More Short Stories!- Kai Ships Only

Beomkai- Play the Game

"Boys, boys, boys. Aren't you tired of dodging traps? Aren't you tired of eating snake meat? This could all end if one of you just kills the other!"

Kai and Beomgyu looked at each other with sulken eyes. They had been in the warehouse for two weeks and were the last ones left. All eight other "contestants" were dead.

The mystery voice had kidnapped 10 people at random and made them fight in a large warehouse meant to simulate the hunger games. Of course, the actual hunger games had a large budget whereas this man didn't. There was no windows, at least visible ones, only bright white bars in the ceiling. Beomgyu had long guessed that this "warehouse" was actually an abandoned school. Just one floor and a bunch of dirty rooms converted to traps.

For the first time in six months of doing this, the mystery man made a mistake. He kidnapped two people who knew each other. That's where his dilemma began. Neither wanted to kill the other. He kept them alive to satisfy the fantasy. One had to win. If both died, it would ruin everything.

Kai stood against a cold tile wall then slid down. He wanted to vomit from all of the raw snake meat they just ingested. Fresh blood was hardening onto old blood in his torn clothes. Kai was just thankful his fever seemed to be gone now. "I'm not killing him."

Beomgyu was about to respond the same way until he burped stomach acid. An old trashcan was down the hall. He got up and ran to it. Every bloody piece of raw snake was being vomited up. The worst part was the smell. It lingered in the air long after his body felt better.

The voice over the speaker system said "dear Beomgyu, just kill yourself or kill Kai and this will all go away."

Beomgyu spit the last bits into the trash then gave the camera the middle finger.

Kai grabbed his rusty knife from his pocket then started to walk back into the snake room. They killed them all but he assumed there might be one edible enough for his friend. Once he got to the room, he saw the snake that bit his ankle in the doorway. His boot heavily stomped on it for good measure. The head no longer resembled a head but a flattened piece of flesh. Next to it was a fairly large one that he could use to feed Beomgyu.

First, Kai knelt to the ground to hack off the head of it. Once the head was off, he tossed it to the side. Next, was hacking off the tail. His hands were becoming itchy and sticky from the extra blood accumulating onto his skin. Snake bones snapped along with the tip of the knife. When the tail was off, he did his best to filet a large portion. Just enough to keep Beomgyu full but not so much it would cause more indigestion. Kai took that piece to the closest bathroom and proceeded to wash the blood off of not only the meat but also his hands. "Ugh, gross."

"Oh Kai." The mystery voice loudly exhaled to the annoyance of the survivors. "You're so much stronger than him. Look at him! He's weak! It would be a mercy kill like you did with Bella."

Kai continued to clean his hands under the cold water. He had no interest in responding to his tormentor. The sink was freezing along with the rest of the building. The only time he felt heat was when the east wing was set on fire. Beomgyu almost died in there before Kai rescued him. The main source of his friend's weakness was smoke inhalation.

Once the water ran clear, he washed the piece of flesh. Kai's hands were purple and numb to the touch yet he persisted. That water was no joke. It may as well have been an ice bath like the one he took this morning.

Beomgyu weakly fiddled with a rock between his fingers. He felt awful. A broken piece of glass presented an ugly reflection. It showed purple lips with sickly gray skin. His will was the only thing keeping him alive. With every bit of energy he had, he threw that rock at the security camera hanging above him. It didn't go far. Beomgyu watched that rock hit a wall then tumble back towards him. He picked it up and then tried again. This time, he didn't miss.