No Longer A Game - Sidemen FF

Chapter 17

Vikkstar123
"Well, we've arrived," Mitch announces, standing with Preston, Jerome, Pete, Ali and Choco. "So fill us in."

Lachlan explains the situation to them while I check separately that Tobi, Ethan, Josh and Harry are alright.

"Are they okay?" Preston asks me, once Lachlan is done.

I nod. "Good enough to be pissing off Gudjon."

Then Josh asks the question I'm dreading. "What does he want?"

I look away.

"Vikk?" Lachlan asks cautiously.

"An exchange," I say, avoiding their eyes. "Me for them. At sundown."

"Or what happens?" Pete asks quietly.

"He'll torture them," I reply quietly. "I think we should take the exchange."

They explode into protests and I look away, waiting for everyone to calm down and think rationally. It makes sense. One life in exchange for two lives.

I absentmindedly trace the word on my left arm.

I slip away, upstairs to empty out my inventory. I breathe out in the silence, but I can still hear the shouting of the others downstairs. I slip a disc into the jukebox and listen to the repeated tune I've heard many times before.

I check my watch. It's 2:42 PM. I haven't got long left. I hum to myself as I easily move around the room, emptying my inventory, feeling surprisingly at peace.

It's the logical thing to do. Two lives for one like mine?

What my Minecraft friends don't get is that Simon and JJ are better than me, and always will be.

They can make anyone laugh. Lately I've just been bringing everyone down. They're the core of the Sidemen. What would we be without Simon's insults and JJ's innuendos? What exactly do I add to the Sidemen?

And it's not just that they're better. It's that I'm worse.

I'm a broken boy. Gudjon made sure of that. I wake people up screaming with nightmares. I'm the reason Gudjon is after us in the first place.

And here, in the privacy of my mind, I can say it.

I'm worthless.

Compared to Simon and JJ, and compared to anyone.

I'm weak. Pathetic.

Completely useless.

A waste of space.

Why are you even in the Sidemen?

"Vikk?" It's Ali. "Come on. All the yelling's stopped. We need to discuss this."

I blink, snapping out of it. I hadn't even noticed when my voice had changed to Gudjondaniel's.

I nod, but hesitate. "Ali, what do you think about the exchange?"

Ali hesitates too. "It's the logical thing to do. But it's not the right thing to do. We can figure out another option."

I nod, accepting his answer and following him down the ladder. All eyes are on me as I drop down the ladder and I move over to where the Sidemen are standing closely together.

"I'm doing the exchange," I say, gauging their reactions.

As I predicted, a few protests are thrown my way, but they quickly silence themselves.

"Vikk," Lachlan says calmly. "We need to think about all of our options."

I roll my eyes. "Good idea, Lachlan. If I don't hand myself over, Simon and JJ will be tortured. If I do, two of my friends go free at little cost."