Chapter 5- The Game
Emily scoffed as Beth revealed the game. "Do we look like we're twelve again, Beth?"
Sam shrugged. "I don't know...it could be kind of fun."
Everyone else silently agreed, causing Emily to fold her arms and lean back in her chair.
Beth clapped her hands together. "Perfect. Okay...uh...I'll just go and put on some background music."
As Beth wandered over to the laptop and the speaker system, the remaining eight shared looks with each other.
"She's acting weird, right? That's not just me?"
Kurt nodded. "Something's off. Where did you guys find her?"
Hannah pursed her lips. "Nobody found her, she came in through the front door, shivering, insisting that we get everyone together."
Kurt's eyes flickered around the room. "I'm going to go talk to her."
Kurt stood up before anyone could object and Beth turned around.
"Oh Kurt, please stay in your seat."
Kurt frowned, slowly retaking his seat. "So, she sounds like a pill-popping flight attendant."
Ashley looked worried. "I'm not so sure we should be playing this game, you guys."
As Beth rejoined them in the living room, a deathly silence fell over the space.
The lights snapped off, the fire the only source of light that wasn't coming from the windows.
Everybody squeezed together, scared. Beth looked around nervously.
"You guys, it's fine! I'll put my phone in the middle of the circle and we can keep playing."
A crackling sound came from the speaker system.
"Hello," a disembodied voice rang out. It was deep and unidentifiable.
Kurt slid his hand closer to Mike, as the taller boy grasped it with a squeeze.
"I got you," Mike whispered.
"Not to sound like too much of a copycat, but we're going to be playing a game today," the voice continued.
The group looked around the room, then to Beth, who was shaking vigorously.
"What's going on?" Sam wondered aloud. The obvious question on everybody's minds.
"Good question, Sam," the voice responded eerily.
Kurt gasped. "Whoever this is has a live feed." He glared at Beth. "What did you do?"
Beth wouldn't meet his eyes.
The voice continued. "Astute as always, Kurt. But don't blame poor Beth for this. It's what you've all done that got you here. Each and every one of you is a bad person. And I think you all should know a little bit more about each other."
Josh clenched his jaw. "Whoever this is clearly wants to tear this group apart. We have to stay united and not let this fucking psycho get to us. Agreed?"
Everyone nodded.
"Good idea, Josh. Really, it is," the voice said, louder this time. "But I'm afraid you're not going to be so quick to enjoy other's company when you've all played a round of my game."
Kurt swallowed heavily. "And what if we were to get up and leave?"
"Well," the voice chuckled. "I guess I can't really stop you. But all I would have to do is press a little button and Beth dies."
Emily actually laughed. "You're bluffing."
The voice growled. "Care to try me?"
Nobody moved.
"I didn't think so." It was the voice's turn to laugh now, crackling and intermittent.
Beth stood rigid on the spot, eyes wide. Clearly she hadn't been informed of this development.
Hannah's hands covered her mouth. Matt placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her down.
"Fine," Mike piped up. "We'll play your dumb game. Just leave Beth alone."
"Deal. Each of you plays just one round and Beth gets to go free."
Everyone settled in their seats, it was clear the game was about to begin.
"Don't worry, Beth, we won't let anything happen to you," Sam said, impassioned.
"Sam," the voice spoke quickly. "I guess you can go first."
Sam took a deep breath, but steeled herself. Kurt was impressed at her calmness in the face of something that was actually pretty terrifying. "Go for it."
The voice chuckled devilishly once more. "Truth or Dare, Sam?"
"Truth," she replied firmly.
The voice snickered. "Okay...let's see...If you were on a sinking ship and you only had ten lifeboats, whom would you let drown and give your reasons. And you can't say yourself. And none of that 'I'm only choosing you because I know you won't care' bullshit, either. Speak from the heart, Sam. I'll know if you don't."
Sam frowned, breathing hard. She looked around the room at her very best friends, knowing that whomever she picked would take it extremely personally. It was in fact a horrible thing to have to choose. And they were only just getting started.
"Uh...I don't know. I wouldn't want to be the person who makes that decision."
"Well, you have to," the voice responded darkly.
"I know, just let me think."
Only seconds went by, but it felt like hours for Sam. It crossed her mind that the person she picked might be first in line for any potential surprises the psycho might have thrown their way throughout the course of the night.
It was against her very nature to do something like this. She wanted everyone to be happy, and nobody to feel less than or insecure. This was one of her worst nightmares.
Almost like the psycho knew that she would hate it.
"I need a name, Samantha," the voice teased. A ticking clock sound effect played over the speaker system. "Beth's life depends on your answer."
As the ticking grew louder, Sam squeezed her eyes shut, knowing that she had made her choice, but it still wasn't easy to say it.
"Matt."
The room went still.
They knew that she had to pick someone, but the reality of her actually doing it was so much worse.
Matt sat there, quietly as always, nodding firmly, jaw clenched. "That's okay, Sam."
"Matt, I..."
Matt forced his best fake smile. "It's okay, Sam. You had to pick. I wouldn't want to have been in your position either."
Jess put her arm around Sam, holding her close.
The Psycho's booming laughter reverberated throughout the space. "That's wonderful, wonderful work. Thank you for your candour, Samantha. I guess Matthew shall go next. Matthew Taylor, truth...or dare?"
Matt shook his head lightly, concentrating on his breathing. Emily rubbed his thigh comfortingly. He definitely didn't want to hurt someone's feelings like Sam had done, though he couldn't imagine what The Psycho would have planned for him if he chose the converse.
He weighed the options quickly in his mind.
Truths hurt. Like he had just witnessed. He wasn't going to kid himself into thinking that Sam's answer hadn't struck a nerve with him. He had always felt like somewhat of an outsider; hence he joined the football and basketball teams. Even in his tightly knit friendship group, he still felt like an odd one out, only tethered to the group because he was dating Emily. He didn't want to have to confront a harsh truth like that. But then again, truths could be dealt with in the future. Apologies and explanations could patch those wounds up. He didn't want to think about the sorts of wounds he might have to inflict if he chose Dare.
Dares were not fun. Even the childish ones they had played that involved petty theft, streaking, or kissing someone else in the circle. They were often cruel, and they were always childish. They didn't make sense to Matt. But in the hands of a psychopath like the one who was likely observing them, dares could be deadly. Matt wasn't a violent person.
At the end of the day, he would much rather offend somebody than chop off a body part.
So he made his choice.
"Truth," he replied, steel in his voice that shocked him. At least he didn't sound as nervous as he felt.
The Psycho sniggered. "I was hoping you would choose Truth, Matthew. I had the perfect question all picked out."
Matt's heart sank. He had chosen wrong.
The lights flickered on and off.
"Matt. I want you to stand up for this one, next to Beth."
Matt, with trembling legs, got to his feet and joined Beth at the front of the room.
"Good...now, I want you to tell everyone the story of how you and Emily got together."
Matt frowned. "Is that the whole truth I have to tell?"
The Psycho laughed. "Nice try. But this is just a mere Prologue. Now tell the story."
Matt stuffed his hands in his pockets and faced the room. "You all know this story, it's pretty simple. Emily called me up after football practice one day and asked if I wanted to go to dinner that weekend, on a date. We went...to dinner, and we got together from there. Why did I need to tell that story?"
"It's important Matthew, don't worry. Now, where were you when Emily called you?"
Matt had a sudden realisation about what was happening. He hoped the sweat on his forehead wasn't obvious to everyone. Luckily the lighting was dark. "I was on the bus, coming home from football practice."
"That's right! And what were you doing?"
"I was...listening to music."
"And?"
"And...I don't know, texting, I think."
"Texting, yes, you were texting. Actually, no, that's a lie. You were about to text someone."
Emily clenched her jaw, glaring hard at Matt. She had apparently jumped to the correct conclusion.
Matt pursed his lips. "I'm not doing this."
Beth looked worried, but The Psycho just laughed.
"I can understand why this would be difficult for someone as shy as you, Matt. But the group deserves to know, don't you think?"
"I don't see why it's important," Matt shot back bravely.
Emily shrugged. "I'd quite like to hear it."
"Em!" Kurt hissed. "Really?"
The Psycho took control of the conversation once again. "I'll set you up, Matthew, all you have to do is serve the punchline."
"I'm not laughing," Matt muttered.
"Alright. So, everyone, our dear friend Matthew Taylor was in the middle of drafting a text message asking someone out on a date. Someone who decidedly wasn't Emily."
The same silence following Sam's question had fallen over the room again. Everyone's heart were pounding, just waiting to hear the next name that fell from Matt's lips.
"Who were you writing to, Matthew?"
Matt fidgeted, trying to meet everyone's eyes before settling on staring at the ground. He definitely didn't want to look at Emily right now. He knew the exact type of look that would be on her face and he knew that he didn't like it. Not one bit, especially not when he had actually done something wrong. Well, it wasn't necessarily wrong, but he hadn't been forthcoming with her, which was bad in Emily's book. She loved and valued honesty no matter what happened afterwards. As long as you were honest, you were good in her book.
"I was...I was writing to...um..."
Everyone inhaled.
"I was writing to Sam."
As the silence dragged on for an uncomfortably long time, Sam looked down, blushing.
"You can sit down now, Matthew, although I think you should find a different seat."
Chris stood up and sat next to Emily, while Matt gratefully took his seat in between Josh and Ashley.
Emily didn't look mad though. She was blank-faced, until a smile took over her face and she let out a raucous laughter.
"Oh that's priceless," she gasped between guffaws. "Matt had a crush on Sam, and she just left him to drown!"
She continued to laugh, hearing little chuckles coming from The Psycho.
After a few moments, the shock faded away and so did her laughter.
"Actually...that's not funny...not at all, really," she muttered soberly. Chris put on a hand on her arm.
The Psycho cleared their throat. "Let's keep this shame spiral going, shall we? I guess it's Emily's turn."
Emily growled. "I think you've already caused enough damage, don't you?"
"On the contrary, you've only played two out of the ten rounds required to save poor Beth's life. Life is going to be so much different when you finish the game. So, Emily Davis...Truth or Dare, bitch?"
Emily smiled grimly. "Guess I'll be the one to do it," she muttered.
It wasn't a hard choice for Emily. Usually.
Truth was something she often engaged with, a game she played every second of the day. It wouldn't matter what she said during a round of Truth, so that would surely be the obvious pick.
But right now, as the Psycho had probably planned, she was angry. Angry enough that she wanted to see someone suffer, she wanted to see someone hurt as much as she was hurting on the inside.
Sam had always been everyone's first choice for everything. She was beautiful, intelligent, athletic, all things Emily was too, but she was a nice person whom everybody valued highly. Emily valued herself and she knew others did too, but people liked genuinely kind people and that was not Emily. She didn't want to be that person, either, but she sometimes wished people thought of her as highly as they thought of Sam.
And if she had called Matt maybe two minutes later than she had, she might not be dating him at all.
She might've lost him to Sam.
She genuinely loved Sam, but she was also Emily's major weakness, where her irrational jealousy kicked in.
So someone would pay. She knew that much. And, in that moment, she didn't mind. She was too fuelled by rage and adrenaline and her own emotions threatening to bubble their way up to the surface.
"I'll choose Dare, Mr. Psychopath!" she bellowed up to the ceiling.
The Psycho cleared their throat and chuckled. "I'm glad someone had the balls to pick Dare. Beth, please give Emily the knife."
Knife? Emily thought.
Kurt felt Mike's hand tense in his own.
Ashley gasped and bit her lip. Matt gave her a reassuring pat on the knee.
Beth quietly stepped forward and handed Emily a knife, a tear running down her face.
"Emily. I want you to..."
"No. Wait, I'll choose Truth. This is not how I thought it would go."
"Too late," The Psycho drawled. "You made your choice and now you have to see it through."
Emily gulped as she gripped the knife tightly in her hand.
"This is about to escalate really quickly, everyone," The Psycho warned gleefully. "Emily, I want you to walk over to Ashley and roll up her sleeve."
Ashley's eyes widened, her mouth falling open.
Beth's eyes flickered around the room, but she was glued to the spot.
Emily rolled the knife in her hand, shaking her head.
Ashley looked to Josh next to her, whose fists were clenched, and then to Chris, who was looking at her with hope in his eyes, and then to Kurt, who always got her through rough times. She knew her was rooting for her. "Do it, Em!" Ashley barked across the room. "You have to, for Beth."
Emily steeled herself and walked across the room. Her arm hovered over Ashley's sleeve before she pulled it up, looking the other girl in the eye.
"Good, very good. This is exciting, isn't it? Now I want you to take the knife...and carve the word 'FREAK' in capital letters across her forearm."
A buzz erupted within the room.
"What the fuck is going on?" Jess spat to nobody in particular.
"This is so fucked up," Mike whispered to Kurt, who nodded and rubbed his arm. Kurt had said nothing since the game began. Everybody presumed he was deep in thought and left him to it. Kurt often coped with stressful situations with an alarming amount of silence, until the moment the group needed him to formulate a plan. Then he would whip into action. But for now there was nothing that they could do but play the torturous game.
Emily gripped the knife, shaking her head. "I can't. Ash..."
Ashley swallowed heavily. "It doesn't matter, Em. You don't have a choice. It's for Beth."
"You know I don't think that."
"Ah, but you do, Emily," The Psycho interjected. "You've said it once before, remember."
Emily did remember. She looked at Ashley imploringly. "Ash..."
Ashley locked eyes with her again. "Just do it, Em. Just get it over with." Tears leaked from her eyes as Emily readied the knife over her skin.
Emily gave Matt an angry look as she began to do as instructed.
As the blade made contact, Ashley hissed in pain.
Emily began to sob angrily too as she moved the knife along Ashley's skin.
Ashley winced at the burning, Josh holding her other hand. Blocked by Emily and Josh was Chris, who was holding his head in vicarious pain. Kurt reached across the space and rubbed soothing circles into his back. Chris reached out and grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly. Kurt saw a tear fall from his eyes as he gritted his teeth. Hannah remained on his other side, somewhat awkwardly crying as Ashley screamed.
"Almost done, Ash, it's almost done, I swear."
Emily worked as quickly as she could.
"Hey, Psycho, can someone get her a towel for the blood?"
"I suppose I'll allow it," The Psycho replied. "But don't try anything funny. Jess, you go."
Jess scrambled to go and get a washcloth from the kitchen area.
Emily manoeuvred the knife up and down as the last letter began to take shape. The 'K' burned into Ashley's skin as the blood oozed down her arm.
Matt drew his knees up to his chest and put his head in between them. He could feel a panic attack coming on. He didn't even care if Emily was watching him.
Emily drew the knife away from the sobbing girl and tossed it across the room.
"Pick it up, Emily. We might need it later..."
"FUCK YOU!" Emily yelled upwards. "FUCK YOU!"
"Please take your seat, Emily. I think we need to give Ashley a minute...any volunteers to go next?"
Predictably, nobody said anything.
"No one? Okay, I guess I'll choose. How about...our Class President in the room, Mr. Michael Munroe?"
Mike readied himself and cracked his neck. "Fine."
"Truth Or Dare, Michael?"
Mike looked at Kurt, whose eyes were blank, whose mouth was tightened shut, wondering what was going to happen.
"Kurt can't help you, Michael," The Psycho interrupted his train of thought.
The ticking sound effect started again, but Mike was too caught up in his thoughts to hear it.
"I...I don't know, I don't want to do either! I don't know what to do."
After ten seconds, a buzzer sounded.
"I'm sorry, Michael. You're out of time."
Mike whirled around to face Beth. "Wait."
The Psycho laughed. "No, don't worry. She's safe for now. It just means that I get to pick for you. And I pick Dare."
The colour flooded from Mike's face. He didn't even want to think about what he was going to be asked to do.
As his eyes scanned the room, he knew.
He knew what The Psycho was going to get him to do.
"Let's scale it back a little bit, shall we? Poor Ashley went through hell. How about some classic teenage dares for you all?"
Mike groaned.
"Michael, I dare you to make out with Hannah for twenty seconds."
As all eyes landed upon her, Hannah felt bad that a truly evil part of herself was glad that this was happening, that she would get to make out with Mike. But the overly good side of her, the most powerful side, reminded her what was going on, and she felt sick to her stomach.
Mike's eyes immediately landed upon Kurt, who shrugged passively.
Hannah looked to Kurt too, worriedly. Kurt smiled reassuringly at her.
Mike then, for the first time in hours, looked at Hannah Washington.
Hannah stared back at him, worry still in her eyes, but suddenly remembering why she fell for Mike Munroe in the first place. Those light brown eyes, that hard, thick jawline. And as he walked over to her, she had to focus to remember that she wasn't in Fantasy Land. She was in Hell. And this was designed to torture her. She knew she would remember that feeling of the kiss forever, and that was precisely the point.
"Stand up, Hannah. Go get what you've always wanted," The Psycho commanded.
Hannah stood up, looking at Beth for support. Beth gave her a small smile before looking at the ground once more.
Mike moved closer to Hannah.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
He reached out for her face. "Hey, this isn't your fault. I didn't choose quick enough. For what it's worth, I'm sorry for everything."
"We...we can talk later, if you want."
Mike nodded, smiling lightly.
Hannah closed her eyes as Mike leaned in.
Chris took Kurt's hand in his once again as Mike kissed Hannah.
"More passion, Munroe."
Mike winced as he kissed Hannah more deeply, parting her lips with his tongue.
Kurt knew this was the most evil thing Mike could have been asked to do, well besides doing something similar to what Emily had done. Mike would feel guilty about kissing Hannah, which would affect his budding relationship with Kurt. Mike wouldn't want to kiss Hannah, which meant that Hannah's first kiss would be forever tainted. It would be with the guy she loved, but for all the wrong reasons. It was horrible, and cruel, and a sadistic part of Kurt couldn't help but be impressed by the devious nature of the game. Of course, it was completely horrendous and he would kill whoever put them up to this. But he had to keep his head and get Beth out of this.
Twenty seconds seemed to last a lifetime to both Mike and Hannah. Hannah kept telling herself that it wasn't real passion, that Mike was pretending, but her body wasn't responding to her mind.
Mike eventually pulled away from the girl, whose lips were plump and eyes glassy. He blinked quickly and exhaled, shuffling back over to his seat. Chris pulled away from Kurt and tended to Hannah, who was quietly crying once more. Beth was turning red trying not to move from her spot, the vein in her forehead bulging out prominently.
Kurt put his hand on Mike's leg. "You don't have to say anything. I might end up having to do much worse to you. Then you'd seem stupid for apologising." He smiled quickly.
"Two truths...two dares. Who's next...ah, I think we'll come back to Ashley...truth or dare, Ashley?"
"Truth," she spluttered immediately, still clutching her arm. "I won't have you making me cut up anybody else!"
The Psycho chuckled. "Emotional wounds can cut just as deep...but okay. Ashley...let's see...ah yes. You recently read somebody's diary, is that correct?"
Ashley paused. "Um...yes. Only a few pages!"
"But enough to find out some truly great secrets...I want you to confess what you know in front of the group. Tell them whose diary you read and what you learned. Stand up, just like Matthew did."
Ashley reluctantly made her way to the front of the room, dabbing some of the dripping blood from her arm. You got this, Ash. Be brave. "So um...I want to say that I didn't mean anything bad by reading it, I just...wanted to know something that I'd been a little bit paranoid about. I know I should've just asked but...I didn't know what to do."
"Ashley."
"Okay, okay fine. I'm sorry! I read Chris' diary."
Chris' eyes widened. "Ash..."
"I'm sorry, Chris!"
"Tell them what you read, Ashley."
Ashley gritted her teeth. "I...it was a story. About...about two bo—people who had been friends for a l-long time and...they ended up confessing their feelings for each other."
"And what were their names?"
"C-Chris...and Josh."
Only a few surprised faces turned to the boys. Josh said nothing, staring hard at Ashley. Chris buried his head in his hands. Kurt took his hand again – it seemed to calm them both down."
Ashley was openly crying now. "I'm so sorry." She staggered back to her seat.
Josh turned to her. "It's not your fault."
Chris lifted his head. "I can't believe you read my diary. That was...personal."
"I was..."
"I don't care what you wanted! There's no excuse to invade someone's privacy like that."
The Psycho chuckled once more. Everyone was growing very tired of their games, and the rumbling laughter that followed each torturous round.
"Five rounds down...I'm impressed you guys made it this far. Allegiances have been tested, arms have been cut, but everyone's alive. You can all take a deep breath. Two dares, three truths. Now it's time to change the rules slightly. I'm going to reveal the order of the next five. The catch is that you can't choose the same option as the person before you. So think wisely when you make your decision about what you might have to put someone else through. The remaining order is Christopher, Hannah, Josh, Jessica, Kurt. Christopher Hartley...truth or dare!"
Chris immediately turned to Hannah, seeing the fear that had sparked in her eyes. "Dare."
Hannah sighed. She was secretly glad, but she didn't know what Chris was going to have to do, and that scared her more than anything she would be faced with.
"Brave choice, Christopher."
"Thank you," Hannah whispered.
"Don't mention it," he smiled quickly.
"So...your Dare...let's see...I know. I'm going to give you a choice. I'm not going to tell you the Dare, but I'm giving you the option of who to do it to..."
"Just hurry up with it," Chris spat.
"Ashley or Sam?"
Chris locks eyes with Ashley for just a brief second before moving on to Sam. His heart sank in his chest. Sam nodded, swallowing heavily.
"Okay. Sam."
"Okay then," The Psycho responded. "Grab the knife."
Sam gasped.
Chris clenched his fists.
"I'm just messing with you. I think enough knife damage has been done for now. Christopher, I want you to take Sam's phone."
Sam reluctantly handed Chris her phone, unlocking it quickly. She held tightly onto a silent Jess for support.
Chris wandered back dumbly to the centre of the room. "Yeah? Now what?"
"I want you to take a moment to look through her Notes. There you'll find some songwriting, poetry, and an unfinished letter. Please take a look at the letter."
Chris' apologetic eyes met Sam's, the girl nodding slowly, giving her permission.
Chris tapped and opened the memo, huffing.
"Read it aloud, Christopher."
Chris took a deep breath and read the note. "I've been thinking...a lot about him recently. I don't mean to, but I don't think I can stop myself. When he looks my way, it feels brand new. It didn't used to be like that, but once I'd even entertained the possibility of something like that happening, it's all I can think about.
"Part of me wonders what it would be like to ask him out – to see if he'd been thinking the same way as me. Probably not, some people can't look past their friendship to see what could be. To see what else could come from such a bond. But I have.
"Josh, I think I'd like to go out with you. I think I—."
Everyone paused. Sam was noticeably silent.
"That's...uh...that's where it ends."
Josh turned to Sam.
"Don't," she muttered, burying her head in Jess' shoulder. Jess gave Josh a small smile.
"Isn't this all very intriguing? Hannah, I guess it's time for your truth."
Hannah stood up. "I don't see what I could say that hasn't already been said tonight," she chuckled.
"I like your attitude, Hannah, but there's something you're forgetting. When Kurt walked into your room not an hour ago, you were writing in your diary, weren't you? Gosh, you all love to write about your feelings, it's gross. Hannah, can you remember what you were writing about?"
Hannah nodded gently, eyes flickering to Kurt.
"Care to share with the class?"
Hannah exhaled steadily. "Guess I should just come out with it. What more harm could I possibly do? I was writing about Kurt and Mike, no surprises there. Happy?"
"Far from it," The Psycho replied. "I want you to tell Kurt and Mike, as well as everybody else, exactly what you were writing before Kurt surprised you by trying to make amends."
Kurt frowned. Hannah had been perfectly lovely during their chat.
Hannah bit her lip. "I...I'm not proud of it. I wrote about how I thought it wasn't fair, that I never really got what I wanted in my life, that I was resentful that it was never me, always K-Kurt. Kurt, I'm so sorry."
Kurt shook his head, silently urging her to continue.
"I was angry, I...I wrote some really mean stuff about you and I didn't mean any of it."
"Say it," The Psycho demanded. "Now."
"Well, from what I can r-remember...I wrote that...fuck."
"Allow me to read it for you," The Psycho said, surprising them all. It was Hannah's truth, but they guessed it didn't matter who revealed it. The damage would be done anyway, this would just streamline things. "Kurt isn't nearly as perfect as he so clearly thinks he is. I thought his hopeless unrequited crush on my brother would take him down a notch or two, but clearly he still walks around with that same arrogant attitude about himself, thinking he can just take Mike for himself. I've known him longer, I've always been there for him. Plus I'm a girl. What chance does Kurt have with Mike or any guy for that matter? Nobody is going to want him. I think that he—. And that's where the entry ends. Pity, I would've loved to see the conclusion."
Hannah gaped, embarrassed. "Kurt, I—."
Kurt smiled pleasantly. "It doesn't matter, sweetheart. You said what you were feeling, I can't blame you for that. God only knows what I would've said about you had it been the other way around."
Hannah sniffled. Why was Kurt being so nice about this? She basically called him unlovable and arrogant. That was her anger talking. Not her personality, she loved Kurt, she really did. "I'm so sorry."
"Well, isn't Kurt being noble? I'm bored. Time for Josh's dare."
Josh rolled his eyes. "Bring it on, fucker!"
The Psycho laughed yet again. "You're surprisingly brave for someone with a big secret."
Josh shrugged. "After what's happened tonight, I don't care."
"Well, Josh, I want you to stand up and face the room."
Josh complied with the actions given.
"Now, Josh, you want to save your sister, correct?"
"Obviously."
"Even if it meant you had to cut off a finger?"
Josh faltered. "Yes. I would do it. Who needs all ten fingers anyway?"
The Psycho laughed. "I didn't say your finger. I want you to pick up the knife, and cut off someone's finger. Any person, any hand, any finger. You've got three minutes, and I want a severed finger on that table or else Beth will be dead and you won't be able to save her. But it cannot be your finger."
"Josh, calm down," Beth spoke for the first time since the game began.
Josh turned to face his sister, looking into her deep eyes. "I'm doing this for you."
"I know. I'm sorry."
Josh looked around the room. "Uh...any...volunteers?"
Ashley shrugged. "I'm already a freak, may as well have an odd amount of fingers to go with it."
"Ash!" Chris exclaimed.
"What, now you care?"
Josh huffed. "Guys! Ashley...think about this. Are you seriously volunteering to lose a finger?"
"I...I...I don't know."
Josh shook his head. "Then no."
Kurt stood up. "I'll do it."
Mike gaped. "Kurt...you play piano."
Josh nodded furiously. "You play so beautifully, I'm not letting some sick freak fuck that up."
"So now you're playing God?" Emily argued.
"I have three minutes to cut off someone's fucking finger, Emily. For good, they're not getting it back. Excuse me if I'm struggling to think clearly!"
Emily shrank back into her seat, it was a good point after all.
Sam stood up. "Cut off my finger, Josh."
"Sam..."
"No, Josh. Someone needs to take one for the team and I've already caused enough hurt tonight. I'm not letting anyone else do this. I'm insisting."
"Two minutes," The Psycho reminded them.
Josh sighed. "Shit. I'm gonna ask you one more time, Sam. Are you sure you want this?"
Sam nodded silently, placing her hand out on the table.
"Which one?" Josh wondered aloud.
Sam bit her lip. "Ring finger. It's my right hand, when am I gonna need it, right?" She tried to laugh, but the sound came out twisted and distorted.
Josh bent over the table and lifted the knife. "Fuck, fuck, fuck. I'm so sorry, Sam. Fuck!"
"Just do it. Someone distract me!"
Jess turned Sam's face towards her. "So I was in C-Calculus the other day and Artie Abrams was totally drooling all over his work, because I was wearing that really hot mini-skirt, so I was like "Ew, gross, perv" and he was all embarrassed and—."
Josh chose that moment to bring the knife down, hard enough to slice through the bone and sever Sam's finger from her hand. Sam squeezed Jess' hand with her free hand and let out a howl.
"FUCK!" She bellowed, breathing heavily. "Shit, motherfucker."
Sam pulled her hand away. "Someone get me something to wrap this up in!" Chris scrambled from his seat and went to find something appropriate for Sam's wound.
Josh slammed the knife down on the table next to the finger. "There? Done! Fucking psycho!"
Josh fell to his knees, head in his hands.
The booming laugh returned. "Well done, Joshua. I didn't know you had the guts. No time to linger on Sam's pain, unfortunately. It's time for Jessica's truth-telling. And you know what this is going to be, don't you Jessica?"
Jess wrinkled her face. "I've got a pretty good idea, yeah."
The Psycho clicked their tongue. "Well then, get on with it. Tell her what you've been meaning to tell her. Stand up."
Jess slipped out of her seat and looked at Kurt. He gave her a thumbs up in encouragement.
You got this, he mouthed.
"I'minlovewithSam!" She rushed, none of the syllables making sense. But she'd said it now, it would be easier to say it in the future.
"What?" Josh replied.
Jess took a deep breath. "Fuck, this is the worst timing in the history of confessions. I'm...in love with Sam. I'm bisexual."
Sam's eyes widened in surprise. "Jess, I...I had no idea."
"Only Kurt knew," Jess mumbled as she retook her seat. "I can...sit somewhere else?"
Sam shook her head. "No, no of course not. This doesn't change anything, Jess, alright? We're still us, we're still best friends. And I...fuck this hurts. Sorry...I wish I could be what you want me to be, I do. You're hot, and I'd be lucky to be with you. God, I'm bad at this."
Jess chuckled, eyes filling with tears.
"I just...don't feel the same way. I'm not into girls. I'm really sorry, Jess."
Jess nodded. "It's okay. I wasn't expecting anything. I was never going to tell you. What point would there be in saying anything, right?"
"Well, I fucking hate the situation, but I'm glad I know. You never have to keep anything from me again, okay?" Sam grasped Jess' hand again. "I love you, Jessie."
Kurt got to his feet. "Sorry girls, but I'm mad now. You're almost fucking done with this shit, Psycho! So give me my Dare and let's be done with this shit. There are eleven people in this room who are done with your games. So just end it already! What's my Dare?"
"You, Kurt, have the best Dare of all. I want you to come over to the speaker system and unplug my connection."
Kurt frowned. "But that...Beth...was this your plan all along? To get us to hurt each other to save Beth and kill Beth in the end anyway?"
The Psycho laughed. "You've all been excellent sports and I look forward to the aftermath of this game. But I would never allow you to actually win."
Kurt cursed. "Fuck."
Beth smiled. "It's okay, Kurt. If you don't, he'll just kill me anyway. I'd rather you guys be free from him."
Kurt approached Beth. "No. You know what, you're going to be fine. This isn't real, how can he kill you if he's not here? You haven't been poisoned, there are no bombs anywhere, this was all a trick."
Emily paused. "But Kurt...what if you're wrong?"
"Then Beth..." Hannah started.
Kurt ran a hand through his hair. Jess gasped. She had never seen him mess up his hair before, ever.
He paced and paced and paced, before walking up to the sound system.
"You want me to unplug you, Psycho?"
"Yes. Do it, Kurt. Be rid of me. And Beth. How confident are you that you're right?"
Kurt had a pained look in his eye. "Not at all. But if you're telling the truth, Beth was dead from the beginning."
He turned back to Beth. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I'm sorry this happened to you."
Before anyone could object, Kurt pulled the plug.
A pregnant silence fell over the room as Beth winced, ready for whatever was going to happen.
But nothing came.
"I was right," Kurt whispered, relief flooding through him.
He walked back over to Beth, checking her from head to toe. "You're okay!"
Hannah and Josh rushed over to her, hugging her and crying.
Mike stood warily. "I have a feeling this isn't the end. Why would he just let us off the hook like that?"
Matt grimaced and got to his feet, too. "Well, I don't know if you've noticed, Mike, but none of us are exactly any better off than we were before the game."
"Some of us lost a finger!" Sam chimed in.
Kurt gasped as he looked around the room. "That was the endgame. Now we have to deal with what's left."
Everyone looked around at each other, some avoiding awkward glances.
Kurt and Matt were right.
The ten teenagers who played the game were left with ruined relationships, unveiled secrets, and a cabin full of angst.
Then the shouting began.