Author´s note:
This chapter contains:
Graphic depictions of violence
Description of injuries, crime scenes and blood
Violent deaths
Swear Words/Offensive words
Chapter 27 – Marbles and Hope. Both lost.
I deeply regretted my stupid decision 25ft after I entered the air duct. Darkness and myopia didn´t let me move forward, but fear made me grope around and continue – after all, a dark, filthy duct was way better than playing a deadly game again. When I reached the first fork, I unraveled a loose thread from my sweater and tied it to a duct bolt - and hoped that knot would work. I crawled into the darkness for several minutes, relying on my sense of touch and on the Ariadne´s thread I left behind. When I finally found a lighted exit, I saw an office with a long mahogany desk on the center, and several shelves filled with folders and books around it. On top of the desk, there was a computer, a cell phone and a landline, and I concluded that place probably was the Front Man´s room that Flim Flam had said.
I approached the duct exit slowly and looked around for cameras, alarms, or sensors. I didn't find anything that could denounce my presence – and Flim Flam himself had mentioned that he was in that place before and nobody saw him -, so I removed the grid and entered. Panic didn't let me pay much attention, I just carefully searched for weapons, knives, medicines or anything that could help us during our future escape. Unfortunately, the only valuable item I found was a Squid Game business card with an RFID tag on the back of it, similiar to the one we had found at Applegate Bank days ago. Without hesitation, I put the card inside my pocket and continued looking for more objects. Soon after, I heard laughter and voices approaching, so I immediately returned to the air duct and hid myself in the darkness.
I was several feet far from the office when I realized that the thread I had tied had snapped - and I had no idea how I would return to the dorm. Fear took my breath away, and things got worse when I noticed I was wandering through totally different ducts. However, there was something way worse than the feeling of being lost: the things I saw at the exits of those ducts. First, I saw a richly decorated room, with several men wearing suits and scary carnival masks; then, I saw hellish scenes of abuse and violence, and I had to close my eyes to not break down and cry. The only scene that brought me comfort was the image of one man opening a sequence of doors using a card very similar to the one I had found, and I concluded that I had a precious key inside my pockets. I had already given up returning when, miraculously, I felt a thread tangle in my hands. I smiled and used the thread to return to the initial duct.
When I opened the metal grid, all the lights were turned on, and several guards approached pointing their guns at my head. They shouted some orders in Korean language, so I just put my hands up and surrendered. Immediately, Fred came towards my direction and stood up for me. Wang and Andrei followed him, and Wang asked something in Korean. Apparently, the guards told him about my escape, because Wang looked at me reproachfully and questioned why I had done that.
Velma: I…don't…know! I… I… just wanted to help!
Anguish made me cry desperately, but instead of arousing compassion, my crying made the guards angry, and two of them grabbed my arms violently and carried me towards the door. Fred pulled me back until he released me from their hands. Then, he fought with one of the guards, but 4 or 5 of them hit him so much that he couldn´t prevent them from dragging me again. I heard Daphne and Lupe screaming and crying, but Wang and Andrei didn´t let them help both us. The last sight I had while I passed through the open door was Shaggy and Fred struggling to catch me. Aware that I would have a sad end, I just closed my eyes and waited for the worst.
Alan: STOP!
A familiar voice made me open my eyes again, and I saw a tall man, wearing a black hooded robe and a scary black mask. His harsh shout made the guards stop and release me immediately. Then, the man removed the black mask and revealed himself as Alan Mayberry. I tried to keep a serious face while I glared at him, but tears were uncontrollably running down my cheeks.
Alan: You're lucky to be the star of this game, Miss Dinkley! Otherwise, it would be a pleasure to shoot you in front of your friends. Right now, your life is worth millions in bets, most VIPs admire your intelligence and they believe you will be the winner of Squid Game. That's why they´ve allowed you to stay alive this time. But don't push your luck, if you get caught again, your organs will be removed while you´re alive and conscious!
The hatred and the fear I felt were so intense that I didn't even have strength to stand up and answer Mayberry. I just closed my eyes to drain a little bit of the huge stream of tears that were flooding my face. While the guards were dragging me back to the dorm, I heard Fred totally out of his mind, yelling and threatening Mayberry out loud. He recovered self-control when he saw me alive and safe, then he ran in my direction and hugged me. Daphne, Shaggy and the others also came and hugged me. After the initial commotion, I felt a strong slap on my back, and soon after, other lighter slaps on my head and my shoulders. When I opened my eyes, I realized the attacker was Daphne, who was crying while trying to hurt me.
Daphne: YOU ARE SO SELFISH! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS? YOU... YOU... YOU COULD HAVE DIED!
I realized the pain Daphne felt at the thought of losing me was greater than the pain of the slaps I had received. Then, Fred grabbed her wrists and hugged her to calm her down, and all her despair ceased. Although they didn't show it through words, I could see that Fred and Shaggy were looking at me angrily, so I tried to explain my reasons.
Velma: Sorry, gang… I thought it would be a good idea to search for something… to help us escape…
Shaggy: Yeah, like, that was a great idea! You´ve almost died and now all the fucking guards are alert! And we won't be able to escape through the ducts anymore because you're a stubborn fucking selfish bitch who likes to give orders but doesn't like to follow them!
Shaggy was so angry that he suddenly stopped talking and turned his back on me. The feeling of guilt hurt my heart, and it got worse when I realized that everyone was looking at me with the same disapproval look. Fred was the only one who didn't visibly hate me for that - maybe because he would have done the same.
Fred: I hope, at least, that your stupid escape wasn't in vain...
Fred's question made me feel less tense and ceased the others' anger a little. I shook my head, took the card out of my pocket, and surreptitiously showed Fred and the others.
Velma: It wasn't. Now, we don´t need to escape through the air ducts, we can go through the doors.
The revelation made my friends smile, including Shaggy.
Shaggy: Like, let's convince the others and organize a riot!
Fred: Wait! We can't tell them about the card, they´ll surely kill us to get it.
Daphne: Fred's right, it can be dangerous… people here don´t really care about the others…
Shaggy: Like, but the card is a garantee that the escape will really work… if we don´t mention the card, they won´t put their lives at risk at a duct escape…
Wang: I think we´d better try again to convince them to give up and stop the game immediately.
Fred: Yeah, but nobody here seems to want it… everybody has their eyes on the fucking prize…
Wang: Well, if they refuse, we can tell them about the card and invite them to a escape plan. There are many contestants who are terrified about the games, Fred, I believe they´ll join us…
Fred: No, I don´t trust them. If we really want to escape, we will have to do it only by ourselves… and as soon as possible…we can do it, we are enough…
Shaggy: Like, but you know that few people of our group has plenty of conditions to escape safely, don´t you? That means: some of our friends will die trying… or many of them… including you, Fred… stop thinking you´re Rambo, man, that guards are truly an army, and we have nothing but some pieces of crockery and some steel rods…
Shaggy was smarter than us and used the Daphne-in-danger-argument to stop Fred´s ideas immediately. Fred just sighed and silently agreed.
Andrei: Well, we can neither convince everyone nor escape only by ourselves, so I think we should try to get more allies… If 10 or 20 people join us, we will have better chances…
Everyone agreed, so Andrei and Wang left us to negotiate with the other contestants. They spent about 20 minutes talking with several contestants, until Tom approached them and raised his voice.
Tom: Do you think these people are stupid? Do you think they will accept to fight and lose their lives while your group escape safely?
I shuddered when I heard Tom mentioning our escape plan out loud, because I knew he wanted to let the guards know about it. Wang and Andrei remained in silence, and that made Tom continue.
Tom: These people, folks, have privileged information about the games! They knew the games were depicted on the walls, that´s why they´ve won all them…
Velma: SHUT UP, YOU LIAR!
I was so angry that I almost punched Tom, but Shaggy stopped me in the same moment I raised my voice.
Tom: … but they didn´t told you about it before, right? Of course not! And they won´t care about you either during this stupid escape… they´re cops, folks… they don´t care about people like you, they just want to return to their comfortable, heroic lives… so, instead of trusting them, why don´t you use the wall information to beat them during the next games?
In less than one minute, Tom convinced everyone´s mind, and the few allies we had conquered immediately turned against us. To make things worse, the guards also had their eyes on us, since they had heard about our escape plans. None of us could say a word about what happened, though. We all shared a mourning feeling after seeing another hope die instantly.
Lupe: No! We can't give up! Next game will start soon and Dmitri can´t play!
Lupe's crying voice called our attention to Dmitri, who hadn't been able to get out of bed. He was very pale and sweaty, and Lupe informed us he had high fever due to an infection. When he heard his name, Dmitri tried to pretend he was well, but he couldn't do much more than sit up in bed. Inevitably, Fred looked at Daphne's wounds with concern, and I noticed he feared she wouldn't be able to play either.
Ginevra: But how will we do that now? We won't have time to plan much… and the guards already know about our intentions… I think it's more reasonable to play the next game and run away during the night… It´ll be easy, seems like something related to marbles according to the pictures…
We didn't have much time to discuss. Suddenly, the door opened and the guards announced the morning hygiene.
Before reaching the restrooms, I heard a whistle calling my attention, and when I looked around, I noticed a short guard wearing a triangle mask waving at me in a hallway. My heart raced with joy when I realized it was Flim Flam, so I sneaked out of the line and followed him into a room. When the door closed, Flim Flam took off his mask and told me to give him the card.
Flim Flam: Have you lost your mind, Velma? Alan and the VIPs know the card is missing! Give me back immediately!
Velma: Relax, there were no cameras in that office…
Flim Flam: There are no cameras in the VIP area, but you were the only one who left the dorm! Of course they will suspect you took the card!
Velma: But Alan won't let the guards kill me! If they ask me to show what´s in my pockets, I can give the card to someone else and…
Flim Flam: …and then they'll ask each one of our friends to show their pockets, until they find the card and kill the person who has it … they might even execute everyone involved! No way, give me back right now, I´ll drop it in one of the VIP rooms, so they´ll think it was only a misunderstanding…
Velma: Flim Flam, please, I can't! We're planning a escape and we need this card! We have to take some risk anyway! We've already lost too many people, we can't play again…
Flim Flam: But if you use the card during the escape, you all will die! The electronic locks will tell the guards' computers the exact path you´re taking and they will get you anyway… there's no way to escape right now, Velma, believe me, we don't have chances…if we try, many of our friends will die!
Flim Flam's words caused me anger, despair and sadness at the same time, and I started to cry uncontrollably while I took the card out of my pocket. Flim Flam snatched it from my hand and immediately put me out of that room. Before I left him, he patted my back.
Flim Flam: Stay strong, Velma! It's not time to give up! Don't lose hope, the right time will come and I will let you know. Good luck!
Flim Flam ran in one direction of the corridor and I walked in the opposite direction to join the other girls in the restroom. There, I washed my face several times, but I couldn't wash away the tears and the redness from my incessant crying. Daphne was drying her hair when she saw me crying. Immediately, she hugged me and asked what had happened. I sighed and tried to control my feelings.
Velma: I'm crying for what didn't happen, Daph… for not escaping from here today… and, maybe, we will never escape from this place…
Lupe and Ginevra heard the bad news too, so our return to the dorm was like a funeral procession. When we arrived, Lupe ran towards Dmitri - who was struggling to stand up - and tried to help him, probably because she knew what could happen to him soon. I had to tell the boys that we had no hopes to escape anymore, and all them were frustrated. The only one who showed a bit of hope was Fred.
Fred: Great! Now we know that Flim Flam is alive, and he's certainly planning a way to get us out of here...
Fred's optimism was very appropriate for that moment, but it irritated me to the core.
Velma: Great? You think it's great that we will have to play this shit again? How can you say that? We don't know if all us will be alive at the end of this day!
I felt a little better taking my anger out on Fred, but soon I regretted it when I realized that his optimism was just lip service. Instead of answering me with more hope, or confronting me in a stern manner, he just looked sadly at Daphne, who was so injured that she could barely keep both feet on the ground for more than five minutes. I also regretted what I had done when I realized my words made Shaggy and Ginevra burst into tears, and I hated myself for being so irresponsible.
Wang: Well, the best we can do right now is to stay focused and emotionally stable, and start thinking about the next game. The wall picture shows something related to playing marbles. We have to join our brains now and think of all the ways this game can be played, including the most brutal ones…
Fred and I both nodded, then my heart fluttered as I realized I had never touched a marble in my entire life.
Andrei: Usually there is a circle, and the objective of the game is to use a marble to push the opponent's marbles outside of that circle. At least that's how we played in Russia... it's not so difficult...
Andrei's words encouraged the others a little.
Ginevra: Or there's a circuit drawn on the floor, and the objective is to push your marble through it, using your finger and another marble. The person who arrives first wins, the person who pushes a marble out of the circuit loses…
Wang: In China, the game is similar, but the objective is to get the opponent's marbles…
Lupe: Well, I had a babysitter who played this game with me and my brothers... it´s indeed very simple…
Lupe ended the series of optimistic testimonies looking at the four of us with a smile on her face, hoping that we would also talk about our experiences with the game in the United States. However, our questioning faces soon denounced that our experiences with marbles were null. Seeing our distress, Ginevra tried to calm us down.
Ginevra: Don't worry! Like I said, it's not hard to learn or to play… you just need to stay focused and have good hand coordination while pushing and throwing the marbles…
Ginevra's comment immediately made Shaggy test the movement of his own fingers, and when he realized it was very, very bad, he smiled awkwardly at us. Fred sighed and looked tensely at Daphne's injured fingers, and he feared for her life. This time, Daphne decided to be the optimist.
Daphne: Relax, gang… Shaggy can throw popcorns in the air like nobody else, of course his fingers can do the same with marbles… as for me, I enjoyed playing with Mommy's pearls when I was little… and you two… well… Velma, you could write before preschool, you always had an excellent hand coordination… and Freddie... well, surely you´ve once played with the diamonds the "tooth fairy" brought you when you were a boy, haven´t you?
Daphne's absurd and innocent comment caused looks of indignation in our friends´ faces, but Fred and I just looked at each other and laughed. This made Daphne realize that 99.9% of the world's people don't get diamonds when they lose a tooth in early childhood, and she sighed with frustration. Even so, Fred kissed her forehead tenderly and hugged her. The movement of the guards setting the breakfast table ended our discussion, as many of our friends had not eaten the day before and they were starving – including Shaggy, who had eaten a lot the day before, but he was always starving.
We hurried, but we couldn't get a good place in the line. That made Shaggy be very apprehensive, fearing there wouldn't be any food left when he arrived at the table. Tom´s gang was ahead of us, they were talking about something that caught Fred´s and Wang´s attention. As a good observer, Wang approached them, and soon after, he came back to tell us.
Wang: Seems like they're pairing up for the next game… maybe they know something that we don't know about the challenge, so I think we´d better do the same…
Immediately, Shaggy grabbed my arm, and Daphne grabbed Fred's arm, showing that two teams had already been formed. Ginevra approached Wang, and Dmitri, Andrei and Lupe looked at each other, aware that one of them would be left alone. The difficult decision to leave one of our friends without a partner was not taken immediately, since moments later it was our turn to get the food and our attention was focused on that.
When Daphne and I reached the table, we noticed Tom smirking at us. We just ignored him, but Tom came to us still smirking, then threaded his fingers through Daphne's hair, and tried to forcibly kiss her neck. Immediately, Daphne pushed him away and I did the same, then we slapped his arms and his face several times to prevent him from approaching us again. We didn't have time to warn the boys about it, in the following moment, Fred hit Tom hard in the face and knocked him over the table. Tom's impact crashed the table and dropped all food, and the violent fight between him and Fred called the guards´ attention. The guards promptly pointed their guns at Fred to make him stop hitting Tom, but he only stopped when Shaggy, Wang and Andrei ran in his direction and dragged him away from there. Strangely, the other members of the gang didn't help their leader, and Tom got up with a victorious face, having the same mocking smile as before, and walked past us laughing. Inevitably, all our friends glared at Fred, showing how frustrated they were to lose another meal. Besides glaring at Fred, Shaggy also used his swear words again.
Fred: Stop glaring at me, you piece of shit, he meant to hurt Daphne!
Shaggy: No, Fred, he just wanted to piss you off enough to make us lose our meal, so that we will be sufficiently weak to die during the next game! And, like, since you are an impulsive son of a bitch, Tom´s got exactly what he wanted! Look at Dmitri, you shit, he's hurt and weak, and he´ll be weaker because of you!
Shaggy screamed with rage and pointed his finger at Fred's face, and that made Fred push him. Shaggy pushed him back, and we separated them before they started exchanging blows.
Wang: You both are right, so there's no reason to fight. Tom attacked and distracted us once, if we continue with this pointless discussion, we'll lose our focus again.
Fred and Shaggy stopped pushing each other, but they were still glaring at each other. Shaggy walked away with Lupe, Ginevra and Andrei, then they looked for some food left on the ground and ate it. I couldn´t do the same disgusting thing, so I stayed with Daphne and Fred. A short time later, the guards came back and announced another game, and Wang translated all information about it.
Wang: The guards have asked us to pair up. Choose your partners and follow them to the next room.
Wang's order was followed immediately, since we had already chosen our pairs. Lupe hesitated a moment if she should chose one russian or the other, then she decided to stay with Dmitri, even though he was seriously injured. Andrei started searching for a new partner while we walked towards the next room. However, when I got closer to the entrance, I sensed that something was really wrong, and I stopped walking. I didn't know exactly what that strange feeling was trying to warn me, so I tried to look around carefully and read between the lines. I took so long to get the information I needed that Shaggy and I were practically the last ones in line, but when I finally looked at the Brits, I realized they hadn't paired up with each other.
Velma: Jinkies! Shags, we will have to play against our partners!
Shaggy: What? Like, what made you think this?
Velma: Take a look at the Brits, they're a team, they´ve been together since the first game and even during fights, why didn't they pair up with each other? Obviously, because they know the duos will play against each other! We saw them talking and setting their pairs in advance, they certainly know something!
I could see the despair in Shaggy's eyes, especially because we were far from Daphne, Fred and the others.
Shaggy: Quick, let's warn the others! And, like, let's form other pairs with strangers, so we have better chances to survive!
Shaggy ran before I could say anything, and I followed him. On the way, I desperately looked for someone else to pair up with me, but I couldn´t find anyone. Fortunately, when I arrived at the big room, Shaggy had already told our friends about it, and Wang, Ginevra, Fred and Andrei had already paired up with other contestants. Daphne desperately looked for someone, while Lupe, on the other hand, wasn't so desperate to find another partner, because she didn't want to leave Dmitri alone. Suddenly, Shaggy asked Mathias - the German who had helped us to win the tug of war- , and when he accepted to pair up with him, Shaggy looked at me completely upset, aware of how bad and how unethical his decision was. Then, I found myself alone with Daphne, and my eyes filled with tears when I took her hand and formed our pair. Immediately, Shaggy made a disapproving gesture and signaled me to unpair immediately, but Daphne looked at me with tears in her eyes and gripped my hand tighter. When Fred saw our pair formed, he immediately abandoned the man he had paired up with and came towards us, and Andrei did the same.
Fred: Have you lost your mind? What's the problem with you both? You have to pair up with strangers! And you too, Lupe!
Velma: … well, as you can see, there´s nobody left to pair up with…
Lupe: I can´t leave him now! He´s dying! If he pairs up with a stranger, he will be killed!
Right after Fred's scolding, some guards appeared, pointed their guns to his head and told him to return to his initial partner. Fred just held Daphne's hand tightly, defying the guards and showing that he wouldn't leave. His action made Daphne let go of her hand immediately, showing that she wouldn´t play against the love of her life, but Fred insisted on holding her hand many times. That made the guards be angrier and more aggressive, when the megaphone started giving orders in Korean to kill Fred immediately, Wang ran in our direction, grabbed Fred´s arm and dragged him back to his pair against his will. While leaving, both Wang and Fred looked back at us several times, and I could feel the sadness in their eyes to know that we would have to pair up with our friends. Dmitri said something in Russian that I couldn´t quite understand, and Andrei immediately held Lupe´s hand and took her away from Dmitri. Lupe cried while she was being conducted, and on the following moment, the Korean man who had been left behind by Andrei came to me and asked to be my pair. Then, Dmitri offered his hand to Daphne, and she refused many times until three guards approached her and forced her to pair up with him. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to process the rough and complicated emotions those little decisions caused in our hearts. Soon after, the guards led us to a maze-like scenario, gave us ten marbles with our names and our numbers printed on them, and told us that we would play marbles against the person we had chosen.
Wang: They´ve said we can play any kind of game with these marbles. The only thing we have to do is to win all our opponents' marbles. Whoever wins all marbles first, wins the challenge. Good luck to everyone.
Despite the fact that my partner was extremely competitive and very determined to eliminate me, when the game started, all my attention was turned to Lupe and Andrei and Dmitri and Daphne, as I didn't want either of them to be killed. Apparently, Fred did the same, and he only started focusing on his own game when he realized that his opponent had already won four of his marbles. I had my attention divided between my own game (luckily, my opponent was just as bad at marbles games as I was) and Lupe and Andrei´s game until a brilliant idea popped into my head.
Velma: Jinkies! I have a plan! I know how to make everyone win this game!
My opponent, Lupe and Andrei immediately looked at me and waited for my instructions.
Velma: It's very simple! The objective of the game is to get our opponent's ten marbles, no matter how, right?
Andrei and Lupe: Right…
Velma: OK, so we just need to do this: at each round, one opponent wins the other's marble… for example, first Lupe wins a marble from Andrei, then Andrei wins a marble from Lupe, and so on. Until each one get the other's ten marbles. That way, both will have the opponent's ten marbles at the end of the game, and both will win!
Lupe: Velma, you´re a genius, great idea!
Andrei: C´mon, let´s win quickly and warn the others!
We all smiled, and soon we began to perform our action plan. We played a pretty stupid game that allowed each opponent win a marble at each round, and the quick evolution of both our pairs caught the guards´s attention. Two guards approached and watched the way we were playing, when we finally "won" all our opponents' marbles, Lupe smiled and showed them the result.
Lupe: We played a game in which we got one marble from our opponent at each round, and in the end, as you can see, we four got all our opponents´ marbles. Therefore, we all won and no one will be killed!
Lupe finished her sentence with a huge smile, thinking that she was smarter than the guards. The silence showed that the guards had not understood her explanations in Spanish language mixed with basic English, so my partner repeated in Korean language everything Lupe had said. Then, the guards looked at each other in silence, and immediately shot Lupe and my partner. The scream of indignation and anguish that came out of my mouth was louder than the shot echoing throughout the maze. Immediately, Fred, Wang and the others came towards us, and when they found Lupe dead, everyone shuddered. That was the first moment in my life that my rationality was completely suspended. I just threw myself over her body, ignoring the river of blood staining my clothes, and there I cried and screamed for several minutes. I didn´t even stop when two or three guns touched the back of my neck, demanding silence. Fred just grabbed my wrists in silence and dragged me away from her. I only pulled myself together when Andrei comforted me and reminded me that our friends still needed to beat their opponents and fight for their lives.
Wang: The guards said they have cheated… please, don't try to win the game using any other way, gang, do exaclty what they´ve asked you to do…
Wang's remark hurt me more than seeing Lupe and my opponent being placed inside gift boxes. The guilt I felt was so painful that, at that moment, I couldn't feel any relief in winning another game. Ginevra, Wang and Shaggy immediately returned to their games, only Fred took a little longer, since he needed to check if I was ok, and if Daphne was playing correctly.
Daphne: Freddie, he's so weak, he can't even move his hands! And I can't beat a dying person, that´s a horrible thing to do! I can't deceive him, it´s not fair!
Daphne's confession brought tears to her eyes and made us check Dmitri´s vital signs. In fact, he was more enfeebled than before, and could barely keep his eyes open when we called him. Andrei asked Daphne to get his marbles, but she refused. Then, he grabbed her wrist and asked her to open her hands. Before doing so, she looked at Fred and at me, and we signaled her to accept Dmitri's marbles. Daphne obeyed, and Andrei dropped his terminally ill friend's ten marbles into her hands. Daphne had the same reaction I had when I saw Lupe losing her life, and instead of celebrating her victory, she wept uncontrollably too.
Andrei: When he left Moscow, Dmitri had a mission, Daphne. And he has just completed it, so don't cry for him. He deserves our admiration, not our sadness.
Andrei's wise words weren't enough to restore Daphne's emotional breakdown, she just sought for shelter in Fred's arms and cried even more. A sudden gunshot startled me and reminded Fred that he still had to fight for his life. Fortunately, the shot didn´t hit Dmitri, however, when we approached him, we realized that he had left us. Andrei saluted his friend until the guards took Dmitri in a gift box, and the next shots made me look for my friends around the maze.
I found Wang and Ginevra nervously walking back and forth with several marbles in their hands. The absence of their partners indicated that they had already completed the challenge. After some time and some shots, Daphne and Fred came in our direction hand in hand, and soon Andrei joined us too. I feared for Shaggy, because we were close to the end of the game and he still hadn't appeared. I started walking through the maze again, looking for him, and when I saw him with only four marbles in his hands, I shuddered.
Shaggy was shaking a lot and, nervously, he threw another marble, but it missed the German's marble. Mathias, in his turn, threw his marble and it hit one more of Shaggy´s marbles. Despite I knew there was nothing I could do to help him, I couldn't leave him alone. Repeatedly, I looked at the clock and at his face, showing desperation and demanding him to find a way to hurry up and win the damn game. Shaggy looked back at me in an anguished way, and I could see that his need to win was fighting his will to save the life of the man who had saved us the day before. At that moment, I felt a lot of empathy for Mathias, and my heart ached so much that I couldn't say a word of encouragement to Shaggy. However, soon after, Mathias took the marble he had hit and returned it to Shaggy.
Mathias: No! I won´t do this shit again. If I win, I know I´ll screw up everything again, so this shitty cycle ends right now. C´mon, quick, get them and win the game.
Shaggy: Like, what? What are you talking about?
Mathias: I can't kill another cop! Here… get these marbles now and win the fucking game. I'm sure you'll do the right thing when you win, and you'll arrest motherfuckers like me who kill for fun and for money...
Mathias gathered all the marbles he had and put them into Shaggy's hands, who watched the scene incredulously.
Shaggy: What? What the fuck, man? Like, that's not fair! Let's play again, this time for real...
Mathias pointed to the clock, which showed only 70 seconds left, and immediately refused Shaggy's attempt to return him the marbles and start a new game.
Mathias: Man, you came here to stop the game and arrest the ones involved, and I came here just for the money… can you see the difference? Even a criminal like me recognizes that it´s not fair to let you die… besides, I have no future out of here, I'm a shitty convict who escaped from prison... I've killed a lot of cops like you, I've robbed old ladies like the one who died in the second game, I've killed girls like your friends just to have five minutes of sexual pleasure, and I´ve stabbed immigrants like those Chinese agents just because they were immigrants… because of that, I´ve ruined my family´s life, I was a shitty son and a shitty brother that sullied the family´s name forever… and I'm sure I'll keep collecting unpunished crimes if I get all the economic power of this game´s millions... no, this shit has to stop… something has to stop me and make me pay for everything I´ve done in life, you know? I don't want to be like those Brits... or those VIPs… and win millions at the cost of so many lives… for the first time in my life, I need to do something right... and the time is now...
His testimony moved me and left Shaggy confused. Despite being visibly relieved to hold all his opponent's marbles in his hands, Shaggy still insisted on playing, perhaps motivated by his typical empathy. Mathias shook his head, and when the clock ticked down to 15 seconds, he waved to the guards and showed them that he had lost all his marbles to Shaggy.
Velma: Mathias, you are…
"…a good person", were the words that Mathias never heard. The guards didn't even approach him to fire the shot that took his life when the clock´s screen showed zero. His body fell to the ground with the sound of countless shots that were fired at the end of the game, ending the lives of those who had not acchieved the objective. Shaggy and I hugged each other and cried for a while, not having the courage to reopen our eyes to see the sad scenario of the end of another game. We only returned to reality when Fred patted our backs, indicating that we should join the others and go back to the dorm. When we left to the nightly hygiene, I couldn't formulate escape routes, count doors, or imagine ways to get out of that place. My hopes of surviving Squid Game were dashed bit by bit, and they died along with our friends.
On the way to the restrooms, I noticed intense movement in the corridors. There were more masked guards, and the weapons they used were scarier than rifles. Suddenly, a group of guards stopped our line and started frisking each one of the contestants. Then, I remembered Flim Flam's warning, and I understood that, probably, the guards were looking for the card I had stolen from them Front Man's room. I don't know if it was the fear of being caught, or if it was still the emotional consequence of the violence I had witnessed at Lupe's death, but something made me lose control and cry. Fred looked back and tried to comfort me silently, and Daphne held my hand tightly, as if the pressure of her fingers could put some kind of encouragement into my hopeless heart. I only felt some relief when the guards frisked all my friends without spilling a single drop of their bloods.
However, it was just a short relief. Some minutes later, two guards shouted something in Korean, and several guards surrounded the ones who had shouted. Suddenly, one of the guards raised his hand, showing the missing card. Immediately, several shots were fired and killed both guards, staining our clothes and bodies with drops of blood. This time, I wasn't the only one crying, Daphne wept on Fred's shoulders, and he comforted her. Then, the soldiers formed a triangular line, and the Front Man was at the tip of the triangle. He approached the dead guards and removed the card from the limp hand. I didn´t look at the corpses and continued walking to the restroom, I couldn't face the guilt I felt for making those two men lose their lives. And for causing someone´s death. Again.
Anyway, at the restroom, reality slapped me in the face again: there were only 3 women there. Just Daphne, Ginevra and me, out of hundreds of women who had been there with us only two or three days before. And how long would it be like this? I didn't dare to have an answer – optimistic or pessimistic –, because I knew it would be a lie. In that place, certainties were liquid and flowed from our bodies when we least expected it. But the absence was solid. The void was solid. So solid that it weighed on our hearts, and this time, Ginevra started to cry.
Ginevra: I want you to know that I have three children under 12 in the city of Cascia in Italy, and if I...
Ginevra couldn´t continue, but Daphne and I perfectly understood what she meant and we hugged her. At that moment, I wanted to say the same, to ask my friends to take care of my loved ones if I lost my life during the next round, but I realized that I myself didn't take good care of them, and that hurt me deeply. On the death´s door, all I had was minimal contact with my parents, superficial conversations with my sister, a fiancée spending her vacation alone... and nothing more. Nothing concrete other than a brilliant career that was about to end in the stupidest, cruelest way possible.
Daphne: Well, I won't have time to have kids, but I have my parents, four sisters, three nephews… and Freddie, if he survives…so, I hope I can count on you… please, take care of them for me…
Daphne faced her own fears while comforting Ginevra, and ended up being comforted too. Our collective mourning was interrupted by half a dozen guards shouting things in Korean and pointing guns at us. We finished our hygiene as soon as possible, and we left the restroom without knowing if we would return in a few hours. On the way back, there were many guards looking for the infiltrator. Secretly, I wished Flim Flam luck. And I deeply wished my friends and I had more than a few hours of life.
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As always, I apologize for the long chapters, and for the language mistakes.
I hope you are enjoying the story :)