11 Alea Ludo Chapter 10

Four days.

Four days had passed since we were brought to the secret facility of Serendipity. On the third day, I had accomplished my task in earning enough money to save my bar from foreclosure. I was in third place. If the games were to end on that day, I would leave the facility with eight hundred thousand dollars.

I racked my brain about what I would even possibly do with such a significant amount of money. Obviously, three hundred and twenty-five dollars would go to saving the bar. That took priority over anything else. The rest would probably be put away in a bank somewhere just in case of emergencies.

My thoughts on leaving the facility shattered once reality kicked in for me. It would be impossible to do that just because I achieved my goal. There were ten people in the facility that had their goals and ambitions. As far as I was concerned, they hadn't come close to achieving their goals. That was evident by the fact that four people voted to continue playing the games.

Who were these four people? I had no clue. I couldn't trust anyone in the facility. I was sure they had their agendas for participating in the games, as did I. Any one of them could've been the traitors.

Because of them, everyone would be stuck there for an unknown amount of time until everyone's selfish desires were met. The chances of that were slim. There were numerous scenarios to consider through our time in the facility. Like Melanie's promise to continue voting to play if she was no longer in the lead. That single declaration would prove to be a problem in the future if nothing was done about her.

Could she be talked down with reason and logic?

No.

Could she be bribed with the promise of money?

Most likely.

But would anyone be willing to surrender some of their money to her?

No.

The same could be said for the traitors. Like everyone else in the facility, their goal was to win large sums of money as soon as possible. They wouldn't let anything get in their way.

I couldn't blame them. I was the same.

From what I assumed, the traitors were people that hadn't yet had a chance to experience the dangers of the games personally. Those people were Wyatt, Nicholas, Iris, Henrika, Salomon, and Zoey. There was a huge possibility that the traitors were among them.

It made sense after all. What would be the point in coming all the way there to just run away with nothing? It would be a waste of time.

Another thing to consider was the fact that the number of people voting to continue playing decreased after each game. At first, five people voted to keep playing. That number dropped down to four after Melanie reached first place in the rankings. The number would drop down to three should I vote to leave the facility.

But I was conflicted about making that choice. People had no doubt noticed the pattern about the drop-in votes. If I voted to leave the facility, the others would be able to piece together that either Elena or I were one of the traitors. It would be safe to assume that everyone would look to me judging by Elena's personality. Regrettably, I had no other choice but to vote to continue playing the game to avoid suspicion.

I would have to wait until the next day to vote to leave. And even then, it wouldn't make much of a difference. That would still leave three other people that would vote to keep playing.

It was infuriating. But that was my only option until I could find a way to find the traitors and convince them to leave the facility. Time was of the essence. I had ten days left to save my bar. Sure, it seemed like more than enough time. But the faster I left the place, the better.

Nearly losing my life yesterday made me open my eyes to the dangers of the games. The first two games paled in comparison to mine. But what about the future games? How dangerous were they going to be compared to mine? Would someone die? If so, then who?

If I were lucky, then some of the traitors would be the ones to die in the next few games. Either that or the fear of death would be enough to scare them into voting to leave. Death had its mysterious way of changing people. That fact was certain.

"Starving…" I placed my hand on my growling stomach. My gaze moved to the clock hanging up on the wall. It was 9 A.M., which often meant that it was about time for Iris to come collect me for breakfast. I figured I'd beat her to the punch and get there myself. I got out from the bed, immediately feeling the painful tug of the stitches in my back.

"Up on your feet already, Ambrose?" My eyes narrowed at the sound of the familiar, cheery voice of the Game Moderator, Caius. Out of all the voices I wanted to hear early in the morning; his was definitely among the last on my list.

Reluctantly, I turned around and faced the man. He entered the infirmary with a set of clothes in his hands. "What are you doing here?"

With a slight tilt of his head, the man responded, "Is it wrong for the Game Moderator to check on the condition of his players?"

"You never checked on Darius when he got injured." I countered.

"That is incorrect," Caius shot back. "I checked on him the other day when no one else was around."

"Whatever, just answer my question. Why are you here?"

"I have taken the liberty of bringing you a change of clothes," Caius set the clothes on my medical bed. Afterward, he wandered over to the medical cabinet and pulled out a bottle of pills. "Here, these will help ease the pain in your back."

I shook my head in refusal of the pills. I'd be damned if I took some strange pills from that man. The pain in my back paled in comparison to anything else I felt throughout my life. If there was one thing I learned, it was to deal with the pain. Plain and simple.

"Don't need them. Knowing you, it may be poison." I assumed.

"How brazen of you, assuming I would go so far as to poison my players." Caius' tone turned brittle as if he was on the verge of tears. "No need for your suspicion. I gain nothing from poisoning you. I need to make sure you are in tip-top shape for future games. But, if you do not want them, I will not force you to take them."

"If that's all you came here for, you should leave," I demanded.

"Hold on a moment. There is something else I need to tell you." Caius returned the bottle of pills into the medical cabinet.

"Spit it out."

Caius' trademark smile painted across his face as he pointed at me, deliberately striking a pose as he said, "You are the esteemed winner of the Labyrinth Game! Therefore, you have earned the prize that comes with that title!"

"Prize?" I asked as I thought back to the incident of the game. The only thing I honestly remembered was my blunder in mistaking Elena for Trish. Other than that, everything else was a complete blur.

"Have you forgotten about the treasure box?" Caius pointed to the treasure box that lied under my bed. I grabbed the box and set it on a medical stand. "I hope you enjoy your prize."

While his words reverbed in my mind, I cautiously opened the treasure box. I didn't know what to expect. Whenever something involved Caius, I could only hope for the worst. I saw nothing but darkness as I stared into the open treasure box. With a stilted breath, I reached inside and pulled out small pieces of paper with Caius' face printed on the sides of it.

"What the fuck is this?" I asked.

The painted smile on Caius' face grew wider as he replied, "Those are Caius Coupons! You can use those to gain special privileges!"

I flipped through the coupons in my hands. "Watch TV with Caius, play games with Caius, eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner with Caius..."

In that instant, Caius drew close to my face. "Yes! Should you decide to use any of those coupons, I must oblige! Are you not excited?!"

At that moment, I wasted no time in tearing the coupons in my hands to shreds. Were those coupons the grand prize of my game? That's what Elena and I risked our lives for? I nearly got sliced in half for stupid fucking coupons? There were limits to my patience. That was no secret.

And in that short timespan, Caius had managed to reach that limit.

I dropped the shredded pieces of the coupons on the floor. It brought me little enjoyment watching the Game Moderator dropping down to his knees, scooping up the bits in his hands. Although it was only for a moment, I had the most power.

"My coupons!" Caius cried as he looked up at me. "It took me hours to make these! How could you?!"

The man's absurdity knew no limits. He acted as if I had killed his first born child.

"You're wasting my fucking time! Get out!" I yelled.

"After all, I have done to help you. This is how you repay me?" Caius stood to his feet and glared at me. I saw it, the fierce, seething rage in his eyes. However, I refused to be intimidated. "Henrika and Wyatt were adamant about tending to your wounds. But, out of the kindness of my heart, I made sure my medical personnel saw to your treatment to keep your secret."

"Thanks so much," I nodded. "Feel better now?"

"I would be careful if I were you, Ambrose. Upsetting the Game Moderator is never a good thing." Caius warned.

"I'll be sure to remember that," I took the change of clothes from the bed and left the room. I knew spending more time with that man would be detrimental to my health.

"Good morning, Ambrose." I stopped in place when Nicholas called out to me.

"Morning," I greeted.

"Have you seen Caius? I have been looking for him." Nicholas said.

I nodded my head and pointed to the infirmary door behind me with my thumb. "Yeah, he's in there. He's in a bit of a bad mood. So, careful what you say to him."

"Understood. Thank you." Nicholas smiled and entered the infirmary. With that, I went to my room and changed my clothes. My feelings of hunger never subsided, so, I went to the mess hall.

Along the way, I came across Zoey.

"Good morning, Ambrose." She greeted me first. "You're up on your feet already?"

"Yeah," I nodded.

"That's surprising, considering you were shot." She mentioned.

"Bullets only grazed me. No issues," I paced back and forth then stopped. "See?"

"Yes, I do." Zoey lowered her gaze to my legs. Typical of a detective. Always observant. That talent of hers was dangerous. If I weren't careful around her, then my identity as one of the traitors would've been revealed.

"My eyes are up here." I gestured to my eyes.

She cracked a smile, raised her head, and looked at me. "Forgive me. That was rude. Anyway, where are you heading off to?"

"Mess Hall. I'm starving." I slipped my hands into my pockets and headed off toward the mess hall. Zoey took it upon herself to follow me. Being around that woman was uncomfortable. She was mostly silent and had an unreadable expression on her face most of the time. An unapproachable aura as some would say.

So, to have her follow me around Serendipity made me feel a little tense. She was a detective. Her skills of observation were above average when compared to ordinary people. The fact that she only asked me once about my legs already unnerved me. Did she know? Was my answer not satisfactory to her?

"This may be rude of me to ask. But how goes the investigation?"

"It is going well. My list of suspects will decrease after today's voting."

"You sound confident."

"I am good at my job."

The two of us came to a stop when we spotted Klara coming toward us from the other side of the hallway. The woman didn't bother to look up from her book as usual as she passed us.

"Silent as usual that one," I stated.

"Yeah," Zoey agreed.

Eventually, we reached the mess hall. It was there we were greeted with a familiar scene of Wyatt and Melanie having a little dispute with each other. They stood face to face, glaring at one another. Iris kept close to Wyatt, grabbing his arm in case he tried to attack Melanie. Darius stood with Elena, and Salomon remained indifferent, smoking away one of his cigars.

"What's going on here?" A voice came from behind us. Then, a pair of hands moved Zoey and me aside. The owner of the voice stepped out from behind us then approached Wyatt and Melanie. It was Henrika.

"This bitch is seriously trying my patience!" Wyatt angrily responded, his furious gaze never leaving Melanie.

"It's not polite to point, Doc," Melanie said.

"Just cut it out already! She's just trying to make you made!" Iris stated.

"Don't get in the way." A smug expression appeared on Melanie's face. "Let Doc do whatever he wants. He knows he wants to hit me."

"That is quite enough! Both of you!!" Zoey yelled, drawing everyone's attention to us. "It is too early for any of you to be starting pointless drama!"

Melanie turned her head to look at Zoey. Her expression was never changing. "Nothing wrong with a little drama here and there. It keeps people on their toes. Don't wanna get too comfortable being in this place, y'know?"

That was some unique logic she used there. I knew that she was using that as an excuse to cause trouble though.

"So badmouthing my wife is your way of keeping me on my toes?" Wyatt continued to glare at Melanie.

"Sure, why not." She shrugged her shoulders, infuriating the Doctor even more with her vague answer.

"I've had just about enough of you! Since day one you've done nothing but demean and ridicule everyone in this facility! Mocking us as we struggle to survive each day that passes!"

"Struggle to survive? Are you kidding me, Doc?" She seemed insulted by his words. But that was a hoax. Her Cheshire smile never vanished from her face. "All you've done so far is bitch and moan about your wife and how you wanna leave the facility as soon as possible. Can hardly call that struggling to survive. You haven't played a single game yet. From my perspective, you're nothing more than a bystander."

"Why you…"

"Didn't you two hear Zoey? She said that's enough!" Henrika raised her voice. Everyone's attention was on her. "Quit causing trouble! We have enough problems to deal with, and we don't need you two adding any more!"

"I am not the one causing the problems." Said Wyatt, pointing over to Melanie with a look of disdain. "Your words should be directed towards her. This girl strives on causing nothing but chaos. Yell at her, not me."

"If you realize that, then why are you allowing her to anger you, Wyatt?" Zoey called out to him. "You are a grown man. You should not allow the taunts of a child to mess with your head."

"That's what we've been trying to tell him! But our warnings have just been going through one ear and out the other!" mentioned Iris, folding her arms across her chest with an annoyed expression.

"Wyatt, I can understand your frustrations. I want to leave Serendipity as much as you do. But allowing your frustrations to cloud your better judgment will not get you out of here any faster." Zoey stated, keeping her sharp, cold glare on the Doctor.

"Listen to the Cyclops, Doc. You don't wanna…"

"And you need to keep your mouth shut." The detective sharply turned to face Melanie, giving the young girl the same, cold expression. "You want to create chaos among the group? Go ahead and try. I will not bother trying to stop you. However, your actions will certainly have consequences. Continue acting the way you are now, and you will eventually come to regret the decisions you have made in this competition."

Everyone was speechless after hearing Zoey's words. It was surprising seeing her act like that. She was never as confrontational before. Something must've happened for her to act that way.

"Now that's a threat if I've ever heard one. You should be careful when threatening me. I don't take too kindly to threats." Zoey's threat didn't deter Melanie. If anything, she seemed ecstatic. She engaged Zoey in a brief staring contest. Neither of them showed any signs of backing down.

"Okay, okay, that's enough." Henrika stepped in between the two of them. "We should be ashamed of ourselves. Fighting among ourselves like this causes nothing but trouble. Now it's no secret that some of us don't like each other. That's fine. But we should put that aside and work together to survive."

"Yeah, I'm with Henrika on this one. Fighting doesn't solve anything. Only through cooperation can we prosper." Darius jumped into the conversation.

One by one the others stepped up and sided with Henrika and Leona in choosing to stick together, sans Klara and Melanie. However, the situation felt oddly familiar. At that moment, I was reminded of the first round of voting, when the others "revealed" their votes. It didn't matter what anyone said.

I certainly didn't take anything they said to face value. The fact of the matter was that three people would vote to continue playing the games as long as their greed would allow. No matter how much the others wished to work together.

It was impossible.

Everyone had to of known this. If so, then it made the scene even more pathetic as they tried to grasp onto a false sense of comradery. Or rather, a select few of them decided to aim for that point. Either way, it didn't matter. I wasn't going to be the one to the point that out to anyone.

Unfortunately, the one to do that was none other than the bitch herself, Melanie, "In case everyone has forgotten, working together is impossible. There are still four people in this group that are gonna vote to continue playing today." She announced to everyone, breaking the "happy" mood of the room. "You can all go ahead and pretend to work together all you want; it makes no difference to me. But deep down you all know the truth of the situation. Not a single person in this facility can be trusted until the traitors are revealed."

Her words hit everyone like a ton of bricks. No one spoke out to protest. It was clear that she was right.

Her expression grew more sinister as she continued to speak, "What a horrible thing to do, Cyclops. Getting everyone's hopes up like that. Is this some kinda cruel and unusual punishment?" Her wicked eyes were on Zoey. "Don't get me wrong; I love it. Torturing someone is always fun. If you enjoy it that is."

"What…what are you talking about?" asked Elena, taking shelter behind the backs of Darius and Iris.

"Shut up, Funbags! I'm not talking to you!" Melanie snapped at her before returning her gaze to Zoey. "Back to the topic at hand…pretending to form "peaceful" relationships with the other players sounds fun and all, but it's pointless. Everyone should know this. So, why are you wasting precious time lying to them about working together to survive?"

"I am not lying. Working together can increase our chances of survival." Zoey answered.

"Oh really?" Melanie tilted her head back, looking at Zoey suspiciously. "Because from my perspective, working with people that will betray usual ends up with you getting killed. For a detective, you're really stupid."

"That's enough, Melanie! We…"

"Shut the fuck up, Dumbass! The grown-ups are talking!" Melanie snapped at Darius as well. She then returned her gaze to Zoey. Only that time, her eyes were no longer wicked. They burned with rage. "I know what you're doing. This is your own sick and twisted way of finding the traitors. Giving people false hope, gauging their reactions, making your conclusions as to who they could be."

Zoey didn't respond. Neither confirming or denying the accusations coming from Melanie.

Despite that, the little bitch continued to speak, "Your silence is all I need for confirmation. As I said, I like what you're doing. But I hate the fact that you're not enjoying it. When you toy with the hopes and emotions of others, you should at least enjoy it. Otherwise, there's no point. It's no fun."

"What are you going on about? You are not making any sense." Wyatt said.

"I'm making perfect sense, Doc. You're the one that's too stupid to figure out what's happening right in front of you."

"Melanie is accusing Zoey of toying with us to find out which of us are the traitors," I explained.

"How can she be toying with us? Working together is the best possible outcome." Iris assumed.

"Are you sure about that, Rainbows?" Melanie called her out. "Sure, it may sound like the best outcome. But for who exactly? If we were all to work together, no doubt we'd find knives in our backs sooner or later. The only ones that would benefit from "working together," would be the traitors."

"Since you seem to be so against working together, then what do you suggest we do?" inquired Darius, showing an unpleasant expression while looking at Melanie.

"Not work together?" She responded with a shrug of her shoulders as if the answer should've been obvious.

"Why in the world should we even bother listening to her? She is only trying to cause another commotion." Wyatt turned his back to us then headed towards the exit. "I do not know about any of you. But I refuse to listen to any more of her nonsense."

"Go ahead and call it whatever you want, Doc. We'll see which one of us is left standing by the end of this game." She spoke menacingly. Wyatt stopped in his tracks. His shoulders raised, his hands clenched into fists. "Placing your trust in strangers is a good way to get you killed. Only by trusting yourself can your chances of survival increase."

"What's with you today?" I stepped forward, staring blankly at the teenage girl. It was odd hearing her speak so much. She was insistent on keeping the others separated. "Why are you so adamant about this topic?"

She cracked her usual smile in response to my question. "Isn't it obvious? I wanna create more drama and tension. No one knows the identities of the traitors, and yet most of you are continuing to go through the days like they don't exist. It's boring as hell to watch."

"So…this is just another game to you?" Wyatt slowly turned around, glaring daggers at Melanie.

"Of course." She happily answered without a care in the world. "But this time, it's my game. You have two choices. One, trust the other players and work together. Or two, don't trust them and continue throughout the remaining games by yourself."

"Those choices are a bit…" Elena trailed off.

"However you choose to play this game doesn't matter to me. In the end, you're all gonna die." Melanie nonchalantly proclaimed. She performed a cutthroat gesture with her thumb for emphasis. "But when you do die, please make it interesting for me at least. It'd be boring if you all died similarly."

"You're insane," said Darius.

"Insane? Perhaps. But you can't argue with the results." She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm the one in the lead after all."

Before anyone else could speak out against her, our attention was drawn to the entrance of the room where Caius stood, frantically clapping his hands. Although I never admitted it aloud, that was the one time I was glad to see him. I could only handle so of Melanie's shit.

"Good morning everyone! Already up to your usual shenanigans I see!" He cheerfully greeted us.

"I wouldn't call it shenanigans as much as it is a warning," Melanie told him. "You taking us to the voting room?"

"You are correct!" He snapped his fingers then smiled. "It is time to start the third voting round!"

"Can…can we skip the voting for today?" The sudden request came from Darius.

In response to the request, Caius over exaggeratedly gasped. He leaned back and placed his hand on his chest. Honestly, he was one for the dramatics.

"Skip…?! Skip…?! You want to skip the voting?!" He exclaimed.

"Darius? What do you think you're doing?" Iris looked at Darius.

"Listen to me for a second. As Melanie said, there's no point getting our hopes up, pretending like the traitors don't exist. If we go and vote again, it'll be like yesterday." He solemnly answered.

"The dumbass is right." Melanie agreed. "No one's gonna go home today. Might as well skip the voting altogether."

"How can you all come to such a ridiculous conclusion? The voting rounds are exceptional! No one knows what the outcome will be by the end of it!" Caius desperately continued with his attempts to goad us into voting.

"That's a lie, and you know it," I called him out on his words. "Nothing has changed in the past four days, and nothing will change now."

"I also agree. At this point, the voting seems to be redundant." Nicholas added.

"Unforgivable! How could you deny the other players hope of ever returning home?" Caius threw a temper tantrum by stomping his feet on the floor. "Do you not understand that by refusing to vote, all of you will be stuck here for another day?"

"It was going to happen regardless if we voted or not. Might as well make things easier on ourselves." Darius said.

"It is regrettable, but it is the choice we are making. Nothing will change until the traitors are found." Wyatt said.

Caius bewilderingly looked to everyone. He took immediate notice of their solemn expressions. He then hung his head and sighed in defeat, complying with their demands.

"Very well. If you all refuse to vote, then I shall not force you. We will commence with the games at the scheduled time." He begrudgingly announced to us. Once he was done, he weakly waved goodbye to everyone before leaving, dragging his feet in the process.

It was odd, and yet satisfying watching Caius act all dispirited.

After he left, Darius heaved a sigh of relief. "I'm glad there's an option to skip the voting. No more getting our hopes up for the time being." His expression turned grim afterward. "I can't believe that I'm happy about not being able to get my hopes up."

"Although unfortunate, it was the best move." Wyatt consoled Darius. "By skipping the votes, we are saving precious time. Time that we could be using finding the traitors."

"Yes. Also, it spares us from any more disappointment and heartbreak." Elena added.

"But by doing so, aren't we also giving up?" All gazes were on Salomon once he spoke up for the first time.

"What do you mean?" Iris asked.

"By refusing to vote, we're practically waiting for someone to die." He solemnly answered. "The identity of the traitors is still unknown. Right now, if someone's alive, we'll refuse to vote."

"By refusing to vote, there will be no progress," Nicholas announced.

"And there can only be progress through death." Said Melanie, a dangerous glint flashed through her eyes as she chuckled at the revelation.

"So, until someone else dies…no one's going to vote?" Darius hesitantly said. His body trembled.

There was no immediate answer to his question. There was no need to answer. He already knew what it would be.

It was idiotic of him to suggest skipping the votes without correctly thinking things through. Overall though, I wasn't too bothered by the sudden turn of events. Since everyone decided to skip out on the votes, it saved me the trouble of having to vote to stay another day. But while I was rescued from one problem, another one reared its ugly head.

No one was going to vote until someone else out of the group died. It was unfortunate. But that's just how things were going to be. The identity of the traitors was unknown. No one could be trusted.

It was bound to happen sooner or later. Even if the traitors were found before the suggestion was made to skip the votes, their deaths would most likely be the key to the progression of the game anyway. It didn't bother me if someone died. However, several questions lingered in the back of my mind.

Would someone die? Who would die?

When would someone die? Would it be sooner? Later?

My train of thought was derailed after hearing Elena's distinctive cry again, "No! That's not right! It shouldn't be this way! No one else should have to die!"

"That's the way it's gonna be, Funbags! Deal with it!" Melanie harshly told her as she headed for the exit. "Someone else had better drop dead soon! I don't wanna be cooped up in this facility if nothing's gonna happen!"

One by one the others began to leave the room, making claims about losing their appetite and whatever other excuses they could build on the spot. I stayed behind, however. Despite the situation, I was starving. The food had gone cold, but I didn't care. I grabbed a plate of food, took an empty seat, then filled my stomach in complete silence.

I looked up from my plate and noticed Elena seated across from me.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Sitting with you," Elena answered.

"Why?"

"You don't want me here?"

"Don't bother me," I demanded and returned to my food. We sat there in awkward silence for what seemed like forever. Eventually, Elena succumbed to the quiet and decided to break the ice.

"So, how are your wounds?" She asked.

"Fine."

"I see..." She lowered her head. "So, you know about the rankings, right? About what I had to do?"

I nodded my head in understanding. Not once did it cross my mind to blame Elena for anything she did throughout the game. In fact, she did everything she could to come out on the winning side. Perhaps if she had a different opponent, things could've ended differently for her.

"I don't blame you. It was the right decision." I said.

"Was it? I only have five points left. I'm in last place." Elena lamented as her sight moved to her game bracelet.

"Hey, should we leave soon, you'll have one hundred thousand dollars. Isn't that enough to help with your dream?" I asked.

Elena moved her hand to her chest and smiled. "It's more than enough."

"You do that a lot, you know? Put your hand on your chest. What are you hiding?" I wondered.

Elena shifted in her seat and blinked in surprise. She looked everywhere around the room except at me. "Hiding? I'm not hiding anything."

"You're a terrible liar," I pointed my fork at her. The woman sighed in defeat and reached into her cleavage, pulling out a diamond ring. "You're married?"

"Yes, I'm here because of him." Elena stared at the diamond ring longingly.

"And you're happy about that?"

"I'm not happy to be here. But, I am happy to risk my life for him. For us." Elena moved the ring back into her cleavage.

"Why?"

No matter how much I tried to wrap my mind around it, I couldn't figure out how Elena could be so happy about her situation. I understood that she fought for a loved one. Both of us were similar in that aspect.

"He's risked so much for me. A lot more than he should have. He helped me get out of that mansion." The light in Elena's eyes vanished at that moment. They turned dark and cold. Eyes like those were far too similar to mine.

"Mansion?" I questioned. Elena quickly returned to normal once she blinked in surprise, having realized what she said, she moved her hand over her mouth. "You're rich?"

Elena shook her head. "No. Far from it. My mother works as a maid for a rich man."

"What was so bad about it that you had to leave? Couldn't handle being around the rich while you're poor?"

"It was the people. No, that's not right. They were monsters. All of them." Elena gripped onto her arm and grimaced. "I couldn't find a single shred of humanity in those husks. They did whatever they wanted in that place, to whoever they wanted."

"Sounds about right. The rich are powerful 'cause they have money."

"I know. I learned that lesson the hard way when I met that man's son."

"Your mom's bosses son, right?" I asked. Elena nodded. "Something happened?"

"Things started off small at first. He'd simply tease or pull pranks on me. But, over time his antics dreadfully grew. I still have nightmares about him sneaking into my room at nights to--"

"That's enough. I understand." I interrupted her. I didn't want to hear any more.

"When I told my mother about what he was doing to me, do you know what she told me to do? Keep my head down, mouth shut, and endure it. She didn't want to risk losing her job because of my complaining."

When tears streamed down Elena's face, I tightened my grip on my utensils and slammed them on the table. "What kind of mother says something like that to her daughter?!"

"Calm down, Ambrose. It's in the past now. I'm free from that place and her." Elena reminded.

"But, you're trapped here," I stated.

"I know. But, I'll survive. I'll leave this place and repay the debt to my husband." Elena claimed, her voice beamed with confidence and determination. That was something I wasn't used to. In my eyes, Elena had always been weak. But, the one before me at that moment was someone completely different.

"What do you mean by debt?"

"My husband and I took out a loan from these men so that we could start our dream business. But, things didn't work out, and we couldn't pay them off." Elena revealed.

"Loan sharks?" I asked.

"Yes."

"So, that's your financial issue."

"The loan sharks cornered and told us that they would hurt us if we didn't pay them back. I told them that I'd do anything and they gave us two options."

"And those were?"

"Either they could rape me as much as they wanted, or we could risk our lives in these games until we earned enough money to pay them back."

"I see."

"Coming here was the worst choice. But, I just couldn't let them put their hands on me. Not again." Elena closed her eyes and wiped her tears away. "Someone's going to die, aren't they?"

"We don't know that for sure."

"But, everyone said that they wouldn't vote unless someone else died."

"They're scared, Elena. Waiting until someone dies is the easiest way to weed out the traitors."

"And just because it's the easiest, that makes it right?" Elena frowned.

"Never said that." I shook my head.

"Honestly, I don't see why need to hide why they're here or the amount of money they need. Why can't we all just work together until everyone is satisfied with the money they have?"

That thought crossed my mind on the first day we were brought into Serendipity. Everyone working together to earn the money they needed to settle their financial situations. It seemed like the best thing to do at the time. However, I wasn't foolish enough to believe in such a fantasy.

It was a pipe dream.

The personalities and convictions of the other players conflicted with one another. Coming to a consensus would be impossible. There also lied the fact that it wasn't always about the case of how much money someone needed. But, instead of how much they wanted.

"I wouldn't mind going through with your idea. But, it won't be easy convincing the others to go through with it." I said.

A bright smile appeared on Elena's face. "You mean? If I manage to convince the others, would you be willing to help me, Ambrose? I want to save as many lives as possible."

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind, but--"

"Thank you! Thank you! I'll find Iris and Darius! They'd surely want to help!" Elena quickly got up and ran out of the room. She ignored my pleas for her to wait.