The rookie officer took statements from everyone and left with his partner, after he tried to console Donald’s mom. She cried in heavy sobs while on her knees unable to stand. Karla’s dad, Phillip, came over immediately. He spoke to Karla and Maddie in the room, his thick mustache smelled of cigar smoke. He was an older gentleman, the most successful of all the kids parents, and well sophisticated. After hearing their side he spoke to Maddie’s dad in the other room for privacy.
Karla crept by in wonder of what he wanted to say that he couldn’t out in the open. Phillip started, “Okay here’s what we’ll do, Maddie is gonna come stay with us for now. Obviously this place isn’t safe, you need to get rid of everything that can draw attention.”
“How am I drawing attention to myself, huh? You wanna explain that to me?”
“You know what I mean, the whores and ‘rough’ s*x. It’s amazing how none have gone to the police yet, we knew this day would come. Just didn’t think it would be them to suffer, they’ll be safe at my house. It’s surrounded with iron gates and brick walls, I’ll have security roam the perimeter at all hours. It’ll buy us time, until I can fix this mess you’ve all created.”
“Our mess, is that how you feel? If I recall this has to do with you too! You sleep in a pile of blood money, and suddenly we fall in the shadow of it, like peasants to a king? Not worth your time anymore is that it? Get the f**k out of my house! Take her it won’t change anything!” Maddie’s dad tosses a beer bottle missing Phillip, it cracks against the door as Karla covers her mouth from making a noise.
Phillip steps out adjusting his dress shirt and looks down at Karla who backed away a few feet just before he spotted her. “Get Maddie and Matthew, I’ll call his parents when we arrive home.”
Sluggishly stepping out of his room, Maddie’s dad wanders into the kitchen and grabs another beer. He twists the cap off with his teeth and spits it out missing the trash can. Maddie turns back to him before exiting the front door, he turns away and tilts his head back, gulping down the partially cold brew.
The gates slide open as a security guard on each end stands watch, Phillip and the kids drive in pulling up to two large doors on a huge porch. Karla’s dad was very wealthy, though he never truly explained to anyone how he got so rich, he would tell a white lie to anyone who asked. The stock market, a lucky lottery ticket, investments, those were just a few that he would mention when inquired.
A security guard opened the back door allowing the kids to step out, Phillip asked the man “Get our maid Lily to phone Matthew’s parents, let them know he’ll be staying with us for safety precautions. If there’s any fuss, let me know and I’ll calm their nerves.”
The man nods and heads inside. Another guard took his place and waited while the kids entered into the house. It was the largest in town, two white pillars held up a over extended roof. Inside the place was so vast that your voice could echo in the halls. A maid walked by on the phone presumably talking to Matthew’s parents. Phillip slid his coat off and placed it on a rack. Lighting a cigar he turns to the kids and says, “You have nothing to worry about. You’re perfectly safe within these walls, I’ve already spoke with your father Maddie. Matthew I’ll make arrangements with your parents, I trust that they’ll be fine with the current danger that seems to be enclosing, not to scare you. But, I beg you all, stay here.”
“Yes father,” Karla replies.
Matthew and Maddie both nod their heads in agreement.
Phillip smiles and says, “If you get hungry the maids will gladly whip up anything you desire, don’t be afraid to ask. My house, is yours.” With that he walks off puffing on his cigar.
Karla begins to walk down a hallway as Maddie whispers, “I’ve never been inside your house before. This place is huge!”
Matthew looks around in amazement, pushing up his glasses he says, “And to think I thought you were broke like us. This is unbelievable.”
Karla’s cheeks turn red. “I don’t like telling people, they look at me different.”
They rested in Karla’s room, which was twice the size of Maddie’s living room alone. Despite the mass amount of free space, they all slept together in the same bed. Security guards were everywhere, yet they still felt at risk. Karla turned around on her ling size bed, her dads words still stirred in her soup of mangled thoughts. What did he mean? Did he know why this was happening? Did Maddie’s dad know? There was too many questions and not enough answers. All she knew was that they were marked for death apparently, for what she only half hoped to find out. She was finally able to doze off after laying awake staring at her friends for what seemed like hours, she was scared to close her eyes and wake up with them gone, or worse.
The sandman eventually arrived slicing apart her thoughts and filling it with a bag of magical sand. Into a slumber she craved and embraced, but not for long.
“What the f**k! Shoot them!”
The words drove past her ear drum breaking it with ferocity as it rattled her brain of any safe thoughts, something was wrong. She jumped up as Matthew and Maddie did too simultaneously. “What’s going on?” Maddie yelled. Karla pressed her finger to her lips and urged them to climb under her bed. All three quickly scurried underneath. Bullets could be heard spraying as men cried and grunted. Her door fell open accompanied with a guard falling down onto the floor slamming his jaw on the ground. He looked over at the kids and tried to mutter something but a shotgun pierced the back of his head and exploded at the tip.
Gooey bits spread in a circular motion, some parts hitting Matthew’s face who was close to the edge. The mattress was lifted with a clown staring down at them. “Well hello there’ he says. Reversing the gun he aims the handle down hitting each one across the face.
Karla was the first to wake up, a warm stream passed her nose and seeped into the crease of her mouth. The taste of copper infiltrated her taste buds, spitting it out she lifted her head to see a long table ahead of her. The remains of Donald’s charcoaled body rested in front of her. Chunks of his body, mainly his neck, back and stomach were removed. His mouth was open, tongue removed and teeth still intact.
A greasy clown comes up from behind yelling, “Well it’s about f*****g time you woke up! You hungry?” He then shoves a piece of meat into Karla’s gagging mouth, forcing his dirty fingers in he slides the burnt skin into her throat with force. Karla emits vomits but he closes her mouth shut, looking her in the eye he shakes his head. “You eat this meat, or I’ll cut your f*****g eyes out and force em’ down. Hear me?”
Karla presses her eyes shut and swallows the meat swimming in vomit, as disgusting as it felt she didn’t want to suffer anymore than she had to. Her throat recoiled against the human flesh, yet she forced her mind to go somewhere else and pretend it was some sort of steak or burger.
The clown removes his hand and says, “Good girl. Now welcome to the last place you’ll ever see. This is the fun house!” Gripping his uncut nails into her scalp her turns her head around, “Over yonder is The Maze, left of that is The Chair, might recognize Becky’s blood on the seat,” he lets out a giggle and continues turning, “there’s Oven Glutton, that’s where the ole butterball was slow cooked, man he was juicy, and then of course there’s Pig Pie Haven.” Rusted shackles dangled from above, a wall divided each section making the victim oblivious to other tortures nearby, yet it was all in the same warehouse.
Turning her head around to where pressure built in her neck, the clown fixates her view on Maddie and Matthew in a glass cubicle. They both laid asleep on the ground, bruising and blood stained their foreheads. “Now see, we’re about to wake them up, and it’s a shame cause I love revealing the name of the game to victims! Yet the people of the internet have chosen already. So I’ll tell you what the beautiful people have requested, it’s called Mercy. You heard of it?”
Karla shakes her head whimpering under his grasp. “Course you haven’t, but I wanted to ask anyways. See the way this plays out is, two weapons will be dropped into the glass cube. Hey wake up already!”
Matthew opens his eyes and presses his hand against his forehead, he puts it down becoming aware of his surroundings and quickly shakes Maddie. She quickly gathers to her feet terrified, looking around until she notices Karla.
“Alright, now the game can begin,” he says, “okay so two weapons will be placed in the container with them. Now what they’re supposed to do is fight to the death. If neither are willing, well then all three of you die. If they do, and one dies, then you can choose to show mercy. In this rare treat, things should be interesting. Let the games begin!”
Through the open top of the glass enclosure, a metal bat and a box cutter are dropped into the center of the floor, as Matthew and Maddie stare at each other. “You either kill, or all of you will f*****g die slowly!” The clown screams.
Matthew hesitates before reaching down and grabbing the box cutter, his hand trembling he looks at Maddie with glossy eyes. Maddie, in defense, picks up the bat then looks at Karla. Matthew wipes the tears from his eyes and takes a swing completely giving up on the idea that anything could save him at this point.