The first time I heard that nursery rhyme I had to be about four years old. Angie sang and hummed that rhyme for days around the house. I didn't quite understand the meaning of the rhyme or the words, but it was catchy, and I wanted to be like my big sister.

With my tiny hands, I begged her to teach it to me. I remembered singing it for hours all day, and I sang it at school too. The kids thought it was weird; one girl called it scary — I didn't think it was though. Every little soldier was like a friend.

little soldier boys sitting in the sun. got frizzled up and then there was . little soldier boy left all alone. He went and hanged himself and then there were .

I whispered that line, causing the girl next to me to start crying. And then, someone told our kindergarten teacher Ms. San Francisco who called my parents.

To make a long story short, Angie got grounded and didn't talk to me for weeks, and my parents told me to stop singing the rhyme — that it was bad. They never explained why, but I still obeyed.

So it surprised me when that rhyme popped into my head just now after so many years. But as I thought it over — while watching Jookie zoom around the large room, giggling like a little school girl on crack — that rhyme resembled my life at the moment. All of our lives in fact.

But instead of being little soldier boys, we were little killers.

little killers played a game; got mutilated by his past, and then there were

Eleven of us gaped at the rotating device that we were supposed to climb. Screeching buzzing noises hit the atmosphere before three circular saws spiraled down from the top layer, going all the way down to the bottom, cutting the cake into thirds for a second before reverting back to normal.

Those saws could cut a horse in half within a nanosecond. Imagine what it could do to us. Jookie said we would be fighting for our lives, but this? How did we stand a chance against something like giant saws? Quick icy throbs jetted through my fingers as my heart thrashed in my chest.

Eleven Little Killers.

No song captured this moment better. Each of us would die until there were only a few remaining. Maybe we wouldn't all die now, but soon. That's what it felt like.

Uncontrolled laughs left my lips, getting louder and squeakier by the second. Have you ever been so frightened and confused by something that all you could do was laugh? That was me. All eyes turned to me, and that just made me laugh even harder as intense pain shifted through my body like a roaring tsunami.

"God, she's a fucking weirdo," Gmie said, side-eyeing me. "Someone shut her up."

The laughing wouldn't stop, no matter how hard I tried.

"There you go, Betinia!" Jookie flew over to me, hovering low. "Get into the spirit! Yes."

The spirit. This was far from getting into the spirit. Overwhelming tension and pain flushed through me, and laughing was the only way of releasing that unkempt energy without screaming or breaking down.

I must've looked fucking psychotic — just giggling away for no reason as blood dripped from the walls and saws sounded in the distance. It wasn't a quick laugh either. This went on for several minutes before I bit my lip, hurting myself so that I could gain control again.

Jookie grinned down at me. "Now that, my giggling peach is finished losing it, let's get started, huh?" Snapping his fingers, sludgy midnight fluid discharged from the top of the cake, pouring down the layers like a sticky waterfall. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

"No. It looks like the creature from the black lagoon on its period," Yaz muttered.

Jookie swooped down, hovering in front of us. "Contestants, please walk up to the device, so we can begin."

Everyone knew the 'please' was just a formality. From the cameramen to the guards standing on the outskirts, we all knew there was no escape from this.

We all stifled forward on the cement path toward the rotating layers, the heavy scent of decay getting worse. As I got closer, I spotted metal. Right underneath the bottom layer, giant metal coverings cut out into hexagons plastered the cement floor. Small cement islands kept the coverings from touching one another.

Once we were all only feet away, Sebastian stopped, making all of us pause.

"We should all split up and spread out," he said, nodding to the rotating cake.

"It'll give us all a better chance to get to the top," Khan said, agreeing. "And if someone falls, they won't take anyone with them."

Everyone murmured in agreement, not even Gmie opened her big mouth to disagree. Thick tension and the bitter taste of fear wafted the air around us, mixing with the odor of filth and black death. Everyone was afraid; there was no denying it. We could all feel that something — big was coming.

We all spread out around the lethal cake, standing on the cement islands between the metal coverings. None of us stepped onto the metal plates. Either something was coming out or going in — neither were good options.

Giggling, Jookie flew overhead, leaving a colorful smoke in the air. "As you're fighting for your lives, we wouldn't want you or the viewers to get bored. So as I said before, there will be surprises along the way — like so."

He snapped his fingers again, and the metal coverings around us opened. "If you happen to slip while climbing up the device, you have a chance of sliding all the way down and into one of the pits below."

The pit closest to me resembled unmoving black sludge, reeking of uncleanness and deterioration. It seemed almost harmless... until a dirty shark fin trudged the surface, breaking up the blackness.

S-s-sharks.... THEY HAVE FUCKING SHARKS.

"Is that a real shark?" Layla asked, body trembling.

"I don't think they ever do anything half-assed here," I said, staring into the pit. "So yes."

"Spiders!" Yaz screeched to the far right of me, almost falling into the pit, but she caught herself. Wrapping her arms around herself, she shivered. "Thousands of spiders — thousands..."

"G-g-guys, there are w-w-wolves over here," Aries said, stuttering. Deep growls roared through the room after he spoke, sending a scorching tremble down my side.

"This one has glass and razors blades," Fee said, voice deep and gruff as he cracked his knuckles. Fee barely ever spoke. I think this was the first time he spoke all night.

"Umm — this pit has boiling bugs," Chi said, voice tiny and squeaky.

"Boiling bugs?" Rucker asked, confused.

"I-I can't explain it," she said, trembling. "It's just so d-disgusting."

"You know what boiling water looks like, right?" Khan asked, speaking to Rucker.

"Yeah," Rucker said, nodding.

"It looks like that, but with bugs," he said with a shrug.

How the hell does that happen?

Jookie cackled, long and high. "These aren't the only surprises. We have tons more... just wait and see," he said, bringing out his phone again. "Now, you have thirty seconds to step onto the first layer or you will fall into the pit closest to you."

No way was I falling into a pit of sharks. Fuck that.

"And remember everyone, try your hardest because the bottom three people will be put in the Bottom Doe Three," Jookie said before grinning. "And we all saw what happened to Tiran. You don't want something like that to happen to you, right?"

No one said anything, and no one moved. But then, a timer swung down from the ceiling, ticking away at thirty seconds.

My eyes went back to staring at the rotating device. The thick liquid continued to slither down, bringing with it the odor of sewer, dirty swine and wet ass, but that wasn't the worst of it.

Disgusting items were sprinkled over the layers, mixing with the thick liquid coming down. Items like clumps of hair or small piles of dirt. Dead rats. Running bugs. Thumb tacks. We would have to sludge through all of that to get to the top.

Fuck, I don't know if I could do this.

No, you don't need her. Yes, I can. I'm stronger than you.

That constant back and forth was making me dizzy again, and I put a stop to it. Tini was getting stronger, coming out when she wanted to, but not anymore. I would do this without her. I didn't need her to survive.

I took in a deep breath, feeling my diaphragm expand before I stepped onto that first layer and almost slipped, but I caught myself. Liquid and marble were a deadly mix. It made this climb so much harder because it was a guaranteed slip n' slide.

Plus, the layers were narrow. Only half my foot fit on each layer, so I would have to be careful. Really careful.

Once the thirty seconds passed, a blaring alarm went off, and Jookie screamed, "Let the challenge begin."

I didn't start climbing right away. Breathing out, I paused for a second, trying to stifle down all my pain and fear. They wouldn't help me win this challenge. I needed to focus, especially if I was doing this without Tini. I didn't need her. Betinia could do this — I could do this.

Lifting my foot, I stepped onto the next layer. The movement was slow and deliberate, yet the slippery liquid made me stumble forward. I caught myself, hands landing on the sixth and seventh layer, thanking the heavens that I didn't slide down — until I felt it.

Slimy fluid sloshed through my fingers and nails, as filth and grime rubbed against my palms and cockroaches teetered across my knuckles. Ugh. Don't freak out. Breathe.

Fuck you, I don't.

Lifting my right hand, I tried to flick the roaches off, but the movement almost caused me to slip. Flicking the roaches off would be impossible if I didn't want to fall. Crap. I never had an issue with bugs before. Never feared them or anything but letting them just crawl on my skin — ugh.

I didn't want them touching me. Shivers jetted over my arms and back, and I breathed through them while trying to keep as still as possible. I could do this.

The disgusting odor seemed to get worse as more liquid poured down, but I just ignored it, thinking of roses and bleach.

Staring up at the top, several televisions hung from the ceiling. Every few seconds, it would switch to a new contestant, constantly letting the viewers know what we were enduring.

I watched the screens for a minute or two, curious about what everyone was doing.

Layla never started climbing. Just sobbed as she sat on the bottom layer, holding herself.

Fee was having trouble. His feet were huge, so they wouldn't fit on the layers without slipping. So instead of climbing, he leaned against the layers on his side, probably thinking of a new climbing strategy.

Chi was also having trouble climbing. Her heels and her long nails made it hard for her to grip the marble. She only made it up about four layers before she went tumbling back down — right into the pit of boiling bugs.

Khan was right. It looked like boiling water but with insects. Somehow, the bugs — leeches, snails, roaches, centipedes, caterpillars, beetles, earworms and that was just the ones I knew — bubbled in the pit, moving around in quick circular motions while slimily crawling on top of one another.

And Chi smashed right on top, back first. The bugs crawled over her soft dewy skin like hungry ants on honey, making her sink deeper into the pit. High-pitched screams left her rose-colored lips, as her nails tried to claw and fling the bugs off her, but they kept coming.

And she kept screaming.

Dozens of bugs began to climb up her neck and face, trifling into her silky mouth. Eyes widening, harsh choking noises rambled out of her throat before white liquid and bug bodies spewed from her lips. Chilling gagging sounds and cries ate at my ears, as Chi tried to claw her way out of the pit, bugs covering every inch of her.

I turned away from the horrid scene, knowing I had to start moving or that might be my fate. Nails gripping the hard yet squishy marble, I began to move upward. Roaches kept crawling over my hands, soft pattering of tiny legs tickling along my skin.

After seeing what Chi endured with the bug pit, roaches didn't seem so bad.

I shivered from the crawling bugs but kept moving until I discovered a rhythm — grip the next layer, and then step up slowly. Stop — rest. Repeat.

Grip. Step. Stop. Repeat.

"Fuck!" Aries screamed, breaking my rhythm concentration.

He spiraled down the layers, slipping into the pit of broken glass and razors, face first. A cracking sound followed by a girlish scream hit the air as the front of his body submerged into the pit.

Trying to lift himself up, he placed his hands out in front of him, leaning on the sharp objects. Shards of broken glass and razors embedded themselves into his skin, blood leaking out from the deep cuts. The screams kept coming, as it took several tries before he could sit up.

My eyes widened at his appearance. Tiny pieces of glass glistened over his tan skin, looking like stars stuck in reddish-brown sand. The rusty razors caused major damage, sticking deep into his cheeks and forehead like a knife stuck in meat, blood dribbling down in long streams, almost looking like tears.

My body let out an involuntary shiver. Ouch.

Grip. Step. Stop. Repeat.

I made it up about twenty stairs, almost halfway there, but I still wasn't in the lead. Sebastian was ahead, along with Khan.

"Contestants!" Jookie yelled, almost making me slip. "It's time for our first audience poll."

Audience poll?

Jookie loomed over us, grinning down. "I told you this wouldn't be easy. The audience poll is where viewers get to vote on what happens to you next. There will be multiple polls throughout the challenge." He pointed to the middle television, which displayed bold red text. "Here's our first poll now."

"You can start voting now, viewers," Jookie said before smiling into the camera, hair glistening in the lights. "Make sure to choose wisely."

A bar graph materialized on the screen, each bar sliding to a percentage over the course of a minute. Then they stopped.

Jookie snapped his fingers. "Saws, it is then."

♟♙♟