Like all the other days, the most dreadful time came. The remaining players entered the lobby room. God, there weren't many of us left. In the beginning, twelve people became captives inside of Serendipity. At the time, only eight of us remained. While grateful I had my life, others possibly didn't feel the same.

Alarming smiles plastered on the faces of Caius and Melanie. Only those two could find reasons to smile in the worst possible situations. Were our pain and torture that amusing to them?

"Welcome back to the lobby room, players!" Caius greeted us with his well-practiced gesture. He removed his fedora and bowed to us. "Are you all ready for the next game? Hopefully, it does not end so abruptly as the last one."

"Fingers crossed," Melanie responded first as she crossed her index and middle fingers together. "C'mon, Fedora. Which one of us is gonna play this time?"

For once, even I was interested in finding out the answer to that question. All the players had a chance to play a game. I rattled my brain, trying to figure out all the possible outcomes we'd come across. Hopefully, I wouldn't have to play against Henrika.

We were in an alliance, after all. I wouldn't want to go against my comrade.

Caius adjusted his posture and put his hat back on. Afterward, he grabbed his tablet and went through the usual selection process. Faces of the players raced across the screen, eventually settling on Klara and Darius.

An odd matchup for sure.

All eyes turned to the two players that hid at the back of the room. Klara kept her nose buried in her book while Darius buried his face in his knees.

"Congratulations! Player number three, Klara, and player number four, Darius, will face off against each other!" Caius proclaimed. Klara and Darius raised their heads. They looked at each other and approached the front of the room.

Oddly enough, Klara appeared to have more life in her than Darius did. He doggedly walked behind Klara with heavy steps. He kept his head down, avoiding eye contact with the others.

It was fair to say that he hadn't gotten over the fact he murdered Elena. He hadn't earned much scrutiny from the other players since that game, at least to my knowledge.

Caius walked over to the game wheel and spun it. It eventually came to a stop, and the needle pointed to an illustration of stick figures standing in front of a tower of blocks. The game moderator frantically clapped his hands together.

"Excellent! Klara and Darius will play in a game of Jenga!" He announced.

"Oh, great..." Darius held no enthusiasm in his response. That was fair of him considering the situation. No one besides Caius and Melanie looked forward to the games.

"Follow me, you two," Caius instructed. He and Klara were the first ones to leave the room. Darius lingered behind for a moment.

He slowly turned and faced the rest of us. His eyes resembled Klara's, dead, and unmotivated.

"So, anyone gonna bother wishing me good luck out there?" Darius wondered.

Silence.

No one bothered to offer any words of encouragement to the poor kid. He dejectedly accepted the situation with a slow nod of his head. He turned his head away from us and took a deep breath.

Afterward, he slapped his cheeks.

"I know my words won't mean much to any of you. But, I'm sorry for what I did." Darius apologized. "I'm still confused about everything, but it's still no excuse. After this game, I'll make it up to all you."

With those last words, he departed and followed Caius and Klara. We all waited in silence until Melanie broke it.

"Idiot. Can't ever make up for murdering someone," She declared and crossed her arms. Strangely enough, I sensed nothing but malice in those words of hers. No one called her out on that statement.

I know I didn't plan on doing it. I agreed with Melanie one hundred percent. Murdering someone wasn't something one could ever make up for, no matter how much they tried. But, Darius was young and naive. Of course, he wouldn't understand the full weight of the situation.

Perhaps more time out there in the real world would help him realize that.

Time passed. Everyone gathered around either the glass window or the television screen when Klara and Darius entered the Game room from opposite sides. The players looked down at their game bracelets. When they pushed a button, large, stacked blocks came out from the floor behind them.

"Don't remember a game of Jenga going like this," Henrika noted.

"Caius sure does enjoy adding his spin on games like these," Zoey added.

"Well, C'mon, who'd wanna sit here and watch 'em take a bunch of blocks down the whole time?" Melanie complied. "I dunno how Fedora wants to go about this, but I'm hooked so far."

"Of course." I shook my head.

"The players have gambled away their points. Now, I shall explain the rules of the game," Caius' joyous voice came from the intercom and surround sound speakers in the rooms. "I am sure that you have all noticed that this is not your traditional game of Jenga. Yes, it is much different. The goal of the game is to knock down the tower of your opponent. The players have an arsenal ready at their disposal to knock down the towers. However, they are also equipped with methods to defend their towers when the situation arises."

"Knockdown the tower, and you win, easy," Melanie nodded her head. "C'mon, get to the fun part already!"

"The rules have been explained. Let the eighth game commence!" Caius announced.

Neither Klara or Darius made any immediate moves. They merely stood still and stared at each other. No one could've had any clue as to what went through their heads at that time. The two of them rarely had any interactions with each other, if any at all for that matter.

For two strangers to face each other with their lives on the line, well, it wasn't something one could easily do. However, it had to be done. They couldn't wait around forever.

Darius looked down at his game bracelet with a grim expression. "Sorry about this, Klara. I've got nothing against you. But we gotta play." He pressed one of the buttons on the bracelet. One of the floor panels to the right opened. A gun turret rose from the opening and fired a projectile towards Klara's tower.

The projectile struck the tower and burst into flames upon impact. It knocked over a few pieces of the tower. Klara remained perfectly still and unfazed as burning pieces of blocks lied on the ground by her feet.

Meanwhile, Darius wasn't as calm as Klara. The moment the projectile burst into flames, the kid's jaw dropped. He slowly backed away into his tower, almost knocking it over himself and prematurely ending the game.

"Holy fucking shit!" He exclaimed. "Was that a fucking incendiary round or something?! That's fucking dangerous, Caius!"

Klara moved her glance to her game bracelet. She pressed a button on it. Like with Darius, one of the floor panels opened up. However, it was the one directly in front of her. A turret came from the opening and shot a projectile at Darius.

The kid shrieked in terror and pushed a button on the bracelet. Seconds later, a wall erupted from the floor in front of him and shielded him from immediate death. The wall took the brunt of the projectile and remained standing, even when it burst into flames from the incendiary round. Afterward, the wall lowered back into the floor, leaving Darius and his tower unharmed.

"So, that's what Caius meant," Zoey brought her hand up to her chin. I knew she referred to when Caius mentioned defensive measures the players had to protect their towers. Everything they needed to win could be activated from their bracelets.

"Fuck," Melanie groaned. "Dumbass would've gotten roasted if that hit him."

"Thankfully, that didn't happen," Henrika shot Melanie a cold-glance.

"W-What was with that, Klara?! You aimed directly at me on purpose, didn't you?!" Darius exclaimed. He waited for a response from the silent girl. But, it never came. Klara merely adjusted her glasses and looked at her game bracelet again. "Well, guess I deserve it."

Darius shifted his gaze to his game bracelet. He mulled over his choices and made his decision. He pushed a button and activated another turret. It came from the floor to the left of him. The turret aimed and launched another shot at Klara's tower.

It hit its mark and knocked over more blocks. Klara looked up and jumped out of the way before the blocks could crush her. During her evasive maneuvers, she used her bracelet and retaliated with an attack of her own.

A turret rose from the floor on the far right. It fired a shot and struck down a few blocks from Darius' tower. The kid screamed and moved out of the way when they nearly came crashing down on him.

He slid across the floor with his hands covering the back of his head. When everything settled, he stood up and checked on his tower.

"Okay, still good." Darius nodded. He turned around and smiled at Klara, who didn't seem to share his enthusiasm. "Get ready, Klara. I'm just getting warmed up now."

"Darius is acting strange," Henrika noted.

"Strange, how?" Salomon questioned.

"His attitude in general," She kept her eyes on the television screen. "He's completely different from when he first went in there. It looks like he's enjoying himself down there."

"I don't know if he's enjoying himself. But his adrenaline's pumping," Salomon concluded. "Things like that can happen in dangerous situations like this."

"He better not let it get to his head," Zoey warned. "He'll lose his life if he gets careless."

"Say goodbye to your tower!" Darius proclaimed. He pressed down on a button on his bracelet. A turret came out in front of him and fired a shot at Klara.

The girl acted quickly. She used her bracelet and called up a defensive wall. It shot up from the floor and protected her from Darius' attack. That time, volts of electricity flared wildly upon impact with the wall.

Klara stepped back and shielded herself just in case she'd be on the receiving end of electrocution.

"The rounds changed?" Darius blinked in surprise upon the newfound development. While it not being what he expected, he shrugged his shoulder and nodded his head in acceptance. The games always found ways to switch things up on the players.

When Klara's defensive wall returned to the floor, the girl used her bracelet and returned fire on Darius.

The kid did not attempt to avoid the incoming projectile. Instead, he pressed a button on his bracelet and smiled. However, that smile washed off his face when the projectile struck him. He convulsed wildly and dropped to the floor as volts of electricity surged through his body.

He got back up to his feet when the electrocutions stopped. He panted heavily and stared at his bracelet in desperation. Something went wrong with whatever plan he had in store.

"The fuck was that?! Why didn't the wall show up?!" He maneuvered through his settings and found the cause of the problem. "What?! A cooldown time limit?!" He exclaimed.

"Of course, Darius," replied Caius from the intercom system in the ceiling. "It would not be fair if you could activate the wall all the time. They have a time limit before they can be used again."

"Thanks for telling me that now of all times, Caius!" Darius complained. He used his bracelet and launched his counter-attack. That time, it wasn't aimed at Klara, but rather her tower from the far left side.

Having no time to defend it, Klara watched as more pieces of her tower collapsed right before her very eyes. Judging from their towers, Klara's could withstand a couple more. Meanwhile, Darius' tower only suffered damage once. It was clear who had the overall advantage.

"Better step up your game, Klara. If you don't, I'll win this thing." Darius boasted and flashed her an arrogant smirk.

I didn't understand his game plan. What did he hope to achieve from taunting Klara like that? Goad her into making a mistake? If so, what kind of error could that woman make?

I racked my brain to figure out his plan. I came up with nothing. All I could do was wait and see what he'd do.

Klara narrowed her eyes and responded to his provocation. She activated a turret from her bracelet and fired at Darius' tower from the far right side. Darius smirked and summoned his defensive wall. It absorbed the full force of the projectile.

However, unknownst to him, cracks appeared in the wall. It slowly descended back into the fall. During that process, Darius took the initiative and fired another shot.

Klara didn't bring up her wall. Instead, she moved out of the way when the projectile struck her tower and encased some of the blocks in ice. They fell to the ground and shattered, scattering shards all over the floor.

"Now it's ice, huh?" Darius noted. While he was distracted by the ice on the floor, Klara knocked down more blocks from his tower. "Ah! No fair! I wasn't paying attention!" The kid jumped out of the way as ice blocks came crashing down around him. Even as he slid across the floor, he used his bracelet and attacked.

Once again, Klara didn't try and stop the projectile from freezing and knocking down more blocks from her tower.

"What's Klara doing?" Henrika repeatedly tapped her foot. She leaned forward from her position on the couch to get a better view of the television. "She's just standing there."

"C'mon Bookworm! Do something interesting already!" Melanie complained as she threw her hands up into the air.

Klara fired another projectile at the tower thanks to her bracelet. Darius called up his defensive wall and shielded himself when flames stretched around it, nearly burning him.

"Back to flames now?!" Darius yelled. More cracks appeared on his wall as it returned to the floor. While hidden behind it, he used his bracelet to launch a surprise attack.

The incendiary round shot across the room and blasted down another portion of Klara's tower. At that point, only the middle section of the tower remained for Klara to protect. The woman brought her finger down on her bracelet. It activated her turret, which fired the projectile at Darius' tower from the left side.

It caught several of his blocks ablaze. They fell from the tower in a burning heap.

"Time to end this!" Darius declared. He used his bracelet and fired another projectile straight at Klara. That time, she brought up her defensive wall. From behind the safety of the wall, she followed up with a surprise attack of her own. The turret ahead of her shot at Darius.

He summoned up his wall. However, the projectile broke through the barrier and struck him in the stomach. His jacket caught ablaze as he was blown back into his tower. He flew straight through it; knocking the entire thing over. A loud buzzer blared through the room, signifying the end of the game.

"This marks the end of the game! Darius' tower has fallen! Therefore, the winner of the game is player number three, Klara Ismene!" Caius happily announced.

Upon the announcement, sections of the roof split open, allowing confetti and streamers to rain down into the room. The door on Klara's side of the room opened. The woman turned her back and left without a word as usual.

Meanwhile, Darius stayed on the ground after extinguishing the flames on his clothes. He closed his eyes and laughed.

Why did he do that? What was so funny about him losing?

"Son of a bitch is laughing?" Melanie asked.

"Something's wrong," Henrika quickly stood up from the couch with a grim expression. "Why hasn't the door on his side of the room opened up yet?"

"Wait, what?" I looked through the glass window. Henrika was right. The door on Darius' side didn't open. Usually, when a game was completed, the doors would open. The only time that didn't happen was back on the first day after Frederick and Klara's game. "That idiot. You don't think--"

I didn't finish my sentence. I didn't want to. I figured out exactly what happened at that moment. But, if I said it out loud, I feared that it'd become a reality. I sincerely hoped that if I kept my mouth shut, then my envisioned, disturbing thought wouldn't come true.

"He gambled away the remaining points he had left," Zoey finished.

"Dumbass is gonna die then?" Melanie smiled. She pressed her face against the glass window. "Oh, my God! Can't wait to see what Fedora's got in store in for him!"

"God damn it!" Henrika cursed. "What was that kid thinking?!"

Once Darius finished laughing, he dusted himself off and stood up. He faced the glass window with a forced smile. I had seen smiles like those before. It was one of exhaustion and acceptance.

The kid knew what was going to come next. He knew that he was going to die.

"Player number four, Darius Haldis has run out of GP! Therefore, he is no longer considered a player! The death wheel shall determine his method of execution!" Caius appeared on the television screen. Directly behind him was that dreadful death wheel. I'd only seen it once before. I hoped I'd never see it again.

Frederick's execution repeated in my head. I couldn't shake the gruesome image of its aftermath.

"Well, I guess this is the end of me, everyone." Darius scratched the back of his head. "I can't say that this has been a fun experience. 'Cause honestly; it's been terrifying. I don't know how I've managed to stay sane throughout this whole thing."

"What's this? A goodbye speech? Fuck that! Kill him already, Fedora!" Melanie demanded.

"Shut up!" Henrika snapped at her.

"Bet you're all confused why I did this. Well, I planned to win and earn a few more points to secure a more stable lifeline here. But, I messed up, just like I always do." Darius clenched his hands into fists, nearly choking up as tears streamed down his face. "I know it doesn't mean anything to you. But I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused you. I'm sorry I killed Elena. I could apologize for that a million times, and it'd never be enough. So, I'll prove how serious I am by giving up my life to atone for my crime."

"Blah, blah, blah," Melanie grew disinterested in his speech. She moved over to the couch and laid herself across it. "Lemme know when he starts dying."

"That idiot! That fucking idiot!" I approached the glass window and struck it with my fist. "Why's he gotta be so fucking stupid?! What does killing himself do in the long run?! Elena won't come back! His aunt won't know about his disappearance! God damn it, Darius! Death isn't an apology!"

A firm hand grabbed my shoulder. I looked over my shoulder and stared at Salomon. "Don't bother. He's made his choice. We'll have to accept it. Consequences and all."

"Before I die, I just wanna get some things off my chest," Darius took a deep breath. "Ambrose, I know you didn't like me very much, but I'm glad I met you. You're the kind of man I aspired to be. Strong and determined."

"God damn it!" I continued to strike at the glass window. I didn't want to watch it. I didn't want to see the kid get killed over a stupid mistake that he made. He didn't deserve it.

At that time, I thought back to all the things I could've done to prevent the situation. I could've spoken to him when he needed me. I could've said something to him.

Did he aspire to be someone like me? He didn't know how idiotic that sounded to me. I wasn't anything anyone should've wanted to become. I didn't deserve his praise.

"Melanie, you're one hell of a psycho bitch. I'd suggest counseling, but I doubt it'd work." Darius chuckled.

"Oh, good one," Melanie rolled her eyes.

"Klara, I'm sorry I put you through something like this. But, I've got a feeling you're a tough girl. I wish I could've heard your voice, though," Darius complained. "Henrika, you're a beautiful woman. I would've loved to have gone on a date with you if we survived through this. Also, I'm sorry I stared at your ass so many times when you weren't looking."

Henrika covered her mouth and stepped back from the group. She shook her head and looked away from the television screen.

"Nicholas, thanks for being there when I needed you. You helped keep me going through these tough times." Darius continued with his speech. "And Salomon, you're one cool dude. You should probably stop smoking, though. Those things will kill you eventually."

Salomon chuckled and put out his cigar. "I don't need you to tell me that."

"There are still so many things that I want to say to you all and the others. But, I'll talk to the others in the afterlife. Well, if one exists anyway."

Having had enough of the speech, Caius spun the death wheel. It eventually came to a stop. The needle pointed to an illustration of a stick figure on fire.

Right on cue, flames erupted from one side of the room. Darius turned and stared at them. His smile faded. Immediate fear crossed his face as the fire drew closer towards him, growing in size and intensity the closer it got. The kid backed away to the farthest wall in the room. With his back pressed against the wall, all he could do was watch in horror as walls of scorching flames approached him.

When it finally got to him, I looked away from the window. I shut my eyes closed as tightly as I could and covered my ears with my hands to drown out the screams. But it was futile.

I heard it. I heard everything. Darius' screams. Their screams. Over and over, replaying on an endless loop that I couldn't drown out. Their cries of excruciating anguish, their bodies were writhing agonizing pain.

They called out to me. I couldn't do anything.

Darius' voice intermixed with their cries. It was so loud; deafening even.

"Shut up..." I groaned quietly. I thought my ears would bleed if the noise didn't stop. How anyone could've stood there without covering their ears surprised me.

How long did I keep my ears covered? A minute? Two? Three? Five? I didn't know.

It felt like an eternity.

The screams continued to plague my ears and mind.

"Shut up...shut up...shut up...SHUT UP!!!!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. Then, all was silent. I couldn't hear a thing.

I opened my eyes and saw everyone staring at me with wide eyes. They said nothing to me as I stood up and took a moment to process everything. Against my better judgment, I turned around and looked through the glass window. The flames were gone.

All that remained in the game room was a burned, charred up corpse that was once Darius Haldis.

[img][/img]

My eyes widened. I slapped my hand over my mouth when the urge to hurl came. I rushed out of the room and never looked back.