Nerve [Wattys2016]

Chapter Fourteen

I screamed and began to tremble. The dead body fell limp to the ground. You could still see it on the screen, lying on the tile. Blood splatter was displayed on the wall behind them. The person began to bleed out. The one who holds the gun forms his posture into a professional manner. They fold their hands together behind them, and pick off right where the other left off...

"We will no longer filter the dares. This means they will come quicker. There will still be an overload number for how many you are allowed to have per hour, however they will come as fast as Watchers send them. We will no longer filter them for your safety. These dares may become dangerous. If you do not believe you can accomplish a dare, decline it. You have already accepted the Terms of Agreement when you chose Player, which means- some dares could result in physical, mental, emotional pain or death. Nerve cannot be held accountable to that outcome. You are entitled to use your best judgement for what you can and can't accomplish. Good luck Players. Remember, stay awake."

The video shuts off, and the screen goes blank.

I look to Ian with wide, terrified eyes. My body continues to shake. That's -in fact- the only movement my body refrains to. I don't speak, I don't blink, I barely breathe. Ian looks at me blankly, as if he's searching me for answers. I can feel a lone tear roll down my cheek. "Hey, hey it's okay." Ian hesitantly brought up his hand to my face. His thumb pushed against the skin below my eyes.

"Why did that person die?" I question in a whisper.

Ian shakes his head, "I... don't know."

"It's supposed to be a- a game, and they- they just killed someone." I mumble.

"Vee.. I- I know, but it happened and we can't change that."

I study his face and see no emotion present, "Why are you so calm over this?"

"Vee, I'm as upset as you."

I turn away from him, and lean my forehead against the cold building. This should not be happening. That person... I can't get the images of the bullets going through them one after the other out of my head. I squeeze my eyes shut trying to push away the memories, but It's all running in slow motion. The blood hitting the hospital-clean looking wall. I lean the rest of my body into the wall, losing my balance.

"It's okay, Vee.."

I look over to Ian, "How is it okay? That man was murdered right in front of us-" I begin to breathe heavily, and can't finish the rest of my sentence.

Ian pulls me off the wall, and wraps his arms around my body. I feel so small in his hold. I lift my arms to wrap around him. I shake my head, "That should've never happened."

"But it did." Ian mumbled into my hair. "Everything is run by rules... Some come with more consequences than others when crossed.."

We stand there for a moment longer, just in a comforting hold. When Ian let's me go I look up to him, "What are we supposed to do now?"

Ian takes a deep breath, "Follow the rules... very carefully."

"But what rules are there?" I ask confused. I've never received a list of rules from the game. I have never seen anything that could tell me what we can and cannot do. Is there a boundary when playing? Is there some way we can't fulfill a dare that I wasn't aware of?

Ian nods me towards his bike as he slowly continues to walk, "They never tell you.. Flat out that is.... But I've gotten to know some people through this game, and they've told me stories... They kind of revolve around what we've talked about before. You don't cheat them over- ever. You play the game honestly. You don't get people to do your dares for you. You don't hire people to create easy dares."