It's a Trivia Murder Party

Eryn

My breath catches in my throat as I try to make sense of what the f*ck just happened.  Because either I'm going insane, or Cody Crenshaw the junior is actually dead on the floor in front of me.  I try to calm myself and take a deep breath.  Snap out of it, Eryn, you're just having a bad dream.  At least, that's what I would tell myself if I was actually dreaming.  Which I'm not.  As hard as I pinch myself, Cody is still laying in a pool of blood on the ground.  Nobody is moving.  Maddie is screaming, Tyler is yelling at [REDACTED], Gabriella and Sasha are teary-eyed messes desperate to go home, Kat is in shock, and Nathan is staring, his expression blank.  I look back at Cody, who is still dead.  I start to feel nauseous, but force myself to hold my lunch in as I take another deep breath and am the first to leave the room.  Unfortunately, making the first move doesn't automatically make everyone admire you.  

Nathan brushes past me and hisses into my ear, "Feeling no remorse as usual, Daniels?"

I set my jaw and use all my self control to not shove him into the wall.  Instead, I look down at my whiteboard and marker as [REDACTED] begins to speak again.

"Alright, here's your next question- Who did King Ferdinand II co-rule Spain with?  One, Queen Isabella I, two, Queen Mary, three, Queen Elizabeth I, or four, Catherine the Great."

I try to think back to history class, but even if we did learn about this already, I can't remember.  In fact, it hurts my head to try to think.  I'm too f*cked up by what's happening to keep my head on straight.  I write down the number three on my whiteboard and hope for the best.  I keep my head low as I think about how the h*ll I ended up here.  I can't say that I didn't deserve detention, but I can definitely say that it wasn't bad enough to earn me a spot in a game of murder trivia.  If only they and I had picked somewhere more private than the library, I wouldn't be here right now.

"Let's see which of you picked... number one." My heart sinks as I realize that I'm wrong.  I can feel [REDACTED]'s amusement and triumph burning into me as he sees my incorrect answer.

"That's... three of you.  Perfect.  Follow me," he orders, turning on his heel and continuing down the hallway to another room.  I hesitate in the doorway, then force my legs to carry me inside.  

The room is dimly lit by a lantern sitting on a small table next to a tray of various goblets, each one ranging from a simple wooden cup to a chalice shaped like a skull.

"We're going to play Chalices.  The rules are simple- half of these chalices are poisoned.  It's up to you three-" He points at me, Kat, and Tyler as he speaks- "To pick a chalice and try not to die.  Go ahead."

I stare blankly at the eight cups sitting before me.  I wonder what drinking poison is like.  I sure hope I don't find out the hard way, though.  My gaze locks on the skull-shaped chalice.  A part of me is curious to know if this ominous-looking cup might actually be safe to drink from.  I can feel Nathan's gaze burning into me.  Pick it, I dare you.  So I take a deep breath, pray that this is somehow going to be okay, and select the skull chalice.  I notice [REDACTED]'s body language shift ever so slightly, but I'm unsure if it's a good or bad thing.  It looks like I might be finding out soon enough, though, as Kat has just grabbed a golden chalice and Tyler picked a copper one.  

"As high schoolers, you may be convinced that you can hold your alcohol just fine, but that skill won't help you here.  Go ahead, drink up."

I look down at the dark contents of my cup and swirl it around, my stomach churning.  I look up again, make direct eye contact with Nathan, and down the contents of my chalice.  It tastes like flat Coca Cola.  Fantastic.  I set the chalice back on its tray and look towards [REDACTED] expectantly.  He's eyeing a small hourglass that he's holding, and he addresses me without looking up. "It shouldn't take too long for the effects to kick in... permanently."

And to my surprise, I feel... normal.  Aside from the whole witnessing-a-murder-and-being-held-hostage thing, of course.  I see the look on Nathan's face as it slowly dawns on him that I'm not dead.  I smirk at him before jumping at the sound of a strangled gasp and a loud clang.  I whirl around to see Kat doubled over, their eyes wide and alert as they begin to let out harsh coughs, their chest convulsing violently with each one.  Blood spatters against the ground and drips out of their mouth as their coughs become more and more aggressive, until finally, Kat stumbles, collapses on the ground, and is still.  

Maddie lets out a shriek of terror, bending down next to Kat and desperately attempting to shake them awake.  Tyler, seething with wrath and disgust, tries to punch [REDACTED], who simply steps out of the way to avoid the quarterback's violent outburst.  Sasha is wailing and begging to leave, and Gabriella's mouth is still wide open, her eyes unable to tear away from Kat's lifeless body.  And Nathan... he just stares at the murder scene before him with not even an ounce of emotion on his face.  I shake my head, feeling increasingly nauseous now.  It's becoming increasingly difficult to hold my lunch in.

"Oh come on, stop overreacting, you've already seen this happen.  Get used to it," [REDACTED] shrugs nonchalantly, tossing a gray, sack-shaped doll onto Kat's corpse before turning to leave. "We're not finished yet, let's keep it going.  After all, I need only one of you alive for the final round."

There's a final round?  What kind of sick, twisted game show are we playing in?  Lives are being taken like cash on Jeopardy or whatever.  I don't know anymore.  This is too much for me.  H*ll, I'm only eighteen.  I've got a life that I plan on living.  I didn't need it drizzled in trauma.

"Who is credited with saying 'Three can keep a secret, if two of them are dead'?  One, Richard Nixon, two, Benjamin Franklin, three, Mark Twain, or four, Teddy Roosevelt."

I sigh, then do the only thing I can do.

I keep playing.

(1094 words)

The 'three can keep a secret' thing was honestly not an intentional refence to the fact there's already two dead.  Maybe I'll pretend it is, and it was not a result of randomly scrolling through the full TMP trivia list.