Seven

Chapter 3- The Games of Truth

After the television turned off, everyone looked around, wondering if they heard correctly.

"I'm sorry, did the shadow man just say we're going to die tomorrow?" Jackson asked, smirking like the whole thing was nothing more than a joke.

But Mario failed to see any humor in it. If he had to guess, their connection wasn't obvious because none of them really knew each other. Maybe they were all criminals. Maybe they all had something to hide. Maybe they were all terrible people and these games were punishment. Maybe none of them would make it out of here alive.

But that seemed preposterous. Surely no one could get away with luring seven people, two of which seemed well known, into a mansion and killing them all, could they?

"It's a verse from the Bible," the lady next to Mario said. He remembered her name to be Kelly, but not much else. She seemed to stand out the least among the group. "It means have fun, because life is short."

"I was worried this would turn into the Hunger Games," Brandi chuckled, cutting into her steak. "You know, like we'd all have to fight each other to the death."

Mario looked down at his food and sighed. He was excited about such a delicious looking meal, but he wanted answers. He was growing more and more frustrated with every second he didn't have them. Everyone else seemed just fine eating and drinking, enjoying their time. How could they not be worried about the games, Mario wondered. Some of them were most likely already rich and probably didn't need an extra million. So why were they even here, if not for the money?

Mario looked across the table at Carmen, the young girl who seemed to be the quietest and most reserved of all the players. She looked harmless, but Mario knew better than to believe she wasn't a threat. She was probably smart, calculating. She was probably waiting to figure everyone else out before she made her move, just like Mario.

Carmen didn't touch her meat, but instead, only ate her salad. Mario also noticed that she didn't drink her wine. Was she even old enough to drink?

"Why don't we go around the table and tell a little about ourselves. Maybe it'll help us figure out why we're here," Brandi suggested.

"Good idea," Damon agreed. "I'll go first, since I'm player one."

Brandi giggled as if that was in any way funny, but Damon loved being the center of attention. It was quite obvious and Mario had only just met him a couple of hours ago.

"For those of you who don't know, I'm Damon DeCosto. The Damon DeCosto."

Brandi cheered, clapping her hands together and even some of the others joined in. Mario only rolled his eyes and continued to eat.

"Thank you, thank you," Damon chuckled, as if he was accepting an award. "I'm twenty-eight years old, I'm an actor, I live in Hollywood. I got an invitation in the mail earlier today and here I am."

"You are seriously one of my favorite actors ever," Brandi said with a flirty smile, sipping her wine.

"Oh yeah? So tell us about you, Ms. Benson. What makes you so special?" Damon smirked.

"Well, my name is Brandi Benson. I'm the CEO of Foxy Lady Limited, which is a website for naughty lingerie," she laughed, making both Damon and Jackson laugh along with her. No one else seemed to care much for Brandi though. "I'm twenty-nine, from Denver and I got the same invitation this morning."

"I'm Jackson Lee, I'm a social media influencer from Chicago. I was born in China, but moved to the states when I was a kid. I'm twenty-five, just graduated form college. I also received an invitation this morning," the Asian guy, who was player three, said.