Corrupt

Content Warning: This section contains references to threatened sexual assault.

The narrative flashes back to three years ago and switches back to Rika’s point of view.

Back at the Crist home, Rika thinks about Michael. Her mother calls and encourages her to go out with her friends. Rika agrees and then gets ready for dinner with the Crist family. Soon Trevor, Michael, Kai, Will, and Damon join her in the dining room. Michael and his friends make subtle jokes about the pranks and plans they have for Devil’s Night. Michael and Trevor argue over Rika, and Trevor states that she’s “mine” (118). Furious at Trevor’s possessive attitude, Rika leaves to go home. Michael and his friends follow her in their car, eventually ordering her to get in the car with them. While she initially refuses, she agrees when Michael promises he’s not taking her home.

They drive out of town and arrive in front of an abandoned house. Michael and his friends put on their masks. They enter the house, and Rika is shocked at how decrepit it is. She sees used drug needles all over the floor and is disgusted by the smell. Kai, Will, and Damon try to scare Rika by telling her someone was sexually assaulted in the house, but then Michael tells her that the house is an old drug house.