forum V O T E / Psychological Thriller / Closed

Started June 26, 2018 by @WriteOutofTime

tune

"We need to… W-We need to…” John tried and failed miserably to come up with a way out of this one. He couldn't find any possible solution. And John needed to get out of this, he couldn't… die. Not so soon in his life. He wasn't ready. John looked down the hallway they came from. He didn't want to go like Odette.

(Oh boy. Things are getting wild.)
Xander looked over to Enzo, then to Veda- no, Odette's lifeless body. He sighed, too sad to panic or lose his sanity.
"I don't know who you think you are, but whoever refused to vote for themselves in the first vote are the people we have to thank for this. We could've held them off as long as we just… as long as we made sure there was a tie, and we could have lived here until we figured out how to escape or someone was able to find and rescue us, but no! You were more concerned with surviving individually! After the votes are all up, did they even say the 'winner' would survive anyway? No." He clenched his fist. "Look, I know I'm not perfect. I'm so scared all of the time. I'm fearing for my life every moment we're here. I almost voted someone else, too. But to betray that trust because you think others will betray your trust is just… well, I guess you could say it defeats the purpose. And it's also selfish." Xander stopped suddenly.
"Wait, I have an idea, I think. Not for survival, but in case things go wrong."

"NO!" Paige cried, yanking Enzo's arm. "No, no please, please don't take her away!"

Enzo gazed down at Paige, his eyes solemn. "I'm…I'm sorry, Paige," he whispered, "but we couldn't just leave her. How about we have a memorial for her, huh? For closure?"

Paige sunk to her knees. "Please don't leave again… Please don't leave again…"

Enzo crouched next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. He hardly felt as though he had the right to touch her. He'd been responsible for Odette's death, after all. But he couldn't just leave her alone. "Hey…" he said softly, "it's alright. We can have a memorial." As though a memorial would bring her back. Enzo tried not to wince at his insensitivity.

Paige didn't mean to, but she flinched when she felt the hand on her shoulder. She let her shoulders drop in defeat. "No. No no no no no… No, Odette… no…"

"It's alright," maybe if he said it enough he'd convince himself and her, "it's alright. Just…you can cry. It's…alright."

Paige let out a strangled noise. The next words out of her mouth didn't surprise her: "Vote me out next."

"No," Enzo said, his hands clenching. "No, we'll figure something out. No one's…" He wanted to say no one was gonna die, but he couldn't promise that. "We'll figure something out," he repeated instead.

"I mean it. If… If we already know that it's me, you have the time until the next next vote to figure out. That gives you more time. Please, tell everyone to vote-" Her throat closed around the last words "- for me."

"You know I won't do that," he replied, his voice thick. "I could never do that."

"You need to have a clear head before you make that decision," John told Paige, not being able to take his eyes away from the hallway they'd come from still. He had just moved… a body. He couldn't stop fiddling with his hands.

"I've never been surer of anything. Please, I'm begging you," Paige insisted.

"Let’s just… figure something else out until we have to vote," John said, not being able to meet Paige's eyes. He knew that she was sure that she wanted to die the next vote. In fact, John had wanted to die a few years ago, but now? He wanted to live. He'd changed so much since then. What if she would regret wanting to die later in her life too? That would be so unfair to her to take her life away now, If she was going to want to live in the future. But in the end, it was up to her. All she'd have to do is not vote…

Liam sobbed. Veda… Odette? Died… the first of many others. And he contributed. Was responsible for it. He was a murderer. She had people counting on her… unlike him. "Why is the happening? This, this shouldn't be…" he whimpered. And her body… her body…

Enzo stood in the middle of the room. Now that the body was stashed away in some far-off room down the hall, the only evidence that anything had happened here were the sad faces of all those around him and the cracked TV screen. He sighed, inhaling a shuddering breath. "Everyone," he said, his voice cracking as he faced the group. "Um, the kidnappers said we have two days until next vote. That means we have time to have a memorial for Odette, and form a strategy to keep everyone else alive. But first, we all need sleep."

“Before we do,” Xander said, “I just wanted to get this idea out there. We should all write down our unfinished business so that whoever does survive can help finish it, and maybe at least provide some closure for loved ones. I know it sounds pessimistic, but really, it’s just a backup plan for if things go awry.”

Paige fingered the letter from Odette in her pocket. She'd hoped that none of them had seen her take it. She sat with her back on the door that Odette's body was in. "Please, don't leave. Not again…" she whispered.

"That's…that's a good idea," Enzo said, nodding at Xander. A pang of sorrow shot through his heart. He'd gotten a letter just like the ones Xander wanted them to write from his sister when she was arrested. Her unfinished business was his, and if he died, it'd be passed right along to someone else. His nephew would be passed along to someone else. He sighed, looking down at Lixi who was asleep on the couch.

"There's nothing for me to write," Paige muttered. It was a lie. There was one thing…

"All I want is for someone to make sure my sisters and mother are okay," Xander admitted, "I know they can take care of themselves, but I could not imagine the grief."