Are You The Complete Player?

1/2 ARE WE IN JAIL?

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: ARE WE IN JAIL?

No one had time to register what happened next. It was as if an invisible force pulled each player and sucked them over to different parts of the room. A loud metallic noise, like iron gates slamming shut was heard. The sound was so loud that it nearly covered up the screams of the startled players. It was pitch black and no one could tell what was happening.

Krystupas felt a knot in his stomach. The absolute darkness reminded him too much of the blind challenge that they’d gone through early on in the competition. The same challenge that claimed the lives of five players. What if five of them would die now? He shook the thought out of his mind.

“Carmella?” he shouted loudly, although his voice was drowned out by the shouts of other players also looking for their allies. He moved forward blindly and ran face first into some cold, metal bars.

“Ow!” he shouted, rubbing his forehead. He reached out to feel the bars. What the hell? Had WIC imprisoned them? They were already imprisoned in that hellhole of a room, but had WIC literally just imprisoned them in cells like prisoners? This cannot be good.

“CARMELLA?” he shouted again.

“Over here,” he heard her say, somewhere behind him.

“Oh, thank God” he said, reaching out to her. She seemed to be doing the same because he felt her hands meet his. He pulled her into an embrace, overcome with relief. He had heard an explosion right before the lights went out but hadn’t seen who got shot. All around them the shouting of the other players could be heard.

“WHAT THE HECK?” shouted Jules Bernard from one cell.

“LET ME OUT OF HERE, YOU SICK PSYCHO!” yelled Mira Ivanova from another.

Somewhere else, Estere Kavace was calling out for Aimilie Tamm, who was sitting in Mira’s cell, crying her eyes out. She was both claustrophobic and scared of the dark and this was a total nightmare for her.

“What do you think is happening?” Carmella asked as she pulled away from Krystupas’ embrace. 

“He’s punishing us for trying to escape,” said a voice that was not Krystupas’. The statement was followed by a rattling sound, like the person was shaking the bars.

“Marek?” Krystupas asked.

“Yeah, bro, it’s me,” Marek said.

“Who else is in here?” Krystupas asked a little louder, speaking to everyone in the cell.

A few people spoke up, saying, “me” at the same time. He could make out Akira’s voice and two girls, though he couldn’t tell who they were. Before he could ask, the voice of WIC boomed through the room, louder than ever.

“SILENCE!” it demanded. “The next person who dares to utter a word will be eliminated.”

There was no sarcasm in its tone, no amused laughter, nothing to suggest it was enjoying its own disgusting games like usual. That only meant one thing: WIC was angry. The thought of it made the hairs on the back of Carmella’s neck stand on end. She felt Krystupas reach out and squeeze her hand. She squeezed his back.

Everyone stood frozen, scared of making a peep. The only one making a bit of noise was Joanna Kaminska, who was still mourning the sudden deaths of Adam Evans and Hana Watanabe. It was horrible losing a friend but losing two in the span of a few seconds was absolutely gut-wrenching. She stifled her sobs as much as she could but was still rather noisy. She almost screamed when she felt someone from her cell place a hand over her mouth. She couldn’t see who it was, but she could tell by their soft hands that it was a girl. She quietly shushed Joanna who tried her best to remain quiet.

A different noise began to echo through the room then. A heavy, slow stomping, like someone in combat boots was making their way down the center of the room. Was that…WIC? Everyone silently wondered. A few people were trying to peer through the bars for a glimpse of them, but it was no use. It was so dark that they couldn’t even see their own hands in front of their faces. Seeing someone standing several feet away was impossible. Still, the footsteps echoed loudly and were undeniable. Someone was walking between the aisles where all the players were being held prisoner.

“Tsk tsk, players,” the voice said, booming as loudly as ever. “You’ve upset me greatly tonight. Here I was broadcasting an exciting event for the world to see, and you’ve all made a spectacle out of it. I’ll have you know here and now that this kind of behaviour will not be tolerated. When you are given rules, you are expected to follow them. Tonight, you will all learn that lesson.”

It was quiet for another moment as WIC continued walking slowly, up and down the aisle as they spoke. 

“After all, if you were all better behaved, perhaps only one player would have been eliminated earlier instead of two. You know, it’s ironic really. When we first started this competition, Kathy Murray was killed for being a mouthy i***t. Her boyfriend, Adam Evans, was absolutely distraught over it. He tried to kill himself a few times and everything. I’m sure you all remember; it was quite amusing,” the voice stopped to let out a short chuckle.

Joanna had muffled her sobs by now, but the tears ran quickly down her cheeks at this mention of Adam. 

“And now, what do you know?” WIC continued, in that sick, amused tone of theirs. “Tonight, Adam Evans also died thanks to his big, idiotic mouth. Just like his girlfriend, Kathy! Isn’t that funny?” 

The voice paused, but no one laughed. Everyone was still holding their breaths, terrified to make a sound, and be killed. WIC, however, did laugh. A big, hearty laugh that echoed through the room. 

“It turns out that if Adam had just cooperated and kept his mouth shut, instead of running it on live television like a careless moron, he would still be alive right now! While I think it was very noble and gentlemanly to take Joanna’s place that way, he made a grave mistake in not letting me finish speaking because if he did not interrupt me, he would have heard me explain that only ONE of the players, the one with the least number of votes, would be eliminated. And that was not actually Joanna Kaminska, it was, in fact, Hana Watanabe of Japan.”

Joanna squeezed her eyes shut as tightly as she could, feeling the waterfall of tears pour down her face. She didn’t understand why she still had her life when Hana and Adam no longer had theirs. Adam also died taking her place. It wasn’t fair and she felt so guilty to be alive and breathing.

“Yes, Little Miss Japan couldn’t be saved by her millions of adoring fans. Maybe they weren’t so adoring after all. I suppose all her talent on the tennis court couldn’t save her lack of charisma or give her an outstanding personality. Maybe if she was more well-liked, she would still be here. It’s quite a pity, really…” WIC continued, sounding as bored as if they were delivering the daily weather, not talking about the loss of one of their respected colleagues. “But oh well, such is life….and DEATH!” the voice laughed.

“But back to the point at hand. Not only did Adam Evans interrupt me and embarrass us all on live television with that awful plea to be SAVED, but the rest of you really took that opportunity to try and escape. I mean, really, players? You couldn’t wait until AFTER the challenge was over?” he paused to make a scolding noise. “Impatience and disobedience will not go unpunished around here. You wanted an escape? Tonight, I’ll give you one. There are five cells housing all of you. Hidden in each cell is a key and a flashlight. There is also a locked door somewhere on the ceiling. Your task is to find the items and use them to unlock the door and make your escape through it. You may work as a team, but there will be no points earned for any of this. You either escape, or you die. It is that simple. Good luck, players. You may begin.”

And with that, they disappeared. Or so, that was what it seemed like, as the players couldn’t actually see the person. But it FELT like the presence was gone from the room.