Are You The Complete Player?

1/2 DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE?

CHAPTER TWELVE: DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE?

           Everyone gaped at Selene Argyros’ dead body in shock. Her brains were scattered all over the floor and a pool of blood was leaking out of her, making its way across the dancefloor. No matter how many gruesome deaths they had experienced in the days since they arrived at this sick competition, the players never got used to witnessing someone’s life ending right before their eyes. 

“Well, don’t just stand there, everyone… this is a party! DANCE!” boomed the WIC voice. The music suddenly shifted from the sad Ed Sheeran tune to Britney Spears’ “Till the World Ends.” “DANCE TILL THE WORLD ENDS,” the voice laughed. “Just as Selene’s world just ended.”

When nobody made a move to dance, it kept going.

“You guys really need to lighten up and work on your sense of humour. Did you know that in some cultures, people celebrate death and actually dig up the corpses of their loved ones to dance with them? That’s a fine ritual if you ask me. Let’s all dance around Selene tonight and celebrate her short, pathetic little life,” it said, laughing again. They all watched as a table containing some snack foods and a punch bowl appeared by the wall near the dancefloor. “There are chips and punch if anyone is interested! Have fun!”

The voice disappeared but a spotlight remained shining over Selene’s dead body. WIC obviously had no intention of removing it off the dancefloor. They would give the players a party but would make sure there was something gruesome hanging about for the players to look at the whole time. So that they couldn’t escape their reality for even a few hours. So that they could never forget where they were. 

Carmella watched as Lucija tore her eyes away from Selene’s body and stormed off the dancefloor and back to her bunk. When WIC did not scold her for leaving the party, she tore herself away from Krystupas and did the same. 

The rest of the players all seemed frozen where they stood, not knowing how to proceed with the evening. All except for Luis, who had started to dance along to the music.

“Really, Luis?” Crina said, throwing him one of her world-famous glares. 

“What? I like this song!” he said, continuing to dance shamelessly. 

Basil and Aksel exchanged a glance, then a nod, both silently agreeing on what to do next. They went over to Selene’s body and began dragging her off the dancefloor, Aksel holding her by the arms and Basil by the feet. Artem, who had been shielding his beloved Galyna from the gruesome scene, kissed his wife gently on the cheek. 

“I’ll be right back,” he whispered to her, then he went over to Selene’s empty bunk, grabbed her bedsheet, and began wiping the blood and brain bits off the floor with it. There was going to be a dance tonight whether or not they were all in the mood for it and as far as he knew, it could be the last night like this he would ever have with Galyna. He would do anything he could to make it less disturbing. 

As morbid as it felt to simply forget that someone just died in front of them and move on as if it didn’t happen, he felt like everyone should make the most of the evening. After all, the next challenge would be happening before any of them knew it and for many players, this night WOULD be their last and there was no telling which of them it would be. Every day in this competition was filled with death and gore anyway, so if WIC gave them a taste of fun, even if it was extremely bittersweet, why shouldn’t they take it?

It seemed as if a few other players picked up on his cue because once Selene’s body was no longer visible, more people began to relax. A few players started talking with their colleagues, others went over to the snack table. Luis was the only one who continued to dance.

“Hotter than the A-list, next one on my hit list, baby, let me blow your mind tonight,” he sang along with the song. Crina stared at him and shook her head. She didn’t consider herself one of the more sensitive players here, but she still had a bit of respect for the dead. WIC was obviously getting off on playing a song with lyrics about minds being blown just moments after Selene’s brains were blown off in front of all of them. She couldn’t believe Luis was happily singing and dancing along to it.

“You’re sick,” she said and walked as far away from him as she could. 

“And you’re boring,” he called after her, totally unfazed.

Krystupas stared after Carmella who was curled up in her bunk alone. He could see her body shaking slightly as if she was sobbing. He felt terrible for upsetting her, but he was just trying to save both their lives. Did she expect him to give up both their lives in exchange for one other person’s? He hated and resented WIC just as much as she did but that didn’t make any sense. Still, he felt sympathy over what just happened to her and worried about her mental state. He was just about to go over to her when Crina approached him and interrupted.

“Thanks so much for ditching me on the dancefloor, I super enjoyed that,” she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

“You’re alive, aren’t you?” Krystupas responded. He didn’t particularly love her tone. It wasn’t as if he owed her a dance. “I could have done worse.”

She looked at him in shock. Was he implying that he could have chosen her to die instead of Selene? It was incredibly rude, but she decided not to dwell on it. Krystupas Pavlis wasn’t exactly known for his charm on tour, and besides, there were more important things to think about right now.

“Wow, thanks, I guess I really owe you one, huh?” she said, throwing him another eyeroll. “Anyway, do you remember what I was asking you earlier? You never answered me.”

“I’m really not in the mood for a chat right now, Crina,” he responded distractedly. She noticed he kept looking over in Carmella’s direction and sighed.

“Whatever drama you’re having with your girlfriend can wait. Like I said, this is important,” she said. “I need to know if—”

“Not now,” he said, throwing her a glare that was a match for her own glares before walking away. 

“Seriously?!” she shouted in frustration.  

“Welcome to the ditched life,” said Hana Watanabe as she suddenly joined Crina’s side. “Something about this place really seems to make people forget the people and things that are supposed to be important to them.” She sounded bitter and she was. She had felt humiliated when Joanna ditched her to dance to with Adam Evans and the humiliation turned into resentment when she watched her and her lame new friends go after Lucija Babic a few minutes ago, no doubt to comfort her over Selene’s death. Hana had become invisible to the girl she had trusted most in the competition, the same girl who she thought was her best friend and she didn’t like that feeling at all.

Crina simply looked Hana up and down as if wondering why she was even talking to her in the first place and then walked away. She had no desire to become pals with someone ranked at the bottom. Hana’s cheeks flushed red with the embarrassment of being ignored once again and then stormed off angrily, telling herself that she didn’t need alliances anyway. She made a silent vow to herself that she would get out of this place no matter what, even if she had to do it alone.