Game
"Won't you ask me to sit?"
The Smiling Man's voice was soft, too soft.
Maria didn't answer. She just looked at him. Then looked away.
Her mind was still trapped in what she had seen on Edward's laptop: same face,same monster
Case 33: An evolving shadow. Blinks every 53 seconds. Unlike the others. More human. More dangerous.
What terrified her most wasn't Case 33, though. It was the older files. The first cases. The first replacements. If the shadows had taken people's lives… then where were the people now?
Her thoughts cracked when he spoke again.
"Can we play a little game?"
Maria froze. The way he said "game" didn't sound like children or cards. It sounded like something else.
"a game as in, a friendly game?"
His smile widened. Too wide.
"Yes. And no. And yes again."
Maria's heart thudded. "What do you want to see?"
Case 33 leaned forward, his voice thick with amusement.
"However cheat eould be tortured ."
Maria's breath caught, but she nodded. "I agree."
He sat down, finally. Shadows crawled behind his eyes.
"Good."
Rule One: "If you lie when I ask, I have the luxury to lie in return."
Rule Two: "Any cheating will cost you the body part used to cheat."
Rule Three: "You may dare the other to do anything—so long as you can do what they dare you."
Maria stared at him. Cold. Calculating.
"Your second rule is unfair. You bleed, but you don't stay broken. Maybe pain should be the punishment, not losing flesh. My fourth rule: if a player cheats, the other must heal him with the most advanced healing they know. No escape. Do you agree?"
Case 33 tilted his head, thinking. His smile bent, then sharpened.
"…I have no problem."
He leaned closer. "I'll start. Always."
His voice sank lower.
"How do you plan to end the shadows?"
Maria's jaw clenched. She looked away, refusing his gaze.
"With your healing factors, it's impossible. You spread like a plague. And people…" She laughed bitterly. "People still chase money, gold, oil. But what use is oil in a desert? What use is gold when your family's skin is not your own?"
Her eyes narrowed.
"If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't fight. I'd cut the water. Starve the food. Use animals to track you from a distance because our cat have left and then returned without suffering from any injuries. Study your patterns. And then erase you."
Case 33's grin stretched.
"So. You think you can kill us? Do you even know what we are here for?"
Maria didn't answer. Her hand shot up. She struck him hard across the mouth.
Blood. Red. Too red.
"Rule Two," she spat. "Every body part used to cheat… will be punished. How long does it take for you to heal?"
Case 33 licked his lip. His teeth glimmered like knives.
"It takes me… just a little moment."
He laughed. Low. Amused. Wrong.
Maria's hands shook, but her eyes locked onto his.
If I lie, he will lie. If I play absurd, he will play absurd. If I fall into madness, he will follow me there.
She breathed once, steady.
"Fine," she whispered. "Then let the game begin."