Author´s note:
This chapter contains:
Graphic depictions of violence
Description of injuries
Violent deaths
Swear Words/Offensive words
Chapter 26 - Tug of War
My accidental sleep ceased when the sound of bells echoed throughout the room. Immediately, I sat up in bed, fearing that I had missed the opportunity to escape. However, when I got out of bed, I saw that Fred and the others were very frustrated, and I realized that our escape plan had failed.
Velma: Why didn't you wake me up?
Fred: Because Li and Flim Flam didn't show up…
Fred´s words made me panic. Plus, the sound of the pig safe receiving more money gave me goosebumps. When I looked around, I saw about 20 bodies being removed by the guards. The amount of blood was so great that it stained the masked men´s boots, then formed red footprints everywhere. Around the bodies, there were pieces of wood and metal, which were taken from the beds and shaped like knives and spears.
Fred: …and because a truly gang battle happened during the night. And I thought you wouldn´t want to watch it…
Velma: Maybe that's why Li and Flim Flam didn't show up! They knew that many contestants were awake and…
Fred's bleak gaze didn´t let me continue. I noticed that everyone was worried with what could have happened to Flim Flam and Li.
Velma: Calm down, gang! Clearly, the tranquilizer has failed, so they decided to postpone the escape plan… and they didn't have a chance to let us know...
Fred sighed impatiently and pointed to the other contestants who were still sleeping, despite the light and the noise. And the few ones who were awake looked dazed.
Fred: Or clearly they were caught and we´re all fucked…
Velma: Fred, we can't lose our hopes now!
Fred didn't answer, he just stared angrily at me and I shut up. We both knew that the very fact that I (the pessimistic skeptic) was asking him (the optimistic leader) to have a little hope was a big sign that there was no hope at all. Fortunately, that conversation didn't go on, in the next minute, the guards called us for the morning hygiene and we joined the others.
On the way to the restrooms, there were more guards than usual, but no sign of Li and Flim Flam anywhere. I was so distressed by the next game that I couldn't think of an alternative escape plan. When we returned, the breakfast table was set, and the boys were already in line. Dmitri, Fred and Andrei were in front of Shaggy, acting like bodyguards to prevent another fight from happening. From a distance, I saw the boys picking up their food and moving away from the table, and I felt relieved that no problem would happen that time.
However, when I was about to take my portion, I heard a loud scream, followed by a loud metallic crack. As I turned, I saw Tom´s gang attacking the boys. They hit Fred and Shaggy hard using iron bars, and when Dmitri tried to defend them, the Korean man who teased Shaggy before hit the russian agent with a metal bar, piercing his belly. Dmitri fell immediately, and the amount of blood that oozed out of his wound made us girls scream. Wang and Andrei approached to defend their friends, but they had no weapons and ended up seriously injured too. The gang kept brutally beating Fred and the others, and I panicked as I realized that their objective was killing them. Immediately, Lupe, Ginevra and I approached and attacked Tom´s gang in the best way we could, throwing cups, glasses and pillows at the attackers. Other contestants also tried to defend our friends, but soon they were beaten violently and gave up the fight.
The helping blows from the others helped Fred to stand up again, then he knocked over Tom and pointed a steel rod at his throat. Lupe and Ginevra approached to help Fred, so I decided to help Shaggy and Dmitri, who were still being beaten. I grabbed a piece of wood and used all the strenght I had to hit the back of the man who was punching Dmitri's face, but at that moment, a searing scream of pain echoed through the room and made me freeze. I looked around, believing that one of those men had hurt Shaggy or Fred in the same way Dmitri had been hurt, but what I saw was way worse. Shaggy took the piece of crockery out of his pocket – the same piece he had picked up during the last fight-, and he used it against the Korean man who was attacking him. The sharp shard slashed the man's neck, and a sea of blood washed Shaggy. Seconds later, the man just dropped dead by Shaggy´s side, and that stopped the gang's brutal attacks against Fred and Dmitri. Then, there was a long silence, as if everyone in that dorm had frozen for a moment, and the only audible noise was the safe filling up with money again. Shaggy screamed desperately and started crying uncontrollably for what he had done. I just ran towards him, hugged him tightly, took the piece of crockery from his hand and… we wept buckets. Fred seemed unaffected by the accidental death of that man. He was immersed in a trance of hatred and continued threatening the gang with the steel rod, until they left us alone. Then, he helped us to stand up. Dmitri was badly hurt and remained on the floor, until Wang and Andrei carried him to one of the beds. When we were returning to our beds, some masked men passed by our group with a gift box, taking the Korean man´s body. Shaggy watched the scene crying profusely, hating himself for causing a death, and we tried to calm him down in some way.
None of us had time to digest the recent event – nor the great disappointment caused by the failed escape -, because half an hour later, the door opened again and the masked men formed the traditional triangular line. As they positioned themselves, my heart raced and I smiled, hoping that Flim Flam would appear wearing the square-mask again. But, to my surprise, the leader of the guards wearing the square-mask was as tall as Fred, and he didn´t have Flim Flam's voice. Shaggy looked at me with a sad gaze, and my own despair confirmed what was happening: Flim Flam wasn't there, and he had certainly been caught. The man wearing the square-mask pointed the gun at my head, and two guards pointed their guns at Fred´s and Shaggy's heads. Fred resisted and threatened the guards with the steel rod, but his attitude only made more guards approach and point their guns at us. I felt they had found out about my encounter with Flim Flam on the day before, so I just closed my eyes and waited for the bullet that would take my life. To my despair, the bullet didn't come immediately, so I stayed a few minutes with my eyes closed, shaking and fearing the worst, hearing Shaggy crying uncontrollably. Minutes later, I heard a another crying near me, and it was interspersed with groans of pain, kicks and blows from the guards. I decided to open my eyes, even though I knew that I would see something terrible. But, in the end, that image brought me a smile.
Fred: DAPHNE!
Some guards were carrying Daphne by her arms and legs, and when they approached us, they threw her on the ground and left the dorm. The sudden fall caused intense pain in Daphne's already hurt body, so she couldn't get up by herself. When Fred saw Daphne, he dropped the steel rod and ran in her direction. Daphne smiled when Fred took her in his arms, and she hugged him back tightly. Fred carefully analyzed all the injuries on her body, then hugged and kissed her more and more, as if the simple fact of holding her would protect her from pain and make all those injuries heal. I didn't even scream my friend's name, I just threw my body towards her and hugged her tightly too.
Velma: OMG, I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! YESTERDAY, FLIM FLAM TOLD ME YOU WERE DEAD! I AM SO HAPPY TO SEE YOU ALIVE!
My emotion was so deep that I didn't even watch my mouth. Fortunately, it wasn´t loud enough to call the guards´ attention, but it was enough to make Fred stop checking Daphne's wounds and look at me with a disapproving gaze. My hug made Daphne groan with pain, then I saw how badly hurt she was. Shaggy was more careful and approached her smiling and holding her hands tightly, but when he noticed that her nails and fingers were intentionally hurt, he let go of her hands.
Fred: Daph, please, forgive me! I didn't want to hurt you that day at the hotel, I just wanted to protect you, but I failed… I should have protected you from the guards… and also from Alan that day at you apartment…please, forgive me for everything… I… I… look, I begged God so much to have one more chance to see you alive! I need to tell you that I finally know what I feel, I realized that you are the hope in my life, because thinking of you kept me going and...
Fred's verbal and emotional outburst was interrupted when Daphne placed both hands on his face and smiled with tears in her eyes. For the first time in my life, I saw him crying, and Daphne wiped his tears away carefully, trying to not touch the wounds caused by the fight.
Daphne: Freddie, you don't need to apologize, you´ve always showed me how you feel! You´ve always protected me with such love and tenderness, you´ve always loved me in your own way… I'm sorry if I demanded words from you, dear…
Fred: You don't have to apologize for my mistakes! You deserve to know that I love you very much! And you deserve to know that I want to spend the rest of my days with you because…
Fred's confession was beautiful, but it sounded in extremely bad taste at that time, since we were trapped in a deadly game and we were living on borrowed time. Apparently, they realized they wouldn´t have enough time to live as a couple, so they hugged each other and cried. Shaggy couldn't resist that scene and hugged me with one arm, then hugged both them with the other arm, and we stayed like that for a while, enjoying the little time we had left.
Daphne: Oh my God, Freddie, what happened to you?
As she released herself from the hug, the bloodstain that Fred's ear left on Daphne's shoulders surprised her. She wiped the blood away with the collar of his shirt, but the other wounds – Fred´s and ours- shocked her even more.
Daphne: Jeepers, what have they done to you all? You're bleeding!
Velma: We've played two deadly games. And the contestants who failed the challenges were murdered…
Shaggy: Like, and the other wounds are the result of many fights… every time a contestant dies, that pig safe receives more money, so people here don't have much respect for life…
Daphne: Oh my, you don't deserve to go through this! It's all my fault, I´m so sorry! I shouldn't have believed Mayberry!
Daphne pressed one of Fred's wounds with her hands to stanch the blood, but she didn´t have much strenght to continue. Looking closer at her, I saw that she was way more hurt than the boys who had been beaten. She had bruises on her face, and the bloodstains on her head mimicked the red of her hair. She was wearing green pants like ours, and they were stained with fresh blood. Daphne didn't have a green coat with a white number, she was just wearing a white sleeveless shirt, which showed purple marks of strangulation on her neck, bite marks on her shoulders and marks of a rope that probably had tied her wrists tightly.
Fred: Neither do you, Daph, none of this horror is your fault… it's the VIPs' fault…
Shaggy: Like, but it's better to be hurt than to die in a cruel way! You wouldn´t believe how evil they can be, Daph!
Velma: And it's better to see you hurt than to imagine you ended like Steven Applegate! I broke down when I heard about your death, but I had to pretend everything was okay to win the second game and…
I tried to justify my act so that Fred wouldn't be mad at me, but a lump in my throat stopped me. Suddenly, all the painful emotions I had to repress the day before flooded my heart and I cried. To my surprise, Fred was the first to comfort me, followed by Shaggy and Daphne.
Daphne: Everyone thought I was dead… I think my parents still do, since Delilah keeps negotiating with Alan to get my "dead body" back… that day, they took me out of the hotel during the night and locked me inside a bedroom. Then, Alan spread evidence at Steven's crime scene and faked my death to make dad do whatever the VIPs wanted… but instead of killing me, he… he… and the VIPs…they kept me…and…
The simple thought of what had happened made tears run down Daphne's face, and she couldn't finish what she was saying. Fred hugged Daphne as if he was protecting her from her own words and feelings, then he waited her to finish what she was saying, but she couldn't. The wounds she had on her body clearly showed what had happened, so we just respected her silence.
Daphne: …then, I don´t remember how, I found myself locked inside Alan's room… for days… until last night, when Flim Flam finally found me… he broke into the room to steal the yacht´s keys and…
Velma: Wait, is Alan's room the Front Man´s room? I remember Flim mentioning the words "Front Man"…
Daphne: Alan is the Front Man, Velma. He was named by Oh Il-Nam, Liberty´s owner. Alan has organized this game, and he has been organizing games for the last couple of years. Every year, he gathers his billionaire friends at a lavish party, betting their fortunes on innocent lives and reveling in people´s violent deaths. He has planned everything! He has trapped dad and Steven, he has managed to make the game happen normally this year, and he'll find a way to get rid of us too …
Velma: Did Flim Flam release you? Or did you escape by yourself?
Daphne: Flim Flam released me… we were planning to save you all too, but I think the poisoning of the guards and the VIPs made Alan suspect an infiltrator was around. Unfortunately, when Li took me to the yacht, we were caught… that´s why they didn´t appear during the night… I don't know what happened to Flim Flam, but poor agent Li was captured by the guards and…
Daphne stopped talking again, probably because she couldn't mention the horrors that they had been through. Fred hugged her tightly to comfort her from that pain, and he had a lot of hatred in his eyes. Daphne held his hands and tried to calm him down a bit.
Shaggy: Like, we didn't see Flim Flam anywhere this morning, so I guess he´s in trouble…
Daphne: Well, Agent Li and I haven't seen him anywhere either. Apparently, the VIPs know there's an infiltrator here, but they don't know exactly who it is... so, I think he has a chance to save himself...
Wang: Well, he was able to come here as an infiltrator, and he has even poisoned some guards, I'm sure he'll be victorious once again...
When he finished, Wang approached Daphne, shook her hand and smiled, showing that he was happy to see her again. His gesture made the others come and greet her as well. Before she could say anything, Fred introduced her to the others.
Fred: Gang, this is Daphne Blake... my childhood sweetheart and the hope of my life...
After brief introductions, we decided to return to the bunks, since Daphne was too hurt to stay standing. Shaggy walked purposefully slowly, when we were some steps away from the group, he held my wrist and made me stop.
Shaggy: Velma, like… if Daphne is here, and she´s hurt… and you´ve said she was safe and fine in NY… it means that… Scooby...
Velma: Norville, I'm very sorry for what I´ve said yesterday, I had to lie to help you and Fred... all Flim Flam knows is that Scooby ran away that night... but, well, he's a beautiful police dog, I'm sure he's fine somewhere in Seoul and he was adopted by someone! When we get out of here, we will find him and…
Shaggy: You mean, like, IF we get out of here, right?
Shaggy didn't say anything else, he just left me with tears in his eyes. I grabbed him by the wrist, but he released himself and ran to his bed. At the moment I approached him, the door opened again, the guards brought Agent Li and hurled his bloodied body into the center of the dorm. Daphne screamed and tried to run in his direction, but she couldn't even get out of her bed. Then, Wang, Shaggy, Fred and the Russians helped Li and carried him to a bed. He was so hurt that he couldn´t open his eyes, and the bruises on his head made me think he was unconscious. I tried to feel his pulse while the others desperately tried to help him in some way, but they didn´t know how.
Shaggy: Like, we need to get him out of here soon!
Andrei: Certainly! But we can't just run away, we'll get caught!
Velma: Fred, what should we do? THINK FAST!
My desperate plea made Fred look at Daphne hurt in that bed, then stare at the air duct. When he was about to run towards it, Wang stopped him.
Wang: Unfortunately, the best thing we can do right now is thinking about how we will survive the next game…
Wang's words made us realize that another game would start soon and we were still stuck in that damn reality show. Fred was the only one who wasn't put off by them.
Fred: We have to try to get out of here, Daphne and Li can't play! If the game starts and they don't get up, they'll be murdered!
Wang: We all will be murdered if we run away now. Besides, how will we take Daphne and Li through the air ducts?
Fred only gave up when he realized that Daphne wouldn´t be able to escape. Then, apparently, he got into the same despair trance that I was: with the heart and the mind desperately looking for a solution, but with an immobile body, not knowing exactly what to do. I confess I was so distressed that I started to elaborate macabre plans, such as: how many people each one of us could murder until we reached the majority necessary to give up the game. Or: in how many ways I could kill a guard using iron bars, pieces of wood and a piece of crockery. I realized I´d never be able to do such things when I put my hand inside my pocket and hurt my fingers on the shard of crockery Shaggy had used on that man, so I started looking around for other escape locations and…
Velma: Jinkies!
My exclamation made my friends look at me with hope, as they knew I had discovered something. The others also looked at me, probably because they didn't know the meaning of "jinkies".
Velma: The next game is tug of war!
Fred: How do you know?
Velma: Look at the walls! The games were drawn on them and we didn't even notice!
I discreetly pointed to the drawing of some stickmen playing tug of war, near the drawing of stickmen carrying the same cookie shapes we had to detach during the previous game. There was also an illustration of the game we played on the first day with that doll, and other illustrations that proved my theory was right. Everyone smiled at the good news, Fred and Shaggy hugged me and praised me for the discovery.
Ginevra: Well, comparing the physiques of the other contestants, I think we've already won. We are younger, healthier and more athletic than everyone…
Fred's smile ended when Ginevra said "healthier", because he remembered Daphne´s and Li's conditions. Daphne saw Fred´s concern, so she took his hands and smiled.
Daphne: I'll be fine, Freddie. I was way worse when I escaped from that room, surely I can pull a rope right now… and I'm sure Li will wake up, after all, he has recovered quickly from a gunshot and a surgery, he's very strong…
Fred: The problem isn't just whether you can or not, Daph. The real problem is winning. Although we know what kind of game will be, we don't know exactly what kind of lethal traps they´ll put in it... they can shoot us during the challenge or things like that...
Fred made it clear that he wasn't just concerned about Daphne's physical condition, he simply didn't want her to play and, therefore, to put her life at risk. Daphne smiled confidently and kissed his hands.
Daphne: We don't know, but Fred Jones knows a lot about traps, so I think we'll be fine...
Daphne's encouragement made Fred smile, but the small joy was interrupted by the sound of the megaphone telling instructions and calling everyone for the next game. We looked at each other anxiously, as we knew Li would not be able to play, and Daphne had little chances to win. To make things worse, armed guards appeared suddenly and surrounded the contestants like sheepdogs. The fear made me so disoriented that Fred had to point me the direction the line was being formed, and I joined the others while he helped Daphne to stand up. I kept looking back several times to make sure Fred, Wang, and the other men would help Li. The last time I looked, their desolated faces revealed the sad news that I didn't want to see, so I closed my eyes. Unfortunately, reality found another way to let me know that Li had not survived: through the morbid sound of money filling that damn safe.
During the silent walk to the next game's facility, the only thing we heard was Daphne crying. The fear was so palpable that none of us - except Daphne - were able to express our grief for the loss of Agent Li. I was used to see Fred full of courage leading the others, and I completely lost my hopes when I saw him terrified - though I knew that fear was for Daphne's life. When we arrived at a dimly lit industrial warehouse, I shuddered. For a moment, I thought my assumption about the tug of war was wrong, but I had second thoughts when the guards ordered us to form groups of ten contestants. Our group had nine people, so a blond, pale and thin man approached us and asked to join our group. He introduced himself as Mathias Fels and said he was from Berlin. Despite having physical features pretty similar to Shaggy's, he was taller and stronger than the other contestants (except the Tom´s group), and that's why he was accepted. When the groups of ten people were formed, each group received a number, and I got surprised to realize there were only ten groups – so, more than three hundred people had already been brutally murdered since the beginning of the games. The guards' delay in giving more instructions made everyone feel nervous, and inevitably I analyzed each group and compared them with my own group. I realized we had advantages over all them, except for Tom´s gang, composed of only young, athletic men, who had no big injuries.
Shaggy: Like, no way we will beat the Brits! It's not sexism, ageism, fatphobia or anything, but… damn, look at that group! They look like Manchester City football team and we only have Wang, Fred and Andrei athletic enough to pull that rope… I can barely hold Scooby-Doo on a leash and he's less than 135 pounds…
Shaggy's comment was harsh, but it was true. With two top models, a middle-aged teacher, a wounded soldier, a stoner (and his German version) and a sedentary woman who feels pain in her arms while carrying a book with more than a thousand pages (me), it would be almost impossible to survive that challenge. However, without physical attributes, we had to use lots of creativity to win.
Velma: Fuck Manchester City team and these bastards, we're not going to win using force, we're going to win using intelligence! Let's use science and place our body weights strategically, so that we can prevent them from pulling us... and when they get tired of pulling, we'll pull their exhausted bodies and win!
My idea generated small smiles of hope in my group, and everyone agreed except Fred, who had his own plan.
Fred: Or we can just negotiate with them… we can tell them the privileged information that the next game will be tug of war…and agree to a truce…
Shaggy: Like, make a deal with those motherfuckers? No fucking way!I want to see them carried by the guards inside gift boxes!
Fred: Me too, Shags, but we both know we can't fight right now...
Inevitably, Fred glanced at Daphne, and Shaggy understood why he was worried.
Shaggy: It won't work, Jones! Like, how can we have a truce if only one team will win the challenge? If the guards see we're not really playing the game, they´ll surely shoot all us!
Fred: Exactly! That's why we have to negotiate and prevent our teams from playing with each other… if we get other opponents during the challenge, both teams will win…
Shaggy sighed irritably and agreed, and the others did too. Fred walked towards Tom and, contrary to what he had thought, their conversation lasted less than a minute. The hatred in Fred's eyes clearly said the deal was not accepted, yet Shaggy insisted on asking what happened.
Shaggy: Like, what did he say?
Fred: He said the only agreement we could have is: when he makes my blood and yours paint the arena red, Daphne will be his...
Shaggy: Like, I´ve told you! You can't negotiate with these motherfuckers!
Velma: So, what are we going to do?
Fred: Let's paint the arena red with their blood, then…
The guards showed us a wall with several numbers, then asked each group to form a line in front of the group´s number. Since that line would be the tug of war´s line, Wang asked the men to occupy the initial positions and leave the final ones to us women.
Velma: Wait!
When I looked at the back of the warehouse, I saw two towering metal platforms in the dark. They had ropes on each side, and my heart raced just to imagine that would be the stage for the game.
Velma: Check that out!
My announcement caught everyone´s attention, and everyone freaked out when they saw that the game would happen at a height equivalent to a ten-storey building. I noticed that Tom and the other men had scared and resentful expressions on their faces – probably because they had realized that Fred was telling the truth.
Shaggy: Like, they're fucking kidding me that the game will be there! What if we fall?
Shaggy's question wasn't rhetorical, but it became rhetorical when we realized that the objective of the game was literally to push the other team down from that height. Instinctively, Ginevra and Lupe walked towards the end of the line, and Daphne tried to hide her fear, but tears came to her eyes.
Fred: Hey, Daph, stay calm… no one from this group will move a step forward and we will win… I will stay in front of you and I won't let you fall…
Shaggy: Like, feel free to be the first, Fred, I'm going to the back of the line with the girls!
Daphne laughed at Shaggy's attitude and wiped away her tears, while Fred grabbed his wrist and stopped him from going to the end of the line. Wang took him by the other wrist and asked the men again to occupy the firsts places.
Velma: Wait! This line order might work if we challenge weaker teams, but if we challenge the Brits, it won't work. If they push Fred or Andrei out of the platform, me and the girls won't be able to resist, nor to pull them back. We need to distribute our weights and forces...
Wang: Velma is right. Let´s intersperse people with greater weight and strength with people who are weaker and lighter… in this way, we will be able to resist and pull the opponents more effectively.
Velma: Alright… let's organize the weights… Ginevra, what´s your weight?
Ginevra: I don't know how things work in America, but I thought there was an international consensus that no woman in the universe likes to answer this question...
Velma: Ginevra!
Ginevra: Ok, 80 kg! No judgments, ok?
Velma: Well, in America, things work in pounds…
Ginevra: …and there is an international consensus that you just have to multiply the number of kilos by 2,2046…
I rolled my eyes and smiled, and we spent the next few minutes deciding the best order of that deadly line. By consensus – physical and scientific – we decided that Andrei, the heaviest and one of the strongest, would be at the end of the line. In front of him, would be Mathias and Shaggy, both much lighter, but strong, tall, agile, and with long arms and legs. In front of them would be Dmitri, also strong and heavy, however, seriously injured; in front of Dmitri, Lupe, very light, but athletic and very strong. In front of her, Ginevra, heavy and tall, then Wang, short, but strong and with military training. Daphne was initially placed close to Shaggy and Mathias, but she refused to be far from Fred, so the third and the second places in line were: Daphne and me. Fred, the strongest, was the first.
We didn't have time to review our strategic order, since two masked men drew two numbers from a box, and both groups were called to start the challenge. Luckily, none of those numbers were ours, but one of them was the Brits´ number. The contestants disappeared into the darkness and some spotlights lit the platforms. In a few minutes, we saw each team on one side of the platform, with handcuffs attached to the rope and a chain linking each member of the group. Anxiety almost knocked me out, and everyone was as terrified as I was. Suddenly, a shot determined the beginning of the game, and both groups started to pull the rope to their own sides. As we had predicted, the British were unbeatable: in less than thirty seconds, they managed to drag all ten contestants off the platform. The other group were kept hanging by the rope and the handcuffs for some seconds, and Daphne screamed to see them in that way. Then, in the following moment, a guillotine slashed the rope and all them fell to their deaths. The horrified screams from the other groups mingled with the pathetic cheers of Tom and the others on the platform. Daphne hugged Fred tightly and I felt my hands go cold when I saw one of the guards reaching into the box and and drawing a number. The first group drawn was formed by the ones who had operated on Li the day before, including the doctor who had helped me with the translation. And, unfortunately, the other group drawn was ours.
The walk to the elevator was longer than it seemed. As I walked, I heard prayers from different religions in different languages, and I deeply regretted not having learned a prayer in my whole life. I tried, in vain, to get in touch with some God that I didn't really believe and ask him for mercy, but the violence of the guards while handcuffing us to the rope was so great that I realized mercy didn´t exist in that place.
Velma: Gang! Keep this in mind: once the game starts, throw your bodies back and resist. When they get tired of pulling, we'll pull them at once, ok?
I wasn´t a member of sports teams during high school, but somehow I thought I could be a coach and lead the team to victory. Everyone agreed, yet nobody was feeling really victorious at that moment. There was a kind of mourning in the air that scared the shit out of me. Daphne and Fred were hand in hand during the elevator ride, and in five minutes, they said to each other all the "I love you"´s that they hadn't said in the last ten years. Lupe also held Dmitri's hand, and they stayed like that until the elevator stopped and we came across a platform that looked like the roof of a building.
Wang: Rest assured, team. Those skinny bodies will have to pull more than 650kg. And we have about 300kg of muscles that will pull our opponents easily.
Wang's statement did not motivate us, as the height of the platform was scary enough to disarm us. My legs were shaking so badly that I doubted I could exert any kind of force with them. Even so, I positioned myself right behind Fred and wished all my friends good luck. When the shot determined the start of the game, we threw ourselves back and resisted. The other team couldn´t make any of us move a step forward, so my plan had worked for a while… but it hadn't foreseen our opponents´ strategy. After the initial effort, the other team simultaneously stepped forward while we were still pulling the rope with all our strenght, and that made us lose our balance. Fred's body fell in my direction abruptly, and he quickly leaned on me. As a consequence, my body was pushed back and ended pushing Daphne suddenly, as a result she sprained her ankle and fell down. This action caused a domino effect on the others, and they all fell onto the platform. Daphne moaned with pain, and Fred immediately lost his focus and looked back to help her. In the same moment, the opponents pulled the rope using all their strenght and Fred's feet went out of the platform.
Daphne and I screamed and tried to pull Fred back, but the weight of his suspended body was pulling us deeper and deeper into the abyss. I heard Shaggy and the other men desperately scream, and they pulled the rope back non-stop, but their efforts didn´t work. Then, the other team pulled the rope quickly several times to push me down as well. At each effort, I was pulled ahead a little bit, until one of my legs got out of the platform. Daphne pulled me back until I returned completely, but her feet slipped and her injured ankle made her fall. Daphne´s fall caused another domino effect in our team, and made me slip, fall and have both my legs out of the platform. As I struggled to put my feet back on the edge of the ground, Daphne released the rope for a moment and pulled my torso back until I was able to step on the platform. At the same moment, our opponents pulled the rope quickly and abruptly once more, and soon my legs were about to fall into Fred´s direction again. Using a miraculous strength, our friends resisted and we didn´t go forward. They pulled the rope enough to keep me one or two steps away from the border, but they couldn´t bring Fred back. I was pushing so hard that both my hands were bleeding and my arms were hurting, but such effort didn´t cause any movement on the damn rope. Plus, I was fatigued and completelty aware that I couldn´t keep pulling for so long. I felt that everyone was feeling the same, including Fred, who suddenly gave up returning to the platform.
Fred: Velma, cut the rope with that piece of crockery! Now!
I was using all my energy to pull, so I couldn´t even think about a proper answer. When my feet started slipping towards the end of the platform again, Fred angrily yelled at me to cut the rope and save our group. That made Daphne cry desperately right behind me. Among her pleas to not give up saving Fred, and the boys screaming in the end of the line to make me stop, some merest survival instinct made one of my hands release the rope and grope for the crockery inside my pocket. Daphne immediately yanked my arm to prevent me from reaching it, while Shaggy screamed my name angrily. However, I was the worst person in the universe at that moment, so I caught it and started cutting the rope. Fortunely, I wasn´t able to cut so much. Our group took a step forward and that made me lose my balance, fall to my knees at the edge of the platform and drop the makeshift knife. That action also made the other team lose their balance, fall and release the rope for a moment. Quickly, our group pulled the rope several times, until they made Fred return to the platform.
At the moment Fred put his feet on the platform again, the first man of the opposite team was getting up, so Fred pulled the rope and the man easily fell into the abyss. With one member pushing the rope down, the rest of the group couldn't resist for so long. Also, they couldn´t use the stepping-forward-tecnique anymore, since Fred was alert and determined to win the game. Little by little, we took each of them out of the platform, and at each time that happened, I silently apologized to them for doing such a horrible thing. By the time the last member was on the platform, I was exhausted. My hands were really bleeding by the friction and all my muscles ached, but the most painful feeling was seeing that last body fall - then the guillotine determining the end of those lives.
Daphne jumped into Fred´s arms and hugged him with incredible strength. Apparently, none of them were mad at me, because they hugged me too, and seconds later, Shaggy joined our giant hug. When the tons of adrenaline dissipated, the relief I felt made me listless, so listless that I felt nothing while I watched the other groups. The only thing that shocked me was the guards´ coldness. And the fact that I realized I could be just as heartless and murderous as them.
When we returned to the dormitory, the table was already set, but the food was not very nutritious and the water was not enough for everyone. Exhaustion made few ones go to the dinner line, one of them was Shaggy. Fortunately, no one teased him during the meal this time, not even when Daphne and I gave him our portions of raw vegetables.
When dinner ended, I had some hope to meet Flim Flam during our way to the restroom facilities. Lupe, Ginevra, Wang, and the Russians were already asleep when the lines were formed, so I warned Fred, Daphne, and Shaggy about our escape possibility. Unfortunately, Daphne and I found nothing but a lot of guards on the corridors. When we returned to the dorms, the boys had worried expressions on their faces, which confirmed the same had happened to them. Still, Fred insisted.
Fred: Let's wait until dawn, maybe Flim Flam will show up...
Shaggy: Like, as if I could! I won´t be able to keep my eyes open for more than twenty minutes after they turn the lights off…
Fred: If he doesn't show up, I'll go through the ducts. I´ll find a way to get us out of here.
Daphne: Frederick Jones, you're not going anywhere! You can´t fight against so many guards alone, don´t you remember what happened to Agent Li?
Fred: I need to do something, Daph! Next game can be worse! We can´t lose another member of our team…
Daphne: Freddie, something needs to be done, but not by you! Please! I nearly lost you today and I don´t want to go through that horrible feeling again! We can't split up!
Daphne's plea made Fred hesitate. Then, he looked at me and Shaggy, waiting for our advice on what he should do.
Velma: Daphne is right, whatever we decide to do from now on, we need to do it together. Also, we know the next games will be a psychopathic and diabolical version of the games depicted on the wall, so we can make a previous plan to win all them until we find perfect conditions to escape safely…
Fred: We know the games, but don´t know exactly how they'll be played! And the way they are played matters a lot…
Shaggy: Yeah, but, like, there's about four hundred masked men with rifles full of bullets out of this dormitory, and they matter a lot too… so, we´d better stay and play some games... what if next game involves food, like, marbles game using Ferrero Rocher Truffles?
Fred didn't say anything, but his face showed that he was upset. Daphne took his hands and looked at him.
Daphne: No way, Freddie! I don't want to lose you! Nevermore! I can´t be without you again… I´ve been waiting for this moment all my life…
Fred hugged her tenderly, but the expression on his face showed that he was still thinking about an escape plan. The guards announced they would turn off the lights in some minutes, so Shaggy made a noise with his throat and looked at me, signaling to leave Daphne and Fred alone. I understood his intention, but I continued there when he left. Among a lot of horrible feelings hurting me, there was one I should – and I could - solve: guilt. So, when their passionate hug ended, I grabbed Fred's wrist and looked at his eyes.
Velma: I need to apologize to you, captain...
Fred: Why?
Velma: Because I'm a horrible friend and a horrid subordinate. I lied to you yesterday, and today I was about to cut that rope and…
Fred: …and now everything is ok.
Velma: No, it's not ok! I lied about something serious and I feel horrible about it... if someone I love died and you pretended that person was alive, I would never forgive you for deceiving me...
Fred: You´d never forgive me? Why?
Velma: For giving me an illusory hope and…
Fred: Velma, I forgive you for caring about me enough to give me the illusory hope that saved my life yesterday. Is this what you need to hear right now?
That was exactly what I needed, but somehow I was still feeling like the worst person in the world. I was feeling as filthy as those guards, even though I knew my crime was infinitely less serious than theirs. Suddenly, a flood of confused emotions hit my heart, and I started crying without a reason.
Velma: Fred, I… really was… I really was going to cut that rope!
Daphne and Fred hugged me, but their support didn't ease my emotions. I wiped my tears in the best way I could, and did my best to control myself.
Fred: You are an excellent friend, Velma, you did what was necessary to do to save my life. And you are an excellent subordinate, because you were going to do exactly what I had asked you to do.
Fred patted my back and smiled at me, and soon I stopped crying. While choosing our beds near the air duct, I noticed that both Shaggy and Fred had pieces of wood in their hands, probably because they were afraid of fights during the night. When Daphne chose a bed, Fred smiled, took one of her hands and stopped her.
Fred: Where do you think you're going? Don´t you remember that I nearly lost you too? You´re not going anywhere! I can´t lose you again…
Daphne smiled shyly, but Fred kept looking at her, holding her hand and pulling her towards his bed. Then, Daphne realized he was talking seriously and relented.
Daphne: Ok, I´ll be with you this night, but only to prevent you from carrying out the crazy escape plan that we all know you´re planning. YOU WONT GO, AM I BEING CLEAR?
Daphne angrily finished, while pointing her finger close to Fred´s nose. Instead of feeling bullied, he laughed and kissed her hand.
Fred: Sounds like a good deal... and seems like you know me way more than I´ve thought...
They laughed and Daphne snuggled up to Fred's arms right after he lay in bed. I couldn´t decide which bed I should choose, but when the lights were turned off, I jumped into the first available. Despite the exhaustion and the fear, I couldn't sleep immediately. Although I had a good chance of surviving the next games, I felt like a convict on death row. My mind kept thinking of my family and the happy moments of my life, and the images that popped into my head were like a morbid farewell. I noticed that Daphne, Fred and Shaggy were unable to sleep too, and their silence made me think they were facing the same existential dilemmas that I was.
Daphne: Freddie... if anything happens tomorrow… I love you, ok?… And I love you too, Velma and Shags…
Shaggy said an "I love you too" with his voice becoming choky. I managed to disguise my emotions and answer Daphne normally, but I ended up crying anyway.
Fred: I love you, Daph, but nothing will happen tomorrow. It's just a stupid game.
Daphne: But if it happens, please tell my parents that...
Fred: That´s not gonna happen! We will win! And the only thing I´ll tell your parents is that I love you very much and I want to...
Daphne: Freddie, don´t cut me off! If I die, you have to tell them…
Fred: Daph, look, the only thing you have to worry about right now is the answer you´ll give me when I propose to you… ok? And nothing more! We will win tomorrow and we will get out of here soon! Nothing bad will happen to us!
Daphne laughed a bit, but her sobs showed she was crying. Fred's false optimism ceased for a moment and he kissed her many times, as if every kiss could ease her anguish.
Daphne: I hope you're right… and I hope we will be far away from here when you propose me, because it´s too ironic and too sadistic to say "until death do us part " in this scary place...
Fred: We will, I promise. Prepare yourself, because not even death will separate us from now on.
I heard more kissing noises, and minutes later, the absolute silence in the dorm showed that Daphne and Fred had slept. Despite all my efforts, I couldn't sleep at all. I moved in bed a lot, looking for a comfortable position to make me relax, but anxiety made that mattress seem like a bed of nails. Some time later, I gave up sleeping, sat up in bed and stared at the air duct. The ideas that popped into my head made me shudder, but I convinced myself that I would be less safe inside that dorm. When my careless hands removed the metal grid and led me through that tunnel, my heart ached when I separated from my friends. Even so, I continued, because I knew there that if I stayed there and did nothing, death could separate us forever.
Thanks for reading! Thanks for your time! And thank you for all the nice reviews!
As always, I apologize for the long chapters, and for the language mistakes.