By Invitation Only

The stationary was smooth, embossed with a gold emblem of a phoenix. The only name on it was mine, Russell Cadbury, written in calligraphy.

I opened it and read it twice, only adding to my confusion.

It stated:

You have been chosen for an evening of decadence. Dress accordingly. Please present this invitation at the door. No plus ones allowed. Looking forward to seeing you there.

An address followed. Then, it was signed with a gold T with swirly designs on both sides.

I wracked by brain trying to figure out who "T" could be. No one came to mind. I looked up the address. It was a posh mansion in an affluent neighborhood.

As an artist with some degree—but not a large amount— of success, this could be an opportunity to get my name to some potential buyers.

I didn't own a tux, but my brother did, and he was close to the same size.

I took an Uber, reasoning I'd be apt to drink, especially if they were offering top shelf stuff free.

Beautiful statues lined the immaculately maintained grounds. Clearly, whoever "T" was, had impeccable taste. As the car pulled up, I noticed Audis, Mercedes, and a Mazzaroti parked nearby. Decadence, indeed.

A man opened the car door and took my invitation. Another at the door said, "Your cellphone, please, sir."

He held out a lockbox in which several other phones rested.

"Is this mandatory?" I inquired.

"I'm afraid so, sir. We were told to turn away those who refuse."

"Very well." I turned mine off first.

The grand entryway was grand, but the ballroom just beyond was stunning. The art on the walls was beautiful. The high ceilings boasted not one, but three chandeliers. The biggest in the middle wouldn't have even fit through my garage door.

The people in attendance looked like they were ready for a fashion runway.

Why was I here?

"Champagne, sir?" a server offered.

I took a glass and started the process of mingling. Even if the cars outside hadn't screamed wealth, it took me all of 10 minutes to realize that these people were in an entirely different league.

Most conversations involved, stocks, yachts, or pet charities. I approached a group of three and heard the word "movies." I thought, Finally, a topic I can join in on, only to discover they were talking about their home movie theaters.

The lights flashed and a spotlight shined on a man on a stage. He was wearing a mask.

"Good evening, all, and thank you for attending. You're probably wondering about the purpose for this gathering, so I'll get to the point. All of you in this room have done me wrong in some way, and now, payment is due."

I heard nervous laughter. One person called out, "Who are you?"

"Call me T. I will be speaking to each of you individually. In the meantime, enjoy the drinks, appetizers, and music."

Not long afterwards, all of the lights went out.

I heard,

"This is an outrage!"

"What's going on?"

"I don't have to stand for this. I'm leaving."

The lights went back on, and everyone glanced around, taking stock. Several people headed for the doors on either side. One yelled, "We're locked in!"

"This door's locked," came from the other side.

"Oh, my God!" The lady next to me looked close to panic. She looked at me, "What do we do?"

"Just try to stay calm. I'm going to check out that stage." As I got nearer, I realized that the stage was higher than it seemed from a distance, over six feet up, with an overhang that made it impossible to climb. No stairs.

The spotlight shined again. T said, "This will be my last appearance to you as a group. Every time the lights go out, one of you will join me. I hope you can justify yourself more satisfactorily than Jim. Good luck."

The lights went out again. When they came back on, someone yelled, "He took Robert. I was just talking with him."

The lady next to me screamed and pointed.

On the floor was a severed hand, a bloody path leading to under the stage.

I inspected more closely. There was a hidden door, but no way to open it from this side.

I called out, "Everyone, back away as far as you can from the stage. He must have night vision goggles. Let's make it harder to be taken."

People clamored for positions furthest away.

Quite a while later, the lights went out again. I heard several screams and shouts. It took longer this time, but there was Robert's hand by Jim's, and someone said Janine was missing.

I did a quick headcount. 20 remained.

People dealt with fear in their own way.

Whimpering,

Swearing,

Threatening.

Some talked about families.

I knew none of it would matter. We were cattle awaiting slaughter.

Lights out again.

Janine had fared no better.

On and on it went. Bloody tracks showed where T had been.

At one point, he came over the sound system, "Finally, one person to spare."

I kept thinking I'd be taken, but one by one, they all disappeared, until it was only me and the lady who had stayed by me from the start.

She had told me her name was Susan. She sniffed and asked, "Russell, will you let me hold onto you?"

I pulled her into a hug and we stayed that way. When the lights went out, I found out how T was incapacitating people. I felt a minor shock as Susan got tasered.

Then I heard the wheels of a cart, pulling her away. I thought about trying to jump T, but I could miss and get tasered on the spot.

I waited it out.

Finally, the door under the stage opened.

No lights out this time.

No mask.

Just...

Tim? Tim Saunders?

"Why are you doing this? You always seemed so level-headed when we were growing up."

"All of these... people..." he gestured to the pile of hands, "screwed me over when I had a tech project I wanted funded. PhoenixAI was cutting edge. They not only rejected me, but most of them laughed in my face. I did it on my own. I got stinking rich without them." He kicked the nearest hand.

I whispered, "Why am I here?"

"You hurt me in another way." He looked down at the taser gun in his hand. "You took my heart and ran away."

"Tim, I didn't run away. My parents found my journal, where I wrote details about our relationship. They took me away against my will. I loved you. I tried to find you years later, but it's like you didn't exist."

"That must have been while I was working on PhoenixAI. I wish you had found me."

"I'm sorry, Tim. I moved on. I found a really nice guy. We're married."

Tim looked down at the pile of hands. "You'll find the box of phones with the key, and the one other survivor down there." He gestured to the open stage door.

As I looked that way, he pulled out a handgun, put it in his mouth and pulled the trigger, just as I looked back and yelled, "Tim!"

I didn't get to see my husband until the following morning, after I had made my statements and been checked out by a doctor.

We held onto one another for the longest time.