House of Trap

09 | Loss

The room was filled with loud cries coming from Madison. It wasn't those secretive sobs, nor was it a mere tear rolling down the cheek. Madison nearly lost breath—her shoulders bounced uncontrollably, shivering throughout her entire body. The saltiness of the tears entered her agape mouth, but she couldn't care less. She only cared about one of the most righteous person in the entire house who had now left them.

Ethan hated this. He hated seeing Madison in this state. He hated seeing Shirley dead. He agreed that if one person could remain selfless despite everyone's changing alliances and betrayals, it would've been the lifeless girl in front of them.

He swifted his attention to Ginny who looked completely blanched. "What happened?"

Ginny turned to him, and though she wasn't crying, her eyes were glistening wet with the tears of guilt she hoped he wouldn't find out. "The arrow shot out of nowhere... Like it did with Harvey."

"Again?" He uttered. His eyes scanned the room for a gap that could become the entrance for the arrow. But there was no window or anything that could allow the attack to happen. Then his eyes darted to the bow that laid scattered on the floor, and he vaguely remembered Ginny's Sagittarius zodiac, the one with the bow and arrow.

Ginny flinched, seeing him hold the glance longer than she wished. With difficulty, she got up on her knees again and had to think of the next lie. "I'm thinking the arrow might be some sort of robot. Maybe it was controlled using a remote controller from another place. That's why it managed to fly out the wall," she said.

The theory was very Ginny like; so naive with endless ideas that realists would immediately dismiss. She had created a good excuse for herself, and it seemed Ethan was slowly believing her.

"Did you see it move from the wall on its own?" He asked.

"No, me and Shirley were discussing the special item when she suddenly got hit. I jumped back in surprise and fell down. Then you two entered," Ginny told her rendition of the truth, which seemed believable indeed. "I guess she ran out of time."

Ethan pursed his lips together, but decided to give it more thought later. For now, he walked over to Madison and gently carried her by the arm to get her back on the feet.

The girl didn't say a word and flung her arms around Ethan. He was caught off guard, but his heart never had the time to adjust to its newfound emotion. She was still crying, and he hated that helpless sound. He hated not being able to do anything about it.

***

The rest of the game ended in peace. By the time it had reached the last few players on the list, they already managed to find an item to be exempted from the game. They received news that both Oliver and Shirley were no longer with them. Reality was a step closer to their paranoia. After cheating death once, their hope cascaded with the lives of two people.

They sat around the dining table with the reluctance to discuss what had happened. Any conversations about the loss would cut open  fresh scars none were able to bear. Shirley had played a big part in their life; losing her was like losing a mother. And Oliver had always been the life of the party before the game took his sanity and turned him grim. The game was trapping their mindset.

"Four more games to go," Jay's voice broke their roaring silence. He kept his eyes on the center of the table to avoid making eye contact with anyone.

"Four? How would you know that?" Mark replied.

"We saw a door with a lock. There were seven letters we had to enter in order to open it. We assume it's the way out," Jay spoke, slightly meeting their eyes for a short second he could not hold. He looked away immediately.