Chapter 8 - Scarlett

Scarlett watched Willow idly stroke the pair of scissors in his hand, a blank expression his face. 309 – his name she learned was Noah, was still hunched in the corner, his head buried deep in his knees. They each sat in a corner of the glass room, Willow occasionally looked up, but he didn't smile or say anything, and sometimes Scarlett would walk a few feet out the glass box to gather some berries or curl the stems around her finger.

They both perked up when they heard the sound of voices.

"You're insane. Absolutely insane," Hannah exclaimed. Scarlett stared in surprise as they approached, Ren holding a small blonde boy in his hands while Hannah was supporting an identical looking girl, the girl's arm wrapped around her neck.

"Shut up," Ren replied, squeezing his eyes shut. "I don't know why I'm doing this either." They paused as they got close, a sudden realization that they were in a maze and were separated by a glass wall. Scarlett pointed to the right, the path they were supposed to take to directly get back, before either decided to break a wall.

As they arrived, Ren set the boy down gently on the middle of the floor, the girl moving to sit on the cold concrete next to him, laying her jacket down for his body to rest on. Scarlett waved to them as nicely as she could, but the two other boys showed no reaction.

"Aye. Will, aren't you going to greet me?" Ren huffed, flicking Willow's forehead and sitting down next to him. Willow smiled dryly, dropping his scissors.

"Ah- Good afternoon, Ren. Now that there's another Will, just call me Willow." he sighed, leaning back on the wall. "Why did you spare them?"

"Yeah, I thought you were supposed to be the worse one here. Why'd you bring them back to our base?" Hannah crossed her arms, standing at the entrance, waiting for an explanation. Noah had taken his head out of his knees and looked on silently.

"Who said I'm the worse one? I don't even know your crimes, or that guy's," Ren replied, pointing at Noah.

"Hey, you shouldn't assume anything," Hannah defended. "I only killed two people, for your information. And that was in high school. I'm over my punk phase now."

"Who would kill people during a phase?" Ren asked, crossing his arms. "Anyways- ugh, this is stupid. Let's just wait for Will or something to get back and he can deal with it. He's probably going to torture them or something, get information out of them."

"Wow, so responsible."

"Shut up!" At his sudden outburst, Willow flinched, rubbing his arm and looking to the side. Ren rubbed his temples. "I'm very responsible, mind you." Hannah laughed, opening her mouth to say something, but Scarlett put her hand on her arm. Willow would probably start sobbing again at this point, and she liked it when he was nice and calm, even if his eyes were hallow and his whole mind seemed absent.

"Ren… you should stay here for the time being," Willow muttered, pulling Ren's sleeve a little like a kid.

"Huh?? You doubting my skills too, Willow? Man, I thought I trusted you."

"Ugh- no, that's not it," Willow replied, rubbing his head. "With two people captured, this place will just attract more attention in the end. Besides… if they get out of control, you'll be able to stop them… probably."

"Hah! Like hell. I had to threaten them so he wouldn't die." Hannah laughed. "But, maybe you should stay with them, huh? Maybe if you glare hard enough, they'll stop. And I bet Willow was being a crybaby this whole time without you, right?" Willow was silent. It wasn't true, since he hadn't made a sound or moved an inch, but in a way he seemed happier now, though the same solemn expression was on his face. Scarlett had no idea how somebody could go from deathly scared to comfortable with another person, but she chose not to dive too deeping into the matter.

"Ren, just stay here, 'kay?" Scarlett asked, trying to add her two cents. He sighed, not responding but in silent compliance. Willow nodded silently, wiping the blood from Ren's face and poking idly at his cut off ear.

Hannah had miraculously dragged Noah off to commit more murder. Scarlett had forgotten to ask if they had saw Emma, who claimed to have gone exploring on her own. Perhaps she had gotten to the enemy base now, or maybe she was captured. Was she lost? Scarlett didn't want to think about these things, instead staring intently at the two pairs in front of her. Two siblings, sleeping silently but restlessly on the ground, and two… friends? who were staring at nothing, unmoving. It was strange, how both had now zoned out, even Ren, who she thought would be at least more talkative.

"Uhm," Scarlett cleared her throat, catching both boys' attention. "What happened last night?" It would be better to get information, she decided. They had nothing to do, and she deluded herself into thinking she was smart and would be able to use the information wisely.

At this mention, Willow tensed up a little, hands clutching his pants. Ren gave out a long sigh.

"Will. That blonde kid. He's crazy," Ren started. "He opened his door with an excuse to piss, then ratted out the short kid. He even unlocked the door himself. Man, I could hear the screaming, right next door. It was a miracle I even got sleep."

"Thats… awful," Scarlett whispered. She glanced towards Willow, who had closed his eyes and had his head rested on Ren's shoulders, though Scarlett could tell he was listening.

"I know, right? I think they tried to break through the window, but that shit is so hard, even the big buff guy couldn't do it. I saw them in the morning, the short kid even had his jaw torn off. Both had their eyes stabbed out."

"...Hannah," Scarlett muttered. Hannah had done such horrible things.

"Yup, it was her. Honestly, I wouldn't believe it if she wasn't a serial killer. As soon as the door opened – non-stop banging. No hesitation." He glanced at Willow and sighed. "You just need to know that it was bad."

They sat there in awkward silence now. Scarlett fidgeting with her hands, feeling useless for the first time. She wasn't aware of any of this. Right now, she was barely helpful, only gathering some occasional fruits and berries she hoped were edible. Even though the games only just started, she felt unneeded. She sat there, only waiting. Waiting for Emma to come back, for Will to figure out the protectee, for Oscar and Hannah to butcher everybody. For her team to figure out who was lying, how to win. 

Just waiting here. Waiting like she always did.

There was a familiar scene. A door, and a chair she had dragged from the kitchen. She sat there, staring at the window facing the front lawn, waiting for the door to open and a smiling face to greet her. For her father to pick her up and laugh, kiss her cheek and tell her that he was back, and that he loved her.

Waiting.

"Gah!" Willow exclaimed suddenly, snapping Scarlett from her daze. She looked up, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, and turning around to see what Willow had stared with terror at. Ren sighed, standing up and going to greet the two figures.

"Wow, the blondes are back," he said, crossing his arms. Oscar looked up, clutching his arm and hunched over, his hair covering his face, bags under his dull gray eyes. Compared to him, Will looked fine, waving enthusiastically and completely ignoring his partner, rushing into the box and slamming the already open door.

His face dropped as he didn't see the people he wanted to see. "Aw man, I missed him," he sighed, instead his interest going towards the twins laying on the ground. To Scarlett's surprise, Ren grabbed Oscar, letting him lean on his side as he dragged the pale boy back.

"Hey, Will," he said when he arrived. "What's going on here? I saw the whole scene, you crazy shit."