Hours passed since the voting debacle. Thanks to five people, I included, everyone would stay inside of Serendipity for another day. Wyatt referred the notorious as traitors—it was a fitting title when people considered our actions. We threw caution to the wind and made a gamble that could’ve negatively impacted the lives of the others.

I didn’t condone my actions, but it was necessary to get what I wanted in the end.

Melanie was an unfortunate accomplice of mine. Unlike me, I never intended to out my identity to others. That girl was something else.

It was hard to fathom how her mind worked. That girl strived for chaos. If nothing happened that excited her, she’d see to it to fix that herself.

Melanie made that point clear when she nearly goaded Wyatt into striking her—which would’ve killed him. The psychotic glee in her eyes told me everything that I needed to know about her. It forewarned me to avoid her at any cost.

My thoughts were interrupted once Caius’ voice rang from the intercom on the ceiling. He informed everyone about the start of the second game. I reluctantly left my room and headed to the lobby.

The second game.

I didn’t know what to expect. Who would play against whom? Which one of them would win? How many points would they gamble away?

Would there be an execution?

One way or another, I’d find the answers to my questions.

By the time I reached the lobby, the other players had already arrived and gathered around Caius.

“I am glad to see that everyone made it here on time,” Caius scanned the room with his trademark grin.

“Yeah, yeah, c’mon, Fedora,” Melanie gestured for the man to hurry along with a roll of her hand. “Let’s get this started, alright?”

“Always in such a rush,” Caius solemnly said as if disappointed that no one wanted to sit through his bullshit. “Very well, let us decide the next two players for the second game.”

The game moderator resorted to using his trusty tablet once again for the selection process. With a push of a button, images of our faces raced across the screen. It eventually stopped and landed on the pictures of Darius and Melanie.

“Congratulations! Player number two, Melanie Slater, and player number four, Darius Wells, are the lucky contestants!” Caius threw his hands into the air, giving off a great show of enthusiasm.

“Oh yeah! It’s my turn! Lucky!” Melanie shared the man’s enthusiasm.

Darius, on the other hand, panicked. “What do you mean, lucky? We’re gonna die in there!”

“You might,” Melanie countered.

“Caius! Is it possible to swap places with someone else? I don’t wanna play! Not with that, psychopath!” Darius desperately pleaded.

“Sorry, Darius. You were chosen and must participate,” Caius responded with a shrug of his shoulders.

“Don’t try and run, Dumbass. Take your loss like a man,” Melanie taunted. The corners of her mouth nearly reached up to her ears. A smile so sinister, it reminded me of a Cheshire cat.

Darius whimpered at the sight of the smile and dropped his gaze to the floor in defeat. Before the game even began, the boy lost his spirit. “I’m so dead.”

Elena crossed the room and grabbed the boy’s hands with a reassuring smile. “Don’t say that, Darius. You’ll be fine.”

“No, I won’t! She’ll kill me!” Darius affirmed his fears.

“Don’t let that girl intimidate you,” Iris added as she shot a glare in Melanie’s direction.

“Don’t make the same mistakes as Frederick, and you should be fine,” Wyatt said.

“Try your best and survive,” Nicholas advised.

“You can do this,” Zoey encouraged.

The sight of the other players coming to his defense brought a smile to Darius’ face. He lifted his head with a look of newfound confidence.

He stood on his feet and said, “Yeah! I got this!”

“Now, now, let us move on to the game selection.” Caius declared. With another push of a button from his tablet, an image of the game wheel appeared on the screen. It spun around at a high-speed. Eventually, it slowed down to a halt—the needle pointed to a panel with an illustration of two people strapped down to chairs.

“What kind of game is this?” I asked.

“Splendid! Melanie and Darius shall face each other in a game of Prisoner’s Dilemma!” Caius enthusiastically answered.

“Sweet! Let’s do this!” Melanie mirrored the man’s enthusiasm.

“No backing down now,” Darius mumbled, having lost some of his confidence at the sight of the game.

With the second game selected, Melanie and Darius followed the game moderator out of the room. Not even a minute passed, and Elena found herself pacing back and forth in the room.

“Will you stop pacing?” I asked.

“Sorry,” Elena apologized and rubbed her arm restlessly. She sent a concerned gaze in our direction as she asked, “Do you think Darius will be okay?”

“Weren’t you the one that said he would be fine?” Wyatt countered her question with one of his own.

“I said that to boost his spirits. He looked so upset,” Elena replied.

“Can you blame him? He’s going up against Melanie,” Iris dreadfully mentioned. It was no secret that Melanie wasn’t the most beloved person in Serendipity. It’d be safe to say that she tied with Caius as being the most hated.

“Knowing that girl, she’ll try and kill Darius,” Henrika deduced.

Elena whimpered and turned her attention to the game room where the event would take place. Iris approached the woman and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t worry, Elena. I’m sure Darius will pull through,” Iris reassured. “It’s only the second game. What are the chances of someone else dying on the second day?”

“I’d be careful with that choice of words,” Zoey cautioned. “We haven’t seen the full extent of these games. This game could well be the last time we see either of them alive again.”

Her words of warning lowered the morale of the room. Grim expressions crossed the faces of Elena and Iris as their gazes dropped to the floor. There was some truth to her warning, but it wasn’t be-all-end-all.

“Your warning is appreciated, but also unsettling,” I mentioned. “Melanie and Darius could die, but it’s also possible that no one could. Don’t let the outcome of the first game bias your judgment on this one.”

“Yeah! Ambrose is right!” Iris said as she pointed at Zoey. “Stop being so pessimistic!”

Zoey shook her head in denial of the girl’s claim. “It was just a warning. Take it however you want.”

“The game’s about to begin,” Wyatt addressed to everyone. The others and I took our positions around the room as Melanie and Darius entered the game room with people in black suits.

Two electric chairs sat in the center of the room, waiting for the players to occupy them. Melanie wasted no time getting settled in while Darius stood in place, staring anxiously at the chair. It took a shove from one of the people in black to goad him into getting prepared.

Once Melanie and Darius were set, another group of people entered the room with two tables and monitors. They set the monitors on the tables in front of the players and then left without a word.

“Electric chairs?” Nicholas grimaced at the sight of the electric chairs and took a step back.

“Not a fan?” Zoey asked.

Nicholas steadied his breathing before he answered, “No. I find them inhumane.”

“Melanie seems right at home,” Iris irritably noted as she looked through the window. She took a gander at the wild expression plastered on the punk rocker’s face.

While she expressed pure pleasure, Darius showed absolute terror. Bullets of sweat poured down his face, and the game hadn’t started yet.

“Does anyone know the rules to this sadistic game?” Wyatt glowered and directed a stern gaze to the other players around him.

“I do,” Zoey raised her hand and took center stage. All eyes landed on the woman as she provided an answer for everyone, “It’s a mental game—it tries to encourage rational, self-interested people into making irrational decisions.”

“Oh, I think I saw this on a cop show once!” Iris suddenly chimed in. Dubious eyes focused on the girl, but the others listened to what she had to say, “Two criminals got captured by the police, and they got tricked into ratting each other out when staying quiet would’ve benefited them. So they both wound up in jail.”

“How do those electric chairs come into play then?” Henrika wondered.

“It’s most likely Caius’ sadistic play on the game,” I assumed.

“With the players all set up, let the second game begin!” Caius demanded.

After the moderator’s declaration, Melanie wasted no time in starting things off. She immediately pressed the red button on the arm of her chair.

Darius wavered in making a decision. He looked back and forth between the green and red buttons on his chair. He made his choice after taking a deep breath, ending the first round of the game.

The monitor on Darius’ side flashed red and activated his electric chair, sending volts of electricity through the poor kid’s body. He convulsed in his seat and yelled until the torture stopped.

Meanwhile, Melanie hysterically laughed at the outcome. She remained unharmed and unfazed by the pain she brought upon her opponent. A sickening smile crossed her face once the number five appeared on her screen.

“Oh yeah! Suck it, Dumbass! I’m in the lead!” The punk rocker boasted.

Darius quickly recovered from the shock and responded, “Congratulations, you’re in the lead. I don’t care. Listen, we should cooperate now. I’m sure none of us want to get electrocuted anymore.”

“Yeah, sure, got it,” Melanie nodded her head in understanding. I didn’t believe her for a second, but Darius wasn’t so distrusting.

The second round began, and the players made their choices. Darius pressed the green button, which everyone figured was the cooperate choice. Melanie chose the red button—the betray option.

Like the previous round, Darius’ monitor flashed red before electricity coursed through his body again. The torture seemed to last a few seconds longer than earlier.

The number on Melanie’s monitor changed from the number five to ten.

“So, that’s how it works,” Zoey muttered.

“How what works?” Elena asked.

“This version of the game,” Zoey answered. “The green button is to cooperate while the red is to betray. Whoever betrays gets five points, while the betrayed gets electrocuted as punishment.”

“If no one betrays, then no one gets electrocuted,” Nicholas surmised after Zoey’s explanation.

“It’s in their best interest to cooperate,” Wyatt added.

“But this is Melanie we’re talking about,” complained Iris. “That girl’s crazy.”

“She’d never cooperate with anyone, let alone Darius,” Elena sullenly stated.

Melanie made her desires quite clear to everyone back in the voting room. She’d stop at nothing to leave Serendipity with the grand prize money. Anything less was useless to her.

As much as it pained us to watch, none of the players could do anything to prevent the torture Darius was forced to endure.

“How’re ya feelin’, Dumbass? Can’t be too good after two shocks,” Melanie taunted.

Darius shook off the pain once again. An irritable expression crossed his face as he answered, “Enough, okay? That’s enough! Cooperate with me already!”

“Okay, okay. Quit your whinin’. I just wanted to get some points, alright?” Melanie dismissed the pleas of her opponent. Her maddening smile returned as she received the signal for the third round.

Again, Melanie chose to betray while Darius reluctantly went with the cooperate option. The ignorant kid suffered through another electrocution, more intense than the previous ones.

The number on Melanie’s screen raised to fifteen.

“Oh, my God! Three times in a row?! How stupid can you be?” Melanie revealed her sadism more and more as time passed.

Darius gritted his teeth, his eyes burning with intense rage as he shouted, “I’ve had enough of this! You’re gonna get a taste of your own medicine!”

Melanie responded with a roll of her eyes, “Oh, I’m so scared. Whaddya gonna do, Dumbass? I’m in the lead now.”

“I’m gonna take you down,” Darius sternly announced, as if he’d hatched a full proof plan to defeat the psychopath seated across from him. “You haven’t noticed, but the voltage increased every time you chose to betray me. So, imagine what’ll happen if we both betray each other.”

The girl’s eyes widened momentarily. The reality of their situation sank in. Melanie felt confident in her position since Darius was her opponent, but if the kid’s theory worked, then they were both in danger.

It felt nice seeing that brat make such a face for once.

“Cool it, Dumbass, okay? It was a joke. I’m not gonna betray you any more,” Melanie said, although it sounded more like a plea on my end.

“What’s wrong, Melanie? Your voice shook,” Darius returned the favor and taunted the girl. “You’re not afraid of a little electrocution, are you?”

Once the fourth round started, Melanie showed slight hesitation in making her choice. Her finger hovered over the betray button. But she relented and decided to cooperate instead.

Unfortunately, Darius wasn’t so forgiving. He wasted no time in getting his revenge on the girl. With a dangerous gleam in his eye, he went with the betray option.

Melanie’s screams of agony brought soft smiles to some of the other players in the lobby. Something about her screams, seemingly harmonizing with the electricity, sounded like music to my ears.

“Whoa! That’s a contender for the shock of the day,” Iris chuckled at her pun. “Melanie chose to cooperate for once?”

“Maybe Darius can turn this around, after all,” Elena’s face beamed with happiness at the sight of Melanie’s electrocution.

The number on Darius’ screen went from zero to five.

“How’d you like that?” The kid sneered.

Melanie shook off the pain from the electrocution, but her facial expression was something fierce. It must’ve been humiliating having the tables turned on her like that.

“You fucker! I cooperated!” The punk rocker shouted.

“Now you know how it feels,” Darius dismissed the girl’s anger. “Think of it as a lesson learned.”

Melanie growled in frustration as the signal for the fifth round came. Her eyes darted toward the betray button, but something inside her must’ve refused the temptation. She reluctantly went with the cooperate option.

Darius showed no such difficulty in making his choice. He pressed the betray button with clear malicious intent. His laughter, along with Melanie’s screams, rang throughout the game room.

“This isn’t good,” Zoey looked perturbed as the game progressed. Her gaze moved from the players to the floor, as if she needed time to process her thoughts on the situation.

“What’s wrong?” Iris asked.

“Darius is starting to enjoy this,” Wyatt appeared sickened at the sight of the kid laughing at Melanie’s pain.

Sure, I thought the bitch deserved every electrocution she got. However, Darius’ sudden shift in character worried the others. The games had that effect on those that played; then, God knows what would’ve happened to anyone else in their position.

“Unlike him, I doubt Melanie will fall for his tricks three times in a row,” Henrika said.

“It’s going to turn into a battle of endurance soon,” Salomon presumed.

The gravity of the precarious situation weighed down on everyone. All of us understood the consequences of Darius and Melanie’s actions throughout their game. The option to cooperate was long gone.

None of them would surrender.

The number on Darius’ screen went up from five to ten.

“Bastard! I’m done playin’ with you!” Melanie yelled after she shook off the pain from her electrocution.

“Bring it on! You brought this on yourself!” Darius yelled back.

When the sixth round arrived, both players chose the betray option and suffered through their electrocutions as punishment. They hunched over in their chairs and breathed heavily.

“Had enough?” Darius asked.

“Not in the slightest,” Melanie answered. “If you wanna tap out, now’s the time. You’ll die if you keep gettin’ shocked.”

“You’re fine with that? Killing me to win this game?” Darius asked. Despite his question, his voice was stern and steady—as if he had no fear. He was an entirely different person.

“What’s another notch on my belt?” Melanie responded with a casual shrug of her shoulders.

On the seventh round, Darius and Melanie continued to torture themselves with electrocutions. The more they suffered, the weaker they got. They proceeded with their brutal pattern for two more turns until Melanie spoke.

“You’re really tryna kill me, aren’tcha?” She asked weakly.

“I’ll stop if you promise to stop,” Darius said. Those were his terms of the agreement. “Work with me, and I’ll work with you.”

“Like hell, I’mma believe a word you say,” Melanie adamantly refused with a shake of her head. The girl had made her mind not to trust Darius throughout the game.

“I’m only betraying you because you betrayed me first. Karma’s a bitch.”

“So you’re okay with gettin’ us both killed? I thought these games weren’t about killin’ each other.” Melanie countered with my own words from before.

Darius’ face contorted in pain as he looked down at the buttons on his chair. He seemed confused.

On Caius’ signal for the tenth round, Melanie pressed the betray button and closed her eyes in preparation for her electric shock. Her eyes snapped open when Darius was the only one to suffer through the punishment that round.

“Huh? My chair malfunction or somethin’?” Melanie wondered.

“What is Darius doing?” Iris brought her hands to her head. Everyone saw the whole thing. Darius decided to cooperate with Melanie instead of betraying.

“He’s trying to cooperate with Melanie?” Wyatt added the pile of questions coursing through the minds of the other players.

“Why the sudden change?” Elena asked.

Everyone seemed confused, but I wasn’t. I understood what Melanie had done to shift the tide of the game in her favor. She knew about Darius’ good nature and used that to exploit him.

She knew that the kid couldn’t bear the responsibility of ending someone’s life. The guilt would destroy him one way or another. Therefore, Darius decided to take the punishment himself to cleanse his conscience.

I respected the kid’s resolve. But it also raised the question if he would survive the backlash of his decision. He already walked a fine line between life and death throughout the game. His decision might as well have pushed him over the edge.

“Melanie’s manipulating him by using my words against him.” I squeezed my hand into a fist to help suppress my rage. Knowing that the bitch used my words to help kill another player proved strenuous to hold back.

“Darius knows she’s playing him, but he probably doesn’t want to feel responsible for their deaths.” Zoey surmised.

“So he’d rather die instead! No! I won’t accept that!” Elena rushed across the room and yelled at the camera. “Caius! I know you can hear me! Stop this madness!”

The number on Melanie’s screen changed from fifteen to twenty. The punk rocker smiled wickedly at the sudden turn of events and continued to exploit Darius for the following two rounds. After the twelfth and final round, Darius hunched over in his chair, completely unresponsive.

“The second game is over! The winner, leading with thirty points, is player number two, Melanie Slater!” Caius cheerfully announced. Confetti rained down from the ceiling, and fanfare blared from the speakers.

The doors to the game room opened, allowing the people in black to enter and secure Darius and Melanie. The players got removed from the electric chairs.

Melanie shoved the people aside and decided to walk on her own, albeit with a little hobble in her step. Meanwhile, Darius wasn’t so fortunate. He collapsed to the floor, unable to stand on his own two feet.

“Let’s see…” Melanie approached the body and placed her ear against the kid’s chest. With another cruel smile, she declared, “Yup, can’t hear a heartbeat. He’s dead.”