CAST:

Colton Lewis- Arm Wrestler

Murasaki- Sword Fighter

Marcus Everett- Obstacle Course Racer

Emily Muko- Escape Artist

Moyuno Nakano-Black Belt

Yuki Nakano- Ice Dancer

Hyuka Grey- Tai-Chi Mistress

Merkurius-Observer

Jeff Logo-?

Jake Rich-Fast Typer

Sierra Smith-Swimmer

Hideaki Rinto- Bodyguard

?-Perpetrator

I

I knew I should have stayed asleep. From the moment I opened my eyes and saw the blaze, I knew I would be reliving the hell I narrowly survived before. In front of me lied the burning chairs we threw in Kazuo before. I remember his corpse igniting, the black ash consuming him. The screams, the cries, those still haunt me. That was only the first death out of ten those two days. The orange light reflected into my eyes, and I couldn't turn to look at anything else. I hated it.

Only one thing differed, though. I was tied up to the statue in the center; the gravestone was right beside my left shoulder. I could barely breathe with the rope around my chest. The last time I was here, I woke up lying freely in this sealed room with eleven other strangers. Now, it seems like it is just me in the room.

"H-Hello?" I questioned, praying someone would answer.

The soft crackle of the blaze kept the eerie silence.

"Hello?" I repeated.

"C...Colton?" A recognizable voice chimed in.

"Oh, Murasaki...thank God you're here!" I replied. We were the final two the last time I was here. Murasaki sounded like she was on the other side of the geometric altar. My mind brought up images of her, but for some reason, I couldn't bring up any scenes from where we last met here. Maybe it was purposeful by the one who perpetrated this whole game; the one I've never met. "I don't know what I would've done if I had to go through this alone again."

"Wait...again? Y-You're saying we might have to go through this again?

I gulped. I didn't want to think about it, but I had to tell her the painful truth. "Probably."

She heaved a deep sigh, smacking her head against the concrete. At least, that's what I thought I heard.

By now, the fatigue was sinking into me. I needed to stay awake, because if I missed only a couple seconds, then I could be thrown into the blaze myself. My eyelids had weights on the tips of them. I was about to shut my eyes.

"Colton, Murasaki…" A voice boomed in from above. It was also familiar. The same mysterious perpetrator who trapped us in here the first time around, huh. "Welcome back," the male voice said with a snicker. This fellow couldn't get enough, could he?

"Thanks again for the welcome…" Murasaki muttered.

The speaker clicked off after more chuckling. I was used to it by now. I heaved a deep sigh, slowly shutting my eyes.

Immediately, I jolted awake one second later. The speaker clicked on, then off. I peered over toward the sides, the two rows of chairs lining the walls. There were people sitting in them, blindfolded with their hands tied behind their backs. They didn't move. I knew none of them. They were silent. Murasaki didn't even speak. It sent a shiver down my spine. This didn't happen last time.

Then, the speaker clicked on again, and they began to move in a flurry all at once, like a flock of birds. They came alive. They had the same worries I did, the same quiet murmurs. Murasaki was the first to pipe up. "Excuse me….but could you all help us?"

Immediately, one boy dashed over to us and began unknotting the rope. "Oh….um...sorry. I got a little caught up there, huh?" He chuckled. His fingers were nimble, slender, and quick, and he untied the rope in no time. It seemed a little bit too fast.

Murasaki jumped up, meeting eyes with him. "Oh...thanks!" She tipped her sun hat, the pink ribbon jostling. I slowly stumbled to my feet. I didn't know how long I was tied up.

"Welcome, Miss."

I rushed up to the boy, outstretching a hand and shaking it. "Colton Lewis, my pleasure."

Murasaki smiled at him. "Just call me Murasaki." She combed her fingers through her torso-length purple hair. "How the heck are your fingers so fast?"

"I'm a fast typer, I guess. Jake Rich, nice to meet you both." His smile was impeccable.

"Oh, cool! I'm a sword fighter, and Colton's an arm wrestler!"

I shrugged. I suppose she figured I couldn't introduce myself. My skin was so dark, I could've blended against the rusty background if I wanted to. I lost my jacket back in the final room last time. There'd be no getting it back.

"Do you guys know why you two were tied up?"

Murasaki nodded. "W...We've been he-"

I cut her off. "The voice will tell you all eventually."

"Voice?" Jake questioned.

"Be patient."

Around this time, I felt something prodding on my back. It wasn't something material, like a spider of some sort. It was a burning sensation. I couldn't have been thrown into the fire just yet...have I? Compulsory, I glanced behind me. There was a girl, well, I couldn't say it was a girl because she had a masterfully crafted mask on. Her soulless eyes were staring into my back, watching everything Jake, Murasaki, and I had said. Her slim, blue hair was covered by a dark hood. It seemed a little eerie, that maybe she was related to the perpetrator, or something equally as frightening.

Murasaki and Jake kept discussing, while I locked eyes with the observer. Slowly, I approached her, waiting for the voice to click on. She didn't flinch. "What...are you…" I mouthed to her.

She didn't reply.

"Who…"

Silence, except for the incessant crackle of the fire. The tinder was never ending. It never changed size. My mind looped back to the last time; the insanity, the unchanging rooms.

Then, the speakers clicked on again. The voice piped up. "Greetings, prisoners." All at once, everyone looked up into the dark, endless ceiling.

"Prisoners?" A girl with bright cherry hair screamed. "We're PRISONERS?" Another boy elbowed her, whispering at her. He told her to be quiet, and she retaliated. "I'm going to find a way out of here…" I barely heard out of her lips. The girl dashed at the wall, banging at it and feeling around strangely. Mostly, people go insane by the third or fourth room. She seemed to be at that state already, at least for now.

"Hush, Emily." The voice commanded. Emily immediately slumped down on the wall, hugging in her knees. The voice cleared his throat. "Well, then, two of you, Colton and Murasaki already know what I will say. I'd hate if you were to spoil the surprise for the rest of them." He laughed. "One of you grab the tombstone."

Murasaki picked up the tombstone, lying right by the altar. It looked clean, seamless. The letters were chiseled perfectly. The tombstone was rusty and weathered last time. "Read it, what are you waiting for…" A boy with brown hair sternly ordered.

"Fine, fine." Murasaki read it aloud. "One of you will be thrown into the fire and be smothered to a crisp in order for the remaining to move to the next room." Her eyes grew wide. "Colton...you were right. W-We do have to do this again...the same. A-As last time..." They were glass snow globes, moving with the water. Then, they cracked. She began crying. "No...No…"

The voice clicked on, laughing. "Oh, here's a tip. Get to know each other, then toss the weakest link in." He snickered. "I'll be generous this time around and give you seven minutes." The voice clicked off, leaving just the haunting crackle of the fire. Emily was still against the left wall, hunched over, unmoving. Murasaki was crumbled by the altar, Jake trying to help her up.

"Well!" The boy with the brown hair stated. "Who's going?" He seemed a little too optimistic.

"Tell me who you are, first," Jake ordered.

He smirked at Jake. "Marcus Everett. Obstacle Course Racer."

Jake stood up, Murasaki latched onto him and weeping. "Alright, everyone line up and tell me who you are, and what you're good at. Then we'll decide. If you're reluctant, then you have a bigger chance of being thrown in. Now go, we've already wasted a minute."

Everyone lined up beside Marcus. Emily was the last one to be there, and Murasaki was still clutched onto Jake. I stood beside them. "You just heard me," Marcus muttered. "Marcus Everett, Obstacle Course Racer…" He repeated, sighing.

The next one was a black-haired boy with a flower crown. "Hideaki Rinto. Uh….what do I do? I...uh...guess I'm a Bodyguard or something?"

Jake moved down the line. "Good. Next."

A girl with a purple ponytail, dressed in purple with purple wrapped gloves. "Hyuka Grey, Tai-Chi Mistress." Her voice was calming. A good asset for what was to come.

"Sierra Smith, Swimmer!" Her auburn hair draped down her shoulders about to her stomach. I'd have to admit, she was probably the most attractive there.

"Jeff Logo...sharpshooter." His confidence was off. I'd pick him up later.

Next came two fraternal siblings, I could tell. Both Asian with jet black hair, one female one male. They intrigued me. Last time there were a pair of siblings pitted against each other, it brought me to tears. I don't want to go with that again. The girl was up first. "Yuki Nakano, Ice Dancer."

"Moyuno Nakano, Black Belt."

They both would be helpful in the rooms to come, if I remembered right.

Next, was Emily. She wore ripped jeans, a black sports bra, tan boots, and a bowler. "Ugh…" She grumbled. "Emily Muko, Escape Artist." She didn't make eye contact with Jake as she said it.

"And...last but not least…" Jake droned on, meeting eyes with the masked girl, "you. Tell me who you are, and what you want."

The rest of the line looked at the girl on the end, whose skillfully painted wooden mask didn't flinch. It didn't show her eyes, mouth, or nose. It must have been hard to breathe.

Hyuka chimed in. "I've heard something about her."

Jake looked at her. "Tell us, since she refuses to go."

I have never been biased against people through these experiences. I've learned to show no emotion. The ones who have emotion get put up for the challenges. The ones who are powerful get put up, knowing they're going to win. Sometimes, they lose. That's how I made it to the final two before.

Now, everyone's eyes looped back to Hyuka. "Her name's supposedly Merkurius. I suppose she just stays here, and observes, or something." Her soft and quiet voice seemed to chill the tense atmosphere.

Jake clapped his hands. "Alright, that's everyone." He flicked his wrist, looking at his watch. His hands were filled with precision. "Now...we've got two minutes to vote. Colton, do you mind counting vo-"

Marcus interrupted, adjusting his glasses and leather jacket. "Two things. One, who the hell are you guys? You never told us your names. And two, who put you three in charge?"

Jake crossed his arms. "Ahem. If you don't want to die, or be voted out to die, I suggest you listen to me. I'm Jake Rich, an extremely fast typer. This…'thing' on my left side's Murasaki, a sword fighter. And that's Colto-"

"Will you please let me introduce myself?" I argued. Arguments were never my thing, I just thought I had the right to speak. Some of my movements were spontaneous. If I kept up this Marcus, argumentative attitude, I'd be dead next room.

"Fine, fine." He motioned to me.

"I'm Colton Lewis, an arm wrestler. Murasaki and I were chosen because we have been here before. We have lived through this horror once before. We were the two tied up to the altar."

Marcus furrowed his brow. "We know that, but what about that Rich guy?"

"I untied them. I cared about them."

Marcus crossed his arms, turned away, and grumbled.

"I'll moderate the votes," Jake said. "We have one minute before the voice needs our final decision." He heaved a sigh. "Raise your hand as I read off the names, if you want them to die."

"Marcus."

No one raised their hand, cueing Marcus's scoff. It was strange for the first room, for the cocky one not to be voted.

"Hideaki."

About 4 people raised their hands, including Jake.

"Hyuka."

Only Emily raised her hand.

"Sierra."

Three girls, including Murasaki, raised their hands with Hideaki.

"Jeff."

I couldn't help but raise my hand. I was the only one. He was too suspicious.

Yuki, Moyuno, Emily, Murasaki and I received no votes.

"Merkurius."

Yuki boldly raised her hand.

To finish of the ceremony, of course Marcus voted for Jake, since he assumed he had no authority to lead.

Jake counted nimbly on his fingers. "We….have a tie. Between Hideaki and Sierra." He counted again, drowning himself in focus.

"Excuse me, Jake…" I muttered.

"What?"

"We only have eleven votes. The game's called Final Twelve." I raised my voice, my gruffness coming out. I hated when I did that. "Merkurius didn't vote."

"Merkurius, do you vote for Hideaki or Sierra?" Jake asked. Sierra was sweating excessively. Hideaki took deep breaths.

The creepy silence dawned on the room again, as Merkurius moved toward us. Then, she cleared her throat. "Sierra."

Her voice was normal, but slightly on the deep end. I didn't see her mouth move. It was silent. I was shellshocked.

Sierra burst into tears. I get her. Nobody wants to die this early. Especially by fire, the worst kind of death. That, and drowning. Both ways, it is slow and painful, and you know you're going to die in an instant. "No...no...NO!" She screeched, resisting Jake's pushing.

The voice cued into the chaos. "Oh, look, time's almost up. Perfect." He cackled, the voice clicking off. "Throw her in already!"

I could see the light of the flames reflecting around the beautiful frame of her face. I wanted to jump in there and save her, but like her, I had more to live for. I had to survive.

Sierra cried and screamed. She was like a dog, screeching and wish it could claw like a wolf. But, she couldn't.

It was like an animal being shot. Jake didn't seem to care. The voice piped in again. "Twenty seconds!" Jake looked up at the ceiling, trying to locate the voice. Then, he gave her one last push, and Sierra's body immediately engulfed in flame. Her long hair was the first thing to ignite, and her fiery hair laced the flames to her face, then the rest of her body. I swore I saw parts of her face melt off. I forced myself to watch. The shrieks were horrific. "Ten seconds," The robotic voice chimed in. It began counting down.

Every second was a fiery hell. Every second, the shrieks got louder. Every second, I could see more of her bone rising in the smoke. I looked beside me. Everyone kept robotic, straight faces excepting Murasaki, clinging to Jake with tearful eyes. I could tell she hated this. This was more dramatic than last time.

When the voice said three, the shrieks stopped, and all I saw was a pile of ash in the midst of the burning chairs. Sierra was dead. Eleven remained.

At one, I felt a pang in my neck, collapsing back from the fire. The last image I saw was Merkurius standing straight up, still, and emotionless ten feet away from the flame. She didn't even look at me. Then, I realized.

This wouldn't be like last time.