“I think we would all do well to work on ourselves.”
Damien went back to drinking his tea as Jade dozed off again. After a few minutes, Danni and Richard became awake, almost like a sixth sense told them that they were being watched.
Damien said, “Morning,” to them both.
“Did I miss anything?” Danni asked.
Damien chuckled. “That’s the exact same thing that Jade said when she woke up.”
Danni smiled. “We must be developing a hive mind.”
Richard stretched out his legs and then got up. “I’m going to go stick some toast on. Anybody want any?”
Nobody did.
“Suit yourselves.”
“I fancy a cuppa,” said Danni, getting up.
“I just boiled the kettle,” said Damien. “Should still be warm.”
Danni nodded and headed off into the kitchen. Jade had fallen back into a deep sleep and Jules was still unmoving. Damien watched her for a while and wished that he could sleep so serenely. His own slumber was full of fits and morbid dreams.
She looks so peaceful.
As he studied Jules, he had a strange feeling come over him. Her body was a little too still; her sleeping a little too restful.
“Hey, Jules,” he said quietly. Then he said it a little louder. “Jules!”
Jade opened her eyes and looked at him. “Jeez, man!”
Damien smiled at her. “Sorry. I’m just trying to check if Jules is okay. She hasn’t budged in a while.”
Jade turned sideways on the sofa and faced Jules. “Hey, Jules,” she said jarringly. “Yo! Jules, wake your lazy ass up!”
Jules remained still.
Damien leapt up from the sofa. “Oh fuck!”
He went over to Jules and grabbed her by both shoulders. He shook her vigorously.
There was no response. Jules head flopped left and right, but her eyes did not open.
Then Damien noticed the blood.
Between Jules’s thighs, dark and drying on the sofa cushion was a vast bloodstain. It looked as though she had lost pints of the stuff. Her skin was almost white.
“She’s dead,” said Damien.
“You’re shitting me,” said Jade, leaping up from the sofa.
Damien shook his head and sighed. “Her internal injuries must have been worse than we thought. She must have been slowly dying since the task she was in.”
“Least she went in her sleep,” said Jade. “Maybe she didn’t even know nothing about it.”
“Perhaps. I hope so.”
Damien went and informed Danni and Richard in the kitchen. They were both shocked. For one of them to die so quietly, amongst all of the dramatic death and chaotic torture, was a surprise.
“I just hope she’d made peace,” said Danni. “She did a bad thing, but if she regretted it enough then she deserved forgiveness.”
“None of that means shit,” said Richard. “Dead is dead. There’s no judgement, no redemption. We live our lives, good or bad, and then we die. Nothing we do matters worth a shit.”
“I don’t believe that,” said Danni. “We carry our sins to the grave. Whether or not we die with a clear conscience makes a big difference.”
“Not to me,” said Richard, shoving a slice of buttered toast into his mouth and biting down.
Danni shrugged. She could see there was no point having a philosophical debate with the man. “So what should we do with her?”
“We’re all in this together now. I say we put her somewhere peaceful.”
Danni nodded. “Okay. We can put her in the bedroom with Catherine’s body, but cover her with blankets and make it a little nicer for her.”
“Okay. Sounds good. I think you and I should be able to manage on our own. She won’t weigh much.”
Damien took Jules’s head while Danni took her bare legs. Together they transported her across the living area and towards the patio door. Jade helped out by sliding open the door for them.
The grass was wet as they stepped on it and Damien was cautious not to slip. As he looked up at the sky, he felt sure it was going to rain again.
The door to the bedroom was hanging open. The dead, mutilated body of Patrick lay nearby and had started to smell. Damien wrinkled his nose in disgust.
I feel like I’m in Hell, surrounded by rotting flesh.
What makes me really frightened is how used to it I’ve gotten.
Damien and Danni shuffled through the bedroom door and approached the nearest bed. They eased Jules down onto the mattress respectfully and then stepped back.
“Should we say a few words?” Danni asked.
Damien shook his head. “What would be the point?”
He grabbed a couple of grimy blankets from some of the other beds and draped them over Jules. Danni helped him pull the sheets out so that they covered every inch of her.
“I think that’s about as respectful as we can make it.”
Damien nodded. “At least we tried.”
“Promise you’ll do the same for me…I mean, if it comes to it.”
He looked at her and nodded. “I promise.”
23
The Landlord’s booming voice was due any moment, they all knew it; could even feel it in their bones probably. The routine of the house had become ingrained in them all and when something was about to happen they expected it, like a sixth sense.
I see dead people.
Couple of ‘em are in the garden.
As expected, the speakers in the ceiling crackled. The Landlord began to speak.
“HOUSEMATES, I WOULD LIKE TO CONGRATULATE YOU ON COMING THS FAR. WITH THE UNFORTUNATE DEATH OF JULES, YOU ARE NOW THE FINAL FOUR CONTESTANTS. HALF OF YOU HAVE THE CHANCE TO LIVE, AT THE EXPENSE OF THE LIVES OF THE OTHERS. FOR SOME OF YOU, THESE WILL BE THE FINAL DAYS OF YOUR LIVES. FOR AT LEAST ONE OF YOU, THESE NEXT FEW DAYS WILL SIGNAL THE BEGINNING OF YOUR NEW PATH. YOU WILL BE REBORN AND RELEASED BACK INTO THE WORLD, BUT ONLY IF YOU ARE VICTORIOUS.”
Damien scratched at his forehead and realised that he was sweating. He had survived so much already and now that an end was finally close, he felt like perhaps his luck would run out. Everything The Landlord said suggested that there was a way out of this house for somebody, but what if Damien ended up getting this far only to fail one of the final tasks? The thought was infinitely worse than if he had died in the very first task against Chris.
“THERE WILL BE NO TASK TODAY IN CELEBRATION OF YOU HAVING COME THIS FAR. THE PANTRY HAS BEEN FULLY STOCKED FOR YOU TO ENJOY. THE VIEWING SCREEN WILL BE DISPLAYING MOVIES FOR THE NEXT TWELVE HOURS. ENJOY YOURSELVES, HOUSEMATES. YOU HAVE EARNED IT.”
Richard rolled his eyes. “The prick almost comes off as being benevolent.”
“So, I guess we can relax for a while,” said Jade.
Damien folded his arms. “It’s just prolonging everything. I would prefer to just get this whole thing over with. I don’t understand what there is to gain by waiting.”
“What do you mean?” asked Danni.
“I mean, whose benefit is it for? If we’re in here to play games and die, then why wait? Dragging it out suggests that there is something to gain by us being alive.”
Danni frowned. “And what would that be?”
Damien thought about it, looked up at the nearest camera, and gave the only answer he could come up with, “Entertainment value.”
“You think we really are being watched by an audience?”
Richard laughed. “Yeah, I bet we’re on Comedy Central.”
“Of course not,” said Damien. “But perhaps we’re part of some black market venture. People will pay for anything, believe me, I used to sell a lot of it. This could all be some black market game show to entertain sick fucks with fat bank accounts.”
“They could be betting on us,” said Jade. “Maybe that’s how they fund it all. We get nominated and paid for by whoever feels wronged by us, and then the people running the show allow people to place bets on who will win the tasks.”
“And who will win the entire thing,” said Damien. “That would be the big pay off.”
“Which would mean,” said Jade. “That the promise of our lives is real. It would undermine the game to kill us all. The betting only makes sense if there is a true winner to bet on.”
“Maybe they expect the two million to keep us quiet. They probably expect us to take the cash and just try and put the whole thing behind us.”
“Doesn’t sound like a bad idea,” said Danni. “The housemates who have died here are not worth the risk of us trying to expose everything. They were all bad people. If we win, we should just take the money and run.”
Damien nodded. “I see what you’re saying. The dead housemates were all pretty disgusting, for sure. That doesn’t make this right, though. We’re all human beings, not play things to be tortured and killed at the whim of those richer than us. I can’t live in a world where that is okay.”
“Then what?” said Richard. “You’re going to bring this whole thing down to its knees? I’m sure it’s that easy.”
Damien shrugged. “Honestly I don’t know what I’ll do. But, even if the other housemates were evil and deserved what they got, these people have still fucked with me personally. I’m not sure I can let that go.”
“Me either,” said Richard. “But I’m sure the money will help.”
“I’m not going to do anything,” said Danni. “I just want to go back to my life. I’m not even supposed to be here.”
“Yeah, me either,” said Jade.
“No, really,” said Danni. She went on to tell them all what she had told Damien, that her boss was the one who was supposed to be inside the house but she had impersonated her in order to change her life for the better.
“I applaud your balls,” said Richard, “but things didn’t really pay off for you there, did they?”
“That really sucks,” said Jade. “I’m sorry you got caught up in all this with us sorry bunch of criminals.”
“You don’t know that we’re criminals,” said Richard. “We have no clue what each of us has done.”
“I wouldn’t say no clue,” said Damien, pointing behind the sofa to the television. The silhouetted grid of faces had changed to display only a single line of four shadows now – one for each of the remaining housemates. Beneath the silhouettes were the final four remaining words: PEDDLER, MURDERER, TRAITOR, and CRUSADER.
Just as Damien had finished pointing at the screen, it switched over and displayed the opening credits to some movie. The jaunty soundtrack suggested a comedy, which was ironic as nobody would be in anywhere near the mood to enjoy it.
“Well,” Jade said. “If people are watching, I’m going to give them a show. Let’s go see what goodies are in the pantry. This might be my last chance to get shitfaced.”
“Screw it!” said Damien. “Think I’ll join you.”
He followed Jade over to the pantry door and felt himself relax at the thought of having a drink. Despite the many ills of alcohol, nothing was quite as relaxing as a couple bottles of beer.
And that was exactly what they found inside the pantry: bottles and bottles of Mexican beers, fresh limes, and several crates of beer; not to mention a huge bottle of tequila and a smaller one of scotch. But that wasn’t all there was. Something else was inside the pantry.
24
Damien’s eyes went wide. “Holy shitballs! Chris? You’re alive?”
The former housemate, Chris, was trussed up inside the pantry. His eyes were glassy and afraid – the left one wasn’t even moving. The many bruises that adorned his face suggested he had been through quite an ordeal.
Damien shook his head in confusion. An ordeal that happened while he should have been dead.
Jade reached into the pantry and yanked the gag out of Chris’s mouth. He spluttered and coughed as he was suddenly able to breathe through his mouth again. His swollen nose must have been difficult to draw air in with.
“What are you doing here?” asked Damien. His skin was tingling with the sudden shock of seeing a dead man still alive and well.
Maybe not ‘well’ exactly, but alive at least.
When Chris spoke, he sounded timid and afraid, not at all like the brash Neanderthal he had been previously.
“The…the toxin didn’t kill me. They…they used the counteragent to revive me before I was dead.”
“Why?” said Damien. “Who?”
Chris shook his head and blinked. It was clear that his left eye was damaged as it remained stationary even as his other eye moved about freely.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I only spoke to that big guy in the black overalls. “He told me I was going to get another chance to win the game. He called me a ‘wild card’.”
Damien sighed. He reached into the pantry and started struggling with Chris’s bonds. They were too tight.
“Can somebody go fetch me a knife,” he said. “I need to cut him free.”
Danni hurried and got Damien a knife from the kitchen, but even with the sharp blade it still took almost ten minutes to cut Chris loose and get him out of the pantry. They helped him over to the sofa and sat the poor guy down.
“I don’t understand why they let you live,” said Jade. “You were disqualified from the competition. The Landlord told us we were the remaining four contestants.”
“Maybe he’s in on all this,” said Richard. “He went out first, without a mark on him.”
Danni huffed. “I don’t see what having a person on the inside would achieve. We’re all under control and doing what we’re told. Cameras cover our every move, I imagine, so why would they need a pair of eyes inside the house?”
“I don’t know,” said Richard, glaring down at Chris. “This just seems a bit fishy to me.”
Damien laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing, you just never struck me as the type of guy to say ‘a bit fishy’.”
There was a brief moment of silence, but then Richard cracked up laughing too. “You know what,” he said. “That might just be the first time I ever said it.”
Danni sat down beside Chris and patted him on the knee. “Did they tell you anything, Chris? Did they give you a reason for placing you back inside the house?”
Chris shook his head. “Just that I was being given another chance.”
Damien folded his arms and chewed at his lip. He didn’t like this. Chris was the biggest jerk in the house when this whole thing had started, even more so than Richard. Having him back inside with them would only mean bad things – and Richard’s accusation of Chris being a part of what was going on was not entirely without merit either.
Damien unfolded his arms and sighed. “Alright, well, not a lot has changed. We still have a day to rest, so let’s get the beers out. We can figure this all out later.”
Jade headed back over to the pantry and returned with a six pack of cervezas and the bottle of tequila. “Let’s get wasted,” she said as she set them all down on the table. “There’s plenty more when this is through.”
Everyone settled down onto the sofa. Jade handed Chris a beer and he took it gladly. Damien took one for himself and enjoyed the crisp taste as it hit the back of his throat.
Danni was sitting beside him, a shot of tequila in her hand. She leant in close to him so that the others couldn’t hear. “Do you think Chris is the traitor?”
Damien frowned at her. “Huh?”
“Murderer, peddler, crusader, traitor. Do you think that Chris could be the traitor?”
Damien shook his head. “No. He’s the ‘thug’, remember? Before he arrived there was four of us left and four words on the screen.”
“Then one of us is the traitor.”
“What are you getting at? I’m more concerned about the fact that one of us is a murderer.”
Danni sighed. “You’re not understanding me. Maybe the traitor is here because of a betrayal in the past, but maybe they’re betraying us right now. Maybe there really is someone on th
e inside.”
“You mean like a mole?”
Danni nodded.
“Maybe. Like I said, though, I don’t see the point. I think you’re barking up the wrong tree. I think that Jade and Richard probably just screwed someone over in their past and that’s why they’re here. Anyway, Jade said she didn’t trust you either. I guess we’re all wondering who we can rely on.”
Danni cleared her throat and took a sip of her tequila. “Perhaps you’re right. I’m paranoid.”
“It’s not paranoia when someone is actually trying to kill you.”
In fact it would be crazy not to be paranoid right now.
“What did they do to you?” Jade asked Chris. “You’re all messed up.”
Chris blinked and once again his left eye appeared dead and unmoving. “Most of it is due to whatever shit they shot into my wrists. When I woke up from the dose they gave me in the cube room I was blind in one eye and had the shakes. I still feel like I could drop dead at any minute – can feel it in my heart. The toxin has messed me up inside.”
Jade cursed under her breath. “That sucks man. Least you ain’t dead, though.”
“May as well be.”
“Is it true?” said Damien. “That you killed a guy at a football match.”
Chris stared at Damien with his one good eye. “How you know about that?”
“They played a video after you were dead – when we thought you were dead. They play a video after anybody dies. It looks like the reason we’re all in here is because someone on the outside wants to take revenge on us. Your video featured the father of the man you killed. Up until now, we’ve never had the chance to verify if the video accusations are true. So, is it true? Did you kill a guy?”
Chris nodded solemnly. “Didn’t mean to. I’d had a shitload to drink and got into one of my moods. I was looking for trouble, but I went too far. I beat the guy to death. Not proud of it, but it’s in my past. Can’t say I think too much about it.”
Damien shook his head. Chris’s lack of regret was disgusting. “Well, it looks like the guy’s father spent a lot of time thinking about it. He gave his life savings to get you in here.”
Gripping Thrillers Page 49
