Deck of Cards

Before the Game

Jen's POV

My head pounded like a drum when I woke up, my eyes adjusting to the darkness of the cell. I screamed when I realised that I wasn't in my bed or even in my own house; panicking I gulped in oxygen as my hands felt round the small, enclosed space for a light switch. For any grasp of normality. I couldn't find anything. Slowing down my breathing, I strained my ears to hear anything. Anybody. Silence echoed round me and hung over me like a foreboding raincloud. I was in too much shock to cry, the tears were halted by confusion and questions. Where was I?

Booming footsteps snapped me out of my trance and by instinct I snuck to the back of the cell, hugging my knees like a child. A blinding light greeted me but the more my eyes adjusted I could make out the man who was standing in front of me. He was huge, muscles coming out of every part of his body. I couldn't tackle him and run like my brain was telling me to.

Without a word he placed the light down and reached into his pocket for a piece of paper.

"To Jenifer," I cringed at the sound of my real name, "you have been selected to play a little game with us. You will be given a pack of randomly shuffled cards and every day you will turn one over. Fail to do so and you will be shot. The number on the card will tell you what activity you will be doing and the suit will tell you how long you will do the activity for. Happy playing!" he read it out so nonchalantly that I almost laughed. With that, he dropped the pack of cards and left me in the dark.

Sally's POV

Terror ran through my body when I woke up, the memories of the day before playing back through my mind like a distant film. I could see his face, my capturer, clear in my mind. His black mask concealing all but his two blue eyes that pierced into my soul. I wished it was all a nightmare but when I felt the damp ground beneath me I knew that wishes never came true.

Mold ran havoc on the floor and the walls were covered in it too- it was almost like a carpet and wallpaper. I lay in the foetus position in the middle of my small cell and let tears flow freely down my face and onto the floor, contributing to the dampness. I didn't flinch when the man walked in, or when he read out the instructions.

I knew that I was already doomed.

Scarlett's POV

My tear splattered cheeks were ruddy and unattractive, I hadn't slept at all in the dark cell in fear that someone would come in throughout the night. The idea of someone watching me sleep was enough to force myself to stay awake and alert.

Fear wracked through my body every second and my heart was always in my mouth. It was a hideous feeling. Mentally, I cursed my friends for ever sending me the link to the dating site. I cursed my ex for ever breaking up with me and making me feel lonely. I cursed myself because really the red flags were all there.  The guy in the profile picture was obviously a model but I looked past that, telling myself I didn't care about looks, and when we spoke it was never by text or by social media but only on the dating site's chat function. How could I have been so gullible?

When I was told the instructions, my first reaction was how could anybody possibly find joy in seeing that. But now, I realise that sick people roam the earth and they always seem to be a little too close for comfort.

Hannah's POV

I had slept in worse, let's put it that way. I knew that mold wouldn't harm me, it had been my companion since I had run away. A false sense of optimism rang through me as I thought about the fact that for once I had a roof over my head. Nobody should think like that, then again nobody should live on the streets.

The idea that I had been kidnapped never really sunk in, it seemed to float around me like some theory instead of reality.

Upon hearing the rules of the game, I didn't flinch. I didn't even listen. I let the words wash over me- this was my coping mechanism.

Ava's POV

I woke up in a cell I had seen so many times before in passing. How can a father give up his own daughter for sacrifice? Was that my only purpose all along? I had looked up to him, my father, as someone who was great- he was the leader of a successful business and had a whole army of men working for him. He had always told me about the game and how it was important to discipline girls. Maybe I wasn't disciplined enough. Maybe that's why I found myself lying on a floor that had held so many girls about to start an experience that at some point would claim my life. I vowed then and there that revenge was the only option.