Lili forgot how to breathe.
Her heart thumped, loud, fast, shaky, against her chest, and her breathing slowed to a complete stop, and she could only stare as hot tears raced down her cheeks, the crumpled body of Elizabeta twitching slightly, blood staining her flannel.
It took all the strength she had to prevent herself from throwing up, and another few seconds to remember how to breathe. Her lungs expanded with air as the ringing in her ears cleared up, and she stopped crying almost at once, reality blurring.
This was not happening. She did not just witness a murder. She's still at home, laying on her bed, or maybe having fallen asleep watching a movie with Basch. She's not here. In this house, with strangers, staring at crimson stains on the wall and floor.
Lili is not here. She's not.
But she is.
Every fiber of her being felt cold, frozen, but painfully alive. Inflamed. She could hear everything. She could hear Toris, still retching. She could hear harsh sobbing from Tereza as she tried to calm herself down, and she could hear the slightly quieter ones of Feliciano, who was heaving in deep breaths.
She could see everything. Lukas sat far back in his seat, eyes closed and face white. He was clenching his fists on the table. Linh sat next to him, staring blankly at Elizabeta. Bella was as well, though she was heaving in deep breaths. Gilbert was picking shards of glass out of his hand shakily.
Leon had thrown up and was heaving on the floor. Yao was shouting at the redhaired man, Cameron, who was now pointing his gun directly at Leon's head. Natalya had one of the dinner knives in hand and was pointing it angrily at Alfred while he glared at them all.
Lili herself was still struggling to breath, trying not to scream at the intake of all this information. Of what was going on. Of the lights pressing against her eyes, the ringing still faint in her ears, the acrid smell of the gun being fired that nearly overpowered everything else, except-except the distinct, sharp smell of coppery blood.
And then, the men holding the guns finally managed to get everyone back in their seats, and Alfred told them that nobody was leaving tonight, unless they won.
Which meant that eleven of them would have to die.
It took Lili approximately thirty seconds to go over all of this in her head, the flashing memories and shock, and this new piece of information, before she ducked her head low and gagged. Holding her hand tightly over her lips to prevent herself from puking, she straightened up, taking in deep breaths.
After everybody managed to stop choking on air, stop heaving or crying, or, in Natalya's case, tearing at the tablecloth with a fork, Alfred turned to Arthur, who had returned to a civil, straight-backed position, hands folded neatly in front of him.
"Ready?" He asked, and Arthur nodded, before snapping at Rhys and a ginger-haired man who had just entered, pointing at Elizabeta's body, and then pointing up towards the ceiling. They both nodded silently, before bending down, Rhys picking up Elizabeta's arms and the ginger, her feet, and together, they carried her out of the room carefully.
Her green eyes were still open, unblinking, and Lili caught a glimpse of them before she had to close her eyes to keep herself from crying anymore.
"Now, the game truly begins," Alfred said, sitting back down, and shrugging off his bomber jacket, which he was wearing over a rather uncomfortable looking suit. Adjusting his tie slightly, Alfred blew a few locks of blond hair out of his face, before saying, "Now, the first two to go first will be...Bella and Lili."
"Does Birdie know?" Gilbert asked suddenly, looking up at Alfred, eyes hollowed out, "Does he know...That...You're doing this?"
"Well, of course he does," Alfred smiled cheerfully at Gilbert, "He recommended two of you to me. But, you? No, he doesn't know."
"Wait," Lili was surprised to find herself speaking, staring at Alfred as it all pieced together in her head, "Matthew-y-your brother-he did-he recommended-?"
"You and Linh," Alfred nodded to Linh, who stared down at her plate with a look of concentration, as if hoping to disintegrate it into ash. Lili pressed her fingers to her temples, taking in a few deep breaths, but she felt someone yank her hair back, and she realized Cameron was threading his fingers through her hair and forcing her head back so he could slip something around her head.
Across the table, Bella was being subjected to the same, gasping as her head was yanked forcefully back and a device that resembled a wide, thick belt with circular metal devices beneath it. Wires connected to the machine that so resembled a radio, and a large, black remote was shoved into Bella's hand.
"Now, this round...:" Alfred said as Bella pressed a hand to her chest, gasping, either from shock or-Lili remembered her heart condition. She could not handle her heart beating so fast, and-if this was truly what Lili believed it to be-
"You only get fifteen seconds to make your decision," Alfred explained with a wide gesture of his hands, before running one through his blond hair, smirking, "Should you fail to make your decision within the allotted time, you will be eliminated."
"The question is...Would You Rather...Electrocute yourself? Or your neighbor?"
Alfred tapped his watch, and it lit up with bright red digital numbers, already set at fifteen seconds.
Lili looked around at everybody else, to see if anybody else looked as horrified as she felt. Both Yao and Tereza's faces held the same look of disbelief, as if they both believed hard enough, this would turn out to all be a silly joke. Feliciano had stopped crying, but was now biting his fingers nervously as his glistening eyes focused on the door behind Alfred.
"Bella," Alfred turned to Bella, who focused on him with wide, fearful green eyes, "The blue button is for you, the red button for Lili. Would You Rather electrocute yourself, or Lili?"
Alfred pressed a button on his watch, and a loud BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, filled the room as it counted down.
Lili felt her breathing stop, and she had to scratch, hard, at the exposed skin of her knee to bring her back to life.
Lili found Bella's green eyes, focused on her, and realized her hands were shaking. Lili tried to convey in her eyes, that it was okay, for Bella to choose her, because Lili's heart was still in perfectly fine condition, and-
Bella's finger slammed down on the blue button, and her head was suddenly thrown back as her mouth lolled open, shaking visibly, so hard that the remote fell out of her hand. It was over within seconds, but when it was over she retched loudly, gasping, eyes wide.
Lili felt her fear mount as the belt-like object was slipped off Bella's head as Alfred laughed, clapping his hands together as if he were a seal who was receiving his favorite treat.
"Rather shocking, don't you think?" Alfred asked, glancing to Arthur, who rolled his eyes before shaking his head.
"Only you would think so."
The belt was slipped over Toris's head, and the remote was pressed into Lili's hand. Her own heart was thumping heavily as she looked up, Bella still breathing heavily, fists clenched over her chest.
"No-more," She gasped out weakly, still shaking due to the shock. Lili's breath hitched. Bella's heart problem. Basch's heart problem. She had to grit her teeth and do this. For her protector. Her caretaker.
For Basch.
"Red button is for you," Alfred said loudly, standing up from his seat as if in anticipation, drawing Lili's attention from Bella, "And the blue button is for Toris. Your time starts...Now."
Lili swallowed heavily as Alfred started his watch, and the loud beeping noises echoed heavily in her head.
"It's okay," Toris whispered to her, green eyes wide and fearful, but his mouth set in a determined line, "Choose me, I will be able to handle two."
I know what your next decision will be, Lili thought to herself when she heard that, and her eyes found Bella, Nobody should do that twice.
She had seven seconds left, but she slammed her finger down on the red button as quickly as she could.
It felt as Lili's head was being driven into with screwdrivers that sent trembles down her body, and she had to close her eyes and mouth because it felt like her teeth or eyes would pop out of her head. She was unaware of anything else but the electrifying pain running down her body and waves, and it was only when it stopped did Lili realize she was screaming.
Lili gasped as the belt was slid off her head, and she unwillingly let herself slump down in her seat, hands gripping the seat tightly. She could not breathe. Her blood felt cold. Her body was buzzing. Toris was looking at her with fear bright in his eyes, but Lili didn't care, because she still felt as if the ghosts of the shock were slicing through her body like cold knives.
Lili's heart was beating too fast, her breathing too shallow, as she heard Alfred tell Toris that red button was for Natalya and the blue button was for himself. She felt Toris jolt next to her, shaking uncontrollably as his head drew back, staring at the ceiling with his jaw clenched tight, small noises barely escaping him as the remote clattered from his hand.
Lili managed to regain herself as the belt was being pulled off of Toris's head and placed on Leon's, who had his tie inserted in his mouth and was chewing on it as if out of habit, fingers twitching on the tablecloth. Natalya studied the remote for a few long seconds as the beeping of Alfred's watch filled the otherwise quiet, tense atmosphere. After a moment of inspection, Natalya pressed the blue button.
Leon jerked back and his tie fell out of his mouth. Yao gave a cry of shock and Alfred gave a delighted laugh as he watched Leon shake in his seat, eyes rolling into the back of his head. Feliciano was crying again. Natalya was staring blankly at the remote, as if only aware now of what it did.
"You fucking bitch," Yao shouted angrily, though he seemed to be more shocked than angry, watching Leon jerk violently in his spot, arms flailing.
When Leon stopped shaking, he straightened up, eyes closed, before opening them again and glaring down at Alfred as the belt was slid carefully off of Natalya's head and placed around Feliciano's, who was trembling in fear, and the tear tracks on his face were evident. Tereza's arm was bleeding because she was clawing at her skin so hard.
"Red button for Feliciano, blue button for you," Alfred sang as he sat down on the table, causing Lili to scooch back in her seat, not wanting to be closer to him than she had to. Luckily, the boisterous young man did not notice. Leon blinked blearily at the remote control in his hands, Feliciano closing his eyes tightly, as if that would make it all go away.
Leon glanced up at Yao, who was watching him intently and nervously, before pressing the blue button.
For the second time, Leon's head threw back and he gagged as Yao gave a cry of "you idiot!", bringing his hands up to his head and clawing at it. Cameron gripped his wrists and forced them away as Leon continued shaking, and when it finished his head lolled to the side, still spasming slightly. Lili had to look away as she heard Leon choke again, biting down hard on her knuckles. Feliciano gave a sob as the belt was removed carefully from Leon's twitching head and placed on Yao's.
The remote was shoved into Feliciano's hand, which was shaking so bad he actually dropped it. When he did not bend down to retrieve it, Cameron ducked low, picking it back up, and pressing it forcefully into Feliciano's palm, who instantly set it on the table as if touching it for too long would poison.
"Red button for you, Feli," Alfred said in a friendly voice, "Or the blue button for the old man. Would You Rather electrocute him or yourself?"
"Who are you calling old?" Yao snapped, but Leon mumbled,
"Like, please shut up."
Yao quieted, staring intently at Leon, who was still slumped in his seat and was staring dimly three feet above Lukas's head.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
"Chooooooose, Feli," Alfred urged, and Lili watched Feliciano bite his knuckles like she herself had done, eyes clenching tight. In her mind, she ticked down the seconds.
Seven.
Six.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Feliciano gave a slight cry as he, eyes still closed, slammed his palm hastily down on the remote control, and within seconds fell off his seat with a screech, body spasming from the electrocution.
Lili couldn't watch him on the floor. She looked away, instead choosing to focus on the others across the table. Bella had recovered a bit from her first time, hand pressed against her chest as if hoping to just stop her heart completely. To her left, Gilbert stared silently down at his plate, occasionally shooting glares to Alfred. Linh had her face covered. Lukas was watching the belt being taken from Lukas's and placed over Tereza's with a detached feeling on his face, though his fists were still clenched tightly on top of the table.
Tereza watched Feliciano clamber back into his seat without making any noise, face grayish and looking distinctly sick. Yao studied the remote, as if wondering if he could smash it against the floor. Lili barely registered Yao pressing the red button, as if curious to see what it did.
Instead of throwing her head back, Tereza brought her head down on the table, sliding out of her seat and twitching uncontrollably. Her forehead smacked against the edge of the table and she lurched to the side, and Cameron instantly bent down, picking her up from under her arms and pulling her back into her seat. She had stopped shaking and was instead staring at the ceiling in shock, as if unable to register what had just happened.
The belt was slid off of Yao's head, who was staring with a hard expression at his hands, as if questioning what he had just done, before he slid the remote over to Tereza. Alfred waited patiently for Tereza to stir, before clicking his tongue.
"Red for you, Tereza, and blue for Lukas."
Tereza stared, long and hard at the remote, and Lili couldn't read her face, and couldn't predict which option she'd choose. Lukas crossed his arms and glared down at the remote, as if picturing picking it up and clobbing either Tereza herself or Alfred to death. Tereza had seemed a bit friendly earlier, and could possibly press the button for herself-'taking one for the team'-but then again, would she be able to handle it? She handled it much worse than Leon had, and who knew what would happen if she did it twice?
Which is why Lili was not surprised, but still a little mortified, when she closed her eyes and gently pressed the blue button. Lukas's entire body jerked to the left in surprise, his eyes wide, and his head threw back and hit the back of the chair, his left hand jumping to his exposed neck and the other reaching up as if to remove the belt from his head. Cameron kicked the back of Lukas's chair as he gasped, causing him to lurch forward and slam his head against the edge of the table. When he stopped shaking, Cameron nearly ripped the belt off of Tereza's head and carelessly strapped it to Linh's.
Lukas straightened up, eyes blazing, and Alfred had not even opened his mouth to speak when Lukas's fist slammed down on the blue button again. Lili closed her eyes as Lukas violently jerked to the side once again, and covered her ears when she heard him gagging violently.
Lili could not breathe. She couldn't process what was happening, and yet, she understood it perfectly.
Why was Alfred doing this? Why had Matthew recommended her and Linh? What was the point of all this?
For fun, a nasty, snide voice in her head, What if he does it for fun?
How could anybody do this for fun? Lili screamed silently to herself.
When she opened her eyes, Luks was bringing a napkin to staunch blood flow from his nose, and Linh was jerking violently in her seat while Gilbert glared at her, the belt around his own head, strikingly different from his shock of silvery hair.
Alfred watched Linh with hungry interest, as if enjoying her reactions, and when she stopped shaking and straightened up, looking unbothered but pale, and he laughed.
"Mattie said you were great," Alfred said as the belt was slid slowly off of Linh's head. Cameron rolled his eyes before fastening it tightly around Bella's head, who looked weakly towards Gilbert.
"Now, Gilbert. Red is for Bella and blue is for you. Would You Rather electrocute young, devilishly handsome, healthy you, or the young, not as healthy knock-out beauty Bella?"
Bella's eyes widened in alarm as Gilbert stared her directly in the eyes, as if daring her to speak.
"Please-" She begged, but the words had hardly left her mouth when Gilbert pressed the red button.
Bella gave a scream as her body jolted, and Lili nearly leaped back in her seat in horror as Bella fell over, face smacking onto the table, body spasming violently before it subsided.
The entire room was still and quiet. Lili felt as if her stomach had been yanked from her body, and that her throat was trying to crawl out of her mouth. Her pulse and mind were both racing as her own breath slowed into deep, shaky heaves, unable to comprehend anything.
What as...
Why was she...
Cameron carefully removed both belts from Bella and Gilbert's heads, before leaning over, grabbing a fistful of Bella's hairs and yanking her to the side. He held his fingers under her nose, before moving to check her wrist. He let her drop back onto the table as he straightened up and told Alfred,
"She is still breathing, but has no pulse."
"Aw, man," Alfred pouted, "Well, two shocks to a weak heart can't be good, bro. And she looked so fun, too."
Alfred turned around to face Rhys and the ginger, who had returned when nobody was looking.
"Harry, Rhys, that one-" He nodded to Bella, who was still unmoving, "Take her away. Remember, dispose everything. And not in the water, thanks, that's too bad for the environment."
"Aye, sir," They both said at the same time, before the one referred to as Harri walked over, heaved Bella up, and simply slung her over his back as easily as if she were a sack of potatoes. Her head and arms hung limply, and it was just so...So sick and terrifying and just...
Lili gagged, still trying not to throw up, as the room erupted into noise.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Natalya spat towards Gilbert, who looked lost and confused, as if unaware how he had gotten here, or as if he didn't know who he was.
"You were the one who shocked the kid," Gilbert said as he looked up at Natalya, eyes wide and unblinking. Natalya glanced back at Leon, who had mostly recovered, but still looked pale and was chewing once again on his tie nervously. Feliciano was still biting his knuckles, though staring blankly at some point over Yao's shoulder.
"I have reasons," Natalya murmured, glaring down at her hands, "Being electrified...It's a fear I've always had. It stems from a person matter. I'm sorry. But you knew she could not handle that."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Leon said in a low voice, "Did I, like, not appear as if I could handle that? Or did I? I'd like to know how strong I appear, please."
"Shut up, you were strong enough to handle two, and so was Luke," Natalya spat, nodding towards Lukas, who was now staunching the flow of blood with his sleeve.
"Lukas," He corrected quietly.
"I pressed it because she was going to die anyways," Gilbert scanned their faces, as if daring them to contradict him, "She didn't look too good. The faster the rest of you die, the closer me and Feliciano get to saving Luddy-"
"What if we're both the last ones standing, Gil?" Feliciano piped up, and his voice was surprisingly strong despite how much he'd been crying previously, "What will you do then?"
"May the best man win," Gilbert told him in a low and serious voice, "But nothing's going to stop me from saving my brother."
"But Bella-" Toris spoke up, looking intently at Gilbert, "She didn't have to die, we could have all worked together-"
Lili pressed her hands over her face, unable to listen to anymore. She couldn't do this, she couldn't handle this, she needed to try to escape. She could use her smaller height as an advantage and manage to take Cameron's gun, but-
Wait a minute, a clear voice said in her head, and Lili found her breath evening out, That's a stupid plan. You have a better chance surviving this game than you do trying to run away.
I can try, the more frantic voice in her head shouted back, It's better than this!
Think about Basch! The second voice urged smoothly, And how you'll both be able to go hiking in the Swiss Alps like you've always wanted to, with his new, beating heart. Think about Basch, Lili. You owe him that.
Lili slowly uncovered his face, lifting her head, and everybody was still arguing loudly while Alfred watched with a gleam in his eye. She spoke up.
"Guys," She said, and her sudden speaking out caused mostly everyone to stop and look towards her. Feeling her face turn red, she sputtered,
"We won't get far getting angry at each other. Who invited us here in the first place?"
Everyone blinked at her, before their attentions suddenly turned towards Alfred, who was grinning.
"Why the hell are we here?" Tereza asked angrily, a bruise blossoming on her forehead, "Why must we play this game?"
"Why can't you just help all of us out, or even just one of us, aru?" Yao demanded, "The disappointment that would bring is better than bloodshed!"
"This isn't fair," Leon stood up as well, wobbly as he let his tie fall from his mouth, before looking at Lili, eyes blazing, "There's a kid in here, man. A kid. A kid shouldn't have to go through this."
"She is young, a child, and a child should not be scarred like this," Natalya supplied, glowering at Alfred.
"It's one thing to torture the well-developed mind of an adult," Lukas said, eyes focusing on the table, but his words clearly directed at Alfred, "But to attack the mind of a still-developing young girl? You'll shatter her before she's even complete."
"This is wrong," Feliciano choked, coughing to clear his throat before returning his watery gaze to Alfred, "So wrong, Mr. Jones. Why can't you just let us go? Why can't you just-"
"Why can't, why can't, why can't," Alfred groaned, before getting to his feet. Instantly, everyone shifted backwards and away from him, as if afraid he'd lunge out at any one of them.
"Because I like games," Alfred said after a long silence. Cameron took this as his cue to leave and began wheeling the cart out of the room, snickering as he did so. "I've been bored. Rich our whole lives, me and my brother have been. We take turns doing this every year, because we're so bored. Money can get us anything we want. But this?"
He spread his arms, gesturing to each one of them in turn, glasses reflecting the bright light above.
"Your actions are unpredictable. I can't tell what you're going to do in such a stressing situation!" Alfred slammed his hand on the table, looking...Giddy. "In a normal situation, it's easily predictable what one would do, but in a panic, your mind is thrown into a frenzy! It's fascinating to watch!"
"We're not guinea pigs in your sick science experiment, aru. You are merely a bored, spoiled rich brat who's bored of jacking off in his silk sheets and takes pleasure in watching others squirm." Yao growled dangerously. Alfred fixed his gaze on Yao, still smiling, and did not speak for a long time.
The room was tense and the air frigid, and Lili kept worrying that Arthur, the only one (guard? Butler? What was he) left in the room would pull his gun and fire at Yao.
Finally, Alfred said,
"It's actually a psychology experiment. And yeah, dudes, you're totally the guinea pigs."
"You're sick," Toris said in what was an almost awed voice, "Very sick."
"Thank you," Alfred dipped his head.
"Can we just shut up and play the game already?" Gilbert suddenly said. All the attention in the room was averted to him, where he stared down furiously at the floor, as if contemplating smashing it pieces. Alfred clapped his hands together giddily, before saying,
"Of course we can! Part two of Would You Rather begins! But first, a little break, for you guys to...Gather yourselves."