2 Chapter Two: The Game

"The Murder Game? What the hell is that!" Liam yelled at the camera.

Instead of answering, the Watcher pushed a button that caused the lights to go out. A few people screamed when it went dark, feeling as if an invisible force was moving them. Even the room seemed like it was changing.

When the lights turned back on, everyone was standing behind a podium that had a button on it; somehow, their hand was attached to the stand.

The lights were dim on all the people while there was a bright light shining over the dead body; a glass cage surrounded it. Instead of the body lying on the table, the woman was sitting in a chair, wearing a counselor's outfit. She had on a name tag that said: Ana.

The dead body looked like a living doll.

"What the heck is this?" Catherine exclaimed as she tried to walk away from the podium, only for the chain to pull her back in.

"Why are you doing this?" Elrick calmly asked as he watched Liam slamming his foot on the podium.

"Because all of you have sinned, but one of you has sinned worse than the others: that person killed the one named Ana. So, I gather all of you here to play a game: The Murder Game. Your job is to figure out who the killer is.

But, before we start the guessing/elimination round, you must go through a trail while pleading your case. One by one, I will give you hints on helping you to regain your memory. Then, I will provide all of you with five minutes to plead your case.

After that, the buttons glow with names on them; move the knob left and right. And, when you find the one you believe is the killer, push down on the button. Once everyone votes, the name will appear.

But please note, if you guess wrong, that leads to the death of the person chosen, and if you choose right, all of you can go free except the killer. There are no second chances, so I advise you to think through your choices with a clear mind.

Welcome to The Murder Game." The Watcher explained as they observed everyone's expression. Seeing their faces move from disbelief to fear, and lastly looking at everyone in the room with narrowed eyes, filled the Watcher with glee.

This game was their favorite.

"This is crazy! One of us killed this woman that we do not remember? Why doesn't the killer make themselves known already? I am too busy and important to be dealing with this!" Liam screamed as his face was turning red with how angry he was getting.

Catherine glared at the man as she was getting a headache from the man's yelling. "The one who is the loudest is usually the guiltiest."

"What did you say, little girl?" Liam shouted back.

Before Catherine could say anything that would ignite an argument, Lilian butted in, "Leave that girl alone. Stop picking fights with teens and act your age. Did you forget we have a child with us?"

Lilian and the others turned towards the little boy, who hasn't spoken since they woke up here. The little boy was gazing at the podium, not picking his head up because he was scared. Lilian looked like she wanted to make her way over there and comfort the child.

"If one of us is the killer, why would the person bring a child here?" Taylor softly asked. The teen did not want the attention on her, but she needed to ask her question.

Kevin hummed as he looked at the child, who twitched at Taylor's words, "The person probably wanted to throw us off by adding a child with us."

Liam kicked the podium again, gaining everyone's attention, "Why do all of you people focus on the pointless things?"

It seemed that all that man knew how to do was complain and get angry.

"You need to chill out," Elrick said this time; the man was getting on his nerves at this point. He could not understand why Liam does not see that anger will get them nowhere. They need to play by the person, watching them, rules while subtly trying to find a way out of here.

Before anyone could speak, a noise broke out that caused everyone to look at the ceiling since that is where the sound is. A message popped out like a hologram with the words:

[Ana was a counselor to four of the people in this room. State who you are and the reason why she was your counselor. Liars cause consequences.]

The message disappeared after everyone read it. No one said anything as the room laid silent. The people had confused looks on their faces because no one could remember Ana being their counselor.

The Watcher started humming a song as their hands softly moved across the buttons present on their table. They stopped when their fingers reached a button that said: Memory One.

He pushed the button, causing everyone to squat to their knees as they held their aching heads. The sound of chains moving did not help with the headache they were suffering from.

But after a few minutes, it passed as everyone stood back up with shaky breaths.

"I have given you the first part of your memories back. The four people know who they are. Follow the message, or there will be grave consequences. Remember, no lying." The Watcher told them over the intercom.

Everyone remained silent as no one said anything; they stared each other down, except for the boy who kept his gaze on the podium; his hands were trembling.

After a few minutes of no one saying anything, Lilian spoke up, "Just say who you are, so we can get through this game faster."

"You are the first to speak, so are you one of the people?" Liam asked.

"No." A green light appeared over Lilian with the word, truth inside them.

Elrick stared at the light, "I guess that proves she is not one of the four. I am not either." A green light came over, proving that he was telling the truth.

Kevin was getting ready to open his mouth, but Catherine sneered, "I am one, so what? What does she being my counselor prove?"

"That we do know the dead body before us." Kevin ominously answered.

Everyone let that answer sink through their skin as they looked everywhere but at the body in the middle. "Why was the woman your counselor?" Lilian asked Catherine, breaking the silence.

Catherine glared at the podium, not saying anything. Everyone waited for her to speak, but she remained quiet.

Getting annoyed, Liam slammed his hand on the edge of the podium, "Speak girl, we don't have all day!"

"I don't know who you think you are, but you have no right yelling at me!" Catherine shouted back as she quickly popped her head towards the man. She tightly clenched her fist, causing her knuckles to turn white.

Lilian glared at the man when she saw how the slam caused the little boy to flinch, plus she was getting tired of Liam yelling at the teen. "What is your problem? Leave that girl alone!"

"Let us calm down here," Elrick cut in, trying to stop a fight from happening, before turning to Catherine and talking to her in a soft tone, "can you please tell us why she was your counselor? The faster with getting through this, the quicker the person would let us go."

"She was my counselor because of my freaking drug problem! Are you happy now? Leave me alone, already!" Catherine screamed at everyone, breathing hard before she sunk her nails into the palm of her hand.

A green light appeared over her, showing she was telling the truth.

Liam snorted, "This is why you, teenagers, end up on the streets with nothing going for you except begging strangers for money."

Catherine slammed her hand down, "Shut the f*ck up!" She swears, if she were free, she would have punched the man in his face already. Who does he think he is? That man has no right to judge her!

Liam opened his mouth, but Lilian shut him down again, "Keep your mouth shut; you have talked enough."

Taylor chose the same moment to speak up, "She was also my counselor. She was supposed to help with my depression, but it did nothing." A green light appeared over her.

It was silent again after Taylor spoke out, but this time, Elrick broke it, "That leaves three people."

The child did not look up, Liam crossed his arms while glaring at everyone, and Kevin looked nervous due to the glances pointed at him.

"It isn't me." Kevin quickly said as the green light appeared over him. Everyone turned towards Liam.

"Oh, how funny, the man who yelled and said a lot of things was one of the woman's patients. What were you there for, being a d*ck?" Catherine teased.

Liam glared at the girl while the others sighed. It was getting harder to stop the arguments between those two.

"I-I was there for a-abuse." The little boy softly spoke, stuttering through his speech. He talked so low that if it weren't for the echo in the room, they would have never heard him. A green light appeared over him.

Lilian gave him a sad look, wanting to come over to take him in her arms, "Poor baby."

Hearing that sobered up everyone, except Liam, who scoffed, "This is pointless. What does this prove?"

"You are an annoying, heartless, p-" Catherine started, only to get interrupted by Elrick.

"We are at the end; tell us why she was your counselor, then we can go into the next round."

Liam gritted his teeth before replying, "This thing is rigged. She wasn't a counselor to me; I went to see her, to ask questions."

After he spoke, the light above him showed red; he lied.

Everyone was silent once they saw that, not knowing what was going to happen.

"How defiant. I said, not to lie." The Watcher's voice filled the area as their hand pushed a button.

{Consequence One: Five Minutes without Oxygen}