¶. I wish that moment could have lasted even a second longer, a moment of forgotten relief. A moment where I didn't have to worry about whatever horrors laid before us. A moment where we could enjoy our naivety. Sadly, no good things seem to last. A speaker from seemingly nowhere, let out a slow melodic clap, every bit of sarcasm reverberated throughout the room. Sending a chill down our spines, and quickly snuffing out any bit of relief we once had. A familiar voice fell from above.
¶. "Congratulations on making it this far". Suddenly, the walls all lit up, the man with a black bar over his eyes was back. He wasn't sitting in a comfortable chair, nor wearing a smile like he did before. He stood upright, his posture was perfect, and his arms were locked in front of him. "only six of you can go to the next stage. You have one hour to decide or all of you stay". No one said a word. The seven of us quietly stared at one another. I have no idea what went through their heads. Even Jack, who always wore a smile, seemed to be in deep thought.
¶. Before any of us could ask even a single question, the walls revealed hidden shelves filled with weapons of all kinds, Guns, knives, even swords. He left us with a final message, "By any means". He was gone. Only us seven friends remained and the walls of weapons that surrounded us. Suddenly, Lucas ran to the corner of the room. Everyone quickly ran to their own spots across the room. Our eyes shifted between one another, I couldn't help but wonder which of them would turn on us first.
¶. "This is insane! We're not gonna- gonna". My voice trailed off before I could finish. My eyes swelled with tears as I looked at them. We were all just laughing a second ago. Ancel shouted, "not another word Reeling, since the before, you've been running around like you own the place. He's the one we need to leave behind"! I couldn't say a word. I looked over at everyone else to see if they thought the same. I tried looking at Meredith, but her eyes winced and she looked at floor. Even held a confused glare. Lucas seemed genuinely confused. Jamie shouted, "that's absurd"!
¶. Jamie shouted, "If after all we've been through you actually think Reeling is some kind of spy, you're actually a moron"! Ancel shouted back, "he threw us into the ooze"! I felt a sharp chill crawl up my spine. I felt my eyes fall to the ground as my vision became clouded with tears. Lucas shook his head, "no. That wasn't his fault". Ancel took a step back, "Lucas. I don't know what you all went through before you found us, but from where I'm standing, Reeling is the most suspicious person". Lucas firmly denied Ancel, "I said no".
¶. Evan's eyes squared, "why are you batting so hard for Reeling? Is there something you know"? Lucas barked back, "what the hell is that supposed to mean"! While they argued, Meredith grabbed a sword from the wall and his behind it. Her eyes quivered. Everyone tensed up as they grabbed their own weapons. Ancel grabbed a shoddy spear, Lucas held a dagger, Evan held a golden sword, Jamie held a shield. It was only me and Jack that didn't grab anything.
¶. I shouted, "this is ridiculously! Say we do kill one of us, then what? Are we all just going to walk around knowing that one of our closest friend's blood is on your hands"! Meredith whispered, "then what are we supposed to do"? I felt my posture fall, "I don't know...". Jamie quietly suggested, "we could vote"? Evan shook his head, "no". He pointed at Lucas with his sword in hand and a smile, "winner goes with the group". Lucas laughed, " I know you hate me, but I didn't think you wanted to kill me. What the hell, why not". Their eyes stayed fixed on each other. Suddenly, a red ten minute timer shined on the wall. The seconds were slowly ticking down.
¶. Out of nowhere, Evan rushed towards Lucas. All his built up anger followed him. It hardly seemed like a fair fight, Lucas had two puny knives compared to Evan's sword, but somehow, Lucas managed to dodge the first strike. Evan swung erraticly, wildly trying to slash his foe. Meanwhile, Lucas kept out of Even's reach and dodged the best he could.
¶. I wanted to break them up, but there was nothing I could, if I had gotten close, Even would've sliced me without hesitation. Ancel was about to rush in to help Lucas, but Lucas shouted, "Ancel. Don't. this is my fight"! I saw Jack in the opposite corner of the room gripping his pocket watch and looking at the fight with fear and concern. The girls hid in the corner hugging each other.
¶. I winced as Lucas used his knives to block Evan's swing. His knives shattered under the weight of the strike. Evan used the moment to toss his blade aside and tackle Lucas to the ground. Even struck Lucas the same way Lucas had done to me. I felt no relief, instead only a guilty pit in my stomach. He quickly threw Evan off him and landed a left hook. I swallowed my fear and shouted, "Wait"! No one stopped to listen to my plea. So I shouted even louder. As loud as I could "I'll stay"!
¶. They stopped fighting and looked at me confused. They both wiped the blood from their respective blood stains and fell against a wall panting. Lucas let out between breaths, "why would you stay"? Evan, meanwhile, didn't care at all, he just slouched deeper against the wall and focused on his breathing. "I'm the weakest link. Just let me do this". Lucas searched my eyes, but he didn't have the strength to argue.
¶. Meredith looked at me in tears. Guilt covered what little part of her face she showed me. We huddled together in a circle, but no one said a word. For some reason, I remembered a moment we shared together and let out a small laugh. They all shared a look of concern, but I quickly dispelled their worries by saying, "do you remember that time we're were all studying and Meredith spilled coffee on my pants". Jack started laughing, "Meredith kept trying to convince you to take your pants off". She guilt ridden face turned red and she argued, "I just didn't want you to get burned"! Ancel had a small smile, "the whole library was looking at us". We all shared a laugh and spent the last few minutes we had together remembering the small moments we shared together.
¶. Then that was it. The time ran out, the weapons on walls disappeared, and the man with a black bar over his eyes returned. "Have you made your choice"? I shook my head, "I'm staying". Jack interrupted me, "I'm staying too". Everyone shared a look of shock, but no one argued. The man waved his arm and suddenly a door appeared. Jack and I hugged our friends goodbye, but before they went, I held Meredith's arm back. She was near tears, but I wiped them from her eyes. "You don't have to worry. Just survive for me, please". I pulled her in to a deep hug and right as I pulled away, she kissed me. I felt my cheeks burn, but she ran threw the door before I could tell her, "I love her too".