The world outside was holding its breath.
Police vehicles swarmed the campus like a hive, barricades up, lights flashing across the crumbling front of the school. Officers crouched behind cars, radios buzzing. Through a megaphone, a calm voice cut through the stillness.
"We're ready to negotiate. We want everyone safe. Let's talk, Victor."
Inside, Vic stood in the hallway like a shadow, jaw flexing.
He clicked his walkie. "You want proof I'm reasonable?"
The officer didn't answer. They all knew this was theater. And Vic? He was the lead actor.
"I'll give you some of them," he said. "Show you I'm playing nice."
He waved Ty over. "Send out the teachers. Random ones. Make 'em look grateful."
Ty did just that. A few teachers stumbled out minutes later, hands raised, tears streaking their faces. The police clutched at the sign of progress like it was hope.
But it was bait.
Vic clicked his radio again.
"One more thing."
The front line froze.
"I still got six. The important ones. Maya, Sally, Luna, Eddie, Zeke, Jackie. One wrong move from you, and I paint this school with them."
He shut the radio off.
And he started walking.
Boots echoing. Glass crunching. That slow, terrifying calm before a storm that never dies.
Room 204.
The hostages were still alive—but barely.
Maya sat slumped against the wall, wrists zip-tied. Her face was hollowed out, eyes bloodshot and glazed. Beside her, Sally wheezed into her chest. Luna's face was red, tear-streaked. Jackie was eerily still, watching the others with unsettling calm. Zeke muttered to himself in the corner, reciting something over and over. Eddie was beside Maya, murmuring her name quietly like it was the only spell he had left.
Then Vic entered.
Silence. Tension coiling in the air like smoke.
He pulled a chair up to the front, spun it backward, and sat on it like a king surveying his subjects.
Then he smiled, slow and poisonous.
"Time for a game."
Nobody moved.
"I said," he repeated, "game time. You all like games, right? Maya used to love them. Especially ones where she wins."
"Please," Maya whispered. "You don't have to do this."
Vic ignored her. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a revolver. Heavy. Cold. Deadly.
He spun the chamber.
Russian roulette.
Maya's chest collapsed inward. "No—no, please—"
"You're the star," Vic said gently, placing the gun in her lap. "And you're the dealer. Every round, the gun spins. Every click, someone leaves. Every shot…" He smiled. "We see who's left bleeding."
Jackie smirked, eyes bright. "This just got interesting."
Luna stared at her like she was a stranger.
Vic leaned in. "Maya. Spin it."
Maya's hands shook as she turned the chamber.
Click.
Vic's voice sharpened. "Pick who walks out."
Sally coughed violently, barely able to keep herself upright. "It's me. I have to go. Let me—please—"
Maya's lips trembled. "I'm sorry."
Sally smiled weakly. "Don't be. Get out of this."
Ty released her, and she stumbled out the door, collapsing into a wheezing heap the second she was gone.
Vic spun again.
Click.
Maya looked around.
Jackie raised a brow. "Don't look at me. I didn't cry or beg."
Eddie's voice was a low growl. "Jackie—"
"No, let her say it," Maya snapped.
Jackie leaned back. "I'm just saying. If she's gonna pick someone, she better pick the one who's not a liability."
Zeke twitched at the word.
Vic grinned. "She's got fire."
Maya stared at Zeke, his lips still mumbling. Her eyes brimmed.
"Zeke," she said. "Go."
Zeke didn't move until Ty pulled him up. He ran out like he was chasing light.
Four left.
Jackie. Luna. Eddie. Maya.
Vic handed the gun to Jackie.
"Go on, sweetheart. You've got opinions—let's see what fate thinks."
Jackie spun it like she'd done it before. No hesitation.
Click.
She turned to Luna.
"You've been crying too much," she said flatly. "Go."
Luna's jaw dropped. "Excuse me?"
Jackie didn't even look at her. "You're dead weight. Take the mercy."
Maya stood. "What is wrong with you?!"
Vic laughed. "Ooooh, I like her."
Luna was still frozen. Maya rushed to her, trying to talk her down. Ty moved in and cut Luna loose, dragging her toward the hallway. Her last look at Maya was pure terror.
Three left.
Maya. Jackie. Eddie.
Vic licked his lips. "Final round. One more goes. Then it's just us."
He handed the gun to Eddie.
Eddie stared him down with dead eyes. "If I spin, it's not gonna be your lucky day."
Vic snorted. "Try me."
Eddie spun.
Click.
He turned to Jackie.
Jackie smiled. "What? Afraid of me?"
Maya whispered, "Send her."
Jackie's face twitched.
"I knew it," she hissed. "I knew you'd pick me. You always pick yourself."
Eddie didn't wait.
"Out."
Jackie stood. "You'll regret this."
Vic watched her with narrowed eyes, lips twitching like he knew something no one else did.
She turned to the door—but paused. Glanced back at him.
"Vic," she purred. "You know this doesn't have to end messy. You and me, we always had… chemistry."
Maya flinched.
Even Eddie looked sick.
Jackie stepped closer to Vic, her voice low. "You said you wanted chaos. But you didn't need them to get it. I could've helped. We could've done this cleaner."
Vic didn't blink.
Didn't move.
Then—BANG.
The shot ripped through the room like thunder.
Jackie screamed, collapsing to the ground, clutching her thigh as blood seeped between her fingers.
Maya screamed. Eddie jerked forward, eyes wide.
Vic lowered the smoking gun like he barely cared. Walked to Jackie, crouched beside her.
"This," he said softly, "is for your little 'clean' plan that screwed everything."
Jackie choked on her pain, writhing on the floor.
"You played both sides," he said. "You thought you were slick. But you were just a parasite."
He stood.
"Now crawl outta here like the rat you are."
Ty yanked her up by the arm. She sobbed as she was dragged toward the hallway, blood smearing the floor behind her.
The door shut.
Only Maya, Eddie, and Vic remained.
Vic turned to them, eyes dark, madness sharp in his grin.
He placed the revolver in Maya's lap.
"Final spin."
Maya didn't move at first. Couldn't breathe.
Then—slowly—she spun the chamber.
Pulled the trigger.
CLICK.