Hanging from a rope with her hands bonded together and her legs barely touching the ground, Acer finally opened her eyes. She could feel painful cuts on her face that felt like her flesh was bare.She looked around, trying to make sense of where she was. She vividly remembered being at Washington's house and having a needle stuck in her. She began panicking, "Hello, is... anyone... in here?" She spoke in a suffocated whisper. Her voice was trembling.She looked down, and that's when she noticed the blood all over her and the pieces that appeared to be skin. She knew it was hers but could not tell which part of her body it was from. A sickening wave of terror welled up from her belly as a voice from behind her finally spoke."Sleeping ugly has finally woken up," Texas said and began pushing on a high mirror. "You are going to love what I have done with your face," she said as she brought the mirror in front of her hostage.Acer stared at the mirror and let out a loud scream, forcing T
Two hours elapsed with the organizers playing hide and seek with their computer mice. Their lives depended on finding their boss, but they couldn't find him. They kept asking for more time just to stall the wrath that was going to descend on them. Their eyes darted around crazily, looking for a way out, which was impossible given that the entire building was under lockdown. Tired of waiting, one of the pledgers walked to where they were seated and shot one of them straight in the head, splashing some blood and brains all over the other organizers before dropping to the ground. The entire arena let out a terrifying wail. "Maybe this will motivate the others to work faster!" he yelled. The organizers froze in terror for split seconds. Their entire bodies became impossibly still, with their hands twitching spastically, making it impossible for them to type on their computers. Their colleague lay a few centimeters from their legs, brains, and blood everywhere. What started as a pe
Texas walked outside and found her boss pissed, waiting for her outside the helicopter."Sparing their lives was never an option," she said as she walked past him."Are you insane? They were the only people that would lead to the filthy man in charge of those stupid games!" He yelled at her."No one in that room knows who the idiot is," she spat out, annoyed, and entered the helicopter. Sebastian closed his eyes in irritation and followed suit. The helicopter was in the air in seconds, heading back to Washington. A message popped up on Sebastian's phone, forcing him to frown."What? Who was that?" Texas asked."Since you have forgotten how to play as a team member, it is none of your business," he replied, putting his phone away."The stupid leader was probably watching. With all the investors gone, he will need to recruit new ones," she explained.Sebastian glanced at her with interest.She explained "He is probably going to recruit every person that will take over from each of thos
Life seems to be unfair in most people's lives, no matter how good, upright, and law-abiding they are. Life just smacks them in the face and leaves them choked with its smoky toxic fumes. This is a story of fifty people from different sorts of lives sprung across the fifty states of the United States of America. They all have two things in common: their loved ones are dying and they are below the donor list.Organ transplant is one of the most expensive health services in health care. Only a few can afford it, and most insurance companies do not cover it. The rich seem to be on top of the list, but what happens to the poor or middle-income families that cannot afford it? Do they just sit around and wait for their loved ones to die if a donor can't be found or they are below the waiting list?
In Washington, the night came with its usual uneasiness, and like every night, David sat in the hospital waiting area, not wanting to be next to his wife's bedside. Guilt always suffocated him. He was too ashamed to look into her eyes. Somewhere in the back of his head, he felt if she looked deep into his eyes, she would see what he did. So he avoided being in the room when she was awake. The hospital waiting area became his home. He would sit there watching the emergencies, the outpatient cases, or just watching the ins and outs of people that required medical services. Usually, it was the crying people that got his attention. It always meant one thing: a loved one had died. He wondered how he was going to receive his news. Was he going to be at work or was he going to be next to her or hiding in the waiting area? He always wondered how he would cry o
With six-inch heels and the sun blazing directly on her head, Acer was dripping wet as she navigated the tall grass. Her legs were killing her as she began regretting not wearing her sneakers.She was in the most rural parts of Texas, heading to the farm of someone on her list. She stopped and stared at the map, making sure that she was on the right farm. She wanted to make sure that she was at 30-year-old Berth's house, her last recruit on the list. She was so exhausted that all she wanted was to go home and relax in her bathtub, listening to her favorite music.However that dream was far from her reach. She only got ten acceptances from willing participants out of the 50 total participants from the 50 states of the country.<
Finally, she was home, and as soon as she opened the hotel door, she rushed to the bathroom. It was the first time that she had stayed that long in her own sweat. She wanted to soak it all in the luxury tub.She always enjoyed that part of her job and the luxury that came with it. She always promised herself she would enjoy that part no matter how bad things went. She deserved that part. At least, that's what she kept telling herself.She gently undressed and slid into the bathtub. She only desired a lengthy bath. The following day was going to be a whirlwind. She still hadn't heard back from the other 40 states, and she was running out of time.She coul
Berth sat in her living room, her hands still clutching her handgun. She kept staring at the watch. Her invitation was expiring in thirty minutes. The thought of the game being real and getting replaced was what was eating her up.The strange lady was right. It was all her fault that her child was faceless and lying in the next room, hiding from the cruel world. The thought of it made her tear up as she held onto her handgun.She had nothing to lose by playing the game, she thought to herself. She would jump to the end of the world for her daughter, but yet there she was counting the minutes away.Yes, there was a big chance the games were fake, but the pity was on the lady and not her.<
Texas walked outside and found her boss pissed, waiting for her outside the helicopter."Sparing their lives was never an option," she said as she walked past him."Are you insane? They were the only people that would lead to the filthy man in charge of those stupid games!" He yelled at her."No one in that room knows who the idiot is," she spat out, annoyed, and entered the helicopter. Sebastian closed his eyes in irritation and followed suit. The helicopter was in the air in seconds, heading back to Washington. A message popped up on Sebastian's phone, forcing him to frown."What? Who was that?" Texas asked."Since you have forgotten how to play as a team member, it is none of your business," he replied, putting his phone away."The stupid leader was probably watching. With all the investors gone, he will need to recruit new ones," she explained.Sebastian glanced at her with interest.She explained "He is probably going to recruit every person that will take over from each of thos
Two hours elapsed with the organizers playing hide and seek with their computer mice. Their lives depended on finding their boss, but they couldn't find him. They kept asking for more time just to stall the wrath that was going to descend on them. Their eyes darted around crazily, looking for a way out, which was impossible given that the entire building was under lockdown. Tired of waiting, one of the pledgers walked to where they were seated and shot one of them straight in the head, splashing some blood and brains all over the other organizers before dropping to the ground. The entire arena let out a terrifying wail. "Maybe this will motivate the others to work faster!" he yelled. The organizers froze in terror for split seconds. Their entire bodies became impossibly still, with their hands twitching spastically, making it impossible for them to type on their computers. Their colleague lay a few centimeters from their legs, brains, and blood everywhere. What started as a pe
Hanging from a rope with her hands bonded together and her legs barely touching the ground, Acer finally opened her eyes. She could feel painful cuts on her face that felt like her flesh was bare.She looked around, trying to make sense of where she was. She vividly remembered being at Washington's house and having a needle stuck in her. She began panicking, "Hello, is... anyone... in here?" She spoke in a suffocated whisper. Her voice was trembling.She looked down, and that's when she noticed the blood all over her and the pieces that appeared to be skin. She knew it was hers but could not tell which part of her body it was from. A sickening wave of terror welled up from her belly as a voice from behind her finally spoke."Sleeping ugly has finally woken up," Texas said and began pushing on a high mirror. "You are going to love what I have done with your face," she said as she brought the mirror in front of her hostage.Acer stared at the mirror and let out a loud scream, forcing T
At Washington's house, Acer, still strapped in the chair, began panicking. She was sure it had been hours, yet Washington was not dropping to the ground and neither was anyone coming to save her or making a call on her phone.It appeared they were just watching and enjoying the show at her expense. There was no doubt her boss had abandoned her. She needed to start using her head fast if she was going to leave the house alive."Listen to me, Washington. I can help you get your wife's organs.""Shut up, do not think I am that stupid!" He yelled back at her."What's your fuckin' plan here exactly?" "None of your business," he replied, leaning on the wall. He had no idea what he was doing, but he knew he had a death wish. He looked at his watch. It was exactly two hours since he told Louisiana about his hostage situation. He got his phone out of his pocket and turned it back on. A lot of messages from Louisiana popped up, but none from Texas. Louisiana acknowledged passing off the messa
"Before you say a single word, please be sure what comes out of your mouth is correct because you have only five minutes to convince me why you made the call," Sebastian warned."I want back on the team, and I have a mission in mind," she replied.The man chuckled, his eyes fixed on the little girl.Texas signaled for a waitress and ordered the little girl's favorite ice cream. She then got out headphones and placed them on the girl's ears as the ice cream was brought to her."Is it not too cold for ice cream?" Sebastian asked."For the past three days, I had locked her underground in a safe room. I promised her ice cream once we went out, " she explained and told him about the organ-organized games and how she found herself in it.He stared at her with raised eyebrows. He was a man of few words and was good at hiding his emotions and reactions. She could not tell whether he believed her or not."I want to take them down, and you have the resources to help me," she added.He chuckled,
The pledgers watched, and as much as they wanted to feel sorry for the players, they couldn't. Killing or getting killed by Texas was the only solution to their misery. They already knew what they signed up for the second they were threatened with playing the game. They needed to finish up what they started or commit suicide. Those were the only two ways out of the contract. The pledgers were tired of waiting for some action. Acer was still in the air, the players were showing no signs of playing and Texas had disappeared into her safe room for hours while five corpses were rotting in her yard.It appeared the boss was not going through with the plans of calling the authorities on her, and it appeared they were not going to pick up the bodies either.They were left staring at a lot of empty screens with no action or any sign of action. A total of five hours had elapsed with nothing and total quiescence.Unknown to them, in Texas, in a small pub, Texas pushed a little trap door. She
The boss breathed in and out, staring at the screen and bursting into laughter like a mad man. Hiding one dysfunctional chip was one thing, but all the players having a dysfunctional chip was the end of his game.To make matters worse, the man who was equipped to fix the chips was still in the hospital. There was nothing he could do but laugh at himself. He kept laughing and pressing the buttons until his eyes were watery red and he was out of breath.She outsmarted him. He was nothing but a joke, both to his family and his employees. After fifty years of his family running successful games, he was the first one that broke the chain and failed, and his downfall was a tiny mysterious woman who appeared to have popped out of nowhere.He grabbed his vodka and began drinking it straight from the bottle as he loosened his tie. "Berth Rosewood, I think we should meet in person," he said, as he took a sip.He focused his attention on the screen. The players finished up with their goodbyes li
"How... how did she know my name?" Washington whispered.The other players looked at each other, blank. They remembered telling her their names in the safe room but not Washington's. They had no idea what his name was prior to Texas saying it out. They were also sure Washington had not been down there."I didn't tell anyone what my name was. Then where did she get my name?"Alabama pointed out, "You should be more interested about how she stitched your torn artery than how she got to know your name."Washington could only stare at him without altering a single word.The organizers were also confused as to how she knew his name. If he had not told anyone, then they were in trouble.Her phone rang as she walked into her bedroom, searching for her car keys. She looked at the number and recognized it immediately. It was their leader."Hello, love," she replied."Stop with the stupid games," the man said from the other side of the line. He was calling to pump some sense into her. "I think
Acer kept calling her boss, who to her disappointment was not picking up. She gave up, frustrated. He was clearly blaming her for the blunder when no one had the right to do so.They were all convinced that the players' failure to kill the insane woman was due to competition. Granting them a deal together had a high chance of success, but the players were simply too stupid to use their heads.To top it off, the players had cornered her with the time debate. It was not her fault that they requested a contract that stipulated they had to carry out a task within 24 hrs. No one had supported her when she was backed into a corner, not the organizers and certainly not her ungrateful boss.She got up and poured herself a glass of scotch, pissed at all of them for trying to flip the disaster on her.At the house, Louisiana had already begun cleaning up the kitchen. First, she dragged Washington to the spare bedroom and placed more bandages on his wound before returning to the kitchen. He was