The Death Game

Chapter 20

Promise (Chapter 20)

A Few Hours Later...

I woke up and realized that I was in a damp, disgusting, ugly room. Where am I? "You're finally awake," a voice said. I spun around. Mastermind. I was about to attack him, but when I looked at the person I realized it wasn't the mastermind at all. It was Francine. "Arthur, are you okay?" she asked. Treyvon was laid down in a cot next to her, unconscious. I sighed in relief. I was just in Francine's room. "Yeah, I'm fine," I replied. "When you woke up, you looked like you were about to attack me," Francine said. "That's because I was," I admitted. "You thought I was the mastermind?" Francine asked. I nodded. I suddenly realized something. How is her guess so accurate? The mastermind is a really intelligent individual. They haven't even met ever. Is she actually the mastermind? I stared at her, examining her. She stared right back at me. Our staring was interrupted when Treyvon groaned. Francine went to tend to him. "Is Treyvon alright?" I asked. Francine nodded. "I went to find him when I realized he was missing and found him lying on the ground next to the door the guards were guarding. I didn't see you around, so I just assumed that you successfully snuck in," Francine said. I bit my lip. The memories came flooding in, including Lady Daphne's unfortunate fate. "You guessed right," I said. "The only thing is..." I trailed off. How do I tell Francine what happened to Lady Daphne without hurting her? I don't want to cause her suffering and grief. "Lady Daphne is...gone," I finally said. Francine stopped whatever she was doing to Treyvon. She looked back at me. "I knew what would become of her before she was even kidnapped by the mastermind. I knew from the beginning that she'll never make it. I guess I was just hoping there was another way...a way we'll all survive through all of this," Francine said. Francine turned her back on me. I heard Francine sniff. She was crying. Wait. Did Francine just say she knew from the beginning that Lady Daphne would never make it? Does that mean she knows the ending to all of this? And more importantly, is she the mastermind? I have to keep my distance from her. I can never be too careful. But I can't just make assumptions and dub it as the truth either. I have to analyze her more. What else does she know? "What do you mean when you said you wished there was a way we can all survive the game? Do you know who'll live and who'll die? How did you know Lady Daphne will never make it?" I asked. Francine looked at me and sniffed again. "It's just a guess. I am quite old, so a lot of my guesses are correct. I'm not sure if you understand, though," Francine explained. "Does this mean you know who the mastermind is?" I asked hopefully. Francine shrugged. "I'm not so sure. Though I do have a person in mind, I can be underestimating sometimes. He's still my main suspect," Francine said. "Who is your suspect?" I asked. Francine looked at me for a long time. Then, she finally shook her head. "I shouldn't tell you. I am just assuming this person is the mastermind. I might be wrong," she said. "It's okay. You can tell me," I reassured her. Francine stared at me again. After a while, it looked like she was about to say something, but Treyvon suddenly woke up. "Errgh," he groaned as he laid back down again. "Treyvon! How are you feeling?" Francine asked, rushing to his side. "I'm fine, thanks Fran." Treyvon sat up. He looked at me and his face lit up. "Erthur! Yer back! Is D back too?" Treyvon asked. I shook my head, sadly, as if I was saying she didn't make it. Treyvon's smile turned into a frown. "She isn't here, is she?" he asked. I shook my head again. Treyvon looked at the side of the cot. "What happened? Was she dead when ya arrived?" he asked. "Yes. The mastermind tortured her until she couldn't handle it anymore and she...she...she took her own life," I sorrowfully said. Treyvon suddenly clenched his fists. "She didn't deserve it! Sure, she may be a she-devil, but she ain't deserve death! No one deserves death!" Treyvon exclaimed. "We know, Treyvon. This is hard on all of us," Francine said, comforting him. "I just...I just can't believe that D's gone. It's like she was never here in the first place," Treyvon said. A stream of tears fell down my cheeks. I wasn't expecting that. I knew I would be sad that Lady Daphne's dead, but I didn't think I'd be THIS sad to the point of tears. I suddenly shook my head. "No. This isn't how we're supposed to react. Lady Daphne isn't here anymore, but we shouldn't cry over that. We have to move on. We have to stay strong. We have to plan our escape. For our survival. For Lady Daphne. For all of us."