The morning passed quickly. Sydney got everything out of the actors that she wanted and called an early lunch break. Keely lined up with the cast and skeleton crew to receive her boxed lunch and bottled water that had been delivered from the mainland. Usually, craft services provided hot and cold meals but the island didn’t offer many choices. She’d heard they would get something hot tonight. With the temperatures dropping after the sun fell, that would be appreciated.
Opening the box, she found it contained a turkey sandwich, a bag of chips, a pickle, and an oversized chocolate chip cookie. Hungry, she bit into the sandwich and chewed thoughtfully as she glanced around. Spying Eric Penner, she watched as he picked up a box and proceeded to a nearby SUV. He opened the door and got inside, choosing to eat alone, as usual.
They ate quickly and her makeup artist touched up her hair and makeup before they moved to a new scene. As the afternoon flew by, Keely believed they would be able to get everything they needed and leave for home tomorrow—if she could nail this final scene in one take. They had to wait for actual magic hour on the island because the events in the story all culminated at that time of day. If either she or Mac blew the take, they’d have to hang around and try again at this time tomorrow. She missed Jax terribly and wanted to be in her own bed with the basenji—and Mac. The sun had about an hour until it set when Sydney called a final break to eat before they resumed. This time, her friend pulled Keely aside. They ate separately from the others, with Sydney giving final instructions on how she wanted Keely to play the upcoming, tense scene.
“You’re going to be very vulnerable,” Sydney warned. “Raw. Exposed. Not only will Magic take you but you’ll be helpless to act. For a short time, you need to believe you’re going to die. That your partner won’t reach you. That these are your last few moments to live.”
Keely shuddered. “I know. And then it only gets worse,” she said, referring to the twist at the end that had shocked her when she read it.
“You’re right. I didn’t know Cassie could be so evil,” Sydney remarked. “But it makes the film. I can hear audiences gasp when it happens. You’ll come out as this shining light of good. We have to make sure in that last shot that even though everything around you has collapsed, you still represent the good in others. You believe the system works. That’s what’ll sustain Ashley in the days to come.”
She sighed. “I’ll do my best.”
Sydney placed a hand atop hers. “I know you will, Keely. That’s why you were cast in this role. Not only will it do great things for your career but think—you found your soulmate during this shoot.”
Keely shook her head. “It’s definitely the last thing I could have imagined happening in a grim movie like this. Mac is pretty great, though.”
“He is. My husband is the best judge of character of anyone I know. Mac has definitely received the Dash DeLauria seal of approval.”
“Dash told me before we flew up here that not only did he like Mac, but he liked me with Mac.”
Sydney smiled. “That’s my man. He’s got a great way with words.” She dabbed her mouth with a paper napkin. “Come on. Let’s go tackle this scene together. Take a few minutes to get in the right place emotionally and let me know when you’re ready to begin.”
Keely composed herself. She knew her lines and had Sydney’s notes in mind. Now, to morph into her character. She thought about where Ashley was in her life at this moment and what would come from it. Taking a deep breath, she walked toward Mac and nodded.
The AD rolled film and she and Mac pulled out their prop guns and began running. They did it several times so all camera angles were covered. Then they shot where the two of them became separated and Keely fell through the trap inside the house, plunging to the basement. She hit the padding perfectly and was glad when Sydney gave her a thumbs up from above. The team reset and Keely steeled herself for the most difficult scene that remained.
She allowed makeup to muss her hair and paint on the cut on her cheek from the fall. They dabbled fake blood coming from it and dribbled some along the front of her white blouse, now dirty from her pursuit of Magic. She held the blazer she wore away until the blood dried and then positioned herself on the ground again so they could pick up right after she went through the rotten boards, tossing her gun so it would be just out of reach.
Tape rolled and Eric Penner appeared suddenly, a malevolent look crossing his face.
“We finally meet, Special Agent Conner. You don’t know how long I’ve waited for this . . . moment.”
A chill rippled through Keely. Penner’s delivery was a cross between Hannibal Lecter and Doctor Evil—and incredibly effective. Looking at him, she believed he was Magic, the serial killer who murdered his victims at magic hour.
Magic came toward her, no sense of Eric Penner in him, and her heart beat quickly in response. She lunged for her gun and he kicked it away. He then kicked her head, doing a beautiful job of missing but making it look as if he’d rendered her unconscious with the blow. She lay limp as he flipped her to her stomach and yanked her hands behind her back, fastening Zip Ties around her wrists.
The first thing she thought was that they were too tight. She knew Penner had practiced on her double and figured he’d misjudged. The scene was going too well for her to call a halt, though. She could put up with some discomfort in order to see they ended the location portion of the shoot tonight. Magic slipped a long strip of cloth under her and pulled it taut against her mouth, roughly tying it behind her head. Panic began rumbling in her belly now that she was restrained and also unable to cry out.
He brought her to her feet and tossed her over his shoulder as if she weighed nothing. As Keely bounced along with each step Magic took, her heartbeat quickened. She gave over and lost herself in the moment—and became Ashley Conner.
Magic left the confines of the abandoned house and trudged along. She didn’t like how familiar his hands were on her. Bile rose. She began struggling to free herself.
He laughed.
She heard water and knew they drew close to the shore. Waves rolled in and out. A sick feeling curdled in her stomach. Magic set Ashley on her feet and she saw the sun dipping on the edge of the horizon where sky met water, only moments from slipping from view. The hazy light gave a golden glow to everything surrounding them.
“This is the time I love to kill, Ashley,” Magic explained patiently, his fingers locked around her upper arm to keep her from running. “When people and objects radiate a sweet glimmer. They are illuminated by the golden light that gleams. Skin glistens. Hair shines. Blood pulsates.”
He knocked her back and she fell against the padding on the sand, the only thing that helped her sanity realize that this wasn’t real.
Or was it?
Magic knelt next to her and she screamed obscenities at him from behind the gag. He tenderly skimmed his fingers along her face, brushing back a lock of hair. Then a long knife, its silver blade gleaming in the fading light, appeared. He brought the tip to her cheek. She stilled, frozen in horror. He moved it down to her jaw. Along her throat. Lowered it between her breasts. His free hand grazed her belly and then slid to her crotch and stroked her. Fear paralyzed her.
“You will not be my last kill but you will be the greatest one. You have hunted me with a passion akin to love, Ashley.”