The Last Man Standing

Chapter 6

Clio was with nine strangers confined to a place far away from civilization; put to sleep with drugs or whatever it was while they were at the party; and now they were treated as prisoners; for a game called Evolution.

For Clio, that didn't make any sense. But she could not blame anyone but herself. She was here in her own will. She was the stupid girl who threw herself in this situation for the money— just for the five million dollars.

“What if I don’t want to play anymore?” she asked out loud, making the whole room in silence. Clio looked at them. Was she like her companions? Were they here for the money too? Were they stupid too?

“This is just a little advice. The last thing you should do is to stop playing,” Reneger said, lying down on her bed again, folding her arms under her head. “This is the game— to survive and stay alive.”

Reneger’s words rang on Clio’s head like a sick mantra; to survive and stay alive.

She looked at everyone in the room. They were too calm. It was like they were okay with it and with everything that was going to happen next in this game called Evolution.

The stick woman who was sitting on the edge of the upper deck of the bed on Clio’s left side waved at her with a cheeky smile. Her feet were hanging on the bed’s edge and shaking side-by-side.

Clio felt eerie with the way she was enjoying everything. “Heh! Don't be afraid of the game. You should be more afraid with us—with the other players.” She held out her thin arm as if initiating a shake. However, her hand did not reach Clio. So, she was literally motioning the shake hands in the air. "I'm Mercy," she said.

She could feel the other players’ gaze at her as if waiting for her to return the introduction. She swallowed an invisible lump in her throat. She knew she should not avoid the introduction for the second time. It might have caused her trouble.

“I’m Cl—-” Clio bit the insides of her cheeks before she could say her real name. She suddenly remembered what’s written on the invitation and the card on her table at the party. She remembered her password… and codename.

Mercy was waiting for her answer and so were the other players in the room.

“Who are you?” Regener finally asked after Clio fell into silence.

“K-Knave,” Clio answered cautiously.

Mercy's eyes widened in excitement. “You are Knave? A daughter of Godsend? ” She pointed at Clio repeatedly before clapping her hands.

Godsend?

Hesitantly, Clio nodded. She decided to go with the flow until she was finally sure of what was really happening.

Mercy giggled, clapping even more. “Nice! Very very nice! My mother also used to be a Godsend. But our business went bankrupt and she lost her title.” Mercy shrugged and her eyes lost its cheerful glimmer. It became cold. “But it's okay, the Compact welcomes and accepts everyone, doesn’t it?” In a blink of an eye, the sadness and hatred vanished from Mercy’s eyes and she regained her vitality.

Reneger chuckled. “Yes. Even if you are a child of an evil spirit.”

Reneger and Mercy laughed. Clio just forced a smile to keep up with the two people she only knew in this room.

Then and there, Clio realized how wrong it was for her to enter the WIC organization when she knew nothing about it.

***

Everyone in the room stopped talking when the steel door of their quarter opened. Clio immediately looked away when two men entered. They were wearing an all-white bodysuit, white masks and on their sides were long rifles hanging from their right shoulders. Only holes for the eyes were there in the white mask that the guards were wearing. The rest was as white as the white canvas.

Clio felt horrified but she remained steady.

"Ah!" Mercy spread her arms as if inviting for a hug. But seconds later, as the room became more silent, Mercy’s eyes lost its emotion again. She stared at the guards blankly. “The Guardian Angels,” she pointed out before getting off her bed. She stood straight. “Will it start soon?”

No one from the two guards answered. They remained standing on both sides of the door while all the people inside the quarter started getting off their beds and fixing themselves. No one dared to speak again after Mercy.

Reneger sophisticatedly got up from the bed and stood up to stretch her limbs as if she was getting ready for something extraneous activity. Then, she tapped the woman who remained seated on the lower deck of her bed. “Summer, let's go.” The woman stood up. She was as tall as the height of the double deck bed.

Mercy, on the other hand, hit the post of the lower deck of her bed to wake up the woman who was still asleep. “Ms. Alice! The white rabbits are here!”

Reneger and Mercy giggled again, easing the growing tension in the room.

Clio was confused but she decided to imitate whatever Mercy and Reneger would do. That’s her only way to hide her identity and to blend in her surroundings. She also got up from the bed and made her way down. She stood straight beside her bed. Her gaze went to the woman sleeping on the lower deck of her bed.

Reneger woke the woman up whom she called Artemis. The woman lazily got up and stood beside Clio.

Clio’s gaze went to Mr. Weird guy he met at the party. He stood beside the bed in front of Mercy’s and Alice’s bed. The man on the lower deck of that bed stood beside Mr. Weird Guy. He was Apollo—Artemis’ twin.

When they had all descended, the white guards opened the door, turned away and walked out of it. Mercy and Alice lined up automatically and followed the guards.

Reneger noticed Clio’s confusion. So, she had to tap her shoulder. “Hey, Knave. Relax. You are trembling,” Reneger pointed out, giving Clio a small smile. “Follow Alice.”

Clio heaved a deep sigh before slightly nodding at Reneger. She followed the woman named Alice. Behind her, Artemis followed. She then spoke to Clio, “We are off to Heaven to fulfill our assignments. It's not like we're marching towards our deaths.” Her voice sounded harsh and sarcastic which intensified Clio’s fear. At first, Clio was not sure if Artemis was talking to her. But when she spoke again, “You look weak, Knave. I hope you do not fear death,” Artemis added, directly talking to Clio— the girl under the codename, Knave.

“Stop talking about death like it’s the most horrendous thing in this world, Artemis,” Reneger whispered.

“Stop giving her false hope. She’s going to die for being weak.”

Clio stopped on her tracks with what Artemis said. Death?

She was about to face Artemis and ask her about what she meant when Alice held her right hand to stop her. “Continue walking,” Alice commanded Clio using a stern voice.

Clio swallowed. Her guts were telling her to follow Alice and stop doing unnecessary things. Despite the fear, Clio continued to walk. Her heart was racing and her hands were trembling. She could feel it; nothing good will happen next.