8 Chapter Eight: Liar, Liar

No one had time to react while the water quickly filled the room, rising to the top at an accelerated rate. The majority of the group tried to hold their breath as the water came down, but it was difficult when it was hitting hard.

Lilian began to choke as bubbles formed in front of her, coming out her mouth as she tried to breathe. But she was failing miserly as she kept inhaling the water. It has not been a minute, and Lilian was close to passing out.

Kevin and Elrick were trying to remain calm as they held onto the podium to keep from falling to the ground. Kevin kept his eyes open as his mouth was closed. He tried to keep from breathing in the water through his nose but failed each time.

After a second, he opened his mouth to cough, only to choke on the water he began to inhale.

Elrick went swimming with his friends a lot of times, and they used to have contests on how long they could hold their breath underwater. So, he was having an easier time than the others as he stopped his breathing.

Taylor never went swimming; she had a small fear of water because of what happened when she was a child. So, when the water first hit and started to fill the room, Taylor began to hyperventilate.

Her situation was worse than the others, even Lilian, as she automatically passed out, lying on the ground under the water. It was hard to tell if Taylor was moving.

Catherine tried to do what Elrick and Kevin were doing but was silently freaking out. She gripped her throat as she began to choke on the water. Once it felt like water was entering her lungs, she started to struggle, speeding up the process of drowning.

The child did not react. Once the water came, and the area was full of it, the boy laid down on the ground, stretching out his body as he closed his eyes. He was calm, not caring that he was slowly drowning.

No one noticed that the water did not ultimately reach the ceiling, and in the dry space, cameras were hanging down taking pictures of the people.

The Watcher was smiling, touching the screen as they enjoyed the beautiful picture of the people drowning. "Underwater pictures are the best." The Watcher softly sighed as they kept their eyes glued to the screen.

After a few minutes passed, and everyone was not moving, the Watcher stopped the consequence. He pushed the button that allowed the water to drain.

Once the water was gone, the Watcher waited for the others to wake up.

Elrick and Kevin were the first ones to wake up as they began to cough up water. Elrick did not remember when he fell unconscious, but at least he did not end up drowning.

Kevin held onto his throat as he kept coughing, even when all the water was gone.

Catherine and the child came next. Catherine woke up with a start, turning her body over as she threw up water and any other liquid in her stomach. Her hands were shaking.

The child opened his eyes as he started coughing up the water, almost choking on it when the water fell back down in his throat. The boy grabbed the podium, using it to put himself in a sitting position as he leaned over, spitting out the rest of the water.

Taylor and Lilian were not moving.

Noticing this, Elrick was the first person to speak, "Hey, Taylor and Lilian are not moving."

The others, minus the little boy, turned to look at Taylor and Lilian's still bodies. They could not go over and touch them because of the chain, keeping them to the podium, so it was hard to check if they were alive.

"Good riddance to Lilian; this is her fault that we are in this mess," Catherine commented as she pulled on her wet clothes.

They were all drenched in water, cold from the chilly air in the room, hitting their wet bodies. No one besides, Catherine commented on it because their minds are on two potential new dead bodies.

"Do not be an as*hole about it," Kevin told Catherine with a glare before looking at the ceiling, "can you do something?" He was pleading to the Watcher.

The Watcher hummed, looking at Taylor and Lilian as they thought for a while. After coming to a decision, the Watcher pushed a button.

The ceiling near Taylor and Lilian opened as robotic arms came out, holding syringes full of liquid. The others did not know what was inside the needles and did not have time to ask the person.

With a swiftness, the arms stabbed the syringes into Taylor and Lilian, pushing the liquid inside. Once the needles were empty, the arms retracted back into the ceiling as it closed behind them.

It only took a second before Lilian and Taylor popped up, breathing hard as they both turned over, throwing out the water in their lungs. Lilian was coughing hard as she kept taking in a few deep breaths.

Taylor was trembling all over as she curled her body up, rocking back and forward.

Elrick and Kevin let out a sigh of relief that Taylor and Lilian were fine, although they were a bit worried about Taylor, who looked to be having a small breakdown.

Catherine rolled her eyes but kept quiet, not saying anything.

Since everyone was awake now, the podium's button began to glow as everyone's name showed up in their favorite colors.

"It is time for everyone to plead their case before the elimination. Remember to think with your mind and not your feelings." The Watcher told them.

Everyone, and even Taylor, who stopped shaking after hearing the Watcher's voice, used the podium to pick themselves up. When they were on their feet, most of the eyes were on Lilian.

Lilian was rubbing her throat as she felt eyes on her. When she looked up, Lilian saw Catherine, Elrick, and Kevin looking at her. "Yes?" She said, her voice sounding terrible.

"Plead your case. Why did you lie? Because if we got to choose right now, I would pick you." Catherine glared, sounding vicious.

Catherine did not care how harsh she was being; the woman lied as that other idiot did. She feels that if the person cannot tell the truth, they are guilty and should die.

Elrick shook his head at Catherine, not happy with the teen's attitude. "Catherine, please calm yourself. You are not thinking clearly. There could be an explanation as to why Lilian did not tell the truth."

Then he turned towards Lilian and gave her a stern look, even though he did try to soften the expression, "Lilian, can you please explain why you lied?"

Lilian felt the coldness hit her heart. She would rather drown than explain the truth. "I did not lie; the person made a mistake; this is all a game. Maybe the person is trying to kill us all off; maybe there is no killer."

Catherine snorted, "Spoken like a truly guilty person. I can tell you that you are the type to act like you are kind, but secretly a snake."

A flash of anger passed through Lilian's eyes as she looked at Catherine. She was getting ready to yell at the girl because there was no reason for the teen to turn on Lilian when she helped her with Liam. But, Kevin cut her off.

"Let us not waste time, if that is her plea, that is her plea. Let us go around and start ours," Kevin started, "I have nothing to say because I do not feel guilty of what I told Ana. But, even though I spoke harshly of her, I would never kill her."

Elrick cleared his throat before speaking, "I may have wished for her to get hit by a car and not apologize for it, but I did feel extremely guilty. I still feel guilty of what I did because it was wrong. I should never wish death on people. Because I am no killer."

Catherine opened her mouth right after, not letting others have the time to think; she wanted to get to the elimination already. "I was high through most of my meetings with the woman. I may have gotten violent with her, but that is not me.

"I am not a killer, and I am not a violent person unless someone almost killed me, but other than that, I would never do anything to ruin my record."

Lilian could not help but roll her eyes at the words Catherine was saying. She felt childish because she is an adult, and Catherine was a teen, but the girl had annoyed her.

Seeing Lilian rolling her eyes, Catherine glared at the girl who was getting ready to curse at her, but Elrick stopped her with a look.

Everyone turned towards the boy and Taylor since they have not spoken yet. Taylor shook her head, indicating that she did not want to go as the water still had her shaken.

The boy stared back at them and softly said, "I would never hurt her."

The others, minus Kevin, nodded at that. The boy was only a child; why and how would he murder the woman? Kevin narrowed his eyes at the child; he did not trust the boy because he was too quiet and nonreactive.

After everyone had their turn, the buttons showed that they were ready for people to choose a name.

Catherine automatically chose Lilian's name without hesitation. She did not care if the woman was not the killer; she almost killed them with her lie, so Catherine believed Lilian deserved to die.

Lilian took a few seconds, but she did choose Catherine. And it was not because the teen was harsh to her, but because Catherine was too vicious. Lilian felt that the girl was a killer.

Kevin chose Alan like last time because the boy was too quiet for him; he was more silent than Taylor, and that was saying something from what he saw with the girl. TV showed that it was always the quiet ones that would snap.

Elrick took some time trying to choose a name. It was hard to select someone this time because most people went with their feelings during the last elimination round.

Now he is trying to use his mind, and it was hard to say which one he wanted to pick. After a while (the Watcher did not give them a time limit this time), he decided to go with Catherine because the girl was harsh when talking about who should die.

Taylor did not think and went with Lilian because the woman made her face her biggest fear: water.

Alan was the last to put in his vote, and it was Lilian. There was no thought process to his choice; he just picked a name.

The light on the buttons died out when everyone made a choice. Most people were anxious about who would die next and hoped it was the killer; they wanted to go home.

"The votes are in," the Watcher announced, pausing for a minute, causing everyone's anxiety to skyrocket, "and Lilian is yours."

Lilian's face turned pale, as all the color left her, while Catherine looked at the woman with a smirk.

The lights went out as the darkness embraced them once more. The Watcher released the killer from their chain.