The Game

Chapter 11: Game For Two

Mr. Beaufort announced, his voice echoing off the walls of the chamber. "I shall go and prepare the next game for it shall be quite the new twist."

Gary, his voice laced with frustration and anger, broke the uneasy silence "We all know Mr. Beaufort picks something about us for these games, he knows a thing about all of us seemingly something that he can use as a weapon" he declared, his words carrying the weight of bitter experience "We know he will find ways to rig what you would pick as your weakness, I believe you need to think like him, you have to not be you to pass these games, as painful or awful as some choices may seem rather going against morals or passing up money."

Lexa, her expression tense with apprehension, nodded in agreement. "I have to agree with Gary here" she chimed in, her voice trembling slightly "The games he set up so far all target specific emotions about people, It's like he knows us better than we know ourselves, we all need to be very careful."

Dimitri, his features contorted with defiance, scoffed at the notion. "Well, he doesn't know anything about me, nobody does" he retorted "He can't abuse my desire to be a hero or any addiction or greed to make me lose, I know winning this all will already make me rich I'm not worried about any early prizes, I'll play and win whatever he throws my way."

Brian added in with his own arrogance
"That's the way to think about it, nothing can't be won if you really try, you just have to be the boss and control the game how you want."

Gary shot Dimitri and Brian skeptical glances, his eyes narrowed with suspicion. "That's what he wants us to think," he countered, his voice tinged with warning. "He will find anything he can use against you, trust me, don't ever get over confident, I don't want to see anyone here meet the fate of those who already lost."

Rachel per usual spoke up with a sarcastic edge to her voice "Look, if those two idiots want to get over confident and lose, at this point, we might better off letting them eliminate themselves."

Joe interjected with a calm tone. "We need to all stay focused and work together if we're going to get through this, we can't pray on anyone else's downfall no matter who the person is, every one of us could help one another." he urged with his gaze sweeping over the group.

As the group continued to discuss their strategies and concerns, Mr. Beaufort made his return speaking
"Dimitri as I promised, you're the next player up for our game."

Dimitri scoffed
"You're gonna regret picking me."

Mr. Beaufort then added onto this news
"But you won't be playing this game alone! It's our first two player game."

Gary's skepticism lingered even more as Mr. Beaufort's revelation sank in "Two players? Like together or against each other?" he questioned again, his voice tinged with suspicion.

Mr. Beaufort smiled
"I guess that's up to the players, if two people wish to tear each other apart or work together in a game that's fully up to them."

Lexa seized the opportunity to gather more information. "So, who's the second player joining Dimitri?" she pressed, her tone sharp with curiosity.

Mr. Beaufort's smile widened at Lexa's persistence. "Ah, an astute question" he acknowledged, his eyes flicking between Brian and Dimitri. "I've chosen both Dimitri and Brian, two contestants who exude confidence, for this particular game."

Brian's eyes widened in shock at the unexpected announcement. "Wait, wait, wait" he interjected, his tone betraying a hint of uncertainty. "I mean, I'm all for winning, I'll win for sure, but isn't this a bit early on? I thought I'd be the grand finale, the pièce de résistance, ya dig?"

Mr. Beaufort waved off Brian's protest with a dismissive gesture. "Nonsense Brian" he countered, his voice unwavering. "Why save our potential star player for the end when he could shine just as brightly in the spotlight now and win many games? Trust me, you and Dimitri will make quite the dynamic duo to watch in the game ahead."

Rachel chimed into the conversation "Well, isn't that just peachy?" she remarked dryly. "Now that we know who's playing, care to enlighten us on what the next chamber is?"

Mr. Beaufort's grin widened at Rachel's impatience. "Of course," he replied, relishing the attention. "The next game will take place inside 'The Mirage Chamber.'"

Gary asked
"The Mirage Chamber?"

Mr. Beaufort continued "Ah, the beauty of The Mirage Chamber lies in its ambiguity" he replied smoothly. "It's a game where the most unexpected can happen at every turn, I wouldn't want to spoil too much."

Dimitri and Brian exchanged uncertain glances, each one of them not knowing rather to work together and have trust or if they should be out for themselves.

Dimitri, unable to contain his curiosity, pressed for more information "Can we at least know what kind of game we're facing, like Shawna did last game?" he inquired, his voice tinged with apprehension.

Mr. Beaufort shook his head regretfully "I'm afraid not," he replied cryptically. "But I will say sometimes the answer lies in the name itself."

Brian couldn't hide his frustration at the lack of information. "This is ridiculous man" he grumbled, his confidence wavering. "How are we supposed to prepare if we don't even know what we're up against?"

Rachel couldn't resist a smirk at Brian's sudden loss of bravado. "Looks like someone's feeling the pressure what happened to winning anything?" she teased, her eyes gleaming with mischief.

Brian just replied
"Shut up, I'll show everyone here I'm a winner."

With that, Mr. Beaufort led Dimitri and Brian to the next chamber, their fate hanging in the balance as the rest of the contestants followed.

As they all arrived to the next area down the hall they saw the sign outside the room reading "The Mirage Chamber"

Mr Beaufort spoke as he grabbed the door handle to let the two men inside the chamber
"Shall we begin gents?"