THE GAME

EPISODE 7: THE MESSAGE

"Some teeth long for ripping, gleaming wet from black dog gums. So, you keep your eyes closed at the end. You don't want to see such a mouth up close. before the bite, before its oblivion in the goring of your soft parts, the speckled lips will curl back in a whinny of excitement. You just know it."

-The Ritual (Adam Nevill)

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"Oh. My. Gosh. What have we done.”? Regina asks as she stares coldly into the air. With trembling hand, she accidentally drops her phone, as if she hadn't felt it. Angelina came into her aid as she hugs her friend tight.

"Calm down, Regina. Calm down."

"What are you talking about?" She asks in a monotonous way, still looking at the air. She then stares at her friend's eyes as tears start rolling down from her eyes. "I AM CALM, ANGELICA! I AM CALM RIGHT NOW YOU WANNA KNOW WHY!?" She shouted which makes them all startled. She pushes her friend away, making an almost three-step distance.

"I AM CALM BECAUSE LEE IS DEAD, AND IT WAS SENT AS A GIFT FOR US, FOR F*CKS SAKE!" She screams as she felt her knees weak, making her fall off the cold floor. She cups her face with both of her palms as she starts sobbing hard. Soon, the others came to comfort her.

"What are we going to do now? For sure none of us wants to die too. Like what happened to Lee." Wilhelm asks as he looks at the others.

"We hide the body," Franz said with coldness in her voice. Not because she doesn't, but because she doesn't want anyone to get in trouble too."

"Where will we hide it?" Mae asks with fear in her presence.

"I can't. I can't hide it inside our house or our backyard. Guys, I can't." Iriss admitted as she tried her best not to cry in front of everyone.

"I'll hide it," Caesar said, even if it's against his will. They look at him with a bit of hope. "I admit, I don't like to do it, but if it means flattening the curve of the situation, I'll do it. Besides, I have a place where I can hide it."

"What about the body?" Paul asks.

"The killer must've discarded it for now. Because if the killer doesn't, why would he only give us the head? It could mean something." Franz stated as she continues scanning the head for some clues.

"How can you be so sure that the killer is a 'he'?" Trish asks with curiosity. Franz looks at her.

"I'm not still sure of anything. But this kind of brutality, I can say that a guy could've done this. But still, I am not sure." Franz stated. She nodded and about to ask more questions when suddenly,

Someone came knocking at the door.

They all stop and kept quiet, as they try to figure out who is knocking.

And whoever is knocking, they must hide the corpse as possible.

"Go hide it somewhere. Faster!" Franz demanded in a whisper as they got the extra fabric from their 'storage box', covering the head, placing it into one of the improvised Halloween pumpkins. They also got immediately, as they acted like cleaning. Franz opens the door, revealing their class adviser.

"MAAM!" She called, surprised to see their adviser, in a very bad situation.

"Good morning class- oh what is that smell?" She questioned as she stops walking inside, not wanting the smell from inside. "It’s like a dead rat or something rotten."

Franz looks at her classmates as all of them tried to think a good excuse that she surely will buy.

"Did you say something dead, ma'am?" Franz asks as she looks back at their class adviser. She nodded, not even thinking twice about removing her hand from her nose.

"That's great because our experiment had worked!" She exclaimed as she looks at her classmates again. "Right?"

"Yes." They all agreed in unison that made her curious.

"What experiment?"

"You see ma'am, we were able to mix some substances, also combining food color and try to leave it here last night. And now, we prove it effective!" She explains.

"But you weren't here last night, ma'am," Trish asked with curiosity.

"That is why I am here class, to discuss my absence last night. And since you're cleaning that foul smell already, I guess I can continue? It'll just take me a few minutes." She takes a seat as she rests her hand onto her table. All of them went silent, waiting for an announcement.

"Last night, I wasn't able to come because something urgent came. My dad..." she paused as she tries to hold herself from breaking into tears. "My dad had a stroke. And he was sent to the hospital instantly. They called me afterward before I could go out of my apartment. Sorry."

All were still silent.

"And that is why I won't be participating in this Halloween celebration. I'm sorry, class."

"It's... It's totally fine, ma’am. What's more important now is that you go to your father to secure his health."

"Thank you, class. I'm deeply sorry..." she paused as she fixes her hair, tucking it from the back of her ears.

"And also, Lee's parents called this morning, asking if she had slept in someone's home. So, class I just want to ask if Lee's with someone with you last night? Or if you know his whereabouts because until now, they can't seem to contact his phone."

They all look at each other as if talking to each other with the use of their eyes.

"All I can remember was that he was walking by himself, going home," Paul stated.

"I last saw him last night in this class. So, no."

All of them disagree that they saw him somewhere. Because if they admit now, surely, their lives will be at risk.

After the conversation they had with their adviser before she could step out into the room, all their phones chimed in unison. Curious, their adviser looks at them.

"What was that?" she asks them as they all look at their phones. In an instant, she was able to see Erika's phone. Luckily, she was able to scroll it all up, right into the list of codenames being the top 11.

"What is this? Black Destiny?"

"Ma'am, it's a game developed by Lee, making us play this last night."

"Well, can I join?" She asks.

"Sorry ma'am but, the entries were locked in and no one can join any further." They explain. She nodded as she didn't ask any more questions, stepping out into the classroom.

"Were almost f*cked up, guys," Karl said as he sighed in belief.

Then, Erika scrolled back into the recent picture, reading the text intently.

"Guys, there's only 10 users on the list," Erika exclaimed as she stares at the list, trying to figure out who was removed. Caesar approaches her as he shows the old list, which they then decided to compare.

"Does this mean-"

"Oh my gosh. This doesn’t feel good guys. What's the purpose of the rankings if the killer killed number 7!?"

All are puzzled.

And it's all because of a stupid game, having the easy targets.

"So, Miss Simoné, how are you? Are you still having trouble with your sleep?"

"No." She said plainly, making him look at her intently.

"If you want to lie, be sure to be not so obvious okay?"

"But-"

"If you want to get better, you better be telling everything that is happening, okay?"

She sighed as she presses her palm on her knees. She heaves a breath before deciding to open.

"I did get some sleep but, I had a nightmare."

"Was it the same?"

"If you're talking about the dark paper bag, yes. But, the flow of the story had changed."

"Can you tell me what happened?"

"I saw someone. And he's blaming me in something." She admitted.

"And?"

"I don't know why. He's just blaming me."

"He?"

"Yeah. He's wearing a Male school uniform." She said, not wanting to mention Lee's name.

Dr. Wilson looks at her before finally writing something on his paper. She gulps as she starts sweating cold, not knowing how to survive this hell.

●●●

"I know!! And how I wish I could just not freaking attend school. But you know, I can't. Mom will surely hate it."

Regina's talking to someone on the phone as she made herself inside a cubicle of the college comfort room. Younger students do this all the time, hating the fact that the college CR is cleaner than theirs.

She locks the door as she squeezes the phone between her cheeks and shoulder. She pulls down her underwear as she pisses, still on the phone.

[I know. I know. But what can I do? I can't just tell anyone about it]

"Then, at least tell me. I'm your best friend."

[I can't okay!? I just want your opinion, but I don't want you to get involved.]

"Okay if you say so... soft! Got to go bestie!"

[Take care okay?]

"You take care. Bye."

Her friend hung up the call as she continues what she's doing. After so, she grabs the tissue roll as she pulls a few sheets, before using it and throwing inside the trash. Just as she pulls her pants up, a banging sound came erupting into the silence. She paused for a second to think about what is happening.

"Hello?"

No answer.

"Hello? Anybody there?" She asks but still, no answer. She was about to shrug her bad feelings when her phone vibrated. She looks at the screen and opens the message immediately, a surprise to what's the content.

"Oh my go-"

And with that, something hits the door she's facing, causing a loud thud.

"Help! Somebody helps me! HELP ME! HELP ME!!!" She shouted but it was too late as the object hits her door with such power, making her startled as the door opens in front of her, revealing a figure with a cat mask.

"Who-who are-"

"Shhhh." The person gestured as tears start to fall into her face.

The person pulls a strand of her hair as the killer pulls her straight out of the cubicle.

"I told you to keep your mouth shut, Miss Regina. But you've failed-"

"No, no no, please don’t." She pleaded as she tries to escape from the person's grip, but she's powerless at the point. The person pushes her into the shower area as she tries to stand up, with the assistance of the shower nozzle. She looks at it as an idea came flashing into her mind.

Either I do this, or I die.

The person slides out a knife as she starts to sob.

"Please, please don't."

"This game doesn't work like this." And as the person approaches her, she immediately pulls out the shower as she tries to hit the person with the shower head but failed.

"Very funny." And with that, the person stabbed her right into her stomach, making the blood come out of her mouth. She gasped for air, hoping to sustain her lungs enough oxygen. The person gets a hold of her as she could feel the blade being twisted inside her.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaahhh" she breathed, as she felt weaker by the minute. She was about to lose hope when she decided to make the best choice she could ever have.

Using her remaining power, she uses the shower nozzle to strangle the killer, as they both asked for air.

"YOU KILL ME, YOU JOIN ME B*TCH!!!" She shouted trembling yet with the gritting of the teeth that overwhelms her self-control. She already had this irresistible urge to squeeze the murderers’ neck, using the nozzle.

"You know what makes us different, Miss Regina?" The killer asks, with so much struggle.

"Impress me, b*tch." She stated, feeling herself almost out of fuel.

"I'm smart, and you're not."

"Wha-" and with that, the killer pulled the knife out of her stomach and in one swing, aiming right into her head. She froze as her body malfunctions, making the killer free from strangulation. The killer lies down beside her as it also catches the breath. A smirk instantly forms on the killer's lips as it stood up, picking up her phone, and opening the app.

"It’s a pleasure to make your wish come true, b*tch." The person said as it looks down on the dead body of Regina.

Then, a message was sent to all of them.