(A/N) Sorry I've been gone a while. Finished up school so now I can focus more on the story, yeah!
I wake up to my door being pounded again. This time, I think, it is the adolescent, blonde, elf boy screaming at the top of his lungs. Thud after thud resounds until it reaches mine and then starts making its way back. I groan and slip my nightshirt off, letting hit the floor. I noticed that my gi was missing from the floor, so some maid or something came in here at night and took my clothes. The more I think about it, the creepier it sounds so I stop. I should be grateful that someone picks up my clothes, but...the invasion of privacy that someone came into my room while I was vulnerable sends chills down my spine.
I open the armoire and find the gi on the floor had been hung up. I press my fingers to the fabric, noticing it has been cleaned while heat still radiating from the fabric. So it has been recently washed and ironed… I take out the gi, get dressed then open the door. I find a medium sized package in front of me. Curiously, I take into to my room, eager to open it but remember I have to head downstairs. On the way downstairs, the hosts line the hallways, watching. I make sure to tilt my chin up and square my shoulders to show I'm not afraid of them. We are led to the dining room where a breakfast buffet is set. Every imaginable breakfast item is neatly placed on plates in the middle of the table. Some of the other contestants have already sat down and started eating.
I took a seat and served myself just as Lucas enters and takes a seat next to me.
"This looks delicious." Lucas says, licking his lips and grabbing a spoonful of scrambled eggs.
I nod and silently chew on a piece of bacon. To my surprise, it tastes like the best bacon I have ever eaten in my entire life. Not bad for a bunch of freaks. I think. When I have eaten my fair share, the door opens again to reveal Vinny, who stares at the food in disbelief. I roll my eyes and pretend not to notice him, but my heart beats erratically in my chest. I'm still butt hurt about his betrayal.
After breakfast, we all file into the living room and sit quietly. Nothing happens. Nobody dares talk for fear they would die first. The air thick with anxiety.
Suddenly, the camera glows its red color and the elf boy leaps out from the camera. A good few of us jump and scream, including me.
"Good morning humans," the elf boy sings. "I'm BEN and today we're goanna see who is not goanna die of fear!"
"Fear?" I whisper to Lucas, who sits next to me on the couch this time.
"Yes, fear!" BEN throws his arms up in the air like he is celebrating. "We're goanna put these little humans under their worst fears and see if they survive. Will they die? Will they live? Who knows! Let's get started."
When he turns toward us, I see his red eyes glow dangerously. Fast as lightning, wires shoot from his fingers and latch onto a piece of our skin. My eyes widen in surprise as his wire goes straight for my throat. Without thinking, my hands reach out and grab at the wire. I pull backwards, which makes the blonde male stumble in shock. Electricity starts flowing from the wires as he grits his teeth. I immediately let go and watch him fall to the floor with the sudden momentum. I hear screams as the other contestants get shocked and watch them fall limp, unconscious. I turn my main focus to BEN, running over and kicking him in the side. He catches my foot and sends a jolt of electricity through me. My mouth opens and a scream rips from my throat as I feel the voltage run through my body. Black dots spot my vision as my clenched muscles make me collapse to the floor. I then feel a kick in my side, not flinching because of my muscles.
"She's unconscious." BEN states as I feel another kick.
"Are you sure?" one of the males, blue mask I think, asks. I see black shoes in front of my vision and a gloved hand in front of my face. "She's still conscious."
"What?! How?!"
"I dunno. But I do know she can feel pain. She will be the perfect test subject. Awake of course."
I can't move but the blue masked man lifts my face to him. I sense he could tell I was scared as he says the last words. He drops my head, making it thud against the floor. I groan out in pain. No use in pretending anymore. I hear feet shuffling and equipment moving, wires noisily being shifted around. I hear some machine, the size of a laptop maybe, being placed by my head. A couple of things are plugged together and a click as the machine hums to life. I feel a hand wrap around my chin, making me face the blue masked guy again, this time he holds a syringe with some sort of blue liquid inside. A gasp escapes between my closed lips as I feel his 'eyes' bore into mine. Despite being eyeless.
"You'll only feel a pinch." He states. I feel patches attach to my forehead, back of the neck, back, arms and legs. "Good luck." He sticks the needle in my neck and pushes the plunger down. I feel the liquid flow into my bloodstream. My heart thuds in my chest, making the serum spread across my body faster. This thought makes me panic more and my heart beats faster. I hear the machine start beeping wildly until, all I see is black.
When I come to, I find myself surrounded by mirrors. Confused, I reach a hand toward one of my reflections when a loud bang makes me jump. I stumble and crash into the mirror and it shatters the glass. I stumble away from the broken pieces as my broken reflection stares up at me, wide eyes filled with terror. I take a deep breath and crash into another mirror, glass showering on me again. I jump around to face the broken mirror and find a glass maze ahead. I blink, trying to confirm what I already see. This glass was not like a mirror, though nonetheless annoying. Stepping over the glass with my shoes and move into the glass maze. I frown as I touch my fingers to the glass. When I lift my fingers, I see no fingerprints have left a stain on it. This is one weird maze.
I turn around and find the mirror I had smashed to get in here was gone and only more glass to see. I decided to just get this over with and smash through the glass. The mirror glass didn't hurt me, so how can this? Bumping my back against one of the walls, I take a sprint and throw my full weight at the glass. Unlike the mirrors, which broke upon my touch, this glass stays intact while my body thuds to the floor. Groaning, I glare at the glass. "Well, screw you too!" I shout at it. Taking a small survey of the area, I let out a sigh of defeat. "I guess I'll have to conquer this maze." I decide to head forward, away from where the mirrors were. The more I look around, I find the glass isn't too see through. I can only see as far as two glasses before I can't see anything else. Sighing in boredom, I start singing a small tune. My favorite song.
"Had to have high high hopes for a living~"
My voice carries throughout the maze, bouncing off the glass. I hear it echo back into my ears. But it's not like there's anything else in this maze, right?
"Shooting for the stars when I couldn't make a killing~"
It's nice. Walking down these halls. Nothing bad has happened, so I feel kind of safe.
"Didn't have a dime but I always had a vision"
I reach my hand out to feel the cool glass of the maze. I come to a fork in the road and decide to turn right. The right choice to make.
"Always had high high, hopes"
I sigh. I used to have high high hopes. A small frown tugging at my lips. I did have high high hopes when I was with Vincent...
Had to have high high hopes for a living~
When we were best friends...
Didn't know how but I always had a feeling
His easy smile...
I was goanna be that one in a million
And he would always say…
Always had high high hopes~
I swiftly turned around and brought my fist to whatever was behind me. My fist connected with something, hearing an audible crack as the thing stumbled back. I wasn't sure what it was! It was like a silhouette. A silhouette of Vincent. It's hand felt around its jaw area as black fluids dripped onto the floor. Flexing my fingers I prepared myself to strike again if needed. It chuckled. A deep, dark chuckle. One of those chuckles that makes you think the person is insane.
"How could you punch…"
It's voice…
"...your best friend?"
Cocking his head at an unnatural angle, color began coming to it, forming skin, hair, eyes, a mouth, a nose, ears and clothes. An insane smile curled at its lips as it took the form of Vincent. Cracking his head back he chuckle some more. It sounded exactly like Vincent's!
"What are you?!" I shout at it, to try to keep the fear out of my voice.
"Why I'm Vinny." He replied, an easy smile replacing the insane one. I had half the mind to burst into tears and run up and hug him. Cry I'm sorry. Cry for forgiveness. Cling onto him like he will leave if I ever let go. Instead, I grit my teeth and square my shoulders, planting my feet onto the floor.
"No you're not!"
A hurt expression crossed his face. His lips dropped into a frown while his eyebrows furrow in pain. "W-what?" his voice cracked.
"You're not Vincent!" I'm more angry than sad. How dare he try and make me feel like shit!
His frown deepens. "What do you mean?"
"You're." I take a step closer as he takes a step backwards. "Not." I'm close enough the take his collar, and snatch it. Bringing his face an inch from mine, I whisper, "Vincent."
His frown turns into a grin. "Maybe you're right."
This catches me off guard and I release him, stumbling backward. He then bends over in laughter. This scares me and I run. I don't know where, just away from him. But his laughter still follows me as I try to escape. Every turn I make, I hear his laughter ringing. My heart thuds wildly as I try to find an escape to this madness. I stumble and fall to the ground, which gives way and I fall through it. I scream at the sudden change until my back hits something hard, making me lose my breath.
I lie there, struggling to catch air. The ceiling, floor where I used to be, has a hole where I fell through, like it was paper and not solid concrete. When I finally feel the rush of air flow into my lungs, I sit up and take a look at my surroundings. I'm still in a maze, though this one is different. This one has large, looming black walls. A small stream of water flows on the left side of the room. I get up and decide to follow the water. As it takes me around another corner I bump into a mirror. Rubbing my nose, I glare at the mirror for being in my way.
The glass inside the mirror suddenly shifts to where my reflection is no longer there, but a silhouette of a boy. He's kneeling, his arms seem to be chained to something off of the mirror. His head hangs down. I frown and touch the mirror gently, as if to reach out to the boy, when he suddenly throws his head back and screams, arching his back. I jump backwards in surprise as he screams "Help!"
I rush back to the mirror. "Don't worry!" I shout into it, like the boy can hear. "I'll help you." The problem is, I don't know how. I look around me frantically, trying to find something, anything, to help him. I finally give up, knowing there's nothing around me. I my foot and kick the mirror with all my might. The glass pieces shower upon me and behind the mirror is a black void beyond. The boy's screams fade into the humming sounds of the void. Curious, I inch closer to it, despite everything telling me not to. The void pulses with life, beckoning me closer when it snatches me. I scream as I'm surrounded by black. The void sticking to me like tar as it tries to envelope me. I fight against its tendrils, as it grabs at my clothes, fighting until it finally releases me. This time, I'm in a black room as far as the eye can see.
"Laila?"
I look behind me and see Ella. I smile in relief. Relief in seeing her. Relief in knowing she's unharmed. Tears spill from Ella's eyes and my smile vanishes.
"What's wrong?" I ask as I walk over to her.
"Y-you left." She choked out.
"What?" I blink in surprise.
"You left me alone!" she shouts.
"What! No, no, no I didn't." I kneel down to her level, placing my hands on her shoulders. "I would never, you have…"
"How could you!"
I flinch at her sharp tongue. The Ella I know was never like this, even when she was upset.
"Ella, I…
"I wish you were never my big sister!"
I stand back up and back away from her, her glare intensifying with every step I take. I back up until I hit something soft. Turning around, I see Shay, a frown decorating his normally smiling features.
"Shay," I say. "I think there's something wrong with Ella. She's upset and I don't know how…"
"How could you?"
"What?" I look up at him in surprise. His eyes are sad as he looks at me. "How could I what?"
"How could you? How could you leave us alone? How could you run off with those...those...creatures?!"
"Shay. I didn't run off. They kidnapped…"
"Don't give me that bullshit!" He snaps and I jump back from him. "Don't ever come back to us. Even if you win, don't come crawling to us!"
"Crawling? Us?" I repeat.
"Yes," he replies, crossing his arms as my family gathers around him. "Us. You are not a Moonstone."
"You weren't even born with a twin!" Evan spat.
"How could you look anything like us?" Sophie hisses.
"White haired freak!" Ella snarls.
"Yellow eyed monster!" Shay howls.
"Mom? Dad?" I look at them with pleading eyes. My siblings aren't making any sense! Maybe they can snap them out of whatever…
"You know Laila," Dad said. "I don't even think you're mine."
My vision blurs as tears threaten to spill. "D-dad?"
"Honestly, Laila. We pitied you. We saw you out in an alleyway, in a cardboard box. We took you in because we pitied you. Honestly, did you think we'd ever have a child like you?"
"B-but.."
"Now that you're gone," mom smiles, "we can finally be the family you destroyed."
Tears spill from my eyes as the last words penetrated deep into me. I feel my heart tearing apart as my family looks at me with condescending looks of disapproval, shame, and hatred. I want to hate them. I want to spit back in their faces. I want to make them hurt. But...I can't. Because I love them too much.
Instead, I turn around and run. Wind stings my eyes as the tears blur my vision so I can't see. Not like I need to see anyway, it's all black. I keep running, my lungs trying to bring enough oxygen into my lungs to keep my heart pounding, but my voice tightens with emotion. I release a breath, a strangled sob along with it as I escape into the unknown.
"Freak!"
"Monster!"
"Pitiful!"
"Idiot!"
"Disappointment!"
"Shut up!" I scream at their voices, collapsing onto the ground, sobbing. "Shut up…" I mumble in my arms as tears dampen my sleeves.
"Get up." I don't do anything. I'm not even sure if I even heard it. Maybe I'm hearing voices. "Get up." This time, firmer. I raise my head up and meet the feet of Vincent.
"What do you want?" I pathetically say. My voice clogged with emotion.
"I said, get up." He yanks me to my feet.
"What do you want?" I glare at him, snatching my hand away. I want to apologize immediately after my hand retreats, but I remind myself not to.
"This is all a test. You have to pass."
"Have to?" I scoff. "Who says I need to? My family is probably celebrating my absence."
"They're not real!" He shouts. "This is a simulation of your fears! Conquer your fear to move on!"
"And why are you here?!"
"Because...I'm sorry."
My eyes widen in surprise. "Excuse me?"
"I'm sorry." He looks at me, his eyes expressing sorrow and regret. "I'm sorry I for what I did to you. It...it wasn't right. I'm sorry. Please forgive me! I'm here so I can make it up to you but I can only stay so long."
"Vinny, I…" I choke. "I'm sorry too I-I forgive you. Now, what's going on? Where are we? How can you be in my fear simulation?"
"Laila, you were always different from the beginning. I can't give you all the answers because this is only what I know. We're in the fourth dimension."
"Fourth dimension?"
"Yeah, a space between the others fear simulations. We've broken through. We have to get through the simulation. I have to go. They're monitoring so many contestants that they won't come to us for a little bit. But we have to go to stay undercover."
"Why? How do I get back."
"I wish I knew all the answers myself. Unfortunately, all I've said has been given to me second hand. Now let's get out."
"But how?" I persist. "We're stuck here." I gesture to the black surrounding us.
He smirks that smirk that makes me know that he's already got a plan. "Just think about it."
"About what?"
"About the simulation room. Where were you before you came here?"
I think about it and then say, "A glass maze."
He blinks and laughs. "You've got a glass maze?"
"What? Is there something wrong with that?"
He shakes his head, laughing. "No, I just got a bubble room."
Now it's my turn to laugh. "Bubble room?"
"Yes. Now, let's get back to our simulations." He closes his eyes and then vanishes in a brilliant white light. I shield my eyes, to keep it from blinding me. When the light dissipated, he was gone. I take a deep breath and inhale, then exhale. Remember Laila, conquer your fear. Don't run. I think of the glass maze.
My eyes snap open when I hear Vinny's insane laughter flood my ears. I look over at the imposter as he is still bent over laughing. I narrow my eyes.
"What's so funny?" I ask.
His laughter stops abruptly and his head snaps to me. "Funny?" he asks in a low dangerous voice. "I'm your insanity."
I blink. "Pardon?"
Vinny's form is replaced by mine. My hair, my eyes, my skin, my face, my stature, and everything about me. She stares at me with those big golden eyes. "Insanity." She grins as she withdraws a knife. "I've always been inside you." She swings and I narrowly dodge it. "Wanting to break free." She swings again and I leap backward. "To make those pathetic flesh bags…" She lunges forth and I side step. "Pay for what they've done to me. To us."
"But I'm not you." I say firmly.
"Oh, yes you are. We are one in the same."
I shake my head. "You're a very good actor I must say. But," I wag a finger in her face, "you aren't me. Wanna know why?" She cocks her head to the side. "Because I'm…" I slap the knife out of her hand. It slides a little ways away from us. "...better…" I give her a left hook. "...than…" I kick her in the stomach. "...you!"
She stumbles and yells at me, getting down and tackled my midsection. We go sprawling on the floor with her on top of me. She sits on top and punches me in the face. I notice through the pain that she sits on my waist rather than my chest. Using her weight, I buck my hips and throw her off. She screams as she crashes into glass and smashes it. I lay on the floor for a minute to get my bearing before scrambling to my feet. I find the figure lying in a pool of its own blood, its own form showing. I cringe in disgust as I step through the glass whole it made. I figured, since this is about conquering my fears, that I should go into the hole to the next fear. This hallway has concrete walls, which matches the floor. I'm surprised that the previous walls were glass but, then again, a lot of things have been weird recently.
Keeping my hand against the wall, I walk farther away from the limp body of the thing. I finally came upon a room that looks like an office. It holds a desk similar to one but it's name plaque was too scratched and dirtied to read. Bookshelves line the the right and left side of the office and a once red office chair sits under a fine layer of spider webs. A portrait of a well dressed man with black hair slicked back and red eyes is directly in front of me. The man's eyes seem to watch every move I make as I make my way around the office. I dust the binders off the books to see what they read which I find useless because it is written in a language I do not know. I find a book with the color of my gi and pull it out, coughing as dust flies into my face.
When the dust clears, I open the book. This book is in a language I understand, with a little bit of dust coating its pages. Gently brushing the ancient looking pages I beginning skimming. Some of the words make no sense and I have trouble trying to decipher it's dialect. Biting my lip, I squint, thinking I have cracked a bit of it when the book is suddenly slapped from my hands. Turning toward the direction of the assailant, I glare at them until I come face to face with the man from the portrait. I release a scream of surprise and jump backwards.
"Good to see you," he says casually as he brushes some invisible lint from his neatly pressed jacket. "Might I ask why you have decided to invade my private studies?" He tilts his head slightly, curiosity shining in his eyes.
"I just found it." I shrug as I pick up the book. "And I found this." I gesture to the book, closing it with a soft thud.
He gently pries the book from my fingers and muses over the cover. "A book of spells?" His eyes look over to me. "Why would you need a book of spells?"
My cheeks grow warm as I stare into his, admittedly, handsome face. The way he said it made me feel embarrassed. "Well, um…you see. Hehe. It was the color of my gi and…"
"Just because it's the color of your costume, it means you have to take a look?"
"Well, no, um. It was interesting…"
He holds up a hand. My jaw snaps shut. "Enough. I've heard enough babbling for one day." Tossing the book outside his study, I give him a questioningly look.
"If it is a book of spells," I say. "Why would you need it though."
He looks at me with a thoughtful gaze. "You seem to be smarter than you let on."
"And you seem pretty stupid to be leaving your 'private study' in such filth." I gesture to his study as I retrieve the abused book.
"Well, it was nice to meet you." he says, a small smile dancing upon his lips. "Laila Moonstone."
My head jerks toward him. "How do you know my name?"
Ignoring my question, he gets out a quill, ink, and some parchment. Dipping the quill into the ink, he starts scribbling something careful on the yellowed paper.
"How do you know my name?" I say a bit louder. He still ignores me. I go up to his desk and slam the book down on it, trying to get his attention, or to at least flinch. All he does is scribble on. This time, my cheeks heat in anger at this incessant man who refuses to tell me how he knows me. He looks up at last and gives me a steady look. Rolling up the parchment and placing it into a small cylinder like container with a strap attached to it.
"Here you go, my dear." he says, handing the bag to me. I give him a skeptical look. "You might need it."
Indecision bites at the base of my stomach. I want to take the parchment and read what he has written. But I also don't want to grab for fear it's a trap. He swings the bag teasingly in front of me.
"What? Cat got your tongue?" he smirks.
"Fine!" I spit, snatching the thing from his hand. "I'll take it." Turning on my heel, I'm about to exist the office when his voice stops me.
"Don't forget, I'll be here if you ever need me."
This sends chills up my spine as I tell my legs to move. Move away from this creepy place. Mova away from the creepy guy. Move away from the creepy study. Once I feel like I'm a safe distance away from him, I take out the parchment. Ti inveni, Musa. I frown. What the hell does this mean?! In frustration, I throw the parchment and its bag across the hallway, stomping away from it. Onto the next fear.
What disappointment. I think to myself as I continue down the halls. It wasn't even scary. My thoughts were interrupted when I bumped head first into some glass. Rubbing my nose, I glare at the glass when bright flashes blind me from the other side. I shield my eyes as I try to decipher what is happening. When the flashes disappear, I see before me a crowd of school students all jeering, taunting and laughing at me. My hands clench at my sides as I feel words start to bubble to my throat. My fist connects with the glass, but doesn't break.
"Die bitch!" one of the screams.
"Slut!"
"Whore!"
"Witch!"
Is this really one of those witch trials? I think boredly. Get over it already!
A boy walks up to the front of the tank and starts fiddling with something out of my vision. I hear a beep inside the tank and liquid rushes into the tank. I look down and find the box starting to fill with water. My breaths get quicker as I pound furiously on the box.
"Let me out! Let me out!" I scream, hammering my fist on the thick glass. Outside, the crowd grows crazy as water enters, their eyes wild with bloodlust.
The water rises quickly, coming to my kneecaps in no time. I stop hitting the glass, knowing it won't do anything and survey my torture chamber. The water seems to rush into my tank from two tubes connected at the bottom. I have to clog it somehow, but with what? My fingers feel the fabric of my shirt and I blush. Should I undress in front of them? I take a quick glance at the crowd and know my answer. Slipping my shirt off, I hear a gasp from the crowd. I roll my eyes, thankful I am wearing a sports bra. I hear whispers, but not the mean 'I'm talking behind your back' kind. More like the questioning 'What's going on' kind. Turning around with my eyebrows knit, I glare into their eyes, which were wide in shock.
"What could you possibly be shocked about now?" I snap and look down. The water has reached my thighs but red starts tainting the water. I gasp as I find the red is coming from me. The water is drawing out my blood. How could this be?! When I stick my hand in the water, blood starts leaching from it like a parasite. I withdraw my hand as I feel my legs give out from under me. Probably from the lack of good circulation, and plunge under. From under the blood leaching water, I see their expressions of confusion turn to ones' of joy at my sudden misfortune. Quickly wadding up the shirt underwater, I stuff it into one of the pipes. Now for the other. My lungs burn for oxygen so I swim to the surface. Gulping air as I feel my pores leak more blood.
I plunge back under to fill the other one, deciding to use my pants to stop it. When I look up again, I see I have no more oxygen and the tank is entirely filled with this stuff. My eyes burn and I see red start taking over my vision as I slide my pants over and off my shoes. Wadding it up, I plug the other hole. I cry out in triumph, which turns out to be a bad idea because the liquid immediately rushes into my mouth and sucks at my insides. I gasp, inhaling the liquid which makes it worse. I'm drowning. I desperately claw at my throat to try to get the liquid out to no avail. My lungs feel like blood is pooling inside of it, which it most likely is.
This is it, I think as my eyes bleed out and all I see is red. This is how I die. Closing my eyes, I inhale the liquid, letting it take me. After a while of struggling, my body finally understands and stops fighting for survival, letting my body become one with the liquid. This is peaceful, I think to myself. I feel like I'm floating in time and space… I hear muffled gasps and cries. I should be dead already, right? I think as I slowly crack one eye open to see what is wrong with all the dumbasses watching my corpse float in a tank filled with blood. When I blink, I notice that my veins hadn't burst but the liquid had turned red. When I looked out at the crowd, their eyes are wide in awe and they point to me. Unamused, I look down to find…
But I don't get to find out what they're pointing at because I'm being jerked away from the tank. Away from where ever I was. Away from the simulation and to the real world.
I'm awake, gasping and breathing. No liquid. No mazes. No glass. No mirrors. No private studies. And no more strange men in suits. I feel sweat bead down my face, dripping onto the floor, into my eyes, and into my mouth. It tastes salty. I feel a tap on my shoulder and was about to elbow them when they shove a glass of water underneath my nose.
"You look like you need it," Blue mask replies.
I nod, shakily taking the cup and sipping the cool liquid inside. I sigh in relief as this water doesn't suck my blood out. Smacking my lips, I take another sip as the guy takes the electrodes off my forehead. Once I'm done with the water, I set the glass down and lean back on the heels of my palm, going through what just happened in my head, absently keeping an ear on the hosts.
"Her simulation was...interesting." Blue mask says.
"What do you mean?" BEN asks.
"Here are her results." Paper crinkles.
"What the hell does this mean?" BEN shouts and paper is being smacked.
"It means her simulation was supposed to take her to here and here." Probably indicating something on the paper. "But it didn't. Mostly in here and then…"
"Then what?" BEN demands, sounding impatient.
"She goes offline for a while then comes back. And then major fear spikes here and then ends her simulation."
"How can this be! You're the one who created this shitty device!"
"I don't know. But we should probably tell Slenderman."
"Agreed."
I hear their footsteps retreat and I open my eyes. Looking around me, I find I'm left alone in the living room. Similar devices to mine are hooked up to each individual, showing their vitals and other stuff. Taking a quick glance at a girl who was near me, I saw her heart being monitored and some random crap being typed on screen. I may not be able to read the jumble of words, but I was able to read the heart monitor. It was spiking wildly, giving quick beeps with every thump of her heart. A sheen of sweat was on her forehead, matting her blonde bangs down.
I look around me and find Lucas nearby. Crawling over to him, I saw his heart monitor is decent. Like he is asleep. Calm, cool, and kind of handsome. Vinny's body lays next to him and I peer at his monitor, which is the same as the girl's. I gently brush a hand over his sweat matted hair as my heart skips its own beat, heat blossoming on my cheeks. Vinny, please tell me that was you.
BEN comes back and he takes me to my room. Once his footsteps retreat, I try to open the door but it is locked from the outside. Sighing in defeat, I slump on the bed and wait for the rest of the simulations to end.
An hour or two later, I'm taken to dinner which is steak, green beans, milk, and mac 'n cheese. I eat slowly as the dining room fills with sounds of chewing and utensils scraping against plates. The simulation seems to have made even the most unruly of contestants keep their mouths shut. Whatever happened in their simulations seemed to have scared them. Of course it would scare them, I mentally scoff, it is a fear simulation after all. After we had finished, we went into the living room where they played the news.
"Good evening America. I'm Katrina Karma." the lady said.
"And I'm Henry Hollow here with the evening news." the man next to Katrina says. I notice this is the news from America and not the national, English news.
"Today we have been showed footage of our beloved children and their simulations of two of their deaths. The first is Seamus Dorian, which died by electricity. Further studies shown in the footage show he was brain dead, unable to come back. The second being a little girl, only fourteen, named Katie May had died due to drowning." Katrina says.
Drowning, I think. Just like me, except I lived.
"Unfortunate souls indeed." Henry sighs heavily, theatrically. "But we still have twelve remaining contestants. Earlier today, we have posted a poll on Facebook seeing who your favorite contestants are and these are the results."
Our names appear next to numbers as it appears on screen. I'm seventh while Lucas is fifth and Vinny is fourth. The favorite is Olivia Vinia. A triumphant smile stretches across the strawberry blonde girl's face. The same girl who acts better than everyone. The girl in the hot pink gi.
"But amazing footage that has been leaked by none other than Clever Bot reveals some interesting views on a certain girl." Katrina wiggles her eyebrows at the audience.
"Yes, I might even change my vote after this." Henry agrees.
"We'll have to put up a poll after this to see. Now onto the footage." She swipes her hand in the air as the video comes on screen.
The video is of me! I stand with the parchment in hand, gazing at it curiously. My face shows interest as I open the parchment. My eyes widen in the video and I toss it away, running in the opposite direction. The camera view gets closer to the parchment in which the words Ti inveni, Musa. Whispered voices grow around me as the other contestants curiously wonder what the words mean.
"Do you know what those words mean?" Katrina asks Henry, the studio reappearing.
Henry shakes his head 'no.' "Unfortunately, I do not. But we are already receiving answers as we progress."
"Could these actually improve her popularity?" Katrina thinks to herself, even though she was asking more the audience and her companion.
He shrugs. "It could. Until next time, I am Henry Hollow."
"And I'm Katrina Karma, signing out."
The screen turns black. Our hosts' faces look white, especially Jeff's. A tense moment of silence occurs as we try to decipher what those words could mean or about the popularity or about the news report in general. Jeff finally breaks the silence by ordering us to bed. Gifts will be delivered in the morning. Hastily, we run up the stairs to our rooms, shoving each other to be the first one in bed. Doors slam as people enter their rooms until Vinny and I reach ours. Before I go into mine and he has a chance to enter his, I gently grab his elbow. He jerks his head toward me, eyes widen in surprise.
"What?" he asks.
Now that I have his attention, my mouth goes dry. I'm not sure what to say. My mouth opens to say something but nothing comes out. I want to ask him about the simulation but I'm not sure how.
"T-the simulation…" I blurt out.
He raises an eyebrow. "Yeah? So what?"
I lick my lips and swallow the lump in my throat. "What you said…"
He furrows his brows and he shakes my grasp off. "I don't know what your talking about." With that, he slams the door in my face.
Anger swells inside of me. So it was all in my head! I mentally scream to myself. My fists clench and I stomp to my room, slamming my door and flop angrily onto my bed, screaming into the pillow. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! What the hell was I thinking? I fitfully toss and turn, messing the sheets up until I decide to change. Once in the pajamas, my temper cools significantly until I feel no emotion at all. Not thinking anything is weird, I fall asleep instantly as my head hits the pillow.
Jeff
"I can't believe my contestant lost." Sally sighs sadly, looking at the picture of Katie May.
"Sorry, but…" Masky sighs as he takes down her information and picture. "She just wasn't the one."
"Can I choose another?"
"That's not the…" BEN started but was interrupted when Jeff jabbed his elbow into his best friend's side. BEN wheezed from the sudden impact.
"Of course." He glared at BEN as the young Creepypasta's face lit up.
"I choose her!" Sally points to the white-haired girl.
Jeff looks up and nearly falls over. Laila's picture was encompassed in a heart that was painted in blood. Jeff turns toward BEN. "Did you do this?" he gestures to Laila's picture.
BEN's eyes widen and he glares at Jeff. "No. Did you?"
"I most certainly did not. Maybe it was Toby."
"W-what!" the brunette ticked. "I-I didn't do it! M-Masky…"
"Oh why are you bringing me into this, you twitchy freak?" Masky growled. "For all we know EJ could have done it."
"Not interested." EJ grunted, arms crossed. "Let's take a look at Hoodie…"
"Hoodie has nothing to do with it!"
All the Creepypastas, excluding Sally and the pets, started arguing over the measly picture when Slenderman interrupted them.
"What is going on!" His voice boomed throughout the room. They all covered their ears from the loud noise.
"Someone's been tampering with Laila's picture. And it sure isn't me!" BEN pointed toward the picture. Slenderman walked over and took the picture in his hands. He recognized where it came from. He also recognized the note Laila had received and thrown away. Why he was after this specific girl was unknown to the faceless being.
"None of you did this. Just be sure to keep an eye on her." Slenderman repinned the picture back.
"Can I still pick her?" Sally asked innocently.
Jeff crouched down to her level. "Of course." He took a black marker and wrote Sally's initials next to Laila's headshot. Once everyone left the room, Slenderman was alone, staring at the picture of Laila. He sure as hell hoped she would survive, otherwise, he would certainly return.
(A/N) Haha, I gave you guys a trick question. Nobody chose Laila...until now. Now, who could the man in the suit be, hmm?