The sun is setting over the field as they roll to a stop and get out of the car. Lucy’s red skirt blows as the wind kicks up, and she and Mina link arms. From the trees that ring the field, the clicking and chirping of bats can be heard, and the wind wails through the branches.

“I believe it is going to storm,” Van Helsing says, and he takes Arthur’s free hand.

Lucy turns and the wind blows her curls across her eyes.

“I just realized something,” Lucy says. When she pushes her hair back, the fear in her eyes is visible. “You tweeted a map of this field. What if the creep who threatened us saw it?”

Mina’s eyes widen and she pulls Lucy closer.

Lucy types on her phone and then they both freeze, the glow of the screen eerie on their faces.

“Oh no.”

She holds out the phone so Arthur can see.

[Screenshot]

The camera shakes as Arthur kicks the ground and swears.

“It’s just another prank right? Just another joke?” Mina says.

Mina, Lucy, and Van Helsing all look around wildly, heads swiveling in all directions, and the camera swivels too, throwing the trees and sky and ground into a confusion of green brown blue.

“I don’t see anything,” Mina whispers. “Or anyone.”

Mina and Lucy walk slowly, farther into the field. Arthur and Van Helsing follow. As they walk, a shape becomes visible in the growing dark. A shed, its roof and walls sagging and gray with age.

And from the side of the shed, beneath the roof’s sloping overhang, two figures emerge.

“Oh my god,” Mina murmurs, clutching at Lucy’s arm. The wind is whipping her hair and leaves have begun to blow in front of the camera. “Is that the troll? I’ll end him!”

Van Helsing’s voice is steady as he says, “Whoever it is, it’s four against two if it comes down to it. Let’s not panic.”

“Four against two psychopaths!” Lucy says.

They move slowly closer.

Arthur says, “Are they…what are they doing?”

Closer, still closer, they move, until the figures come into focus

Then Lucy screams.

One figure is cast in shadow, bent sideways, his head tilted to expose his neck, and a second holds him prone, with a knife at his throat.

“Harker!” Lucy yells, and takes off toward the two figures at a dead run, shoes slipping in the dampening grass.

“Lucy, no!” Mina screams, and runs after her.

“God damn it,” Arthur swears, and they run after Lucy and Mina, the view bouncing up and down with Arthur’s gait.

As Lucy draws level with the figures, and calls Harker’s name again, the figures straighten up. One holds out a hand, as if to appease her. But Lucy slams into them full force, knocking both to the ground and grabbing the knife. She screams obscenities.

Mina skids to a halt next to the pile of bodies and looks back at the camera. Her eyes are wide, her expression shocked.

“Lucy, Lucy!” the man at the bottom of the pile says, sitting up. The camera refocuses, showing a slim Black man with intelligent eyes and Lucy’s generous mouth.

“Omigod, you’re alive, oh thank god you’re okay, omigod, I’m sorry for every mean thing I ever did or said to you,” Lucy sobs, throwing her arms around him. Then she pulls back. “Also, what the hell is wrong with you!? I cannot believe you! I am so furious with you!”

The second figure leans around Harker, still holding the knife. She’s tall, with short brown hair, light brown skin, and a superior smirk.

“Good thing I wasn’t actually going to cut his throat, since you came at me like a madwoman and I could’ve stabbed you both,” she says.

“Number one, don’t ever fucking speak to me. Number two, who the hell are you?”

“Number three,” Mina chimes in, “are you the absolute fuckhead who tweeted that you killed the guy in the quarter and were holding Lucy hostage!?”

The woman looks confused at that and exchanges shrugs with Harker.

“Hey, Hark,” Mina adds, and waves.

“Hi, Mina,” Harker says.

“I’m taking that as a no,” Arthur says. “So, number four, are you the creator of Allium? You’d better be, because I’m going to need answers to exactly how you hijacked my phone pronto, or I’m going to sue.”

“Did you want to add a number five?” the woman with the knife asks Van Helsing coolly.

“I believe I will have a number of follow-up questions later, once the basic premise has been clarified. Thank you,” Van Helsing says with a nod.

All the figures are in heavy shadow, the darkness nearly complete.

“Can we establish the answer to my question please because I’m freaking out,” Mina says. “Do you have anything to do with the dead fucking body in the quarter or those tweets?”

“No,” the woman with the knife says clearly.

“Does this camera have a night vision setting?” Arthur mutters.

The woman with the knife says, “You can enable the flash by tapping the—”

“That was not a question for you! Get out of my phone!” Arthur snaps.

Rain begins to lash the ground and streak the camera screen, blurring the picture.

“At the risk of sounding anticlimactic,” the woman with the knife says, “especially since there is apparently an actual dead body and perhaps an abduction? Congratulations! You won Allium! Yaaay…”

“I want to punch you,” Arthur says.

“Yeah, we kind of knew that,” Lucy adds.

“So you are the creator,” Mina says impatiently. “Do you also run the game? Because, if so, allow me to not congratulate you on your choice of spots for the final showdown between the killer and the hunters.”

“Yes, I made the game, I run the game. I’m Bram. And I’m sorry for the unfortunate timing. Sadly, I only control the game, not the weather.

“You probably control the weather app on my phone now,” Arthur mutters furiously.

Bram gets to her feet, and reaches out a hand to help Harker off the ground. Harker stumbles, and Bram catches his elbow. She’s only an inch shorter than him.

“You really are okay?” Lucy asks, and Harker nods, ducking his head.

“Um, hi, August,” he says softly.

“Harker. I’m very glad to see you unharmed.”

“I’m very, uh, surprised to see you here,” Harker says.

“Yeah, yeah, much to discuss,” Arthur says. “Hi, Harker. I’m Arthur. Now that we are all acquainted, any chance we can get the hell out of the rain? I’m cold and hungry, and pissed as hell, and I’m currently filming this because people on twitter told me that it could act as evidence in my own murder in case I arrived to find that we’d been lured into some sinister trap. For a minute it looked like we had been lured into a trap by a fucking murderer. But now there is just you here. A rude woman with a knife. So. Is this a sinister trap, Bram? Because if not, I’m going to the nearest pizza place, stat.”

Mina begins to laugh nervously.

“Mm, pizza,” Lucy says.

Van Helsing’s stomach growls loudly and he clears his throat.

“Hungry, babe?” Arthur asks, voice gone gentle, and Van Helsing nods.

“Well, I wasn’t going to give the coordinates of my house out to random game players, but now that you’ve won, we can go back to my house, if you like. I don’t have any pizza, but we can order some.”

“I seriously hate you,” Arthur says. Van Helsing looks toward him, amused.

“This rain is doing terrible things to my hair,” Lucy says. “And my everything else. Let’s go. But I’m keeping this.” She holds up the knife.

Bram shrugs. “Fine by me. Just put it back in the kitchen when we get there.”

“We’ll see,” she says. Mina’s eyes flash.

Bram tugs Harker closer by the arm and looks up at him. “Do you want to tell your sister and her friends that I’m not a scary monster?”

Harker smiles shyly. “She’s not a scary monster,” he says, voice tender.

“She could have totally made you say that!” Mina says. “She could have her finger on some…some…remote detonator in her pocket that’s attached to, like, explosives under Harker’s shirt that she’ll push if Harker doesn’t play along and help lure us back to her house of horrors!”

Bram turns out the wet pockets of her jeans with difficulty. “No remote detonators, but I really like that idea.”

“Well. Something else, then. You could have a phone thing strapped to Harker that’s counting down just like the one in the game. You could be up to anything! Why should we trust you?”

“That’s my smart girl, Min.” Lucy grins at Mina, then pulls her in for a kiss.

“Twitter did say that we should know better,” Arthur offers.

“It’s every murder and every horror movie rolled into one stupid moment,” Mina says, nodding. “Besides, my kids posted this thing on their message board where a game really did kill the player who won!”

“I’m seriously soaked, though…” Lucy turns to Bram and demands, “Convince me to trust you.”

Harker clears his throat. “Luce, uh…Bram’s not a scary killer, I promise. I’ve been here. With her. Well, not here here.” He indicates the field.

“What?” Mina asks, as Arthur mutters, “Oh, Christ.”

“Oh, right,” Lucy says. “What the hell have you been doing? And why did you leave without telling anyone? And how did you end up here if you didn’t win the game, which you obviously didn’t because we just did? Also, P.S., hi, do you see how I won the game and not you? Besides, why would you—”

“Look, as charming as I’m finding this whole ‘Bond villain reveals dastardly plot’ monologue moment y’all’re scripting for me,” Bram says, “can we put a pin in it until we’re inside? I seriously live right on the other side of the clearing.”

“Yeah, that’s not creepy,” Mina mutters.

“What do you think, Van?” Arthur says.

“To clarify, Harker, are you saying that you’ve chosen of your own free will to stay with Bram for the last few weeks?”

“Um, yeah.” Harker ducks his chin, and Bram smiles at him.

“Well, barring a truly catastrophic explosion that would surely kill Bram too, then, it seems likely that we could accompany her to her home without too great a risk. After all, it would be four to two, should it come down to it. My apologies, Harker, for placing you in the category of enemy with regard to this hypothetical.”

Harker shrugs.

“I seriously still can’t get over that you talk like this in real life,” Lucy says, grinning at Van Helsing. “Okay, fine, yeah, let’s go, huh?”

“I guess,” Mina says. “But I want it on the record that I’m still suspicious. Arthur, tweet it.”

“I’ll be lucky if my phone even still works. But if it’s not malware-ridden and waterlogged, sure, I’ll tell the internet that we don’t trust this bag of dicks as far as we can throw her.”

“Kay kay, I’m taking that as a yes,” Lucy says.

“You can probably stop filming now,” Bram says.

“Yeah, not gonna happe—”

[The video cuts off suddenly.]