away, that half the words that came out of their mouths were meaningless, I learned that my family weren't the only people who played pretend.

But here I am with Belle, a girl who says what she means and means what she says, and I would love to spend the night with her. Sadly, the reason why we're here in the first place is because we were threatened to.

"I better go scope the area and try to find Tyler," I say becoming aware of the seriousness of the situation.

"Yeah, you should. I'll hang out. Let me know if you find anything." She starts to wander off.

"Wait, Belle!"

She looks back. "Yeah?"

"Uh...Maybe we can...um...maybe you can save me a dance?" I stutter. I mentally face palm myself.

Nice English, Gale.

She chuckles. "Sure. I would love to." With that, she disappears into the crowd. Trying to clear my brain, I take in the area.

Would Tyler be in the crowd trying to blend in? Or is he hiding somewhere secluded? I'll check the more empty places now that this place isn't so packed. Later it might be impossible to escape the crowd.

After a few minutes of searching, I find a storage looking room set apart from the main space. After looking left and right for anyone, I approach the door. Something clicks as I turn the knob and the door opens. I quickly enter and shut the door behind me. It's dark. My hands reach for a light switch. The light comes on revealing a plain and mostly empty space. There are fold- in tables and boxes filled with supplies. Nothing to see here.

I turn around only to hear footsteps coming towards the door. I look around the room for a place to hide. The boxes aren't big enough to counsel me. I curse under my breath. I'm running out of time.

There's a large vent just above a box. I could fit inside. I rip the cover off and place it to the side while climbing in. Then, just as I'm completely inside a person walks in. I continue down the vent as quietly as possible. I come to a dead end where it only leads upwards. I place my hands on the cool metal of the rectangular passage way. It's narrow enough for me to use my legs to push myself up.

I do and when I reach the top, I hoist myself up. The person's movements in the room suddenly become more clear. I realize this is because there's another opening in the vents.

I look through it and find a fancy dressed man standing in the room. His red hair reaches his shoulders and has a stocky frame. He wears an outfit strangely similar to mine. He observes the open vent for a moment. Then walks to another point in the room. A shelf. He reaches his hand in between two large boxes and pulls out a black object.

He walks backwards and tucks it into his tux. A gun. That's what it was.

Tyler Daniels. It has to be him. No one else would bring a weapon to a party.

He looks around him suspiciously before heading towards the door. I make my way backwards so I can exit the vent and go after him. The metal creaks beneath me.

Shoot.

Tyler freezes at the sound.

Don't look up. Don't look up.

He slowly turns and looks up. Directly at me. I back up but I'm too late. He runs over to the vent and places the covering back on it sealing me inside.

"You can't beat me at my own game, Gale," Tyler says with a laugh. "You made a mistake leaving her alone. I'll make you sorry for killing my brother."

He hurries out of the room and I hear a devastating click after him. He locked the door. I can't get out. He's going to kill Belle.

The clearness I usually have in my mind when I'm on these missions escapes me. It feels like I can't breath and a pit forms in my stomach. I feel something I haven't felt in a long time.

Fear.

He's going to kill Belle.

This is all my fault.

~Beauty~

A pop song blast through the speakers and I find myself bobbing my head to the music as I walk around. Everyone looks amazing in their masks and elegant attire. Yet everything carries a dark tint to it because of the threat hanging above my head. A murderer is here and wants to harm me.

My mind starts to wander away from the party and to all the possible outcomes of tonight. I'm so distracted that I don't notice the person in front of me and end up bumping into them.

"Ah!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't see you there," I apologize. The lights illuminate the person's face that's covered by a pink and gold mask. It reminds me of a bird. The girl just giggles and shrugs her shoulders.

"No harm done. We're cool," she says.

"Good." I start to walk away when she continues to speak.

"Are you here alone?" She doesn't give me enough time to answer. "Did your date ditch you? Because mine did too. He keeps making up excuses like going to the restroom or getting punch. I may be dumb but I'm not stupid. I think he's seeing some other girl."

I try not to laugh at the girl's friendly openness. "I'm sorry to hear that. I guess you can say my date ditched me too."

"Well, who needs them anyways! We can have fun by ourselves!" she declares placing her hands on her hips. She tilts her head as a new song comes on. It's pop-y and dance-y and coincidentally a break up song. The girl's eyes widen and a smile appears on her face. "We are so dancing to this! Come on!"

Before I can protest, she grabs my arm and leads me further into the dance floor. She let's go once we're in the center and starts dancing like there's nobody around. I decide to go along with it and find myself pumping my arms to the beat of the music. I feel myself getting lost in the moment.

The lights flash different colors, catching different figures in the crowd. The music slithers around us, clinging to the air and our bodies. I forget about everything. About being kidnapped. About befriending my kidnapper. About my life before the madness. Everything. All I know is that I love this song and I love this moment.

Some of the crowd around us start shouting the lyrics to the song with us. Other people. People I don't even know. When's the last time I've seen an actual human face that wasn't Carina's or Gale's? In this moment, I realize I miss being around people. Sure, most people I knew disliked me because of my mother but there was always Grayson and some other people that seemed to enjoy my company. Like the daughter of the woman who ran the bookstore on the corner of my block. Or that boy in my English class. I miss them and all the other people. I miss our meaningless chats about the little things. Like a new song that came out or a cool Netflix show.

I miss taking walks around the neighborhood and the smelly subway rides. I miss the flying rats we call pigeons.

I miss being free.

"Yes, girl! Shake those hips!" The girl shouts playfully. It brings me back and I'm glad. The break from reality was nice but now I need to focus. I look at my phone, it's been 20 minutes.

"Thanks for hanging with me-it's been fun -but I gotta go now," I say with a sorry smile. But the sorry smile isn't for her, it's for me. I'm sorry I have to leave this moment. Sorry I have to stop being free.

"Alright. See ya!" She waves bye and I check the phone Gale gave me for any messages from him. Nothing. It's been a while. I'll text him to make sure he's okay.

Hey. Every alright? Found anything? Anyone?

My finger taps send and I'm left in the middle of a party feeling nervous again. I guess I should use this time to look for any suspicious characters.

The next few minutes are spent wandering the party room and watching other people. Everything seems normal. I look at some of the art work. Seems normal.

I'm gazing at an abstract piece when a waitress taps my shoulder. "Here's your punch." A glass of red punch in a wine glass rest on her tray and she leans it towards me.

"Sorry, I didn't order any punch."

The waitress gives a one shoulder shrug and nods her head at a white note on the corner on the tray. I take it and unfold it.

Everything's fine with me. I think Tyler is a no show. Stay safe.

-Gale

I smile at the gesture and take the punch. Taking a sip, I wander to another art piece.

Tyler a no show? That's weird. So weird. He was intent on his revenge. Why would he not show up? He must be up to something. Gale couldn't have bought him not showing up.

Soon, I finish the punch and I still feel uneasy. I wish I could see Gale in person. It's been almost two hours since we split up. Is he really okay? Maybe I should look for him....

"Attention guest!" A woman stands in front of that ballroom with a microphone. The music has stopped and it grows silent. "Now it is time to start to traditional dance we conduct every SecundoCasu museum art gallery opening. If this is your first time just follow along and have fun!" she says in a cheery voice.

The speakers blast classical music where an opera singer sings a tune. The crowd starts to move at once, forming a big circle broken into partners. The rest of us, including me, are swept in with them.

A wave of dizziness runs through me as I try to match the footing of the people around me. The pairs become multiplied so that I'm seeing double. I shake my head and blink my eyes.

It must be the lighting, I think to myself.

As the dance progresses, I catch on. I twist and cross arms with strangers, switching partners every few beats. Soon, the dance comes naturally. But then the faces of my partners become blurred. They are all swirling past me and I start to feel nauseous.

What's going on with me?

The music is picking up tempo. Like it's anxious. Like something big or threatening is going to happen. It feels like the music is choking me. I want to get out.

I try to maneuver my way out of the crowd but it's almost impossible. New people spin me into the opposite direction. Brightly colored dresses swish by and blind me.

I almost fall over from dizziness when a hand grabs my back and leads me farther away from the crowd but still continues to dance.

"You alright there?" the voice asks. It's a man. I can hardly make out their figure. He's young, maybe around my age, and has dirty blonde hair.

I nod as we brush hands while dancing. His hand feels strangely familiar. Muscular but soft. From playing a sport.

Where have I felt that before?

While the people around us change partners, we linger. We continue to dance with each other only breaking eye contact to take in the other's figure.

Does he find me familiar too?

"Maybe I should stop dancing with you. I left my date all alone. She'll be hurt if she see's me dancing with someone else..." he says the words but doesn't leave. He doesn't want to. Neither do I.

That voice. I've heard it before. I've heard it so many times. It's so comforting and gentle. Light and steady like the ocean currents on the evening. It feels like home.

But I can't think. I can't. It's like fog has settled over my brain. My feet trip on each other. I feel sick. I'm going to pass out.

My knees buckle.

"Woah." He catches me and holds me there. He stares at me with great intensity and I stare back. His hazel eyes hunt my face from underneath his large mask but it's as if he already found what he was looking for. His lips tremble and my breath catches.

He knows me.

I know him.

But who? Who is he? If only I could remove that mask. I would know.

I reach toward his face and grasp his mask. He does the same to mine. The answer lies beneath it. So close. Right under my fingertips.

"Are you...?" His question is never answered because I'm ripped away from him and to a new partner.

This one has a familiar big frame and full face mask. It's Gale.

"Oh..." I gasp and try to look back at my former partner. I'm pretty sure I would have remembered if I had just a few more moments. But he's gone. He was washed away by the crowd.

The dizziness is unbearable. "Gale, I feel sick. Something's wrong." He stops dancing and tugs me away from the crowd.

"I know," he says while leading me away. "You should watch what you drink."

I look up at him to find long red hair peeking from under his mask. Red like the fire. Like Ryan Daniels.

"You're not...you're not him." I can't even pull away before I pass out and greet the darkness.

Author's Note- This chapter was super fun to write!  Vote and comment! :)