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Duke was napping in my lap again on the bed, eyes closed, a peaceful aura glinting off his dark fur. He made himself tired by barking and scratching at the locked bathroom door for an hour straight.

I felt really bad, but I needed to be alone and process everything. It was sort of awkward when I emerged from the bathroom an hour later, everyone on edge and confused.

I didn't tell them who really killed Layla. I just told them to let me speak first and to trust me, and surprisingly, no one objected. I guessed they really did trust me, even after my mini-freak out.

I was glad they did because I kept the truth to myself for a reason. I had something to say before I revealed everything — something that would eat at me if I didn't let it out.

"I'm trying not to, but I think my heart already is," I said, brushing his head.

After everything settled down a bit, the boys all left. Sebastian said he wanted to go change clothes, while Khan went to the gym with Rucker.

Yaz sat next to me on the bed, brushing Duke's side. "They had to give him to you for some stupid ass reason."

I knew that, but I still couldn't help it. He was so lively and funny, and I couldn't help but fall for him.

"They gave him to me to torture me about my past," I said, looking down at the sleeping doggy. "I had a dog just like him as a child, but he died. Horribly."

"This game just gets more fucked up the longer we play," Yaz said before sighing. "I'm dreading that next challenge. I feel like it's gonna be worse than eating human meat."

"Ugh, I can't even imagine," I said, shivering. "Remember that giant cake thingy?"

"I'll never forget the hot piss." Yaz closed her eyes. "And the shit? And the spiders? Oh god it was thousands of them." Her shoulders jumped like there was one on her now.

"And people are just betting on us," I said, sucking my teeth, "like animals."

"It's weird talking to 'my fans'," Yaz said, shaking her head. "There are people really out there rooting for me to win. It's crazy."

"You talk to them?" I asked her. "I never even go on my page or my live chat. I've never even requested anything."

"You better," she said, sitting up. "Think about it, they probably let us get 'fans' for a reason. I have a feeling they're gonna do a competition on who has the most."

"And if you don't," I said, getting to what she meant.

"They might cut you," she said with a shrug. "It's not hard. Just chat with them. They'll probably just end up asking you stupid questions. I do have a few kinky motherfuckers who want me to talk dirty to them, but they send me nice stuff so I don't care."

"I don't know if I can do that," I said to her.

"You're the girl who cut open a human body and enjoyed it and ate it," Yaz said, pointing at her fingers. "Along with choking Gmie and stabbing Demo in the eye. And you got Rucker to willingly be your bodyguard. If you can do all that, I think you can talk to people on the internet."

"I have done a lot of shit," I whispered, which made her laugh. "But the Rucker thing just sort of happened."

"Rucker knows you're one of the smartest people here," she said. "I agree. You and Khan. I feel like you two can find a way out of this shit."

"Do you really think escaping is a possibility?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. It's either we escape, or we win, and winning ain't gon be easy. But I'm no loser."

"Neither am I," I said, scratching Duke's head.

Yaz and I sat in silence as she patted Duke.

"You ever have a doggy before?" I asked.

"A long time ago," she muttered, getting lost in a memory. "Long long time ago."

A comfortable silence poured over us, as we both got lost in the depths of our own minds until a loud announcement pulled us out of it.

"Contestants," Jookie sang through the speakers. "Your twenty-four hours is up! Meet me at the crime scene now."

Here we go.

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The rest of our team — Khan, Rucker, and Sebastian waited near the door, so we just entered and stood near them. A trace of strawberry sugar drenched my nostrils as two cameramen angled their cameras on my ass.

Gmie and Demo lounged near the far wall. Gmie wouldn't stop glaring at me, and Demo just looked so weak. Thick gauze and tape shielded her damaged eye, skin slightly bluish.

Aries and Chi stood near my bathroom, looking antsy, and Fee just looked dirty again, covered in mud.

Rucker folded his arms, looking at Gmie. "If you keep glaring over here, I'm gonna put a pen in your eye and you two can be twins."

Gmie huffed before turning away to help Demo who started having a coughing fit while leering at me.

"Welcome, contestants!" Jookie hopped into the room like a child on candy meth, holding a shiny, long machete in his hand. "To your first killer reveal. Wooo, took us forever to get here by the way. Just saying. Ya'll gotta step those cookies up, pronto."

Tonight, he was sporting a more casual look with his tight black jeans, black boots with lazy tongues, and a tight, dark plaid shirt that crushed to his muscles like honey on skin. Hair wet like he just got done showering, he waved around the machete, giving us all a bright grin.

Jookie leered around the room. "Ah poo, Betinia and Aries are still here. No one's getting those special perks." He eyed Demo before turning to me. "Guess your something to be fucked with, huh, my dangerous little peach."

"It was a cheap shot," Demo ground out before coughing again.

"You attacked me in the dark," I said, folding my arms over my chest. "That's a pussy move."

"You should be dead," Gmie shouted at me.

"I'm not so..." I shrugged. "Gotta try better."

Gmie spat at me. "Oh, I will, bitch. I will."

"God, I love the murderous tension," Jookie said, touching his chest. "It gets my dick hard every time."

"I really didn't need to know that," Yaz muttered, pushing her glasses up.

"Anyway, let's get on topic here." Jookie spun the machete in his hand before pointing at Layla's dead body. "We're here to find out who killed Layla. You have five seconds to answer or your finger goes bye bye."

He spun around, letting out a giant giggle before settling on Aries. "Who killed Layla?" he asked, running over.

Aries freaked, fidgeting around while trying to get away from Jookie. "Ummm I—"

"One second," Jookie screamed at him, hurting my ears.

Aries never got a chance to answer because Jookie snatched his left hand, bringing his machete down clean on his back two fingers.

Soft blood splattered the wall like a painting as Aries wailed, clutching his damaged hand to his chest, thick redness drenching his white hoodie.

Chi screamed while wiping Aries' blood off her face with her shirt, hands shaking. "Oh god."

Jookie turned toward the rest of the group, wiping blood off his face with a hand. "Sorry. Got a bit machete-happy," he said before giggling. "I've been wanting to try this baby out for weeks."

"You-u c-cut off t-two of my f-fingers," Aries hollered, wobbling around.

Jookie whistled, and several people in white rushed in. They went over to Aries, helping him with his bleeding hand. "Can't have everyone dying or there'd be no show."

"So don't cut off our fingers," Gmie said, her voice shaky as she leaned into Demo who was shivering. "What's the point? It'll just limit us in challenges."

"The point is you guys have to suffer the consequences of being stupid." Jookie smiled. "And the viewers want to see some action." He waved the machete in the air, blood staining the blade as Aries continued screaming.

He turned his attention onto Demo who shivered in the corner. "Who killed Layla?"

Demo looked totally out of it and started to cry. "Ch-chi. La-Layla had red hair in her mouth."

"Wrong!" He pushed Gmie out of the way and grabbed Demo's hand, slicing off her pinky. It dropped to the floor with a soft plop.

Demo hollered and flopped to the ground, blood trickling everywhere. Tiny flecks of red spotted her skin like polka dots as she continued thrashing around like a shark out of water. One of the medics rushed over, and Gmie kneeled next to him, holding Demo's other hand. Demo continued screaming like a scream queen as blood spewed out her open wound.

"Today was not her day," I said to myself, seeing her patched up eye and now missing finger.

"Come on, people! What's with the sad faces?" Jookie waved around his bloody machete. "Perk up, be happy."

I pushed myself off the wall, walking forward a bit, drawing his attention to me. He narrowed his eyes before jostling over, face inches away from mine.

The tip of the bloody machete touched my chin, as his eyes darkened, lips forming a shit-happy smile. "You wanna go next, my delectable peach?" he asked, hot breath tickling my mouth.

I licked my lips, causing his eyes to swirl. "Yes. I know who killed Layla."

"Who?" he asked, dropping the machete to his side.

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