WARNING: In case you couldn't tell by the cliffy from last chapter, FEELS ALERT. And pain. A little. Sort of, but it's not a huge deal.
Games
Ch 16: Say It and Mean It
"I honestly don't think you'll be able to change our minds. At least, not mine. He's my best friend! How could I not care about him?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. Honestly! And, aside from being my best friend, he's also the love of my life. So there's that.
The GameMaster lifts a hand and waves it toward Ty and I, and we simultaneously fall off the couch and to our knees. "Say it," he growls, "and mean it."
"I-I can't!" Ty squeaks. A smile creeps onto my face.
"And neither can I, so this is pretty pointless," I say.
The GameMaster smirks. Then he makes a fist with his hand, and Ty and I gasp as pain is inflicted upon us. I don't know what's happening to Ty, but I'm entranced as yellow lines crawl up my arm from my hands to my shoulders and then down my torso and up onto my face. Then I'm slightly less entranced as the lines begin to burn intensely.
After a few seconds of burning, they turn ice cold, and I suck in a breath as my entire body seems to freeze. A couple of seconds later, they're burning again, but this time they're so hot that I scream out in pain. "St-Stop!"
"Not until you admit that you don't care about Ty at all. And remember, you have to convince me. You have to mean it."
I grit my teeth and shake my head, and the GameMaster scowls at me before turning to look at Ty, who is silent but has his eyes closed. Suddenly he cries out, and his eyes fly open. "M-Make it stop!" he begs, and I want to help him so badly, but I can't. I can't even hold him, the GameMaster has me locked in place.
"Say it, Ty. Say that you have no feelings whatsoever for Skybrine."
"I-I don't have any f-feelings for Skybrine," Ty stutters, and his firm tone makes me believe him.
But the GameMaster snarls at Ty, "No! You fool, I meant Sky! Say that you have no feelings for Sky!" Oh.
Ty considers 'Sky' a completely different person than 'Skybrine?'
For some reason I find that really sweet.
"I can't!" Ty shouts.
The GameMaster growls. "Close your eyes and imagine Sky doing it," he commands.
Ty cries out again in pain. "D-Doing what?"
"Causing you all this pain!"
The GameMaster forces Ty's eyes closed, and Ty lets out a horrible scream. I can only imagine the images that are being forced into his head, the pain that he's going through. "T-That's not Sky!" Ty protests as tears run down his face. Oh my Notch, Ty, my baby!
"It is!" the GameMaster insists.
"It's not, Ty!" I promise him. "I would never hurt you!"
The GameMaster glances at me, and I can practically see the gears turning in his head as he thinks up some kind of twisted plan, I don't even know. Then his eyes light up. Quickly, he forces my mouth shut so I can no longer speak, and then he turns back to Ty. "But it is him, Ty," he says in a low voice. "Of course it is."
Ty shakes his head frantically as more tears leave tracks on his perfect face. "N-No! H-He wouldn't do that!"
"But he would." Ty takes in a couple of shaky breaths, breathes out carefully. Then he cries out again. "Say it, Ty."
"I can't!"
"Why not!? He's hurting you!" the GameMaster yells. Ty screams again.
"I-I- No!" Oh good Notch, I almost want him to say it just so he won't have to go through this anymore.
"Say. It. Say it and I'll make the pain stop."
"B-But-"
"Say it and mean it."
Ty takes a deep breath, opens his eyes, and says easily, "I have no feelings whatsoever for Sky. He means nothing to me."
Ahem, clean up on aisle four, it seems my heart has shattered all over the ground.
I swallow hard as tears brim in my eyes, and I force them back because he had to do it; it's not like Ty had a choice. Just moments ago I was hoping he would say it just to stop his pain, so why am I so heartbroken now?
A sick smile spreads across the GameMaster's face. "Good job, Ty." Ty closes his eyes and breathes out slowly. At least he's not in pain anymore.
"So, Skybrine, now that you've seen how it's done, are you ready for your turn?" the GameMaster asks, raising an eyebrow.
"Nope," I reply quickly. "Definitely not. Can I just forfeit this Challenge? Like, I don't even want to win."
"Well, sucks for you," the GameMaster says, pressing his lips together. "Close your eyes."
"But I don't wanna- Eep!" I shriek as he forces my eyes shut. "Dang it."
"I overpower you, boy. Now, imagine Ty causing you this pain."
"What pain? I don't-" I cut myself off with a screech. "Ack! St-Stop!"
"Imagine Ty standing over you, pressing his hand to your cheek." Aw, that's so cute! I wish Ty would- "Now imagine him transmitting this pain into your soul." Oh my.
"No, I don't really feel like it-" I begin, but then a very vivid image of Ty appears in front of my eyes (which are still closed). The Picture-Ty reaches forward and presses his hand against my cheek, and then shock waves of pain run through me, and I scream in pain.
"Say you don't care about him," the GameMaster demands. "He doesn't care about you. It's only fair that you return the non-feelings."
"Th-That hardly even m-makes sense!" I get out, clenching my hands into fists to try to distract myself from the pain. It's not working, it's not anywhere near working.
"Sure it does. Look what he's doing to you. He doesn't care that you're in pain. He's the one causing the pain."
"N-No, he's not! Y-You are!" I argue. The Picture-Ty puts his other hand on my other cheek, and more pain attacks me. "Agh!"
"Just say it, and the pain will stop."
"Fine! I don't give a crap about Ty!" I yell.
"Oh, come on. Not even a stupid squid would believe that. You have to mean it, Skybrine."
"Yeah, well, I don't, and I never will, so I guess we're just gonna sit here being useless for all eternity," I respond through gritted teeth. He still hasn't let up on the pain.
The GameMaster lets out a frustrated breath, and the pain subsides. I sigh with relief as I open my eyes. "Okay, Plan B," the GameMaster grumbles, switching his gaze from me to Ty. Oh, good Notch, what now? "Skybrine, you have twenty seconds to admit that you have no feelings whatsoever for Ty. If you don't," he pauses here, probably for dramatic effect, before continuing with, "I'll kill him."
My jaw drops. "Y-You- You'll kill him!?" I shout. Ty looks terrified.
"Yes. I will send waves of pain through his body, and when the clock hits twenty seconds, I will kill him."
"You wouldn't."
"I definitely would. After all, I've done much worse in these games," he chuckles.
I shake my head as he makes a large timer appear on the wall. He sets it to twenty seconds and then focuses his attention on Ty. "N-No, you can't! This is ridiculous!"
"No it's not. Just say that you don't care about him, and I'll spare him."
"But that action in itself would be caring about him! If I didn't care about him, I would just let him die, right?"
"I guess that means you'll have to work twice as hard at making me believe you," the GameMaster says, smirking evilly. I gape at him. "Ready? Set? Go!"
Ty cries out in pain and squeezes his eyes shut. "I don't care about Ty!" I shout.
"I don't believe you."
"I have no feelings whatsoever for Ty!"
"Completely unbelievable."
"Ty means nothing to me!"
"Ten seconds."
Argh, I'm not good at this! I'm trying, I truly am! I set my jaw and try again, "I-I, Ty isn't my acquaintance, Ty isn't my friend, Ty isn't my crush, Ty is literally nothing to me! You can just kill him for all I care!"
Ty suddenly falls silent, and I worry that I've failed. But the GameMaster only smiles. "Congratulations. You have both successfully completed Challenge Two. You may return to the Living Quarters whenever you like." He disappears in a puff of smoke.
I breathe a sigh of relief. "T-Ty? Are you okay?" I ask, falling out of my kneeling position and crawling towards my friend.
He takes a shaky breath and then stands up, exiting the room without a word.
Well, snap.
MUAHAHHHHA THAT WAS SOOOO MUCH FUN TO WRITE
BUT GUYS SERIOUSLY
"I would never hurt you!"
*five seconds later*
'I can practically see the gears turning in the GM's head as he thinks up another evil plan...'
Foreshadowing much?
LOLOLOLOL I ADORE THIS BOOK