Your wrists ache from the ropes digging into your skin. The air smells like salt, blood, and smoke. You’re sitting in a chair in the middle of a dark room, one you and JJ used to sneak into when things were simpler.

Now, it’s a cage.

Footsteps echo behind you. JJ steps out of the shadows, the Ghostface mask swinging lazily from his fingers, a knife glinting in the dim light. His grin is too wide, too calm.

“You know, Y/N,” he says, voice dripping with amusement. “You look better when you’re scared.”

You flinch when he crouches in front of you, the blade tracing lightly down the arm of the chair. Then, without warning, he cuts the rope.

Your wrists are free.

He leans close enough for you to feel his breath. “Go on,” he whispers, eyes bright with something manic. “Run.”

You hesitate, confused. “JJ, please…”

He laughs, loud and wild, stepping back to give you space. “That’s the best part, Sunshine. Watching you try.”

Rafe stands by the doorway, silent and cold. His gaze never leaves you. “She’s not going to get far,” he says quietly.

JJ smirks, flicking the knife between his fingers. “I know.”

For a second, you think he might let you go. Then he tilts his head, smile fading into something darker. “But I like it better when they run.”

The air shifts, heavy and electric, and you realize what this really is. Not an escape. A hunt.