The Behavior Game

42. "I wasn't screaming."

42. "I wasn't screaming."

By the time Penny threw open the door to Mac's room it was too late. The lights shut off abruptly, with no forewarning. Though Mac's eyes were shut he was always one step away from waking up and shutting off the lights was enough to make him launch out of his bed. Fate never turned the lights off, even when everyone was asleep. If the lights were out, it meant something was wrong. He had done something wrong, and now it was time for punishment.

Penny scrambled into the room and pushed Mac back into the corner. "Go to sleep, Mac," She ordered.

"There's an earthquake," He yelled, panicked. He had been screaming for the past ten minutes, so hysterical that he barely had the energy to stand.

"Dear god you're just having a bad dream, just close your eyes and go to sleep."

"It's dark," He had his hands wrapped around his club, and he held it even tighter when he felt Penny's grip on the end. "It's never dark in here, we must have done something wrong, I'm going to get punished,"

"Give me the fucking club, Mac," She yelled, ripping it out of his hands and throwing it to the side. She crouched down and wrapped her arms around him. "I don't trust you when you hold that club."

"Penny, they're going to torture us, Fate's going to shock us,"

"Calm down," She ordered. "They just turned off the lights, they'll come back on."

"We're in trouble," He was shaking so badly that Penny had to tighten her grip on him for fear that he'd smash his head into hers. "There are things in the room, they're going to fill the room with things, it happened last time. Last time they put insects in the room. Someone was screaming, I heard someone screaming, there's someone down here."

"You were screaming." Penny accused. "They can't get in here, we're in your room, so no one's going to touch us,"

"Give me my club," He begged.

"No, we're going to walk out of here." She gently pulled him to his feet and helped him shuffle to the door. The halls were pitch-black as well, having previously relied on the fluorescent lights for brightness.

They moved across the space, with Penny's left hand clenched around Mac while her right fumbled to find the knob to Tate's room.

"Mac? Is that you?" Tate called from inside.

"He's with me," Penny called back. "We're coming in,"

"I heard Mac screaming," Tate replied. "What happened?"

"He's just upset because of the lights," she said walking him into the room.

"I wasn't screaming," Mac muttered.

"Okay, you can leave him in here, why don't you look for Jason?" Tate asked.

"YOU ARE NOT TO LEAVE THIS ROOM. FAILURE TO COMPLY WILL RESULT IN PUNISHMENT." There was something off about Fate's voice, something that made it seem as if Jason was off-limits at the moment.

"They did something to Jason," Penny said, setting Mac down in the corner. "Why else would they tell us to wait here without him?"

"You can't just assume that," Tate said. "We don't know what's going on. They're probably just trying to instill fear in us, it's just another test."

"A test," Mac repeated. "Jason was the one giving me my tests," He said suddenly.

"He did a lot for us," Tate agreed.

"He's not coming back, they're going to do something to him. That's probably why the lights are all out." Mac tried to look at his arms but couldn't find them in the darkness.

"Just calm down," Tate ordered. "We're all together so we'll figure out what happened soon enough."

"Here's something I don't understand," Penny spoke up. "If we're not allowed to leave, why didn't they just lock the door?"

"Try opening it," Tate said.

"Don't," Mac countered. "We'll get punished."

"I'll see if the knob turns, but I'll keep the door shut." Mac heard her footsteps as she neared the door. Very slowly, she turned the handle, pulling the door against her to keep it from inching open. "It's not locked," she said.

"So then there is something wrong," Mac said.

"Or they're trying to test us, to see how well we'll listen to them. I bet they was to see just how much they can control us." Mac heard a shifting in the chair beside him.

"Don't worry yourselves," Tate said. "We don't know what they want. It's best just to stay calm and keep our heads."

"What do you mean?" Mac asked.

"Keep your head," Tate repeated, "Don't get all worked up over nothing, just try to keep your wits about you."

Just as suddenly as they went out, the lights switched back on, and with the newfound light, Fate opened his mouth yet again.
"BECAUSE THERE ARE ONLY TWO ABLE-BODIED INDIVIDUALS HERE AT THE MOMENT, YOU TWO ARE EACH GOING TO BE GIVEN ONE TASK. IT DOES NOT MATTER WHO COMPLETES WHAT, JUST SO LONG AS BOTH REQUIREMENTS ARE FULFILLED." There was a slight break in his speech. His automated voice sounded different today. It almost sounded human. "ONE OF YOU WILL REMAIN IN THIS ROOM, BESIDE YOUR COMRADE. THE OTHER NEEDS TO LEAVE. TASKS WILL BE GIVEN INDIVIDUALLY DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU CHOOSE TO GO. YOU HAVE FIVE MINUTES TO DECIDE."

Penny locked eyes with Mac. "You stay here," she ordered.

"I think I should go," Mac said. "Fate probably wants me to look through the rooms, and I know them better,"

"Mac, you had a nervous breakdown the last time you left. You're staying here,"

"There's nothing wrong with me," He tried to say. He didn't want to be trapped in another room; just the thought of it overwhelmed him.

Penny stood up from her chair and marched towards the door, not even daring to look back.

"Please," He begged, shooting up, "My club is out there," he reached out to grab her arm, trying with all his might to keep her hand away from the knob.

"Your club," She laughed, harshly grabbing his wrist. She was much stronger than he was. Enough so that she only needed one hand to force him back. "We can't trust you by yourself, Jason even said so."

"Enough," Tate sighed. "Let her go, Mac." She hardly had the strength to yell at them.

Penny threw him back and sauntered out the door, slamming it behind her.

He extended his arm towards the door, but he couldn't fight her. She was stronger than him. She was the strongest person in there.

Even if he could have reached the door in time, there was someone even stronger than Penny. Fate forced the lock shut, and just like that he was trapped.

"HELLO, MAC," Fate said in his usual tone. "YOU WILL NOT BE LET OUT OF THE ROOM UNTIL PENNY FINISHES HER TASK."

Mac looked to Tate. "So we have to wait for her to come back?"

Tate's eyes drifted from Mac to the door. "He's still going to make us do something..." she looked at Mac. "There's something we need to do so Penny can finish her task. I don't know what it is."

Mac searched the room, finding nothing other than its usual belongings. "There's nothing here," he looked up from underneath Tate's bed.

"Then just sit down and don't panic," she was always saying things like that: don't panic, calm down.

And yet he always seemed to panic the most when she was around.

"ONLY ONE OF YOU WILL BE ALLOWED TO LEAVE THIS ROOM. THE LOCK WILL OPEN ONCE THERE IS ONLY ONE PERSON LEFT IN THE ROOM."

They locked eyes, neither knowing what to do. Both immediately lost their trust in the other person as soon as the intercom switched off.